We’re going to learn a lot about the Colonial Athletic Association this season. That might seem obvious considering many will be interested to see how the teams in the conference respond after the great success of last season, but there’s a different angle in mind with that: it’s a conference in some transition from a personnel standpoint. It’s not exactly the “get a program” type of transition, but suffice it to say that as we enter the season, a lot of teams have more questions than answers in that area.
In fact, a look at the preseason all-conference selections as voted by the CAA’s head coaches, sports information directors and selected media who cover the conference reveals the lack of proven star power. Only five players who earned All-CAA honors last season return this year, and not helping matters is that a couple of them are on teams that at first glance don’t look like contenders. If ever there was a time when an exercise such as picking a preseason all-conference team felt like one in futility, this was it. And in the end, the player selected as preseason Player of the Year – Old Dominion senior Kent Bazemore – may not even play a single non-conference game due to injury.
That’s just the beginning of what lies ahead. One of the new head coaches, Towson’s Pat Skerry, notes that this year is like any other in one sense: “I think every year you see players emerge who make you ask, where did he come from?” While true, this year that may be the case more so than any other year in a while.
In the aforementioned preseason poll, it wasn’t a surprise that Drexel and George Mason were picked first and second. Drexel returns three starters, a key reserve in Chris Fouch and brings in an excellent recruiting class that will provide depth. George Mason has some backcourt questions and unexpectedly saw Luke Hancock transfer to Louisville, but still has as much talent as pretty much any team in the conference even though not all of their holdovers have played big roles in their careers. After that is where the questions really begin.
VCU was picked third, but the Rams aren’t full of veteran holdovers like last year. They lost three starters and reserve Brandon Rozzell, who was like a starter, and have just one senior. The big key to the Rams’ season will be how players like junior Darius Theus and sophomores Rob Brandenburg, D.J. Haley and Juvonte Reddic handle having to be more than just role players.
“Our season is dependent on a lot of guys, but none more than those three sophomores,” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said. “I think Rob Brandenburg easily could have played 10-12 minutes more last year, but he happened to be behind seniors that I chose to roll with.”
Old Dominion, picked fourth in the poll, might be the team that epitomizes the conference this season. No team lost as much as the Monarchs, as they lost three starters and a reserve who could have started for many teams in the conference in Keyon Carter. More importantly, they lost a lot of winning experience, and left behind is a group of players that are talented but haven’t had to play major roles in their career. Bazemore will be in a new role when he returns as well, as he projects to be the go-to guy. The Monarchs will be looking to players such as Chris Cooper and Trian Iliadis to become major contributors now, and will be a little more reliant on freshmen as well.
While several coaches said that George Mason, Old Dominion and VCU will always be powerhouses in the CAA, they also know there may be some opportunities to break through. It’s the reality of basketball at this level.
“You’re not going to reload and bring in great players every year,” said Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint. “Teams go on two, three and four-year runs in this league, and now those teams lost some pretty good players. They’re still going to be good, you just won’t know the names of the guys at first.”
James Madison, picked fifth, lost their best player in Denzel Bowles, but returns a lot of talent. Still, they have questions about who will be the go-to player inside, as there is plenty of perimeter scoring punch but no clear player to get the ball inside to for a basket. With Devon Moore ineligible for the first semester, the point guard spot is a question mark early on, as Humpty Hitchens is more of a scorer.
William & Mary was picked sixth, but has questions up front and with health. They have Quinn McDowell and talented sophomores Brandon Britt and Julian Boatner, in addition to talented freshman Marcus Thornton and underrated senior Kendrix Brown, and that’s a good start. But the questions up front are big, and whether Britt and Boatner can make that next step is a big question as well.
Delaware has two of the better players in the conference in Devon Saddler and Jamelle Hagins, and some good complementary players in the frontcourt. Hofstra lost Charles Jenkins and Greg Washington, and will need players to emerge around Mike Moore and David Imes. Northeastern returns four starters, but their best player from last season is gone and now players like Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith have to move into starring roles if the Huskies are to move up in the standings. UNC Wilmington lost its best player and has eight freshmen. Georgia State has four returning starters but none who might immediately strike you as an All-CAA candidate, and Towson is starting over after not winning a CAA game last year.
Besides the picture not being clear about who the top players will be, it’s even more foggy when it comes to the teams. If the questions each team after Drexel and George Mason get answered one way or another, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the team finishing four or five spots higher or lower than they were picked in the preseason poll.
“I really think you’ll see a couple of teams that nobody expects to be competing for a championship that will probably do so this year,” said William & Mary head coach Tony Shaver. “I think there will be some people competing at the top that a lot of fans don’t expect.”
Added Delaware head coach Monte Ross: “There are a lot of question marks, and I think, truthfully, beyond Drexel being picked number one, everybody behind there is a toss-up. It’s all over the map, which I think is going to make for a very interesting league and it’s going to be a very fun tournament.”
For Georgia State and new head coach Ron Hunter, the question marks look more like an opportunity.
“I think the first 10-15 days of the league, there’s going to be a lot of learning and feeling each other out,” said Hunter. “I think this will be the hardest year to try to pick who are your better teams. That’s why I love being in a situation where I have seven seniors.”
It’s always an interesting year in the CAA. This year, it will be an educational one as well, as we learn who emerges from a pack of unproven players and teams.
