By Zachary Weiss
Special to Atlantic10.com
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A talented Atlantic 10 Conference had all 14 coaches buzzing at Atlantic 10 Media Day about the potential of several NCAA Tournament berth opportunities Thursday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Last year’s A-10 regular season champion, VCU, who is currently ranked 25th in the NCAA Division I AP Preseason Poll, was picked to win the league this season.
There was a buzz at media day about how young the Atlantic 10 had been over the past two years, and how that talented youth is beginning to mature. The constant theme was that the league, which has traditionally been driven by upperclassmen, has a very high ceiling coming into this season.
VCU coach Mike Rhoades took a defensive-minded approach bringing this mentality back to a team which ranked amongst the most effective in the country at stopping the basketball.
This year, an effort has been made to improve upon burying open 3-point shots, after converting 30.5 percent of its triples a season ago.
“I thought last year we had a lot of great open shots,” Rhoades said. “I went over every second and every shot and we’re playing the right way, we’ve just got to make more open threes. That’s been huge this offseason. So far in live action and practice, we’ve been shooting the ball better, now it has to carry over into games. That’s the key, just shooting the open threes and making them at a higher clip.”
Davidson placed second in the preseason poll and returns two Preseason All-Conference First Team selections in Kellan Grady and Jon Axel Gudmundsson.
Grady is coming off a season in which he suffered a meniscus injury and returned four weeks later, never really getting to 100%, yet still received first-team recognition, a testament to his conditioning and determination.
Gudmundsson was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year a season ago but according to Davidson coach Bob McKillop has his eyes set on a bigger prize.
“Jon is feverish as a competitor and he has a knack for the ball, has a passion to get to the rim and really has improved his shooting,” he said. “He understands he is not going after an individual award but a collective one. That collective award escaped us last year and that is driving him now.”
Dayton earned one first-place vote and placed third in the poll and returns perhaps the most electrifying player to the court in sophomore forward Obi Toppin who leads an accomplished group of returning players.
The Flyers also bring in four key transfers in Chase Johnson, Jordy Tshimanga, Rodney Chatman and Ibi Watson, meaning Grant will have to balance a group of players eager to succeed.
“I think that will be the task as we begin the year,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “There are expectations based on rumors because they haven’t played. We’ve got some pieces back that I am excited about and some new pieces and now we have to put them together. We have to blend the team and do what it takes to win in a talented A-10.”
Rhode Island is a team which has been in the preseason top five for five consecutive seasons now and returns a trio of first-team selection Cyril Langevine, second-team selection Jeff Dowtin and third-teamer Fatts Russell that are hungry to get the Rams back into the NCAA Tournament.
“We spent a lot of time to get to this particular point,” Rhode Island coach David Cox stated. “Now, we know the formula and what it takes and we are not taking a day off. We still have a lot of work to do to become champions every year and one of the top two teams in the league. Until we get there, we won’t be satisfied.”
While many teams will be relying on senior leaders, St. Bonaventure has three accomplished sophomores, each of whom play beyond their respective years, in Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi and Dominick Welch, who are expected to set the on-court example.
Lofton became the aggressive player the coaching staff desired after a meeting, Osunniyi has become a defensive force drawing charges and blocking shots and Welch has become a player coach Mark Schmidt can count on.
Though countless teams are ready for the season to begin, the Bonnies want to take these next two-and-a-half weeks and allow that time to help form several critical decisions.
“I tell our guys every day that we have to get better,” said Schmidt. We don’t have time to take a step back and have a sense of urgency. The next two-and-a-half weeks are really important for me but also for a couple of individuals because they will separate themselves into the top eight or nine and get that first shot.”
Richmond is a team that many coaches believe will take a jump. For one thing, Nick Sherod is back from injury, an injury which coach Chris Mooney believed affected the team a year ago.
Now a year older, the Spiders are determined to defend at a high level, knowing how success on that end of the court pays dividends.
“It is the toughness element and a technical one as well, and we have worked hard to improve both of those,” Mooney said. “We worked more than we ever have on our defense and just really building better habits. It is creating a stronger defensive attitude.”
Seven months after triumphing at the Barclays Center and securing an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament, Saint Louis has to embrace a certain newness. While Jordan Goodwin and Hasahn French return, the remaining part of the roster is filled with newcomers or players who did not see much time on the court.
“It is kind of a morbid thing, but I like the challenges more than when you are supposed to be pretty good,” Billikens coach Travis Ford said. “I like overachieving. I have enjoyed working with this thing every day for the fact that they’re very hungry. They knew they would not be picked high because of what they’ve lost and what this league returned. They’ve talked a lot about that already. I’ve seen that eagerness every day.”
Duquesne has continued to rise in the Atlantic 10 ranks in each year under coach Keith Dambrot, but the third-year leader believes that in order to play championship-caliber basketball, the team has to believe in itself.
“We just have to play with a chip on our shoulder and earn respect,” he said. “If we continue to plug, we will finish higher than they think.”
George Mason returns second-team selection Justin Kier though he will miss the start of the season due to injury. Even so, coach Dave Paulsen has enjoyed coaching this team just as much, if not more, than any Patriots predecessor.
“I thought last year we were picked fairly high and the guys let that impact them,” said Paulsen. “The noise got to them and you have to be about the process. It is doubly true now with the injuries. Up to this point, this group has been as good at that as any group I have coached.”
A year ago, La Salle started the season with an 0-10 record, but rallied together earning 10 wins in the process. It is looking to build its experience and earn some respect from the conference. The Explorers rallied late in the season and second-year coach Ashley Howard said he really likes the team he has this season and how they’re coming together.
Massachusetts coach Matt McCall spent the offseason evaluating the program and where he was falling short.
Ultimately everything led to character and culture, both of which have been improved, which McCall hopes leads to success.
“The character piece needed to change first,” McCall explained. “We feel like we have shifted that and have it in the right direction now. We have a great group that works hard. It will not always be pretty, but it is a tremendous group.”
George Washington is one of two schools which welcomes a new coach to grace its sideline. GW hired Jamion Christian, who inherits the tallest team in the conference. Now the job is to turn that height into an advantage.
“You just want to go out and play games with your friends and have fun,” said Christian. “There is a level of aggression and toughness and if you are a true competitor you love the toughness that it takes. they embrace the challenge and journey that we’re on.”
Saint Joseph’s also welcomes a new coach in Billy Lange, who is a familiar name in the Philadelphia area serving as a 76ers assistant coach and also being a part of Villanova’s coaching staff on two separate occasions.
Now, Lange is on Hawk Hill, hoping to build upon Saint Joseph’s history of success.
“I just love what I do,” he said. “The fun of it is I love being on Hawk Hill, the place, the history, the story and the chance to take some young players and develop and mold them.”
Fordham brings back a core of returning players, a fact which excites fifth-year coach Jeff Neubauer. His Rams are looking to continue to have a low amount of turnovers but improve its shooting and make shots at a higher clip.
“That is our quest right now and the way to remedy that is playing inside out,” said Neubauer. “I have not been a coach through my 15 years and eight years prior working for John Beilein that does that but we are going to throw it inside and play from there.”
It is a fact that each team enters the season with a certain degree of optimism, as the talent level from top to bottom may be at an all-time high. How that will translate into victories and postseason play remains to be seen, but there is a clear expectation that this season projects to be one which the conference can experience high levels of success.
Zachary Weiss is a freelance writer from Pittsburgh, Pa., that has covered Atlantic 10 Men's and Women's Basketball for nearly a decade.