Team previews for every Wichita State opponent in the AAC this season

Coach: Mick Cronin, 12th season, 268-140. 2017-18 record: 31-5 (16-2), lost to Nevada in NCAA second round. Key losses: F Gary Clark (12.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 1.4 spg); G Jacob Evans (13.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.0 bpg; F Kyle Washington (11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg).

Scouting the Cincinnati Bearcats: Like Marshall at WSU, Cronin has his system fully installed at Cincinnati. Every season the Bearcats are going to get after it on the defensive end and focus on rebounding. And just like for Marshall, defense and rebounding has been a winning formula for Cronin at Cincinnati, which is looking for its ninth straight 22-win season.

Cincinnati loses three studs in Gary Clark, Jacob Evans and Kyle Washington, but has enough talent to contend once again for the AAC title. Many are predicting Jarron Cumberland to step up and become the team’s do-everything player, just like Evans was. Broome will have more freedom on offense and should see his offensive numbers rise this season. But who replaces defensive stalwarts, Clark and Washington?

There’s no good answer to that one. Tre Scott and Nysier Brooks have nice size and have produced alright in limited minutes, but Cincinnati will need them to defend and rebound at a high level for 20-plus minutes because there’s not much depth behind them. What the Bearcats should have a wealth of this season is wing scorers, as Rashawn Fredericks (JuCo All-American), Keith Williams (former four-star recruit) and Trevor Moore all should be impact scorers off the bench.

Cincinnati has a proven track record, a burgeoning star in Cumberland and enough depth to be at the top of the American this season. But if the Bearcats are going to be a great team, then they’re going to need a lot of unproven talents to step up this season. That’s not too difficult to imagine.

Coach: Dan Hurley, first season. 2017-18 record: 14-18 (7-11), no postseason. Key losses: G Terry Larrier (13.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg); G Antwoine Anderson (7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.1 spg); F David Onuorah (1.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg).

Scouting the Connecticut Huskies: Excitement has returned to Storrs, where Dan Hurley has taken over the program and has UConn fans thinking about the NCAA Tournament again. And for good reason, UConn returns one of the best playmakers in the AAC in senior guard Jalen Adams, who averaged 18 points last season. He should once again be great in Hurley’s system and if he adds some consistency to his outside shot, then watch out.

UConn loves playing three-guard lineups and it’s able to pull it off defensively because Christian Vital plays much bigger than his 6-2 size. He rebounds extremely well and is a good defender. Alterique Gilbert is a former top-50 recruit who has a ton of potential, but has been injured the last two seasons. With Adams and Gilbert creating, Vital and Tyler Polley (42 percent on threes as a freshman) should get a ton of open looks from those two.

The question is can Polley defend inside? His rebounding numbers aren’t impressive and his 200-pound frame doesn’t suggest that he can. UConn can go big though with Eric Cobb (6-9) and Josh Carlton (6-10). Neither have proven much on the offensive end, but they can rebound and defend. UConn should have pretty good depth this season and has a ton of talent on the roster.

But UConn has had depth and talent before and struggled to win in the American. A change to Hurley should help, but I’m not sure that will be an instant fix in Year One. Still, the Huskies should be dangerous this season with the backcourt talent they have.

Coach: Joe Dooley, first season. 2017-18 record: 10-20 (4-14), no postseason. Key losses: G B.J. Tyson (14.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.7 apg); G Kentrell Barkley (12.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.2 apg); F Jabari Craig (5.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.1 bpg); G Aaron Jackson (2.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg).

Scouting the East Carolina Pirates: The good news is that Joe Dooley has returned to East Carolina. The bad news is that this is going to take multiple years to rebuild to make up the talent gap between ECU and the top-half of the AAC. The Pirates have some nice talent like guards Isaac Fleming and Shawn Williams, but they need more depth to compete in the AAC.

Losing B.J. Tyson and Kentrell Barkley is tough, but Williams, the AAC Rookie of the Year, should be able to thrive with an increased role on offense. Fleming is a returning starter at point guard and is a good distributor, but will likely have to take on more offense. Sophomore Dimitrije Spasojevic was solid as a freshman, but not a standout.

The rest of the team is unproven. Virginia Tech transfer Seth LeDay is intriguing and apparently is an elite athlete, but he hasn’t played basketball in two years. And the rest of ECU’s rotation is filled out by unproven sophomores and freshmen. It’s not looking like ECU will be able to escape a bottom-three finish in the conference.

Coach: Kelvin Sampson, fifth season, 83-48. 2017-18 record: 27-8 (14-4), lost to Michigan in NCAA second round. Key losses: G Rob Gray (19.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.1 spg); F Devin Davis (10.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg); G Wes VanBeck (6.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 apg); F Nura Zanna (2.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg).

Scouting the Houston Cougars: Houston had a tremendous 27-win season and would have been a Sweet 16 team if not for a buzzer-beater that ultimately allowed Michigan to play for a national championship. Gone is Rob Gray, one of the AAC’s best playmakers, and Devin Davis, a reliable post. But Kelvin Sampson has a lot of returning talent to work with and Houston is adding a lot of players who should be able to help immediately.

I loved Corey Davis’ game last year and he should slide over from being Gray’s sidekick last year to being the No. 1 guy this season. Davis posted crazy efficient numbers on pretty good volume last season. He averaged 13.1 points per game and made 42 percent beyond the arc on basically seven attempts per game. All of this on top of being a terrific on-ball defender. Now that this is his team, Davis should be in store for a monster senior season.

But he won’t have to do it all alone. Robinson is as steady as they come at point guard and Brooks was a sniper off the bench last year. Freshman Nate Hinton is a four-star recruit and was already tabbed by AAC coaches as the preseason Freshman of the Year. And don’t sleep on UMass transfer DeJon Jarreau, who is a former top-50 recruit. He’s long at 6-5, can defend multiple positions, and was one of the nation’s best creators starting as a freshman at UMass. Hinton and Jarreau should make an instant impact.

The question comes down to the post play. Breaon Brady is talented, but foul-prone. He’s a force in the paint if he can stay out of foul trouble. Fabian White was excellent in limited minutes last season and should thrive in a bigger role, although he’s working his way back from off-season foot surgery. Cedrick Alley redshirted last season, but could make an immediate impact. He was Mr. Basketball in Texas in 2017 and is a matchup nightmare (6-5 and 230) with the shooting to play the perimeter and size to bang inside.

While there is no replacing Gray, Houston has more than enough pieces to make a run at the AAC title this season. Davis and Robinson are the senior leaders you need at guard and then incoming talents like Hinton, Jarreau, White and Alley should make the Cougars an NCAA Tournament team this season.

Coach: Penny Hardaway, first season. 2017-18 record: 21-13 (10-8), no postseason. Key losses: G Jamal Johnson (6.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg); G Jimario Rivers (6.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.9 apg); G David Nickelberry (2.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg); G Malik Rhodes (2.5 ppg, 1.2 apg).

Scouting the Memphis Tigers: Everyone by now should know that Penny Hardaway has taken over at Memphis. He’s a Memphis native and already has fans excited about the prospects to come after bringing in three top-150 recruits in his first recruiting class.

In fact, Memphis is set to have an all-Memphis backcourt with Alex Lomax, Tyler Harris and Jeremiah Martin. That should be dynamic on offense, as Harris is a pure scorer, Martin is a tremendous playmaker, and Lomax is exactly what you would want in a point guard. But Lomax and Harris are freshmen and Harris is under-sized and has questions about his defense.

But the Tigers have plenty of talent to make a run in Hardaway’s first season. Davenport is one of the most solid players in the AAC and Parks has the size to give the Tigers the rebounding and defense they need in the post. Kareem Brewton and Raynere Thornton are two great options as seniors to bring off the bench and freshman Antwann Jones is a top-100 recruit who should also make an immediate impact.

Memphis should play at a much faster pace this season under Hardaway. They’re probably going to shoot a ton of threes and show some flashes. But can the Tigers grind out games when their shots aren’t falling? Can they get shots through sets or will it be mostly Harris and Martin creating from 1-on-1 play?

Coach: Tim Jankovich, fourth season, 56-21. 2017-18 record: 17-16 (6-12), no postseason. Key losses: G Shake Milton (18.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.4 spg); G Ben Emelogu (10.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.3 spg); F Akoy Agau (5.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg).

Scouting the SMU Mustangs: Injuries ravaged SMU last season, as NBA talents Shake Milton and Jarrey Foster were both lost for the season in January and SMU finished the season 2-9 the last two months.

Losing Milton (and three others in the rotation) is tough, but the good news is SMU has a solid foundation to build around in Foster, who elected to return for his senior year, Jahmal McMurray, Jimmy Whitt, Ethan Chargois and Isiaha Mike, a 6-8 sophomore transfer from Duquesne who is an ideal stretch-four in Tim Jankovich’s system.

If Foster fully recovers from his ACL tear suffered last January at Wichita State, then SMU will have an elite wing defender who also doubles as an efficient scorer. He might be SMU’s best overall player, but its leading scorer should be McMurray, a Topeka native who provides instant offense. He’s taken seven threes per game for his career on 38-percent accuracy and has the ability to swing a game if he catches fire from outside.

I love the way SMU plays under Jankovich and it has the ability to put five shooters on the floor and apply a ton of pressure on defenses. But how do the pieces fit without a playmaker like Milton? And the Mustangs will have to improve their defense and rebounding if they want to contend at the top of the AAC this season.

Coach: Brian Gregory, second season, 10-22. 2017-18 record: 10-22 (3-15), no postseason. Key losses: G Stephan Jiggetts (12.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.3 apg); F Payton Banks (11.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.2 spg); F Isaiah Manderson (8.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg); F Tulio Da Silva (8.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg); G Terrence Samuel (6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg); F Malik Martin (6.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg).

Scouting the South Florida Bulls: There is a ton of turnover going into Year 2 of Brian Gregory in Tampa. The Bulls didn’t have much success last season and probably are going to struggle again this year, but there’s a foundation to work with now.

Justin Brown, David Collins and Nikola Scekic are basically the only returners from last season, but Gregory has brough in some immediate help. LaQuincy Rideau and T.J. Lang are both transfers who should help immediately. Lang is a great shooter and Rideau is a set-up point guard who is also a great defender. Freshman Michael Durr is a 7-footer who has athleticism and could be a shot-blocking menace.

Another wild card could be LSU transfer Mayan Kiir, who was kicked off LSU’s team last season but is a four-star talent. If he finds his game in Tampa, then USF could surprise some people who overlook the Bulls this season.

Coach: Fran Dunphy, 13th season, 247-152. 2017-18 record: 17-16 (8-10), lost to Penn State in NIT first round. Key losses: F Obi Enechionyia (10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.4 bpg); G Josh Brown (9.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.4 apg).

Scouting the Temple Owls: Temple had a lot of talent last season, but it suffered through an up-and-down season that ultimately was a disappointment. The Owls return plenty of talent this season and will surely be motivated to send Fran Dunphy out a winner in his last season of coaching.

Quinton Rose is an NBA talent who is 6-8 with guard skills. He’s almost impossible to stop from attacking the rim and has been working on adding consistency to his outside shot. He’s going to be tough to stop this season, especially with another elite scorer in the same backgroud in Shizz Alston, who is lightning quick and made 40 percent of his threes last season. Nate Pierre-Louis adds an up-and-coming talent too who should do well as a secondary option.

The question marks come in the post. Temple will no longer be able to stretch the floor like it did last season with Obi Enechionyia. De’Vondre Perry is unproven and Ernest Aflakpui is probably nothing more than a great rebounder and defender at this point in his career. But if Temple can get any surprise scoring production from either of them, then that will be huge. The bench is looking light this season, although Alani Moore is a former top-150 recruit who could break out this season.

Temple might have the best 1-2 scoring punch in the conference in Rose and Alston, who should go crazy this season with even more looks going to them this season. But I’m not sure the Owls have enough support to be a consistent winner in a tough conference.

Coach: Mike Dunleavy, third season, 20-42. 2017-18 record: 14-17 (5-13), no postseason. Key losses: G Melvin Frazier (15.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.2 spg); G Cameron Reynolds (15.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.2 apg); G Colin Slater (2.7 ppg, 1.0 apg).

Scouting the Tulane Green Wave: Tulane peaked in terms of talent last season with two bucket-getters in Melvin Frazier and Cameron Reynolds, who combined to average 31 points per game. Replacing that kind of scoring burden is going to be really tough and I don’t see any newcomers who are going to be able to be big-time scorers right away.

I do love the game of Samir Sehic, a 6-9 junior who came off the bench last season for Tulane and was super efficient. He’s a big who is dominant inside and can even step out and hit the occasional three to go along with good rebounding and shot-blocking numbers. Point guard Ray Ona Embo was nice as a secondary option and hit 37 percent of his threes to go along with a nice assist rate, but he’s not going to have Frazier or Reynolds to pass the ball to this season.

Also not helping is that the Green Wave’s entire bench is basically freshmen without any heralded recruits coming in. Maybe one of them breaks out, but right now there’s nothing proven outside of the starting lineup. It’s looking like a rebuilding season for Mike Dunleavy and the Green Wave.

Coach: Frank Haith, fifth season, 77-52. 2017-18 record: 19-12 (12-6), no postseason. Key losses: F Junior Etou (15.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.5 apg); G Corey Henderson (10.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.2 apg); G Jaleel Wheeler (4.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg); F Geno Artison (2.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg).

Scouting the Tulsa Golden Hurricane: Tulsa took a step forward last season after a rebuilding year in 2017. Frank Haith has called this the most talented team he’s had at Tulsa, but it still has some questions to answer if it’s going to out-perform their ninth-place position that the coaches voted them in the preseason poll.

The most pressing issue is is Sterling Taplin can become the team’s go-to scorer. He was excellent as a junior playing in the No. 2 role behind Junior Etou. He was a great distributor and picked his spots well on offense. But with Etou gone, Taplin might have to take over more of the offense. Can his efficiency hold up?

DaQuan Jeffries is undersized but an animal inside for Tulsa. He should be in store for a big senior year and Martins Igabnu has been steady inside for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa will turn to a couple of transfers to make an instant impact, as Zeke Moore (Saint Louis) and Jeriah Horne (Nebraska) are eligible and should provide some much-needed scoring on the wings. Darien Jackson didn’t play much as a freshman, but he has reportedly impressed this summer and could become a great defender right away.

Tulsa might have more overall talent on this year’s roster, but it will still need a go-to scorer if it’s going to be competitive with a loaded (in the middle) American. The Golden Hurricane could certainly out-perform their low preseason ranking if Moore and/or Horne provide that scoring boost this team needs.

Coach: Johnny Dawkins, third season, 43-25. 2017-18 record: 19-13 (9-9), no postseason. Key losses: F A.J. Davis (12.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.2 apg); G Djordjije Mumin (2.9 ppg).

Scouting the UCF Knights: UCF is the popular pick to win the American this season and it’s easy to see why. The Knights are finally healthy and have a nice collection of talent in Johnny Dawkins’ third season in Orlando. B.J. Taylor and Tacko Fall are seniors now, Aubrey Dawkins is finally healthy, and Collin Smith should be an instant impact player after his redshirt season.

If everyone can stay healthy, UCF should be one of the nation’s best defensive teams with the 7-6 Fall in the middle of its zone. He’s a game-changer with his size alone, as teams basically can no longer finish at the rim and they struggle to rebound with Fall sucking up every rebound by the rim. Then you have a playmaker like Taylor, who can create for himself and others, and UCF has a potent 1-2 punch.

Dawkins is an intriguing prospect. He was a great spot-up shooter at Michigan, but hasn’t played in two seasons now. Collin Smith was an excellent shot-blocker and rebounder as a freshman at George Washington, but will that translate to the AAC? Chad Brown is nice insurance in case it doesn’t. Ceasar DeJesus also provides a nice option off the bench to run the offense when Taylor isn’t on the floor. Frank Bertz has impressed this summer and could make an immediate impact with his shooting and defense.

Scoring inside the perimeter might be a nightmare this season against UCF with the length of Fall and Smith. If Dawkins can become a reliable scorer to go next to Taylor, then the Knights not only have a chance to win the AAC but to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

This story was originally published November 3, 2018 at 6:47 PM.