Grant likes experience of Dayton’s backcourt

Grant made many stops for different interviews throughout the day. He spoke to reporters from Field of 68 about the experience of his backcourt. There are four players — Enoch Cheeks, Posh Alexander, Javon Bennett and Malachi Smith — expected to play key roles. They have spent 13 seasons combined in college basketball.

“We have veterans — guys that are experienced in college basketball,” Grant said. “You look at a guy like Malachi, who even though he sat out last year, is a veteran. He’s a proven competitor, a proven winner. I would throw in Javon Bennett and Enoch Cheeks. Javon is in his third year and stepped in to fill a void that we needed him to fill last year. He did a great job with that. Enoch’s in his fifth year and was a kind of an unsung hero for us last year. He didn’t get a lot of recognition in terms of what he brought to our team. You add Posh to that mix, and we’ve got a deep, veteran, experienced backcourt.”

Favored Rams: VCU topped the A-10 preseason poll for the first time since 2019 and for the third time in its 13 seasons in the league. The Rams finished 24-14 last season in coach Ryan Odom’s first season.

Odom’s last two teams missed the NCAA tournament in his first season but made it in the second. Maryland, Baltimore County finished 25-11 in his second season and became the first No. 16 seed to win a NCAA tournament game, upsetting No. 1 seed Virginia in 2018. Two seasons ago, Utah State finished 26-9 in Odom’s final season.

“I certainly try not to compare years,” Odom said. “This is a totally different team from the Utah State team or the UMBC team in my second season. It does certainly help when you go into year two — the familiarity, all the things that you have to get acclimated to when you first take over a position. You’re moving your family all the way across the country twice, trying to figure out where the heck you’re going to live because the market’s so bad and then trying to put a team together. This time last year, we had finally gotten the team together and signed all the players that we needed to sign. When we first got there, there were five starters gone, guys off the bench gone, and we were having to scramble to put it together. I felt like our staff did an excellent job.”

Hawks rising: Saint Joseph’s was picked third in the preseason poll. That’s the highest it has been picked since the 2007-08 season when it was also picked third.

The Hawks have improved their record every season under coach Billy Lange, who’s entering his sixth season: 6-26 to 5-15 to 11-19 to 16-17 to 21-14.

Saint Joseph’s has the top returning scorer in the A-10, senior guard Erik Reynolds II (17.3 points per game). He ranks 15th in career scoring at the school (1,616 points) and has a chance to surpass Jameer Nelson (2,094) career scoring record.

“(Reynolds is) so effective off the dribble,” Lange said, “because he’s a threat to shoot off the dribble, which is a rarity. If you look at what a defense is willing to give up, they’re going to say a contested long 2 or an off-the-dribble 3. But it changes with him. Everything’s different with him.”

Injury news: Saint Louis suffered a scare when forward Robbie Avila, a transfer who followed new coach Josh Schertz from Indiana State, sprained his ankle in a preseason scrimmage on Sept. 28.

At Media Day, Avila said, “I’ll be OK by the time the season starts.”

Avila and sixth-year guard Gibson Jimerson made the A-10 preseason first team. Saint Louis was the only team with two players on the first team.

UD connection: Saint Louis freshman Max Pikaar, a 6-foot-10 forward from the Netherlands, is the son of Marco Pikaar, who played at Dayton from 1992-96.

Arena upgrade: La Salle’s arena is the second smallest in the A-10 (3,400). The Explorers ranked 14th out of 15 teams in attendance last season (1,689). But the school will show off a renovated arena at its season opener Nov. 4.

The arena was formerly known as Tom Gola Arena and will now be known as John Glaser Arena. It’s named after a late alum whose gift made the project possible. Gola still will be honored with naming of a plaza outside the arena, and the road leading to the arena will be named Tom Gola Way.

According to a La Salle press release, the upgraded arena “will feature a 360-degree bowl design that will change the court orientation, from east to west instead of north to south. The new seating will bring fans closer to the action. There will also be a hospitality area and additional premium seating surrounding the court.”