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ATLANTIC 10 MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- VCU
- Dayton
- Saint Joseph’s
- Saint Louis
- Loyola Chicago
- George Mason
- Richmond
- Duquesne
- UMass
- Saint Bonaventure
- Rhode Island
- Davidson
- George Washington
- Fordham
- La Salle
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL A10 1ST TEAM:
-Nate Santos – Dayton
-Des Watson – Loyola Chicago
-Erik Reynolds II – Saint Joseph’s
-Robbie Avila – Saint Louis
-Gibson Jimerson – Saint Louis
-Max Shulga – VCU
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL A10 2ND TEAM:
-Posh Alexander – Dayton
-Darius Maddox – George Mason
-Darren Buchanan Jr. – George Washington
-Xzayvier Brown – Saint Joseph’s
-Joe Bamisile – VCU
-Zeb Jackson – VCU
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL A10 3RD TEAM:
-Reed Bailey – Davidson
-Rahsool Diggins – UMass
-Miles Rubin – Loyola Chicago
-Jaden House – Rhode Island
-Rasheer Fleming – Saint Joseph’s
-Isaiah Swope – Saint Louis
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
I have always been a fan of this league. It has pieces of the Big 5, some fanbases that are very unique with programs like Saint Bonaventure and Davidson, a program in Dayton that has virtual P4 level support and resources, other successful brands like Loyola Chicago, VCU, and George Mason (all of whom have made Final Fours prior to joining the A-10), and it is in a lot of big markets. Having said all that, it feels to me that collectively this league is oftentimes overlooked: why is that?? Well, I also feel that as good as some of the schools have been in recent years, for whatever reason the league just does not collectively rise up to what I think its ceiling could (and should) be. I am not saying that I expect it to be as good as the Big East from top to bottom, but it seems to me that it should be a hell of a lot closer to that than what they typically are. Having said that, this could be a year where we see the A-10 really shine. I think there are four or five teams that appear to be really strong and can make a run at the NCAA Tournament. As for the rest of the league, I do think there is a bit of a drop-off, but I also think a lot of those programs are moving in the right direction.
-VCU was a modest 11-7 in league play last year, but won 24 games overall before losing in the NIT quarters. Coach Ryan Odom has his top-three scorers back and the expectations are high for the Rams this year. Max Shulga appears to be one of the better players in the conference, and if this team could develop some depth they will likely be well inside the bubble come March. We may see this team in the rankings at some point this season.
-Dayton also has three starters back. The Flyers had a great season last year where they made it to the NCAA Round of 32 and expectations are once again high for this year. They are tasked with replacing DaRon Holmes II, but if the other returning players can step up the Flyers will likely be an NCAA Tournament team once again. This should also be one of the better defensive teams in the conference. Ever since Coach Anthony Grant arrived in 2017 they have been very good on the defensive end.
-Saint Joseph’s won 21 games a season ago before losing in the NIT, and the expectations are high for the Hawks this year. Three starters are back including Erik Reynolds II, who averaged over 17ppg last year and is a very good shooter. Xzayvier Brown is another key returner who averaged in double figures and who can light it up from the outside. They were just 9-9 in league play a year ago, and picking them to finish this high may seem like a bit of a stretch, but I agree that Saint Joe’s is going to be a tough team this year.
-Josh Schertz takes over as Head Coach at Saint Louis after a very successful run at Indiana State. Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope are also transferring in from Indiana State, which helps rebuild a Billikens roster that was in desperate need of rebuilding. SLU could turn out to be one of the more improved teams in the country considering the high-caliber transfers they added, the strength of their new coach, and the quality of the two starters that did return.
-Loyola Chicago is yet another team that I think can be in the mix this year and make a run at the NCAA Tournament. The Ramblers were 15-3 in league play last year, which earned them a 1st place tie and a trip to the NIT, and while they did not get the big profile wins they needed early on to land inside the NCAA Tournament bubble, they were really looking good down the stretch. With three starters back, including Des Watson who is an all-conference player and a really good shooter, the ceiling is high this year for the Ramblers.
-George Mason has had back-to-back 20-win seasons and has shown noticeable improvement in recent years, but still has a ways to go before we are ready to declare them an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. Still, a preseason 6th place finish in a league as good as this is a high expectation for second-year coach (and George Mason legend) Tony Skinn. The problem is they are tasked with replacing two of their best players from a year ago, so continuing that upward trajectory we have seen in recent years will not be easy.
-Richmond is a team that I always tend to overvalue and overrate. Having said that, they did finish in a 1st place tie last year!! Also having said that, it was not enough to land them anywhere near the NCAA Tournament bubble so they just went to the NIT. With just one starter back, the Spiders are in rebuilding mode. I am a huge fan of Coach Chris Mooney, and I absolutely love how this team plays. I can watch them run their offense for ten straight hours and never get bored. But, their style of play takes a while for players to master, and when you lose the types of players the Spiders lost from last year’s team, one cannot help but think it just is not going to happen for them this year. Not even I am going to pick this team as a darkhorse, which I know is breaking from tradition.
-So Duquesne…last year they did something that most of us never thought we would ever see a Duquesne team do. They won the A-10 Tournament, and then won a game in the NCAA Tournament before losing in the Round of 32. It was a historically good and highly-exciting year for the Dukes. But, let us not forget that Duquesne was just the 6th place team in the A-10 prior to that run, which is not bad (especially given their history), but it is not as if they were playing like a top-40 team all year long. The problem is three key players are gone, as is Coach Keith Dambrot (who played a huge role in Duquesne’s turnaround). It does appear that they are in a rebuild mode under new Coach Dru Joyce III.
-Frank Martin, who we fondly call “Angry Frank” here at HoopsHD, is undeniably a top-level coach, and I think that he will get UMass’s program to a spot where they are at or near the top of the A-10 and competing for spots in the NCAA Tournament on a consistent basis. They won 20 games a year ago and finished 4th in the league, which was their best season in recent memory. Rahsool Diggins is back, Jaylen Curry was the freshman of the year in the conference last year and should be a key player this year. I get why UMass is picked to finish this low: primarily because it is UMass. But, I also think they are being undervalued and will outperform their preseason expectations and make some noise in the conference this year.
-Coach Mark Schmidt will have five new starters at Saint Bonaventure this year. They won 20 games a year ago, but many key players jumped into the portal and the Bonnies have nine new players this year. It is hard to assess a team that is basically an entirely different team. They do add some interesting looking JUCO players and transfers, so we shall see what they can do.
-Archie Miller has had a rough first two years as coach of Rhode Island. His team failed to land in the top-200 of most metrics in either year, and this year could be yet another long year for the Rams. Sebastian Thomas has transferred back to Rhode Island after being a standout player at Albany a year ago and he should be a key part of their team this year. Jaden House is also a solid player, so they do have some pieces, and perhaps we will see some improvement this year.
-Davidson has four starters back, and that experience should help them. That is the good news. The bad news is that the Wildcats were not good at any point last year, and were particularly awful in the last three weeks of the season. Injuries also played a role in that, so you have to take that into consideration. And, sometimes when a young team stays together they start to get better. I do not think Davidson will be anywhere near the NCAA Tournament this year…but it would not shock me at all if they do better than expected.
-At one point last season George Washington was a very respectable 14-3. They won just one game after that. They lost a key player in Garrett Johnson due to a rather serious illness, and they were just never able to recover (NOTE: they will miss him for the entire season ahead after he tore his ACL last June). They are adding to solid transfers in Gerald Drumgoole Jr. from Delaware and Trey Moss from William & Mary, but I am not expecting them to finish in the top half of the league.
-Two years ago Fordham won an amazing 25 games, appeared to be one of the better teams in the conference, and was one of feel-good stories (at least IMHO) in all of college basketball. Yeah: that was fun! As for this year, things might not look quite as good as they did two years ago, but there are still a few reasons to be optimistic and think they can do better than next to last. Three starters are back, and while they did lose a lot of their backcourt they still have some decent pieces and experience. I do not want to get too carried away. I do not think they will finish in the top half of the league…but Fordham’s program is improving and I think they are still on that trajectory.
-Fran Dunphy is a legendary coach, especially in Philadelphia. But his current La Salle team is…well…not great. But, it is not completely terrible either. They appear to have at least a capable backcourt, and with a couple of D-1 transfers who averaged double figures a year ago coming in the Explorers can do better than the very bottom.