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

Tier 3

#16 Malachi Smith, Dayton – 9.7 ppg, 4.8 apg

Smith’s numbers don’t jump off the page but he is the engine of the Flyers offense, responsible for countless hockey assists, and the perimeter stopper for Dayton’s A-10 best defense in conference play (per Kenpom).  And while he has seemingly hit a freshman wall at points in the conference season, he outdueled Yuri Collins, forcing him into seven turnovers while racking up 5 asts of his own, and put up a career-high 12 asts in a blowout win over St. Bonaventure.

#15 D’Shawn Schwartz, George Mason – 15.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg

Schwartz’ George Mason career started as a continuation of his time at Colorado, featuring excellent all-around play with a moderate scoring impact, save for the occasional scoring outburst in big games. But in A-10 play, he has transformed into a go-to guy on a nightly basis, and is currently on a nine game streak of 14+ point performances, including 17 in the upset vs Dayton and 20 against St. Bonaventure, continuing his big game dominance.

#14 Jordan Hall, St. Joe’s – 14.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 6.5 apg

The toughest player to rank, Hall is solid at just about everything around the basketball court but not dominant at any one skill. He fits perfectly into St. Joe’s three-point happy offense, thanks to strong drive and kick ability and a jumper that is coming into form (36.5% 3 pt).  He has elite stats, although they are somewhat propped up by the Hawks offensive style and some big performances in losses.

#13 Noah Fernandes, UMass – 16.0 ppg, 5.2 apg

UMass’ diminutive point guard has thrown the Minutemen’s offense on his back and championed it to top 50 in the country per Kenpom. His preferred pass-first style has needed to be adapted and been done so successfully, to the tone of 16 ppg and 41.7% 3 pt, despite being the focal point of opposing defenses.

Fernandes likely would not have been such a prominent scorer on a better team but he has continued to do so while also bringing back his great passing, with 6+ asts in seven of his last ten games.

#12 Jalen Adaway, St. Bonaventure – 15.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg

Adaway is the only one of the Bonnies’ five seniors to improve his season, going from an elite glue guy to the team’s leading scorer. It’s hard to believe that last year, Adaway was elite inside the arc but non-existent outside, not making a three until February. This season, he has scored double-digit points in all but one game increased his rebounding, and continued to guard the best opposing forwards, setting him up as St. Bonaventure’s most worthy All-Conference perimeter player.

#11 Ace Baldwin, VCU – 10.8 ppg, 5.1 apg, 3.2 spg

Baldwin is one of four players in the A-10 to be top 5 in both assists and steals and his return from injury has sparked VCU’s offense, which has improved in basically all efficiency numbers in A-10 play (33.7% to 39.2% 3 pt, 57.5% to 60.1% % of baskets assisted).  Baldwin has also been responsible for the same important defensive assignments, including going up a few positions to chase around Hyunjung Lee in the battles with Davidson.