Atlantic 10 Basketball: Biggest 2022 offseason needs for each team

Loyola Chicago (4th in Missouri Valley)

Returning: G Braden Norris (10.5 ppg, 3.9 apg), G Marquise Kennedy (7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg), C Jacob Hutson (5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

Leaving: F Lucas Williamson (13.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg/Graduate), W Ryan Schwieger (9.2 ppg, 39.7% 3pt%/Graduate), F Aher Uguak (8.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg/Graduate), F Chris Knight (7.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg/Graduate), F Tate Hall (5.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg/Graduate)

Loyola brings back their best backcourt combination with Braden Norris and Marquise Kennedy entering their senior seasons and providing a solid foundation as they enter the A-10. However, the Ramblers will be overhauling a deep forward group and quickly hit the transfer portal to do so, already bringing in Jeameril Wilson (11.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg at Lehigh), Bryce Golden (8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg at Butler) and Philip Alston (21 ppg, 10.8 rpg at DII Cal U) to take over.

Needs

1. Floor Spacers

Loyola was Top 20 nationally in three-point shooting last season but return just one of their six best shooters (Norris).  With Kennedy shooting just 25% from deep last year, it’s crucial that Loyola find another perimeter shooter to pair with the two veterans plus another to come off the bench. They may have already found both players with Wilson coming in third in the Patriot League in three-point shooting (43.2%) and familiar face/Valparaiso transfer Sheldon Edwards (35.8%).

2. Defensive Anchor

The Ramblers need to replace a pair of Missouri Valley All-Defense Team players (Lucas Williamson and Aher Uguak), just as they upgrade conferences. While Kennedy can take on the opposing team’s best guard, Loyola will have to find a few go-to forwards on the defensive end, especially if they want to continue with the small lineups they leaned on last season.

Perfect Addition: F Kale Catchings, Harvard

Loyola did great with a pair of Ivy League grad transfers last year and the school’s strong masters programs would allow them to head to the league again. Catchings wasn’t a prolific scorer (9.1 ppg) but he’s a sizable wing at 6’6″ who shot 36.5% from three last season. With Loyola’s roster basically filled out, he’d be a nice addition to the end of the rotation to space the floor and rebound. Plus, he’d have a chance to go up against former AAU teammates Fred Thatch Jr and Francis Okoro.

George Washington (7th)

Returning: G James Bishop (16.7 ppg), F Hunter Dean (4.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg), C Noel Brown (3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg), F Qwanzi Samuels (2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

Leaving: W Joe Bamisile (16.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg/Transfer-Oklahoma), G Brayon Freeman (10.3 ppg, 3.7 apg/Transfer-Rhode Island), F Ricky Lindo Jr (7.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg/Transfer)

George Washington’s new coach Chris Caputo is faced with the most challenging roster situation in the A-10 this season (La Salle gets to build up from nothing and their fans have absolutely no expectations). He brings back an All-Conference guard in James Bishop, who developed some bad habits under the old coaching staff, but proved last year that he can be more efficient with quality guards around him, of which the Colonials currently have none. The presence of a few returning, decent frontcourt players should allow the new staff to largely focus on rebuilding the perimeter attack.

Needs

1. Point Guard

The obvious place to start to jumpstart a rebuild, GW desperately needs a great passer to enable Bishop to play off the ball and to serve as the centerpiece of the next few years.  Caputo comes from a Miami program that intensely focused on passing and shooting at every position on the floor, something that GW has lacked the past few years. So this pickup isn’t just for on the court, a stud floor general can also help flip the mentality of the program.

2. Physical Wings

With the exception of Joe Bamisile, the Colonials have also lacked above-average perimeter defenders that can rebound well for their position.  Last season, GW was a bottom 50 rebounding team nationally and with Ricky Lindo’s departure, they are going to have to look to newcomers to fix the issue.  And once again, Caputo needs to find a few glue guys to begin to rebuild this program.  GW is a likely bottom standings team next year no matter what happens these next few weeks, so they should be aiming to find a few players that serve as a long-term foundation.

Perfect Addition: C David Onanina, three-star

The top remaining high school recruit in Virginia, GW has been in on Onanina for months, as has George Mason.  Chris Caputo can re-establish himself on the DMV recruiting scene by beating out his old school and new conference/geographic archrival for the first piece to begin rebuilding the Colonials’ frontcourt.