Atlantic 10 Basketball: Top 30 players midway through 2021-22 season

Tier 4

#23 Michael Jones, Davidson – 12.7 ppg, 47.5% 3 pt %

The current leader for the non-existent (but should exist) Glue Guy of the Year, Jones would provide A+ shooting for any team he is on but fits perfectly in the Davidson offense. Like the sketchy friend who’s always pulling pranks or destroying things, defenders can’t ever afford to take their eyes off him, so he doesn’t reap the same destruction on them.  Any doubt that Jones couldn’t succeed on his own was put to rest after his 29 point performance in the win over Richmond, featuring some heavily guarded shots.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1482204773076066305?s=20&t=KmmFmS_CMOIpnD9Kb9EsDg

#22 Grant Golden, Richmond – 14.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.1 apg

This is a bummer. While Golden has put up similar stats to the past two years, his in-game impact has noticeably dropped as Richmond’s offensive quality has as well. That is beginning to bear out in A-10 play (12.9 ppg, 2.4 apg) as Richmond turns into a much more three-point orientated offense (43.2% of fg attempts vs 37.8% in 2019) despite shooting just 34.0% from 3 (worst since 2017).  Golden is still a solid player but if Richmond is more focused on the perimeter than the paint, he’ll stay in this spot.

#21 Jaren Holmes, St. Bonaventure – 15.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg

#18 Kyle Lofton, St. Bonaventure – 14.2 ppg, 5.5 apg

St. Bonaventure’s disappointing 4-5 stretch can be attributed to the struggles of their perimeter players after fantastic first months from Lofton and Holmes. Both players have shot poorly in A-10 play with Lofton (36.7% fg, 28.0% 3 pt) and Holmes (35.4% fg, 16.0% 3 pt) both also seeing drops in assists.

Lofton’s season can basically be split into before and after his December injury.  He put up a career-best 16.0 ppg and 5.9 apg in the pre-injury games, which included the wins over Marquette, Boise St, and Clemson.  In his return, Lofton has been getting many of the same shots that he used to but is not making them. If he can get back into rhythm, then the Bonnies may be able to turn things around.

Holmes had his two career-high assist games, followed by a 19 point triple nickel vs UConn in Lofton’s absence but the games since have been severely up and down. There was hope for a turnaround after 20 pts on 7-8 shooting vs St. Joe’s but he then followed it up by going 1-10 against Davidson, a week that defines Holmes’ season so far.

#20 Darius Quisenberry, Fordham – 17.6 ppg, 2.4 apg

The best scorer Fordham has had in over a half-decade, Quisenberry is just an average shooter (38.3% 3 pt in A-10 play) but after losing his backcourt mate Antonio Daye Jr. (16.8 ppg) to the transfer portal in January, Quisenberry has had to carry a heavy load.  He had a career-high 36 pts in a near-upset of Davidson and got seven assists to go with a moderate 15 pts in the win over Rhode Island. Quisenberry is also 3rd in the A-10 in free throw attempts, while making them at an 81.1% clip.

#19 Makhel Mitchell, Rhode Island – 11.6 ppg, 2.9 bpg

Mitchell is a prime DPOY candidate as the anchor for a Rhode Island defense that is 2nd in the nation in blocks. Mitchell has been the leading scorer in A-10 play for the Rams (13.8 ppg, 5.0 more than 2nd place) while none of the guards have stepped up.  He’s also shooting 61.0% from the field over that time, helping to offset his one severe weakness, a 40.6% free throw.

#17 Tyler Burton, Richmond – 16.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg

Burton has to be in the top 20 after he was the unofficial A-10 Player of the Non-Conference. But looking at his stats in A-10 play would cause the reader to emit a Scooby Doo “ruh roh.”  Burton has seen dramatic drops in scoring (18.8 ppg to 12.4 ppg), fg % (54.2% to 32.3%) and 3 pt % (44.9% to 30.0%).

Amidst the struggles, Burton still managed 24 pts vs St. Louis, had 16 pts in the final 20:01 vs Duquesne, and increased his rebounding (7.9 rpg).  The final month will be huge for Burton, as a return to strong three-point shooting would position him as an NBA prospect, while a continuation of January will knock him out of All-Conference contention.