It’s early, yet the Atlantic 10 has done a nice job landing some outside talent from the transfer market. Some players will be available next season, while others will have to wait 2 years to play. Certainly, there will be more incoming transfers for A-10 programs. A number of schools still have scholarships to fill. That said, here are my current Top 5 favorite transfer gets in the Atlantic 10 through the short offseason which we’ve endured (just to be clear, these are all transfers that have committed to Atlantic 10 schools since the end of the season).
1. Marcus Evans, VCU
It’s no secret that Marcus Evans is going to be a star at VCU. The former Rice guard followed his coach to his new job, and he’s got the numbers to prove he’s deadly. Averaging 19.0 points and 3.7 assists per game last season, Marcus Evans does not mess around. He received interest from Arizona and Miami (FL), among other schools, but the highly touted transfer landed with the Rams. Marcus Evans will be sitting out a season, but I expect him to be a B.J. Johnson type player when he takes the court (maybe even better). I could see Evans stepping up and becoming VCU’s best player in a couple of seasons. The best news? They have him for 2 years.
2. Jaylen Brantley, Massachusetts
I’m really high on this transfer; maybe higher than I should be. I tend to value an “average” player from a P5 school more than a star from a league like the Big South. Generally, it seems the transfers from big-name schools, even if they averaged less than 10 points per game, tend to be studs in the Atlantic 10. Take B.J. Johnson for example: a 4 star recruit out of high school who averaged 4.2 points per game with Syracuse but 17.6 last year with La Salle. I also think Marquette transfer Traci Carter is going to be a stud for La Salle in two seasons. Though he averaged just 4.9 points per game last year, Jaylen Brantley’s got my eye for two reasons: he was a key bench player for Maryland last season, and the Terrapins were very good in the Big Ten.
3. Khris Lane, VCU
I might be a bit skeptical with Khris Lane, but he’s still a great addition. He averaged 17.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for Longwood last season, but Longwood was also one of the bottom 10 teams in the nation. The Lancers were awful. I’m not sure how well his game is going to transfer to the A-10, but he must be pretty darn good to get recruited by Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, and Wake Forest among other schools. I think Lane will be a key role player off the bench for the Rams next season. If they’re not able to bring in anymore frontcourt talent (they’ll have a lot of young 4s and 5s on their roster), they may even look to start Khris Lane. Either way, this is a good pickup, and skeptical or not, Lane should do a lot of good things for next year’s VCU team.
4. Craig Randall II, Duquesne
I like this transfer for reasons listed above; “decent” players who come down rather than “good” players who come up tend to be more successful. Not that Memphis is that much better than any Atlantic 10 teams (at least recently), but Randall II is a 3 star recruit, and the Dukes tend not to land many players above the 2 star range. In two seasons, I think Craig Randall II is really going to compliment Michael Lewis II well in the backcourt. He’s not a great shooter, but he’s got an entire season to work on his game and could come back as one of Duquesne’s better players. I really like this addition, and I think he’ll be an under-the-radar stud for the Dukes.
5. Luis Santos, Saint Louis
Saint Louis is going to have a “good” problem next season. There are going to be too many solid players on this roster for limited minutes to go around. Again, this isn’t that bad of a problem to have. Between Adonys Henriquez, Javon Bess, D.J. Foreman, Hasahn French, Jordan Goodwin, Davell Roby, Jalen Johnson, and others, this team is going to be good next season. Luis Santos will sit out a year, but a lot of this talent, and even more incoming, will be around in 2018-19 as well. I don’t see Luis Santos getting a ton of minutes, but the USF transfer will definitely add depth. And like I said, it never hurts to have too much depth.
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