What is a power ranking and how can we be ranked 5th among 15 teams in any league category after last season?

All jokes aside, while I would love for it to happen the talent just simply isn't there to finish that high even if CC gets the most out of this year's team. Switch GW and Mason and I think it's a fairly accurate list. I don't see how GMU can finish remotely that low unless Paulsen is back on the sidelines before conference play comes around. Oduro is a PoY candidate and English has assembled enough talent around him to compete for the 5 spot. Gaines, Cooper, Fernandez, and Dinkins. A slight concern with ball handling but Dinkins seems to be that guy long term. If GW can finish 10th I think Caputo will have exceeded expectations this year. The goal should at least be to host the opening round game. I got us in the 11-12 range finishing above the PA teams and maybe Bonaventure.

Would probably switch Dayton and SLU. Travis Ford has finished between 4th and 6th place in the league the past five seasons so SLU. They are certainly at-large caliber but Ford's teams haven't ever met their potential and cannot see them finishing at the top because of that. Dayton brings everyone back from a borderline at-large team made up of mostly underclassmen. They are a stacked squad.

UMass at #3 is a bold but reasonable take as they have a fairly high ceiling. I would switch them and VCU assuming the Rams are relatively healthy going into the season. The Minutemen are probably a year away as they are a very young squad overall and a lot of new pieces to integrate. Someone has to sit on the bench which will be an interesting decision that Martin has to make. VCU brings in a couple of Michigan transfers along with one of the top freshman classes in the league. The question with VCU has always been offense, and that's where a guy like David Shriver coming from soon to be D3 Hartford helps with his three point shooting.

I like Davidson and Richmond about three spots higher. I think even with Bob McKillop retiring there is just a strong culture there. Loyer provides a veteran presence at guard, Kochera should be a lot better now that he's not on a garbage team and Skogman is solid as well coming from Buffalo. Huffman and Mennenga seem capable of breaking out with more playing time available and Reed Bailey is an all-rookie team candidate.

Richmond red-shirted some guys who will probably play more this year. Mooney seemingly always finds great fits for his Princeton offense. Neal Quinn is moving up a level or so coming from Lafayette, but he is the kind of big the Spiders should be able to play through at the top of the key and Matt Grace had some nice moments late in the season. A slight concern at the point unless Jason Nelson is fully ready to take the reigns. Bigelow and Roche were solid fits as guys that can stroke it from deep. Roche is going to have to learn defense though since he's coming from The Citadel.

I don't actually love Rhode Island this year, but think they can make a big jump under Miller in year 2. Their bigs are actually not that strong of a group. Tchikou has potential but has struggled to stay healthy. I think Bray may be the best player on the team. Ishmael Leggett took a step back last year but I still like his game a lot as well. Upside comes from Harris/Weston but it's not enough for the first year. I might have them closer to 10th.

I don't know what to make of Loyola honestly. They got some solid transfers from mid-major land this offseason but losing a guy like Lucas Williamson (along with the rest of their senior class) is tough to recover from. Davidson proved that a new team can win the league immediately but I'm not seeing it from this Rambler squad at least immediately but long term they are a strong addition to the league. I think middle of the league is probably fair.

Fordham is indeed in fact a tad high but their ceiling is a bit higher than I'm sure most people expect even with losing Neptune to Villanova. Quisenberry is back, Khalid Moore has some upside returning home after a stint at Georgia Tech, and I think Kyle Rose took a big step forward with Neubauer no longer coach. Amazing what running an actual offensive system can do for a player's game. Really it's just the incoming freshmen class that gives Fordham some potential. They are bringing in legitimately one of the best incoming classes in the league and I'm not quite sure how they pulled it off. I think 8th is a possibility, but losing Neptune probably hurts a tad.

St. Joe's, St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, and La Salle are probably towards the bottom of the league. Brayon isn't the only inter-league transfer as the Hawks bring in Lynn Greer from Dayton along with a 3-star freshman in Christian Winborne from Baltimore. Pairing those two with Erik Reynolds is a solid guard trio, but I thought Lange was a bad hire at the beginning and still think that's the case. I could see St. Joe's finishing dead last with Hall and Funk gone.

St. Bonaventure is losing too much, but Schmidt is a good coach so I think they definitely avoid the absolute bottom of the league. They bring in a lot of low-major guys but guys who were productive at their last stop. Now might be the time for the Bonnies to actually play more guys so they don't have another mass exodus next season.

I actually do find myself liking the guys Dambrot is bringing in to Duquesne, but I just didn't like the isolation ball offense they ran last year. Tevin Brewer (Florida International) and Dae Dae Grant (Miami OH) likely play the Spears/Johnson role on the team this year. Devin Carney is a freshman whose game I do like. Matúš Hronsky can stretch the floor as well, but the Dukes need Easley and Williams to play a lot better than they did last year otherwise they aren't finishing above bottom 3.

There is a bit of intrigue on this La Salle roster. I cannot believe I'm saying that. I don't think they get out of the bottom 4 in the A10, but I think Dunphy can get more out of the guys currently on the roster. Brickus and Brantley have shown flashes, and I think Ashley Howard held them back a bit. Josh Nickelberry improved a lot as a player from his days at Louisville but had an issue with disappearing in games, especially down the stretch of last season. The Drame twins add some defense from the St. Peter's Peacocks and they also bring in some international guys. La Salle finishing at the bottom has less to do with Dunphy and more to do with the fact that it's the toughest job in the league. Fordham may have overtaken them in the past few years.
 

I would love to be an optimist. But please, I need an explanation of how the additions to the roster or improvements by returnees are better than the subtractions of Freeman and Bamissle. Hope springs external, but.... Maybe we need to lower our expectations and change the trajectory by not losing to the likes of UMass-Lowell, UCSan Diego, Cal State Fullerton Hampton, UMBC etc.

I cannot eally quantify it, but I can't help feeling that we are underestimating the talent that is on the team, as well as the impact of a new coach.  

GW0509 wrote:

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

I cannot eally quantify it, but I can't help feeling that we are underestimating the talent that is on the team, as well as the impact of a new coach.  

Please let me be happy in my delusions for the next 2 months.

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

GW0509 wrote:

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

I cannot eally quantify it, but I can't help feeling that we are underestimating the talent that is on the team, as well as the impact of a new coach.  

Please let me be happy in my delusions for the next 2 months.

It wasn't a dig at your delusions at all LSF. Gentle Ben was proven right back in '99! 

more realistic?

https://bustingbrackets.com/2022/09/01/atlantic-10-basketball-preseason-power-rankings-2022-23-season/13/
 

Mike King's Shoulder wrote:

Mighty Mighty Hippos.

🎵Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high
You need a strength most don't possess?
Or has it ever come down to do or die?
You've got to rise above the rest🎵