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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL
- VCU
- Davidson
- Dayton
- Rhode Island
- Saint Bonaventure
- Richmond
- Saint Louis
- Duquesne
- George Mason
- La Salle
- UMass
- George Washington
- Saint Joseph’s
- Fordham
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-A-10 1ST TEAM
Kellan Grady – Davidson
Jon Axel Gudmundsson – Davidson
Obi Toppin – Dayton
Cyril Langevine – Rhode Island
Jacob Gilyard – Richmond
Marcus Evans – VCU
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL- A-10 2ND TEAM
Jalen Crutcher – Dayton
Justin Kier – George Mason
Jeff Dowtin – Rhode Island
Grant Golden – Richmond
Kyle Lofton – Saint Bonaventure
Hasahn French – Saint Louis
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-A-10 3RD TEAM
Sincere Carry – Duquesne
Fatts Russell – Rhode Island
Osun Osunniyi – Saint Bonaventure
Jordan Goodwin – Saint Louis
De’Riante Jenkins – VCU
Marcus Santos-Silva – VCU
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Cyril Langevine – Rhode Island
Jacob Gilyard – Richmond
Osun Osunniyi – Saint Bonaventure
Hasahn French – Saint Louis
Marcus Evans – VCU
NOTES FROM DAVID. I’ll just start by saying that I like this league. I’ve got two feelings about it that probably come off as contradictory. I think it deserves more credit and attention than it gets, but I also think it routinely underachieves. It is a basketball-centric conference that doesn’t play football of any kind, and is arguably the second-best basketball centric conference behind the Big East (although the WCC is in the discussion). A good Atlantic Ten, with basketball-centric schools located in fairly big markets, should be good for college basketball as a whole.
VCU is the preseason favorite, and I completely agree with the decision. With four starters back from a team that won 25 total games, lost just two conference regular season games, and safely made the NCAA Tournament, it’s hard to imagine that the Rams won’t be even better this year. All five of their (likely) starters are capable of scoring, and they’ve got even more help from what is a fairly deep bench. This isn’t just the best team in the A-10, it is a likely top-25 caliber team that should land inside the top half of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
Davidson returns five starters from a team that won 24 games a year ago, so it’s easy to see why the media and coaches like them. When it comes to being a team that was solidly inside the bubble, though they really weren’t anywhere close. They should be better this year just based on their experience, and they have a fantastic head coach in Bob McKillop, and they are a very well-balanced and well-coached team that can go deep into their bench. Having said that, one of the things they failed to do last year was consistently play well against good teams. It goes without saying that they’ll have to do that this year if they want to safely make the field.
Dayton may be a dark horse this year. Not just in the conference, but on a national scale. Anthony Grant enters his third year, and while the Flyers haven’t experienced anywhere near the same success under him yet as they did under Archie Miller, the key word there is “YET.” Grant is a great defensive-minded coach, and the Flyers improved from 14 wins two years ago to 21 wins last year. With three starters back, and some guys that saw quality minutes off the bench last year, and two key transfers who are eligible this year, the Flyers may be back in the Dance this March.
Rhody pretty much dominated the league in the latter part of the Dan Hurley era, and although they took a major step back last season, there is reason to be optimistic. There was a stretch in the middle of conference play where Rhody went just 1-7, but they followed that up with six straight wins before losing in the semis of the A-10 Tourney. With all five starters back, and a clear sign of improvement down the stretch, the Rams should be pretty good this year.
Duquesne is another potential dark horse. That’s a strange thing to say, but they won 19 games a year ago, have four starters back, and have a really good coach in Keith Dambrot whose mark on the program is already obvious. They did have a rather disappointing finish where they lost four out of their last five, but it was still a big improvement over what we normally see out of Duquesne, and with so many pieces coming back I think they can have an even bigger year this year.
Had the season started in January last year, Saint Bonaventure would have easily made the tournament. The problem was they won just four games prior to January 9th, and just one of those came against a team with a winning record…BARELY. But, they really got it turned around, did well in the latter part of conference play, and nearly beat Saint Louis in the A-10 Championship game, which would have put them in the Big Dance. With three starters back from last year, a talented freshman class from a year ago that now has a year’s experience, and some pretty talented newcomers this year, the Bonnies have a lot of reasons to be excited.
I probably shouldn’t talk about Richmond. Every year I say that I think they’re going to be good. Every year, I’m seemingly wrong. I think Chris Mooney is a good coach (and there are times I ask myself why I think that, but I do), and they have all five starters back from a year ago, but….I say I like this team as a dark horse every year, and every year they let me down. But, they’ve got ALL FIVE STARTERS BACK!! The experience should make them a better team! Maybe this is the year!
Saint Louis won the auto-bid last year, but in all likelihood would not have gotten a bid to the Big Dance had they not won the conference tournament, so as a whole the season was a little disappointing. Only two starters are back, and although they should have a very strong frontcourt, I don’t see them really challenging for the top of the standings this year.
Expectations were high for George Mason a year ago, but they ended up having a rather bland season. It’s hard for me to get all that excited about them this year even with three starters returning.
UMass actually has a couple of impressive looking freshmen who are joining the roster, and they do return three starters, so they should be a little better this year, but not so much better that I expect them to be relevant. This program should be better than what it is. We have seen it succeed at a high level before, and I can’t help but feel they should be consistently better than what they are. But…they’re not.
I think La Salle has a pretty good shot at finishing 4th this year!! 4th In the Big Five. They won just ten games a year ago, and although they should be a little better this year, I don’t see them getting into the top half of the conference standings.
The Jamion Christian era is underway at George Washington!! It could be a very long first year for him.
The Billy Lange era is underway at Saint Joe’s!! It could be a long first year for him.
Last, and least, I end with a Fordham rant. How is this program so awful?? For the better part of the last 25 years, Fordham has performed at a level to where if they played in the Patriot League or the NEC, they’d consistently finish in the bottom half. In the NYC/NJ area, the teams that routinely outperform them, BY A LOT, include Rutgers, Seton Hall, Saint John’s, Iona, Manhattan, Wagner, Long Island, and Saint Francis Brooklyn. Hell, even Columbia looks like a top-200 team every now and then. Fordham seemingly never does. How in the hell can a university with the kind of reputation that Fordham has, and the kind of loyal, successful, and centrally located alumni that they produce, be located in the middle of New York City and ALWAYS be THAT BAD!!?? More often than not they are WAAAY outside the top-200. You’d think that just on accident they’d be able to put together a decent team every now and then!! Okay, rant over.