2018-19 A10 News
 

Forward Jalen Johnson, who has started regularly since the middle of his freshman season, announced on Twitter on Friday that he is transferring from St. Louis University.

Johnson averaged 9.1 points and was second on the team with 52 3-pointers last season. He started 24 of 33 games and played 27 minutes per game.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colle..._campaign=dlvr

I think this is actually a big loss for SLU. They now have no one back who hit more than 27% from 3. Their shooting now falls on the back of freshman

I like SLUs bigs but I don't know how they're not gonna get zoned to death next season

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South Carolina transfer David Beatty has committed to La Salle, per his Twitter page. Sit one, play three.

https://frshoopz.com/cbb/david-cox-n...fatts-russell/

New URI Coach David Cox recorded a podcast with Jon Rothstein

Link is to blurb about the podcast

@GaryParrishCBS
Kenny Johnson, who was fired at Louisville because of the ongoing FBI investigation, is under consideration for, and likely to fill a spot on, Ashley Howard’s staff at La Salle, a source told @CBSSports.

I know La Salle has a big hole to climb out of but I'm surprised to see them take this risk

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Here’s a crazy one: Michael Gilmore, who began his career at VCU, is expected to finish his career as a grad transfer at VCU, source told ESPN. Had a brief stop at Miami, and played at Florida Gulf Coast last season.

That is crazy.

Can anyone recall another player going back to their original school?

Donovan Kirk who from Miami to Depaul back to Miami is the only I know off of the top of my head

Keith Dambrot is a total madman. He just signed his 8th freshman who's going to be a non qualifier to go with 5 sit out transfers plus returning players

5 of those players are 6'9" or taller. That's crazy.

They appear to be over signed by 1.

I have never seen that many players in 1 class.

There is a 6'11" 4 star freshman signee in that group.

http://verbalcommits.com/schools/duquesne

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6’8” wing Bobby Planutis (@BPlanutis33) has committed to Saint Bonaventure (@BonniesMBB) after an extremely efficient freshman season at Mount St Mary’s where he played 25mins per game and shot 47% FG/49% 3pt/90% FT.... Planutis will sit-1 and play-3 for Mark Schmidt’s squad.

And we can't get one???
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Verbal commits is only showing 7, not 8.

http://www.verbalcommits.com/schools/duquesne

Who are the 5 sit out transfers? Verbal commits is showing 0 inbound transfers and 4 outbound transfers.

http://verbalcommits.com/transfers/2018



4 not 5.

James Ellis the new non qualifier they got isn't on there

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/h...s/201805080122

Sit outs are C Michael Hughes and PG Tavian Dunn-Martin who he brought over with him from Akron. Former Missouri G Frankie Hughes (who UD was listed as having interest in last year), G Craig Randall from Memphis and former Miami Redhawk F Michael Weathers.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...ster/_/id/2184

Why would we? We are spending all of our time going after 6'3" guards. And the players over 6'3 we are going after (up to a whopping 6'7") are under 200 lbs. I haven't been this frustrated with our recruiting in awhile. There is "Big" minutes available immediately this year and there is a tidal wave of "Big" minutes next year. Just baffling to me.

In CAG I believe. Not sure why you think "not yet signing a big" equates to "we aren't pursuing a big."
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Agree. We don't need 6, but we need a pipeline of commits, or we'll get abused inside.

Same reason we as fans judge players. We want players who can score and play D. We also want coaches that can land bigs with guards.

To be clear, i still love the AG hire. I always will. i think he means it when he says he's going to do things the right way. He already has done a massive house cleaning. The cancer has been cut away(Pierce and Xeyrius) the guys that don't fit (Matej and Kostas) and a guy simply in over his head (Crosby)

I'm still giddy with AG, always will be, love this dude. i just wish we could get a big or two in the fold so i and a few others can stop complaining about it.

I trust AG, but we all know what Ronald Reagan said.......

Look no further then: Tillman,Justin PF VCU

This guy MURDERED us. Atleast Kendall could throw his massive heiny into him. Policelli and Obi would be helpless against him if he was back.

BRob I agree completely. But, I also believe AG wants a couple athletic 6-8 to 6-9 guys with weight to bang down low. My point being that just because he hasn't landed one or two that he believes fit doesn't mean he doesn't recognize we need them. Hopefully the right guy comes along.
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This I agree with! :)

Found this elsewhere:

A-10 Transfer Info as of 05-11-18:


TRANSFERS OUT (28)

SBU: Gueye (to Texas Rio Grande), Izaiah Brockington (to Penn State)

Dayton: Miller to College of Charleston; Xeyrius Williams to Akron, John Crosby, Jordan Pierce, Matej Svoboda (going pro), Kostas Antetokounmpo (going pro)

Duquesne: Tydus Verhoven, Tarin Smith (to UConn), Marko Kravacevic (to Indiana,PA) Nicholas Kratholm

Fordham: Perris Hicks, Joseph Chartouny (to Marquette), Tre Evans (to SW OKlahoma St), Cavit Havsa(to Utah State)

GW: Jair Bolden

UMass: Malik Hines, Chris Baldwin, Rayshawn Miller

Richmond: Khwan Fore (to Tenn), A J Ford

SJU: Gerald Blount

SLU: Graves (to NC Central), Markos Psimitis, Jalen Johnson

VCU: Tyler Maye, Lewis Djonkam



TRANSFERS IN (* immediately eligible)

Dayton: Ibi Watson (G) from Michigan (2.2ppg), Rodney Chatman (G) from Chattanooga (13.3ppg)

LaSalle: David Beatty (G) from So. Carolina (3ppg)

Richmond: Blake Francis (G) from Wagner (17.3ppg)

SBU: Bobby Planutis (F) from Mt. St. Marys (5.6 ppg)

SJU: Ryan Daly (G) from Delaware (17.5ppg)

VCU: Michael Gilmore* (F) from Fl. Gulf Coast (6.5ppg)

Duquesne Basketball: Dambrot orchestrating a rebirth of Dukes basketball

http://collegehoopswatch.com/2018/05...es-basketball/

Five guys 6’9” or taller on this list. The Duquesne coach does NOT believe in small ball.
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Duquesne: no NCAAT since 1977. Just 4 NIT's since 1980. Joined the A10 in 1976. Did not realize they were in the MCC for 1 year, 1992-93, then re-joined the A10.

He may not believe in small ball that team has always played like they had small ball(s)...

Dambrot's strategy at Duquesne I'm pretty sure is to bring a bunch of guys and so who can stick. Recruiting wise for the Dukes he's got on paper some nice freshman coming in. I like the Weathers kid that transferred in from Miami

Eric Williams is gonna be a good player for them the next 3 years.

Since we're likely stuck playing the Dukes twice a year for the near future, anything he can do make them a non sub 200 RPI team is a-okay in my boook

UD really screwed Duquesne (and I think LaSalle). What I heard was UD talked one, or both, into joining the MCC and then bolted to the Great Midwest leaving them high and dry. Perhaps someone with a better memory can fill in the details.

That is why the people at Evansville started calling us the "Dayton Liars".... they still call us that to this day... Don't think we plowed the high ground in the endeavor....

can't be too many instances where a team was in a conference for a year and then left to go back to the old one

I know TF is a legend at UD but we had really poor leadership at that time in our history. Overall athletic program was a mess and a bunch of questionable decisions did, and have, affected the MBB program.

Pre-Kissell era
 

Prior to the arrival of Ted Kissell UD did not have an athletics "program". We had a successful football team having found the right level of play...and we had a basketball team that became a top tier program by way of the accidental hiring of Tom Blackburn and a competent assistant DD.

Other than that Dayton had no teams or facilities that were at the Div I level....indeed, most wouldn't have been decent at Div III.

Our futility was laid bare when we were discarded by the Great Midwest schools that went on to form the C-USA. At that point we were desperate.

Kissell's arrival changed the UD athletics dynamic in much the same way Curran's arrival altered the big picture. Ted established and executed a strategic plan for UD athletics the result of which is apparent today in all aspects of our stellar program.

We have facilities/fields named after the prominent people in UD's athletics history....but not (yet) for Ted, by far the most influential and successful person in the history of Dayton athletics. Ted has no peer.

nice guy too

Agree 100%. TK had to start from scratch, shame TF wasn't more effective late in his tenure. He did a good job of parlaying the NCAA run in 65-67 into the Arena though.

I've said it before. I think Duquesne will get invited to the Big East before we do.

@JonRothstein
Clemson transfer Scott Spencer has committed to La Salle, per a source.

Nice family too. Apologies for derailing this thread, but here's a fun Ted Kissell anecdote...

In the late 90s, I went to high school with his daughter. During this time, Phish played a show at the Nutter Center. Maybe it was something in the air, but I distinctly recall giggling at the sight of Ted Kissell (who took his daughter) at that show. I found it funny that the UD athletics director was slumming it over there at the Nutter Center, which on that particular night was akin to being trapped inside a bong. But ol' Ted was a good sport! Nice guy indeed.

Early suggestion: when LaSalle comes to the arena, Red Scare could distract Scott Spencer whenever he comes to the free throw line with cardboard cutouts of Spencer Scott.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3015651/

More on TK
 

Before I knew better I used to hassle TK (which I regret) re how the athletics department should run. He never...never....failed to respond to my e-mails with thoughtful explanations.

Once after I made a substantial, but definitely not large, contribution he called me at home while he was sitting in his dentist's waiting room.

I never met Ted. But I definitely know and appreciate what he accomplished at UD. We were very fortunate to have him. I presume he still resides in Dayton and I hope that he and his family are well.

https://www.bleedmaroonblog.com/way-...y-a10-rankings

7. Dayton

Dayton to me is the biggest wildcard in the whole conference. It's hard to predict if they will be good - or to know if Anthony Grant can coach. I like to think that he can, but I was never blown away by his sets. I'm not just judging him off of the UMass games (which we somehow swept) either. I think that his team underachieved pretty badly no matter how you spin it. I know it was his first year and they had a mismatched group of guys that all played different styles, but I still feel like they had a lot more talent than their record showed. All that aside, they do have a rock-solid group of guys coming back. We all know Josh Cunningham can ball, but so can Trey Landers and Jalen Crutcher. Crutcher was inconsistent this year, butI can see him taking over games when he's older. Dwayne Cohill, 4* incoming guard, seems like a stud as well. Overall, it's a big old mixed-bag for Dayton. They could finish in the top half because of their talent, but I can also see them struggling to find it for another year and finishing 10th. Who knows? Maybe I'm right to be skeptical about Grant. My best bet is to just put them smack-dab in the middle and let them prove me wrong.

A UMass writer had UMass at #3 lol

slight bias

Provocative comments IMO.

Gotta say I can't really disagree with his assessment. We are a giant question mark, especially with two open schollies left.

He has his beloved Minutemen third. And this he says is without his maroon glasses on. Had an interesting take on our talent level. It does however fit the narative of some of the posters on Pride.

@Wheyen3
6-foot-10, Class of ‘18 big Osun Osunniyi, had Syracuse and Georgetown in his final three. But he picked St. Bonaventure over them and will be a Bonnie.

Osun was a former La Salle commit under Dr. G

Ashley Howard | We’re going to depend on transfers at La Salle

https://frshoopz.com/cbb/ashley-howa...s-at-la-salle/

Not to mention that he was at a Phish show?! Did his daughter omit some information concerning the band?

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Siena transfer Prince Oduro tells me he will visit UMass on May 29th-31st.

This is from a Ken Pom style advanced stats site that is gaining popularity. These are the projected A10 standings next year

http://www.barttorvik.com/trankpre.p...ear=2019&sort=

St. Louis 1st, Rhode Island & VCU tied for 2nd. Dayton 7th with a 9-9 record

That's really tight. Two more wins and we are tied for 1st. Two more losses and we are tied for 13th. I actually think the A10 has that packed feel for next season. Lots of upsets and no 500 lb gorilla.

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Drexel grad transfer Tramaine Isabell tells me he has cut his list to Xavier, Boston College, and Saint Louis. Immediately eligible. Averaged 21.0 PPG.

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Available power forward KC Hankton just verbally committed to St. Louis while on a visit, per a source. Hankton is a high-level shooter that fills a big need for Travis Ford.

@JonRothstein
Saint Louis needed a capable scorer next to Jordan Goodwin and got that in Tramaine Isabell. Billikens should be at top of Atlantic 10 next season along with Saint Joseph's.


@JonRothstein
Drexel grad transfer Tramaine Isabell has committed to Saint Louis, per a source. Immediately eligible. Huge get for Travis Ford.

Isabell averaged 21 points and 7.5 boards last season.

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BREAKING: VCU guard Marcus Evans suffers achilles injury

supposedly serious

Would be huge loss. 20ppg guy for Rhoades when he was at Rice. He tore it once already last June not long after arriving on campus. He'd be lucky to be ready by 1/1/2019 if he indeed tore it again

I've read that were expecting him to play some major minutes at PG for them. I feel like the expectations for Evans is that he was going to give them a 1st or 2nd team All Conference caliber year

Lot of unknowns on the VCU roster but if he's gone for year that's probably enough to keep them out of the top 4 of the league

Per VCU’s board, he tore the Achilles on the other leg in an open gym and will have surgery on Monday. Really tough loss for them and bad for the league. The A10 is better when VCU and Dayton are battling for the top spot. Plus, I would guess we are playing them twice again this season and it will hurt their ranking/RPI if he is out for any part of the non-conference schedule.
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Would he have any chance of making it back this year after surgery?

Per AlienAiden on this thread https://www.vcuramnation.com/forums/threads/again.17561/ he is likely out until at least January. I guess they might look at how their season is shaping up before they would decide if he would come back. Since he transferred though, would need a waiver to get a 6th year of eligibility were he to want to stay for the 20-21 season.
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@JonRothstein
People from the periphery will hype incoming freshman Carte'Are Gordon, but those close to Saint Louis believe team's most impactful newcomer will be USF transfer Luis Santos.

@JonRothstein
Maryland grad transfer Dion Wiley tells me that he has committed to Saint Louis. Immediately eligible.

@JonRothstein
What a weekend for Saint Louis. Travis Ford & Co. address their perimeter holes with additions of Tramaine Isabell & Dion Wiley. Most talented roster in the A10.

Don't know if/how all those parts will meld in St. Louis but it always frustrates me to hear other teams in the A10 picking up players and deafening silence from UD on the grad transfer front. We have two scholarships left, holding one or both, when grad transfers are available, doesn't make sense, and it seems unlikely at this point that another 2018 recruit is just out there waiting to sign. Maybe they don't see the value in some of these players but it's hard to believe there weren't some out there who we were interested in.

No idea what's going on here. There is one post player on the roster and he's a senior.

We don't know how all the pieces will fit together and work out for St. Louie but they are definitely looking good on paper. With that said, I just don't get the draw for them to land these type of players, players that look to be able to go to much better situated programs. St. Louis has no established track record that would lead a recruit to believe they are going to challenge for a deep run in the tourney. Ford obviously is a good recruiter, but I just don't understand what the selling point is. He was 155-111 overall and 63-75 in the Big 12 over his eight year stint before being fired. What am I missing?

Saint Louis
 

happens to be a great Jesuit university where a degree is priceless and is located in a great city with big league attractions. Rick Majerus owned the A-10 before he died.

I agree completely completely with Alberto Strasse’s reply. What amazes me is not that schools like St. Louis can out recruit us but that schools like St. Bonaventure can do it fairly often. Have any of you ever been to Olean?

In what world has St Bonaventure out recruited us? I can't remember a year

Alberto, I agree it is a fine university, but, it's standing is not such that it separates itself from many if not most of the rest of the A-10. As to Majerus owning the A-10, his A-10 record follows:

07-08 7-9
08-09 8-8
09-10 11-5
10-11 6-10
11-12 12-4
total 44-36 (.550)

His best league finish, 2nd one time.

Owned? That record will get AG fired at the end of year 5, if not before.

I don't remember St., Louis and St. Bonnies being head and shoulders better than us in the A 10 over the last 10 years. Did I miss something?

You don’t remember Bona going to 4 straight NCAA tourneys with an elite 8? I think there is some revisionist history going on here. Almost sounds like something swampy might say.

I'm sure the we would have been more than happy to have landed Osun Osunniyi for 2018/2019. In the recent past I'm sure that we would have also been happy to get Andrew Nicholson, Denzel Gregg, Marcus Posley, Dion Wright or Yousson Ndoye.

None of those guys were highly ranked aka recruiting... Developing them different story

But,but...have we not gone to 4 straight NCAA's with an Elite 8 in the more recent past than Bonawelder? Seems like a push.

If we don't get some beef in the paint,(and doesn't have to be a true C, just some additional help at PF), I don't think we are going to be talking about the NCAA anytime soon, let alone staying toe to toe with VCU.

Disagree on it being a Jesuit education or the attractions in STL getting these guys.

Travis Ford for his faults as an in game coach is a great recruiter. At Oklahoma State which isn't a blue blood program by any stretch of the imagination got McDonald's All Americans like Marcus Smart and Lebryan Nash that were top 10 players in the country and recruited by virtually every major program in the country.

At St. Louis he hired 3 assistants who are known as recruiters including Corey Tate who's heavily connected into the STL AAU scene. Last year he signed Jordan Goodwin who was a consensus top 60 guy and this year he got PF Carte’Are Gordon who's a top 60ish player. Not too mention a raft of transfers and guys like Hasahn French who was a borderline top 100 guy.

Bottom line, you're a great recruiter if you're reeling in top 60 guys in the A10 in back to back classes. That's a rare feet for the A10 recruiting wise.

The proof is in the pudding that Ford is a great recruiter

Osun might not have been highly ranked but the Bonnies beat out Georgetown and Syracuse to get him.

3 straight ncaat appearances from Majerus/Crews...not bad at all.

6 ncaat appearances in 8 years at OSU for Ford, he is a good coach.

I doubt that AG would get fired with those results.

UD2 not at all arguing he is not a good coach. Very likely he is. But ultimately, as a coach you are what your record says you are. In his 8 year career at OK.S. he had a conference winning percentage of 45%. While not calling his abilities into play, it just makes me wonder what about that level of success would entice a top level player to sign on at St Louis.

P.S. And, while not pointing any fingers, I'm pretty sure if AG is 44-36 in conference after 5 years, if he were not fired, there would at least be a lot of "I told you so's" floating around. Anyway, the point was really that 44-36 is not owning a conference.

Thanks for your input. I have always liked Travis Ford. I think he is good for the A10. Just having trouble understanding the thinking of recruits behind this flurry of signings.

I agree that Ford did not tear it up in the Big 12, but he was certainly very competent. SLU, being in the A10, likely could not attract a better coach, but he, again, is no slouch. He probably has the best resume in the A10.

Looking at those 5 years, that looks like maybe 2 ncaat's(12-4 and 11-5)and 1 or 2 nit's(8-8 and 7-9), while not thrilled, I would be satisfied with that in AG's first 5 years.

Ranked 94th in the recent USNWR rankings:



https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges...niversity-2506


Dayton, #124.



https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges...of-dayton-3127


I would hardly call the difference "priceless".



I don't think anyone is saying "WOW YOU GET TO PLAY COLLEGE BALL IN THE GREAT CITY OF ST. LOUIS?!?!" St. Louis is a fine city. It's not Palm Beach, or a great college town like Austin, or a great city of action like New York. It's a fine, Midwestern town, with a fine college.

St. Louis starts a H/H with Seton Hall this year

https://www.app.com/story/sports/col...-19/673063002/

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.@JonRothstein on conferences trying out flex scheduling

"If you are conference like the @atlantic10 @MountainWest and you're not creatively trying to find ways to get your teams into the Tourney, you're an endangered species."

http://gorhody.com/sports/m-baskbl/2...20180608e9unxd

Rhody releases their non conference schedule. Nothing super interesting but they were slated to get a return game from Nevada this year and the Wolfpack paid their way out of the return game


2018-19 Non-Conference Schedule
Home
Oct. 25 – Pace (exhibition)
Nov. 6 – Bryant
Nov. 16 – Harvard
Nov. 24 – Stony Brook
Nov. 28 – Brown
Dec. 30 – Middle Tennessee State

Away
Nov. 13 – College of Charleston
Dec. 1 – Providence

Neutral
Dec. 8 – Holy Cross (at the DCU Center)
Dec. 16 – West Virginia (Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase presented by Citi)
Dec. 22-25 – Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (3 games TBD)

I cannot imagine the uproar here if that was our schedule.....

??? Does not look that bad to me, might even be better than ours.

URI had a better sos than us last year.

2 games short? 10 ooc and 18 league is only 28.

Don't most teams play 30 or 31(4 tourney exempt games)now?

12 games with Diamond Head Classic

@JonRothstein
Under-The-Radar Transfer: George Mason's Jarred Reuter. Former Virginia forward joins four returning double-figure scorers. A team to watch in the Atlantic 10.

6'7 260lb PF

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.@usabasketball blasting Dominican Republic at #FIBAU18Americas but Fordham has good one coming in 2019 in 6-9 New Yorker, Joel Soriano. Coaches are asking, “Who’s that?” Much improved.

Greg Paulus, at Louisville last year, is hired as an assistant at GW.

A10 Roundup from Jablonski

https://www.mydaytondailynews.com/sp...4PXyHk7ipD4uO/

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WE'RE IN FOR A LOOOOOOOOONG SEASON
7 Duquesne newcomers have wingspans of 7 or more feet

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Boston University guard Cheddi Mosely just committed to La Salle, he tells @Rivals. Immediately eligible guard with scoring abilities on the perimeter

@JonRothstein
Expect SLU's Hasahn French to lead the Atlantic 10 in double-doubles next season as a sophomore. Had five as a freshman. Averaged 9.3 PPG and 7.1 RPG. Has the "it" factor.

He May Be
 

the A-10 POY. SLU will be a dominating team next year with Davidson on their heels.

@jmverlin
.@SJUHawks_MBB announces that rising 6-6 junior guard Nick Robinson has requested his release and will transfer. Averaged 7.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.0 spg as a sophomore. Not an insignificant loss for the Hawks.


@AdamFinkelstein
Rhode Island lands a commitment from @BooWilliamsAAU wing Mekhi Long who teamed with incoming freshman Tyrese Martin last year at @MMAPGBasketball. Good get for for the Rams.

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2019 prospect TJ Hargrove has committed to Saint Louis, per a source. Top five player in the state of Illinois. Huge get for Travis Ford.

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How did St. Joe's go 16-16 without both Charlie Brown and Lamarr Kimble? One reason is Taylor Funk. Made 84 3's as a freshman. 11.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG. Underrated nationally.