At 5:01 p.m. on Friday night, the SLU basketball team will hit the court at Chaifetz for its first practice of the season, and coach Rick Majerus has two-a-days planned for the next several days after. With no scrimmage this season, SLU’s first exhibition game is Oct. 30.

One of the things Majerus has insisted on since coming to SLU is listing accurate heights for players, rather than the somewhat inflated numbers you see. And it’s interesting to see how much some players shrink when they hit campus.

Justin Jordan, for instance, has lost three inches from his signing day height of 6-foot. He’s listed on SLU’s roster at 5-9. Jon Smith has gone from 6-7 to 6-5, Jeff Reid from 6-5 to 6-4 and Cory Remekun from 6-8 to 6-7.

Bucking that trend is Christian Salecich, who was listed at 6-3 but has picked up an inch and is now 6-4.

Elsewhere in the A-10:

In Dayton, Chris Wright is getting better for a Flyers team expected to be the best in the league. Point guard Rob Lowery has been cleared for non-contact drills after his knee injury.

In Cincinnati, practice begins under new coach Chris Mack.

In Pittsburgh, guard B.J. Monteiro has been reinstated after being arrested but having the charges dropped.

In Amherst, UMass has five freshmen eager to get started (SLU fans scoff; you’ve only got five?) and David Gibbs is ready to take over at point guard.

In Kingstown, Rhode Island is going to have more games than ever on TV.

In Richmond, all of a sudden, there are expectations.