By Paul Gotham
The calendar inches toward January ninth when the Atlantic Conference opens play with six games: St. Bonaventure at George Washington, Dayton at VCU, Butler at St. Joseph’s, La Salle at Charlotte, Rhode Island at Richmond and Duquesne at Fordham. Let the jockeying and jostling begin in preparation for St. Patrick’s weekend at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.
Plenty of plays to be made before then, and these five players will make theirs. They will have a say on who wins the Atlantic 10 . Overlooked in the pre-season all-conference teams, these guys will be well-known (if they are not already) when the conference gathers four for days in March.
Khlye Marshall – Butler: The Bulldogs opened the season with a thud, dropping a 15-point decision at Xavier in their second game on the ledger. Since then Butler has gone 9-1 including wins over North Carolina, Marquette, then no. 1, Indiana, at Northwestern and at Vanderbilt. Arkansas transfer, Rotnei Clarke earned second team pre-season honors. Kellen Dunham was mentioned on the rookie team. Roosevelt Jones got a spot on the defensive team, but Khyle Marshall cleans it up for the Bulldogs. Clarke and Dunham create space with an impressive long-range game (Clarke has hit 47 percent\50-106 while Dunham is looking for consistency but hit 5-of-9 against UNC and 2-of-4 at Vandy). Center Andrew Smith scores 11 a game in the paint. Marshall bridges the perimeter and interior play. With the Bulldogs looking to fill it up from behind the arc, there will be plenty of long rebounds to be had. The 6-6 Marshall, who leads Butler with 5.8 boards per game, is a ball-getter who can run down those ‘bounds and create second chances for the Dawgs.
Vee Sanford – Dayton: Kevin Dillard runs the Flyers, and Vee Sanford knows how to pick his spots. The 6-3 transfer from Georgetown showed what he can do in UD’s recent win over Murray State. With Dillard slowed by back spasms, Sanford notched a career day. While Sanford is hitting less than 33 percent (12-of-37) he has to be defended beyond the arc. Combine that with an ability to get in the paint and post up his man along with a slippery upfake and finish at the rim, and Sanford is exactly what the Flyers need. With Dillard using high ball screens and looking for chances in the lane, Sanford makes himself available on the perimeter for an outlet.
Chris Johnson – St. Bonaventure: Ryan Lazo chronicled Chris Johnson’s journey from Kilgore College to St. Bonaventure. Few expected the 6-5 Johnson to lead the Bonnies after the departure of NBA first-round draft pick, Andrew Nicholson. But that is what has happened. Johnson’s 13.7 paces the Bona attack, and he has team-high in five of the Bonnies 11 eleven contests. Johnson hits nearly 47 percent (15-of-32) from behind the arc, but does most of his damage around the rim. His 205 pound frame allows him to get in the lane and finish in traffic. He compliments this with an above average mid-range game. An area of concerns is Johnson’s struggles at the free throw line. Last year, Johnson hit nearly 88 percent (57-of-65). Currently, he hit at a 68 percent (28-of-41) pace. Coming in as reigning A10 champs, the Bonnies were pegged 11th in the pre-season poll. They will find out quickly where they are as VCU visits the Reilly Center on January 12th. Xavier comes to town four days later. The Bonnies head to Philadelphia after that for games with Temple and St. Joseph’s.
Anthony Lee – Temple: Temple boasts experience. Seniors Khalif Wyatt, Scootie Randall and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson combine to score 39 points per game. Wyatt and Randall get much of their work done from the perimeter. Anthony Lee provides balance for the Owls. Averaging 6.8 rebounds and leading the Cherry and White hitting 56 percent (42-of-75) from the floor. Lee works well on the offensive glass finishing putbacks.
Justin Martin – Xavier: Xavier has lost three for just the third time in the last nine seasons and have started 7-5 for the first time since 2004-05. It’s just that Xavier has a way of figuring out things and getting the job done. Pundits are starting to call them an NIT team. That’s enough to count on Xavier to have a solid conference run. Opponents are keying on leading scorer, Semaj Christon. Travis Taylor and Isaiah Philmore get the job done in the paint. Justin Martin can get the Muskies over the hump. Martin corralled 12 rebounds in Xavier’s loss to Vanderbilt. He hit four treys against a pesky Robert Morris team and three each against Pacific and Drake. Chris Mack and the Musketeers will need consistency from Martin down the stretch.
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