Atlantic 10 Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2024-25 season

6. Duquesne Dukes

2023-24 season record: 25-12 (10-8)

To go from 0-5 to start out league play to not only winning the A-10 Tournament title but also winning a game in the Big Dance, it’ll go down all-time for the Dukes program. But it’s the start of a new era, as HC Keith Dambrot has retired, replaced by assistant Dru Joyce.

Also gone is a lot of production, as seven seniors had to lead. That includes the star guard duo of Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark, who each averaged over 15 ppg. Forwards Tre Williams, Dusan Mahorcic, and the Drame brothers (Foussenyi and Hasan) are notable frontcourt departures. The good news is that because the Dukes played around 11 players a game at one point, they returned some key pieces as well, including forward David Dixon and starting guards, Kareem Rozier and former walk-on, Jake DiMichele.

There are six D-I transfers from the portal who all had sizeable roles at their previous spots. In the backcourt, former A-10 ROY Maximus Edwards (12.4 ppg and 6.6 rpg) stays in the league after coming over from GW. Tre Dinkins (15.4 ppg and 3.6 apg) was an All-MAAC performer at Canisius, while Cam Crawford is a 6’5 guard from Marshall.

Alex Williams (Furman) and Elijah Wilborn (Saint Francis PA) are both expected to be key frontcourt pieces, while former Chicago State starter Jahsean Corbett (15.4 ppg and 7.7 rpg) could be a possible leading scorer. There’s plenty of offensive potential for a team who quietly was last in most categories, while also having a ton of sizeable lineups to work with too.