Xavier point guard Terrell Holloway missed practice Monday with a sprained foot. The 10th-ranked Musketeers next face Temple on Thursday and Holloway is the only point guard on the roster.

According to the Associated Press, he missed 2 weeks earlier this season with a stress fracture in his left foot,
and needed several more weeks to get back to full strength. He hurt the same foot in a pileup Saturday during an 82-80
victory over Massachusetts that left Xavier (19-2, 7-0) unbeaten atop the Atlantic 10. Tests found no fracture, but the foot was placed in a protective boot.

If Holloway can’t play, Xavier will use shooting guard Dante Jackson at the point.

ATLANTIC 10 THIS WEEK by Bob Cooney

SCHEDULE
LA SALLE
Wednesday: vs. Dayton, 7
Saturday: at St. Bonaventure, 7
SAINT JOSEPH’S
Wednesday: vs. George Washington (Palestra), 7
Sunday: at Massachusetts, 3 
TEMPLE
Thursday: at Xavier, 7 (ESPN2)
Sunday: vs. Rhode Island, 2

GAME OF THE WEEK
Xavier at Duquesne, Saturday, 7. Xavier escaped with a close home win over Massachusetts on Saturday. Could that be the scare that wakes up the Musketeers and helps them roll through the conference? Or is it a sign that they are ready to be had? Ron Everhart’s Dukes are still the feel-good story of the conference at 14-6, their best start since the 1980-81 season. Should be interesting.

PLAYER TO WATCH
La Salle’s Rodney Green has become one of the most complete players in the league. He has scored 20 or more points eight times this season, while averaging a team-best 16.7. The 6-5 guard from Prep Charter is also grabbing 4.7 rebounds and dishing a team-high 3.6 assists. He has been playing the point for the Explorers, but also has been moving out to the wing with the insertion of Ruben Guillandeaux into the starting lineup. Wherever he is, Green is a threat.

BY THE NUMBERS
Totaling the past four seasons, St. Joe’s has entered January with a 22-19 record, for a 53.6 winning percentage. But once the Hawks enter the conference regular season, it is a different story; including this season, they have accumulated a 47-23 record (67.1 percentage). Phil Martelli’s club started this season 5-7 before going on its current 7-1 run, which includes 5-1 in the conference.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW

The Atlantic 10, according to RealTime RPI, ranks fourth in the country among Division I conferences in strength of schedule. Teams in the conference have faced 18 ranked opponents in nonconference games so far this year. Temple has played five out-of-conference teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last year, and Xavier has beaten six BCS-conference teams this season, tied with Gonzaga for most in the country.

ETC.
Good week for the conference as former stars Jameer Nelson (St. Joe’s) and David West (Xavier) were named to the NBA’s East All-Star team ... Ahmad Nivins, of St. Joe’s, has scored in double figures in 31 consecutive games, which is the longest in the conference ... Nivins (20.2 points, 11.7 rebounds) and Massachusetts’ Tony Gaffney (11.4, 10.9) are the only players in the conference averaging a double-double.Gaffney also leads the league in steals (2.2) and blocks (4.47).

BIG EAST THIS WEEK by MIKE KERN

VILLANOVA SCHEDULE 
Wednesday: at Providence, 8 (WPHL)
Saturday: vs. Syracuse, Wachovia Center, noon (ESPN)

GAME OF THE WEEK
For a change, only one. And it’s not even close. Tonight, Connecticut is at Louisville. It doesn’t get much more heavyweight. At least not before March. Both teams have obvious Final Four aspirations. A year ago, the Cards lost by two at UConn. It should be slightly nuts in Freedom Hall for what may be game of the year (so far).

PLAYER TO WATCH
Speaking of the Huskies, 7-3 junior Hasheem Thabeet, who could be a high lottery pick in another few months, had his first career triple-double in Saturday’s 94-61 win over Providence. He finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and tied his school record with 10 blocked shots. It was UConn’s first home win over the Friars since 2002, breaking its longest such streak against a conference opponent since 1988, when it snapped an eight-gamer against St. John’s.

BY THE NUMBERS
Hard to believe, Harry, but Georgetown and Notre Dame have each dropped five in a row. The Hoyas host Rutgers tomorrow, while the Irish are at Cincinnati on Wednesday.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW
UConn should be No. 1 in both the men’s and women’s polls, which last happened when both teams won their respective national titles in 2004.

ETC.
Louisville’s Will Scott has been accepted to study at Oxford University in England, where he’ll be pursuing a master’s degree in Modern Chinese Studies, a program that will prepare him for a career in diplomacy or business relations with that country. Only 15 people are accepted into the program each year. He’s appeared in 13 games, and is shooting 39 percent from the arc ... On Saturday against Notre Dame, DeJuan Blair had the eighth 20-20 in Pitt history, and first since 1992.

 

This weekend, around the country, you will see a strange occurrence. Well-dressed college basketball coaches wearing sneakers on the sidelines with their suits. It is the Coaches vs. Cancer "Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend". It is also “look foolish weekend” for all coaches and we are glad to do it for this worthy cause.

This is an opportunity to bring attention to Coaches Vs. Cancer as a program, and to make everyone aware about the ravages of this disease. It was brought to light this past weekend with the death of North Carolina State's Kay Yow, one of the great basketball coaches in the country. Unfortunately her untimely death brings our cause even more to the forefront.

Hopefully we are all learning that we can do more to fight this killer. This is all that we are trying to do with this initiative. As much as we think we are doing, now is the time for us to step up and do even more.

Philadelphia is the leading fundraiser in the country for Coaches Vs. Cancer and we should be because we are Philadelphia and we have great care and concern for our fellow human beings.

Please support our cause, and now when you see me and my coaching staff on the sidelines Saturday at the Liacouras Center against Richmond I hope you will remember the reason why we are proudly wearing sneakers.

Go Owls.

Our team is playing better but consistency and toughness in very close games will be the keys for us and every A-10 team. With the exception of Xavier (I feel they are as good as last year’s Elite Eight team), most A-10 games are a toss-up. The talent level among each school’s starting five is very equal. Depth, toughness, good shooting, smart decisions and some lucky breaks will make the difference in games, but the talent level is very even and at a high level.
Leadership in not only games but also in practice is key. Paul Johnson and Rodney Green do a great job for us on a daily basis. We constantly stress to our players the importance of practice (“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” – John Wooden; “Every battle is won before it’s fought” – Sun Tzu).

Here is a great insight into Paul Johnson’s leadership. In the offseason we lift at 7:30 a.m. Paul personally checks to make sure each teammate is up early and ready to go. In season, we have our normal strength maintenance program and lift after practice. Devon White, as a redshirt freshman, comes in early for the extra workout. He is doing a great job with his strength and conditioning. We are excited about him, Karon Burton and Aaric Murray as freshmen together next year. But all that extra work is hard and developing discipline is not easy. How has Devon done it? With the help of Paul, who does the extra workout with Devon every day.

There are so many great stories that are not told in college basketball and we are fortunate to have some special ones at La Salle.

Penn's Jerome Allen, La Salle's Curt Fromal and Saint Joseph's Susan Moran have been selected for induction into the Big 5 Hall of Fame Class of 2009.

The players will be inducted in the Donaldson Room of Weightman Hall on Penn's campus on Feb. 13, and they also will be honored on the floor of the Palestra during halftime of the La Salle-Saint Joseph's game on Feb. 14

Allen starred at Penn from 1991 to '95. He was a three-time All-Big 5 selection and finished his career as Penn's all-time leader in assists (504) and steals (166). He was the Ivy League Player of the Year twice, in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Allen won three Ivy League titles at Penn, and the Quakers were undefeated in league play all 3 years. He was second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995. He spent two seasons in the NBA with Minnesota, Indiana and Denver, and now plays professionally in Italy.

Fromal played on La Salle's 1964-65 NIT team. He averaged a team-high 19.2 points as a senior and was MVP of the Middle Atlantic Conference. He was drafted by the 76ers.

Moran, of Tullamore, Ireland, was a dominant player for Saint Joseph's from 1998 to 2002. She led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding in four consecutive seasons. She finished with 2,340 career points after ranking fourth in the nation in scoring (23.3 per game) as a senior. She also was named Big 5 and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2001-02 season. She is an assistant coach at Saint Joseph's.

Since returning home we have continued to play well. We started the week with a good win against Delaware. Our bench came through for us as Leon Spencer, Tramayne Hawthorne and Samme Givens all gave us important minutes in the game. Samme scored 19 points and Leon had 11 as we were able to get some scoring inside. Their play over the last few weeks has been a plus for us. Tramayne has brought energy and leadership off the bench. He’s not scoring as much as he has in the past, but he is making contributions that don’t always show up in the box score.

We had one of the best crowds of the year against William & Mary for homecoming. Our defense did a nice job guarding a team that can be difficult to defend. We had a balanced scoring attack and Jamie Harris, our point guard, continued to play well. Jamie has done a nice job on controlling the game and making open shots.

We’re halfway through our conference schedule and are 6-3 after starting off 1-3, so I’ve been happy with the way we have been playing. Hopefully we can keep it up as we look try to move up the conference standings.

When the winning score is 99-98, it is hard to talk about defense. But I thought the job St. Joe’s Garrett Williamson did on Duquesne’s Aaron Jackson Wednesday night at the Palestra was terrific.

Jackson was in the Atlantic 10’s top five in scoring, assists, steals and field goal percentage. In fact, he entered the game shooting 58.3 percent, one of the nation’s best shooting percentages for a guard.

Jackson did not score for the game’s first 24 minutes. He finished with just 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting. Williamson himself can’t shoot at all. But he fills up the stat sheet anyway. Against the Dukes, he had five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. And, after Tasheed Carr’s last-second shot was blocked, he grabbed the ball out of midair, put it up on the rim and gave Idris Hilliard a chance for his game winning follow at the buzzer.

The game itself was crazy. You can watch a lot of games without seeing a 27-point swing in a half. The Dukes led by 11 and then trailed by 16 at the half. It was 53-37 in the first half, 51-35 in the second and 11-10 in overtime.

Hawks coach Phil Martelli pronounced his star Ahmad Nivins the city Player of the Year after the game. Fans of Temple (Dionte Christmas) and Villanova (Dante Cunningham) probably were not pleased to hear the race was over.

Those who dislike Martelli wonder why he makes pronouncements like that. Others are glad he is not Andy Reid. If he has an opinion, he lets you know. I fall into the latter category. I like coaches and players who have an opinion and don’t mind sharing it with us and thus with you.

If I were voting today for Big 5 Player of the Year today, I would vote for Nivins. But the vote is based on the whole season. So, I shall wait.

If this were an MVP vote, I would go with Cunningham. He does everything right for the best team in town. If this were a vote for the best scorer and a player who can change games in an instant, I would vote for Christmas. But it is a vote for most outstanding. And that has definitely been Nivins who is putting up numbers that should get him some serious national notice.

Consider Nivins is fourth nationally in field goal accuracy (67.6 percent) and seventh in rebounds (11.3 boards). He also averages 20.5 points and had a career-best 34 against the Dukes. He also is averaging an almost-impossible 1.98 points per shot, making him the most efficient player in the country.

By the way, tomorrow night’s Palestra game between St. Joe’s and Penn is close to a sellout. There are some tickets left, but it will be the biggest crowd at the Palestra this season.

Saturday will be a special day in the history of Temple Athletics, as two champions – John Chaney and Dr. Ray Moyer – are inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

John Chaney has meant so much, not just to this institution, but to the city of Philadelphia and to college basketball as well. It will be a great honor for me personally just to be there to watch him be inducted into Temple’s Hall of Fame.
I competed against him for 17 years and always thought of him as a great friend and now, he is not just a great friend, but someone I count on for guidance. I also look back now and appreciate how he mentored me for many years as I was growing in my college coaching career.

As I watched the inauguration of Barack Obama, I was moved by what I saw that day. Then I watched John Chaney on Comcast SportsNet watching the inauguration and I was even further moved. Here is a guy who has had so much more experience in so many different ways than I have had and I really appreciated his thoughts on Barack Obama being sworn in as the President of the United States. It was a tremendous piece that I feel captured the essence of John Chaney - of what he feels about life and opportunity. He has been one of the great champions of opportunity in my lifetime.

When I first got the job at Temple, someone from College Sports TV asked me, “Why is it that so few African-Americans get opportunities to be head coaches in college football and yet in college basketball there are many opportunities for African-Americans?” Two names came to my mind - John Thompson and John Chaney. Why? Because they have seen opportunity, taken advantage of it, and championed that cause. I do not think anyone in college football has done that in the way these two men have done it in college basketball.

No one can get where they are by themselves. We all need help somehow, someway. If you look back on the career of John Chaney, there are probably hundreds and hundreds of stories of how he has helped other people and you are never going to hear about them. BUT, you know it has been done, and you know he has been instrumental in helping people get opportunity.

In his own right, Ray Moyer has been a champion in the field of medicine, and the treatment of student-athletes as John Chaney has been of coaching and guiding young men. For me, Doc Moyer is the most even guy, the most consistent guy I have ever met. He is a man that when he speaks, you listen. You have a great confidence in how he handles patients. The team of Ray and Page Moyer are Hall of Famers every time they are around student-athletes.

Join me Saturday Night at the Liacouras Center in welcoming these fine men into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame.

Go Owls

League games have arrived for all the city schools except Penn. The vibe, tempo and preparation are all different. The scouting reports are more concise because everyone is more familiar with styles and individual players.

The A-10 will go through Xavier but the list of contenders is longer than at any time in my 24 years in the league.

My players have had the opportunity to get rested but now back to the real world with the second semester starting on Hawk Hill. Classes, tutors and study hall all have to be factored into our game preparation and away travel. We are fortunate that most of the professors recognize the sacrifices that the players made to represent SJU. The key, as in most cases, is communication. We beg our players to “yell” for help. I’m very proud of the strong working relationship that has developed with the faculty.

On your favorite team, keep an eye on the seniors. The clock is ticking for them. Some sprint to the finish line while others tiptoe because they may not be confident about the future.

Hope you get a chance to see the Hawks at The Palestra - the best building in college basketball.