5. Rhode Island Rams- The
Rhody Rams get a lot of firepower for the 2013-2014 season. The Rams get
6-4 guard E.C. Matthews who is rated as a Top-100 recruit and
4 star in the 2013 class by ESPN, forward Hassan Martin who received offers
from notable programs in K-State, Iowa State, Providence, and Creighton, power
forward Gilvydas Bruta who transferred from Rutgers after averaging nearly 10
points and 5 rebounds per game as a Freshman, forward Jarelle Reischel who transferred
from Rice after averaging nearly 6 points in limited playing time, and guard
Deshon Minnis who transferred from Texas Tech to be closer to home. As well,
the Rams return their leading scorer from last seasons squad in Senior guard
Xavier Munford who averaged 17.4 points per game and Rhody also returns Junior
starting guard Mike Powell who averaged nearly 9 points per contest. Munford
had a nice season and Powell shot a poor percentage last season and luckily for
them, some of the pressure should be off of both of them this year with the
nice additions Coach Hurley has pulled off. The question mark for this Rhode
Island team will be if all the transfers and incoming recruits can mesh quickly
enough in order to do some damage this year. I may move Rhody up in my rankings
soon due in part to my bias of Coach Hurley who I have seen Coach numerous
times, but I am going to wait a little bit. As of right now I am going to leave
the Rams at the #11 spot due to the uncertainty of all of these transfers bonding
and meshing before conference play begins. Chemistry might occur too late for
the Rams but if they happen to be clicking on all cylinders, they could be
another dark horse along with GW that can potentially be a top 5 or 6 team in
the A-10 Conference.
6. Dayton Flyers- The NIT has been a popular landing spot for Dayton since the 2009-2010 season, the Flyers have been in the NIT a whopping 3 times since then. Head Coach Archie Miller took his 2011-2012 squad to the NIT and after a down year in the A-10, Mr. Miller is looking to route the Flyers to the NCAA Tournament. As all A-10 programs know, UD is always a tough out. I truly may regret picking them this low in the conference standings. Though the Flyers lose starting guard Kevin Dillard and forward Josh Benson, guard Vee Sanford returns and former Ohio State guard Jordan Sibert is now able to put on the Flyers uniform. Sibert was ranked #37 in the nation for the 2010 class by Rivals.com and he should make an immense impact this upcoming season. UD returns a bunch of players from last years 17 win group and their young but promising forwards should improve their play from last season. The frontcourt for the Flyers might have some trouble banging bodies with some A-10 foes but, I do like these forwards for the Flyers. Senior forward Devin Oliver and Sophomore forwards Dyshawn Pierre and Jalen Robinson have the capacity to do damage. However, I am not completely positive that they can produce at a level that makes them a standout ball club. They may prove me wrong, but I do not believe this is the year that the young UD Sophomore forwards turn the corner completely. Senior forward Devin Oliver should do his job in the frontcourt along with Senior forward Matt Kavanaugh(suspended last season), but I do not know if the two younger forwards can live up to the hype. That said, guard play from Sanford and Sibert will propel this team to a good season. UD should be in the thick of things when March comes calling. Only time will tell to see if Dayton will be receiving another familiar bid to the NIT.
My #7 and #8 teams will be my next post. Thanks for reading.
Stop being brainwashed by the media. Phil Martelli is not even close to an elite coach. One good season led by a great player does not make someone a great coach. Take a look at his record in his career. The numbers speak for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. Speaking MY opinion and MY mind is not being brainwashed by the media. There is a reason Saint Joes was picked to win conference last year. Martelli took a mediocre 2011-2012 team that should not have even came close to the 20 wins they received. He did a great job with that team.
ReplyDeleteBrainwashed is right. There is no way Dayton is going to be in the top6. Oh wait, I forgot Xavier, Temple, and Butler were gone. Maybe they can finish better than 8-8 in this watered down league. I still doubt it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. Three teams that STILL REMAIN in the A-10 in La Salle, St. Louis, and VCU finished last year ranked. Just a little comarison for you....the Big 12 ended up with only two ranked teams last year in KU and KSTATE. You can argue that the three ranked A-10 teams got stronger from last season. Additionaly, UMASS has one of the better backcourts in the country. Wouldn't say the A-1O is watered down, but they certainly lose very tough teams to compete against.
ReplyDeleteYou can't argue that the A10 is watered down when you are replacing perennial NCAA teams in Butler, Temple, and Xavier with Davidson and GM. Xavier and Temple CARRIED the A10 for years. LaSalle and St. Louis have to prove that they aren't just one hit wonders like GW a few years ago. The only team that I see with sustainable momentum is VCU and if Shaka leaves that may change too.
ReplyDeleteMeant you can't argue that the a10 ISN'T watered down because it is.
ReplyDeleteI am just talking about from last year to this year that the top 3 ranked teams that I projected are arguably stronger than what there teams were last year. I clearly stated that the a-10 loses very tough teams to compete against, but it is isn't a watered down type of conference... it is still a very competitive and deep one. Btw, there would be a lot of conferences that would love to have a Davidson/George Mason, you can call the A-10 watered down as much as you want but commisioner McGlade has done a terrific job replacing the teams that her conference had lost. You can keep on knocking the A-10 but nobody cares man....this is a very proud conference with respectable programs and a longtime history. Temple and Xavier can leave for more exposure and the big bucks but the teams that are in the A-10 presently are feeling just fine.
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