A10 Outlook for 2023-24

[Jersey77]

Of course the loses have outweighed the gains, no shock.
Creighton (MVC), Xavier, and Butler all left for the Catholic 7 because of the huge opportunity and that conference was a good fit for their profile.
Temple's leaving had much to do with football.
Wouldn't be surprised to see some other schools leave if the right opportunity comes along.
The fact that the BE is poaching the A10 shows that we have some strong programs.

Don't agree about Loyola always sucking:
21-22- Regular season beat Arizona State and San Francisco, lost by only 2pts to Michigan State.
20-21- Beat Ga. Tech and Illinois in the NCAAT
18-19- Beat Florida
17-18- NCAAT beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State.
If that is sucking sign me up.

I don't understand after finishing 10th, 11th, and 14th why some here are so worked up about the conference administration.
I think we should be more concerned about getting our program back on a winning track.

In addition, what makes you think raising the exit fee would even get approved by the members?
Also, how do you know if that wasn't even already discussed?

I don't know. But what I do know is that leaders are judged on their results. Not on what they tried/didn't try to get done and failed at.

The member schools realize that the administration leaders are only just that and much of the major decisions and purse strings are controleed by the president's council. Yes the administrators can seek out and present opportunities and negotiate deals but they have to work within the guidelines and their power is very limited.

[Jersey77]

And under McGlade we also lost Xavier and Butler when the Big East had nothing.

I'd argue losing Xavier was a worse loss than VCU was a gain. But we had both at the same time, it's not like one replaced the other. A bag was fumbled here. Davidson was a good addition, nowhere near what VCU has been, but obviously better than most of the conference since they're 1 of 7 teams to contribute to our NCAA fund within the last 7 years. They have an old multipurpose arena and God only knows what they'll do without Bob McKillop.

We had a real chance to become something seriously great as a conference in 2013 - and McGlade couldn't sell it. Or worse, have a vision to split the conference or retain it's prominent members, or work something out with all the uncertainty that existed in the pre-new big east times.

Since then we've been completely in decline. Under McGlade we've added: VCU, George Mason, Davidson, and Loyola.

We've lost: Butler, Charlotte, Temple, and Xavier. We have lost far more than we have gained.

How do you not put a tougher exit fee structure in place than TWO MILLION? That's all. After 1 year Butler had to pay $2M because they didn't give 1 year's notice of leaving.

By comparison, UConn owes the Big East $30 million if they leave any time before 2025.

This is a small time league with small time management and direction.

As for the teams: George Mason doesn't get a pass because they found a way to finish 5th in the worst A10 season of our lifetimes. They still suck. They've sucked since they got here. English could've finished anywhere with his team and been hired at PC because Rick Barnes recommended him.

I am not giving Drew Valentine a pass because a) anyone with a brain could've seen that Loyola is and has always been a team that benefitted from playing in a terrible conference and the 2 times they danced in 4 years they got a favorable draw. b) Valentine's is a story as old as time in college basketball - take what the previous guy did, have a good year building off of their system and players, and then suck when you're on your own.

See Ollie, Kevin; Cox, David, for recent and regional examples.

Archie gets a pass for his first year because:

a) he was out of the game with zero pipeline for over a year. Valentine slotted over from the assistant chair at the same school. I didn't give Dave Cox a pass, I said he was cooked and over his head in December of year 1.
b) he's shown he can win, win at a high level, and do it multiple times in the recent past at our level and above. Valentine is a first time HC. Like Cox or Kevin Ollie.

NIL or not basketball players don't want to go to Loyola. Chicago in the wintertime, tiny school with rigid academic standards. They were a bad add period.

Of course the loses have outweighed the gains, no shock.
Creighton, Xavier, and Butler all left for the Catholic 7 because of the huge opportunity and that conference was a good fit for their profile.
Temple's leaving had much to do with football.
Wouldn't be surprised to see some other schools leave if the right opportunity comes along.
The fact that the BE is poaching the A10 shows that we have some strong programs.

Don't agree about Loyola always sucking:
21-22- Regular season beat Arizona State and San Francisco, lost by only 2pts to Michigan State.
20-21- Beat Ga. Tech and Illinois in the NCAAT
18-19- Beat Florida
17-18- NCAAT beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State.
If that is sucking sign me up.

I don't understand after finishing 10th, 11th, and 14th why some here are so worked up about the conference administration.
I think we should be more concerned about getting our program back on a winning track.

The BE poaching the A10 shows that we HAD some strong programs. The committee won't add points to anyone's NET because the A10 used to be a good conference. I agree that we were too. Just that incompetent leadership lost those good programs.

Isolated games don't mean anything. With a loaded team in a bad conference they went to 2 dances in 4 years. Then Valentine rode the Moser wave for one more year before a first round exit. Then he went 6-6 in the OOC, jumped to a competitive conference and looked hilariously bad. And despite the 3 tourneys in 5 years - they hadn't been to a dance in 32 years before that and only SEVEN winning seasons. So yes, they've always been bad minus a brief period in the sun.

Of course, any one of us would sign up for 3/5 NCAA's. The preference would be to finally build a program that does that rather routinely or better. Considering that's happened a grand total of once in their history (we're not pretending that a 22 team NCAA tourney win is any measure of modern success), and their coach that was the architect is gone, I'll say they were a mid-major and they bring our conference closer to a one bid league than an aspiring multi-bid one.

And I think, especially in the off-season, we're capable of worrying about our own winning woes and the conference that we're playing in simultaneously.

Don't be so quick to dismiss Valentine and Loyola.
I think you can agree that they were able to attract some good talent in the portal with Dez Watson, Dame Adelekun, and Greg Dolan, plus Philip Alston last season.

I feel blaming McGlade for losing programs to the BE is unfair just like I wouldn't blame Thorr for losing Hurley.

[Blue Man]

Of course the loses have outweighed the gains, no shock.
Creighton, Xavier, and Butler all left for the Catholic 7 because of the huge opportunity and that conference was a good fit for their profile.
Temple's leaving had much to do with football.
Wouldn't be surprised to see some other schools leave if the right opportunity comes along.
The fact that the BE is poaching the A10 shows that we have some strong programs.

Don't agree about Loyola always sucking:
21-22- Regular season beat Arizona State and San Francisco, lost by only 2pts to Michigan State.
20-21- Beat Ga. Tech and Illinois in the NCAAT
18-19- Beat Florida
17-18- NCAAT beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State.
If that is sucking sign me up.

I don't understand after finishing 10th, 11th, and 14th why some here are so worked up about the conference administration.
I think we should be more concerned about getting our program back on a winning track.

The BE poaching the A10 shows that we HAD some strong programs. The committee won't add points to anyone's NET because the A10 used to be a good conference. I agree that we were too. Just that incompetent leadership lost those good programs.

Isolated games don't mean anything. With a loaded team in a bad conference they went to 2 dances in 4 years. Then Valentine rode the Moser wave for one more year before a first round exit. Then he went 6-6 in the OOC, jumped to a competitive conference and looked hilariously bad. And despite the 3 tourneys in 5 years - they hadn't been to a dance in 32 years before that and only SEVEN winning seasons. So yes, they've always been bad minus a brief period in the sun.

Of course, any one of us would sign up for 3/5 NCAA's. The preference would be to finally build a program that does that rather routinely or better. Considering that's happened a grand total of once in their history (we're not pretending that a 22 team NCAA tourney win is any measure of modern success), and their coach that was the architect is gone, I'll say they were a mid-major and they bring our conference closer to a one bid league than an aspiring multi-bid one.

And I think, especially in the off-season, we're capable of worrying about our own winning woes and the conference that we're playing in simultaneously.

Don't be so quick to dismiss Valentine and Loyola.
I think you can agree that they were able to attract some good talent in the portal with Dez Watson, Dame Adelekun, and Greg Dolan, plus Philip Alston last season.

I feel blaming McGlade for losing programs to the BE is unfair just like I wouldn't blame Thorr for losing Hurley.

Hah we'll never agree on Valentine and Loyola. I thought Loyola was full of it during the Sister Jean run and thought if we were seeded "worse" as an 8/9 in the south rather than a 7 in the midwest, we'd have beat the piss out of them en route to a Final Four. And I just don't think Valentine does anything particularly groundbreaking with his recruiting or in game coaching.

But blaming McGlade for the 2013 debacle is completely fair. The Big East was about to become the Catholic 7.

They were returning THREE NCAA teams that year. The A10 had 5.

As many of us had said - you had leverage to work with the schools leaving. No one knew what was going to happen. They had to take 2 of our 5 NCAA teams to complete their conference.

Whether or not she tried/didn't try/didn't think of it...whatever. She failed. She lost 2 of the conference's bellweather programs in Xavier and Temple, and the new shiny one in Brad Stevens' Butler.

Creighton was also looking for a conference to join at the time. The catholic 7 didn't have a TV deal yet. But we didn't do anything to improve our standing and as a result we've gotten worse. McGlade should've been fired in 2014.

For whatever reason, we keep dragging dead weight in high school gymnasiums around and it kills us for any hope to become a legitimate conference.

Make changes to shore up the dregs of this conference, or lets hope our like-minded schools are backchanneling to break off and form their own.

[Jersey77]

The BE poaching the A10 shows that we HAD some strong programs. The committee won't add points to anyone's NET because the A10 used to be a good conference. I agree that we were too. Just that incompetent leadership lost those good programs.

Isolated games don't mean anything. With a loaded team in a bad conference they went to 2 dances in 4 years. Then Valentine rode the Moser wave for one more year before a first round exit. Then he went 6-6 in the OOC, jumped to a competitive conference and looked hilariously bad. And despite the 3 tourneys in 5 years - they hadn't been to a dance in 32 years before that and only SEVEN winning seasons. So yes, they've always been bad minus a brief period in the sun.

Of course, any one of us would sign up for 3/5 NCAA's. The preference would be to finally build a program that does that rather routinely or better. Considering that's happened a grand total of once in their history (we're not pretending that a 22 team NCAA tourney win is any measure of modern success), and their coach that was the architect is gone, I'll say they were a mid-major and they bring our conference closer to a one bid league than an aspiring multi-bid one.

And I think, especially in the off-season, we're capable of worrying about our own winning woes and the conference that we're playing in simultaneously.

Don't be so quick to dismiss Valentine and Loyola.
I think you can agree that they were able to attract some good talent in the portal with Dez Watson, Dame Adelekun, and Greg Dolan, plus Philip Alston last season.

I feel blaming McGlade for losing programs to the BE is unfair just like I wouldn't blame Thorr for losing Hurley.

Hah we'll never agree on Valentine and Loyola. I thought Loyola was full of it during the Sister Jean run and thought if we were seeded "worse" as an 8/9 in the south rather than a 7 in the midwest, we'd have beat the piss out of them en route to a Final Four. And I just don't think Valentine does anything particularly groundbreaking with his recruiting or in game coaching.

But blaming McGlade for the 2013 debacle is completely fair. The Big East was about to become the Catholic 7.

They were returning THREE NCAA teams that year. The A10 had 5.

As many of us had said - you had leverage to work with the schools leaving. No one knew what was going to happen. They had to take 2 of our 5 NCAA teams to complete their conference.

Whether or not she tried/didn't try/didn't think of it...whatever. She failed. She lost 2 of the conference's bellweather programs in Xavier and Temple, and the new shiny one in Brad Stevens' Butler.

Creighton was also looking for a conference to join at the time. The catholic 7 didn't have a TV deal yet. But we didn't do anything to improve our standing and as a result we've gotten worse. McGlade should've been fired in 2014.

For whatever reason, we keep dragging dead weight in high school gymnasiums around and it kills us for any hope to become a legitimate conference.

Make changes to shore up the dregs of this conference, or lets hope our like-minded schools are backchanneling to break off and form their own.

"The Catholic 7's exit from the Big East is being expedited by Fox Sports Network. The network initially contacted the seven schools and laid the groundwork for them to leave the Big East with the promise of a lucrative media-rights deal, a source said.

Fox Sports Network is expected to announce the addition of the Catholic 7/Big East basketball league Tuesday in New York as part of the network's news conference announcing the addition of Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 channels.

Fox Sports Network's deal with the Catholic 7 is expected to be worth at least $3 million annually per school, sources said."
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... ng-sources

Actually in 2013 the BE had 8 schools in the NCAAT.
Some of the higher profiled schools with basketball pedigree went on to form the Catholic 7 or NBE.

We weren't keeping Xavier and Butler no matter what, with that major opportunity at play for them.

Actually, the year after they left, we had 6 teams go to the NCAAT in 2014 and all those teams are still in the A10.

[Blue Man]

Don't be so quick to dismiss Valentine and Loyola.
I think you can agree that they were able to attract some good talent in the portal with Dez Watson, Dame Adelekun, and Greg Dolan, plus Philip Alston last season.

I feel blaming McGlade for losing programs to the BE is unfair just like I wouldn't blame Thorr for losing Hurley.

Hah we'll never agree on Valentine and Loyola. I thought Loyola was full of it during the Sister Jean run and thought if we were seeded "worse" as an 8/9 in the south rather than a 7 in the midwest, we'd have beat the piss out of them en route to a Final Four. And I just don't think Valentine does anything particularly groundbreaking with his recruiting or in game coaching.

But blaming McGlade for the 2013 debacle is completely fair. The Big East was about to become the Catholic 7.

They were returning THREE NCAA teams that year. The A10 had 5.

As many of us had said - you had leverage to work with the schools leaving. No one knew what was going to happen. They had to take 2 of our 5 NCAA teams to complete their conference.

Whether or not she tried/didn't try/didn't think of it...whatever. She failed. She lost 2 of the conference's bellweather programs in Xavier and Temple, and the new shiny one in Brad Stevens' Butler.

Creighton was also looking for a conference to join at the time. The catholic 7 didn't have a TV deal yet. But we didn't do anything to improve our standing and as a result we've gotten worse. McGlade should've been fired in 2014.

For whatever reason, we keep dragging dead weight in high school gymnasiums around and it kills us for any hope to become a legitimate conference.

Make changes to shore up the dregs of this conference, or lets hope our like-minded schools are backchanneling to break off and form their own.

"The Catholic 7's exit from the Big East is being expedited by Fox Sports Network. The network initially contacted the seven schools and laid the groundwork for them to leave the Big East with the promise of a lucrative media-rights deal, a source said.

Fox Sports Network is expected to announce the addition of the Catholic 7/Big East basketball league Tuesday in New York as part of the network's news conference announcing the addition of Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 channels.

Fox Sports Network's deal with the Catholic 7 is expected to be worth at least $3 million annually per school, sources said."
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... ng-sources

Actually in 2013 the BE had 8 schools in the NCAAT.
Some of the higher profiled schools with basketball pedigree went on to form the Catholic 7 or NBE.

We weren't keeping Xavier and Butler no matter what, with that major opportunity at play for them.

Actually, the year after they left, we had 6 teams go to the NCAAT in 2014 and all those teams are still in the A10.

A dead cat bounce.

And I meant they were returning 3 teams - meaning 3 teams that went dancing that year stayed in the Catholic 7. 5 of their 8 went to the AAC/AAC/B1G. The larger point being before the Big East re-solidified with 2 of our top teams, and before we lost another top team, the A10 was a comparable conference to the Catholic 7. Had we made a play for a lucrative TV contract, and maybe an appeal for Creighton, we could've had a legit conference still.

[Jersey77]

Hah we'll never agree on Valentine and Loyola. I thought Loyola was full of it during the Sister Jean run and thought if we were seeded "worse" as an 8/9 in the south rather than a 7 in the midwest, we'd have beat the piss out of them en route to a Final Four. And I just don't think Valentine does anything particularly groundbreaking with his recruiting or in game coaching.

But blaming McGlade for the 2013 debacle is completely fair. The Big East was about to become the Catholic 7.

They were returning THREE NCAA teams that year. The A10 had 5.

As many of us had said - you had leverage to work with the schools leaving. No one knew what was going to happen. They had to take 2 of our 5 NCAA teams to complete their conference.

Whether or not she tried/didn't try/didn't think of it...whatever. She failed. She lost 2 of the conference's bellweather programs in Xavier and Temple, and the new shiny one in Brad Stevens' Butler.

Creighton was also looking for a conference to join at the time. The catholic 7 didn't have a TV deal yet. But we didn't do anything to improve our standing and as a result we've gotten worse. McGlade should've been fired in 2014.

For whatever reason, we keep dragging dead weight in high school gymnasiums around and it kills us for any hope to become a legitimate conference.

Make changes to shore up the dregs of this conference, or lets hope our like-minded schools are backchanneling to break off and form their own.

"The Catholic 7's exit from the Big East is being expedited by Fox Sports Network. The network initially contacted the seven schools and laid the groundwork for them to leave the Big East with the promise of a lucrative media-rights deal, a source said.

Fox Sports Network is expected to announce the addition of the Catholic 7/Big East basketball league Tuesday in New York as part of the network's news conference announcing the addition of Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 channels.

Fox Sports Network's deal with the Catholic 7 is expected to be worth at least $3 million annually per school, sources said."
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... ng-sources

Actually in 2013 the BE had 8 schools in the NCAAT.
Some of the higher profiled schools with basketball pedigree went on to form the Catholic 7 or NBE.

We weren't keeping Xavier and Butler no matter what, with that major opportunity at play for them.

Actually, the year after they left, we had 6 teams go to the NCAAT in 2014 and all those teams are still in the A10.

A dead cat bounce.

And I meant they were returning 3 teams - meaning 3 teams that went dancing that year stayed in the Catholic 7. 5 of their 8 went to the AAC/AAC/B1G. The larger point being before the Big East re-solidified with 2 of our top teams, and before we lost another top team, the A10 was a comparable conference to the Catholic 7. Had we made a play for a lucrative TV contract, and maybe an appeal for Creighton, we could've had a legit conference still.

We weren't going to get the same kind of media deal as the Catholic 7 which basically has been backed by Fox Sports.
The A10 has had some success but not near as high profile as those basketball schools in the NBE.
Our member schools didn't have any issues with the deals that were negotiated, not sure what type of contract you felt was attainable.

I know a lot about Creighton, that was never going to happen for us.

Blue Man, I think we beat this subject to death.
You have your opinion and I have mine, but we both want Rhody to have success.

So probably just agree to disagree and leave it at that.

[jcru]

I feel like the underlying message here is, so long as the member schools keep receiving the same paycheck from the A-10 that they got last year, they'll pretty much approve anything.

Hence, the longevity of the A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade. She knows what the member schools want, and she knows how to keep it rolling. You would have to figure that a Conference that only has one auto bid for the NCAAT compared to other years where it had several, has to be bleeding money. No problem, says McGlade. Just add an additional market like Chicago, and keep the money steady.

Meanwhile, the Conference get's more and more watered down, and now she is looking to expand to 16 teams, probably anticipating more financial bleeding, so got to get another tv market in the mix, to keep the money coming in, to keep the members happy and keep them approving everything, especially her.

So, you see the vicious cycle here. More teams get added, to keep the money coming, to keep the members pacified. Pretty soon, we'll have a 16 member Conference with one NCAAT autobid. It's fine, for now, but you would have to be blind not to see that over the long haul, it won't be sustainable.

I think BlueMan had a good idea, which is take the best 8 teams, and when I say best, I mean the teams that have obviously put the investment in terms of facilities and infrastructure, and make their own, new Conference, and get at least one at large bid to go along with the autobid, and 2-3 NIT bids. Which would amount to half of the Conference teams playing in the post season, in some way shape or form.

Of course, that would mean weaning these individual teams/programs off of the money that the A-10 currently provides them, to keep them in place. Which could pose a problem.

[NYGFan_Section208]

I feel like the underlying message here is, so long as the member schools keep receiving the same paycheck from the A-10 that they got last year, they'll pretty much approve anything.

Hence, the longevity of the A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade. She knows what the member schools want, and she knows how to keep it rolling. You would have to figure that a Conference that only has one auto bid for the NCAAT compared to other years where it had several, has to be bleeding money. No problem, says McGlade. Just add an additional market like Chicago, and keep the money steady.

Meanwhile, the Conference get's more and more watered down, and now she is looking to expand to 16 teams, probably anticipating more financial bleeding, so got to get another tv market in the mix, to keep the money coming in, to keep the members happy and keep them approving everything, especially her.

So, you see the vicious cycle here. More teams get added, to keep the money coming, to keep the members pacified. Pretty soon, we'll have a 16 member Conference with one NCAAT autobid. It's fine, for now, but you would have to be blind not to see that over the long haul, it won't be sustainable.

I think BlueMan had a good idea, which is take the best 8 teams, and when I say best, I mean the teams that have obviously put the investment in terms of facilities and infrastructure, and make their own, new Conference, and get at least one at large bid to go along with the autobid, and 2-3 NIT bids. Which would amount to half of the Conference teams playing in the post season, in some way shape or form.

Of course, that would mean weaning these individual teams/programs off of the money that the A-10 currently provides them, to keep them in place. Which could pose a problem.

If the NCAAT dough were spread out more apropos...how much cash is that really in the grand scheme?
Let's say Fordham gets $500K...how big of a piece of their overall sports budget is that?

[Brian Forster]

Let's say Fordham gets $500K...how big of a piece of their overall sports budget is that?

less than 5%?
$25M is typical minimum budget to try and be competitive in D1

[Jersey77]

Don't agree with this, not sure what they are smoking.
Have Richmond pre-season rated #3 A10 behind the Bonnies and Duke.

Richmond Spiders 2023-24 projections
Projected conference finish: 3rd in Atlantic-10 Conference
https://cbbreview.com/2023/08/08/cbb-ra ... d-spiders/

[Ramfan22]

Don't agree with this, not sure what they are smoking.
Have Richmond pre-season rated #3 A10 behind the Bonnies and Duke.

Richmond Spiders 2023-24 projections
Projected conference finish: 3rd in Atlantic-10 Conference
https://cbbreview.com/2023/08/08/cbb-ra ... d-spiders/

This account is notorious for having bad rankings

[Ramfan22]

David Fuch up the A10

[ramster]

Top incoming transfer for each A10 Team


Luis Kortright – 6’3 Guard – Rhode Island Rams

In April, Quinnipiac junior guard Luis Kortright announced that he would transfer to the University of Rhode Island next Fall. The addition significantly improves the Rams’ backcourt for the 2023-24 season.
Last season, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and shot 38.9 percent with the Bobcats. Kortright led Quinnipiac to a season-opener road victory against Rhode Island with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Who would’ve thought a little under a year after that game, he would soon call the Ryan Center his new home?
“All my contacts were coming from Archie Miller himself — everywhere else there were assistant coaches, and you want to hear from the person who makes the calls,” Kortright said on the Rhody Rumble podcast when asked why he chose the Rams.
Kortright joins a program coming off a 9-22 campaign and won just five games in the Atlantic 10 in year one of the Archie Miller era in Kingston. The Rams will look ahead to next season, welcoming several fresh faces and hoping to push toward another conference title and NCAA tournament appearance soon.


Kortright really must have impressed Archie in last year's URI-Quinnipiac game (and from other sources of info) for Archie to reach out and recruit him directly - and it had an impact in the result.

https://bustingbrackets.com/2023/08/08/ ... er-portal/

[reef]

Top incoming transfer for each A10 Team


Luis Kortright – 6’3 Guard – Rhode Island Rams

In April, Quinnipiac junior guard Luis Kortright announced that he would transfer to the University of Rhode Island next Fall. The addition significantly improves the Rams’ backcourt for the 2023-24 season.
Last season, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and shot 38.9 percent with the Bobcats. Kortright led Quinnipiac to a season-opener road victory against Rhode Island with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Who would’ve thought a little under a year after that game, he would soon call the Ryan Center his new home?
“All my contacts were coming from Archie Miller himself — everywhere else there were assistant coaches, and you want to hear from the person who makes the calls,” Kortright said on the Rhody Rumble podcast when asked why he chose the Rams.
Kortright joins a program coming off a 9-22 campaign and won just five games in the Atlantic 10 in year one of the Archie Miller era in Kingston. The Rams will look ahead to next season, welcoming several fresh faces and hoping to push toward another conference title and NCAA tournament appearance soon.


Kortright really must have impressed Archie in last year's URI-Quinnipiac game (and from other sources of info) for Archie to reach out and recruit him directly - and it had an impact in the result.

https://bustingbrackets.com/2023/08/08/ ... er-portal/

Yes that’s what I am thinking , Arch must have been like I got to get this kid

[Jersey77]

Very good late addition for St. Louis to fill out their final roster spot.
They should be solid in the backcourt with: Parker, Jimerson, Meadows, and (wing) Hargrove.

If Ezewiro is denied a waiver they will be inexperienced at the 5, but 2 pretty good freshmen recruits.
Dalger will fit in nicely at the forward spot.

"Saint Louis Basketball: Mike Meadows the ideal late addition to the roster"
https://bustingbrackets.com/2023/08/10/ ... on-roster/

[Jersey77]

Another meaningless pre-season ranking.
Bart Torvik 2023-2024 A10 pre-season:
Duquesne 58
Loyola 64
Dayton 70
VCU 75
SBU 84
GMU 121
SJU 129
SLU 139
Fordham 148
Richmond 166
Davidson 186
URI 194
UMass 195
LaSalle 202
GW 292

https://barttorvik.com/trankpre.php

[Blue Man]

Another meaningless pre-season ranking.
Bart Torvik 2023 -2024 A10 pre-season:
A10 teams:
Duquesne 58
Loyola 64
Dayton 70
VCU 75
SBU 84
GMU 121
SJU 129
SLU 139???
Fordham 148
Richmond 166
Davidson 186
RI 194
UMass 195
LaSalle 202
GW 292

Lmaoooooooo Loyola.

[Jersey77]

Another meaningless pre-season ranking.
Bart Torvik 2023-2024 A10 pre-season:
Duquesne 58
Loyola 64
Dayton 70
VCU 75
SBU 84
GMU 121
SJU 129
SLU 139
Fordham 148
Richmond 166
Davidson 186
URI 194
UMass 195
LaSalle 202
GW 292

https://barttorvik.com/trankpre.php

Lmaoooooooo Loyola.

Yeah crazy, I think Loyola will be improved but that is nuts.

[ramster]

144 Madness Picks Loyola #79 and 4th in A10

2022-23 Record: 10-21, 4-14
2022-23 Postseason: None
Coach: Drew Valentine
Coach Record: 35-29 at Loyola (IL), 35-29 overall

Key Departed Players:
Marquise Kennedy, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Bryce Golden, Center, 5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.6 apg
Saint Thomas, Forward, 3.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
Jeameril Wilson, Forward, 2.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.6 apg

Key Returning Players:
Philip Alston, Senior, Forward, 14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg
Braden Norris, Senior, Guard, 10.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.0 apg
Ben Schwieger, Sophomore, Guard, 9.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg
Tom Welch, Senior, Forward, 7.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Sheldon Edwards, Senior, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.8 apg
Jayden Dawson, Sophomore, Guard, 3.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.4 apg
Jalen Quinn, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.3 apg

Key New Players:
Dame Adelekun, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Dartmouth
Greg Dolan, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Cornell
Trey Lewis, Freshman, Guard
Patrick Mwamba, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Oral Roberts
Miles Rubin, Freshman, Center
Des Watson, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Davidson

Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/22009

[ramster]

Coaching Carousel Conference Preview: A10


https://burnerball.com/coaching-carouse ... eview-a10/

[Jersey77]

Coaching Carousel Conference Preview: A10


https://burnerball.com/coaching-carouse ... eview-a10/

Good read Ramster, can't really disagree with any of it.

Again, this needs to be the year Duquesne reaches their highest level of success.
With their top 7 players all in their final year of eligibility, should be no excuses.
This includes: guards Grant and Clark, and bigs: Williams, Savrasov, Mahorcic, and the Drame twins.

[Blue Man]

144 Madness Picks Loyola #79 and 4th in A10

2022-23 Record: 10-21, 4-14
2022-23 Postseason: None
Coach: Drew Valentine
Coach Record: 35-29 at Loyola (IL), 35-29 overall

Key Departed Players:
Marquise Kennedy, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Bryce Golden, Center, 5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.6 apg
Saint Thomas, Forward, 3.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
Jeameril Wilson, Forward, 2.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.6 apg

Key Returning Players:
Philip Alston, Senior, Forward, 14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg
Braden Norris, Senior, Guard, 10.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.0 apg
Ben Schwieger, Sophomore, Guard, 9.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg
Tom Welch, Senior, Forward, 7.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Sheldon Edwards, Senior, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.8 apg
Jayden Dawson, Sophomore, Guard, 3.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.4 apg
Jalen Quinn, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.3 apg

Key New Players:
Dame Adelekun, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Dartmouth
Greg Dolan, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Cornell
Trey Lewis, Freshman, Guard
Patrick Mwamba, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Oral Roberts
Miles Rubin, Freshman, Center
Des Watson, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Davidson

Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/22009

This coming from the same site that had them like top 50 last year lmao. Insanity.

[Jersey77]

144 Madness Picks Loyola #79 and 4th in A10

2022-23 Record: 10-21, 4-14
2022-23 Postseason: None
Coach: Drew Valentine
Coach Record: 35-29 at Loyola (IL), 35-29 overall

Key Departed Players:
Marquise Kennedy, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Bryce Golden, Center, 5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.6 apg
Saint Thomas, Forward, 3.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
Jeameril Wilson, Forward, 2.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.6 apg

Key Returning Players:
Philip Alston, Senior, Forward, 14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg
Braden Norris, Senior, Guard, 10.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.0 apg
Ben Schwieger, Sophomore, Guard, 9.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg
Tom Welch, Senior, Forward, 7.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Sheldon Edwards, Senior, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.8 apg
Jayden Dawson, Sophomore, Guard, 3.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.4 apg
Jalen Quinn, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.3 apg

Key New Players:
Dame Adelekun, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Dartmouth
Greg Dolan, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Cornell
Trey Lewis, Freshman, Guard
Patrick Mwamba, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Oral Roberts
Miles Rubin, Freshman, Center
Des Watson, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Davidson

Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/22009

This coming from the same site that had them like top 50 last year lmao. Insanity.

I think 4 may be a little high, but wouldn't be surprised if they finish in the top half.

[ramster]

Counting Down the Top 100 Teams in College Basketball on YouTube is down to Ranking #77 as 1 Team per Day is announced. So far for A10:

#91 St Bonaventure - 2nd in A10
#96 Duquesne - 3rd in A10
#97 George Mason - 4th in A10
#100 VCU - 5th in A10

Of interest #79 Washington State and #90 Georgetown

[Jersey77]

Counting Down the Top 100 Teams in College Basketball on YouTube is down to Ranking #77 as 1 Team per Day is announced. So far for A10:

#91 St Bonaventure
#96 Duquesne
#97 George Mason
#100 VCU

Of interest #79 Washington State and #90 Georgetown

I am sure they will have Dayton tops in the A10.

George Mason a surprise here, much of their success will depend on the possible waivers for Newton and especially Haynes.
I do think 1st year coach Skinn did an admirable job in reconstructing his roster.
Having PG Polite return was huge for them.
Can't blame Oduro, Gaines, and Fernandez for trading up.

[RhowdyRam02]

144 Madness Picks Loyola #79 and 4th in A10

2022-23 Record: 10-21, 4-14
2022-23 Postseason: None
Coach: Drew Valentine
Coach Record: 35-29 at Loyola (IL), 35-29 overall

Key Departed Players:
Marquise Kennedy, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Bryce Golden, Center, 5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.6 apg
Saint Thomas, Forward, 3.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
Jeameril Wilson, Forward, 2.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.6 apg

Key Returning Players:
Philip Alston, Senior, Forward, 14.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg
Braden Norris, Senior, Guard, 10.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.0 apg
Ben Schwieger, Sophomore, Guard, 9.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg
Tom Welch, Senior, Forward, 7.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
Sheldon Edwards, Senior, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.8 apg
Jayden Dawson, Sophomore, Guard, 3.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.4 apg
Jalen Quinn, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.3 apg

Key New Players:
Dame Adelekun, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Dartmouth
Greg Dolan, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Cornell
Trey Lewis, Freshman, Guard
Patrick Mwamba, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Oral Roberts
Miles Rubin, Freshman, Center
Des Watson, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Davidson

Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/22009

This coming from the same site that had them like top 50 last year lmao. Insanity.

I think 4 may be a little high, but wouldn't be surprised if they finish in the top half.

The fact that you are so pessimistic about URI, but so positive about Fordham Chicago is absolutely astounding

[Jersey77]

This coming from the same site that had them like top 50 last year lmao. Insanity.

I think 4 may be a little high, but wouldn't be surprised if they finish in the top half.

The fact that you are so pessimistic about URI, but so positive about Fordham Chicago is absolutely astounding

O2, I am not pessimistic about Rhody.
I think Archie was a great hire, like our staff, and feel good about the future of our program.
I just think our rebuilding process will take a little time and we have many unknowns this season.

I am not alone in thinking that Loyola currently has a stronger roster on paper than we do.
Remember my thoughts are just about this upcoming season 23-24, not beyond that.

[Blue Man]

I think 4 may be a little high, but wouldn't be surprised if they finish in the top half.

The fact that you are so pessimistic about URI, but so positive about Fordham Chicago is absolutely astounding

O2, I am not pessimistic about Rhody.
I think Archie was a great hire, like our staff, and feel good about the future of our program.
I just think our rebuilding process will take a little time and we have many unknowns this season.

I am not alone in thinking that Loyola currently has a stronger roster on paper than we do.
Remember my thoughts are just about this upcoming season 23-24, not beyond that.

But your expectations are so tempered because of our last year performance, but we’re throwing out Loyola’s significantly and objectively worse performance?

[Jersey77]

The fact that you are so pessimistic about URI, but so positive about Fordham Chicago is absolutely astounding

O2, I am not pessimistic about Rhody.
I think Archie was a great hire, like our staff, and feel good about the future of our program.
I just think our rebuilding process will take a little time and we have many unknowns this season.

I am not alone in thinking that Loyola currently has a stronger roster on paper than we do.
Remember my thoughts are just about this upcoming season 23-24, not beyond that.

But your expectations are so tempered because of our last year performance, but we’re throwing out Loyola’s significantly and objectively worse performance?

Not really, just comparing the rosters this season.
They return all their best players, 4 of their top 5 scorers.
Plus added some immediate impact transfers.
Experience means a lot.

Also last season was their first in a new conference, so it was a learning process for them to familiarize themselves with the teams and coaches.
Valentine is still one of the youngest head coaches in the NCAA.

[Blue Man]

O2, I am not pessimistic about Rhody.
I think Archie was a great hire, like our staff, and feel good about the future of our program.
I just think our rebuilding process will take a little time and we have many unknowns this season.

I am not alone in thinking that Loyola currently has a stronger roster on paper than we do.
Remember my thoughts are just about this upcoming season 23-24, not beyond that.

But your expectations are so tempered because of our last year performance, but we’re throwing out Loyola’s significantly and objectively worse performance?

Not really, just comparing the rosters this season.
They return all their best players, 4 of their top 5 scorers.
Plus added some immediate impact transfers.
Experience means a lot.

Also last season was their first in a new conference, so it was a learning process for them to familiarize themselves with the teams and coaches.
Valentine is still one of the youngest head coaches in the NCAA.

If we had returned 4 of our 5 top players I’d have killed myself.

Top players on a bad team are still bad. Familiarizing themselves with competition is a wild excuse. Same with Valentine being young. So was Dave Cox.

They are bad. There’s no sensible indicators that would say they’ll be better than URI.

[Jersey77]

But your expectations are so tempered because of our last year performance, but we’re throwing out Loyola’s significantly and objectively worse performance?

Not really, just comparing the rosters this season.
They return all their best players, 4 of their top 5 scorers.
Plus added some immediate impact transfers.
Experience means a lot.

Also last season was their first in a new conference, so it was a learning process for them to familiarize themselves with the teams and coaches.
Valentine is still one of the youngest head coaches in the NCAA.

If we had returned 4 of our 5 top players I’d have killed myself.

Top players on a bad team are still bad. Familiarizing themselves with competition is a wild excuse. Same with Valentine being young. So was Dave Cox.

They are bad. There’s no sensible indicators that would say they’ll be better than URI.

I disagree but I guess that is what makes this board interesting. Norris was the starting PG on an NCAAT team and was considered one of the top guards in the MVC. Alston put up some big numbers last season at forward and could be an All-Conference talent. Schweiger is a very good young forward. Bringing back some key players even on a team that finished poorly will help them improve the following season. Let’s see how the A10 coaches rank the teams in the A10 pre-season poll.

[rhodysurf]

Not really, just comparing the rosters this season.
They return all their best players, 4 of their top 5 scorers.
Plus added some immediate impact transfers.
Experience means a lot.

Also last season was their first in a new conference, so it was a learning process for them to familiarize themselves with the teams and coaches.
Valentine is still one of the youngest head coaches in the NCAA.

If we had returned 4 of our 5 top players I’d have killed myself.

Top players on a bad team are still bad. Familiarizing themselves with competition is a wild excuse. Same with Valentine being young. So was Dave Cox.

They are bad. There’s no sensible indicators that would say they’ll be better than URI.

I disagree but I guess that is what makes this board interesting. Norris was the starting PG on an NCAAT team and was considered one of the top guards in the MVC. Alston put up some big numbers last season at forward and could be an All-Conference talent. Schweiger is a very good young forward. Bringing back some key players even on a team that finished poorly will help them improve the following season. Let’s see how the A10 coaches rank the teams in the A10 pre-season poll.

Alston put up big numbers because the rest of the team sucked

[Jersey77]

If we had returned 4 of our 5 top players I’d have killed myself.

Top players on a bad team are still bad. Familiarizing themselves with competition is a wild excuse. Same with Valentine being young. So was Dave Cox.

They are bad. There’s no sensible indicators that would say they’ll be better than URI.

I disagree but I guess that is what makes this board interesting. Norris was the starting PG on an NCAAT team and was considered one of the top guards in the MVC. Alston put up some big numbers last season at forward and could be an All-Conference talent. Schweiger is a very good young forward. Bringing back some key players even on a team that finished poorly will help them improve the following season. Let’s see how the A10 coaches rank the teams in the A10 pre-season poll.

Alston put up big numbers because the rest of the team sucked

Believe or not there are some good players on bad teams. Are you saying Jaden House sucks because he was on a bad High Point team in a lousy conference, much worse than the A10?

[rhodysurf]

I disagree but I guess that is what makes this board interesting. Norris was the starting PG on an NCAAT team and was considered one of the top guards in the MVC. Alston put up some big numbers last season at forward and could be an All-Conference talent. Schweiger is a very good young forward. Bringing back some key players even on a team that finished poorly will help them improve the following season. Let’s see how the A10 coaches rank the teams in the A10 pre-season poll.

Alston put up big numbers because the rest of the team sucked

Believe or not there are some good players on bad teams. Are you saying Jaden House sucks because he was on a bad High Point team in a lousy conference, much worse than the A10?

I never said alston sucked, and i dont think house sucks. But I think extrapolating loyola returning scoring from last year into success this year is stupid.

[Jersey77]

Alston put up big numbers because the rest of the team sucked

Believe or not there are some good players on bad teams. Are you saying Jaden House sucks because he was on a bad High Point team in a lousy conference, much worse than the A10?

I never said alston sucked, and i dont think house sucks. But I think extrapolating loyola returning scoring from last year into success this year is stupid.

I just feel that returning some pretty good players along with the transfers they added will make them much improved this season. I don’t expect them to be contenders but wouldn’t be surprised if they finished 7th. At this point who knows, we are all just guessing. Yeah, I would love to see us contend just don’t think it is happening this season.

[Jdrums#3]

Familiarity: Imho, in general I don’t think it (familiarity with teams players year to year as an advantage for an opponent) is what it used to be in the current age of NIL/Portalpalooza because of all the roster turnover. However, I do think familiarity with coaching styles, tendencies, etc. still apply and to a greater extent.

[SGreenwell]

Loyola actually had five players with PERs near or above 15 last year - Alston, Edwards, Welch, Hutson and Golden. However, they played varying degrees of MPG (which brings up the question of whether Valentine is allotting PT correctly), and one to three of them are gone for this year (Hutson transferred, Welch and Golden might be graduated). Weirdly, they had one freshman on their roster last year. From the outside looking in, they kind of seem like the Central Region UMass - A bunch of older players (eight seniors) and transfers that were probably meant to win, but did not.

[Jersey77]

Loyola actually had five players with PERs near or above 15 last year - Alston, Edwards, Welch, Hutson and Golden. However, they played varying degrees of MPG (which brings up the question of whether Valentine is allotting PT correctly), and one to three of them are gone for this year (Hutson transferred, Welch and Golden might be graduated). Weirdly, they had one freshman on their roster last year. From the outside looking in, they kind of seem like the Central Region UMass - A bunch of older players (eight seniors) and transfers that were probably meant to win, but did not.

In regards to that, Loyola’s roster is really set up to win this season, with 6 players in their last year of eligibility. Guards Dolan and Norris along with forwards Alston and Adelekun all figure to start and play a significant role for them in 23-24. Plus grad bigs Mwamba and Welch giving them quality depth off the bench.

[ramster]

From Madness Top 144 MBB Team 2023-2024 Countdown:


#73 Fordham - 3rd in A10
#79 Loyola Chicago - 4th in A10
#112 St Bonaventure - 5th in A10
#126 St Joseph's - 6th in A10

[Jersey77]

From Madness Top 144 MBB Team 2023-2024 Countdown:


#73 Fordham - 3rd in A10
#79 Loyola Chicago - 4th in A10
#112 St Bonaventure - 5th in A10
#126 St Joseph's - 6th in A10



91A35FC0-A919-4FF5-AD95-3BCF14B7B66C.png

Thinking Fordham is also too high at #3.
But they can be a top half team.
Funny they mention O'Toole (walk-on) as a key new player and not (F) Montas as a key returning player who was one of their top recruits in '22 but missed last season (except 2 games) with an injury.

They do return 4 players who all averaged over 18 minutes.
Also, Tsimbila started more games at center and is probably better than Novitskyi.

Quisenberry and Moore were huge loses but (G)Medor(14 pts/4 assists C-USA) and (F)Rivera(10.6 pts/5.3 rebs freshman season) are solid additions.

Thinking Madness probably has Duquesne at #2 and Dayton #1.

[ramster]

Charleston comes in #72 in 144 Madness. Will be a good OOC Road Game

[Jersey77]

Charleston comes in #72 in 144 Madness. Will be a good OOC Road Game

FA85A0C2-BB0F-4092-B283-9D0DCA57B21B.png

It absolutely will be a tough challenge on the road.

But Ramster you may want to move this to the 23-24 schedule thread.

[Jersey77]

Again with not much going on now, how we rank in dividing the conference predictions in 3 tiers.
All the analysts/insiders are predicting us to be at or near the bottom.
Comparing all the rosters it is hard to argue with them, although I feel like we can move up to the middle, based on Archie's coaching skills and previous A10 success.

Top 5- Very good/good
6-10- Average
11-15- Below average/bad

Still just looking at all our competition on paper alone and basing it on players stats and experience, it is hard to find 5 teams that would finish below us.

Again I am hoping for all the intangibles to push us ahead.
Immediate team chemistry, coaching skills, untested players making an immediate impact.

Keep saying next season is when I expect that big jump, hopefully like Dan's year 3.

[Rhody72]

In my most optimistic moments, I see a parallel between our roster and U of Colorado football roster in terms of turnover. But, I don't see Archie as being a pied piper like Dion. I see us as a bottom third team this season but we will move up in the A10 in the future. The bad news is that we (coaches and players) are now in a minor league conference with personnel who dream of playing in the majors.

[luke]

Other than Dayton , to me trying to predict the outcome for any of the A10 teams this season seems like an exercise in futility because the turnover
has been pretty much at the extreme level and basically none of the teams last season showed that much promise going forward . So , I plan to chill out and wait for the season to begin , which will be here before we know it . It doesn't satisfy me to be either negative or positive about the team until I've
at least seen some actual games even an exhibition . so at this point I know zero about this team and not much about most of the other A10 teams
either , so I don't need to make a fool of myself pretending that I do. In fact I think we should begin the prediction contest after the first two games ,
or even after the OOC schedule has been completed because I don't believe anybody has enough information to make a truly educated guess before
the season this time around .

[ramster]

Other than Dayton , to me trying to predict the outcome for any of the A10 teams this season seems like an exercise in futility because the turnover
has been pretty much at the extreme level and basically none of the teams last season showed that much promise going forward . So , I plan to chill out and wait for the season to begin , which will be here before we know it . It doesn't satisfy me to be either negative or positive about the team until I've
at least seen some actual games even an exhibition . so at this point I know zero about this team and not much about most of the other A10 teams
either , so I don't need to make a fool of myself pretending that I do. In fact I think we should begin the prediction contest after the first two games ,
or even after the OOC schedule has been completed because I don't believe anybody has enough information to make a truly educated guess before
the season this time around .

Last season was the last for Obadiah's Annual Prediction contest so no worries as to when it should start.

[Jersey77]

Other than Dayton , to me trying to predict the outcome for any of the A10 teams this season seems like an exercise in futility because the turnover
has been pretty much at the extreme level and basically none of the teams last season showed that much promise going forward . So , I plan to chill out and wait for the season to begin , which will be here before we know it . It doesn't satisfy me to be either negative or positive about the team until I've
at least seen some actual games even an exhibition . so at this point I know zero about this team and not much about most of the other A10 teams
either , so I don't need to make a fool of myself pretending that I do. In fact I think we should begin the prediction contest after the first two games ,
or even after the OOC schedule has been completed because I don't believe anybody has enough information to make a truly educated guess before
the season this time around .

You can say the same for every pre-season, because it is all just speculation anyway.
Besides this is what most of the insiders/analysts and publications do.
Aside from that, it keeps the sports discussions alive prior to the start of play.

Aside from Dayton, there are many other A10 teams that retained some of their core players or impact transfers from the portal that have some history which you can base your opinions on.

[ramster]

Other than Dayton , to me trying to predict the outcome for any of the A10 teams this season seems like an exercise in futility because the turnover
has been pretty much at the extreme level and basically none of the teams last season showed that much promise going forward . So , I plan to chill out and wait for the season to begin , which will be here before we know it . It doesn't satisfy me to be either negative or positive about the team until I've
at least seen some actual games even an exhibition . so at this point I know zero about this team and not much about most of the other A10 teams
either , so I don't need to make a fool of myself pretending that I do. In fact I think we should begin the prediction contest after the first two games ,
or even after the OOC schedule has been completed because I don't believe anybody has enough information to make a truly educated guess before
the season this time around .

You can say the same for every pre-season, because it is all just speculation anyway.
Besides this is what most of the insiders/analysts and publications do.
Aside from that, it keeps the sports discussions alive prior to the start of play.

Aside from Dayton, there are many other A10 teams that retained some of their core players or impact transfers from the portal that have some history which you can base your opinions on.

77,
You really can't say it's the same as every preseason and Luke explains his reason for not wanting to get caught up in the speculation. He says it's futile because turnover is at an extreme level.
Interesting point by Luke is to wait until all the OOC Games are played before predicting the future of A10 Teams. Let the MTE's play out against good competition.
One thing for sure is it's as unpredictable as ever the order of finish of the 15 A10 teams within the A10. Not helping the average fan interest when annual roster turnover plays out at these levels.

[ramster]

To take Luke's point further it would be interesting to have a thread where posters predict A10 Order of Finish November 1st and then predict AGAIN once OOC Games are completed. My guess is some significant movements. More volatility now due to high turnover since changes: Transfer Rule Change, NIL and Covid 5th year.

[Jersey77]

Other than Dayton , to me trying to predict the outcome for any of the A10 teams this season seems like an exercise in futility because the turnover
has been pretty much at the extreme level and basically none of the teams last season showed that much promise going forward . So , I plan to chill out and wait for the season to begin , which will be here before we know it . It doesn't satisfy me to be either negative or positive about the team until I've
at least seen some actual games even an exhibition . so at this point I know zero about this team and not much about most of the other A10 teams
either , so I don't need to make a fool of myself pretending that I do. In fact I think we should begin the prediction contest after the first two games ,
or even after the OOC schedule has been completed because I don't believe anybody has enough information to make a truly educated guess before
the season this time around .

You can say the same for every pre-season, because it is all just speculation anyway.
Besides this is what most of the insiders/analysts and publications do.
Aside from that, it keeps the sports discussions alive prior to the start of play.

Aside from Dayton, there are many other A10 teams that retained some of their core players or impact transfers from the portal that have some history which you can base your opinions on.

77,
You really can't say it's the same as every preseason and Luke explains his reason for not wanting to get caught up in the speculation. He says it's futile because turnover is at an extreme level.
Interesting point by Luke is to wait until all the OOC Games are played before predicting the future of A10 Teams. Let the MTE's play out against good competition.
One thing for sure is it's as unpredictable as ever the order of finish of the 15 A10 teams within the A10. Not helping the average fan interest when annual roster turnover plays out at these levels.

Even before the increased portal activity, it was still all guesswork.
Turnover is greater now than before, of course, but we still speculate why not.
Times have changed and this is the new norm.
It doesn't stop analysts and publications from still making predictions and putting out polls/rankings.

Some of the better teams have still been able to keep some of their core players.
We get excited about recruits and discuss their upside but that doesn't mean they will succeed.
There are never any guarantees, but people keep gambling.

I just discuss this as something to do in the off-season.
Many don't care and that is also fine.