Hoops with P
#3- The Final preseason edition

In celebration of media day (seasons around the corner) decide to rank the AAC top 50 players. a few sites are doing this for other conferences, pretty sure no one is doing this for the AAC... so why not

This is a preseason list; there will undoubtbly be a 3* freshman to blow up or some deep bench from last season who will play big with the guys in from on them gone.. hard to justify them in a preseason list today

hierarchy of importance
- production last season (in current team, and quality of that team)
- projected impact for coming season (within the team and amount of wins)
- production last season (at another college, quality of that team/conference)
- recruit ranking for freshman
- preseason coach's hype/tour production

*This is solely based on next season, not long term potential

The AAC Top 50



1 James Wiseman -MEMPHIS - top recruit
2 Jarron Cumberland -CINCINNATI
3 Dejon Jarreau -HOUSTON
4 Alexis Yetna -South Florida
5 Quinton Rose -TEMPLE
6 Quentin Grimes -HOUSTON via Kansas (waiver*)
7 Martins Igbanu -TULSA
8 Precious Achiuwa -MEMPHIS - top recruit
9 David Collins -South Florida
10 Alterique Gilbert -UCONN

11 Laquincy Rideau -South Florida
12 Jaime Echenique -WICHITA
13 NPL -TEMPLE
14 Kieth Williams -CINCINNATI
15 Nate Hinton -HOUSTON
16 Jayden Gardener -ECU
17 Dexter Dennis -WICHITA
18 Josh Carlton -UCONN
19 DJ Jeffries -MEMPHIS - top recruit
20 KJ Lawson -TULANE via Kansas

21 Tre Scott -CINCINNATI
22 Ethan Chargois -SMU
23 Christian Vital -UCONN
24 Collin Smith -UCF
25 Fabian White -HOUSTON
26 Damion Baugh -MEMPHIS - top recruit
27 Isiaha Mike -SMU
28 Boogie Ellis -MEMPHIS - top recruit
29 Zach Harvey -CINCINNATI - top recruit
30 Jeriah Horne -TULSA

31 Lester Quinones -MEMPHIS - top recruit
32 Dazon Ingram- UCF via Bama
33 Darius McNeill -SMU via Cal (waiver*)
34 Monty Scott -TEMPLE via Kennesaw State
35 Jaevin Cumberland -CINCINNATI via Oakland
36 Ray Ona Embo -TULANE
37 Tyson Jolly -SMU via Juco
38 Kendric Davis -SMU via TCU (waiver*)
40 Reggie Jones -TULSA via Western Michigan

41 Tyler Harris -MEMPHIS
42 Matt Milon -UCF via William & Mary
43 Feron Hunt -SMU
44 Jamarius Burton -WICHITA
45 Tremont Robinson -ECU via Juco
46 Akok Akok -UCONN - top recruit
47 Yuat Alok -UCF via TCU/Juco (mid-year eligibility)
48 Michael Durr -South Florida
49 James Bouknight -UCONN - top recruit
50 Trey Wade -WICHITA via Juco

Justed missed the top 50/ or wanted to rank but hard to justify at this point
Kevin Zhang (Tulane) Tyson Etienne (Wichita) Caleb Mills (Houston) Ceasar DeJesus (UCF) Zach Dawson (USF/Transfer) Seth Leday (ECU)

Breakdown by school
Memphis 7
SMU 6*
Cincinnati 5
UConn 5
Wichita 4
USF 4
UCF 4
Houston 4*
Temple 3
Tulsa 3
ECU 2
Tulane 2

if you want any justification for any of the rankings let me know

I think giving SMU 5 with waivers included and not mentioning Brandon Rachal who was NJCAA second team (Former Top 150 recruit) as well as Keyshawn Embery Simpson (Arkansas transfer and former 150 recruit) is an oversight.

I'm not making an argument for his inclusion in the top 50, but i'm curious how you evaluate Asbjorn Midtgaard. He came on pretty strong the second half of last year and quite a few WSU fans are expecting him to take another leap this year.

(10-15-2019 11:55 AM)Wheatshock Wrote:  I'm not making an argument for his inclusion in the top 50, but i'm curious how you evaluate Asbjorn Midtgaard. He came on pretty strong the second half of last year and quite a few WSU fans are expecting him to take another leap this year.

he would have been in the top 50 if he was a starter...lower top 50 but in there.
with jaime healthy this season..udeze healthy this season, and poohbear playing decent...even if his quality of play increased his minutes might decrease

(10-15-2019 11:55 AM)invisiblehand Wrote:  I think giving SMU 5 with waivers included and not mentioning Brandon Rachal who was NJCAA second team (Former Top 150 recruit) as well as Keyshawn Embery Simpson (Arkansas transfer and former 150 recruit) is an oversight.

rachal
we (me or tulsa fans) cant say for certain if Rachal is going to be a starter. ive listened to a few haith preseason interviews

in 2 he goes over the new players, the 1st time he brushes over rachal barely mentioning him, spending most of the time talking about hill..the second time he just said rachal is very good on defense....
im ranking reggie jones because he has said reggie jones can be as impactful as jeffries.

Rachals shooting percentages (despite good production) brings up a question mark aswell
hard to justify him over anyone listed at this points

embry
embry was flatout not good in arkansas..he is known for shooting 3s (his skillset) and did it at 27% his return to tulsa is supposed bring him back to form..he has to show he can return back to his potential before you can rank him....

the smu waivers
kendric davis- would have started at TCU had he stayed (tcu a projected top 50 team), and it was a shook to tcu fans when he left..was very productive in comparison to his minutes last year..

darius mcniell- cal was bad, but cal was still in the pac12, he was a high volume scorer for cal against pac 12 defenses.. he carried cal over an upset over top 25 Washington last season

(10-15-2019 12:20 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 11:55 AM)invisiblehand Wrote:  I think giving SMU 5 with waivers included and not mentioning Brandon Rachal who was NJCAA second team (Former Top 150 recruit) as well as Keyshawn Embery Simpson (Arkansas transfer and former 150 recruit) is an oversight.

rachal
we (me or tulsa fans) cant say for certain if racahl is going to be a start. ive listened to a few haith preseason interviews

in 2 he goes over the new players twice, the 1st time he brushs over rachal barely mentioning him, and spending most of the time talking about hill..the second time he just said rachal is very good on defense....
im ranking reggie jones becuase he has said reggie jones can be as impactful as jeffries..

his shooting percenategs (despite good prosecution) bring up a question mark aswell
hard to justifiy him over anyone at this points

embry
embry was flatout not good in arkansas..he is known for shooting 3s (his skillset) and did it at 27% his return to tulsa is supposed bring him back to form..he has to show he can return back to his potential before you can rank him....

the smu waivers
kendric davis- would have started at TCU had he stayed (tcu a projected top 50 team), and it was a shock to tcu fans when he left..was very productive in comparison to his minutes last year..

darius mcniell- cal was bad, but cal was still in the pac12, he was a high volume scorer for cal against pac 12 defenses.. he carried cal over an upset over top 25 Washington last season

I'm not saying the SMU guys shouldn't be on there. But Davis only averaged 6 ppg at TCU. Rachal averaged about 4.5 in slightly fewer minutes, but he was also a JUCO all american just like Tyson Jolly was (who you included) and several of the other guys on your list that were JUCO's weren't even included on the All American teams at all. Rachal isn't going to be expected to shoot 3's for us. He's going to be a defensive wing that specializes in slashing to the basket. He shoot's 55% on 2 point attempts which is respectable for a guard. He's also an excellent rebounder for his size.

Embery is a bit more complicated in that he needs a waiver. He also is rumored to have been playing through a foot injury last season at Arkansas which was probably what effected his jumper. I get leaving him off, but if he returns to form he could be in the top 25 of your list.

(10-15-2019 12:27 PM)invisiblehand Wrote:  I'm not saying the SMU guys shouldn't be on there. But Davis only averaged 6 ppg at TCU. Rachal averaged about 4.5 in slightly fewer minutes, but he was also a JUCO all american just like Tyson Jolly was (who you included) and several of the other guys on your list that were JUCO's weren't even included on the All American teams at all. Rachal isn't going to be expected to shoot 3's for us. He's going to be a defensive wing that specializes in slashing to the basket. He shoot's 55% on 2 point attempts which is respectable for a guard. He's also an excellent rebounder for his size.

Embery is a bit more complicated in that he needs a waiver. He also is rumored to have been playing through a foot injury last season at Arkansas which was probably what effected his jumper. I get leaving him off, but if he returns to form he could be in the top 25 of your list.

the 3 jucos listed
Tyson Jolly was a juco 1st team all american, already established as a starter, a probable captain. had better stats than rachal (jolly #5 juco, rachal was 15)

Tremont Robinson would have been a juco all american had he played, he had an elite freshmen year (led his juco conference in scoring, steals, blocks, asts, fg%, 3pt%) the crazy one is blocks as a 6'1 PG..he received tons of offers like auburn & cal early..ecu got him to commit early and got him to remove himself from the team, so he would have 3 years eligibility instead of 2.. already named starter (tho he is injured right now)

wade is only ranked because of his offers, being the best player at Wichita's scrimmage, and Gregg Marshall hyping him up.. nothing he did at juco was top 50

----
kendric davis isnt a high volume scorer, he is known for big time agility/handles, pestering defense and assists..per possession he was the 2nd best on the team in steals and assists (2nd to the pg infront of him, who graduated)..

keyshawn was known for high volume scoring, that was his calling card, especially from 3..he was the 3pt shooting guy, who shot horrible ..

what skillset would you use to justify him being top 50??
im not saying he cant be top 50, but he has to show he can do it at the college level
almost no justification at this point

You have Gardner too low.

(10-15-2019 01:14 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  You have Gardner too low.

would you trade npl for gardner on temple?

(10-15-2019 01:04 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 12:27 PM)invisiblehand Wrote:  I'm not saying the SMU guys shouldn't be on there. But Davis only averaged 6 ppg at TCU. Rachal averaged about 4.5 in slightly fewer minutes, but he was also a JUCO all american just like Tyson Jolly was (who you included) and several of the other guys on your list that were JUCO's weren't even included on the All American teams at all. Rachal isn't going to be expected to shoot 3's for us. He's going to be a defensive wing that specializes in slashing to the basket. He shoot's 55% on 2 point attempts which is respectable for a guard. He's also an excellent rebounder for his size.

Embery is a bit more complicated in that he needs a waiver. He also is rumored to have been playing through a foot injury last season at Arkansas which was probably what effected his jumper. I get leaving him off, but if he returns to form he could be in the top 25 of your list.

the 3 jucos listed
Tyson Jolly was a juco 1st team all american, already established as a starter, a probable captain. had better stats than rachal (jolly #5 juco, rachal was 15)

Tremont Robinson would have been a juco all american had he played, he had an elite freshmen year (led his juco conference in scoring, steals, blocks, asts, fg%, 3pt%) the crazy one is blocks as a 6'1 PG..he received tons of offers like auburn & cal early..ecu got him to commit early and got him to remove himself from the team, so he would have 3 years eligibility instead of 2.. already named starter (tho he is injured right now)

wade is only ranked because of his offers, being the best player at Wichita's scrimmage, and Gregg Marshall hyping him up.. nothing he did at juco was top 50

----
kendric davis isnt a high volume scorer, he is known for big time agility/handles, pestering defense and assists..per possession he was the 2nd best on the team in steals and assists (2nd to the pg infront of him, who graduated)..

keyshawn was known for high volume scoring, that was his calling card, especially from 3..he was the 3pt shooting guy, who shot horrible ..

what skillset would you use to justify him being top 50??
im not saying he cant be top 50, but he has to show he can do it at the college level
almost no justification at this point

I just know the level that Jolly and Embery played at in high school (remember they're both Oklahoma kids) Embery was a better player than Jolly, no offense to Jolly... he was committed to Tulsa for a short period of time. Jolly also didn't show much at Baylor. (His stats in JUCO were great to be fair)

I think Embery can light it up to the same degree most people in the conference can. In high school he was having offensive duels with the likes of Trae Young. I know HS isn't always evident, but I'd bet Embery is better than what he showed at Arkansas.

KJ Lawson is high. He was an inefficient, high usage rate player on a bad Memphis team and an inefficient, low minute reserve for an inconsistent KU team. He will get high counting stats because he will have a high usage rate but he wont be a top 20 player in this league.

Im not going to debate because most of these guys I only know their names, but the coaches had Gardner 7th based on preseason All-Conference votes. You have him 16th. I think it’s fair to say he’s a little low.

(10-15-2019 01:30 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 01:14 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  You have Gardner too low.

would you trade npl for gardner on temple?

I love Nate, so it's hard to say yes, but we need better bigs, so probably.

Aren't there 6 SMU players on your top 50 list?

Also, you skipped #39 so there is room for one more player on the list.

P you are on it. Very well thought out list.

According to P and the media, not sure why we aren't just crowning USF now.

(10-15-2019 02:01 PM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  KJ Lawson is high. He was an inefficient, high usage rate player on a bad Memphis team and an inefficient, low minute reserve for an inconsistent KU team. He will get high counting stats because he will have a high usage rate but he wont be a top 20 player in this league.

kj has supposedly been dominant in practice so far...hunter said he established himself as a starter almost immediately, says everyone else is still battling for spots

lawson has 2 years eligibility hunter said he'd be shocked if he uses both, he'll be a 1 and done & in the NBA next season... the had an open practice last week and everyone said he was on another level than everyone else and tulanes roster (and tulanes roster is full of starting grad transfers from other school)

"He was an inefficient, high usage rate player on a bad {Cal} team and an inefficient, low minute reserve for an inconsistent KU team."
same could be said about charlie moore who also transferred to and out of KU like lawson last season..he was doing like 24 a game for depaul in their foreign tour

(10-15-2019 02:38 PM)mustangxc Wrote:  Aren't there 6 SMU players on your top 50 list?

Also, you skipped #39 so there is room for one more player on the list.

lol.. good catch..changed the smu count.....

too lazy to change all the numbering to add 39
...

so ill do the cop out answer-- "39 is us the fans, the 6th man on the court" lol

(10-15-2019 02:11 PM)DowdyPirate Wrote:  Im not going to debate because most of these guys I only know their names, but the coaches had Gardner 7th based on preseason All-Conference votes. You have him 16th. I think it’s fair to say he’s a little low.

i don't think the list was arranged by votes..or that would mean wiseman was 4th place in voting

the coaches voted him anywhere from 6 to 11... also vital was also 6-11.. i have him 23 on my list

(10-15-2019 02:44 PM)Wudizzle Wrote:  According to P and the media, not sure why we aren't just crowning USF now.

but yetna and rideau arent touted for offense...they are also very low on the total count per team