Atlantic 10 Basketball: Ranking of top 50 returning players for 2020-21 season

#45: Justin Winston, Forward (Saint Bonaventure Bonnies)

Winston had a quietly impressive freshman campaign for the Bonnies last season, playing in all 31 games and putting up 8.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per outing. The Bonnies will have almost everybody of significance back from last year’s rotation, so Winston’s numbers will probably look similar to what they were, but he’s still a player that, if inconsistent at times, can put up 15-20 points on any given night.

As a 6’8” 215 pound forward, he’s also a matchup problem for opposing coaches to figure out, and he can be tasked with guarding multiple positions on the other end as well. Another promising thing about Winston is the hot shooting that he displayed on several occasions throughout the season. He finished the season at a decent 33.3% from deep, but he was 4/5 on that front in a win over Rutgers and 4/7 in a win over Saint Joe’s. It’s hard to envision Winston ever becoming the Bonnies’ go-to guy, but any A10 coach could make good use of him in their rotation.

#44: Xavier Johnson, Guard (George Mason Patriots)

Johnson looked very promising in his freshman season running point for Dave Paulsen and the Patriots. His offensive numbers were solid across the board — 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game — and on the defensive end, over the last nine games of conference play, he came away with 19 steals. He wasn’t very consistent in terms of his scoring output or efficiency, but he still managed a passable 41.6% from the field for the season.

One thing he’ll have to work on moving forward is ball control (2.1 turnovers per game), but that’s a common offseason assignment for rising Sophomore guards and shouldn’t be worrying for Mason fans. At the end of the day, XJ is still a bit raw, but he has all the physical and athletic tools to someday become a household name throughout the conference.

#43: Scott Spencer, Guard (La Salle Explorers)

If The Explorers are going to finally make a jump this year from the bottom half of the standings towards the upper-middle of the pack, Scott Spencer is one of the guys that is going to have to step up and help lead the way. Spencer doesn’t do much of note on the offensive end outside of shooting the three-ball, but he does that exceptionally well.

He connected on 43.9% from deep for the season, good for an average of 2.0 out of 4.6 attempts per contest, while putting up a solid 8.9 points per game. On the other end of the floor, he proved to be one of Ashley Howard’s most reliable perimeter defenders and rebounders, nabbing 3.4 boards and a steal per game as well.

At this stage in his career, don’t expect Spencer to make a huge leap in terms of his statistical production, but he’ll be extremely valuable as an upperclassman leader in a decently talented but largely inexperienced roster.

#42: Hason Ward, Forward (VCU Rams)

Ward was an exciting Freshman that got buried on the depth chart of a deep and experienced VCU team last season. Playing behind guys like Issac Vann and Marcus Santos-Silva, he only saw the floor for seven minutes per contest, but he made the most of his time while he was out there.

He averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game for the season and shot 62% from the field, and in terms of pure physicality and athleticism, he has about as much long-term upside as anyone on the team not named Bones Hyland. Don’t expect Ward to suddenly become a walking double-double given more significant playing time (though that’s certainly not out of the question), but he could easily average 8-10 points and five boards per game while helping the Rams stay out of the bottom four in the standings.

Ultimately, between his physical tools and promising, even if brief, showings in year 1, Ward should be towards the top of any list of “potential breakout A10 Sophomores.”

#41: Nathan Cayo, Forward (Richmond Spiders)

Cayo doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well, but he is a solid across-the-board contributor on what has been and should continue to be a very good Spiders team. Last season, he put up 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 26 minutes of play while shooting a very respectable 55.6% from the field.

His points actually decreased from where they were in his sophomore campaign, in which he put up 12.9 per game, but the team had much more scoring available last year with Nick Sherod back and Wagner-transfer Blake Francis added into the rotation. This year, with those two along with the other usual suspects (Grant Golden, Jacob Gilyard) set to return, Cayo should play basically the same role that he has grown accustomed to playing, but that role is an important one on a team that’s not incredibly deep on the block.