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Sales Pitch: Ranking the American Athletic Conference recruiting jobs in tiers
Last month, we started our Sales Pitch series by ranking the schools in the ACC based on the quality of their enticements for men's basketball recruits and then moved on to the Big East, where we examined whether anyone in the league can close the recruiting gap on Villanova. We followed that up with the Big Ten, and the biggest first tier we've seen of any conference so far, and the Pac-12, where UCLA and Arizona are keeping the rest of the league at arm's length. Last week we continued with the SEC, where everyone continues to chase Kentucky on the recruiting trail.
This week, we continue our exercise with the American. Despite losing UConn back to the Big East in 2020-21, the league produced a Final Four team (Houston) and can also claim a top-ranked recruiting class and No. 1 pick in recent memory (Memphis, James Wiseman). The bottom of the league is weighing it down, both from a recruiting standpoint and in the standings, but the top half is consistently competitive. One school has separated itself with its sales pitch, however.
As a reminder, ESPN spoke with a wide variety of anonymous coaches across college basketball's top seven leagues (as rated by KenPom and other relevant metrics systems), as well as nationally relevant programs beyond those conferences, for our Sales Pitch feature. Over an eight-week period, we'll rank the programs in order of which have the best sales pitches for recruits and transfers.
Tier 1
Memphis Tigers
While Memphis hasn't had the most recent success in the AAC, the Tigers are widely considered the most established program in the league, and clearly the best recruiting program in the league. They landed the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 2019, led by No. 1 recruit and eventual No. 1 NBA draft pick James Wiseman, as well as five-star prospects Precious Achiuwa and D.J. Jeffries.
We'll get to Penny Hardaway shortly, but even removing him from the equation, Memphis still has a terrific pitch: The Tigers play their home games at FedExForum, it's a basketball-rich city, and Memphis kids want to play at Memphis.
"It's on a different shelf than everyone else in our league," one AAC coach said. "It's the access to local talent. One of the things about our league, 90% of us are in a metropolitan area. But that doesn't mean the metropolitan area supports your school. But at Memphis, it does. And it's known. If Memphis is on a Memphis kid, it's a wrap. You better have a crazy hook to think you can go into Memphis and beat Memphis for a Memphis kid."
"They've got the NBA arena, the history, the fan base, a really good recruiting pool there. They do have a leg up on the rest," another coach said. "The NBA arena is a difference-maker and Memphis has players everywhere. Memphis has a different feel to it."
Then there's Penny. The former NBA All-Star Hardaway is a Memphis native who played at Memphis and then coached high school and AAU ball in Memphis following 14 years in the NBA. He has his own shoe line with Nike. Although his stewardship of the program has not been without its complications, Hardaway still has the "it" factor on the recruiting trail.
"Penny is just so connected," one coach said. "In a recruiting battle, he is so persuasive. He understands it at a high level. He's connected with agents, he's connected with relationships that matter. He's connected with AAU coaches, because he was an AAU coach. He's got relationships with so many coaches across the country. And I think he's really good at [recruiting]. There's something to be said when he was a top-five high school player himself. He kind of understands that life, certainly better than I do. He's pushing a really good product. Pro arena, great town, great city that loves basketball, they care about basketball."
While Memphis-area prospects have provided the Tigers with an endless supply of talent over the years, there can be a negative for being so reliant on the home city for players -- and that's an issue for most schools that have to recruit one city so heavily. Navigating the different high school and grassroots programs sometimes leads to issues.
"I think one of their biggest recruiting knocks is they do rely heavily on Memphis," one coach said. "If you're a big-time national kid, but there's a local Memphian already at your position, you might get caught in a political game. That could be a detriment. If all things are even or pretty even, they gotta play the Memphis kid."
Tier 2
Houston Cougars
Cincinnati Bearcats
Memphis was the clear No. 1 for every coach polled, despite the Tigers not having the most recent on-court success in the league.
That title would clearly go to Houston, which is a miracle Jordan Poole buzzer-beater from reaching three consecutive Sweet 16s. Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars have been in the national conversation for four straight seasons, and reached the Final Four in 2021. There's also history, highlighted by the Phi Slama Jama days in the 1980s and a pair of Final Four appearances in the 1960s.
"They don't have quite the hook in Houston as Memphis does in Memphis, but they've become really hard to beat for a Houston kid," one coach said. "Louisiana has been really good to them. They're right on I-10. Four-and-a-half hours to New Orleans, three hours to Baton Rouge. They got [DeJon] Jarreau, [Brison] Gresham, Corey Davis out of there. They've done a lot of work in Louisiana."
The money the school has spent in upgrading the program is noticed by rival coaches in the league, too.
"Since they've been there, there's been $85 million in facility upgrades, $60 million in renovations on their arena. They have a state-of-the-art practice facility, development center," one coach said. "None of it was in place before Kelvin got there. It's a total game-changer."
"Houston has sold out to being really good in basketball," another one added. "Charter flights, private planes for recruiting. They have everything they need to be really good at Houston."
Texas is arguably the most fertile state for basketball talent in the country right now, which gives Houston a great talent pool to recruit from. With that said, the Cougars' rivals within the state have something to say about it. Baylor just won a national championship, Texas Tech played in the previous national title game, and Texas just hired Chris Beard and a highly paid coaching staff.
The gap between Memphis and Houston also has to do with the latter's struggles in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Cougars made one NCAA tournament between 1992 and 2018.
"Memphis is probably about 15 years ahead of Houston in terms of getting it going," one coach said. "In 2003 they hit a different stride, and they didn't quite go through the abyss that Houston did -- the huge drought of NCAA tournaments. They've always stayed relevant. They had a couple lean years [in the] Tic Price [era], but they never totally bottomed out like Houston did."
Under Mick Cronin, Cincinnati was one of the most consistent programs in college basketball. The Bearcats finished in the top three of the AAC standings every year under Cronin, winning two regular-season titles and reaching the NCAA tournament all six seasons Cronin coached in the American.
Since Cronin left, it hasn't quite been the same. John Brannen won 20 games in 2020, but was fired this spring following an internal investigation into the program. New head coach Wes Miller is walking into a pretty good situation, though; Cincinnati still has outstanding history and tradition, great fan support and a pretty strong brand in the Midwest.
"I think it's their brand and their commitment to facilities," one coach said. "They probably have the best 'athletic village' setup in our league. Nobody has the setup that they do in our league, as far as football, baseball, everything. They've done a great job as an athletic department in terms of putting a really nice product together for all their sports. You get a kid on campus, you have the ability to raise some eyebrows."
One thing that sometimes makes it difficult to gauge where Cincinnati stacks up as a recruiting program is that Cronin rarely went after a slew of top-100-caliber prospects. He pursued a certain type of player, one that fit his system at both ends of the floor.
"Mick Cronin was never landing 'dudes.' He was getting blue-collar, nasty, three-star guys. It's not like [former AAC player of the Year Jarron] Cumberland was the No. 1 player in the country," one coach said. "They kept finding Mick Cronin-type guys that fit him and made it easy. I think Wes is terrific. We'll see what direction he goes."
The Bearcats' location in the middle of several college basketball powerhouses can pose problems on the recruiting trail, although Cronin consistently went to the Northeast to take a few players and Miller might have to do something similar.
"There's so many kids in the Midwest. Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana. Cincinnati does yeoman's work in that part of the world," an AAC coach said. "It's such a powerful brand. They've done a great job of getting kids off the East Coast. And now Wes Miller is so beloved in the state of North Carolina, he can run to Carolina and get some things done.
"But Cincinnati, anywhere you look -- east, west, north south -- programs have gotten it going," the coach continued. "Xavier is in their own city, so you're not even the local school. You don't even get a Cincinnati kid without a local fight. That makes it tough for both programs. Both have had such awesome recent successes, but you don't even get to dominate your city."
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Sales Pitch: Which AAC schools have the most to offer recruits, transfers?
Jeff Borzello talked to anonymous coaches about the American men's basketball programs that have the most and fewest recruiting advantages.
Sales Pitch: Ranking the American Athletic Conference recruiting jobs in tiers
Last month, we started our Sales Pitch series by ranking the schools in the ACC based on the quality of their enticements for men's basketball recruits and then moved on to the Big East, where we examined whether anyone in the league can close the recruiting gap on Villanova. We followed that up with the Big Ten, and the biggest first tier we've seen of any conference so far, and the Pac-12, where UCLA and Arizona are keeping the rest of the league at arm's length. Last week we continued with the SEC, where everyone continues to chase Kentucky on the recruiting trail.
This week, we continue our exercise with the American. Despite losing UConn back to the Big East in 2020-21, the league produced a Final Four team (Houston) and can also claim a top-ranked recruiting class and No. 1 pick in recent memory (Memphis, James Wiseman). The bottom of the league is weighing it down, both from a recruiting standpoint and in the standings, but the top half is consistently competitive. One school has separated itself with its sales pitch, however.
As a reminder, ESPN spoke with a wide variety of anonymous coaches across college basketball's top seven leagues (as rated by KenPom and other relevant metrics systems), as well as nationally relevant programs beyond those conferences, for our Sales Pitch feature. Over an eight-week period, we'll rank the programs in order of which have the best sales pitches for recruits and transfers.
Tier 1
Memphis Tigers
While Memphis hasn't had the most recent success in the AAC, the Tigers are widely considered the most established program in the league, and clearly the best recruiting program in the league. They landed the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 2019, led by No. 1 recruit and eventual No. 1 NBA draft pick James Wiseman, as well as five-star prospects Precious Achiuwa and D.J. Jeffries.
We'll get to Penny Hardaway shortly, but even removing him from the equation, Memphis still has a terrific pitch: The Tigers play their home games at FedExForum, it's a basketball-rich city, and Memphis kids want to play at Memphis.
"It's on a different shelf than everyone else in our league," one AAC coach said. "It's the access to local talent. One of the things about our league, 90% of us are in a metropolitan area. But that doesn't mean the metropolitan area supports your school. But at Memphis, it does. And it's known. If Memphis is on a Memphis kid, it's a wrap. You better have a crazy hook to think you can go into Memphis and beat Memphis for a Memphis kid."
"They've got the NBA arena, the history, the fan base, a really good recruiting pool there. They do have a leg up on the rest," another coach said. "The NBA arena is a difference-maker and Memphis has players everywhere. Memphis has a different feel to it."
Then there's Penny. The former NBA All-Star Hardaway is a Memphis native who played at Memphis and then coached high school and AAU ball in Memphis following 14 years in the NBA. He has his own shoe line with Nike. Although his stewardship of the program has not been without its complications, Hardaway still has the "it" factor on the recruiting trail.
"Penny is just so connected," one coach said. "In a recruiting battle, he is so persuasive. He understands it at a high level. He's connected with agents, he's connected with relationships that matter. He's connected with AAU coaches, because he was an AAU coach. He's got relationships with so many coaches across the country. And I think he's really good at [recruiting]. There's something to be said when he was a top-five high school player himself. He kind of understands that life, certainly better than I do. He's pushing a really good product. Pro arena, great town, great city that loves basketball, they care about basketball."
While Memphis-area prospects have provided the Tigers with an endless supply of talent over the years, there can be a negative for being so reliant on the home city for players -- and that's an issue for most schools that have to recruit one city so heavily. Navigating the different high school and grassroots programs sometimes leads to issues.
"I think one of their biggest recruiting knocks is they do rely heavily on Memphis," one coach said. "If you're a big-time national kid, but there's a local Memphian already at your position, you might get caught in a political game. That could be a detriment. If all things are even or pretty even, they gotta play the Memphis kid."
Tier 2
Houston Cougars
Cincinnati Bearcats
Memphis was the clear No. 1 for every coach polled, despite the Tigers not having the most recent on-court success in the league.
That title would clearly go to Houston, which is a miracle Jordan Poole buzzer-beater from reaching three consecutive Sweet 16s. Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars have been in the national conversation for four straight seasons, and reached the Final Four in 2021. There's also history, highlighted by the Phi Slama Jama days in the 1980s and a pair of Final Four appearances in the 1960s.
"They don't have quite the hook in Houston as Memphis does in Memphis, but they've become really hard to beat for a Houston kid," one coach said. "Louisiana has been really good to them. They're right on I-10. Four-and-a-half hours to New Orleans, three hours to Baton Rouge. They got [DeJon] Jarreau, [Brison] Gresham, Corey Davis out of there. They've done a lot of work in Louisiana."
The money the school has spent in upgrading the program is noticed by rival coaches in the league, too.
"Since they've been there, there's been $85 million in facility upgrades, $60 million in renovations on their arena. They have a state-of-the-art practice facility, development center," one coach said. "None of it was in place before Kelvin got there. It's a total game-changer."
"Houston has sold out to being really good in basketball," another one added. "Charter flights, private planes for recruiting. They have everything they need to be really good at Houston."
Texas is arguably the most fertile state for basketball talent in the country right now, which gives Houston a great talent pool to recruit from. With that said, the Cougars' rivals within the state have something to say about it. Baylor just won a national championship, Texas Tech played in the previous national title game, and Texas just hired Chris Beard and a highly paid coaching staff.
The gap between Memphis and Houston also has to do with the latter's struggles in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Cougars made one NCAA tournament between 1992 and 2018.
"Memphis is probably about 15 years ahead of Houston in terms of getting it going," one coach said. "In 2003 they hit a different stride, and they didn't quite go through the abyss that Houston did -- the huge drought of NCAA tournaments. They've always stayed relevant. They had a couple lean years [in the] Tic Price [era], but they never totally bottomed out like Houston did."
Under Mick Cronin, Cincinnati was one of the most consistent programs in college basketball. The Bearcats finished in the top three of the AAC standings every year under Cronin, winning two regular-season titles and reaching the NCAA tournament all six seasons Cronin coached in the American.
Since Cronin left, it hasn't quite been the same. John Brannen won 20 games in 2020, but was fired this spring following an internal investigation into the program. New head coach Wes Miller is walking into a pretty good situation, though; Cincinnati still has outstanding history and tradition, great fan support and a pretty strong brand in the Midwest.
"I think it's their brand and their commitment to facilities," one coach said. "They probably have the best 'athletic village' setup in our league. Nobody has the setup that they do in our league, as far as football, baseball, everything. They've done a great job as an athletic department in terms of putting a really nice product together for all their sports. You get a kid on campus, you have the ability to raise some eyebrows."
One thing that sometimes makes it difficult to gauge where Cincinnati stacks up as a recruiting program is that Cronin rarely went after a slew of top-100-caliber prospects. He pursued a certain type of player, one that fit his system at both ends of the floor.
"Mick Cronin was never landing 'dudes.' He was getting blue-collar, nasty, three-star guys. It's not like [former AAC player of the Year Jarron] Cumberland was the No. 1 player in the country," one coach said. "They kept finding Mick Cronin-type guys that fit him and made it easy. I think Wes is terrific. We'll see what direction he goes."
The Bearcats' location in the middle of several college basketball powerhouses can pose problems on the recruiting trail, although Cronin consistently went to the Northeast to take a few players and Miller might have to do something similar.
"There's so many kids in the Midwest. Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana. Cincinnati does yeoman's work in that part of the world," an AAC coach said. "It's such a powerful brand. They've done a great job of getting kids off the East Coast. And now Wes Miller is so beloved in the state of North Carolina, he can run to Carolina and get some things done.
"But Cincinnati, anywhere you look -- east, west, north south -- programs have gotten it going," the coach continued. "Xavier is in their own city, so you're not even the local school. You don't even get a Cincinnati kid without a local fight. That makes it tough for both programs. Both have had such awesome recent successes, but you don't even get to dominate your city."
CONTINUED...
