Atlantic 10 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

5. Loyola Chicago Ramblers

The Ramblers will have to work through somewhat of an adjustment season in an entirely new league, full of opponents whose gyms they haven’t visited and coaches whose play-styles they aren’t familiar with. That said, this team should still have what it takes to at least contend for a double-bye spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in year 1, especially with the parity likely to exist below the top 3 teams on this list.

The engine for Loyola this season isn’t going to be elite star-power – in fact they are probably around league average in that regard – but instead spectacular depth and, as usual, a cohesive and unselfish identity. As far as notable players, Bryce Golden, a big man joining the team from Butler (and Richmond Spider Grant Golden’s brother), is going to be a handful in the post after averaging 8.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in the Big East.

The other probable star most worth mentioning is returning Senior PG Braden Norris, who will be the quarterback for this Ramblers team and is a lights-out shooter as well as an efficient playmaker. Last year he put up 10.4 points and 3.9 assists per game on a red-hot 43% from beyond the arc.

Beyond those two guys, the depth and experience throughout the rest of the roster are excellent, due to both strong returning players and a successful offseason in the portal by Drew Valentine + staff. Marquise Kennedy, Phil Alston, Saint Thomas, and Sheldon Edwards are all players to be aware of as far as depth pieces that could be difference-makers in the A10.

As mentioned earlier, this team could take a while to get going as they get acclimated to a tougher league than their previous one, but because of their culture, coaching, and depth, they should still end up at least in the mix for the hardware once Brooklyn time comes around.