Atlantic 10 Basketball: 5 key questions heading into 2021-22 season
By Tyler Cronin
Who will lead VCU’s offense?
VCU returns most of the contributors from last year’s second-place squad and figure to once again be among the nation’s best defenses but they did lose A-10 Player of the Year and leading scorer Bones Hyland and won’t have their leading assist man, Ace Baldwin until at least midseason as he recovers from an Achilles injury.
Without their two starting guards, the Rams return just one player who averaged more than 10 points per game or two assists per game, Vince Williams (10.6 ppg, 2.2 apg) who is much more of an off-ball contributor than a star so the Rams will have to search for someone to pair with him at the top of the box score.
Marcus Tsohonis, a transfer from Washington, will likely get the first crack at one of those vacated starting spots after finishing second on the Huskies with 10.4 ppg last season. Tsoshonis shot 39% from three and broke 20 points in a game five times last season, a feat that has never been accomplished by any of his new teammates at the college level.
If Tsoshonis can reach his ceiling, then he could be a star in the making after the flashes of brilliance he had against power conference defenses and without the nice group of role players that will surround him at VCU.
Jamir Watkins came on in the second half of his freshman season and scored 7.2 ppg in a mere 18.3 minutes per game. Watkins combines a lanky 6-7 frame with fearlessness and a lovely midrange jumper and has even drawn praise from the national media, in the form of a “Buy Stock Now” tweet from Jon Rothstein.
In order to make a leap, Watkins will not only have to improve on his 28.9% three-point shooting but will also have to find ways to be more efficient when the offense is leaning on him. Last season, he shot 6-28 across the two late-season games that Hyland missed with injury but amongst the returning Rams, Watkins has the highest scoring ceiling and has already proven that he is a strong fit next to Williams at the two forward spots.
The wildcard of the group is freshman Jayden Nunn, a 21.3 ppg scorer his senior year of high school who originally committed to Iowa St and held a handful of power conference offers. He’s dedicated himself to contributing immediately and Coach Mike Rhoades has certainly noticed, saying on his radio show that “He [Nunn] is probably there [the gym] the most.”
Nunn came in with tons of hype and with Rhoades penchant for rewarding hard workers, the opportunities will likely come early. Add in the fact that there are no other clear options to start at point guard and Nunn could carry on the run of great freshmen guards into its third straight year.