2018-2019 A-10 Predictions

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

UMass and Duquesne seem high, St. Joe’s and URI too low.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 5 years ago

GMU winning the A-10 title???

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 5 years ago

RhowdyRam02 wrote:Hahahaha good for that guy. Must have been tough to tweet that out being as drunk as he had to have been. Did he just pick names out of a hat to come up with that order?

I will say, the new GMU unis last year were pretty nice...

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

PeterRamTime wrote:GMU winning the A-10 title???

I don’t know about that, but their predicted starting 5 is pretty good.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 5 years ago

GMU 9 full spots ahead of URI I don't see that at all

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

Roster continuity and upperclassmen rule in A10 historically. GMU returns their entire lineup. St Joes returns a very good core. They would be my clear favorite as right now. Davidson prob next. Then a logjam of 6 teams that seem all very close now with a lot of unknowns.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

Andy Katz ranks the A-10:

A-10 power rankings:
1 Davidson
2 Saint Joseph’s
3 Saint Louis
4 Rhode Island
5 VCU
6 UMass
7 Richmond
8 St. Bonaventure
9 George Mason
10 Dayton
11 Duquesne
12 Fordham
13 George Washington
14 La Salle

Link:
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-me ... -questions

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

Busting Brackets has URI at #5 in A-10:

https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/08/06/ ... 19/amp/11/

Busting Brackets A-10 Preseason Rankings
1 GMU
2 SLU
3 Davidson
4 St Joe's
5 URI
6 Duquesne
7 UMass
8 Dayton
9 SBU
10 VCU
11 LaSalle
12 Richmond
13 GW
14 Fordham

NJRhodyFan · Unread post by **NJRhodyFan** » 5 years ago

RF1 wrote:Busting Brackets has URI at #5 in A-10:

https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/08/06/ ... 19/amp/11/

Busting Brackets A-10 Preseason Rankings
1 GMU
2 SLU
3 Davidson
4 St Joe's
5 URI
6 Duquesne
7 UMass
8 Dayton
9 SBU
10 VCU
11 LaSalle
12 Richmond
13 GW
14 Fordham

The amount of grammatical errors in those write-ups is staggering. I'm also not sold on GMU being the top team in our league this season. Andy Katz has them ranked 9th.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 5 years ago

NJRhodyFan wrote:
RF1 wrote:Busting Brackets has URI at #5 in A-10:

https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/08/06/ ... 19/amp/11/

Busting Brackets A-10 Preseason Rankings
1 GMU
2 SLU
3 Davidson
4 St Joe's
5 URI
6 Duquesne
7 UMass
8 Dayton
9 SBU
10 VCU
11 LaSalle
12 Richmond
13 GW
14 Fordham
The amount of grammatical errors in those write-ups is staggering. I'm also not sold on GMU being the top team in our league this season. Andy Katz has them ranked 9th.

People are picking them high because they have everyone back plus Jared Reuter.
Nothing about the returning players or Jared Reuter puts too much fear into me really. They were pretty mediocre last year and Reuter was alright for Virginia. I could see him causin some problems with his size in the A-10 though.
I could see how you can pick them top 4. Definitely not number one like this guy. No way are they better than St. Joe's and SLU on paper.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 5 years ago

I respect the hell out of Kellan Grady and I like him to be A10 POY in ‘18-19. But in my opinion the Davidson love has gone way too far this offseason. It is not clear to me at all that their returning core of Grady/Gudmundsson/Pritchett is better than Dowtin/Russell/Langevine. Statistically, on a 100 minute basis, the URI trio averaged 32.9/15.4/10.8 and the Davidson trio averaged 38.6/11.9/10.7. They return a touch more scoring, we return a touch more rebounding. Keep in mind, though, that while adjusting these stats to reflect 100 minute averages reduces somewhat the degree to which Davidson relied on their 3 guys more than URI (Davidson’s trio used 96 minutes per game compared to URI’s trio using 69 minutes per game), the scoring numbers are probably slanted a bit towards Davidson’s guys just because how much more they were relied on and how many more shots they took even on a per minute basis than URI’s guys.

I think what is clear is that what will be coming in around our core is better than what will be coming in around theirs. I’m a huge fan of McKillop and his system and his ability to get more out of his roster than what seems reasonable on paper year in and year out, and I recognize that our coaching situation is, objectively, a bit of an unknown. But it is truly wild to me that nearly everyone is picking Davidson as one of the few teams with a shot to win the league and URI hasn’t really been in the conversation as a true contender at all. I don’t see it that way.

(Note that I updated this post after initially posting to use 100 minutes averages to compare URI and Davidson core groups rather than 40 minute averages. I knew conceptually that it made sense to try to adjust the stats to make an apples-to-apples comparison, but it only dawned on me after I posted that when comparing a group of three players, doing it on a 40 minute basis doesn’t make much sense; I think 100 minutes is much more in line with what both groups of players will do on a nightly basis this year.)

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

Interesting tweet shared by The Bona Blog account. To summarize, there’s currently too much bad.

Rhode Island has managed to buck the overall trend of the conference to get better in that time frame.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

Not surprising the slide started after Temple, Xavier and Butler left the conference. Conference got weaker, recruiting and scheduling got tougher, and eventually the overall strength of league suffered. That said, I think the 2019-20 season is setting up as one of the best for the league ina while. Should be 4+ legit NCAA bid contenders. Haven’t had that in a few years.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

Pookie Powell, who was in the same recruiting class as Hassan and EC and Kuran Iverson, will get another year of eligibility for LaSalle this season.

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 5 years ago

What is this “add a 6th year day in the A10”. Can we ask for an extra year for Berry or EC

Powell above and now Stockard

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 5 years ago

Huge news for the Bonnie's for sure

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

Athlon Sports:

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 5 years ago

If I’m wrong, so be it, and there are PLENTY of “experts” who apparently disagree with me. But I am flabbergasted that Davidson is considered so much better than URI coming into the year. Without trying to demean David Cox at all, you can understand why national guys would give them the edge in coaching, and they do have the presumptive player of the year on their team, but overall they return about what we return plus we have the clear #1 incoming class in the league. I’m an unabashed McKillop and Davidson fan, but if these teams were stocks, Davidson is being way overvalued and URI is being way undervalued. Also, St Joe’s and George Mason are fraudulent. I’m buying SLU, though.

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 5 years ago

TP

I am a big fan of St Joe's roster......they have some great players and gave us fits last year.....I think they go NCAA this year.....

I also believe Davidson and SLU go....and then we get two more teams in.....I have predicted 5 A10 teams to the big tournament....

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

SJU will be good this year. Book it. Same for Davidson.
I disagree on St Louis, loads of talent but 1 major obstacle...their coach is awful.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 5 years ago

I didn’t say that Davidson and St Joes will be bad - I’m sure they’ll be among the competitive teams at the top of the league. What I said is that I don’t understand why they are universally regarded as among the teams that could win the league and URI isn’t. I don't see a lot of daylight between their rosters and URI’s, especially Davidson. As far as St Joes, I’ll just have to see them do it. They played URI tough last year (they always seem to) but they’ll have to prove to me they are legit.

We’ll see I guess. That’s why they play the games.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

I think this is the kind of year in the A10 where literally 1-2 games could separate 1 thru 8. No dominant teams, tons of parity, a lot of question marks yet to be answered for our team and others. Really tough to predict. I think most are looking at returning stats and knocking us down a peg compared to those 2 teams that return more than us on paper.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 5 years ago

If you read up this thread, I’ve laid out the case for why I think “they return more than us,” while widely accepted as true, actually probably isn’t. Davidson returns the best player in the league - no argument from me there - but even with Grady I’m not sure they return significantly more than URI, and URI’s reinforcements are unquestionably better.

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 5 years ago

URI has 2 of the 5? or 10? players in the whole league who have dominated games. And for URI they are big time games. Dowtin had 20 points in his tournament debut as a freshman!?#$%@$%@#$ Like whoa! Then Langevine held up against quite the front line with Oregon. Him when healthy dominates the A10. Especially Davidson.

Then Fatts. Who knows there.

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 5 years ago

Fatts had 20 vs PC and 15 vs Oklahoma. I don’t think you rate best players by those who have dominated a few games. Dowtin is the only Rhody player who will be on a preseason all A10 team.

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 5 years ago

St Joe's scares me the most. They have the most potential if all their injured guys return. They have a lot of talent and Martelli can coach. Gave our veteran group fits last year in a number of disparaging ways... hope cox's teams can handle a zone better.

SLU talented.
GMU is experienced, but aren't all that talented.
Davidson will be tough I'm sure, but im with TP they are not clearly better than URI in any way. I'm sure their fancy offense will be effective and Grady is their best player since Curry, but I still feel like we match up with them really well.

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 5 years ago

Did they really give us fits? We couldn't hit an open shot the first time we played them, that's on us, and we dropped 90 on them the second time we played

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 5 years ago

Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago Fatts had 20 vs PC and 15 vs Oklahoma. I don’t think you rate best players by those who have dominated a few games. Dowtin is the only Rhody player who will be on a preseason all A10 team.

I disagree. Fatts wasnt asked to run the team as a freshman. JD ran a team that hadnt danced. JD stepped up and did just that with dominating stats. I only use that word because those are the best players, the ones who dominate. Not taking such a jump to say that players who have actually done it before will be more likely to do it again. This isnt a JD versus Fatts thing.

URI has 2 players who have gone toe to toe with top competition and came out on top multiple times. Who also happen to be juniors. I think we have 2 of the best 5 or 10 in the league. If you want to throw Fatts in there fine.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 5 years ago

The performance of this season's team comes down to how effective is the replacement of Batman and Batman. If that replacement is below par, then this puts more emphasis on how much Langevine, Dowtin, and Fatts improve over last season. We can conjecture all day, but right now no one definitively knows the answer to those two questions.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

Heh? I'm not getting that...we aren't trying to replace JT and EC. They are all time greats and this team will be very different than last year in a multitude of ways. The key to our success is a consistent 3rd scorer -- I think we can count on JD and Fatts but who else is going to step up night in and night out. Or what group of guys will rotate as 'the guy' from game to game. Can't win without 3 consistent scoring options.

CHICO 78 · Unread post by **CHICO 78** » 5 years ago

Replace Batman and Batman or Jeff/Fatts and Cyril need to elevate their game. You still need to come up with
3 solid scorers per game just to be a 500+ ball club. If Jeff/Fatts/ Cyril contribute 14/15/10 that's 39 points .
If you assume they will need to hit 65 a game to have a chance to win consistently than you need to come up
with another 26 points a game. last year that's about what Jeff/Fatts and Cyril contributed. So in a way you are
replacing either Batman and Batman's scoring or Jeff/Fatts and Cyril's. Either way its a matter of conjecture
and we won't know until we know.
But another wrinkle around Jeff is how well is he going to set up inexperienced player who don't anticipate
or get free as easy or often as Batman And Batman. Can Cyril stay our of foul trouble Just lots of question's.
It should be entertaining. I can't wait!!!

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 5 years ago

Seawrightspostgame wrote: ↑5 years ago
Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago Fatts had 20 vs PC and 15 vs Oklahoma. I don’t think you rate best players by those who have dominated a few games. Dowtin is the only Rhody player who will be on a preseason all A10 team.
I disagree. Fatts wasnt asked to run the team as a freshman. JD ran a team that hadnt danced. JD stepped up and did just that with dominating stats. I only use that word because those are the best players, the ones who dominate. Not taking such a jump to say that players who have actually done it before will be more likely to do it again. This isnt a JD versus Fatts thing.

URI has 2 players who have gone toe to toe with top competition and came out on top multiple times. Who also happen to be juniors. I think we have 2 of the best 5 or 10 in the league. If you want to throw Fatts in there fine.

My point wasn’t to put Fatts in the same category as Dowtin. It was to put Fatts with Cyril and to state neither of them have shown enough to be in the top 10 of the A10 as you mentioned. How can you put Cyril in the same group as Jeff (your comment that URI has 2 players who have gone toe to toe ....) . My last comment was that Dowtin is the only Rhody player in the top 15 of the A10.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 5 years ago

Why wouldn't Jeff, Fatts and Cyril elevate their game? They deferred a lot to EC and JT. As they should have.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 5 years ago

My point on replacement was that Batman and Batman played 33 and 28 minutes per game respectively and that PT will be replaced by a combination of players some of whom will be newcomers and low experience players. If they provide performance close to what Batman and Batman contributed and Cyril, Fatts and Dowtin show improvement over last year, especially Fatts and Cyril, then this team will definitely make the the Big Dance. If the B&B replacement doesn't measure up and Cyril, Fatts and Dowtin give us equivalent performance to last year, this team will not see post season play at all. These are the best and worst case scenarios and, of course, there is everything in between. How this plays out is anybody's guess, but it is good that four of the first five games are at home against largely weaker teams.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 5 years ago

I'm expecting Jermaine to play like JT did as a freshman, only in the 4 spot. What we are giving up on guards, we are making up on size.

edit. Although, we are about razor thin at guard. We have Fatts and Dowtin. CT is a wild card. After that, we have freshmen and walk-ons. Our season I think is going to lie on how Tyrese and Omar perform as the subs. If they can't step up it might be a rocky season.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

I think martin and Harris both start. Thompson, Tate, Silverio, Tertsea, Preston off bench.

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 5 years ago

bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago I think martin and Harris both start. Thompson, Tate, Silverio, Tertsea, Preston off bench.

I think eventually Martin starts (no later than beginning of Jan). I think Cox puts Thompson in the starting line up at the beginning of the season to add a little more experience. I do like Thompson coming off the bench to give the offense a boost.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 5 years ago

I be a bit surprised if Tertsea is in the rotation

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago
bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago I think martin and Harris both start. Thompson, Tate, Silverio, Tertsea, Preston off bench.
I think eventually Martin starts (no later than beginning of Jan). I think Cox puts Thompson in the starting line up at the beginning of the season to add a little more experience. I do like Thompson coming off the bench to give the offense a boost.

I agree that Martin may not start Day 1 but I think by conference play he is penciled in at the 3. I would prefer Thompson as the 6th man to come in and bring defensive intensity and hopefully some offense.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 5 years ago

Agree with BAR
Russell
Dowtin
Martin
Langevine
Harris
From opening game

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

Welcome back Ramster, good to have u back!

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 5 years ago

Be nice to have 2 freshman starters. I also think CT could be a perfect 6th man

Seawrightspostgame · Unread post by **Seawrightspostgame** » 5 years ago

Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Seawrightspostgame wrote: ↑5 years ago
Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago Fatts had 20 vs PC and 15 vs Oklahoma. I don’t think you rate best players by those who have dominated a few games. Dowtin is the only Rhody player who will be on a preseason all A10 team.
I disagree. Fatts wasnt asked to run the team as a freshman. JD ran a team that hadnt danced. JD stepped up and did just that with dominating stats. I only use that word because those are the best players, the ones who dominate. Not taking such a jump to say that players who have actually done it before will be more likely to do it again. This isnt a JD versus Fatts thing.

URI has 2 players who have gone toe to toe with top competition and came out on top multiple times. Who also happen to be juniors. I think we have 2 of the best 5 or 10 in the league. If you want to throw Fatts in there fine.
My point wasn’t to put Fatts in the same category as Dowtin. It was to put Fatts with Cyril and to state neither of them have shown enough to be in the top 10 of the A10 as you mentioned. How can you put Cyril in the same group as Jeff (your comment that URI has 2 players who have gone toe to toe ....) . My last comment was that Dowtin is the only Rhody player in the top 15 of the A10.

Ok. Then we disagree on Langevine's past experience. I also have a dim view of the rest of the league. Much dimmer than most on here.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

I’m not sure where tweets of destruction should go, but this looks problematic-

RhowdyRam02 · Unread post by **RhowdyRam02** » 5 years ago

Holy shit, they really lucked out that there wasn't a practice or anything going on. Be really interesting to see what caused this

Edit: was undergoing maintenance when it happened

PeterRamTime · Unread post by **PeterRamTime** » 5 years ago

Hahahahha!

Talk about a bad omen.

The score has been settled.

Onto the ground.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

a+10+standings.JPG

Preview Team Summaries Link:
https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/atl ... eview-2019

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 5 years ago

That’s pretty bad. Can anyone with internet access make a prediction and we will post it here?

McRam · Unread post by **McRam** » 5 years ago

bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago SJU will be good this year. Book it. Same for Davidson.
I disagree on St Louis, loads of talent but 1 major obstacle...their coach is awful.

That is what Terrell said!!!!!!!!!!!

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 5 years ago

McRam wrote: ↑5 years ago
bigappleram wrote: ↑5 years ago SJU will be good this year. Book it. Same for Davidson.
I disagree on St Louis, loads of talent but 1 major obstacle...their coach is awful.
That is what Terrell said!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m not sold on Mason either. I think URI finishes 3rd or 4th.