Atlantic 10 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season

13. Richmond Spiders

2022-23 season record: 15-18 (7-11)

It’s hard to find a bigger loss for one team than Tyler Burton, the first-team all-league star who led the Spiders with 19.0 ppg and 7.4 rpg. He was the only player on the team who was in double figures last season. Freshman point guard Jason Nelson was another key loss in that he was supposed to be a building block for the future.

Like Rhode Island, Richmond is going to need some big contributions from its new backcourt duo of Delonnie Hunt and Jordan King. Hunt (11.1 ppg and 2.7 apg) is a 6’0 ball-handler from Wagner and former NEC Rookie of the Year, while King (15.6 ppg and 3.1 apg) comes from East Tennessee. Both are solid scorers but aren’t great pure shooters and don’t have much size on the perimeter.

Even without Burton, Richmond does have some hope in the frontcourt. Jason Roche is the lone true three-point threat on the wing, shooting nearly 40% from three-point range. Neal Quinn was second on the team with 9.5 ppg and 2.9 rpg and is one of the more skilled bigs in the Atlantic 10. And look for Isaiah Bigelow to have a bigger role in the frontcourt as well.

It’s a roster that on paper, likely got worse and the Spiders were already in the bottom-tier of the conference. Coach Chris Mooney has been with the program for 18 years and it may take for a surprise campaign in order to make it to year No. 20.