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Jeff Goodman of ESPN posted his Atlantic 10 Conference preview on Thursday. He polled many of the 14 head coaches and offered a consensus of their thoughts on a variety of topics. It's an ESPN Insider article so, while I would like to give you the entire post, I will respect the subscriber rules as an Insider and give you the UMass stuff.
UMass is picked tied for 4th with Richmond. VCU got every first place vote.
His roundup of the coach's thoughts:
On the mystery team: "UMass. Without Chaz Williams and some of their veterans that really bought in, it'll be interesting to see if Derek Kellogg can keep that program where it can compete for one of the top spots in the league. Chaz was so tough, and looked like a great leader. I'm not sure they will be able to find someone who can do what he did."
Now most UMass fans will agree with his assessment about how important Chaz was to the team, but at the same time are anxious to see what the program will be like in the years A.C. - After Chaz. It's nice to see that a number of the coaches feel the same way.