No. 6 – Davidson Wildcats
The Davidson Wildcats lost an abundance of talent over the offseason with several key players; Kellan Grady, Carter Collins, and Bates Jones. All three players will be using their extra year of eligibility elsewhere due to Davidson’s no graduate classes. With an essentially new team taking the floor this season for Davidson, Coach Bob McKillop will have to rely on some newcomers and returners to the program.
We can expect returning players Luka Brajkovic and Hyunjung Lee to command the paint and dominate scoring from long-range. Brajokvic enters his senior season this year with a lot on his side. He was one of four Wildcats to average double-figures, and he led the team in field goal percentage (.536), rebounds per game (6.0), and blocks (19).
Lee averaged 13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and shot 50 percent from the field. He also finished shooting 40 percent from three-point range. We can expect Davidson to feed their star talent in Brajovic and Lee on any given opportunity, especially on offensive possessions.
Additionally, the Wildcats added to their depth this offseason by utilizing the NCAA transfer portal. The Wildcats will bring in Foster Loyer, who previously played with Michigan State. Last season, Loyer averaged 4.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.
No. 5 – VCU Rams
The VCU Rams exceeded all expectations last season, finishing second in the standings. They were led by Bones Hyland, who was named 2021 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. He was then selected 26th overall in the NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. Although Hyland is no longer with the program, the Rams are still one of the most talented teams in the conference.
The Rams have a lot of names from last season that should flourish this season such as, Ace Baldwin, Jamir Watkins, and Hason Ward. Ward could potentially be one of the conference’s best defenders this season. Last season, he ranked second in the Atlantic 10 and 21st nationally in blocked shots per game.
The team also added Washington transfer Marcus Tsohonis who we can expect to contribute to the starting lineup and fill in for Hyland. Tsohonis averaged 10.4 points per game which were second-most on the Huskies last season.
The two players that I believe will succeed the most will be Levi Stockard III and Vince Williams. Stockard is a fifth-year student who averaged 6.5 points and started 25 games while shooting 55 percent from the field. Williams broke out last season and was named to the Third Team All-Atlantic-10 conference. He shot 41 percent from three-point range, which was fifth in the conference while averaging 28.8 minutes per game.