Atlantic 10 Conference Thread

[ramblermgr9599]

Watching GW @ George Mason on USA Network and thinking we need a thread for the A10. Obviously focused on the remainder of this season but I will also be watching the rest of the A10 regular season and tournament with interest.

Thought we could use this thread to talk all things A10.

Some thoughts/questions:
1. It will be nice playing one extra week as the A10 Tournament ends on Selection Sunday.
2. Is the A10 Tournament in Brooklyn the next 2 years?
3. Any word if the A10 is going to a 20 game conference schedule next year?
4. The A10 has to give us home and homes with Dayton and SLU right?
5. Dayton should be the conference favorite next year I think.
6. Thinking we will be in the top 1/2 for sure next year. Some pretty poor teams at the bottom of the A10.

[AMDG]

I don’t think we have the size presently on the team to compete at the top half. That has been exploited this year in an inferior conference. It will be more so next year if Hutson doesn’t develop or they get some new talent. I really think we missed the boat not landing Avila for next year

Next year is going to one of adjustment. I’ll be fine with a top half finish

[Rambler303]

599, good thread to open, think we are all excited for the move next year.

Was able to find that yes the next two A10 tournaments will be at Barclays Center, would like to get out there at some point for the tournament and enjoy NYC.

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/colle ... in-2023-24

Haven’t heard about the 20 game schedule but it makes sense, it’s the way college ball is going so lots of opportunities for hopefully strong games. The A10 usually has multiple bids, so chances will be there for us.

Dayton is very young and likely will be the favorite, think Davidson is bringing back almost their whole team and should be very good, those will be the front runners. VCU is always a tough out as well and someone to keep an eye on.

As far as being in the top half, that’s something that is so unknown at this point. We are still working on trying to get Klintman, we don’t know Knight and R. Schweiger’s eligibility or what transfers we will get. If looking at our roster right now with the seniors and Ivies graduating, think we will struggle with what is coming back, especially in the front court without major improvements from Jacob and Tom. We are losing a ton of depth, almost all of our deep shooting outside of Braden, and likely relying on Anderson and Ben Schwieger to step up into starting roles (again, just the roster now). That’s a lot to ask, I think if we go .500 next year in conference, that is a very successful inaugural season in the A10 for us. Collectively as a fanbase we are going to have seriously temper expectations for the next few years, we are stepping up a weight class with our big guns moving on, it’s going to take a few years to recruit and develop guys that will be ready to compete in the A10, interesting times ahead for the ramblers. Curious how Coach V will recruit and who ends us in Rogers Park.

[natetheskate]

So with most of our Conference games being half way around the world .....who locally would we like to see on the non-con schedule? I have no desire to schedule Bradley...

[Rambler303]

Locally, I hope we keep up the UIC games, that is always a fun rivalry game and with them being in the MVC that’s better scheduling wise. I hope we keep DePaul too, such a wild card with them though. Hopefully being in the A10 will open us up to more big ten games, would really like to play Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa more frequently. Sure the scheduling with get creative with the step up and we will see better mid major and high major games. One thing I don’t want to see anymore is Roosevelt, Trinity, Lewis, etc. nothing against those schools but we should only be scheduling D1 from here in out if we want to be taken seriously.

[440Rambler]

Give me a non-con like this:

Home N Homes with Valley team (UIC)
Home N Homes with MAC team (Ideally Toledo)
A nice MTE annually
Home N Home with MWC team (perhaps CSU?)
Home N Home with San Francisco
A handful of filler is to be expected as well but if we do that and go to a 20 game A10 schedule I think that's a strong annual calendar with similar valued and or regional programs

[Mudville21]

Some good points being raised.

I think our only problem is we do tend to recruit kids, outside of Krut and Lucas, who have not been ready to step right in. We rely a lot on transfers. We need to find some young kids who are ready to play or at least contribute significant minutes. I was disappointed that Ben Schweiger was redshirted and TY saw no real time this year. Saint got some minutes early and then went to the bench. I think Saint and Ben will be solid contributors, but with some of the guards coming in, TY may have to really work to get on the floor as he is a tad undersized. I could see him transferring.

So, I agree that next year will be a challenge going to the A10. We do have one thing going for us as a newbie in the league. The familiarity between us and A10 teams will not be there yet. They will not have a great handle on our personnel or our system. We maybe able to use that to our advantage and get some early wins and shock some people.

[goramblers2011]

Some good points being raised.

I think our only problem is we do tend to recruit kids, outside of Krut and Lucas, who have not been ready to step right in. We rely a lot on transfers. We need to find some young kids who are ready to play or at least contribute significant minutes. I was disappointed that Ben Schweiger was redshirted and TY saw no real time this year. Saint got some minutes early and then went to the bench. I think Saint and Ben will be solid contributors, but with some of the guards coming in, TY may have to really work to get on the floor as he is a tad undersized. I could see him transferring.

So, I agree that next year will be a challenge going to the A10. We do have one thing going for us as a newbie in the league. The familiarity between us and A10 teams will not be there yet. They will not have a great handle on our personnel or our system. We maybe able to use that to our advantage and get some early wins and shock some people.

TY is taller than Braden. I'm sure he will put on some more muscle once he spends a full year+ in the program. I think he has a really bright future here--high motor, good defense, ability to get to the rim.

[Mudville21]

Some good points being raised.

I think our only problem is we do tend to recruit kids, outside of Krut and Lucas, who have not been ready to step right in. We rely a lot on transfers. We need to find some young kids who are ready to play or at least contribute significant minutes. I was disappointed that Ben Schweiger was redshirted and TY saw no real time this year. Saint got some minutes early and then went to the bench. I think Saint and Ben will be solid contributors, but with some of the guards coming in, TY may have to really work to get on the floor as he is a tad undersized. I could see him transferring.

So, I agree that next year will be a challenge going to the A10. We do have one thing going for us as a newbie in the league. The familiarity between us and A10 teams will not be there yet. They will not have a great handle on our personnel or our system. We maybe able to use that to our advantage and get some early wins and shock some people.

TY is taller than Braden. I'm sure he will put on some more muscle once he spends a full year+ in the program. I think he has a really bright future here--high motor, good defense, ability to get to the rim.

I am hoping you are right. I know people who knew him in HS and they love the kid. We will see how Drew uses and develops him moving forward.

[Mertz2003]

Davidson @ Dayton on USA Network right now. Davidson plays like a taller version of us, and Dayton will be loaded next year with everyone back.