10-24-2018, 04:51 PM
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basket...very-team/
26. Cincy {1st}
UCF won the preseason poll in the American, I am going with reliable ol' Cincy as the best team in the conference for 2018-19. The Bearcats are going to be elite on defense again. They lose Jacob Evans, Gary Clark and Kyle Washington, which is sizable, but they bring back Jarron Cumberland, Cane Broome, Justin Jenifer and Tre Scott. Cumberland's grown into a borderline stellar college player. Mick Cronin's made eight straight NCAA Tournaments and must be listed among the 25 best coaches in the game.
31. UCF {2nd}
The Knights are ranked second here among AAC teams, in part because Cincinnati's more consistent but also because injuries have hurt this school in recent years. But If B.J. Taylor (love watching this guy do his thing) and Tacko Fall can play most if not all UCF's games this season, this team should be back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
40. Houston {3rd}
The Coogs should still have a chance to be bubble-or-better by early March. Losing Rob Gray is a huge hit, but DeJon Jarreau, who sat last season, will be a nice fill-in at lead guard. Then there's Corey Davis Jr., who one coach in the league told me he'd take over every other player in the American. Davis averaged 13.1 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 2017-18 and made 43 percent of his treys. There's enough here to keep UH near the top of the conference.
64. UConn {4th}
The Huskies probably wouldn't rank this high on any other media member's theoretical list of 353 teams. I'm going in though because Dan Hurley's proven to be a borderline great coach already and he has one of the three best players in the American in Jalen Adams. If Alterique Gilbert can stay healthy, the American is going on notice with him and Adams, given how Hurley's been successful with creative and slashing guards.
69. Temple {5th}
This will be Fran Dunphy's final season as a coach. Dunphy's team will have an outside shot at getting into the NCAA Tournament. If Temple can get a huuuuge season from Quinton Rose, that will change things for the better. Dunphy's a Philadelphia basketball legend and one of the most interesting coaches in the game. He also once represented the United States and played alongside Mike Krzyzewski.
78. SMU {6th}
Jarrey Foster is now the standout player for the Ponies, who've had a really enticing star each of the past five seasons. The trouble for SMU is losing Shake Milton to the NBA. Hopefully point guard Jahmal McMurray can become as good as many of the coaches in the league think he'll be. As for Tim Jankovich, a factoid: he's maybe the best guitar player among head coaches in college basketball.
84. Memphis {7th}
Jeremiah Martin (the only player from the Josh Pastner era still on the roster) squeaked into our top 100 (and one) list of the best players in college basketball. Hardaway takes over; the fan base is borderline maniacal over this. But there's so much mystery behind how successful Hardaway can be as a D-I coach/tactician. I'll buy really low to start. Fans care more about whether James Wiseman commits than how the team plays this season anyway.
99. Wichita State {8th}
A tumble is irresistible. The Shockers' top four players are gone. Young talent is there, though. Gregg Marshall gets ample credit for being a top-30 coach in college basketball. If he can manage to get this roster to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, he'll lock up top-15 status in that regard. Markis McDuffie is the lone big name on this roster.
120. Tulsa {9th}
DaQuan Jeffries, Sterling Taplin and Martins Igbanu all should be double-digit scorers for Frank Haith's team. Tulsa's a middle-of-the-pack school in the American. Things are interesting there at the moment; Haith actually gave back some of his salary to help with budget costs in the athletic department.
184. Tulane {10th}
Mike Dunleavy's NBA pedigree has me wondering if and when Tulane gets significantly better and enhances the American's profile in the process. The Green Wave had an NBA prospect -- a good one! -- in Melvin Frazier last season but went just 14-17. Ray Ona Embo and Jordan Cornish now assume the most responsibility.
192. South Florida {11th}
David Collins is the key piece for Brian Gregory's team, which will look a lot difference this year because of how many transfers are going to be in uniform.
273. ECU {12th}
The lowest-ranked team of 2018 among Major 7 conferences are these Pirates, who have hope thanks to super sophomore Shawn Williams and the AAC's most prolific passer, Isaac Fleming.
26. Cincy {1st}
UCF won the preseason poll in the American, I am going with reliable ol' Cincy as the best team in the conference for 2018-19. The Bearcats are going to be elite on defense again. They lose Jacob Evans, Gary Clark and Kyle Washington, which is sizable, but they bring back Jarron Cumberland, Cane Broome, Justin Jenifer and Tre Scott. Cumberland's grown into a borderline stellar college player. Mick Cronin's made eight straight NCAA Tournaments and must be listed among the 25 best coaches in the game.
31. UCF {2nd}
The Knights are ranked second here among AAC teams, in part because Cincinnati's more consistent but also because injuries have hurt this school in recent years. But If B.J. Taylor (love watching this guy do his thing) and Tacko Fall can play most if not all UCF's games this season, this team should be back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
40. Houston {3rd}
The Coogs should still have a chance to be bubble-or-better by early March. Losing Rob Gray is a huge hit, but DeJon Jarreau, who sat last season, will be a nice fill-in at lead guard. Then there's Corey Davis Jr., who one coach in the league told me he'd take over every other player in the American. Davis averaged 13.1 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 2017-18 and made 43 percent of his treys. There's enough here to keep UH near the top of the conference.
64. UConn {4th}
The Huskies probably wouldn't rank this high on any other media member's theoretical list of 353 teams. I'm going in though because Dan Hurley's proven to be a borderline great coach already and he has one of the three best players in the American in Jalen Adams. If Alterique Gilbert can stay healthy, the American is going on notice with him and Adams, given how Hurley's been successful with creative and slashing guards.
69. Temple {5th}
This will be Fran Dunphy's final season as a coach. Dunphy's team will have an outside shot at getting into the NCAA Tournament. If Temple can get a huuuuge season from Quinton Rose, that will change things for the better. Dunphy's a Philadelphia basketball legend and one of the most interesting coaches in the game. He also once represented the United States and played alongside Mike Krzyzewski.
78. SMU {6th}
Jarrey Foster is now the standout player for the Ponies, who've had a really enticing star each of the past five seasons. The trouble for SMU is losing Shake Milton to the NBA. Hopefully point guard Jahmal McMurray can become as good as many of the coaches in the league think he'll be. As for Tim Jankovich, a factoid: he's maybe the best guitar player among head coaches in college basketball.
84. Memphis {7th}
Jeremiah Martin (the only player from the Josh Pastner era still on the roster) squeaked into our top 100 (and one) list of the best players in college basketball. Hardaway takes over; the fan base is borderline maniacal over this. But there's so much mystery behind how successful Hardaway can be as a D-I coach/tactician. I'll buy really low to start. Fans care more about whether James Wiseman commits than how the team plays this season anyway.
99. Wichita State {8th}
A tumble is irresistible. The Shockers' top four players are gone. Young talent is there, though. Gregg Marshall gets ample credit for being a top-30 coach in college basketball. If he can manage to get this roster to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, he'll lock up top-15 status in that regard. Markis McDuffie is the lone big name on this roster.
120. Tulsa {9th}
DaQuan Jeffries, Sterling Taplin and Martins Igbanu all should be double-digit scorers for Frank Haith's team. Tulsa's a middle-of-the-pack school in the American. Things are interesting there at the moment; Haith actually gave back some of his salary to help with budget costs in the athletic department.
184. Tulane {10th}
Mike Dunleavy's NBA pedigree has me wondering if and when Tulane gets significantly better and enhances the American's profile in the process. The Green Wave had an NBA prospect -- a good one! -- in Melvin Frazier last season but went just 14-17. Ray Ona Embo and Jordan Cornish now assume the most responsibility.
192. South Florida {11th}
David Collins is the key piece for Brian Gregory's team, which will look a lot difference this year because of how many transfers are going to be in uniform.
273. ECU {12th}
The lowest-ranked team of 2018 among Major 7 conferences are these Pirates, who have hope thanks to super sophomore Shawn Williams and the AAC's most prolific passer, Isaac Fleming.
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