This preview is part of the Atlantic 10's 2020-21 Men's Basketball Tipoff, which also includes A-10 media day, the preseason poll and awards and the 2020-21 schedule. The previews, written by Patrick Stevens, began on Nov. 10 and will continue through the week. Once released, each preview can be found here.
SAINT LOUIS ESSENTIALS
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Travis Ford considers Jordan Goodwin one of the “more interesting” players he’s ever coached.
The Billikens guard also belongs among the best players Ford has encountered over two decades as a head coach.
Goodwin averaged 15.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals last season, the first Division I player to hit all three of those marks since 2005-06. Oh, and he’s also 6-3, meaning he’s maximized both his wits and his hustle to become a rebounding savant.
“He leads us in rebounding almost every single day,” Ford said. “I would love to sit here and say I taught him to rebound the basketball, but it is an incredible, competitive will to rebound the ball. It’s a feel for rebounding; he has a great feel for where the ball is going to be. … It is amazing. A guy his size averaging a double-double is pretty impressive.”
Also impressive: There’s room for the Billikens to have another walking double-double on the floor. Hasahn French mans the middle and perhaps looks the part of a double-digit rebounder a bit more than Goodwin, but both of them contribute to Saint Louis’ all-out approach to the glass.
“One thing we can both do is go out there and get double-digit rebounds, because that can help our team a long way on the offensive and defensive ends,” Goodwin said. “I just think it’s the mentality that’s been put in since we got here with coach Ford, just being aggressive, being dogs, hitting the glass and just going every time. You give yourself a chance if you go. That mentality is second nature now.”
Both Goodwin and French played key roles during the Billikens’ Atlantic 10 tournament championship run two seasons ago. Now, they’ll head into their senior year seeking a return to the NCAA tournament. If it doesn’t happen, it won’t be for lack of effort.
A LOOK AT THE BILLIKENS:
Coach: Travis Ford, fifth season at Saint Louis, 75-58 with the Billikens and 411-324 overall in 23 seasons
Last year: The Billikens finished the season strong, winning their final five games to clinch sole possession of fourth place in the Atlantic 10 at 12-6. A 23-8 overall record gave Saint Louis its best winning percentage since a 27-7 mark in 2013-14.
They’ll miss: Very little. Tay Weaver (4.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg) graduated and is the only departure from last season’s regular rotation. Weaver’s great strength was stretching the floor; his 35 made 3-pointers ranked second on the roster.
Impact returners: Beyond the do-it-all Jordan Goodwin, the Billikens return Javonte Perkins (15.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and center Hasahn French (12.4 ppg, 10.4 rpg). They’ll form one of the best core groups in the Atlantic 10.
But they’ll also get back Gibson Jimerson (broken foot) and Fred Thatch Jr. (leg) from injuries as well. Jimerson averaged 10.8 points in 10 games off the bench. Thatch notched 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds a night in six games. Both should provide more outside oomph for Saint Louis.
“I just think it creates a lot more space for everyone when you have guys like Gibson Jimerson on the court, a Fred Thatch who can shoot it,” Ford said. “It just allows a little more freedom, a little bit more space for everybody else.”
Newbies of note: Keep an eye on UNC Wilmington transfer Marten Linssen, who averaged 10.5 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Seahawks as a sophomore. The 6-8 Linssen shot 59.6 percent from the floor and will fit in well with a Saint Louis front line that has the potential to become more efficient this season.
Reasons to be optimistic: The Billikens have some options. Maybe more than anyone in the A-10.
“We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things to help us on both sides of the ball,” Goodwin said.
They also have an established way to play. Goodwin and Perkins can find ways to create shots in almost any scenario. The 6-7, 240-pound French is tough to dislodge out of the post. And between roster additions and players returning to health, Ford should have one of the bigger rotations in the league.
“We’ve added four or five guys that we think can play to last year’s team,” Ford said. “Depth hopefully will play a role. Our offense isn’t going to change much and how we play isn’t going to change much. We played a lot inside-to-out the last couple years with Hasahn getting a lot of touches and that hasn’t changed very much.”
X factor: For all the good Saint Louis is capable of, its foul shooting has been, well, foul. The Billikens were 65.2 percent at the line in 2017-18, hardly great but enviable compared to the 59.8 percent (2018-19) and 58.0 percent (2019-20) that have followed.
Ford has tried a carrot-and-stick approach to practice, tying missed foul shots to extra conditioning time on an exercise bike afterward. He’ll find out whether that works or not, but progress on this front would leave Saint Louis less vulnerable to comebacks in end-game situations.
“We’ve always emphasized it and we’re always looking for new ways to improve and get better at it,” Ford said. “It’s something we know we need to get better [at] to become great."
Circle the dates: Saint Louis has a pair of Friday night encounters with Richmond --- Jan. 29 on the road, Feb. 26 at Chaifetz Arena --- that will go a long way toward settling the Atlantic 10 regular season race. Those should be two of the most anticipated games this year not just for the Billikens, but the entire conference.
Bottom line: The Billikens closed out last season with five wins a row, and twice pushed Dayton into the latter stages of games (including losing once on a buzzer-beater in overtime). It’s a good place to start, but Ford knows that will only help so much. “We can’t just rely on ‘We were a pretty good team last year’ and think it’s just going to continue,” Ford said. “What we can do is learn from it and hopefully build on it.”
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 seven years. Follow him on Twitter at @D1scourse.