From the Wichita Eagle...full article at the link...
American Athletic basketball’s spring outlook puts Wichita State on top
By Paul Suellentrop
psuellentrop@wichitaeagle.com
The NBA Draft deadline passed with the American Athletic Conference getting a split.
SMU lost AAC Player of the Year Semi Ojeleye, who kept his name in the draft and is projected to go early in the second round. Central Florida center Tacko Fall, the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, elected to return to school.
Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie and Shaq Morris also withdrew their names and will return to school.
That makes it time to look at American rosters for 2017-18, with the warning that things can change during the summer with transfers and open scholarships altering a roster.
ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi projects three American teams in his NCAA Tournament bracket. He sees Wichita State as a No. 3 seed, Cincinnati a No. 4 and SMU a No. 5.
The American would take that — it placed a mere two teams in the field in 2015 and 2017. It will hope the Central Florida, coming off an NIT semifinal berth, and Temple, with a strong recruiting class, can add to that number.
Those seeding projections are also encouraging. An American team hasn’t advanced past the first weekend of the NCAAs since 2014.
Central Florida
(24-12, 11-7), NIT
Coach: Johnny Dawkins (2nd season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 64-219-258
Key losses: The Knights lost seniors G Matt Williams, F Nick Banyard (who played one season at Illinois State) and G Tank Efianayi. Williams started 36 games and averaged 15.1 points.
Key returners: C Tacko Fall, the American’s Defensive Player of the Year, withdrew from the NBA Draft and the Knights can continue thinking about improvement. Fall averaged 10.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. Leading scorer G B.J. Taylor averaged 17.4 points.
Key newcomers: The Knights add four transfers who sat out 2016-17, including guard Dayon Griffin, who averaged 11.3 points at Louisiana Tech as a sophomore. Aubrey Dawkins, Johnny’s son, started nine games at Michigan as a sophomore.
What to expect: Central Florida led the American in field goal defense by holding opponents to 35.6 percent shooting. While the Knights played a patient tempo, turnovers hurt them. They averaged turnovers on 22 percent of their possessions. Taylor runs the team and is a good passer, driver and defender.
Cincinnati
(30-6, 16-2), NCAA Tournament
Coach: Mick Cronin (11th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 12-55-36
Key losses: G Troy Caupain, a second-team All-AAC pick, averaged 10.5 points and 4.4 assists. He led the American in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.4. G Kevin Johnson started all 36 games and averaged 7.9 points and 1.2 steals.
Key returners: F Kyle Washington, second-team All-AAC, averaged 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds. He does most of his damage with his left hand and employs a dangerous lefty hook. F Gary Clark led the Bearcats with an average of 7.9 rebounds. G Jacob Evans made 41.8 percent of his threes and averaged 13.5 points. G Jarron Cumberland shared the AAC’s Sixth Man honor and was named to the All-Rookie team.
Key newcomers: G Cane Broome is expected to boost an experienced team with high expectations. Broome, a transfer from Sacred Heart, was the Northeast Conference Player of the Year in 2016. He averaged 23.1 points and 4.9 rebounds. F Mamoudou Diarra signed with Washington before changing after a coaching change. He chose Cincinnati after also considering Connecticut.
What to expect: The Bearcats are the AAC’s longest-running bully, with seven straight NCAA appearances to their credit. They play a tough, physical style, dominate with defense and aren’t afraid to yap at opponents. If Wichita State wants to perform as the AAC’s best defensive unit, this is the opponent who wears that crown. Mark games with the Bearcats as appointment viewing.
Connecticut
(16-17, 9-9)
Coach: Kevin Ollie (6th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 121-33-82
Key losses: G Rodney Purvis averaged 13.8 points. F Vance Jackson transferred after his freshman season in which he started 21 games and averaged 8.1 points.
Key returners: G Jalen Adams, an All-AAC pick as a sophomore, averaged 14.4 points and 6 assists. Injuries played a large role in UConn’s disappointing season. F Terry Larrier, G Alterique Gilbert and F Mamadou Diarra missed all or most of the season. All three are expected to play in 2017-18.
Key newcomers: Ollie is bringing in five newcomers to replace losses by graduation and transfer. G Antwoine Anderson, a graduate transfer, averaged 11.1 points at Fordham as a junior. F Eric Cobb averaged 10.9 points and 8.2 rebounds at Chipola (Fla.) College. He played in 24 games at South Carolina as a freshman.
What to expect: The Huskies are trying to rebound from their first losing season since 1987. Three front-court players transferred and a top recruit backed out of his commitment and switched to Providence.
East Carolina
(15-18, 6-12)
Coach: Jeff Lebo (8th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 214-220-220
Key losses: G Caleb White averaged 11.8 points and made 35.5 percent of his three-pointers. C Andre Washington led the American with an average of 2.9 blocks, ranking sixth nationally.
Key returners: G Kentrell Barkley led the Pirates with an average of 13.2 points. He shot 188 foul shots (making 128), 73 more than anyone else on the team. G Jeremy Sheppard earned a spot on the AAC’s All-Rookie team after starting 13 games and averaging 9.2 points. He led the Pirates with averages of 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals.
Key newcomers: G Isaac Fleming averaged 9.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in two seasons at Hawaii. He scored 17 points, making 7 of 9 shots, for Hawaii in a 2014 overtime loss to WSU in the Diamond Head Classic.
What to expect: ECU ranked last in the American in scoring (63.3 points), shooting (39.8 percent) and foul shooting (65.7 percent). Lebo underwent hip surgery in January and missed the season’s final 14 games.
Houston
(21-11, 12-6), NIT
Coach: Kelvin Sampson (4th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 62-90-242
Key losses: G Damyean Dotson, an All-AAC selection, averaged 17.4 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Key returners: G Rob Gray led the conference in scoring at 20.6 points to earn all-conference honors. He made 47.3 percent of his shots (38.2 percent behind the arc) and 81.3 percent of his foul shots. G Galen Robinson averaged 4.8 assists, second in the AAC.
Key newcomers: Three Rivers Community College F Gabe Grant, who considered Wichita State, averaged 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. C Breaon Brady, from Saddleback (Calif.) Community College, averaged 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds.
What to expect: Sampson is one of the American’s top coaches and he has the program moving in the right direction. All that is missing is a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars are smart and unselfish with ball – their rate of turnovers on 14.9 percent of their possessions ranks No. 7 nationally, according to kenpom.com. They are also well-school on defense, good at communicating and working as a unit.
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American Athletic basketball’s spring outlook puts Wichita State on top
By Paul Suellentrop
psuellentrop@wichitaeagle.com
The NBA Draft deadline passed with the American Athletic Conference getting a split.
SMU lost AAC Player of the Year Semi Ojeleye, who kept his name in the draft and is projected to go early in the second round. Central Florida center Tacko Fall, the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, elected to return to school.
Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie and Shaq Morris also withdrew their names and will return to school.
That makes it time to look at American rosters for 2017-18, with the warning that things can change during the summer with transfers and open scholarships altering a roster.
ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi projects three American teams in his NCAA Tournament bracket. He sees Wichita State as a No. 3 seed, Cincinnati a No. 4 and SMU a No. 5.
The American would take that — it placed a mere two teams in the field in 2015 and 2017. It will hope the Central Florida, coming off an NIT semifinal berth, and Temple, with a strong recruiting class, can add to that number.
Those seeding projections are also encouraging. An American team hasn’t advanced past the first weekend of the NCAAs since 2014.
Central Florida
(24-12, 11-7), NIT
Coach: Johnny Dawkins (2nd season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 64-219-258
Key losses: The Knights lost seniors G Matt Williams, F Nick Banyard (who played one season at Illinois State) and G Tank Efianayi. Williams started 36 games and averaged 15.1 points.
Key returners: C Tacko Fall, the American’s Defensive Player of the Year, withdrew from the NBA Draft and the Knights can continue thinking about improvement. Fall averaged 10.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. Leading scorer G B.J. Taylor averaged 17.4 points.
Key newcomers: The Knights add four transfers who sat out 2016-17, including guard Dayon Griffin, who averaged 11.3 points at Louisiana Tech as a sophomore. Aubrey Dawkins, Johnny’s son, started nine games at Michigan as a sophomore.
What to expect: Central Florida led the American in field goal defense by holding opponents to 35.6 percent shooting. While the Knights played a patient tempo, turnovers hurt them. They averaged turnovers on 22 percent of their possessions. Taylor runs the team and is a good passer, driver and defender.
Cincinnati
(30-6, 16-2), NCAA Tournament
Coach: Mick Cronin (11th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 12-55-36
Key losses: G Troy Caupain, a second-team All-AAC pick, averaged 10.5 points and 4.4 assists. He led the American in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.4. G Kevin Johnson started all 36 games and averaged 7.9 points and 1.2 steals.
Key returners: F Kyle Washington, second-team All-AAC, averaged 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds. He does most of his damage with his left hand and employs a dangerous lefty hook. F Gary Clark led the Bearcats with an average of 7.9 rebounds. G Jacob Evans made 41.8 percent of his threes and averaged 13.5 points. G Jarron Cumberland shared the AAC’s Sixth Man honor and was named to the All-Rookie team.
Key newcomers: G Cane Broome is expected to boost an experienced team with high expectations. Broome, a transfer from Sacred Heart, was the Northeast Conference Player of the Year in 2016. He averaged 23.1 points and 4.9 rebounds. F Mamoudou Diarra signed with Washington before changing after a coaching change. He chose Cincinnati after also considering Connecticut.
What to expect: The Bearcats are the AAC’s longest-running bully, with seven straight NCAA appearances to their credit. They play a tough, physical style, dominate with defense and aren’t afraid to yap at opponents. If Wichita State wants to perform as the AAC’s best defensive unit, this is the opponent who wears that crown. Mark games with the Bearcats as appointment viewing.
Connecticut
(16-17, 9-9)
Coach: Kevin Ollie (6th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 121-33-82
Key losses: G Rodney Purvis averaged 13.8 points. F Vance Jackson transferred after his freshman season in which he started 21 games and averaged 8.1 points.
Key returners: G Jalen Adams, an All-AAC pick as a sophomore, averaged 14.4 points and 6 assists. Injuries played a large role in UConn’s disappointing season. F Terry Larrier, G Alterique Gilbert and F Mamadou Diarra missed all or most of the season. All three are expected to play in 2017-18.
Key newcomers: Ollie is bringing in five newcomers to replace losses by graduation and transfer. G Antwoine Anderson, a graduate transfer, averaged 11.1 points at Fordham as a junior. F Eric Cobb averaged 10.9 points and 8.2 rebounds at Chipola (Fla.) College. He played in 24 games at South Carolina as a freshman.
What to expect: The Huskies are trying to rebound from their first losing season since 1987. Three front-court players transferred and a top recruit backed out of his commitment and switched to Providence.
East Carolina
(15-18, 6-12)
Coach: Jeff Lebo (8th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 214-220-220
Key losses: G Caleb White averaged 11.8 points and made 35.5 percent of his three-pointers. C Andre Washington led the American with an average of 2.9 blocks, ranking sixth nationally.
Key returners: G Kentrell Barkley led the Pirates with an average of 13.2 points. He shot 188 foul shots (making 128), 73 more than anyone else on the team. G Jeremy Sheppard earned a spot on the AAC’s All-Rookie team after starting 13 games and averaging 9.2 points. He led the Pirates with averages of 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals.
Key newcomers: G Isaac Fleming averaged 9.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in two seasons at Hawaii. He scored 17 points, making 7 of 9 shots, for Hawaii in a 2014 overtime loss to WSU in the Diamond Head Classic.
What to expect: ECU ranked last in the American in scoring (63.3 points), shooting (39.8 percent) and foul shooting (65.7 percent). Lebo underwent hip surgery in January and missed the season’s final 14 games.
Houston
(21-11, 12-6), NIT
Coach: Kelvin Sampson (4th season)
RPI rank in 2017, 2016, 2015: 62-90-242
Key losses: G Damyean Dotson, an All-AAC selection, averaged 17.4 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Key returners: G Rob Gray led the conference in scoring at 20.6 points to earn all-conference honors. He made 47.3 percent of his shots (38.2 percent behind the arc) and 81.3 percent of his foul shots. G Galen Robinson averaged 4.8 assists, second in the AAC.
Key newcomers: Three Rivers Community College F Gabe Grant, who considered Wichita State, averaged 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. C Breaon Brady, from Saddleback (Calif.) Community College, averaged 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds.
What to expect: Sampson is one of the American’s top coaches and he has the program moving in the right direction. All that is missing is a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars are smart and unselfish with ball – their rate of turnovers on 14.9 percent of their possessions ranks No. 7 nationally, according to kenpom.com. They are also well-school on defense, good at communicating and working as a unit.
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