Where does Dayton Flyers senior class rank in A-10?

No one needs a big senior class to win in college basketball. The Dayton Flyers proved that the last two seasons. The Kentucky Wildcats prove it every year.

However, a strong senior class can add an extra layer to a memorable season. The fans have gotten to know the players over three seasons. They know they are watching them for the last time.

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That’s the case at UD this season. Even before Charles Cooke joined the roster as a transfer before the 2014-15 season, this was going to be a special senior class because it has three players who debuted during the Elite Eight season of 2013-14. Scoochie Smith, Kendall Pollard and Kyle Davis are the only players in school history to play in the NCAA tournament their first three seasons because freshmen didn’t play in the late 1960s, the last time the Flyers played in the tournament three years in a row.

Dayton’s senior class can become the all-time winningest in school history with 20 more victories. They enter the 2016-17 season with 78 wins. The 2011 senior class, which starred Chris Wright, won 97 games.

“We’re just going to try to do everything we did this year and more,” Smith said after losing in the NCAA tournament in March.

Dayton’s four-man group is easily the top senior class in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season. It’s the only senior class with more than 3,000 combined career points. VCU and Richmond have strong and deep classes. La Salle, Davidson and George Washington have senior stars but not deep classes.

Last week, we ranked the classes newcomers in the A-10. Here's a ranking of the senior classes. The list includes only players who are in their last season of eligibility, not seniors such as Rhode Island's E.C. Matthews, who suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of his junior year last year and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

1. DAYTON

The Flyers played with one senior two seasons ago, Jordan Sibert, and had two seniors last year, Dyshawn Pierre and Bobby Wehrli. They’ll have their most crowded Senior Night in years in March.

Number of seniors: 4

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 45.6

Total career points: 3,354

Players: Charles Cooke, G, 6-5, 192 (15.6 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, 1.8 assists per game, 32.1 minutes per game, 1,113 career points); Scoochie Smith, PG, 6-2, 180 (11.7, 3.5, 4.3, 31.2, 847); Kendall Pollard, F, 6-6, 235 (10.3, 4.9, 1.4, 26.1, 806); Kyle Davis, G, 6-0, 175 (8.0, 3.5, 2.1, 26.0, 588).

Notes: Cooke played two seasons at James Madison, sat out the 2014-15 season and earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors as a junior. … Pollard was named the A-10's most improved player in 2014-15. … Smith ranked ninth in the A-10 in assists. … Davis improved his 3-point shooting percentage from 22.1 as a sophomore to 33.9 as a junior.

2. VCU

The Rams had Treveon Graham and Briante Weber two seasons ago. Last season, they had Melvin Johnson and Korey Billbury. They have another strong group of seniors this season.

Number of seniors: 4

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 26.3

Total career points: 2,516

Players: JeQuan Lewis, G, 6-1, 180 (11.3 ppg, 2.6 rpb, 5.1 apg, 28.6 mpg, 913 career points); Mo Alie-Cox, F, 6-7, 250 (10.4, 5.1, 1.0, 26.7, 759); Jordan Burgess, G/F, 6-5, 225 (4.9, 4.2, 1.4, 21.9, 466); Doug Brooks, G, 6-4, 200 (4.2, 2.5, 1.3, 16.1, 367); Torey Burston, G, 5-8, 180 (0.2, 0.3, 0.3, 3.5, 11).

Notes: Alie-Cox and Burgess are in their fifth seasons with VCU. They sat out the 2012-13 season as NCAA partial qualifiers. … Cox made the all-conference third team last season and the all-academic team. He led the conference with 68 blocked shots and ranked second in field-goal percentage (61.2). … Lewis ranked second in the A-10 in assists and fifth in free-throw percentage (85.7).

3. RICHMOND

The Spiders bid farewell to three senior starters last season. Dayton fans will know one member of this senior class well. T.J. Cline scored a career-high 36 points against the Flyers last season.

Number of seniors: 5

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 43.4

Total career points: 2,820

Players: T.J. Cline, F, 6-9, 230 (18.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.8 apg, 30.0 mpg, 1,263 career points); ShawnDre' Jones, G, 6-0, 165 (14.9, 2.3, 3.7, 34.5, 1,013); Marshall Wood, F, 6-8, 215 (8.6, 3.9, 0.5, 23.4, 453); Kwesi Abakah, F, 6-8, 215 (1.5, 2.2, 0.5, 12.9, 91); Chase Fletcher, F, 6-7, 220.

Notes: Cline played his first season at Niagara and sat out the 2013-14 season after transferring. He made the all-conference third team last season. … Wood played his first two seasons at Virginia Tech and debuted for the Spiders last season. … Abakah is a graduate transfer from Northeastern. … Fletcher is a walk-on who didn't play last season.

4. LA SALLE

The Explorers should bounce back from a 9-22 season because they have more depth, a lot more of it. They played much of last season with a six-man rotation because of injuries and because they had three transfers on the bench. Price is one of the league’s top players and should be better with more help.

Number of seniors: 3

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 32.1

Total career points: 2,289

Players: Jordan Price, G, 6-5, 220 (19.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 37.7 mpg, 1,309 career points); Cleon Roberts, G, 6-6, 180 (12.9, 3.6, 1.2, 36.7, 974); Hank Davis, G, 5-11, 165 (0.7, 0.0, 0.0, 2.0, 6).

Notes: Price played his first season at Auburn, transferred to La Salle and sat out the 2013-14 season. He ranks 40th on La Salle's all-time scoring list with 1,164 points in two seasons. That's the fourth-best two-season total in school history. … Roberts played his freshman season at George Southern and also sat out the 2013-14 season. … Davis is a walk-on who has appeared in 12 games the last three seasons. A biology major who plans to attend medical school, Davis was named Big 5 Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2014-15.

5. RHODE ISLAND

Guard E.C. Matthews would have been part of this class if not for the knee injury he suffered in the first game last season. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He has 999 career points and averaged 16.1 points per game in 2014-15.

Number of seniors: 2

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 21.8

Total career points: 1,250

Players: Hassan Martin, F, 6-7, 230 (12.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 28.0 mpg, 892 career points); Kuran Iverson, F, 6-9, 215 (9.8, 7.1, 1.5, 27.1, 358).

Notes: Martin played in 26 games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. … Iverson played his first season at Memphis and then was suspended eight games into his sophomore season. He was granted a waiver by the NCAA to become eligible at the start of the 2015-16 season.

6. DUQUESNE

Duquesne’s top two scorers last season, Micah Mason and Derrick Colter, were seniors, and their third-leading scorer, L.G. Gill, graduated and transferred to Maryland for his final season.

Number of seniors: 3

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 33.2

Total career points: 2,032

Players: Darius Lewis, C, 6-11, 250 (6.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.6 apg, 20.4, 332 career points); Kale Abrahamson, F, 6-8, 215 (11.1, 3.9, 0.9, 27.7, 619); Emile Blackman, G, 6-3, 195 (15.8, 3.5, 1.4, 1,081).

Notes: Abrahamson and Blackman are graduate transfers. Abrahamson played his first two seasons at Northwestern, sat out the 2014-15 season and played last season at Drake. Blackman played one season at Long Island University-Post, a Division II school, and then two seasons at Niagara.

7. DAVIDSON

The Wildcats have an A-10 Player of the Year candidate in Jack Gibbs.

Number of seniors: 4

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 30.1

Total career points: 1,630

Players: Jack Gibbs, G, 6-0, 195 (23.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.9 apg, 35.5 mpg, 1,348 career points); Andrew McAuliffe, F, 6-8, 235 (3.3, 2.5, 0.6, 12.2, 263); Manu Giamoukis, G, 6-1, 195 (0.3, 0.3, 0.0, 2.0, 4); Connor Perkey, F, 6-8, 215 (0.9, 0.1, 0.0, 1.9, 15).

Notes: Gibbs made the All-A-10 first team last season. He led the conference in scoring. … Perkey, a walk-on, missed all of last season with an injury. He saw limited minutes in 25 games in his first three seasons. His stats are from the 2014-15 season … Giamoukis is a walk-on who joined the roster in the fall of 2013.

8. GEORGE WASHINGTON

It’s a small senior class, but a good one because of Cavanaugh. The Colonials also have a fourth-year junior in Seton Hall transfer Jaren Sina and Patrick Steeves, a transfer from Harvard who didn’t play in his first three seasons and transferred after finally getting on the court last season. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Number of seniors: 2

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 20.6

Total career points: 2,106

Players: Tyler Cavanaugh, F, 6-9, 235 (16.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 30.4 mpg, 1,084 career points); Matt Hart, G, 6-1, 182 (3.8, 0.9, 0.3, 8.8, 1,022).

Notes: Cavanaugh played his first two seasons at Wake Forest and sat out the 2014-15 season before playing last season. He made the all-conference second team last season and the all-academic team. … Hart played his first two seasons at Hamilton College, a Division III school, and sat out the 2014-15 season. He appeared in all 37 games last season.

9. SAINT LOUIS

The Billikens had only one senior a season ago, Ash Yacoubou, and with new coach Travis Ford this season, they’ll have another small class with two players who became full-time starters as juniors.

Number of seniors: 2

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 20.7

Total career points: 960

Players: Mike Crawford, G, 6-4, 200 (10.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 26.9 mpg, 612 career points); Reggie Agbeko, F, 6-7, 240 (10.4, 10.1, 0.5, 24.3, 348).

Notes: Crawford led the Billikens with 43 3-pointers. … Agbeko shot 57 percent from the field.

10. GEORGE MASON

Coach Dave Paulsen enters his second season with a small senior class. The Patriots were 11-21 last season.

Number of seniors: 3

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 19.2

Total career points: 1,537

Players: Jalen Jenkins, F, 6-7, 245 (7.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.6 apg, 21.4 mpg, 697 career points); Marquise Moore, G, 6-2, 202 (11.4, 6.1, 3.1, 32.5, 694); Myles Tate, G, 5-7, 161 (0.7, 0.4, 0.2, 4.5, 146).

Notes: Jenkins is a fifth-year senior. He sat out the 2012-13 season as a redshirt. … Tate played his freshman season at Mars Hill College and sat out the 2013-14 season after transferring. He appeared in 16 games last season.

11. ST. BONAVENTURE

The Bonnies’ top player is a junior: guard Jaylen Adams (17.9 points per game). Their senior class gets a boost from two transfers.

Number of seniors: 3

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 10.4

Total career points: 824

Players: Denzel Gregg, F, 6-7, 215 (9.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 433 career points); Chinonso Obokoh, C, 6-9, 215 (1.1, 1.6, 0.1, 6.1, 22); David Andoh, F, 6-7, 220 (10.0, 5.6, 0.6, 25.7, 369).

Notes: Gregg ranked sixth in the A-10 with 1.4 blocks per game. … Obokoh saw limited action in two seasons at Syracuse. He may have one more season of eligibility after this one, pending a NCAA appeal. … Andoh is playing for his fourth college in five years. He played at San Jose State, Merritt College, a community college in Oakland, Calif., and then Liberty. He sat out last season.

12. FORDHAM

The Rams’ roster is heavy on juniors with seven. The only junior who played major minutes last season was guard Jon Severe, and he is transferring to Iona.

Number of seniors: 2

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 17.0

Total career points: 737

Players: JaVontae Hawkins, G, 6-5, 211 (17.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 28.9 mpg, 735 career points); Matt Massimino, G, 5-11, 170 (0.0, 0.5, 0.5, 2.0, 2).

Notes: Hawkins played his first two seasons at South Florida, sat out a season and then played one season at Eastern Kentucky. He ranked fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference with 15.1 points per game last season. …

13. ST. JOSEPH’S

DeAndre Bembry, the A-10 Player of the Year last season, would have been a senior this season, but he left school for the NBA Draft and selected with the 21st pick of the first round by the Atlanta Hawks.

Number of seniors: 2

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 1.3

Total career points: 193

Players: Brendan Casper, F, 6-6, 215 (0.7 ppg, 0.1 rpg, 0.5 apg, 1.7 mpg, 46 career points); Javon Baumann, F, 6-8, 258 (0.6, 1.0, 0.1, 4.3, 147).

Notes: Forward Skylar Scrivano would have been a sixth-year senior for the Hawks but he's transferring. The NCAA awarded him an extra year. He missed last season with an Achille's injury.

14. MASSACHUSETTS

UMasss will have a young group, including the 30th-ranked freshman class in the country.

Number of seniors: 1

Combined 2015-16 scoring average: 0.6

Total career points: 4

Players: Zach Turcotte, F, 6-7, 210 (0.6 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 0.1 apg, 1.9 mpg, 4 career points).

Notes: Turcotte is a walk-on who appeared in seven games last season. … It has a fourth-year junior in Zach Lewis, a Canisius transfer who sat out last season. …

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