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

Tier 1

#5 Yuri Collins, St. Louis – 11.4 ppg, 8.6 apg, 2.2 spg

Collins leads the nation with 8.6 (!) apg and has somehow jumped up to 10.3 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) apg in A-10 play.  His distributing has given SLU the #57 offense on Kenpom despite an inconsistent crew of role players and no one over 38.1% 3 pt with the exception of Jimerson.  But most shocking has been his ability to put up huge scoring games after averaging just 5.1 ppg last year, with the signature being a 35 pts, 13 asts, 5 rebs, 5 stls quadruple nickel in the huge 2OT win over George Mason.

#4 Foster Loyer, Davidson – 15.8 ppg, 3.6 apg

Loyer should almost be judged more by Davidson’s wins than his own stats due to his tendency to play like the quintessential, old-school point guard.  Loyer has an elite feel for the game, not just the intricacies of a play but of the flow and momentum.

He spends the majority of the game trying to get his teammates involved (4.2 apg in A-10 play) but when it comes time to extend a big run or make a huge play in crunch time, Loyer will find a way to get to his Chris Paul-esque midrange pull-up, which always feels like it’s going in.

Plus, he’s a pretty good shooter himself, both from deep (45.7%) and at the line (94.9%, 2nd in nation, 4.0 attempts per game).

#3 Vince Williams Jr, VCU – 12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.4 apg

Williams has absolutely exploded in conference play, improving in every important counting stat (pts, rebs, asts, stls, fg %, 3 pt %, ft %) after a rough start to the season offensively, although he has been his normal, excellent self on defense all season.  Williams’ improvement is the central reason that VCU’s offense has gone from bad to respectable, with the senior scoring double-digit points in every A-10 game, after doing so in just five of eleven non-conference contests.

The turnaround was fueled by fantastic three-point shooting (51.2%) and augmented with a career-best assist total (4.4 apg).  Williams’ value was magnified even further when he was off the court, with VCU falling to Dayton by 30 points without their leader and underscoring the importance of his all-around (floor spacing, playmaking, individual defense) impact.

#2 Josh Oduro, George Mason – 17.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg

There have been times this season where has felt like Oduro is an automatic basket and at 61.0% from 2, he nearly is. Throw in 5.3 fta per game and Oduro is the easy choice for the player you want down by 2 on the final possession.  At a time where the post-up is fading away, Kim English is giddy to utilize it and has trusted Oduro as his offensive focal point all season.

Oduro has rewarded him with a magnificent A-10 season so far (19.6 ppg and 2.6 apg, 2nd on the team) and has also held his own on defense, where the Patriots are a nice 80th nationally in opponent two-point %. So after all that, why is Oduro not #1? It’s the fact that foul trouble has kept him stuck to the bench far too many times in the last month (3.0 fpg). Clean up the fouls and lead George Mason to a double bye and Oduro has an excellent chance at POY.

#1 Luka Brajkovic, Davidson – 14.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg

A month ago, I referred to Brajkovic as the A-10’s most important player because of his role as the steady hand for Davidson’s offense, with his low post game serving as the change-up for the Wildcats shooting.  It turns out that he is now the centerpoint, with the perimeter stars operating around him.

Brajkovic’s uptick in scoring from non-conference play (12.1 ppg to 18.2 ppg) offsets Hyunjung Lee’s drop (17.5 ppg to 14.0 ppg) as defenses focus more on him.  But even the offensive shifts have left Brajkovic as impossible to double, as that decision is likely to lead to a hockey assist (or just an assist) with Davidson’s great ball movement.

Add on top of that, Brajkovic is shooting 44.4% from 3 on 2.0 attempts a game and playing the best defense of his career and he is the biggest reason why Davidson already has a strong NCAA Tournament resume.

So a pair of post-up players are the two best in the A-10 in the year 2022, that variety is why mid-major basketball remains a delight.