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

2. Duquesne Dukes

2022-23 season record: 20-13 (10-8)

After going from six wins to 20 in a full year, Duquesne has had a rare quiet offseason from a roster standpoint. They’re set to return their top two scorers in Dae Dae Grant (15.5 ppg) and Tre Clark, who led the A-10 in steals and was on the All-A-10 defensive team. Forward Tre Williams is another starter back and they also landed a trio of transfers to bolster the frontcourt.

Andrei Savrasov averaged 14.3 ppg and 7.4 rpg at Georgia Southern and is a spacing forward, while the Drame twins (Hassan and Fousseyni), add even more defense and versatility on the wings. If sophomore guard Kareem Rozier is ready to run the offense, this could be the Dukes’ best chance in decades to win the conference.

1. Fordham Rams

2022-23 season record: 25-8 (12-6)

One thing was made clear in league play this past season. Keith Urgo is a star coach in the making after taking over for Kyle Neptune and the Rams are legit going forward. They did lose their two best players in Darius Quisenberry and Khalil Moore but do return just about everyone else, including multiple quality defenders.

Kyle Rose, Antrell Charlton, and Will Richardson are due for bigger roles, joined by Texas-San Antonio transfer, Japhet Medor (13.7 ppg and 3.8 apg). Lafayette transfer Josh Rivera was an All-Patriot League performer this past season, averaging 10.6 ppg and 5.3 rpg as a 6’7 wing. And forwards Abdou Tsimbila and Rostyslav Novitskyi are set to return as well.

There will be some questions as to where the offense comes from but I’m confident that Fordham’s defense will remain elite next season. And if Rose and Charlton take the next steps in their respective developments, look for them to go from long-time underdog to potentially the favorite in 2024.