狐狸视频

Assistant basketball coaches at 狐狸视频 University were assigned to study Atlantic 10 teams during the summer as a preliminary dip into what the Billikens can expect to see when the conference season rolls around.

Their initial reports to coach Josh Schertz created a baseline for preparation.

鈥淲e went through their common actions and some things we鈥檙e going to see,鈥� Schertz said. 鈥淲hat we did is incorporate those actions into a lot of our defensive warmup stuff. We鈥檙e learning to guard things we鈥檒l see later in January whether it鈥檚 Davidson in transition or Richmond with its Princeton stuff.鈥�

The staff developed an 鈥渁ctions list鈥� for each team as well as it could based on watching games from last season.

Of course, much of the personnel will be different a year later, and that is especially true for SLU, which was picked to finish fourth in the A-10 in a preseason poll released Monday in conjunction with media day in Washington, D.C.

Gibson Jimerson and Robbie Avila were named to the preseason all-conference first team, and Isaiah Swope made the third team. The SLU women coached by Rebecca Tillett were picked seventh, with Peyton Kennedy being voted onto the second team and Kennedy Calhoun the all-defensive team.

Schertz said he鈥檒l worry about diving into video of A-10 teams later. But he has started to get a feel for things through his assistants, especially as they might compare to the Missouri Valley Conference, where he coached the past three seasons.

鈥淚 think the size and physicality are a level above what it is in the Missouri Valley,鈥� Schertz said. 鈥淚 think the top is pretty similar, but when you get outside the top three or four teams, the depth in the A-10 is significantly better. Conceptually, each team has its own nuances, and that鈥檚 pretty normal. The biggest adjustment will be size, physicality and the level of competition on a night-in, night-out basis.鈥�

As expected, the four teams SLU will face twice in conference play were picked among the top five. VCU was voted first, followed by Dayton and St. Joseph鈥檚, with Loyola-Chicago coming in fifth.

That bodes well for SLU鈥檚 strength of schedule in combination with a nonconference schedule that is heavy on well-regarded mid-majors.

As for being picked fourth, Schertz didn鈥檛 seem to care one way or the other.

鈥淚 was fine wherever we were picked,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was more upset about Rebecca being picked seventh.鈥�

Schertz admitted he relied heavily on assistant coach Zak Boisvert when he voted because Boisvert spent the past two seasons at George Washington.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have as good a feel for what it should be,鈥� Schertz said. 鈥淶ak has a better idea. I鈥檝e seen stuff where we鈥檙e picked first and in the top 25 in the country. I鈥檝e seen us six, seven or eight (in the A-10). It鈥檚 all over the place. That鈥檚 natural for a team with so many unproven parts.鈥�

Schertz said he鈥檚 familiar with several coaches in the A-10, most notably Loyola-Chicago鈥檚 Drew Valentine, whom he faced in the MVC. He has known Frank Martin of Massachusetts since Martin鈥檚 days as a high school coach. He coached against VCU鈥檚 Ryan Odom at the Division II level.

Whether those relationships provide insight into the teams SLU will face remains to be seen. The Billikens have 13 nonconference games to worry about before opening A-10 play at Fordham on New Year鈥檚 Eve.

鈥淲hat we鈥檝e talked to the guys about is that this is external stuff. Where people pick you is what someone thinks will happen,鈥� Schertz said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 fine. We focus internally on possibilities and what can happen if we reach our ceiling.鈥�

The women鈥檚 team is coming off a season in which it finished seventh before going on a roll to win the WNIT championship. And in Tillett鈥檚 first season, the Billikens had a slow start before a late run pushed them to third place and then the A-10 tournament title.

It may have been with those slow starts in mind that voters decided to pick SLU in the middle of the pack.

鈥淲e have big goals. We want to make deep runs in the tournament and also we want to be better earlier,鈥� Tillett said. 鈥淲e have a reputation of figuring it out late down the stretch. We鈥檙e looking for sustained excellence.鈥�