ESPN.com - NCB - A-10 coaches doing sideline shuffle

Skip Prosser's decision to leave Xavier for Wake Forest doesn't just leave a huge hole for the Musketeers to fill. It means yet another coaching change in the Atlantic 10, the seventh of 12 institutions to see a change at the top since the end of the season. And the second since the A-10 coaches met two weeks ago in Philadelphia.

That's right. Two weeks ago, Prosser and then-George Washington coach Tom Penders were in the room when the coaches talked about the 2001-02 season. Penders resigned last Friday. Prosser left Xavier on Tuesday, leaving two of the best four jobs in the league open as May approaches.

How does this compare to the rest of the country? The Atlantic 10 has seen seven coaching changes, while the rest of the country has had 45 -- so far.

A-10's New Look

Here is a look at the coaching changes that have already taken place in the A-10:
UMass
IN: Steve Lappas
OUT: Bruiser Flint
St. Bonaventure
IN: Jan van Breda Kolff
OUT: Jim Baron
Rhode Island
IN: Jim Baron
OUT: Jerry DeGregorio
Duquesne
IN: Danny Nee
OUT: Darrelle Porter
LaSalle
IN: Billy Hahn
OUT: Speedy Morris
George Washington
OUT: Tom Penders
Xavier
OUT: Skip Prosser

"I don't know if any league has lost 75 percent of its coaches," said St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli, one of only four returning head coaches in the league with Temple's John Chaney, Fordham's Bob Hill and Dayton's Oliver Purnell.

"I told my assistants to throw out all the scouting folders," quipped Martelli. "This will make scouting a lot more interesting because the tapes we have of teams won't be the same style of play. It's a different league than the day we ended. I don't know if it's good or bad. I just think this was the year for our league. If anything, it improves my chances of winning the media day foul shooting contest for coaches."

But, so far, the changes haven't brought in an inexperienced lot. Former Villanova coach Steve Lappas replaced Bruiser Flint at UMass. Former Pepperdine coach Jan van Breda Kolff replaced Jim Baron at St. Bonaventure. Baron stayed in the league and replaced Jerry DeGregorio at Rhode Island. Former Nebraska and Robert Morris coach Danny Nee replaced Darrelle Porter at Duquesne. And Maryland's top assistant, Billy Hahn, replaced Speedy Morris at LaSalle.

"They've all been in the NCAA and are good coaches," Purnell said. "We're actually more experienced than we were before. But you look for every edge you can get, and anytime you lose a coach, you lose a little bit of stability."

The Atlantic 10 is going through a crucial point in its history. The television contract with ESPN is being restructured, no longer including every team in its season package. That means more appearances for schools like Temple, Xavier, Dayton and UMass and less for Duquesne, St. Bonaventure and Fordham.

The A-10 got plenty of good vibes during the NCAA Tournament by having three teams invited, including Elite Eight sentimental favorite Temple and everybody's Big Dance darling in St. Joe's after Marvin O'Connor's 37-point game in a second-round loss to Stanford.

The conference was on a roll, to say the least. That's why the hires at Xavier and George Washington will be critical, not only for those schools to keep up with the rest of the league, but also as the conference as a whole tries to stay with the Big East.

"It's a lot of coaches to lose at once after being stable for a few years with no changes," A-10 commissioner Linda Bruno said. "It's an important juncture in our league because this league staked its reputation on men's basketball. These hires are important to us and the hires that have been made so far show how attractive these jobs are.

"We still have everything in place to have a good year, we were a very young league last year and we didn't lose a lot on our teams."

But having such a huge turnover can't be good for the league initially. Adjustments will have to be made on travel, scouting, recruiting and, most importantly, with the present players. It's rare for a coach to come in and have everything go as planned the first year as it did for Bill Self at Illinois.

"They've still got to figure out how to get to Olean, N.Y. or Kingston, Rhode Island," Martelli said. "The league has to hit the ground running. We have to keep the same schedule philosophy of being the No. 1 non-conference scheduling conference. We have to stay highly competitive outside of the league.

"There was also a tremendous sense of trust in this league," Martelli said about recruiting. "No one looked over their shoulder in this league. Everyone recruited in a positive fashion. There was no negative recruiting. Everybody works hard, recruited and coached their team to be the very best."

Richmond's John Beilein might be the one new A-10 coach who is catching a break. Richmond is joining the league after competing in the Colonial Athletic Association. Beilein, who was a runner-up to Prosser for the Wake Forest job, is coming into the league at a time when he won't be the only new face trying to adjust to a new league.

"If we were the only staff that had to deal with a new league than that would be a tougher situation," Beilein said. "It's hard to believe that 75 percent of the league would have new coaches and maybe some new players. It's sort of a microcosm of the nature of college basketball today. If there is a year for us to change leagues, this is a good year to do it.

"It's never easy, but it'll be very interesting trying to figure out all the new systems and philosophies."

GW's coaching search started over the weekend. Xavier's started Tuesday night.

"Hopefully we'll have 12 coaches in November," Bruno said, "and be ready to roll."

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.

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