Atlantic 10 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 12: A general view of the Barclay Center prior to the start of the 2020 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament - Second Round on March 12, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Tournament games will be played without fans amid growing concerns of the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

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Atlantic 10 Basketball La Salle Explorers David Beatty Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 12 – La Salle Explorers

I believe this team has a lot of talent, making them underrated in the Atlantic 10 conference. I don’t think the Explorers will contend and stand out come March, but I believe they could surprise a lot of fans if they can find ways to score.

Coach Ashley Howard will have a lot of players returning from last season to work with; however, he will have to find success from several other players. La Salle lost six players to the portal: Jared Kimbrough (Hartford), Ed Crosswell (Providence), Ayinde Hikim (UMass-Lowell), Scott Spencer (Tulane), Brandon Stone (Robert Morris), and David Beatty (North Carolina A&T).

The Explorers will look towards the 2021 Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year Sherif Kenney to step up in a big way. Kenney is the first player from La Salle to be honored as the sixth man of the year and the first player to win a major conference award since Earl Pettis in 2012. Last season, he averaged 9.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, and shot 39.4 percent in 24 minutes off the bench.

We can also expect players such as Anwar Gil, Jhamir Brickus, and Christian Ray to support the scoring for La Salle and be significant contributors. Brickus was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team and was certainly an impact player. Anwar Gil was also a rookie last season and he showed immediate flashes of someone who can shoot from long-range. Christian Ray has been a critical player for Coach Ashley Howard’s squad over the last three years.

No. 11 – Saint Joseph’s Hawks

The Hawks are essentially bringing back their entire team for last season, except for the departure of Ryan Daly, who the Motor City Cruise selected with the eighth pick of the 2021 NBA G-League draft.

The Hawks will heavily rely on redshirt senior Taylor Funk to make an impact and provide an effect on both sides of the ball. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 17.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 48.2 percent from the floor. Funk also led Saint Joe’s with 52 three-pointers last season and was the only Hawk to start all 20 games. We can expect his success to carry into his fifth collegiate season with the Hawks.

The Hawks are also adding to their talent with the acquisitions of Charles Coleman (East Carolina) and Ejike Obinna (Vanderbilt) through the transfer portal. Coleman played in nine games last season prior to missing the remainder of the season with an injury. Obinna played in 19 games, started four, and averaged 8.0 minutes per game. Additionally, he made the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Their improved roster should result in a winning record; however, I don’t believe it is enough to compete come March with the conference’s top seeds.

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