The caption on the video read, “One day closer.”
As of Monday, Dayton was seven weeks away from its season opener Nov. 6 against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). Teams can hold as many 30 practices in a 42-day period before the season begins. That means official preseason practices can start next week for Dayton.
Of course, the work never really stops. The Flyers returned to school in August, and they’re allowed to work for eight hours together per week, with no more than four of those hours spent on team practices and skill-related workouts.
Every minute will count for Dayton, which has seven newcomers among a group of 12 scholarship players. Despite the new mix, everything points to Dayton being the preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10 Conference for the second straight season. The return of junior forward DaRon Holmes II, who explored the NBA Draft process before deciding to stay in school, makes the Flyers the safe pick.
I’ve done my preseason prediction at various times during the offseason over the years. It doesn’t make sense to do attempt a prediction in the spring anymore because there’s so much roster turnover for every team. At this point in the offseason, teams have their rosters updated on their websites. We have a clearer picture of what every team will bring into the season.
Unlike last season, when Dayton opened the season in the top 25 and Saint Louis was also getting national recognition, there’s little hype around the league this fall. A-10 teams aren’t even appearing in expanded preseason rankings. Andy Katz, of NCAA.com, did not list an A-10 team in his Power 36 this summer. The website Three-Man-Weave.com did not put an A-10 team in its top 40 in August.
VCU would have been as A-10 preseason favorites but lost its coach, Mike Rhoades, and four of its top five scorers, including Ace Baldwin, the 2023 A-10 Player of the Year, to the transfer portal.
VCU was the only A-10 team to play in the NCAA tournament in 2023. It was the first time the A-10 had been a one-bid league — something it flirted with a year earlier — since 2005.
The official poll comes out Oct. 17 when the A-10 holds its Media Day in Brooklyn, N.Y. Here’s my best guess as to how that will look:
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
1. Dayton
Head coach: Anthony Grant, seventh season (124-64).
Last year’s record: 22-12, 12-6 (tied for second place).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2020.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2003.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2017.
Best returning player: Holmes, a 6-foot-10 forward, is one of two A-10 first-team selections remaining in the conference this season. He averaged 18.4 points and 8.1 rebounds as a sophomore. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook named him a fourth-team All-American in its preseason predictions.
Top freshman: Marvel Allen, a 6-foot-4 guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ranked 139th in the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
Top transfer: Of Dayton’s four transfers, Enoch Cheeks has the most college experience. A 6-3, 190-pound guard from Providence, R.I., Cheeks averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 31 games in his third season at Robert Morris. The other player with the best chance to make a bigger impact than Cheeks is Nate Santos, who saw limited action in two seasons at Pittsburgh.
Summary: By the time March rolls around, seven years will have passed since Dayton heard its name called on Selection Sunday. There’s a big asterisk next to that fact because the Flyers would have played in the NCAA tournament in 2020 if it had not been canceled because of the pandemic. Nevertheless, the program and the fan base are hungry for March success. This season will hinge on the continued ascendance of Holmes, the coaches figuring out how to mesh the newcomers with the returners and the Flyers avoiding the injury bug that plagued them all of last season but especially in November and December when they failed to build a NCAA tournament resume.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
2. Virginia Commonwealth
Head coach: Ryan Odom, first season (44-25 in two seasons at Utah State).
Last year’s record: 27-8, 15-3 (first place).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2023.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2023.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2023.
Best returning player: VCU lost its top seven scorers. The top returning scorer is senior guard Zeb Jackson, who averaged 5.2 points in 17.4 minutes per game in his first season at VCU after seeing little action in two seasons at Michigan.
Top freshmen: The only true freshman on the roster is Michael Belle, a 6-7 guard/forward from France who picked VCU over Dayton in the spring.
Top transfers: Utah State’s fourth- and fifth-leading scorers followed Odom to VCU: Max Shulga, a 6-4 senior guard who averaged 11.9 points per game; and Sean Bairstow, a 6-8 guard/forward graduate student who averaged 10.3 points.
Summary: Odom guided Maryland-Baltimore County and Utah State to the NCAA tournament in his second season at both schools. To get there in the first year at VCU, he’ll rely heavily on transfers. In addition to Shulga and Bairstow, VCU added 6-9 forward Kuany Kuany, who averaged 9.0 points last season at California, and 5-10 guard Jason Nelson, who averaged 8.0 points for Richmond, plus 6-10 forward Roosevelt Wheeler, who saw limited action in two seasons at Louisville. The transfer group took a hit when 6-4 guard Joe Bamisile, who played for three different teams the last three seasons, was denied a transfer waiver by the NCAA, though he’s appealing the decision.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3. St. Bonaventure
Head coach: Mark Schmidt, 17th season (282-213).
Last year’s record: 14-18, 8-10 (tied for eighth).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2021.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2021.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2021.
Best returning player: Daryl Banks III, a 6-3 fifth-year senior guard who played his first three seasons at St. Peters, led the Bonnies with 15.4 points per game last season.
Top freshman: Duane Thompson, a 6-8 forward, ranked as the No. 10 prospect in New England in the 2024 class, according to the New England Recruiting Report, but reclassified to the 2023 class.
Top transfer: Mika Adams-Woods, a 6-3 graduate student guard, scored 955 points in four seasons at Cincinnati. He averaged 9.1 points last season.
Summary: The Bonnies return their top six scorers from a team that got off to a 7-4 start in A-10 play, beating Dayton along the way, before losing six of their last seven regular-season games and then losing their first A-10 tournament game. Adams-Woods and Charles Pride, a 6-4 guard who scored 1,528 points in four seasons at Bryant, rank among the most experienced transfers entering the conference. The Bonnies have the pieces to contend for the A-10 title with an entirely different roster three years after winning their last championship.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
4. Saint Joseph’s
Head coach: Billy Lange, fifth season (38-77).
Last year’s record: 16-17, 8-10 (tied for eighth).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2005 (East Division).
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2016.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2016.
Best returning player: Erik Reynolds II, a 6-2 junior guard, averaged 19.6 points last season.
Top freshman: Xzayvier Brown, a 6-1 point guard, ranked 218th in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports.com.
Top transfer: None.
Summary: The Hawks posted their best record in the Lange era last season but still haven’t finished above .500 since 2015-16 (28-8). With three returning starting guards — Reynolds, Cameron Brown and Lynn Greer III — and six of their top seven scorers back, they should end that drought and compete for the A-10 championship.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
5. Duquesne
Head coach: Keith Dambrot, seventh season (91-84).
Last year’s record: 20-13, 10-8 (tied for sixth).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 1981 (Eastern 8).
Last A-10 tournament championship: 1977 (Eastern 8).
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 1977.
Best returning player: Dae Dae Grant, a fifth-year senior guard, averaged 15.5 points.
Top freshman: Jakub Necas, a 6-8 forward, is from the Czech Republic.
Top transfers: Twins Fousseyni Drame and Hassan Drame, 6-7 forwards, are grad students who combined to average 15.2 points at La Salle last season after three seasons at Saint Peter’s.
Summary: The Dukes rebounded from a last-place, one-win A-10 season in 2022 to hit 20 wins for the second time in Dambrot’s tenure. They return three starters and have 10 newcomers for the second straight season.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
6. George Washington
Head coach: Chris Caputo, second season (16-16).
Last year’s record: 16-16, 10-8 (tied for sixth).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2006 (West Division).
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2007.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2014.
Best returning player: Senior guard James Bishop IV led the A-10 with 21.6 points per game last season.
Top freshman: Jacoi Hutchinson, a 6-2 guard, ranked 210th in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports.com.
Top transfer: Benny Schröder, a 6-7 sophomore forward, appeared in six games at Oklahoma last season.
Summary: The former Colonials, now known as the Revolutionaries, finished above .500 (10-8) in the A-10 last season for the first time since 2017 (10-8). With Bishop and another double-digit scorer, guard Maximus Edwards (10.5), returning, they have a chance to keep the momentum going under Caputo, the fourth coach the program has had in the last 10 seasons.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
7. Fordham
Head coach: Keith Urgo, second season (25-8).
Last year’s record: 25-8, 12-6 (tied for second).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: None.
Last A-10 tournament championship: None.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 1992.
Best returning player: Kyle Rose, a 6-3 senior guard, ranked third on the team in scoring last season (7.3).
Top freshman: Jahmhere Tripp, a 6-6 guard/forward from the Bronx, ranked 241st in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
Top transfer: Japhet Medor, a 6-0 senior guard, averaged 13.7 points last season for the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Summary: Along with much-improved Duquesne, Fordham was the most surprising team in the A-10 in Urgo’s first season. He was named the A-10 Coach of the Year and led the program to its winning season since 1970-71 (26-3). The Rams lost their two leading scorers, Wayne grad Darius Quisenberry and Khalid Moore, but return four players who started at least 16 games.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
8. George Mason
Head coach: Tony Skinn, first season.
Last year’s record: 20-13, 11-7 (fifth place).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: None.
Last A-10 tournament championship: None.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2011.
Best returning player: Ronald Polite III, a 6-2 senior guard, averaged 11.5 points per game last season.
Top freshman: Austin Ball, a 6-7 forward, was a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports.com.
Top transfer: Darius Maddox, a 6-5 senior guard, averaged 8.5 points last season at Virginia Tech.
Summary: Kim English departed after two seasons as coach to take over at Providence. Three starters followed him, including Josh Oduro, a two-time first-team A-10 selection. Skinn, a starter on George Mason’s 2006 Final Four team, rebuilt the roster with Maddox and six other transfers, two of whom will need NCAA waivers to play this season.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
9. Loyola Chicago
Head coach: Drew Valentine, third season (35-29).
Last year’s record: 10-21, 4-14 (last place).
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2022.
Best returning player: Philip Alston, a 6-6 fifth-year senior forward, led the Ramblers with 14.6 points per game last season.
Top freshman: Miles Rubin, a 6-10 freshman from Chicago, ranked 156th in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports.com.
Top transfer: Greg Dolan, a 6-3 guard, is a graduate transfer from Cornell. He averaged 13.3 points last season.
Summary: After winning 25 and 26 games in their last two seasons in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Ramblers posted their worst record since the 2011-12 season (7-23) in their first season in the A-10. They were picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll and finished last. They should place much higher this season. In addition to Alston, they return starters Braden Norris and Ben Schweiger, their second- and third-leading scorers, and Tom Welch and Jalen Quinn.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
10. Saint Louis
Head coach: Travis Ford, eighth season (133-89).
Last year’s record: 21-12, 12-6 (tied for second).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2014.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2019.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2019.
Best returning player: Gibson Jimerson, a 6-5 redshirt junior guard, led Saint Louis with 14.0 points per game.
Top freshman: Cian Medley, a 5-11 guard, ranked 219th in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports.com. He’s one of seven freshmen on the roster.
Top transfer: Mike Meadows, a 6-2 redshirt senior guard, averaged 11.0 points at Portland.
Summary: Saint Louis has finished in the top five in the A-10 the last four seasons. That will be a challenge this season because it lost four starters, including Yuri Collins, the NCAA assists leader, and six of its top seven scorers.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
11. Davidson
Head coach: Matt McKillop, second season (16-16).
Last year’s record: 16-16, 8-10 (tied for eighth).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2022.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2018.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2022.
Best returning player: Grant Huffman, a 6-3 senior guard, averaged 9.4 points.
Top freshman: Rikus Schulte, a 6-9 freshman, averaged 21.5 points and 7.9 rebounds in Germany’s ProB League.
Top transfer: Angelo Brizzi, a 6-3 redshirt freshman guard, enrolled at Davidson in January after starting the season at Villanova. He ranked 167th in the class of 2021, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
Summary: McKillop’s first season was Davidson’s first non-winning season since 2000-01 (15-17). The Wildcats lost Foster Loyer and Sam Mennenga, two starters on the 2022 NCAA tournament team and their top two scorers last season, plus their fourth-leading scorer, Desmond Watson, who transferred to Loyola Chicago. They return Huffman, David Skogman, Reed Bailey and Connor Kochera, four players who averaged double-figure minutes.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
12. La Salle
Head coach: Fran Dunphy, second season (15-19).
Last year’s record: 15-19, 7-11 (tied for 11th).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: None.
Last A-10 tournament championship: None.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2013.
Best returning player: Khalil Brantley, a 6-1 junior guard, averaged 14.3 points.
Top freshman: Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, a 6-8 guard forward, averaged 9.1 points for Sweden’s U-20 team this summer.
Top transfers: None.
Summary: The Explorers have not enjoyed a winning season since 2014-15 (17-15). Six of the 10 players who averaged double-figure minutes last season return.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
13. Richmond
Head coach: Chris Mooney, 19th season (327-262).
Last year’s record: 15-18, 7-11 (tied for 12th).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: None.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2022.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2022.
Best returning player: Neal Quinn, a 7-0 senior center, averaged 9.5 points in his first season at Richmond after three seasons at Lafayette.
Top freshman: Trevor Smith, a 6-0 point guard, ranked 223rd in the 247Sports.com rankings.
Top transfer: Graduate student Jordan King, a 6-0 guard, averaged 15.6 points at East Tennessee State University.
Summary: Leading scorer Tyler Burton (19.0 points per game) transferred to Villanova. Dji Bailey, a 6-5 senior guard, and Aidan Noyes, a 6-7 redshirt sophomore forward, are the only scholarship players remaining from the team that won the A-10 tournament in 2022.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
14. Rhode Island
Head coach: Archie Miller, second season.
Last year’s record: 9-22, 5-13 (14th place).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2018.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 2017.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2018.
Best returning player: Brandon Weston, a 6-5 redshirt sophomore guard, averaged 4.6 points.
Top freshmen: Cam Estevez, a 6-4 point guard, was the sixth-ranked 2023 recruit in Connecticut, according to 247Sports.com.
Top transfer: Jaden House, a 6-4 junior guard, averaged 17.3 points at High Point.
Summary: Miller’s first season at Rhode Island was Rhode Island’s worst season since Dan Hurley’s first season (2012-13, 8-21). It took Hurley three years to build a winner and five years to get to the NCAA tournament. Miller’s second team won’t look much like his first. Rhode Island lost seven players in all. The team’s two double-digit scorers, Ishmael Leggett (Pittsburgh) and Brayon Freeman (Coastal Carolina), transferred. House is one of four transfers added to the roster, and there are two junior-college additions as well.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
15. Massachusetts
Head coach: Frank Martin, second season (15-16).
Last year’s record: 15-16, 6-12 (13th place).
Last A-10 regular-season championship: 2007.
Last A-10 tournament championship: 1996.
Last NCAA tournament appearance: 2014.
Best returning player: Matt Cross, a 6-7 senior forward, ranked second on the team in scoring (12.2).
Top freshman: Jaylen Curry, a 6-0 point guard, ranked 168th in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports.com.
Top transfer: Josh Cohen, a 6-10 grad transfer from St. Francis, was the Northeast Conference Player of the Year, averaging 21.8 points.
Summary: UMass lost seven players to the transfer portal, including leading Noah Fernandes, the team’s leading scorer the last two seasons. Martin’s first season was the program’s eighth straight losing season.
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