OVC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 21, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

OVC MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Tennessee State
  2. SEMO
  3. Morehead State
  4. SIUE (tied 3rd)
  5. UT Martin (tied 3rd)
  6. Lindenwood
  7. Southern Indiana
  8. Eastern Illinois
  9. Western Illinois

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON OVC PLAYERS TO WATCH:

-Markus Blackwell – SO, G – Eastern Illinois
-Jaden Miller, SR, G – Eastern Illinois
-Xavier Spencer – JR, G – Lindenwood
-Kellen Robinson – SO, G – Lindenwood
-Chase Dawson – JR, G – Morehead State
-Vince Dawson – SO, G – Morehead State
-Marqueas Bell – SR, G – SEMO
-Landren Blocker – JR, G – SEMO
-Darrion Baker – SR, F – SIUE
-Jordan Pickett – SR, G – SIUE
-Kaden Brown – SR, G – Southern Indiana
-Ari Gooch – JR, G – Southern Indiana
-Christian Alston – JR, G – Tennessee State
-Aaron Bradshaw – SR, F – Tennessee State
-Davi Remagen – SO, G – UT Martin
-Kaan Onat – FR, G – UT Martin
-Danny Stephens – SO, F – Western Illinois
-Jack Riley – SR, F/C – Western Illinois

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-The OVC is now down to 9 members after Little Rock and Tennessee Tech moved on, but neither team had been all that great in recent years. Both of those schools seemed to have more in the way of resources than most of the rest of the league, and Little Rock in particular was able to amass talent, but neither team was ever able to win that much. So, at least from a perspective of overall conference strength, the league does not seem to be missing them.

-Tennessee State was one of the great Under the Radar stories from last year. The players from the year before opted to stay together, and it paid off as they won the league and ended a long NCAA Tournament absence. They won 23 total games, were the 1st-place finishers, and then went on to blow through the conference tournament. Coach Nolan Smith really did a great job. Now they have to replace all those starters, though. Aaron Bradshaw comes in from Memphis, who put up respectable numbers for the Tigers. Arterio Morris was a solid player for Bethune-Cookman and Ty-Laur Johnson comes in from San Diego, so they do have some guys with solid D-1 experience. It is hard to say if they will be as good as they were a year ago because whenever a team’s roster overturns like this, you just never know for sure.

-SEMO bounced back last year from a dreadful year the season before, went 14-6 in the conference, and finished the year winning 11 of 13 before getting knocked out in the OVC semifinals. Expectations are high for them once again. Marqueas Bell is definitely a player to watch.

-Last year Morehead State had an abysmal OOC campaign where they won just 1 D-1 game (and barely won it) against an awful UL Monroe team. Expectations were not high when they began conference play, but they clicked at the right time, ended up tying Tennessee State for the first-place spot, and then advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament. A couple of key starters are back and they are joined by a lot of transfers who put up big numbers at non-D-1 schools. It will be interesting to see if those transfers can step up and compete in the OVC.

-SIUE finished last season on a bit of a high note, winning six of their final nine before losing in the conference tournament. Coach Brian Barone has done a really good job building this program up and they appear to have another solid squad this year. Two starters are back including Darrion Baker, who is a fantastic outside shooter. They also add David Wilson, who was a standout player in JUCO last year.

-UT Martin has always relied heavily on international players and is usually a fun team to watch because of their style. Just one starter is back from last year’s 22-win season and they are once again stocked with guys who were productive overseas. It is always hard to forecast this team. The voters have them in the middle: I guess that is a safe place to project them.

-Lindenwood lost all five starters and will have a completely new look this year. Xavier Spencer comes over from UMass Lowell, but other than him they appear to have a lot of question marks. They seem to be yet another team that is caught in that cycle where it is hard to develop players and then retain them.

-Southern Indiana has just not gotten it going since transferring up from D-2, which is a little surprising considering how successful they were at the D-2 level. I thought they would be a dark horse last year…but they finished in next-to-last place. The expectations for this year are not all that much better. Kaden Brown is the lone returning starter and he is a player to watch, but other than him there is not a whole lot of proven D-1 experience on the roster.

-Eastern Illinois finished just 8th last year, but there were stretches of the season where they showed a little bit of promise. Unfortunately none of the starters are back from last year and they do not appear to have much D-1 experience at all.

-Western Illinois has not been successful since joining the OVC, at least not to the level that I thought they would, and this year they are picked to finish last…again. They won just 1 OVC game a year ago and have looked to players that were standouts at the JUCO level to try and jumpstart their program this year.

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Missouri Valley Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 21, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

MISSOURI VALLEY MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Murray State
  2. Illinois State
  3. UIC
  4. Belmont
  5. Valparaiso
  6. Bradley

UNRANKED: Drake, Evansville, Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Murray State has not experienced the success they had in the OVC since moving over to the Missouri Valley. This went from a program that was oftentimes inside the bubble and occasionally in the rankings to not landing anywhere close to the NCAA Tournament. Could that be changing this year? They are the preseason favorites to win the league despite losing four starters from last year’s 20-win team. Roman Domon returns after having a very solid year as a freshman who was both a solid scorer and rebounder a year ago. Christian Jones was a double-digit scorer for George Washington last year and was a solid portal pickup. I do think Murray has some solid players on their roster, and I am impressed with what Coach Ryan Miller did in his debut season last year…but I am a little surprised they are the preseason favorites.

-I like this Illinois State team. They won 22 games a year ago, finished 3rd in the standings, and had a nice run in the NIT last year. Three starters are back, including Chase Walker (who was a solid scorer/rebounder as a PF) and Johnny Kinziger (who averaged over 11ppg and was a dependable outside shooter). They appear to have some solid guys transferring in as well, so they have a shot at finishing on top.

-UIC is the team I like. The job that Coach Rob Ehsan has done since taking over has been phenomenal. Last year was their best season in a while, they were playing really well down the stretch and made it to the conference tournament championship game, and all five starters are back. Ahmad Henderson is a player to watch and Andy Johnson is a solid outside shooter. Benny Gealer was a double-digit scorer for Stanford last year, as well as a very good outside shooter, and he joins the Flames’ roster this year. This is my pick to win the league. They had a good end to the season last year, everyone is back, and they even added a few pieces.

-Belmont has managed a 20+ win season in every season but one since 2005-2006, which is nothing short of remarkable. They won 26 games last year, which was clearly their best year since joining the MVC, and they have two starters back from that team. Having said that, they may struggle this year. They do not appear to have any prolific scorers and this is a team that is typically really good offensively. You do not want to pick against a program that has been as successful as they have for as long as they have, but it may be a long year for the Bruins.

-I am quite excited about this Valparaiso team. Like UIC, they have not been good for a while, but also like UIC, they have been getting better and have some really good players on their roster this year. JT Pettigrew and Rakim Chaney both return after averaging double-figures a season ago and they have some promising looking transfers. I do not think they will end up contending for 1st place, but this is a program that is going in the right direction under Coach Roger Powell.

-Bradley has managed 20+ wins for each of the last four seasons, which is a nice little run, but they have not made it to any NCAA Tournaments in that time. This year may be a building year for them seeing as how only one starter is back. Trevon Payton and Xander Alarie were both solid portal pickups as both managed double-figures a year ago, so Bradley does have some guys who can step up.

I’m not sure why they only ranked the top-six, but…whatever…

-Drake was just 14-20 last year. They would have had a great year had their coaching staff and nearly every player in their rotation from 2024-2025 stuck around and not gone to Iowa. Drake basically watched their team make it all the way to the Elite Eight last year wearing Iowa’s uniforms. Three starters are back, and Jon Carroll joins the roster after having a solid year at Morehead State, so the Bulldogs should improve some.

-Evansville was pitiful last year and it is hard for me to think they will be much better this year. They won just 7 total games and were 3-15 in MVC play. They will be relying on some non-D-1 transfers to make contributions this year.

-Indiana State had a miserable season last year and then lost their entire starting lineup…which may not be a bad thing since it is a chance for them to start over. Karmani Gregory is a player to watch. He put up big numbers for USC Upstate last year. They have some other solid transfers from non-D-1 and I think the Trees will be better this year than they were a year ago.

-Northern Iowa: they are always the team I’m big on! They are always my dark horse! And last year, they won the conference tournament! But this year…no one is back. Kyle Green takes over as coach, and I admittedly know nothing about him. They did pick up a couple of solid players in the portal, particularly Greyson Uelmen (who had a big year for North Dakota last year), but there are just too many question marks surrounding this team.

-It has been a long time since Southern Illinois made any real noise and chances are we will not be hearing much from the Salukis this year either. Scott Nagy is a solid coach (607 wins puts him #17 among active D-1 coaches), but he has been tasked with rebuilding the roster. He did pick up some guys who put up big numbers at non-D-1 schools last year, so if they can adjust and compete at this level then we may see the Salukis have some success.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Pitt coach Jeff Capel

Posted on October 20, 2026 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

We are less than 12 days away from the tip-off of the new college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Pitt coach Jeff Capel, who talked about winning games in March/April and his expectations for this season.

As a senior at South View High School you made a last second lay-up to clinch a 1-PT win over South Mecklenburg in the 1993 state championship game: what did it mean to you to win a title? It was awesome! It was my final high school game after 3 great years: at that time, we did not start high school until 10th grade. To finally win it with that group and get the 1st title for Coach Ron Miller and accomplish our goal was an awesome feeling.

In the 1994 NCAA tourney as a freshman at Duke, you made it all the way to the title game and scored 14 PTS in a 4-PT loss to Arkansas: what is the key to winning games in March/April? You must be playing your best when you get to that moment and everything must be about the team. If you are lucky enough to make it that far then it means you are championship-caliber…but so are your opponents. You have done something to earn the right to be there, but sometimes a little luck is involved if there is a game where you are not at your best. In 2015 we won the title game at Duke thanks to a freshman named Grayson Allen who came in against Wisconsin and completely changed the game (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_-vfaw1BwQ).

In February 1995 you made a 40-foot runner in OT against UNC to send it to double-OT, which remains 1 of the most memorable plays in school history (www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7XxZ8EoRbU): how did that shot change your life (if at all)? It did not change my life. That was a very hard season for us as players/coaches, as well as our fanbase. I went from coming within 1 minute of winning a title as a freshman in 1994 to being on 1 of the worst Duke teams in a long time the following year. As someone who grew up in ACC country and dreamed about playing in the ACC, it was cool to have a moment like that.

In 2010 you coached Team USA at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and could you tell at the time that Kyrie Irving was going to become a star? It was great to be selected as head coach in 2010 after being an assistant to Jay Wright at the World University Games in 2005. We had not won a gold medal in a while at that age group, so it was cool that the tournament was here in the US (San Antonio). We had an outstanding staff: 1 of our court coaches was Brad Stevens and 1 of our managers was Koby Altman, which shows the basketball knowledge we had around us. Our starting backcourt was Austin Rivers and Kyrie, which was also pretty darn good! Kyrie was an outstanding talent, but I recall how humble he was. 1 day I was driving the team in a van to a restaurant and I overheard some guys talking in the back about who was going to get drafted #1. The only person who did not say anything was Kyrie, who was just laughing/smiling. When you just concentrate on trying to win/get better, good stuff will usually happen, like it did for Blake Griffin who I coached at Oklahoma before he was drafted 1st overall in 2009.

In 2011 you were hired as an assistant to your former coach Mike Krzyzewski: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? The 2010-11 season for me at Oklahoma was very difficult: it was my 1st-ever losing season after a bogus NCAA investigation that really hurt us, but I think we maxed out the talent that we had on that team. After getting fired I was looking forward to getting into TV, and even interviewed a couple of times at ESPN, but when Coach K called me there was no way I could say no. I became a head coach at age 27 (the youngest D-1 head coach at the time), but I learned so much from working with Coach K as well as his assistants including Chris Collins/Steve Wojciechowski. What made Coach K so unique was his willingness to adapt. He had unbelievable success for 4 decades, and you cannot have that kind of sustained excellence unless you are willing to change. He was a selfless leader, which permeated throughout the program.

In 2023 you were named conference COY at Pitt: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot because that team was very special. We had not had a winning season during my 1st 4 years: I thought that we “dropped the rope” in Year #4 and there was a lot of noise about whether I would remain coach, but the players believed in themselves and wanted to win at Pitt. They had a chip on their shoulders and when we faced adversity they stood up and fought back, which made us all better. Any time you win an award like that it is a program award, but after having that success and winning a couple of games in the NCAA tourney and making our mark, now the challenge is to try to sustain that.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Penn State/Butler/Villanova/Oklahoma/DePaul/Missouri/West Virginia: is there any 1 game that you feel will be your biggest test or that you are most excited about? All of them will be challenging and we are excited for the opportunity. As a former player you always get excited to face great competition, and I hope we respond to the challenge so that it will prepare us for ACC play.

You brought in several great transfers this year including Naithan George from Syracuse/Baye Ndongo from Georgia Tech/A’lahn Sumler from Charleston Southern/Timofei Rudovskii from Bryant/Armani Mighty from Mercer: which of them has impressed you the most so far? They have all had impressive moments: Tim has not been cleared for 5-on-5 after a his foot injury last year but I have been impressed with the way he has attacked his rehab. We have to change our habits and be about the right things every day and have the right mindset about getting better.

Your father Jeff was coach at ODU/NC A&T and your brother Jason was a 2-time All-ACC player at North Carolina before becoming coach at Appalachian State and then your assistant for the past 8 years: who is the best coach in the family? My dad was the best coach, by far. My brother and I were fortunate to be part of basketball families at Duke/UNC: Jason was the last player to sign with Coach Dean Smith. My dad was part of an HBCU and worked his way up from a JV high school coach. His 1st college job paid him around $11,000/year, but he later made 3 NCAA tourneys during his 1st 5 years as head coach at ODU. If he had our background, he would have moved on from ODU very quickly, but he had success at every level.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goal is to be the best team we can be and get better every day, which will hopefully allow us to finish in the top half of the ACC and earn an NCAA tourney bid, but we need to have wins every day.

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The Hoops HD Report – The Quintupleheader of Non-Power-Multi-Bid Conference Previews (AAC, A10, MWC, P12, WCC)

Posted on October 19, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

We’ve got five conference previews in one post!! Gonzaga has joined the Pac 12 and is a team that could contend for a protected seed. Utah State is right behind them. The A10 should be fun this year with VCU, Saint Louis, George Mason and Dayton all being teams to watch. Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s are teams to watch in the WCC with Seattle U and Pepperdine being potential dark horses. Grand Canyon and New Mexico are likely the two frontrunners in the Mountain West. In the American we discuss if Wichita State can finally return to national prominence.

AMERICAN

ATLANTIC TEN

MOUNTAIN WEST

PAC 12

WEST COAST

And for all you radio lovers, below are audio only versions of the shows…

AMERICAN:

ATLANTIC TEN:

MOUNATIN WEST:

PAC-12:

WEST COAST:

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All-Access at A-10 Media Day in DC: Afternoon Session

Posted on October 19, 2026 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. However, since the A-10 was kind enough to hold its media day just a few blocks from his apartment on Monday, he was in attendance at the Westin for press conferences with a player/coach from every team. See below for some Q&A from the afternoon session, and if you missed his coverage from the morning session then you can find it at: https://hoopshd.com/2026/10/19/all-access-at-a-10-media-day-in-dc-morning-session

Since there were not individual breakout rooms for media members like myself, I spent the day trying to squeeze in 1 question at all the press conferences. Rhode Island coach Archie Miller has a birthday coming up later this month so I hoped he would share his plans for the big day. He said he did not even know when his birthday was but hoped that SR G Jahmere Tripp has it on his calendar and will “get me a cupcake or something”.

Rhode Island women’s coach Colleen Mullen’s 1st game as the new head coach of the Rams will mark 9,741 days since her final game as a player in Kingston on March 3, 2000, so I decided to see what her emotions were like as she prepares to tip off the season in a couple of weeks. She said she played in Keaney Gym back then so it will be different to be in the Ryan Center: her former team played there last year when she was at Albany but lost the game. She was talking to her dad about it this morning: he said he would not have imagined her becoming coach at her alma mater, but life works in mysterious ways and she is excited to get started.

St. Joe’s coach Steve Donahue was named 2026 A-10 COY despite not having a great 3-PT shooting team, which I assumed was his team’s biggest focus last offseason. He said I was being kind to describe them as “not great”, but that in addition recruiting shooters you need to recruit passers/screeners/high-IQ guys. He returns his 2 best 3-PT shooters in Jaiden Glover-Toscano/Austin Williford and thinks that FR G BJ Ranson will become 1 of the best shooters in the league. At some point last yeat he did not worry about it because they figured out another way to be successful.

St. Joe’s SR G Gabby Casey has seen almost every single 1 of her stats increase during each of her 1st 3 years (PPG/RPG/APG/SPG/3PM), so I was dying to know what she has in store for Year #4. She certainly hopes she can take her game to another level but her main goal is just to help the team be successful.

Loyola Chicago coach Drew Valentine was born/raised in Michigan so it felt appropriate to get his thoughts on the Final 4 returning to Detroit next April. He agreed that it will be interesting and they are doing a good job of building Detroit back up. He went home for a visit last summer and is very excited for his family/friends to watch some good basketball be played in his home state.

You might have heard of Loyola Chicago women’s coach Morgan Paige’s brother Marcus (the only 3-time captain in UNC basketball history), so I pressed her on who is the best coach in the family and whether she will get to see Marcus in person in December when his Charlotte team plays at UIC and/or when her teams plays at Davidson. She claimed that Marcus would say she is the best coach and he calls her “big-time”, but she respects that he is “in the rafters”. She does not know about the Davidson game because she has not checked the 49ers’ conference schedule yet, but she is planning to see him during his game at UIC. They talk about basketball a lot and it is a blessing that they get to share coaching at the highest level because their parents were both coaches: “Basketball is a Paige thing, for sure”!

I believe Richmond SR G Ally Sweeney and her teammate Payton Richard are the only 2 women in the A-10 who have played in the NCAA tourney during each of the past 2 years, so I asked Ally for the secret to winning games in March. She feels it is about paying attention to detail all season long and having everyone’s back. No part of March is easy, but when you have built the chemisty and have the connection, it helps for sure.

La Salle JR G Joanie Quinn is 1 of 5 juniors on the Explorers’ roster so I inquired about how much pressure there is on her to be a leader considering that her team has no seniors. She stated that it has definitely been an adjustment to go from 1 of the youngest kids on the team to 1 of the oldest, but she has settled into that role. She wanted to be a leader this year anyway and her fellow juniors have done a good job of leading the team, so it does not feel like they are lacking seniors.

In VCU’s exhibition win over ODU last weekend the Rams had a 33-7 advantage in bench points, so I asked SR PF Lazar Djokovic how impressed he was with the depth on this year’s roster. He thinks that anyone on the bench can play at any time and on any given day anyone can shine so he is excited for this season.

New VCU women’s coach Chelsea Banbury was hired last March after 7 seasons at High Point and was previously an assistant to current Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko at her alma mater (FGCU), so in addition to seeing how the job is going so far I requested a prediction whether her former boss is going to win a a WNBA title next week. She said the job is going good so far even though some of her players are banged up. She is bought into the W for the playoffs more this year than in the past but Karl had better win tonight: fortunately for him, he has won at every place that he has coached.

Fordham SR PF Rikus Schulte has played all over the world during the past 4 years (Germany/North Carolina/California/New York), so I wanted to know how excited he was to finally remain in 1 place for 2 years in a row. He smiled and said he is very excited because he likes the city and the coaching staff: they are like family.

New Fordham women’s coach Neil Harrow was born/raised in Scotland so I was stunned to hear that he went into basketball rather than soccer/golf. He laughed and explained that he went to a very big high school where he knew that he was not good enough to make the soccer team, so he tried out for basketball instead. He later realized that he was not good enough to become a pro basketball player, so he decided to get into coaching and after a few different stops he was hired at Fordham last April.

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Atlantic 10 Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 19, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

JON TEITEL IS AT A10 MEDIA DAY!! CLICK HERE TO CHECK HIM OUT!!

ATLANTIC 10 MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. VCU
  2. Saint Louis
  3. Dayton
  4. George Mason
  5. George Washington
  6. Saint Joseph’s
  7. Fordham
  8. Davidson
  9. Richmond
  10. Duquesne
  11. Loyola Chicago
  12. Rhode Island
  13. La Salle
  14. Saint Bonaventure

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-A10 1ST TEAM:

-Amael L’Etang – JR, F – Dayton
-Jaiden Glover-Toscano – JR, G – Saint Joseph’s
-Trey Green – JR, G – Saint Louis
-Kellen Thames – SR, G – Saint Louis
-Lazar Djokovic – SR, F – VCU
-Nyk Lewis – SO, G – VCU

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-A10 2ND TEAM:

-Josh Scovens – SR, F – Davidson
-Rikus Schulte – SR, F – Fordham
-Baraka Okojie – SR, G – George Mason
-Rob Dockery – JR, G – La Salle
-Amari McCottry – JR, G – Saint Louis
-Brandon Jennings – JR, G – VCU

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-A10 3RD TEAM:

-Brayden O’Connor – SR, G – George Mason
-Jean Aranguren – SR, G – George Washington
-Jonah Hinton – SR, G – Rhode Island
-Jahmere Tripp – Sr, G/F – Rhode Island
-Aiden Argabright – SO, G – Richmond
-Ishan Sharma – JR, F – Saint Louis

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Other than the Big East, I have always felt the A-10 was the best non-football conference, and always felt it should be better than what it is. The schools and programs that make it up, and the markets that it is in, should have them putting more teams in the NCAA Tournament and into the national rankings.

-Phil Martelli Jr. had a fantastic year in his first year at VCU, winning 28 total games and advancing to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Expectations are naturally high once again with three of those starters back along with some guys who were key role players off the bench. They do have to replace some of their better players. Nyle Ralph-Beyer transfers in from Sacred Heart where he was a fantastic scorer and outside shooter, and Torey Alston from Middle Tennessee is also a solid portal pick up for the frontcourt. Michael Belle also returns to the starting lineup giving the Rams a strong presence underneath. This is a team that can get back to the NCAA Tournament and get beyond the Round of 64…again.

-Saint Louis was last year’s 1st-place team. They won 29 total games and made it to the Round of 32. With three starters back the expectations for the Billikens are once again very high. Josh Schertz has done a fantastic job as coach and has another strong squad this year. Trey Green and Kellen Thames make up a strong backcourt and they should be solid enough in the frontcourt to have enough balance to once again make the NCAA Tournament and go beyond the Round of 64.

-Dayton is a team that I am tired of picking to do well because they always seem to underachieve. That may sound like a silly thing to say about a program that routinely wins 20+ games a year, and who actually won 25 last year, but this team never feels like they are as good as they should be. They really have not broken through nationally since the 2020 season that was tragically cut short due to COVID and they have had some talented rosters during that stretch. They once again have some talented players this year. Amael L’Etang returns and is joined by Zaide Lowery who transfers in from Marquette as well as a few others. Given the combination of their resources and talent, this is a program that really should be having success on a national level. I do not mean to imply that they are bad bad. 20+ wins a year and constantly finishing 3rd/4th/5th in the A-10 is solid…but it still feels like this program should be better. After last year, I promised to stop picking them to win the league. They were picked to finish 3rd by the voters, and that is about where I think they will land. I would actually have them one spot lower.

-Tony Skinn enters his 4th season as coach at George Mason, and has won 20+ games in each of his first three seasons. They are having to rebuild their roster this year, but they have some really sold players from Under the Radar schools coming in. Baraka Okojie was a fantastic player for Mercer who averaged just under 20ppg, Lilian Marville was a solid contributor for UNC Greensboro and Makhai Valetine put up good numbers at Northern Illinois. Elijah Jones averaged double-figures for UTEP and Emmet Adair did the same for Loyola MD. I like Skinn as a coach and I think Mason can be in the mix this year.

-Chris Caputo has had a couple of solid seasons at George Washington, winning 19 games last year and 21 the year before, but they are once again having to rebuild. Just one starter is back and they will have to rely on guys they picked up from the portal that played limited minutes at bigger programs. I like the progress this program is making, but this year their ceiling may be the middle of the standings.

-Saint Jospeh’s has quietly won 20+ games in each of the last three seasons including 24 last year. They finished 3rd in the conference, which as a really solid year for the Hawks. They do return a couple of starters and picked up Logan Carey in the portal, who was a solid player for Maine. They do not appear to have any prolific scorers, but they should still be a solid team this year.

-Fordham won a very respectable 17 games last year, was 8-10 in A-10 play, and was not playing bad at all down the stretch. They have three starters back and they picked up two really solid players from Under the Radar schools in the portal in Amir Lindsey from UAlbany, who averaged just under 18ppg and Lateef Patrick Jr. who was a very solid player on a really good Stephen F. Austin team. I feel crazy saying this, but I like this Fordham roster. I also think Mike Magpayo did a very solid job in his first year as coach last year. I actually like this Fordham team. I don’t think they will win the league, but I think they will finish higher in the standings than where they are being picked.

-Matt McKillop is coming off a 20-win season, which was his best since taking over at Davidson, but he has his work cut out for him this year. Just one starter is back in Josh Scovens, who is a solid all-around player. Roberts Blums transfers in at guard from Penn State and he should be able to contribute. They do appear to have some really good outside shooters and if this squad can play together then they may be able to exceed expectations.

-Every year Richmond is my dark horse. I absolutely love their style of play and am a big fan of Coach Chris Mooney. It makes me sad that a system that is so much fun to watch and that can be so effective is also unfortunately heavily reliant on development and experience from year to year, and in this era of college basketball that is almost impossible. Richmond has just one starter back. They did pick up a couple of nice players in the portal, but are they familiar enough with this system to step into it and be effective? I am guessing not: I just cannot get behind Richmond this year.

-Duquesne had a very solid 18-win season last year and finished 9-9 in A-10 play, but their roster took a hit as four starters have moved on. Two new players to watch are Josh Smith from West Georgia (who averaged over 16ppg and is a solid outside shooter) and Yoav Berman (who had a productive year for Queens). The Dukes do have a couple of pieces, but it will be hard for them to finish in the top half of the standings.

-Loyola Chicago had a miserable year last year going just 4-14 in A-10 play. They have rebuilt their roster this year. Eddie Ricks III comes in from a pretty good James Madison team, Xavier Amos returns to the backcourt after a solid year last year, Donald Hand Jr. was a contributor for Boston College, and Dayan Nessah was a very strong frontcourt player for Cleveland State who can also hit from the outside. I think Loyola has some pretty good pieces and will show some improvement this year.

-Rhode Island kind of fell apart down the stretch last year, which may explain why they are picked to finish so low this year. They do return a couple of starters and also add a couple of solid transfers in Jahmere Tripp and Jonah Hinton, both of whom averaged double-figures for A-10 schools last year, so they do have some pieces to work with.

-La Salle won just 9 total games last year and was 5-13 in league play. They do have two starters returning, but most of the roster has been overhauled and they do not appear to have much in terms of D-1 experience, so I can see why the voters are not expecting them to be competitive in A-10 play this year.

-Saint Bonaventure is picked to finish last, and that makes me kind of sad. They were a respectable 17-17 overall last year, but went just 4-14 in A-10 play. They have just one starter back and a new coach in Mike MacDonald. Their roster…well…seems to be lacking in solid D-1 players. There are few programs in the nation that are as fun as Saint Bonaventure is when this team is actually winning. The fans are incredible and it is a unique type of venue and atmosphere. Remember Beer Hat Guy?? He was awesome! And the fanbase and culture that the Bonnies have is among my favorites in all of college basketball. If this team ever did go on an NCAA Tournament run, they would almost assuredly become the nation’s favorite team by the end of that first weekend. That is how much fun they are. Sadly, I do not see this as being their year.

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