Green: We have to deal with it

The Charlotte 49ers are used to it, getting these blasts of bad news.

The latest came Monday, when Charlotte’s players were told that reserve center Phil Jones was academically ineligible. That was after hearing in November that leading scorer Shamari Spears had been thrown off the team, two players would miss sizeable chunks of the season with injury and freshman guard Luka Voncina was out indefinitely due to eligibility questions with the NCAA.

But after a shaky start, the 49ers (8-8, 0-2 Atlantic 10) have turned into a resilient team that’s not backed down from the significant challenges it continues to be confronted with.

“Coach (Alan Major) has taught us to deal with whatever comes our way,” said guard Derrio Green. “Those kinds of things aren’t in our control, we’ve just had to battle through. Coach Major has a never-quit attitude and it rolls on down to us.”

Charlotte plays its first game at Halton Arena in more than three weeks Saturdayt against Fordham (7 p.m.). The team will have a different look from the one that beat Wright State on Dec. 22.

With Jones gone, forward K.J. Sherrill will get more minutes than the 17.0 he’s been averaging since returning from knee surgery six games ago. Sherrill said he’s still getting into game shape.

Also, guard Charles Dewhurst, who missed the first 15 games with knee and finger injuries, returned last week against St. Bonaventure and provided a spark off the bench.

Around the Atlantic 10

Xavier is ready to make league history. The Musketeers have won 33 straight league games at home, one shy of the league record set by Temple from 1987-91). Xavier, which hasn’t lost at the Cintas Center since 2006, can tie the mark today against Massachusetts ... Xavier’s Tu Holloway and Richmond’s Kevin Richardson were named finalists this week for the Bob Cousy Award, emblematic of the country’s top point guard.

Rhode Island coach Jim Baron can win his 300th career game in the Atlantic 10 today with a victory against St. Bonaventure. Baron also coached the Bonnies from 1993-2001 ... The league’s least-experienced team is Saint Louis, which doesn’t have a senior on its roster, although Saint Joseph’s leads the league with 38 freshman starts ... La Salle’s Ruben Guillandeaux scored 24 points in a victory against Pennsylvania on Wednesday -- 22 in the second half.

RPI update

The Atlantic 10 is eighth in the latest RPI rankings (through Friday). Seven teams are in the top 100 -- from Temple (20th) to St. Bonaventure (99th). Charlotte is 189th, 12th in the 14-team league.