There was a time not all that long ago that reaching the NCAA Tournament was an expected part of playing basketball at Charlotte. Under former head coach Bobby Lutz, the 49ers reached the Big Dance six times in an eight year stretch from 1998-2005. Since that time, however, the program has fallen on hard times, bottoming out last season with a 10-20 record that included just two wins in the Atlantic-10. 

The return of several key players plus a promising freshman class could spell the start of a gradual improvement for the program, not necessarily a sudden massive jump in the conference, but better than a 13th place finish.

Let's meet the 49ers. 

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It wasn't all that long ago Saint Joseph's was the class of the Atlantic-10 and a player on the national scene. From 2000 to 2008 the Hawks topped the 20-win mark five times and made the postseason seven times, including four NCAA Tournament appearances. Since that last tournament appearance though, its been a steady decline in the City of Brotherly Love as SJU has gone 17-15, 11-20 and 11-22 over the last three seasons.

Could this be the year Phil Martelli's squad starts to climb out of the conference cellar? With the veteran coach entering his 17th year with the program and a strong core of talented players returning in 2012, it certainly seems like the Hawks are in a position to leap frog more than a few schools back into the top half of the A-10. SJU brings back enough firepower and does a strong enough job of protecting the basketball that if some defensive improvements can be made, they can certainly improve on their 12th place standing from last year.

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Two years ago Saint Louis was one of the Atlantic-10's elite after winning 23 games and going 11-6 in conference play. After stumbling through the 2010-11 season, the SLUnatics should have plenty to cheer about in 2012 as the Billikens look primed for another run at the top of the A-10 as head coach Rick Majerus enters his fifth year with the program.

A very young SLU squad gained valuable experience last year and will enter the season with easily the lowest amount of roster turnover in the A-10 and among the lowest in the country. Perhaps more important than experience though, the Billikens have balance, the kind that makes it close to impossible to key in on just one player. Will this mean the school's first NCAA Tournament berth in over a decade? It could certainly be in the cards.

Let's meet the Billikens.

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For a program that has produces such players as Tom Gola, Lionel Simmons, Rasual Butler and even Gary Neal, La Salle hasn't been in the business of producing quality teams as of late. The Explorers have just two winning seasons since 1992 and current head coach John Giannini has the second lowest winning percentage of any coach in team history. Still, given the school's rich history of basketball tradition, it's hard to completely rule out success being resurrected at Tom Gola Arena - it just might not be in 2012.

Let's meet the Explorers.

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It's been a series of small steps and little victories for UMass and head coach Derek Kellogg since he took over the program in 2008. That first season saw the Minutemen claim wins over three NCAA Tournament teams, a mark the equaled the following year as well on their way to their first Atlantic-10 Tournament home game since 2003. Most recently, UMass finished with a .500 record overall and an 8th place standing in the conference. The biggest victory of all for Kellogg though surely came in early March when, despite there being talk of his firing after three unspectacular seasons, athletic director John McCutcheon said Kellogg would be back for a fourth year.

The heat doesn't figure to back off in 2012 with the pressure turned up for a winning season at UMass and the Minutemen - already a struggling offensive team to begin with - playing without their top scoring threat from a season ago. Is a .500 mark or better in the Atlantic-10 in the cards this season for Kellogg and Co.? Find out after the jump.

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Under former head coach Brian Gregory Dayton is in the midst of one of, if not the most successful four-year runs in program history. The Flyers have won at least 22 games each season, won an NCAA Tournament game and were NIT champions in 2010. The future - at least the immediate future - looks somewhat murky however.

Gregory is gone, having departed Dayton for a higher profile job at Georgia Tech. The arrival of Archie Miller from Arizona brings with it optimism as the former Wildcats assistant is a good, young coach, but his work is cut out for him. The Flyers have to deal with the departure of a productive senior class, but perhaps more importantly fill the void left by the transfers of other key contributors - moves that are impossible to ever prepare for in advance. 

So what's left? Enough talent to continue a run of 20-win seasons? Enough firepower to remain competitive in the always stingy Atlantic-10? Follow along after the jump to find out.

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It's been an arduous climb back to respectability for St. Bonaventure under 5th-year head coach Mark Schmidt - but it's been a climb nonetheless. Since taking over the Bonnies the former Boston College player has taken the program from 8-22 and dead last in the Atlantic-10 in his first season, to 16-15 mark and an 8th place finish last year. Beyond simply producing the first winning record for the school since 2002, Schmidt was able to achieve that mark with a roster that features very little turnover.

Expectations in western New York may be higher going into the fall of 2011 than they've been in a very long time - and deservedly so. Can the Bonnies challenge for an Atlantic-10 championship? No, the bar unquestionably will not be set that high. But after increasing their conference win total each of the last three seasons and on the heels of their first postseason tournament appearance in years, it's certainly plausible St. Bonaventure could take another step forward in 2012.

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As quietly as it can be done, Rhode Island has put together four straight 20-win seasons, of course it hasn't been all good times in Kingston. The Rams have been somewhat inconsistent in the Atlantic-10, finishing 9th, 2nd, 5th and 6th during that run, though finishing above .500 three out of four years.

Despite four straight postseason tournament berths, URI fans have to feel at least somewhat frustrated by their teams tendency to start fast, but slow considerably in conference play. Consider that since the 2007-08 the Rams have gone 54-18 (.750 winning percentage) in non-conference games, but just 36-28 (.563) against A-10 competition - still solid, but obviously a drop-off in execution.

Long time head coach Jim Baron will have his work cut out for him like never before this season. URI suffers massive losses and will have to rely heavily on a promising freshman class in order to continue its reason run of success and postseason play. It won't be an easy task.

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