Goff’s Atlantic 10 power rankings: Butler near top of deep league
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
This season’s Atlantic 10 conference is almost as deep as the body of water for which it is named. Swollen for a limited time to 16 teams, nearly half the league can hold legitimate NCAA tournament aspirations.
Before Temple departs for the Big East and Charlotte moves to Conference USA, the A-10 hopes to enjoy one frenzied year of basketball.
As Butler opens practice this evening, we present the inaugural edition of IndySportsLegends.com’s Atlantic 10 Power Rankings. Check back each week during the college basketball season for an updated listing. The next power rankings will appear just before the Bulldogs’ regular season opener Nov. 10 against Elon.
1. Saint Joseph’s
Conference coaches and media voted the Hawks the preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10 in a media day poll, and that selection deserves deference. Phil Martelli’s finished first before; he can do it again. Despite a so-so 20-14 record last season, St. Joe’s returns 100 percent of its rotation, and only three teams in America blocked more shots than the imposing Hawks. They can shoot (Langston Galloway), break you down (Carl Jones), run (Halil Kanacevic) and score in the post (C.J. Aiken).
2. Saint Louis
How meaningful is the instruction of coach Rick Majerus to the Billikens? Enough that his leave of absence to deal with a heart condition drops Saint Louis from the top spot in these rankings. Majerus is 517-216 in his career, while interim coach Jim Crews is just 354-348 as a head coach. Still, the Billikens return seven of nine rotation players from a team that finished 26-8. Anything less than a top-3 finish would be a surprise.
3. Butler
The Bulldogs’ string of five consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament ended last season. It’s possible coach Brad Stevens starts a new one this year, although he admits the transition from the Horizon League will be difficult. Expect excellent shooting from a reloaded backcourt of Rotnei Clarke and Kellen Dunham and largely steady play from senior center Andrew Smith. Junior power forward Khyle Marshall, loaded with raw but underutilized talent, is the X-factor.
4. Virginia Commonwealth
To have watched VCU come within an open 3-pointer of crashing the Sweet 16, and then place them fourth in a preseason ranking, is preposterous. But so is the top of the A-10. Bradford Burgess is adequately replaced at small forward by Jordan Burgess, and the rest of the team remains the same. That can only mean more forced turnovers, more wins and a potential A-10 championship.
5. Massachusetts
The Minutemen earned a 5-seed in the NIT on the strength of a 16-5 nonconference schedule, and to survive in A-10 play this season, they must be tougher. UMass was outrebounded in five of seven regular season conference losses. With more playing time, 250-pound sophomore Cady Lalanne should help on that front.
6. Xavier
For the first time in six seasons, the Musketeers failed to win at least a share of the regular season A- 10 title, and now could fall even further after the expulsion of promising guard Dez Wells, who started 32 games as a freshman. Instead of receiving the baton from Tu Holloway, Wells is off to Maryland, and Chris Mack is in store for a transition year like the one Stevens endured in 2011-12.
7. Temple
The Owls earned a No. 5 seed in last season’s Dance, had the top seed in the A-10 tourney and went 24-8. Quite a season. But gone are Juan Fernandez, Michael Eric and Ramone Moore. It’s fair to expect some offensive decline from what should again be a very effective team under Fran Dunphy.
8. Dayton
The Flyers rolled to victories over Minnesota and Ole Miss last season en route to a 20-13 record. That seems replicable. Seniors Kevin Dillard and Josh Benson give coach Archie Miller a borderline contender.
9. La Salle
The Explorers went 21-13 a year ago, posting the school’s best win total since 1990 thanks to a highly productive offensive attack. Coach John Giannini has an outside shot to lead them to the Big Dance for the first time since 1992, but that would require quite a bit of internal improvement from returnees Sam Mills and Jerrell Wright.
10. Richmond
Coach Chris Mooney oversaw a group that rarely turned the ball over but struggled to defend and rebound in the painted area of the floor. Unfortunately, the Spiders’ top rebounder and shot blocker used up his eligibility. Richmond appears middle-of-the-pack despite the talents of guards Darien Brothers and Kendall Anthony.
11. George Washington
Mike Lonergan leads a program that has been under .500 in conference play four of the past five years. The Colonials lack the size to compete with the upper half of the A-10, and what little height they do possess is young. They’re also missing a legitimate go-to scorer.
12. St. Bonaventure
˜Irreplaceable’ is a tag that truly applies only in rare instances, but as Andrew Nicholson takes his 18.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game to the Orlando Magic, the Bonnies feel a gaping void. Prior to Nicholson, the New York school had not won a postseason game since 1995.
13. Charlotte
The 49ers, last seen competing as the No. 12 seed in the A-10 tournament, need to shoot better than 41 percent from the field as Alan Major enters his third season as coach. Freshman Shawn Lester might add backcourt punch to help free star forward Chris Braswell, but Charlotte’s upside is very limited.
14. Duquesne
The Dukes last went dancing in 1977, and Jim Ferry must replace four of Duquesne’s top five scorers in his first year. With so much change and early matchups with Georgetown, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, expect a dropoff from last season’s mediocre 16-15 record.
15. Fordham
Watch a few minutes of his tape on Youtube, and it’s easy to see why senior Chris Gaston is one of the A-10’s best players. He’s savvy around the basket with a nice touch and runs the floor well for his size. A leap by sophomore guard Bryan Smith might offer Gaston the aid he needs to prevent a fifth straight last-place finish.
16. Rhode Island
At 4-12, the Rams stumbled to their worst league record in seven years last season. New coach Dan Hurley must rely on a pair of freshmen big men to improve the offense, or else Rhode Island might occupy the A-10 cellar for the first time since 2002.
