ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
THE HOKIES, who won the Atlantic 10 West Division last season, are picked to finish third in 1996-97.
According to the league's coaches and media, Virginia Tech's second run through the Atlantic 10 Conference in men's basketball won't be nearly as easy as its first.
Tech, which won the West Division title in its inaugural A-10 season, is picked to finish third this time around.
The Hokies, who lost four starters from last season's 23-6 NCAA Tournament squad, were picked behind George Washington and Xavier in the West in the league's preseason media poll released Thursday.
GW, which has 10 players back from last season's 21-8 club, was an overwhelming choice to rule the West. Coach Mike Jarvis' club received 46 of 56 first-place votes.
Xavier, which has virtually everybody back from last season's 13-15 club, received the other 10 first-place votes.
Tech, which received no first-place votes, was followed by Duquesne, Dayton and La Salle.
``It looks pretty wide open to me,'' said Tech coach Bill Foster.
``Xavier has got 'em all back and they were close last year. And GW has two of the hardest guys in the league to guard - the big kid and the little guy,'' Foster said, referring to 7-foot-1 center Alexander Koul and 5-3 guard Shawnta Rogers. ``They've got the two main ingredients - the No.1 guy and the No.5 guy. They've just got to put some guys around 'em.
``Overall, I think the league top to bottom will be better. But there won't be anybody at the top as good'' as Massachusetts last season.
Speaking of UMass, the Minutemen are the preseason favorites in the East Division. UMass, which lost star Marcus Camby and coach John Calipari to the NBA, received 22 first-place votes.
Temple and Rhode Island were tabbed second and third, respectively. Each received 12 first-place votes.
St. Joseph's, St. Bonaventure and Fordham round out the East.
Forward Ace Custis, the Hokies' only returning starter, was an overwhelming selection on the preseason all-conference team.
Custis, a 6-7 senior forward, averaged 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds last season in earning all-league honors.
Koul, Temple's Marc Jackson, Rhode Island's Tyson Wheeler and UMass guards Carmelo Travieso and Edgar Padilla joined Custis on the first team.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: chart - Atlantic 10 Basketball STAFF KEYWORDS: MGRby CNB