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.

Atlantic 10 This Week

SCHEDULE
La SALLE
Wednesday: vs. Penn, 7
Saturday: at Massachusetts, 4
SAINT JOSEPH’S
Wednesday: vs. Duquesne, 7 (Palestra)
Saturday: vs. Penn, 7 (Palestra) (CN8)
TEMPLE
Thursday: vs. Saint Louis, 8
Saturday: vs. Charlotte, 6

GAME OF THE WEEK: Xavier at St. Bonaventure, Wednesday, 7. Long the doormat of the conference, the Bonnies are off to a great start this season. Nothing would boost the program’s morale more than a win over the conference big boy.

PLAYER TO WATCH: You don’t have to look very far for Temple’s Dionte Christmas. All he did this past week was torch La Salle for 30 and average 27 in three games. He garnered the conference’s player of the week honor yesterday for the 10th time in his career. Only David West (14) and Jameer Nelson (13) have collected more. His game, though, isn’t only about scoring. He might be the best all-around player in the city and the conference. The Owls are home twice this week. If you get a chance, go out and see him. It will be well worth the price of admission.

BY THE NUMBERS: Things are going pretty badly for George Washington. Wednesday signified just how much coach Karl Hobbs’ team is struggling. The Colonials shot 30-for-47 (63.8 percent) from the floor, including 8-for-10 from beyond the arc. Yet, they still lost, 88-83, at Duquesne. How? Well, GW gave up 54 second-half points and lost a 10-point lead in the final 7 minutes, 8 seconds. George Washington has now lost seven in a row.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW: Dayton is 6-0 this season in games that have been decided by five or fewer points. They have won 13 games in a row at home, dating back to last season. Also, the Flyers are 35-4 under coach Brian Gregory when they score at least 75 points.

ETC: When Rhode Island junior guard Keith Cothran scores 15 or more points, the team is 14-0 ... In each of its 17 games this season, Duquesne has attempted at least 20 threes  ... St. Bonaventure is 7-0 in away games this season, for the first time in the program’s history. It is its highest road win total since the 2001-02 season ...The Bonnies’ Andrew Nicholson leads all freshmen in the nation in blocks (54) and field-goal percentage (.628).

Big East This Week

VILLANOVA SCHEDULE
Wednesday: at Connecticut, 7 (ESPN)
Saturday: at South Florida, noon (WPHL)

GAMES OF THE WEEK: As usual, it’s a plural. Tonight, you have Syracuse at previously No. 1 Pitt, which, of course, is coming off its first loss (at Louisville on Saturday). On Saturday, Connecticut is at Notre Dame, where the Fighting Irish haven’t lost in quite some time. And on Sunday, Louisville goes to Syracuse. Louisville and Marquette are the only remaining unbeatens in conference play.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Connecticut’s latest guard from New York City (following Taliek Brown and Ben Gordon, who played for the 2004 national champions), freshman Kemba Walker, had 21 points in Thursday’s 12-point win over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. He shot 8-for-12, to go with five rebounds and four assists. He’d played there three times for Rice High School in the Bronx.

BY THE NUMBERS: There are only two teams that have losing records (8-10 DePaul and 6-11 South Florida). Meanwhile, two (Pitt and UConn) have one loss. And two have two (Marquette, Syracuse). Two others have three (Villanova, Louisville), and still two more have four (Georgetown, West Virginia).

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW: Staten Island native Kyle McAlaney lists former Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara as one of his idols. The Notre Dame senior will play for the first and only time at the Carrier Dome tonight. He was serving a suspension in the spring of 2007 when the Irish scored 103 there, a record for a visiting team.

ETC.: Saturday at Providence, Jonathan Xavier, the brother of Friar guard Jeff, climbed over the PU bench and made his way to the middle of the lane to confront a Marquette player he believed had injured Jeff on a prior play. As a Marquette player was shooting free throws. He was escorted off the court by security without incident and charged with disorderly conduct.

Our team has played much better the last week or so. We rebounded well from the loss to VCU and picked up a pair of conference wins. Last weekend we went down to Georgia and defeated Georgia State on their home court. It was a good win for us in many ways. It proved to our guys that we are capable of winning tough, physical games on the road. We also won the game without Scott Rodgers, our leading scorer, who had a death in his family. It was a great team effort and although we were shorthanded, every player stepped up.

We returned home for the first time since Dec. 18 and had our best overall game of the year against Hofstra. It was our best effort from beginning to end. We really executed offensively and continued playing well defensively. We got a key contribution from Kenny Tribbett early, which got us off to a good start. Leon played well off the bench and Scott played one of his best games since arriving on campus. It’s always good to get sweeps in the league and Hofstra has always been a tough opponent, and we have played some tough games with them over the years.

Then we headed down to UNCW, one of the toughest places for us to play since we joined the CAA, and won behind a career-high 21 points by Leon Spencer.

We hope that our momentum continues and we continue to improve.

It could have been a great win. The kind that keeps on giving, right up until Selection Sunday. Not that Villanova deserved to win Saturday's game against Louisville at the Wachovia Center. The Wildcats got outplayed for most of the first 35 minutes or so. Still, at the end, it was their game to lose. And, unfortunately, they did. Because of too many missed free throws down the stretch, from a team that usually converts at a big-time percentage, and two missed shots from within a few feet of the basket just before the final horn. It happens.

As coach Jay Wright was quick to point out afterward, when his team went 14-2 in the Big East in 2005-06, it won more than a few that could have gone either way. So maybe, he reasoned, it all evens out at some point. And he's probably right. Doesn't make it sting any less, even though it's relatively early. The bad news is, the Cats have lost both games against teams that maybe they weren't supposed to beat. But they could have won each. They were only down a point at Marquette on New Year's Day, with six minutes left. So they're not far from being a really good 3-0. Instead, their lone win was at Seton Hall, in overtime. Again, it's way early. The good news is, they will get many more chances in the next two months to come up with a signature win or two. But you don't want to miss out on too many of those opportunities when they're right there for the taking.

Last year, they squeezed into the NCAA tournament with a 20-12 record, 9-9 in the conference. That included a win over Syracuse in the 8-9 game in the Big East tourney, which was pretty much an elimination game. And even then, they probably needed some help that final weekend, and got it. Who knows what this season holds. The Big East may even get nine teams in this time. At least. You just have to wait and see how this stuff all sorts itself out across the country. But this much is clear: the Cats might have little margin for error. Even if, as West Virginia coach Bobby Huggins declared on Big East media day, that the ninth-best team in that conference could probably finish second in many other conferences.

The Cats can't afford to lose any games that they really shouldn't lose, which is often easier said than done. They host St. John's this Sunday, which seems like one of those must-haves. The Johnnies did beat Notre Dame, but that was in New York. The Cats are also at South Florida on the 24th, which can be a tougher trip than it seems. Ditto at Providence on Feb. 4. The Cats have had problems winning up there, although they got it done last year. They also get Providence at home, as well as Cincinnati and Rutgers. And they go to DePaul. If they can win all of those, that gets them to eight Big East wins. At worst, it should be seven. If it's only six, that's not good.

The Cats also get Pitt, Syracuse and Georgetown in South Philly. And Marquette at the Pavilion. Can they win two of those? More? Less? If nothing else, it should be interesting. There are also road trips to Syracuse, Connecticut, West Virginia and Notre Dame, none of which figure to be easy. If you look at it objectively, the Cats should still be able to get to nine or maybe even 10 wins, which in this league is pretty good. That might not be enough to get them into the sub-regional here, but first steps first. They could always add another win or two in the Big East tourney. In other words, as much as the Louisville game hurts in the long-term picture, there are still a lot of chances to make up for that. It's just a matter of doing it.

Right now, it's hard to figure out what Wright's going to get out of his team from game to game. But the Cats do seem to have a lot of grit, which can carry you so far. Dante Cunningham has obviously elevated his game considerably. But opponents aren't stupid. They realize that Scottie Reynolds makes a lot of things go, and are going to do everything they can to try and neutralize him. That's what Louisville did. Make somebody else from the perimter beat you. Antonio Pena has been hot and cold. The Cats really need him to complement Cunningham inside. He played well against Louisville, but just didn't make his free throws when it counted. Sophomore guards Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes have also been up and down. There needs to be more consistency, across the board, because you can't always depend on Scottie to drop 30 or 40 on somebody, even though's certainly capable. It's apparent that Dwayne Anderson is still not quite 100 percent, coming off that stress reaction in his foot. But he tries, and he plays defense. Ditto Reggie Redding, although he's often an offensive liability. Same with Shane Clark. And those are upperclassmen. They don't have to be stars, but they need to contribute more than they have been. Maybe not even a lot more. But just enough to make a difference. The team has to be better than the sum of its parts.

I think the Cats will probably win one or two that maybe they shouldn't, and have one or two go the other way. And in the end, they'll probably be about what we expected them to be. A really good team, not a great one, that will get into the 65-team field and perhaps win a game or two, depending on the matchups. It remains a work in progress. Just hope that come March, the Louisville loss doesn't wind up costing them too much. That would be a shame, because it would have been a keeper. You have to hold serve at home at least a little. Anything you get on the road is a bonus, especially in this league. Stay tuned. The ride is just getting revved up. And there's obviously a long ways left to go. It doesn't figure to be boring.