The Atlantic 10 saw five coaching changes this season, including George Washington giving their interim coach the head job.
Many see the Atlantic 10 in a group of conferences right below the Power 5 (ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-12 & ACC). With that comes two issues.
The first is the pressure to win is immense. It isn’t acceptable to have multiple losing seasons without their being some job security issues. Dayton, VCU and Rhode Island have been consistent and they usually find their way into the Top 25 sometime during the season.
The second is the bigger conferences will come after your head coach. The Atlantic 10 has been very competitive against the Power 5 conferences and that tends to make your head coach a popular target. For the Atlantic 10 schools, that means you have to make sure you’re not viewed as a “stepping stone job” while understanding the pressure of making the next hire the right one.
The coaching changes in the conference saw both issues come into play.
Didn’t Win Enough
UMass Minutemen
Outgoing Coach: Derek Kellogg (LIU Brooklyn)
Incoming Coach: Matt McCall (Chattanooga)
Kellogg was dismissed after 9 seasons at UMass. They often looked like a team that was overly emotional on the floor and undisciplined.
The Minutemen only made the tournament once under Kellogg’s helm. He becomes one of the few coaches that was truly given ample time to succeed but the program never got over the hump. Kellogg eventually landed the LIU Brooklyn job.
In stepped Winthrop’s head coach Pat Kelsey. Kelsey had led the Eagles to a combined 49-16 over the previous two seasons, resulting in two regular season titles and one conference tournament title. Yet, it what could only be described as bizarre, Kelsey backed out of the job 35 minutes before the formal announcement. He is going back to Winthrop.
This sent UMass scrambling for a new coach and they settled on Matt McCall. McCall spent two years at Chattanooga resulting in one NCAA Tournament appearance and a disappointing fourth place finish. Like Dayton, the Minutemen roster will require a certain level of patience from the fan base.
George Washington
Outgoing Coach: Mike Lonergan/Maurice Joseph
Incoming Coach: Maurice Joseph
The Colonials don’t fit in either one of the categories but this one was the closer of the two. Yes, Lonergan had some success at the Foggy Bottom school but had missed the last two tournaments but that’s not the reason he was let go. He was let go after allegations of abuse was substantiated by an independent investigation.
Maurice Joseph stepped in on an interim basis and did enough to keep the job. The Colonials went 19-14 and participated in the CBI tournament.
Yuta Watanabe, Arnaldo Toro, Patrick Steeves and Jair Bolden will give George Washington some returning on court experience. Watanabe is the only one who was an impact player last season.
Duquesne Dukes
Outgoing Coach: Jim Ferry
Incoming Coach: Keith Dambrot (Akron)
Keith Dambrot comes into Duquesne off back-to-back regular season titles at Akron. In his 13 years with the Zips, he won 6 regular season titles, 3 conference tournament titles and appeared in 3 NCAA tournaments.
Even with a solid hire the question of “can you win at Duquesne” still looms.
Mike Lewis II had a solid freshman campaign. He averaged 14.1 points a game to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team along with teammate, Isiaha Mike.
Heading to a Power 5 Conference
Dayton
Outgoing Coach: Archie Miller (Indiana)
Incoming Coach: Anthony Grant (Assistant Coach at Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA)
It was only a matter of time before Miller would get an offer he couldn’t refuse and Indiana proved to be that job. Miller takes over an Indiana team that will lose O.G. Anunoby, James Blackmon, Robert Johnson and Thomas Bryant as early entries into the NBA draft.
The saving grace for Miller is a strong incoming recruiting class. Indiana with have two 4-star recruits (Justin Smith & Aljami Durham) and a 3-star recruit (6’ 9” Clifton Moore) coming to Blooomington.
Anthony Grant walks into Dayton as the most successful class in school history departs. The Flyers will bring in five new players led by a pair of 3-star recruits (Nahziah Carter & Jordan Pierce). Josh Cunningham and Xeyrius Williams bring back some experience but in the tough Atlantic 10 don’t be shocked if the Flyers take a step backwards.
VCU Rams
Outgoing Coach: Will Wade (LSU)
Incoming Coach: Mike Rhoades (Head Coach at Rice)
VCU has become one of the non-Power 5 conference jobs in the country. Jeff Capel, Anthony Grant, Shaka Smart and Will Wade have all done great jobs in Richmond.
Wade’s departure for LSU shocked some but shows you how much he’s respected in coaching circles. In his two years at VCU, the 34-year-old Wade led the Rams to a 51-20 record with two NCAA tournament appearances.
In comes former VCU assistant, Mike Rhoades. Rhoades was VCU as an assistant from 2009-2014. Last season he led the Owls to a 23-12 record last season.
JeQuan Lewis, Doug Brooks, Mo Alie-Cox, Jordan Burgess and Samir Doughty (transfer) will leave a sizable gap on both ends of the floor. Returnees, Justin Tillman and Jonathan Williams along with a solid recruiting class will have to fill in the gap to keep the VCU train rolling.
Marcus “Mook” Washington is the host of Making The Cut. Follow Mook on Twitter: @mtcwithmook and IG: MTCWithMook
