By Kenneth Cross
The Atlantic 10 has turned into one of the top conferences in the college basketball universe. It should be noted as a power conference as it is in the Top 10 leagues every season, according to www.kenpom.com and others.
There looks like several potential teams who can vie for the top spot in the league as the Dayton Flyers are the league’s favorite as coach Anthony Grant begins his third season at his alma mater.
Dayton returns Malachi Smith, R.J. Blakeney, and Kobe Elvis as the trio will form one of the top backcourts in the nation.
The following is the A-10 preseason ranking which were formulated at the A-10 Media Days in mid-October:
1.) Dayton – The trio of Flyers’ guards that we mentioned above will be joined by DaRon Holmes, II, and Tomani
Camera in the paint. Holmes was Dayton’s leading scorer (12.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg) while Camara (10.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) was UD’s leading rebounder. Smith is a playmaker, but he can score the ball (9.3 ppg, 5.2 apg) when the Flyers need him to. Blakney shot 44.5 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from three as his length can make him join Elvis as a key on both ends of the floor. Dayton shot 36.1 percent from three (54th/CBB), but the Flyers must get to the line more (16.4 FTAs/232nd/CBB) if their jumpers are not falling.
2.) Saint Louis – Javonté Perkins averaged 17.1 points two years ago and was sidelined with an injury before the season began. Gibson Jimerson, who shot 42 percent from three last season (16.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg), will play alongside Perkins and the two will cause matchup problems on the perimeter. Jimerson averaged 5.9 three-point attempts per game as the Billikens made 36.9 percent of their three-point attempts (36th/CFB). Yuri Collins (11.1 ppg, 7.9 apg) was one of the top distributors in college basketball as he added his playmaking off the dribble and also took around 8.8 shots per night.
3.) VCU – The Rams, with their full court pressure, are always one of the top defenses in the country. Last season, VCU allowed only 40.5 percent (34th/CBB) from the floor while giving up only 62.7 points per game (21st/CBB). Coach Mike Rhoades lost his only double-digit scorer in Bones Hyland, but the Rams have plenty of talent that will allow them to make a solid run in the A-10. Jamir Watkins (7.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and Ace Baldwin (6.7 ppg, 4.4 apg) will be the two keys for the Rams as both suffered from injuries over the past year, but are now ready to go.
4.) Loyola Chicago – Getting the backcourt of Braden Norris and Marquise Kennedy to return allows the team to have plenty of experience at guard which they will need in a deep Atlantic 10. Norris is a prolific three-point shooter as he shot 43 percent from three where he took 4.9 per game last season. Coach Drew Valentine has proliferated a solid defensive program as the Ramblers held their opponents to 61.5 ppg (17th/CBB) and 41 percent from the floor (50th/CBB).
5) UMass – Hiring Frank Martin was a huge pick up for the Minutemen as he spent 10 years at South Carolina and placed the Gamecocks in the Final Four in 2017 after going to the NCAA Tournament in four of five seasons at Kansas State. Martin pushed the Gamecocks to winning seasons in five of his last seven years. Martin is excited and seems to have a renewed invigoration in Amherst as he will coach Noah Fernandes, who is talented point guard and will lead the program in lots of different categories. Fernandes will lead an uptempo offense with shooter T.J. Weeks (9.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg) on one wing where he made 36.9 percent of his three-point shots a year ago. Martin brought a solid pair of posts with him from South Carolina in Wildens Laveque and Ta’Quan Woodley.
6) George Mason – Coach Kim English returns three double figures scorers, led by forward Josh Oduro (17.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg) as he shot 53.9 percent from the field and was a leader on both the offensive and defensive glass. Devonte “Ticket” Gaines is a must watch as he had 2.2 offensive boards to tie Oduro on the offensive glass. Gaines and DeVon Cooper are a pair of three-point threats as both shot around 41% from the three-point line last season. A big key for the Patriots is to tighten up on the three-point shots as opponents made 8.2 per game last season.
7) Richmond – The Spiders won the Atlantic 10 Tournament and then defeated Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as they had four talented players who were all either seniors or in their fifth season at UR. Coach Chris Mooney returns his leading scorer in Tyler Burton (16.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg), a charismatic player who led shot 48 percent from the floor. Seniors Andre Gustavson and Matt Grace will likely play larger roles as Gustavson averaged 24.5 minutes and started 20 games while Grace averaged 15.4 minutes off the bench.
8) Davidson – Coach Bob McKillop retired after an incomparable 33 seasons as the Wildcats’ boss where the program set a myriad of records, including to the insurmountable NBA career of Warriors guard Steph Curry. 
Bob’s son, Matt McKillop, takes over as Foster Loyer (16.1 ppg, 3.3 apg) will be the playmaker and the leading returning scorer while Sam Mennenga (8.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) shot 51.9 percent. Davidson loses it’s second and third scorers In Hyunjung Lee (15.8 ppg) and Luka Brajkovic (14.4 ppg).
9) Rhode Island – Former Indiana head coach Archie Miller takes over the Rams, who struggled on the offensive end where they averaged just 67.1 ppg (279th/CBB) while they gave up only 65 ppg and allowed opponents to shoot only 39.2 percent from the field (17th/CBB). As Malik Martin is the only senior on the roster, Jalen Carrey and Ishmael Leggett will improve from role players into starters as Cary shot 46.7 percent from three while Leggett figured in all parts of the box score last season.
10) St. Bonaventure – The Bonnies lost four key contributors through the transfer portal, so it’s almost like coach Mark Schmidt is having to rebuild and he put most of his incoming roster together via the transfer portal. The Bonnies still have 6-7 guard Justin Ndjock-Tadjor as a potential contributor. St. Bonaventure lost 11 players, but added St. Peter’s star Darryl Banks, III, and Moses Flowers who played at Hartford a year ago. They even added Patriot League Rookie of the Year Kyrell Luc as he averaged 13 ppg while playing 32.3 minutes. 
11) George Washington – Former Jim Larrañaga assistant Chris Caputo takes over at GW as the Colonials will be led by James Bishop (16.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg), who made 32 percent of his three-pointers. Bishop will be joined in the backcourt by Brendan Adams (8.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg), who can consistently break down defenses. Caputo brought in Kansas State transfer Maximus Edwards, who missed last season due to knee surgeries. Former Maryland transfer Ricky Lindo, Jr. (7.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) could be a commodity as he is a 6-8 power forward, who can step out on the perimeter and knock shots down consistently.
12) Duquesne – Coach Keith Dambrot will look for his Dukes to climb forward once again as this was arguably the most injured team in the college game. Dambrot added R.J. Gunn from D-II Lenior-Rhyne, where he was a consummate scorer with 1,163 points in two years. Kevin Easley, Jr., (10.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Tre Williams (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) are a pair of forwards who should help the Dukes inside. Miami (Ohio) transfer Dae Dae Grant will be able to pick up the Dukes’ scoring from the perimeter as he averaged 17.5 ppg last season.
13) Fordham – Former Penn State assistant Keith Urgo takes over the reigns at Fordham and picks up a solid guard in Darius Quisenberry (16.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg), who averaged 35 minutes per game. Urgo is looking forward to Kyle Rose and Quisenberry on the three-point line as they led the Rams with 51 and 58 three-pointers, respectively. Fordham will look to pick up it’s offense across the boards as the Rams only made 39.4 percent of their shots, 350th in D-1 basketball in 2021-22.
14) St. Joseph’s – Ejike Obinna (12.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg) returns as the go-to player on the boxes and a solid defensive presence inside while shooting 57.4 percent from the floor. The Hawks picked things up on the boards as they outrebounded opponents by (+2.4) and their 37.6 rebounds per game were 55th in college basketball.
15) LaSalle – Legendary coach Fran Dunphy takes over the Explorers after a stellar career as a head coach at Penn and Temple during the last 30 years of his career. Former Louisville transfer Josh Nickelberry (11.2 ppg) and point guard Jhamir Brickus (8.9 ppg, 3.3 apg) will help to compose a solid backcourt for the Explorers.