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

11. St. Bonaventure Bonnies

2023-24 season record: 20-13 (9-9)

Coach Mark Schmidt has become used to going through full-blown rebuilds and this offseason was another one, with just about everyone from the roster gone via graduation or the portal. That includes leading scorers, Chad Venning, Moses Flowers, and Daryl Banks.

The lone rotation piece back for the Bonnies is Noel Brown, who averaged 14 mpg off the bench. He’s likely to start, joined by JUCO transfer Michael Folarin and incoming freshman forward, Ebrahim Kaba. It’s a frontcourt without much proven depth but Brown himself is a breakout candidate to watch.

The new-look backcourt is where St. Bonaventure has the most hope. 6’4 guard Melvin Council Jr. led Wagner with 14.9 ppg and 3.5 apg last season, while Chance Moore averaged 10.7 ppg at Missouri State and is a former top-100 prospect out of high school. Dasonte Bowen and Jaxson Edwards add depth, while Lajae Jones and Jonan Hinton are two other JUCO newcomers whose impact could decide whether this team can escape the bottom tier next season.

Coach Schmidt has earned enough of the benefit of the doubt to get out of the very bottom but there’s little proven production at the A-10 level, compared to last season’s roster pickups. Look for Moore and Council to be the go-to guys and they’ll need to, to have hope of success.