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

#20: Nick Sherod, Guard (Richmond Spiders)

Having returned from an injury that ended his 2018-19 campaign after just six games, Sherod looked more than recovered last season as he led the league in three-point shooting (43.8% for the season and 46.6% in conference). He doesn’t do a whole lot outside of shooting the long ball and grabbing rebounds (5.4 per game), but on a team as talented and deep as Richmond, he doesn’t need to in order for the team to win games.

His overall scoring numbers actually saw a decrease from his last healthy season in 2017-2018 (14.3 points per game then vs. 12.7 last year), but that’s mostly because of how many offensive weapons Coach Mooney had available on the roster last time around. Even still, there were certain games in this most recent campaign in which Sherod showcased his ability to fill up the box score; six times he hit at least 5 three-pointers, and he was averaging 15.75 points over the course of the team’s final four games.

The Spiders will be basically the same team roster-wise in this upcoming year, so don’t expect Sherod’s overall numbers to make a huge leap, but he’ll still be the guy on plenty of nights.

#19: Osun Osunniyi, Center (Saint Bonaventure Bonnies)

Osunniyi isn’t the most statistically dominant player that Mark Schmidt has on his roster, but because of team needs and his unique defensive capabilities, he may be the most important one. He’s not a threat to put up 25 or 30 points on any given night a la Kyle Lofton and Dom Welch, but his absence is glaring whenever he’s forced to miss time (which was unfortunately often last season).

As far as his overall numbers last year, in 24 games Osunniyi averaged 10.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game, all while shooting an incredibly efficient 61.5% from the floor (64.3% in conference play). He ended up ranking 6th in the conference, right behind VCU star big man Marcus Santos-Silva, in Player Efficiency Rating thanks to those numbers.

He isn’t a perfectly polished player; he has plenty of room to grow in areas like free-throw shooting and his ability to stay out of foul trouble, but he’s a dominating physical presence with about as much athletic upside as any big in the A10.

#18: Ibi Watson, Guard (Dayton Flyers)

Watson didn’t have to carry an incredible load last season because of how good Dayton’s roster was overall, but he excelled in his role and showed glimpses of the player that he can become given more responsibility this year. With shooting averages of 49.8 from the floor, 39.3 from deep and 84.5 from the line on the year, he immediately made a name for himself in his debut Flyers season as one of the deadliest snipers in the A10.

Watson ended the year averaging 10.1 points per game, which is impressive when one considers how little he had the ball compared to guys like Obi Toppin and Jalen Crutcher, and there was a fifteen game stretch from November to January in which that number was at 13.6 (and his 3-PT% was 46.9).

Of course, he’ll get far more defensive attention next season than he did in this most recent one, but there’s reason to believe he’s a good enough shooter to thrive in his new role. If he can continue to grow in his ability to create his own shot and score from all three levels, then he has first-team all-conference potential.

#17: Michael Hughes, Center (Duquesne Dukes)

Hughes is hardly electric in terms of his showmanship on the court, but he gets the job done in basically every statistical facet there is. The Duquesne big man was second in the league, behind only Obi Toppin, in Player Efficiency Rating, and that reliability was visible on both ends of the floor.

On offense, he finished the season averaging 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 57.3% from the field, and he was an absolute menace on the other end with 2.7 blocks and 1.5 steals per contest as well. As mentioned, Hughes isn’t an explosive player that will steal your attention while he’s on the court, but he rarely has bad games and he consistently finds ways to make winning plays on both ends.

It also bodes well for this upcoming season that he was playing some of his best basketball in February and March of this most recent campaign. Over the Dukes’ final six games, Hughes shot 63.2% from the field and never failed to reach double figures in scoring.

#16: Blake Francis, Guard (Richmond Spiders)

There seemed to be a consensus feeling among A10 fans that Francis would be a solid rotational piece for the Spiders last season after averaging 17.3 points per game as a Sophomore at Wagner, but not many expected him to immediately become one of the A10’s premier offensive weapons.

He managed to outdo his Sophomore production by putting up 17.7 points per game, and he did so in an efficient manner with shooting percentages of 41.7 from the floor, 36.3 from beyond the arc and 80.5 at the stripe. He didn’t contribute much to the team outside of scoring (just 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game), but he wasn’t required to in order for the team to succeed.

He had a particular job and he did that job extremely well — he ended up tied for 4th in the conference (with Tre Mitchell) in points per game. He was also a strong candidate for the title of “league’s most consistent player,” putting up double-digits on all but one occasion. Expect a lot more of the same this season.