Big 5 men’s basketball awards: CoBL names St. Joe’s Erik Reynolds II preseason player of the year

The offseason had significant turnover for the six college basketball teams in the Big 5. But as the transfer portal taketh, the transfer portal giveth, and there’s some impressive new talent in the area.

Here are City of Basketball Love’s Big 5 men’s basketball preseason awards:

In two years, Reynolds has totaled 989 points. The 6-foot-2 junior guard averaged 19.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists last season.

What’s missing from Reynolds’ resumé, however, is team success. The Hawks went 16-17 (8-10 Atlantic 10) a season ago. Reynolds could be the catalyst for St. Joe’s return to prominence — or at least a top four-finish in the A-10 and in the mix for a berth in March Madness.

» READ MORE: Erik Reynolds saw transfer portal door, ignored it to stay on Hawk Hill

Armstrong, a 6-2 guard, became a three-level scorer by the end of his freshman season. He averaged 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds while starting seven of 34 games. The sophomore likely will be the Wildcats’ full-time starter alongside Justin Moore.

Honorable mention: Rasheer Fleming (Soph., St. Joe’s), Rokas Jocius (Soph., La Salle), Hysier Miller (Jr., Temple), Justin Moore (Soph., Drexel), and Cam Thrower (Soph., Penn).

It seems like the Quakers could have their next player to build the program around in Perkins. The 6-4 guard, from Landon School in Lorton, Va., was the Interstate Athletic Conference player of the year and scored more than 1,000 points in just 50 games. Perkins is in line to start for a Penn team that will be without guard Jordan Dingle (transferred to St. John’s) and forward Max Martz (medical retirement).

Honorable mention: Sam Brown (Penn), Xzayvier Brown (St. Joe’s), Christ Essandoko (St. Joe’s), Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (La Salle), and Zion Stanford (Temple).

The Wildcats added a ton of talent and experience this offseason. Bamba, a 6-5 senior guard, comes to the Main Line after three years at Washington State. He averaged 15.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and started all 31 games for the Cougars last season. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Brown has been a reliable option in the Hawks’ rotation for four years, playing in 111 games (99 starts). The graduate student has compiled 1,138 total points. Brown, a 6-6 wing from Laurel, Md., had his best season last year, averaging 13.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.

» READ MORE: Big 5 women’s basketball awards: St. Joe’s Talya Brugler named CoBL’s preseason player of the year

The Cats are deeper this year, but Dixon, a redshirt senior forward, still should be one of their featured pieces in the lineup. The Abington graduate has played in 93 games with 72 starts. He averaged 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 37.8% from the three-point arc (42 of 111 attempts) last season.

Moore played in 13 games last season after coming back from an Achilles tear in January. The two-way guard averaged 13.5 points and 3.5 rebounds last season. Over the final six games, Moore, a 6-5 graduate student, averaged 16.5 points and shot 45.9% from three-point range — perhaps a sign of what’s to come this season, now that he has fully recovered.

In two seasons, Williams became one of the best big men in the Colonial (now Coastal) Athletic Association. The 6-10 senior forward from England averaged 13.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks as a junior, making 52.3% of his shots. He’ll be the centerpiece of the Dragons’ plans once again.

All-Big 5 second team: Miller, Armstrong, Khalil Brantley (Jr., La Salle), Tyler Burton (Gr., Villanova), Lynn Greer III (Jr., St. Joe’s), and Clark Slajchert (Sr., Penn).

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.