Busting Brackets
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Atlantic 10 Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2023-24 season

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 12, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; The Virginia Commonwealth Rams celebrate after defeating the Dayton Flyers 68-56 to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; The Virginia Commonwealth Rams celebrate after defeating the Dayton Flyers 68-56 to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Atlantic 10 Basketball George Mason Patriots forward Malik Henry John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Atlantic 10 Basketball George Mason Patriots forward Malik Henry John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /

14. George Mason Patriots

2022-23 season record: 20-13 (11-7)

In one of the more surprising moves of the offseason, Providence hired GMU HC Kim English. He took with him three of the top players on the roster, including star big man Josh Oduro and freshman wing Justyn Fernandez. His replacement is a notable name in the program in Tony Skinn, who was part of the famous Final Four team in 2006. With a bare roster, he’s had to find some talent and he landed a few players with high-end potential.

Darius Maddox averaged 8.5 ppg as a starter at Virginia Tech, while 6’5 guard Jared Billups averaged 8.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg as a sophomore at Siena. Keyshawn Hall averaged just 5.4 ppg in limited minutes at UNLV as a freshman but could be a breakout player. But while the Patriots bring back Ronald Polite as a go-to guy offensively, the combination of a lack of frontcourt and a new head coach that’s unproven, I have to wait and see with them.

13. La Salle Explorers

2022-23 season record: 15-19 (7-11)

Coach Fran Dunphy took what didn’t look like a very competitive roster and won two games in the A-10 Tournament with them. But they lost a few key pieces this offseason, including Josh Nickelberry, the A-10 6th Man of the Year, and both Foussenyi and Hassan Drame, who each started 25+ games this past season as the starting frontcourt.

Leading scorer Khalil Brantley (14.3 ppg) and Jhamir Brickus are back again to run the offense but for the smallest team in the league to get even smaller this offseason, that’s a major concern. They’ve yet to land a transfer and will need big man Rokas Jocius to be a breakout candidate to avoid a potential last-place finish next season.

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