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

#30: Jordan Miller, Forward (George Mason Patriots)

Miller is a player that isn’t electric in any one area, but he’s extremely solid across essentially the entire board. As a sophomore last season, he averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while connecting on a respectable 44.8% of his shots (33.0% from three). At 6’6” 189 pounds, he’s also a versatile defender and an impressive offensive rebounder for his position (2.7 per game in his career).

Miller’s not likely to see a dramatic statistical leap in his Junior season on a team that will still have weapons like Javon Greene and AJ Wilson available, but his efficiency and reliability as a jack-of-all-trades veteran will make him extremely valuable.

#29: Hyunjung Lee, Guard (Davidson Wildcats)

Lee didn’t tear up the stat sheet in his debut season with the Wildcats, but his efficient shooting and smart decision making were enough to earn him a spot on the A10 all-rookie team in March. In just 20.9 minutes per game, he put up 8.2 points per game while maintaining one of the most impressive shooting lines of any wing in the conference (46.7% from two, 37.7% from three and 85.7% at the line).

There were some nights where Lee didn’t have to do much on the offensive end because of guys like Kellan Grady and Jon Axel Gudmundsson taking over, but he rarely had bad games and at times he looked particularly promising. In back to back games against UMass and VCU, he put up, respectively, 16 points while hitting 4/5 threes and 20 points while connecting on 3/5.

The Wildcats are a tough team to project in terms of where they’ll finish in next year’s A10 standings, but Lee is one of those x-factors that could potentially put them over the top.

#28: Gibson Jimerson, Guard (Saint Louis Billikens)

In his first (partial) season with the Billikens, Jimerson immediately proved himself to be one of the best shooters in the conference. Much like fellow Freshman sniper TJ Weeks of UMass, Jimerson only appeared in 10 games before being sidelined by an injury, but he lit it up during the time that he was available.

He shot 42.9% from deep en route to 10.1 points per game, and there were two contests in which he put up at least 22 points while hitting five threes. With him back in the rotation to help guys like Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin on the wings, the Billikens could absolutely have everything that they need to win an A10 title.

The team is too deep for Jimerson’s numbers to undergo any significant improvement, but where they are is absolutely good enough to warrant a top-30 spot on this list.

#27: Luka Brajkovic, Center (Davidson Wildcats)

Brajkovic has been an extremely reliable big for Bob McKillop and the Davidson Wildcats over the course of his first two seasons. He’s lanky and not incredibly gifted in terms of natural athleticism, but he’s got some of the best footwork in the league, he rebounds well, and he’s averaging 10.7 points per game for his career.

Fortunately for the Wildcats’ sake, he is also adept at staying out of foul trouble — a skill that’s important on a team that has been and should continue to be relatively thin on the block. Brajkovic will likely be, for the most part, the same player this season that we’ve grown accustomed to watching, but that player is a very solid old-school big that any competitive A10 team could use in their rotation.

#26: Rodney Chatman, Guard (Dayton Flyers)

Chatman wasn’t one of Dayton’s biggest producers from a statistical standpoint last season, but he’s a well-rounded player that knew his role and played it efficiently. He’s a more-than-adequate scorer (7.7 points per game in a loaded rotation last year), a reliable option from three-point range (36.0%), a strong passer, and, most importantly, a fantastic perimeter defender.

That last trait was really his bread and butter in his debut Flyers season, and he may just be the best player that the league has to offer in that regard heading into his senior year. There’s a reason why so many of the league’s best guards had tough outings against the Flyers, and it wasn’t Obi Toppin or Jalen Crutcher.

It’s tough to say what Chatman’s overall numbers will look like this season with so much added weight on his shoulders, but there’s no reason to think he can’t put up 11.0 or 12.0 points per game while he continuing to menace opposing stars.