PHILADELPHIA, PA (07/17/03)- ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale has named Saint Joseph's guard Jameer Nelson and Xavier swingman Romain Sato to his preseason All-Rolls Royce second-team. The team appears on espn.com. Vitale named Nelson his point guard, saying "Nelson had a great season last year, averaging 19.7 points per game, but he made a wise decision returning to college for his senior season instead of jumping early to the pros." Nelson finished last season fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring and fourth in assists with a 4.73 apg average in earning first-team All-Conference honors for the second straight year. The senior from Chester, Pa. enters the 2003-04 season needing just 38 assists to pass Rap Curry (580, 1990-94) and become the all-time assists leader in Saint Joseph's history. The only player to lead the A-10 in assists in consecutive seasons (2000-01, 2001-02), Nelson currently has 543 assists and his 5.84 assist average is a school record. Nelson, who teams with Delonte West to give the Hawks arguably the best backcourt in the nation, also has a chance to break the school record for career points. He currently has 1,435 points, 550 points behind current record holder Bernard Blunt (1,985; 1990-95). As a junior, Nelson scored 591 points, which ranks as the fifth highest season total in school history. Sato is the shooting guard on Vitale's Rolls Royce squad. "Another Atlantic 10 standout, Sato will have to come up big and improve on his 18.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game now that David West has moved on to the NBA," said Vitale. Sato ranked fifth in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding and sixth in scoring last season as he garnered first-team All-Conference honors. Along with West, Sato led the Musketeers to their second consecutive Atlantic 10 West division title as Xavier posted a 26-6 overall mark and a 15-1 league record - the most Atlantic 10 wins since Massachusetts went 15-1 en route to the 1996 Final Four. Nelson and Sato are joined on the All-Rolls Royce second-team by small forward Luke Jackson of Oregon, power forward Darius Rice of Miami (FL), and center Arthur Johnson of Missouri.