VCU head coach Shaka Smart picked up his 100th win this weekend with a 90-63 dismantling of Duquesne that marked the Rams 13th-straight win.
With a 16-3 overall record, the Rams look to have a promising season ahead of them. For whatever reason however, on this lazy Sunday… I wanted to dig up some numbers to see what next year might look like as well.
With Temple and Charlotte leaving the Atlantic 10 after this season for the Big East and CUSA, I wanted to see what kind of point production our returning A-10 opponents had coming back.
Granted, conference realignment might shift that as well, but from the teams at least scheduled to return, here’s what things look like.
Below is list of teams in order of returning point production as of current scoring averages, with overall record and A-10 record in parenthesis, as well as a list of point-producing graduating seniors below each team. There’s always the chance a team loses a player early to the NBA Draft, but from who we know will DEFINITELY be gone, here’s what that list looks like.
1. Fordham (5-13, 1-2) – 14.9 points per game = 22.4% of scoring lost
Chris Gaston 14
Khalid Robinson 0.9
2. La Salle (12-5, 2-2) – 17.3 = 23.7%
Ramon Galloway 17
Garvin Hunt 0.3
3. VCU (16-3, 4-0)- 19.2 = 24.2%
Troy Daniels 12.6
Darius Theus 6.6
4. St. Joseph’s (10-6, 1-2) – 17.3 = 24.6%
Carl Jones 15.3
Christopher Coyne 1.0
Taylor Trevisan 1.0
5. Duquesne (7-11, 0-4) – 20.1 = 28.8%
Sean Johnson 14.0
Andre Marhold 6.1
6. UMass (12-5, 2-2) – 24 = 32.8%
Terrell Vinson 11.8
Feddie Riley 6.6
Sampson Carter 5.6
7. Richmond (12-7, 2-2) – 24 = 34%
Darien Brothers 16.2
Greg Robbins 6.8
Jonathan Benjamin 1.0
8. Dayton (10-7, 0-3) – 25.3 = 35.3%
Kevin Dillard 14.8
Josh Benson 10.5
9. Rhode Island (6-10, 1-2) – 24 = 39%
Nikola Malesevic 10.7
Andre Malone 10.3
Ryan Brooks 2.0
Alwayne Bigby 1.0
10. Butler (16-2, 3-0) – 30.3 = 42%
Rotnei Clarke 16.3
Andrew Smith 11.7
Chase Stigall 2.1
Emerson Kampen 0.2
11. Xavier (11-6, 4-0) – 27.8 = 42.6%
Travis Taylor 11.2
Brad Redford 8.7
Jeff Robinson 7.9
12. St. Louis (12-5, 1-2) – 28.8 = 43.4%
Cody Ellis 10.9
Kwamain Mitchell 10.7
Cory Remekun 7.2
13. George Washington (8-9, 2-2) – 32.2 = 49.5%
Isaiah Armwood 12
Lasan Kromah 9.8
Dwayne Smith 7
Bryan Bynes 3.4
14. St. Bonaventure (8-9, 1-3) – 40.3 = 55.9%
Demitrius Conger 13.9
Chris Johnson 12.8
Eric Mosley 10.6
Michael Davenport 3.0
As VCU fans will attest, losing a large percentage of point producing players doesn’t always equal doom and gloom. Some teams rebuild while others have the luxury of reloading.
After losing four seniors from a Final 4 squad, the Rams did just that with the 9th-youngest team in the country last season, a team that posted the most wins in VCU history while winning the CAA and dancing back to the NCAA tournament where they upset the fifth-seeded Wichita State Shockers.
Obviously there are a number of other key stats this quick glance doesn’t take into account, like losing a great assist man, dominating defender or someone who can own the boards on any given night.
Regardless, something for you hoops fans to get excited about on an NFL-heavy Sunday.
