Atlantic 10 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 17: Hasahn French #11 of the Saint Louis Billikens celebrates a basket against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies during their Atlantic 10 basketball tournament Championship game at Barclays Center on March 17, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 11: Cameron Brown #3 of the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

13. Saint Joseph’s Hawks

I don’t expect the Hawks to struggle as much as they did in Billy Lange’s first season as head coach, but they are probably still a few years away from being a contender. Ryan Daly is an instant impact player and will be a big factor for the Hawks, as he put up one of the best statistical lines with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game.

Cam Brown is a rising star, and there are some nice incoming pieces as well in Greg Foster (transfer from Gonzaga) and Dhamir Bishop (transfer from Xavier). I think Taylor Funk is poised for a big year after getting hurt last season. He is one of the conference’s purest shooters prior to his injury.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, even with the good news as far as incoming talent (there are a couple of three-star freshmen as well), the team will have likely continue to have issues with depth, rebounding, and defense. Those are more culture and effort issues than they are things that a player will be able to step up and fix immediately.

This is a team that hasn’t had success under their current head coach, that won’t have superior talent when compared to the rest of the conference, and that is still working on establishing a team culture. With Ryan Daly back, they could rise a couple of spots overall, but I don’t see a scenario where this team finishes any higher than 9th in the standings.

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