Big 5 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

6. Saint Joseph’s

This year was supposed to be a big one for Saint Joseph’s, who was hoping to return a lineup that would’ve been one of its most talented since its undefeated 2003-04 season. But that all changed when Phil Martelli was let go this off-season; Lamar Kimble graduated and figures to be a contributor on a national title contending Louisville team, Charlie Brown went to the NBA after two years on Hawk Hill, and Roman Catholic star Hakim Hart de-committed from the program to play for Mark Turgeon at Maryland. Jared Bynum transferred to Providence after a big freshman season, and the new Saint Joe’s administration is starting from scratch with a gutted roster.

This year’s Hawks team led by first-year coach Billy Lange will feature a talented duo of Taylor Funk and Delaware transfer Ryan Daly, but won’t have the firepower to keep up in a restocked Atlantic Ten that could send more than two teams to the tournament. St. Joe’s underachieved in a big way a season ago, finishing 10th in the league and going winless in Big 5 play after being expected to contend for an at-large bid, and this team has many fewer weapons. They could be bad enough to challenge Fordham for the Atlantic 10 basement.

If you’re a Saint Joe’s fan, you have to be optimistic about the Billy Lange era whether you were excited about the hire or not. He has demonstrated his ability to attract talent to Hawk Hill with the commitments of transfers of Myles Douglas and Greg Foster, two guys who could help bring competitive basketball back to 54th and Overbook sooner than later. They’ll have one year after sitting out to play alongside Funk and Daly, and it’s up to this year’s squad to establish a positive and hard-working culture at Joe’s to help accelerate the rebuild and bring winning hoops back to campus before this group cycles out. Going 0-4 in the Big 5 for a second straight year might be a part of the growing pains, though.