A-10 Basketball: Way-Too-Early 2019-2020 Power Rankings

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 13: Maceo Jack #14 of the George Washington Colonials handles the ball against Carl Pierre #12 of the Massachusetts Minutemen in the second half during the first round of the 2019 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament at Barclays Center on March 13, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 13: Maceo Jack #14 of the George Washington Colonials handles the ball against Carl Pierre #12 of the Massachusetts Minutemen in the second half during the first round of the 2019 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament at Barclays Center on March 13, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

12. George Washington Colonials (Tier-5)

Projecting GW to finish in this spot isn’t necessarily a knock on Jamion Christian as a head coach – it’s much more of a tribute to A) how hard it is to win games in year one of a new coaching regime, and B) just how tough the middle and top of this year’s A10 will be.

I’m confident that Christian will eventually build a winning culture and get this team out of the basement, but he shouldn’t be expected to turn things around and start making noise right away. There are some talented pieces left over from Maurice Joseph’s departure to work with – the only key rotational player that’s declared his intention to transfer is Terry Nolan Jr., and no players have graduated – but it’s tough to envision a roster that will look essentially the same as it did last season finishing drastically higher in a tougher edition of the league.

Maceo Jack is a fantastic player that could easily end up on one all-conference team or another, but him, DJ Williams, Arnaldo Toro, and Justin Mazzulla do not make for an overwhelming core, and the rotation beneath them quickly becomes mediocre. No matter how successful Christian is as far as first year coaches’ go, it just doesn’t seem like he will have the tools to overcome the deficiencies of this year’s roster. It’s possible they could climb a couple of spots higher with the addition of a grad-transfer or two and if three-star big man Chase Paar can overachieve in his first season, but that would be the absolute ceiling for this squad.

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