A-10 Conference Basketball Preview
After writing an in-depth review of the AAC, ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, MVC, MWC, SEC and WCC, it's time to evaluate the A-10! Rankings and analysis per team are below.
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Introduction
As a fun way to prepare for this upcoming college basketball season, I’ll review the nation’s top conferences before doing deep dives on the less-heralded conferences as we move closer to the start of the season!
All of my college basketball-related content can be found here. Let the rankings begin!
Rankings
1. Saint Louis
After a historical season at Indiana State, where the Sycamores continued to play basketball until April to finish their NIT title-game season, Coach Schertz transferred to Saint Louis. Their success is built around a team-first type of game that involves lots of ball movement and motion.
Bringing the Missouri Valley Player of the Year, Robbie Avila, with him helps a lot. Their system that involves a team-first mentality with lots of ball movement will work in the Atlantic 10. Passing makes it vital to succeed, and that’s where Avila will continue to blossom as one of college basketball’s top passing big men.
If we factor in leading guard Isaiah Swope and scoring guard Gibson Jimerson, the second and third-most impactful players on Saint Louis also followed their coach, the base for success has been set for a big part.
The Billikens were active in the portal as well, adding mid-major standout Kalu Anya (Brown) while adding power-five guys in Josiah Dotzler (Creighton) and AJ Casey (Miami), this roster has the strength in player quality and depth. That makes Saint Louis the clear favorite to win the conference.
2. Dayton
DaRon Holmes II leaves for the NBA, and regardless, the Flyers bring back a competitive group of starters and two top transfers in Posh Alexander (Butler) and Zed Key (Ohio State). More importantly, they get Malachi Smith back, who tore his ACL very early in the season. Now he’s back and healthy again.
With an accomplished defender in Enoch Cheeks and a plus-sized floor-stretching four in Nate Santos, Dayton has a reliable starting five that’s addressed its rebounding needs via the portal with the aforementioned Alexander and Key.
The X-factor that will keep Dayton in the race to win the A-10 is Javon Bennett’s scoring off the bench. Regardless, Dayton should be in the mix to earn a ticket for the Big Dance in March.
3. Saint Joseph’s
The Hawks bring back their trio of conference stars Erik Reynolds, Xzayvier Brown, and Rasheer Fleming, who are legitimate NBA prospects. Losing a top-notch scorer in Lynn Greer III (Temple), while big man Chris Essandoko (Providence) is also gone, Coach Lange will rely on a combination of remaining players getting bigger roles and some good additions via the portal.
Justice Ajogbor (Harvard) brings valuable experience and interior toughness, while Derek Simpson gives them another good perimeter defender to put alongside Erik Reynolds and Xzayvier Brown, whose scoring prowess will be more functional. Steve Solano is the big prize among the incoming freshmen as he is ready to back up Ajogbor immediately.
Saint Joe’s will stay in contention mode for a long time, and Rasheer Fleming’s junior season leap will be the X factor that might even make them win the Atlantic 10 if everything goes well.
4. VCU
Retention matters in college basketball. And that’s where the Rams are a force to be reckoned with. Jack Clark is a high-end transfer from Clemson, bringing tournament experience to round out VCU’s starting five. Their success was built around guard and wing talent in Zeb Jackson, Joe Bamisile, and All-A-10 stud Max Shulga.
Coach Odom has a quality group at his disposal, but eventually, the lack of depth and experience on his bench will lead to fewer opportunities to adjust, as the balance of the roster hasn’t fully been settled; an all-senior starting five with only one upperclassman on the bench.
Regardless, VCU will be good and flirt with a ticket for the Big Dance throughout the season.
5. Loyola Chicago
Coach Valentine lost lots of experience to graduation, with leading guard Braden Norris and wing Philip Alston being the two most vital ones. Those are the toughest to replace, and the Ramblers did well to focus on complementary pieces that all have one thing in common: physical strength.
Jalen DeLoach (Georgia), Kymany Houinsou (Washington State), and Justin Moore (Drexel) bring in a ton of experience while being clear-cut starters on this updated Loyola Chicago squad. The most promising transfer is Francis Nwaokorie (San Diego).
The high-volume three-point shooter is an accomplished self-creating scorer, who stood out as an effective finisher at the rim. He adds a new dynamic of offense on a team that has enough depth among its guards and forwards. The Ramblers can be a legitimate contender, especially if prized sophomore Miles Rubin leaps after being one of the top impact-makers on the defensive ends among all freshmen in the country.
6. George Mason
The Patriots lost Keyshawn Hall to the Big 12, as he signed with UCF. However, they brought back the remaining key starters, while being an active player in the transfer portal. The path has been to pair last year’s guard standout Darius Maddox with a reliable two-guard, and they got one of the big prizes in KD Johnson, who comes over from Auburn.
On top of that, they bring in sharpshooter Zach Anderson (Florida Gulf Coast), who shot over 45% in the Atlantic Sun conference. They complete their squad improvements with the MAAC duo Giovanni Emejuru (Siena) and Jeremiah Quigley (Iona) who serve as the replacements for respectable pieces Baraka Okojie and Malik Henry who both leave the program.
It’s clear Darius Maddox and Zach Anderson will be the two productive pieces, with supporting casts Jared Billups and KD Johnson also playing a chunk of the minutes. However, the frontcourt is where things could get tricky: Jalen Haynes, Woody Newton, and the aforementioned Emejuru are good pieces, but Coach Skinn lacks a true starter on that end, leading to his squad falling outside the top five in the rankings.
7. Duquesne
Coach Joyce III gets rewarded with the head coaching job after spending two years as the Associate HC. The Dukes lost seven names to graduation, forcing them to entirely rebuild their roster. Maximus Edwards gives them a good chunk of A-10 experience as a redshirt junior who won Rookie of the Year. Alex Williams (Furman) is another solid incoming name, who comes over from Furman.
Jahsen Corbett (Chicago State) and Tre Dinkins (Canisius) are two other impactful pieces. However, the more underrated name here is Lucas Prolla, who has had a good season at the JUCO reigns at Missouri State University-West Plains. The sharpshooter has the opportunity to grow into a key rotational player as the season progresses.
The amount of talent on this roster will lead to getting Duquesne to get a good amount of conference wins for a top-eight finish.
8. UMass
This is the last season for the Minutemen before they move to the MAC. They have a fun group of Rahsool Diggins, the leading scorer from last year, while A-10 All-Freshman Jaylen Curry will be the full-time point guard. Jayden Ndjigue is another returner who’s the third guard in the starting five. To complement the guard-heavy rotation, Daniel Rivera came over from Bryant and added size and defensive versatility.
On top of that, Akil Watson (Arizona State) and Malek Abdelgowad (Murray State) will complement starting center Shahid Muhammad. Outside of the starting five, Coach Martin has many underclassmen at his disposal, with incoming freshman Nate Guerengomba being the most promising. For a team that lacks true size among its guard rotations, the depth keeps them afloat. Regardless, the Minutemen should have a decent farewell season by earning a double-bye for the conference tournament.
9. Richmond
Coach Mooney’s twentieth season as the Spiders head coach isn’t as promising as last year, where they finished with a 15-3 conference record but lost to Saint Joseph’s in the conference quarterfinals while also being eliminated by Virginia Tech in the first round of the NIT.
To make things worse, he lost about 70% of his minutes and top-four contributors from last year. Therefore, adding experience was the way to compensate for the loss of quality in the best way possible. Dusan Neskovic (Dartmouth), B. Artis White (Western Michigan), and Jonathan Beagle (Albany) are proven starters for this revised Richmond team.
The intriguing part comes from the power-five experience Apostolos Roumoglou (Connecticut) and George Washington III (Michigan) brought in while being fairly young at the same time. This will be a transition year for Coach Mooney, but one where he’ll battle for the double-bye while winning some crucial games throughout conference play.
10. Rhode Island
The Rams retained a large chunk of their minutes. Interestingly, they got much older, as all outgoing transfers are underclassmen or juniors while focusing on bringing in upperclassmen. Sebastian Thomas (Albany) and Jamarques Lawrence (Nebraska) are two higher-profile additions, giving lots of scoring potential to an already good guard rotation.
On top of that, Coach Miller makes it clear sophomore big David Fuchs gets the runway to play and develop further as he’s this team’s clear five moving forward. There isn’t much depth in all positions, which puts more pressure on their starting five to deliver on any given night.
Regardless, Rhode Island got themselves promising names like Drissa Traore (St. John’s) and Quentin Diboundje (East Carolina), making the quality of the roster comparable to last year.
11. George Washington
Darren Buchanan, Jr. is one of the most promising sophomores among mid-majors in the country. He’ll be a potential All-A-10 player while being a clear prospect for the NBA. The gifted interior scorer makes life easier for Coach Caputo with his floor-spacing and opening up shooting opportunities for others.
That’s who the Revolutionaries built around, adding shooters in Trey Moss (William & Mary) and Sean Hansen (Cornell). On top of that, Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. is the real prize, by shooting 37.5% on 300 (!) three-point attempts at Delaware last year.
However, the other side of the coin is that defensively this team has many hurdles to overcome. With a relatively small group that lacks a true starting-caliber five, it’s too much to ask for to let the aforementioned Hansen and incoming Rafael Castro be the interior presence they need to make a four, or even five-out concept succeed. This will hurt George Washington’s defensive rating, thus costing them the value of their high-potential offense.
12. St. Bonaventure
The big news is that Adrian Wojnarowski as the program’s general manager has added much value and excitement to the brand and the conference itself. However, the late arrival of an all-time basketball media great shouldn’t lead to expectations for this season.
Noel Brown is the sole returner from the starting group, forcing the Bonnies to rely on their incoming portal additions like Chance Moore (Missouri State), Dasonte Bowen (Iowa), and Melvin Council, Jr. (Wagner).
However, the boom-or-bust for Coach Schmidt is his trio of JUCO arrivals, where Michael Folarin is the most promising name. The dominant 6-foot-11 center comes over from Salt Lake CC, where Lajae Jones (Barton College) and Jonah Hinton (Panola College) are true mid-major level scorers, while all three have at least two years of eligibility left. It will be a rebuilding year in Allegany, New York.
13. Fordham
We stay in New York, where the Bronx-based Fordham is also heading into a season full of struggle. They fall victim to the transfer portal, where keeping talent on board is the issue as most standout players look for opportunities elsewhere. This year, that group contains Noah Best (Fairfield), Angel Montas (Mercer), and Elijah Gray (Temple).
They get in two solid pieces in Jackie Johnson III from UNLV who’s set to be a double-digit scorer, while also adding Matt Zona (Notre Dame), who’ll be the backup center for Abdou Tsimbila, who had a good outing last season.
Coach Urgo rewards players for staying loyal to the program and for Will Richardson, that’s where his junior breakout year will come from. He’s set to take on the most ball-handling duties, with the aforementioned Johnson III and Medor completing the guard rotation. A name to keep an eye on is Jahmere Tripp, who is entering his sophomore year as a strong-rebounding 6-foot-6 interior scorer.
14. Davidson
Every time I see this program’s name, I think of the Curry brothers. So naturally it feels weird to see them being a lower-ranked program in the A-10. But unfortunately for the Wildcats and their fanbase, it’s true.
They lost two solid starters to power-five conferences, whereas David Skogman takes his sharpshooting to DePaul and Grant Huffman will add scoring depth to Vanderbilt’s roster on top of losing Angelo Brizzi (Longwood) as well.
Coach McKillop hasn’t been active in the portal, only adding two players, with Joe Hurlburt (Colorado) bringing invaluable depth to the frontcourt and Zach Laput (Bentley College) giving veteran leadership and depth after having a great season at the Division II level.
Bobby Durkin is the name to keep an eye on. The sophomore wing will likely be one of the top scorers, with Connor Kochera and Reed Bailey being the ones who’ll take the leadership role.
15. La Salle
First of all: big respect for Coach Dunphy, who has been active in college basketball for over five decades after starting as an assistant with the Army in 1971. Therefore, it doesn’t feel right to rank his Explorers deadlast in the conference review. It worsened when La Salle opened up brand-new facilities: the John Glaser Arena.
Jhamir Brickus (Villanova) and Khalil Brantley (Oklahoma State) are testimonies to Coach Dunphy’s development, as both earned power-five transfers. On top of that, Lithuanian big man Rokas Jocius goes to UCF while entering his sophomore year.
Deuce Jones is a solid freshman addition, while Eric Acker (LIU) and Jahlil White (Temple) will come in and play guard and wing minutes. To complete their rebuild, former UCLA center Mac Etienne, who comes over from DePaul, and Demetrius Lilley (Penn State) are two interior forces to provide toughness and size.
Finalizing Summary
To summarize the piece, here’s the list for my 2024-25 A-10 Basketball Preview:
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