Busting Brackets
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Atlantic 10: Who Are Next Season’s Favorites?

By Rakesh Bi

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4. Virginia Commonwealth Rams

Feb 28, 2015; Richmond, VA, USA; Virginia Commonwealth Rams guard/forward Treveon Graham (21) celebrates with Rams guard Melvin Johnson (32) and Rams guard Doug Brooks (5) after scoring against the Dayton Flyers in the second half at Stuart Siegel Center. The Flyers won 59-55. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

While the vast majority of their 2014-15 roster was made up of underclassmen, VCU will take a huge hit from graduation. The Rams proved that they could make the NCAA Tournament without senior defensive ace Briante Weber, who was out with a torn ACL for the final months of the season. The guard—known as the heartbeat of his team’s Havoc defense—led the NCAA in steals as a junior and was no more than 12 away from holding its all-time record.

Even harder to see go for VCU fans will be Treveon Graham. The 6’6″ swingman from Temple Hills, Maryland has been instrumental to head coach Shaka Smart‘s system from day one, and led the Rams in points and rebounds in his senior season.

VCU hit the headlines in early April when Shaka Smart left the program for Texas after leading the Rams to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Their next step was to hire Will Wade, who was an assistant under Smart for 4 years and later rekindled the Chattanooga Mocs’ basketball program. His Havoc-inspired “Chaos” defensive system helped him become the SoCon Coach of the Year with Wofford’s Mike Young. In the first year of the Wade era, look for returning star Melvin Johnson and Oral Roberts transfer Korey Billbury to help steer a Graham-less VCU offense as well.

No coach is more familiar with the way things are done at VCU than Wade, but he will miss out on the opportunity to work with the team’s biggest stars. It will take some time for him to set things straight in Richmond—and now that the Rams are lacking an undisputed leader—the chances that they will return to A-10 prominence in a very limited amount of time are low.

Next: Dayton Flyers