Give me your A-10 predictions

OK, Charlotte 49ers, here's your chance to offer your expertise on 49er and Atlantic 10 basketball.

Again this season I have been selected to participate in the voting for preseason all-conference for A-10 men's basketball as well to predict an order of finish for the league. The deadline for submissions is Sept. 6.

So, while I mull over my selections during the next week, I'd like to see some of yours. Give me your five top players in the A-10 this season as well as your predicted order of finish for the league.

The results of the official voting will be announced on Oct. 25 at Basketball Media Day in Atlantic City, N.J., which I will be attending. On that day, along with the preseason all-conference selections and order of finish, I will share my votes with you.

Until then, fire away with your selections. Just post 'em in the comments section below.

Women's soccer team picked to finish 2nd in A-10

Released by Charlotte's Sports Information office today:

The Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer team, which captured the 2006 Atlantic 10 regular season title, has been picked to finish second in the preseason A-10 poll which was voted on by league’s 14 head coaches.

Saint Louis, the defending A-10 tournament champions, were picked first. Charlotte, Dayton, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Fordham round out the top six teams in the preseason poll. The 49ers are hosting the six-team Atlantic 10 Tournament at Transamerica Field, Nov. 8-11.

Last season, the 49ers won 13 games including a school-record tying eight Atlantic 10 wins. The 49ers posted an unbeaten 7-0-2 record at Transamerica Field in 2006. The 49ers finished the 2006 regular season with six straight conference wins.

Charlotte welcomes back nine starters and 16 letterwinners from last season led by seniors Brittany Dorsch, Sara Jane Harris, Nikki Labuda, Rachel Mees, Lindsey Ozimek and Ashley Rex. Labuda, a preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection, led the 49ers with nine goals last season. Mees finished second on the team in goals with six and led the team in assists with seven. Ozimek, a preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection, enters the season tied for first in the program’s history with 30 career assists.

Dorsch, Harris, Labuda, Mees, Ozimek, Rex and the rest of the 49ers team open the 2007 season against The Citadel at Transamerica Field, Friday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m.

Preseason Atlantic 10 Coaches Poll
1. Saint Louis
2. Charlotte
3. Dayton
4. Rhode Island
5. Massachusetts
6. Fordham
7. La Salle
8. Xavier
9. Richmond
10. George Washington
11. Saint Joseph’s
12. Duquesne
13. Temple
14. St. Bonaventure

Niners notables

Taking a minute out of vacation this week to pass on some interesting information on some well-known Charlotte 49ers:

First, 49ers associate head men's basketball coach Rob Moxley is ranked 10th in listing of the top 16 "friends of junior colleges" in the August 2007 edition of Basketball Times.

Moxley's recruiting success in the junior college ranks have paid big dividends, including the addition of highly touted players Charlie Coley and Lamont Mack, who join the 49ers this fall.

During his nine years at Charlotte, Moxley has helped recruit several players who have had successful careers with the 49ers, including E.J. Drayton, KenKay Jones, Curtis Nash and Marcus Bennett, among others.

Second, Trevor Murphy and Ray Sheedy, who both played for the 49ers golf team that finished third this season in the NCAA championship, have both qualified for the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

The 315-player field will play qualifying rounds next Monday and Tuesday to cut the field to 64. Those players will then enter a match play format to determine the champion. NBC will broadcast coverage of the semifinal and championship matches Aug. 25-26.

Murphy is a rising senior, while Sheedy graduated in May.

Pictures from Charlotte vs. Japan women

Right: Japan's Mutya Mori (15) and Kiyomi Kaneko (7) go for the block against USA's Erin Floyd, center, during their qualifying match at the 24th World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007.























Left: Japan's Maiko Sekine, (6), shoots against USA's Sabrina Nicole Gregory,(6), and Danielle Michelle Burgin, (8), during their qualfying match at the 24th World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

































Left: Japan's Mai Ishikawa, bottom, battles USA's Danielle Michelle Burgin, for the rebound during their qualifying match at the 24th World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007

Right: Japan's Mai Yoshida, left, and Mai Ishikawa, right, battle USA's Wendy Stywalt, center, for the rebound during their qualifying match at the 24th World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday

Q&A with Shamarr Bowden

Shamarr Bowden is looking to make an immediate impact and that goal is what largely determined his choice to commit to the Charlotte 49ers.

Bowden, a rising senior at The Miller Academy in Charlottesville, Va., on Wednesday announced his intentions to sign a letter of intent during the November signing period to play for Charlotte in 2008-09. Bowden averaged 20.7 points per game last season and is ranked a three-star recruit by Rivals.com.

I caught up with Bowden early Wednesday evening. Here's a quick Q&A with him.

Q: Can you talk about what led you to decide not to attend Virginia Tech?
Bowden: I had planned for some time to go to Tech, to join the team for the 2008 season. But in the last year it became clear they were going to be heavy with guards on the team. I was going to have to compete with four or five other guys for playing time. I don't mind that, but I would not likely have seen a lot of playing time the first couple of seasons. I decided it was probably best to open my choices back up.

Q: What other schools were you receiving interest from?
Bowden: I heard from many schools including UNC Wilmington, Winthrop, Elon -- those are the ones around here. I also spoke with Richmond, Vandy and a few others.

Q: What were your impressions of the coaching staff at Charlotte?
Bowden: I really like coach Lutz. He doesn't hold guys back. If they can play and make the shot, he lets them go. His teams go after it real hard. I really liked the way the staff kept in contact with me, showed me they really cared about me. I love the campus and love the big arena.

Q: How did attending the Miller Academy help you?
Bowden: I think it really turned my game around. I have really improved in my dribbling and my overall athletic ability. Going there was important for me. I was isolated away from all the distractions. It really prepares you for college. The teachers work with you whenever you need it and it also prepares you for life. We take part in community service projects around the area.

49ers travel partners scheduled

The Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team will see another change in their schedule this season.

The Atlantic 10 Conference has finally completed its rearrangement of each of the 14 member schools' "travel partners" for next season. Each school in the A-10 plays three schools in home-and-away games then plays each of the other 10 schools once for a total of 16 conference games.

For the first two years in the league, Charlotte's travel partners were George Washington, Richmond and Dayton. Beginning next season, two of those three will change. Richmond will remain the same, but Fordham and Temple will replace GW and Dayton.

The 49ers also have released their home and away conferences game opponents but not the dates. Next season, Charlotte will play the following A-10 teams at home: Richmond, Temple, Fordham, Duquesne, George Washington, St. Joseph's, Saint Louis and Xavier.

The 49ers will play the following A-10 teams on the road: Richmond, Temple, Fordham, Dayton, LaSalle, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure.

Charlotte's nonconference schedule is already complete and listed below for reference:

November
9 High Point
12 Appalachian State
16-19 at Paradise Jam Tournament
vs. Georgia Tech
vs. Winthrop/Ill. Chicago
vs. Notre Dame; Baylor; Monmouth; Wichita State
29 Wake Forest (Bobcats Arena)

December
5 Davidson
8 Southern Illinois
15 at Hofstra
22 Gardner-Webb
30 Fairleigh Dickinson

January
5 Maryland (Bobcats Arena)
9 at Clemson

Niners get the boot

A growing number of Charlotte 49ers men's basketball players are starting to employ protective medical boots as part of their summer wear.

Add sophomore center Phil Jones and sophomore point guard DiJuan Harris to the list of 49ers players who have to spend time with a foot in the soft cast.

Jones, a 6-foot-10 center, has a stress reaction in his right foot. A stress reaction is a sports-related injury usually as a result of overuse which can eventually lead to a fracture.

Harris' right foot is also in a boot. He has a possible stress fracture in the area under his toes. He is scheduled to have a magnetic resonance imaging test on Tuesday. Neither injury is considered serious.

Both were assisting in coach Bobby Lutz's basketball camp Monday at Halton Arena, along with several other current former 49ers players.

Redshirt freshman forward Charles Dewhurst spent most of last season in protective medical boot as a result of a high ankle sprain. He wore it for about a week again this summer, when he slightly sprained the same ankle.