The Atlantic 10 is previewing all 14 men's basketball teams prior to the start of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Today's second featured team is Saint Louis, which was picked No. 7 in the A-10 Preseason Poll.
Saint Louis won the Atlantic 10 Championship after tying for sixth in the regular season, returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years.
But just because the Billikens got back to the postseason doesn’t mean they think they’ve arrived.
“I think it was really important for us as a program to get back to some relevancy, really,” coach Travis Ford said. “From where we had been the last three or four years, it was really important. I’ve said it a lot, but I think we’re still in the rebuilding stage. Since we’re climbing the ladder, we might have jumped a couple of steps. But that was a very veteran team, whereas now we’re the 100 percent opposite.”
When Ford looks at his roster, he sees only three players who logged time in the conference title game against St. Bonaventure last March. Forward Hasahn French is a Preseason Second Team all-league pick who should again be one of the A-10’s best rim protectors. Jordan Goodwin has averaged 10.9 points and 7.5 rebounds over his first two seasons.
But the Billikens have plenty of unknowns as they set out to successfully defend their conference championship.
“We’ve got some weapons, but these weapons are five freshmen,” Ford said. “We have some guys that were on the team last year that didn’t play and now could be starters. We’re really an unproven team except for two guys.”
A look at the Billikens:
Coach: Travis Ford, fourth season at Saint Louis, 52-50 with the Billikens and 388-316 overall in 22 seasons
Last year: Saint Louis went 23-13 overall and 10-8 in the Atlantic 10. The Billikens were the No. 6 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship, but won four games in four days to earn their first automatic bid to the NCAA tournament since 2013. Saint Louis earned a No. 13 seed and fell 66-52 to Virginia Tech on its first-round game.
They’ll miss: Of the top six scorers who were with Saint Louis to the end of the season, four were either seniors or graduate transfers. That group includes Javon Bess (team-high 15.3 points per game), as well as assists leader Tramaine Isabell, Jr. (13.7 ppg, 3.6 apg).
Impact returners: Junior Jordan Goodwin is poised to become the top guard on the roster after averaging 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds last season. He also managed 3.4 assists per game while logging more than 34 minutes a contest. It’s possible he matches or even surpasses that workload as the Billikens sort out a new nucleus.
Also returning is 6-7 junior Hasahn French (9.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg), a third team all-Atlantic 10 pick who swatted 66 shots last season to land on the league’s all-defensive team.
“We think we have two of the better players in our league,” Ford said. “You lose three starters but you return those two guys. I put a lot of pressure on them because I do think our season is going to depend on a lot not necessarily on how they play, but how they lead.”
Newbies of note: St. Louis native Yuri Collins isn’t going to supplant Goodwin as the Billikens’ starting point guard, but the two will spend time on the floor together.
“I don’t praise freshmen a lot --- I’m hesitant, and I’m slow to start them and things like that,” Ford said. “But he is probably better than I thought, and I thought he was pretty special. He’s a guy who is going to be hard to keep off the court.”
Ford believes the freshman will be a difference-maker at both ends of the floor, and his advanced defensive acumen has proven especially welcome in preseason practices.
“He’s tough, gritty, hard-nosed,” Ford said. “Two of the toughest I’ve coached as freshmen are Marcus Smart and Jordan Goodwin, and he ranks right up there with those guys. He puts his nose into everything.”
Another impact freshman could be 6-5 guard Gibson Jimerson, who should bolster the Billikens’ outside shooting immediately. Plus, 6-10 center Jimmy Bell Jr. is contending for a starting role as well.
Reasons to be optimistic: Billikens fans should think of this almost as a two-year season. Saint Louis has only two seniors, walk-on Jack Raboin and graduate transfer Tay Weaver (8.1 ppg last season at Eastern Kentucky).
French and Goodwin are both juniors and the cornerstones of the program. But there are a lot of minutes for newcomers to absorb this season, and they’re bound to improve as the year goes along.
The Billikens should be one of the A-10’s favorites in 2020-21, but there’s no reason they can’t be dangerous this year as well.
“They’re going to have major roles,” Ford said of the freshmen. “There’s no way around it. We’re confident with these guys. We think we’re going to be pretty good next year, but we’re building for the future as well.”
X factor: Ford believes sophomore guard Fred Thatch Jr., who averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds while appearing in every game last year for the Billikens, is a breakout candidate.
“We need him to be, desperately,” Ford said. “He’s a guy who averaged 4, 5, 6 points a game and we think he’s capable of going to 14 or 15. That’s a huge jump. That’s a lot to ask, but we think he has those capabilities.”
Even if Thatch doesn’t double or triple his scoring, he’s also a candidate to fill Bess’ role as the team’s defensive stopper this season.
Circle the date(s): The Billikens get a shot at a pair of power teams without having to leave the state. Saint Louis welcomes Seton Hall to Chaifetz Arena on Nov. 17 in a rematch of last year’s game in New Jersey, a 66-64 Billiken victory. Ford’s team also faces Kansas State in Kansas City, another opportunity for Saint Louis to pick up an impressive nonconference victory.
Bottom line: Even with French and Goodwin providing steady and strong production, the Billikens could be one of the more unpredictable teams in the league. Picked seventh out of 14 teams, Saint Louis will probably have some nights when it looks like of the A-10’s best squads and some when it will struggle to beat anyone in the conference. If the latter can be minimized, the Billikens have a chance to become dangerous by the time March arrives.
Patrick Stevens is a veteran freelance college basketball writer. A former sports reporter for the Washington Times, he has been a contributor to Atlantic10.com for the past six years. Follow him on Twitter at @D1scourse.