Atlantic 10 Basketball: Top 5 rising juniors in 2018-19

5. Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island

Combo guard Jeff Dowtin is due for a breakout season with the Rhode Island Rams after turning in a solid sophomore campaign. Dowtin didn’t take home any conference honors in 2017-18 but that should change this upcoming year. He had a busy season filling up the stat sheet for Rhode Island last year.

He averaged 9.6 points, 5.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds as the Rams finished with a 26-8 record and outright Atlantic 10 regular season champions with a 15-3 record. They fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to the Duke Blue Devils back in March and since then, head coach Dan Hurley left for the UConn Huskies.

Now, head coach David Cox will have Dowtin at his disposal as the team’s returning leading scorer and assist-maker. Dowtin finished second in the conference last season in assists per game and first in total assists (189). He’ll be looked to do more in 2018-19 as the floor general.