2017-18 SLU Basketball Preview

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2017-2018 Basketball Preview

2 November 16, 2017

2017-18 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

Stone ready to compete with her family

By Sam Glass Staff Writer

“Win the A-10 tournament, and put ourselves in the position to play in the NCAA tournament.” The two goals set

by SLU Women’s Basketball Head Coach, Lisa Stone, show just how serious and formidable this year’s team is. Coming off a 25-9 (12-4 A-10) season, the team is more than aware of their capability to achieve these lofty goals.

Coach Stone enters her sixth year as head coach of Women’s Basketball at Saint Louis University and her 32nd year as a college basketball coach. Since arriving at SLU she has built a basketball empire on the rise. SLU Women’s Basketball is pegged for a second place finish in the A-10 this season with Dayton as the only team ahead of them. But all of their past and predicted success comes as no surprise to Coach Stone. Her current squad of 14 consists of six seniors, the largest group of seniors she has ever worked with in her 32 years coaching. This senior laden team has brought a new dynamic to Stone’s coaching style. “They hold each other accountable,” said Stone, “and championship teams hold each other accountable so the coach doesn’t have to.”

One player doing just that is senior forward, Jenny Vliet. Vliet has stepped up both on and off the court. Stone says, “she’s cool with everybody on the team, which makes her a great leader and people really respect her.” But, the relationships the players have with each other are indicative of a larger technique that Stone has been developing and preaching since she started coaching.

Lisa Stone has created a family dynamic at SLU which emphasises the focus on the team. The family dynamic stems from Stone’s own personal life. As a mother of two with a husband of over 30 years, Stone has adopted many more people into her family as head coach. The pivotal step in her “team unity” philosophy comes from adopting new members to the family.

“My staff are like my brothers and sisters, and my players are like my daughters,” said Stone.

She uses her stability as the backboard for breeding a positive environment for the team. The family-focused structure of the team—this year especially—emphasises the focus on holding each other accountable. The players hold each other accountable, but Coach Stone is also expected to be on top of her game when the team arrives for practice. Stone wakes up and goes for a run at 4 a.m. before the

team’s 6 a.m. practices.

“It’s not fair to those players for me not to be on. So I get up and I work out and I get my brain right and I get my coffee in me. And they’ll tell you, I’m wound up, [and] I’m ready at 6 a.m. It’s my job, I owe it to them, to give them my best everyday if I expect theirs,” said Stone.

Stone expects the team to work hard to win the championship and get to the NCAA tournament. But this process does not happen overnight. Stone says, “You gotta get better everyday, and you can’t fast forward to March and hope you’re in the NCAA tournament. You need to do your work now.”

The team has been hard at work since they began practice in early October. The Billikens have the strongest non-conference schedule in program history for this upcoming season, but Stone is confident in the team’s ability to rise to the occasion. She is focusing on team dialogue to move past any mistakes and learn from them. A big part of the learning process comes from filming games and practices.

Stone says the team is trying to film a lot more this year. She wants her players to look at the film and realize what can be changed on their own so they can fix it now and get better in the future.

“It has immediate effects at practice,” Stone said, “and now you have to build championship habits, and those championship habits are through repetition; by not flinching, by believing in your system—what you do defensively and offensively—and not taking any game or any day for granted.”

With a heavy senior presence on the team, many tend to think of it as a lack in team stability for the future, but Stone knows this and has already built the team around it. This year’s squad has a lot of team depth to it with many juniors who

saw plenty of minutes as sophomores like Kerri McMahan and Jordyn Frantz. The team depth sets up the Bills to take on a variety of different opponents and use different strategies to overcome different opposition. Stone realizes this depth is a powerful tool in getting the team to the NCAA tournament.

“Maybe we have lineup changes due to matchups,” said Stone, “we can probably go 10-11 [players] deep on a nightly basis which give us some flexibility to really push the tempo.”

Aside from game tactics, Stone also has another plan for the team depth.

With the departure of six seniors next year, there will be a hole in the Billiken lineup. Stone is working now to prevent the hole from even opening. With the addition of three freshman and a transfer for the 2017-2018 season, the Billikens will have a strong team for the next year.

But Stone has also signed five players to join the team in the 2018-2019 season.

She is looking to “reload” the team for next year.

“We have some pieces in place,” Stone said, “so it’ll be a different look next year, but there’s a lot of work to be done and some unfinished business.” Stone and her six seniors are looking to finish that business up in this season and use that success to continue advancing and developing into a top tier basketball program.

Stone says she is heading into this season with the same attitude and confidence she has every season, “with my head up, my shoulders back, a smile on my face, and to give [my players] everything I’ve got everyday.” The only thing left for Stone and for the SLU Women’s Basketball team to do is perform.

Stone is confident in the team’s ability to perform and wants to share their performance with as many people as

possible. Basketball is one of the most popular sports on SLU’s campus and according to Stone, “it’s not just men’s basketball; women’s basketball is exciting.”

Stone says both she and men’s basketball coach, Travis Ford, will be seen handing out flyers on game days. She is excited about the support she and the team have been getting thus far and is looking for students, in particular, to step up their game this year.

“If [students] haven’t come to a game...they need to come to a game: it’s free, it’s fun, and these girls are fun to watch,” said Stone.

November 16, 2017

2017-18 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

3

Ford looks ahead, ready for transfers to come off the bench

By BOBBY STILWELL Sports Editor

A new season is underway for SLU Men’s Basketball, and second-year head coach Travis Ford is ready for another challenging season. Ford came to SLU from Oklahoma State, where he guided the Cowboys to a 155-111 record with five NCAA Tournament appearances.

SLU was predicted to finish dead last in the A-10 last year but surprised many analysts when they won all but one of their last five home games, notching 11th place in the conference.

Expectations are high for this year, and Ford thinks “that’s probably understandable. But I think as we continue to climb the ladder and build the program back up, I hope this year is a step in the right direction. With that said, we need to grow off the end of last season.”

This is a rebuilding year, and the A-10 schedule fell rather harshly on the team.

However, Ford’s ready for the challenge.

“We’ve got a tough conference schedule.

Three of our first five are on the road.

Three of our last five are on the road. That makes it very difficult.”

What’s Ford excited about when it comes to home conference match-ups?

“We’ve got VCU, URI, Dayton, St. Bon. All the top teams are coming to Chaifetz.”

Ford has been hard at work recruiting over the last year, with redshirt junior forward D.J. Foreman, sophomore guard Ty Graves (ineligible to play until January 2018), redshirt junior forward Javon Bess, redshirt junior guard Adonys Henriquez, and graduate center Rashed Anthony transferring, along with freshman forward Hashan French and freshman guard Jordan Goodwin joining the Billikens straight out of high school.

Recruits continue to join the team, with Carte’are Gordon signing on Nov 8. Ford loves keeping local talent in St.

Louis and can’t wait for Gordon to start in fall 2018. “It’s great to keep one of St. Louis’s best high school players and one of the top players in the country at home.

I think it means a lot to Carte’are to play for SLU and the City of St. Louis. We all know how talented a player he is at his size; he can do so many things. He is a young man with a great talent set at his size—he can handle it, pass it. A very unselfish basketball player who comes from a very winning program.”

When Ford was named as head coach, he emphasized holding onto as much local talent as possible. “We want to emphasize keeping the best players in STL here at home to play for SLU and the City of STL. Now we can’t recruit every single player; we may not even get some that we want at times, but we’re going to put in the time and effort to do it.”

Nobody stands out to Ford at the moment, though; whether it be recruits or new players. “Everybody’s competing right now. We think we’re going to be better than we were last year.”

While Ford thinks the team will be good, he says there’s still work to be done.

“This is a very unproven basketball team.

We’ve got nine players in a Billiken uniform that weren’t in one last year. We have to prove how good we can be.”

Ford is eager for the team to prove itself, and there are a lot of strengths that the team can build on. “One of the strengths of this team is going to be its versatility and hopefully its depth. Everybody’s got to play their role and play up to their strengths. We’ve got a lot of guys that can play multiple positions. Last year’s team, we had pretty [of] defined roles.”

Goodwin is one of the most anticipated additions to the team this year, and Ford is ready to see what he can do. “I think he could be very special. He’s going to go through all the battles of being a freshman, but his attitude has been great from the moment he stepped on campus.

He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. We’re playing him a lot at point guard, and he’s really embracing that. I bring him in for individual meetings and talk about leading as a freshman as much as you can.

But learning from [senior guard] Davell [Roby], Bess, Henriquez, [redshirt senior guard Aaron] Hines, and he’s humble enough to do that. He’s humble enough to look around and say, ‘What do I need to learn? What do I need to know?,’ but he’s also confident enough that I think he can make a big impact.”

Practices have been a bit of everybody

showcasing their best with the coaches.

Ford states that “Different guys are stepping up. Bess is an overall solid player.

He can be one of the top defenders, top scorers, rebound from a wing position.

Roby’s been here four years and he’s showing his senior leadership. This is probably some of the best competition since he’s been here, so he’s competing every day. Jermaine Bishop’s really improved. From where he got hurt last year to where he’s at right now, he’s improved a lot. There’s not one guy that I would say has stood out above everybody else, but everybody has had their moments. D.J. Foreman could really be a good player for us. French got hurt a bit at the end of summer workouts, but he’s fine now. He’s our most athletic player, [and] best shotblocker on the team.”

When it comes to having no standouts during early practices, Ford thinks “it’s a good thing. As the season goes along, I think you need your top six or seven guys to stand out from everybody else.”

When it comes to SLU students, Ford wants them in the area. “We need their help. We need them to get behind this team. We need this place to be packed.

We need them to lead that energy. We need them to get excited about this team and help us get better. This place can be a really loud place, and it’s a great arena atmosphere. We need to make it consistent every game. We’ve got good games in both conference and non-conference, and they fall on pretty good days for students to come in here and help us out as much as possible. These guys will play hard for them. They’ll enjoy watching these guys compete. We need all the help we can get.”

Ford still enjoys the game-day atmosphere of Chaifetz Arena and admires the improvements over the summer. New video boards and all-digital signage was added in the arena bowl. “I’ve been in a lot of different basketball arenas, and this is a great basketball arena. Everybody is right up on the court. It’s got a great feel from lighting and music. I tell recruits, my friends, and everybody that it’s got a great feel to it. I get excited every time I walk out of that tunnel. We’ve got the new video boards that are high definition. You can see the sweat coming off guys.”

SLU begins the season with four games as part of the 2K Classic, and one of the upcoming games in the tournament will be at Chaifetz: A Wednesday, Nov. 22, matchup against Detroit Mercy.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

4 November 16, 2017

2017-18 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

Changing of the Guard Underclassmen look foward to playing, seniors look forward to passing on knowledge

By MEGAN HAMMOND Staff Writer

The Men’s Basketball season is already off to a rolling start with a victory over Harris-Stowe at the exhibition game last week and then another win against Seattle on Nov. 10. On the team, there are seven new players: five transfers and two freshmen. Coach Ford has high hopes for the team, and the players feel ready to get out and shoot some hoops, win some games, and hopefully make the tournament and win the A-10 conference. After having practice all this year, Senior Davell Roby (#5) said, “I’m ready to go play some games.”

With the high-energy team and seven new members, Coach Ford has confidence that SLU will make a dent in the A-10 this year. Change is on the horizon for the Billikens and it is just about time. For the past three seasons, SLU has finished last, second-to-last, and 11th in the conference. Both fans and the players have high expectations for the season; the challenge is living up to the hype.

Last year, Roby started all 33 games and led the Billikens in scoring with 11.7 points per game. As a senior, this is his last season and he hopes to make a lasting impact at SLU. Throughout his three years on the team, he has seen many changes, probably most notably the coaching change with Ford taking the helm. Roby commented on the exhibition game, saying the team had some good plays. He said SLU has the team and pieces to make the tournament happen; they just need to continue building on their foundation, try to be more aggressive and believe in themselves. The team already has tremendous confidence in each other and, throughout the season, they will just grow stronger.

Last week, with the opening game win against Seattle, Aaron Hines (#24) proved to be a standout on the team.

He was a walk-on last season and performed well, but his reappearance this season was unsure. Hines led the team by scoring 18 points. During the second half, he contributed four threepointers, making seven out of the 11 shots he attempted.

With the new players, there is some added height, which Roby said will make a difference on the court. Rashed Anthony (#25), who previously played

for the Seton Hall Pirates, is 6-foot-9.

Another transfer, D.J. Foreman (#1), is 6-foot-8 and is expected to be essential on the rebound. Hailing from the Commonwealth Academy in Springfield, Mass., freshman forward Hasahn French (#22) is 6-foot-7 and was ranked as a four-star recruit by ESPN. He was on the summer AAU (Amateur Athletic Union circuit, playing with the PSA Cardinals from New York City. He averaged 7.9 points per game, helping the Cardinals to their 14-2 record.

The transfers will add some needed experience and skills to the team as well.

Although they have not competed in a year, the additions are seasoned players.

Transferring from Michigan State University, Javon Bess (#3) is an all-around talented player, which he proved in the Nov. 10 game with 17 points and eight rebounds. From University of Central Florida, Adonys Henriquez (#10) is reliable on perimeter shots, and Ty Graves (#2) from Boston College is fast on his feet with a standing vertical jump of 36 inches. With a vertical jump that high, Graves would finish in the top one or two in the NBA Draft Combine each year. Graves will not be eligible to play until the second semester this year, but his athleticism will surely be one of the team’s strengths.

This season, the team has higher expectations, and they hope the new recruits will help them achieve their goal—winning the conference. Coach Ford hopes to gather top junior basketball players from the St. Louis area and keep them at home and playing for SLU. Freshman Jordan Goodwin (#0) was the star player at Althoff Catholic High School in Centreville, Ill. Being from St. Louis, he said one of the main reasons he chose SLU was because of all the local support he has received from the fans in St. Louis. Like French, Goodwin was also involved in the AAU circuit, playing for the St. Louis Eagles. He averaged more than 16 points per game and 10 rebounds per game in 2016. Not only was he involved in basketball in high school as Althoff Catholic’s all-time lead scorer with 2,324 points, but he also played tight end and receiver on the football team. He helped the basketball team claim the Class 3A Basketball state title and advanced the football team to the state finals. Although he received several football scholarship offers, Goodwin chose to pursue basketball

Davell Roby

and stay in St. Louis with the Billikens.

Goodwin was recruited as a point guard last year, and he is following through; he leads the offense as the starting point guard on the team. Coach Ford said he picked Goodwin because he is an unselfish player, but competitive and coachable. Previously, Goodwin’s experience as point guard was mainly in middle school, but he feels that he is adjusting to the challenge. Over the summer, Goodwin said he felt at a five out of 10 in comfort level, but now he feels more proficient at an eight, continually bettering himself and adapting to the role. He said that being starting point guard is different than what he is used to, but is nevertheless enjoyable and a good leadership opportunity.

Roby said he likes Goodwin; the team has to adjust to him leading the offense, but Goodwin is a valuable addition—he attacks and is uptempo.

Although Goodwin feels more confident than he originally was as starting point guard, he still has to learn the pace of the game at the college level. He said the exhibition game gave him the chance to experience the pace, which he said is much faster than high school. In last week’s game against Seattle, Goodwin helped SLU control the boards with 10 rebounds, but missed all of his 12 taken shots. Goodwin emphasized the

importance of just taking it one game at a time; the goal is to win the conference, but the team has to first make the tournament.

Since many of the players are new, the team has to build a relationship to depend on each other on the court, and according to Roby and Goodwin, the team chemistry is already building.

Roby said they grow closer everyday, and Goodwin added the team does everything together on and off the court.

With each season, Coach Ford envisions improvement, and with his strategy to gather local St. Louis superstar junior players, his vision could become reality. On Nov. 8, Carte’Are Gordon officially signed to join the Billikens.

One of the top juniors in the country, Gordon attends Webster Groves High School currently and will be a crucial asset to SLU’s team next season.

Goodwin said, “It feels good that Carte’Are is signing…he’s a special player.” He added that Gordon is a “oneand-done” player, but has stayed loyal to the St. Louis family so far.

The Billikens will be on the road for the rest of the week, challenging Virginia Tech, and then Providence or Washington University, time still to be determined. The next home game for SLU is against Detroit Mercy University on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m.

2017-18 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

November 16, 2017

5

Vliet looks to lead

As she enters her senior year, Jenny Vliet looks foward to playing her final season.

Vliet is ready to transition into a new position and leadership role.

LEFT: Vliet looks for a teammate down the court during the annual pink out game. Last year’s game drew 6,000 fans, the most of the year.

RIGHT: Vliet dribbles around a George Mason defender during last year’s January contest. Vliet scored 14 points in the A-10 contest.

By Erin McClelland Staff Writer

As the start of November rolls around, so does the anticipated commencement of Billiken basketball back in Chaifetz Arena for both the men’s and women’s teams.

The women’s coach, Lisa Stone, is back for her sixth year as the Billikens’ head coach and her 32nd overall carrying a 90-70 record at SLU and an overall record of 593-307 into the 2017-2018 season. She is the seventh Women’s Basketball coach in Saint Louis’s history. In 2016, she was named Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year as well as College Sports Madness High Major Coach of the Year.

Jenny Vliet, a senior guard on SLU’s Women Basketball team, is from Arlington Heights, Ill. and is studying Marketing and Sports Business. She starts her senior season as fifth in 3-point field goals (148) and ninth in blocks (58) on the Billikens’ career lists for basketball. After three seasons as a forward, Vliet has stepped into a new role as a guard and is very excited to “embrace the new.” In her new position, she is expected to look for the basket and find ways to set a pick and roll with point guard Jackie Kemph to play a bigger role in the Billikens’ offense.

Vliet is coming off of a career year in her junior season in which she led the team in blocks, assist-turnover ratio (3.14), and fewest turnovers/40 minutes (1.13). She was second on the team for 3-point field goals, free throw percentage (her career high being .828) and minutes played (another career high of 30.1 minutes per game).

Not only did she rank in the top 10 in the Atlantic 10 for assist-turnover ratio, 3-point field goals and 3-point

field goal percentage, but she also made the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (minimum 3.5 GPA) both semesters.

The Women’s Basketball team is looking forward to a strong season with some very competitive opponents, including a couple challenging SEC matchups with Louisiana State University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Missouri. The team will face another Power Five opponent, Washington State University, in early December to round out the challenging out-of-conference schedule.

“We’re excited about our big non-conference schedule,” said Vliet. “We wanted a schedule that would give us the best chance to make the tournament.”

In the preseason, SLU’s Women Basketball team was picked as the favorite for second place for the Atlantic 10 Conference for the 2018 season, after finishing last season tied for third place with St. Joseph’s University behind the University of Dayton and George Washington University. In the Atlantic 10 Tournament last spring, the Billikens qualified for the semi-finals and made it to the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, or WNIT. The Women’s Basketball team has six seniors who have led the team to the WNIT in the previous two seasons and are looking to make the tournament again this year. In both of the two seasons, the team surrendered fewer than 10 losses each and won a combined 51 games (26 and 25 respectively).

Three newcomers join the 2017-2018 roster and they “fit right in,” said Vliet. “They bring a lot of energy and hustle and they are already ‘all in.’” Freshman guard from Louisville, Ky., Tasia Jeffries, has seen some time on the court in both of the SLU’s regular season matchups against Indiana State University, where she scored her first basket as a Billiken, and Loyola Marymount University.

In the coming weeks, the team travels to Chicago, Ill., and Las Vegas, Nev., for two tournaments, the Maggie Dixon Classic and the South Point Shootout. In the Maggie Dixon Classic, SLU will face SEC opponent University of Mississippi and the winner of DePaul University versus Delaware State University. In Las Vegas, the Billikens square off with Cleveland State University followed by another SEC opponent, Louisiana State University.

Atlantic 10 Conference play opens up for the Bills on New Year’s Eve against St. Bonaventure in Chaifetz Arena at 2 p.m. The rest of the season in the new year, through February, will be all conference play feature rematches with Fordham University, University of Dayton, and George Washington University.

The Billiken Women’s Basketball team is looking forward to all the fans supporting them and making Chaifetz Arena a fantastic home court as always. Don’t forget that tickets are always free for students, and stay informed about promotions and other themed nights.

See you in Chaifetz Arena, Billiken Fans!

6

2016-17 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

November 16, 2016

Men’s Atlantic 10 Preview Rhode Island looking for top slot, VCU and St. Bonaventure near top DAVIDSON (17-15 overall, 8-10 A-10)

MASSACHUSETTS (15-18 overall, 4-14 A-10)

The Wildcats look primed to finish strong in the A-10. The team upset Dayton in the conference tournament last year before ultimately falling to Rhode Island in the semifinals. With much of their core coaching staff and strong players from last year returning, this team of mostly seniors and promising freshmen should finish in the top half of the A-10.

UMass’s final placement may be the most up-in-the-air of the entire conference. With a completely new coaching staff and a mix of returning and new players, the Minutemen must focus on fundamentals in order to climb the rankings again. UMass may finally finish in the bottom half of the conference again this season.

DAYTON (24-8 overall, 15-3 A-10)

RHODE ISLAND (25-10 overall, 13-5 A-10)

Dayton has always finished strong in the A-10, but a young team and completely new coaching staff may present problems for the Flyers going forward this year. The team also was upset last season in the NCAA Tournament by No. 10 Wichita State and the A-10 tournament by No. 9 Davidson. Dayton should still finish in the top portion of the conference, but a bit closer to the middle.

The Rams won last year’s A-10 tournament after a remarkable comeback season, and later went on to defeat No. 6-seed Creighton in the NCAA Tournament before a narrow loss to No. 3-seed Oregon. With their core talent and coaching staff returning, it’s a safe bet that Rhode Island will finish either first or second in the conference.

DUQUESNE (10-22 overall, 3-15 A-10)

RICHMOND (22-13 overall, 13-5 A-10)

Like Dayton, Duquesne has completely altered its core coaching staff, mostly because of their abysmal performance last season under head coach Jim Ferry. This team of mostly sophomores and juniors could show promise under new coaches if they can boost their critical stats. The Dukes, though, will likely finish close to the bottom of the conference.

The Spiders were a breakout team last year, finishing higher than most anticipated at No. 3. They ended up making it to the quarterfinals of the NIT tournament, where they were eliminated by TCU, having defeated Alabama and Oakland on the way. However, the team this year is significantly younger, feeling the loss of high-scoring seniors like T.J. Cline.

Richmond will likely take a seat towards the bottom of the conference as they work to rebuild.

FORDHAM (13-19 overall, 7-11 A-10) Fordham looks set to become more of a competitor in the A-10 this year.

With their head coach and chief assistant coach both returning, and a roster of mostly seniors, the team may make a bit of a comeback from their No. 10 finish last season. As a whole, though, the Rams played fairly sporadically during conference play, so they can be expected to finish more or less in the bottom half of the conference.

SAINT JOSEPH’S (11-20 overall, 4-14 A-10) A mostly upperclassmen roster with familiar coaching staff may be what Saint Joseph’s needs to help them move past their uncharacteristically horrid finish last season. However, seniors do not help a team in and of themselves, so the Hawks will likely finish in the upper part of the bottom of the conference this year.

GEORGE MASON (20-14 overall, 9-9 A-10)

SAINT LOUIS (12-21 overall, 6-12 A-10)

The Patriots have a young team this year under returning head coach Dave Paulsen. George Mason made a solid recovery from previous years in the last season, having made it to the A-10 quarterfinals last year, and should present a challenge for a majority of the teams in the conference.

They will likely finish near the middle of the conference.

The Billikens look to be heading for greater glory under Coach Travis Ford’s inspiring leadership. With a solid group of seniors forming the bulk of the team, along with reinvigorated transfer students and promising freshmen Jordan Goodwin and Hasahn French joining, SLU should finish higher than last year, probably right in the exact middle of the conference.

GEORGE WASHINGTON (20-14 overall, 10-8 A-10)

ST. BONAVENTURE (20-12 overall, 11-7 A-10)

George Washington presents an interesting case this season with a coaching staff in its second year, much like SLU, and a relatively young team, but riding on a finish at No. 6 overall in the conference last year. The Colonials performed better than expected last year, and this trend should continue with them finishing in the upper half of the A-10, but still close to the middle.

A roster headed mostly by upperclassmen will make the Bonnies a team to reckon with once again this year. Returning head coaches also give St. Bonaventure an edge, and will likely propel them to a place in the upper portion of the conference.

LA SALLE (15-15 overall, 9-9 A-10) La Salle, like George Washington, fared better than anticipated last season, finishing at No. 8 in the conference. This year, though, they have recruited quite a few new players and redshirted many of their seniors, so this may be the cause of another decline for the Explorers. They will probably finish in the bottom half of the conference, a bit further down from last year.

VCU (26-9 overall, 14-4 A-10) VCU looks to be in a strange place this year with a completely new coaching staff coming on to lead a solid team of mixed upperclassmen and new recruits. VCU lost to Rhode Island in the A-10 Final last year, and to St. Mary’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Rams, though, should still maintain their solid grip on the A-10, likely to finish very near the top of the conference again this year.

2016-17 BASKETBALL PREVIEW

November 16, 2016

Women’s Predictions Dayton looking to repeat, George Washington and Saint Louis not far behind DAVIDSON (6-23 overall, 4-12 A-10)

MASSACHUSETTS (9-21 overall, 3-13 A-10)

The Wildcats are in a rebuilding year with a young team and an entirely new coaching staff. After a low-ranking finish last year, Davidson may or may not rise above this. They probably will finish near the bottom of the conference again this year.

UMass finished second from last in the conference last year, but a team of mostly seniors may be of some help to them. Still, the Minutemen will probably finish in the bottom portion of the conference again this year.

DAYTON (22-10 overall, 13-3 A-10)

RHODE ISLAND (6-23 overall, 2-14 A-10)

The Flyers were the victors of last year’s Women’s A-10 Championship, the second for the team and first for head coach Shauna Green. Green is returning as head coach this year, at the helm of a team of mostly juniors.

Expect Dayton to finish near the top of the conference, or possibly win it all again.

The Rams possessed the misfortune of finishing dead last in the A-10 last season. Having a mostly younger team will likely not be an asset to them, so Rhode Island will likely finish last again this year.

DUQUESNE (18-16 overall, 8-8 A-10)

RICHMOND (13-17 overall, 7-9 A-10)

Duquesne was a remarkable team last year, finishing No. 7 in the conference but upsetting No. 2 George Washington and No. 3 Saint Joseph’s on the way to the final tournament round with Dayton. The team is still relatively young, but has the same coaching staff. This may well be an asset to the Dukes, who may finish a bit further up from the middle this year.

Richmond has a powerful squad of seniors at the front of its team this year. With returning coaching staff, the Spiders are likely to move up from their No. 9 finish last season. Richmond will likely finish near the middle of the conference this year.

FORDHAM (22-12 overall, 11-5 A-10)

SAINT JOSEPH’S (17-15 overall, 12-4 A-10)

The Rams are in a rebuilding season with most of the team composed of freshmen. Fordham finished at No. 5 in the conference last year, but this placement may be in jeopardy with all of the newcomers this season.

Thus, Fordham may likely finish in the bottom portion of the conference.

The Hawks will likely remain a strong competitor in the A-10 this year, with many of their key players returning from last season, along with their longtime head coach Cindy Griffin. Saint Joseph’s finished No. 3 last year and were upset by Duquesne in the semifinals, and they will probably finish near this level at the end of the coming season.

GEORGE MASON (13-17 overall, 6-10 A-10)

SAINT LOUIS (25-9 overall, 13-3 A-10)

The Patriots finished near the bottom of the A-10 last year, mostly because they had a younger team. The team is still relatively young again, but consistent coaching and more experience may bode well for George Mason. Expect them to finish in the top portion of the bottom of the conference.

The Billikens had a fantastic season last year, losing to Dayton by only ten points in the A-10 tournament final and setting many new records along the way. With a squad of core, synergized seniors and Coach Lisa Stone leading the charge, SLU should be on its way to another successful year.

Expect SLU to finish in the top portion of the conference this year.

GEORGE WASHINGTON (20-10 overall, 13-3 A-10)

ST. BONAVENTURE (9-20 overall, 4-12 A-10)

The Colonials reached the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament last year, and they look set to get near there again. With an experienced team under the helm of the same coaches, George Washington will probably end the season in the top crust of the conference.

St. Bonaventure definitely has a more well-rounded team this year and shows promise for the future with its roster of mostly juniors. The Bonnies will probably move up in the ranks from last year, likely to finish near the top of the bottom portion of the conference.

LA SALLE (17-13 overall, 9-7 A-10)

VCU (16-15 overall, 8-8 A-10)

With a young team to start the season, La Salle will likely experience some setbacks going forward. The Explorers finished at No. 6 last season, so expect them to finish slightly below this in the upper portion of the conference’s bottom half.

VCU finished near the middle of the A-10 last season with a team of mostly seniors. With a rebuilding year upon them, they will probably fall back a few planks. The Rams will likely finish near the top of the bottom portion of the conference this year.

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November 16, 2016

2016-17 BASKETBALL PREVIEW