Atlantic 10 Preseason Blogger Poll: Teams 1-7

I got the fun started on our Atlantic 10 blogger preview yesterday with the preview of the bottom of the league. Today, we’ve got 1-7.

It’s worth noting that eight of the nine ballots contained six of the same seven teams. None had identical top threes and four teams got votes for first place. Normally, we talk a lot about the wide open middle of the league. For the first time in a long time, there is no consensus at the top.

In case you missed it yesterday, here’s our list of perplexed voters.

Mat Shelton, VCU Rams Nation, A-10 Talk
Dave Ascoli, Rhody Rampage
Dan Bonsall, Once and Future Spiders Blogger
Jaden Daly, A Daly Dose of Hoops
Tom Blackburn, The Blackburn Review
Rogabee, YukuDukes
Jordan Majewski, Staring At The Floorboards
Alan Kelly, Masonhoops
Steve DiMiceli, The Point of Pittsburgh

7. St Joe’s (High:5 Low:10)

Steve D – The Hawks have some promising youngsters, but if De ?Andre Bembry ?s has a bad day, you have to think they ?ll have a bad day.

Alan K – Sixth-year senior Papa Ndao will live up to his first name, but the Hawks lack depth.

Jordan M – DeAndre Bembry can do everything on the court, but he needs help. Martelli returns everyone and adds talented FR guards Clover and Kimble, and stretch shooter Oliva from Italy. The Hawks have more depth this year, and should be able to score more efficiently.

Mat S – They should certainly jump UMass and La Salle and enter the top half of the league thanks to Player of the Year candidate DeAndre Bembry.

Dave A – How far can DeAndre Bembry carry a team? Tune in and find out.

6. Richmond (High:4 Low:7)

Dan B – An inside heavy team, coached by Mooney? I’m so confused. Need help at PG to be elite.

Alan K – The Spiders are one of the unknowns: they have talent, but who will step into Kendall Anthony’s shoes?

Dave A – Kendall Anthony is gone, but between rising star ShawnDre Jones and Virginia Tech transfer Marshall Wood, the Spiders shouldn’t miss a beat. Look for another top five finish this season.

Jaden D – The jury is out on how good ShawnDre’ Jones can be as the starting point guard, but Deion Taylor and Terry Allen don’t get near enough credit for what they do. Never bet against Mooney either.

Mat S – The A-10 is going to miss watching Kendall Anthony but that should allow us to finally shift our focus to just how good the duo of Allen and Cline really is.

Jordan M – ShawnDre’ Jones looks ready to evolve into Kendall Anthony’s role, but the front court defensively will miss Nelson-Ododa. Mooney has mobile bigs with Allen, Wood, and Cline, and that could make his offense lethal this year.

5. VCU (High:1 Low:6)

Mat S – Truth be told, I’m even higher on them than I ranked them. They are loaded with talent and I think will surprise a lot of people thanks to breakouts from guys like Tillman, Gilmore and Billbury.

Dave A – There are a lot of question marks surrounding VCU this year, but one thing is for certain: despite his graduation in May, the league will still find a way to award Briante Weber the 2015-16 Defensive Player of the Year.

Dan B – Havoc 2.0, now more Havoc-y? Too talented to be bad, but I’ll need convincing on Wade.

Tom B – Major regression coming for VCU, I can feel it.

Steve D – All signs point to transition year from a new, old coach to the loss of their two most important players. They need a breakout player or four.

4. George Washington (High:2 Low:6)

Jaden D – They’re too talented not to contend. Losing Savage and Kopriva will hurt, but Alex Mitola is a capable replacement to pair with McDonald. Plus, how underrated is Patricio Garino?

Tom B – Should be another 20 win season for Lonergan’s crew. Solid squad, not much depth.

Dave A – The Colonials have a veteran group that’s looking for one final run before graduation. Add Tyler Cavanaugh into the mix and GW will be tough once again.

Rogabee -Likely the best post game in the A10. Alex Mitola could be most meaningful transfer in the A10 for a GW team that may only be missing a SG.

Steve D – The Colonials underachieved in 2014-15, but I wouldn ?t expect a repeat

Dan B – I like this team and I like Lonergan. Except Watanabe, him I loathe.

3. Dayton (High:1 Low:6)

Tom B – The Flyers add front-court depth to a roster desperately needing it. UD will make the NCAA tournament for the 3rd year in a row.

Jaden D – I had the Flyers winning the league before the Dyshawn Pierre situation. He could very well be back for A-10 play, but it’s going to be a long adjustment without him.

Alan K – The indefinite loss of Dyshawn Pierre puts a serious dent in the would-be favorites.

Mat S – The Pierre loss is huge but he’ll be back by the start of A-10 play so it shouldn’t effect these rankings. Big year coming from Scoochie Man.

Rogabee – The off-the-court turmoil finally catches up to the Flyers.

2. Davidson (High:1 Low:6)

Mat S – Cats finished first in just their first season as an A-10 squad, lose one player, yet are still being slept on. Them Cats still wild.

Alan K – The Wildcats will miss Tyler Kalonoski, but a healthy Jack Gibbs could take Bob McKillop’s team right back to the top.

Rogabee – Sure losing Kalinoski hurts, but return four of top five and add Belford also.

Tom B – Cats return plenty and McKillop is the best X and O’s guy in the league. Favorable schedule.

Steve D – Not often that you can like what is returning to a team this much after losing the conference player of the year.

1. Rhode Island (High:1 Low:4)

Dave A – Matthews and Martin are back. Terrell and Garrett are a year older. And Kuran Iverson is in the fold? It’s going to be awfully hard to beat the Rams this season.

Jordan M – Can Four McGlynn and Kuran Iverson bring enough offense to help out EC Matthews and match the exceptional defense of the Rams both outside with Jared Terrell and inside with Hassan Martin? I think so, and the Rams get back to the NCAA Tournament.

Tom B – I know the Rams are the sexy preseason pick, prove me wrong. Don’t think Iverson will have the impact most are projecting.

Jaden D – Dan Hurley has his best roster since arriving from Wagner, with Matthews and Martin both capable of POY honors. Biggest key will be whether or not Kuran Iverson can get his head straight.

Alan K – Dan Hurley’s machine is ready to dominate. It could easily be a Rams vs. Rams battle all year for the #1 seed.

Mat S – This could actually be the year. One of the most talented core groups in the league.

Dan B – A year away for awhile, that year is now here. For real. They’ll win any rock fight.

Rogabee – Easy schedule buoyed the Rams last year up the A10 standings. Will likely play the best D in the conference, but can they score ? Prove it time for Hurley.

Steve D – Q: What will Kingston, RI and a Hyundai have in common in May of 2016. A: Hassan Martin, EJ Matthews and Dan Hurley won ?t be in either. Enjoy it while it lasts URI fans.

 

Link to teams #8-14