Davidson Basketball: Are the Wildcats the team to beat in the Atlantic 10?

Davidson basketball made the NCAA Tournament last year by securing the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid. What might make 2018-19 even more special?

Last season was an interesting one for Davidson Basketball. First, they were projected to finish sixth in the preseason Atlantic 10 poll despite senior Peyton Aldridge being named a preseason All-Conference player. During non-conference play, it seemed as though the low expectations set for the team were going to be spot on. Even though they played a rigorous schedule that included matchups against Virginia, North Carolina, and Nevada, entering conference play at just 5-6 was disappointing.

But the team turned it around from there. Led by Aldridge and standout freshman Kellan Grady, the Wildcats went 13-5 in Atlantic 10 play. This landed the team a third-place finish in the conference but they were still far away from the NCAA Tournament bubble. Yet, Davidson refused to give up hope and shot the lights out from three on the way to winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament and the automatic bid to the Big Dance. In the NCAA Tournament, they played a hard-fought game with Kentucky before eventually falling, 78-73.

Who will lead the way in 2018-19 for the Wildcats?

Looking ahead to next season, though, Davidson could be even better. Yes, leading scorer Peyton Aldridge (21.2 points, 7.6 rebounds) is graduating but there are players ready to step into bigger roles. Most notably, rising sophomore Kellan Grady will be looked to as the star of the team next season. In just his freshman season last year, the 6’5″ guard lit up the scoreboard with his 18.0 points per game on 37.2% shooting from deep (5.9 3PA per game).

Even though he will be one of the younger players on the roster, Grady will be seen as the leader on the court at all times. The offense will run through him for the most part and his versatility in scoring inside and out will help the team’s spacing and chemistry. Speaking of spacing, Davidson has plenty of it. Last season, the Wildcats shot 38.9% from three (27th in the nation) on 907 total attempts (27th in the nation). This is not only letting the ball fly from distance but also consistently seeing those shots go through the net.

The previously mentioned Aldridge (38.1%) and Grady (37.2%) were large contributors to this number but were far from alone. Rising juniors Jon Axel Gudmundsson (40.6% on 4.7 3PA per game) and KiShawn Pritchett (43.8% on 2.7 3PA per game) are both excellent shooters who could average double-figures per game next season. Along with Grady, these two will be focal points of Davidson’s offense.

What makes Davidson the 2018-19 Atlantic 10 favorites?

To be fair, Davidson will not be that much better than they were last season in 2018-19. Obviously, their main returning trio will be improved but the loss of Aldridge is substantial. Nonetheless, I believe that they should be the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10. Even though they were inconsistent at times last season, the Wildcats still wound up finishing in third place. The only two teams to have better conference records were Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure.

Rhody had a tremendous season last year that more than warranted the at-large bid that they received. However, their roster took a significant hit this offseason. Four of their top five scorers graduated and the success they had in 2017-18 just will not be replicated because of this. As for St. Bonaventure, the losses of Matt Mobley and Jaylen Adams will likely put them near the bottom of the preseason A-10 poll.

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This leaves Davidson at the top with some other teams chasing them. At the moment, Saint Louis might be the next contender for the title. There is obviously a lot of offseason left and many things can change between now and the opening tip of the season, but I like the Davidson roster to make a splash in 2018-19.