Atlantic 10 Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

8. Dayton Flyers

2017-18 season record: 14-17 (8-10)

Going from Archie Miller to Anthony Grant has put the program in transition mode, with positives and negatives occurring. Freshman Kostas Antetokounmpo declared for the draft after one season, while several role players have transferred. A couple of good transfers in Rodney Chatman and Ibi Watson are coming aboard but won’t be eligible to play next season.

Fifth-year senior Josh Cunningham will be though and he’s on the shortlist for A-10 Player of the Year. Finally healthy, he averaged 15.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg. The former Dayton forward has dealt with injuries throughout his college career but last year showed his potential for a full season.

He’ll have some extra help, with guards Trey Landers (11.3 ppg and 5.6 rpg) Jalen Crutcher (9.2 ppg and 4.4 apg) and Jordan Davis (8.0 ppg) returning. 6’7 forward Ryan Mikesell also returns after redshirting last year while dealing with varying injuries. Same goes for Obadiah Toppin, another forward who took a year off for academic reasons.

As good as Cunningham is, it’s hard to see the Flyers moving up the ladder. The loss of Darrell Davis (15.4 ppg) is a tough pill to swallow, and there still isn’t much size for Dayton to use. It caused them to get killed on the boards last year and it doesn’t bode well for them again in 2018-19.