Around the A-10

Not much for Aaric to smile about this year.

LaSalle lost 6'10" C Aaric Murray to the transfer list this spring. Murray was reportedly on his way to join Bob Huggins in West Virginia, but more recent reports reveal that he is still making up his mind between WVU and Oklahoma State. Murray was a big with good range (51-143 from behind the arc at LaSalle), but he was also an effective rebounder and shot blocker. Murray grabbed boards on 19% of opponents' misses and 11% of his teammates' misses while he was on the court, planting him solidly between Big Kenny and Jamel McLean in those categories. He also swatted 7.6% of opponents' two-point shots when he was on the floor, which put him in the top 100 in the nation in that category.

Murray was a big part of LaSalle's team going forward, and losing him and seniors Jerrell Williams and Ruben Guillandeaux will significantly weaken a LaSalle squad that wasn't that strong last season. Both of LaSalle's incoming bigs for the 2011 season are in need of some serious offensive polish before they are in position to contribute on that end of the floor. Rising sophomore PG Tyreek Durden looked good as a freshman, but he's going to have his work cut out for him this coming season.

If you missed UD firing Brian Gregory (who was "stealing money" according to one respected Twitterer) and hiring Archie Miller to replace him, you probably don't care about A-10 basketball. What flies a little further under the radar is the fact that Miller has finally wrapped up putting together his staff. No names jump off the page at you, but people have nice things to say about assistant Kevin Kuwik, who has worked for both Brad Stevens and Thad Matta. The Flyers were also 27th in the nation in attendance last season. This was the front page article on UD's basketball website, demonstrating that the Flyers have more to be proud of in the stands than they do on the court.

Loose Balls:

-Because "Loose Balls" is more fun than "Odds and Ends" or some other such name for the odds and ends.

-The A-10 and ESPN extended their television contract through the 2012-2013 season. The contract includes at 32 guaranteed appearances on ESPN each year for the conference, which represents a decrease from the 56 times A-10 basketball showed up on ESPN last season.

A different, shorter Daniel Herrera.

-Duquesne picked up a pair of signees and a couple of verbals this month. I'm most intrigued by Daniel Herrera, a 6'6" guard who didn't start playing ball until his eighth-grade year. He may end up being a late riser, much the same way X fans are hoping James Farr develops. Steve DiMiceli over at Yuku Dukes has more.

 -Richmond's Coach Chris Mooney chose to ink a 10-year extension rather than chase the dollars out of the Atlantic 10. With (most) Xavier fans hoping to have the same success in holding onto Coach Mack, the Spider Bandwagon's write up on the subject makes for entertaining and pertinent reading.

-Finally, and in other tangentially pertinent news Temple's Ramone Moore has withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft and is returning for his senior season. Obviously, Xavier fans are hoping for a similar announcement from Tu Holloway soon. After having our hearts broken by Derrick Brown and Jordan Crawford the past two years, a little good news from Tu would be welcome indeed.