I appreciate the input from others to learn more about the schools in the American. If any mistakes, please complain to me on Twitter. If you’re a Memphis fan, I simply do not care.
Charlotte
G Lu’Cye Patterson 10.1 ppg
G Isaiah Folkes 5 ppg
G Jackson Threadgill 6.6 ppg
F Dean Reiber 1.8 ppg (Rutgers)
F Igor Milicic 7.7 ppg
Last year’s CBI Champions lost their head coach Ron Sanchez to become an assistant coach at Virginia. You lost your coach to be an assistant elsewhere?!?!?
East Carolina
G Cam Hayes 8.1 ppg (LSU)
G RJ Felton 13.8 ppg
G Quentin Diboundje 7.1 ppg
F Brandon Johnson 12.3 ppg
F Ezra Ausar 9.8 ppg
Standout guard Javon Small transferred to Oklahoma State but the Pirates return a lot from a team who finished 17-18 last season. ECU adds LSU transfer Cam Hayes is expected to play point guard and I think
they finish above .500 with an easy out of conference schedule.
FAU
G Bryan Greenlee 7.3 ppg
G Nick Boyd 8.9 ppg
G Alijah Martin 13.4 ppg
G Johnell Davis 13.8 ppg
C Vladislav Goldin 10.2 ppg
Credit Rick Henderson (@Florida_Owl)
“The Owls of Boca Raton represent the most complete unit returning in all of the American
having staved off a potential feeding frenzy of P5 programs and their agents. Dusty May has all of the tools needed to return to the NCAA Tournament with 90% of the total offense, 86% of 3PT production, and 94% of total rebounding is back. With key players like Alijah Martin, Johnell Davis, Vlad Goldin, and Nick Boyd anchoring their continued style of play they would prove extremely difficult to unseat as the favorite.”
Memphis
G Javhon Quinerly 8.7 ppg (Alabama) 5 th season
G Caleb Mills 13 ppg (FSU) 5 th season
F Jaykwon Walton 13.9 ppg (Wichita State) 4 th season
F David Jones 13.2 ppg (St. John’s) 4 th season
F Jordan Brown 19.3 ppg (Louisiana Lafayette) 5 th season
Javhon Quinerly leads the oldest team in college basketball. Nick Jourdain transferred from Temple to Memphis but I don’t know how much playing time he will get.
Happy 27 th Birthday DeAndre Williams! He may be back for another season if he receives eligibility.
North Texas
G Rubin Jones 6.7 ppg
G C.J. Noland 3.2 ppg
G John Buggs 10.9 ppg (UTSA)
F Aaron Scott 7 ppg
C Moulaye Sissoko 2.5 ppg
Info and starting lineup thanks to @TheUNT6
“I think there are some pretty high expectations within the program but not as much from outside with the turnover of players and coaches. North Texas promoted associate head coach, Ross Hodge, to head coach and he hired some very talented and experienced assistants to boost recruiting and development with guys. After losing McCasland and 3 coaches to Texas Tech,
Tylor Perry to Kansas State, Abou Ousmane to Xavier and Kai Huntsberry graduated, Hodge hit the portal hard landing several D1 transfers in CJ Noland from Oklahoma, Rondel Walker from TCU, John Buggs from UTSA and Jason Edwards from Dodge City CC. With a bit more of a challenging schedule this year, out of conference, and much more challenging in conference slate, I expect some struggles early on but come conference play
they should be in full motion and be top 4 of the conference come AAC tournament time.”
Rice
G Travis Evee 15.6 ppg
G Mekhi Mason 9.9 ppg
G Anthony Selden 11.5 ppg (Gardner Webb)
F Cameron Sheffield 7.6 ppg
C Max Fiedler 11.1 ppg
After scoring 1,487 career points at Rice, Quincy Olivari (18.7 ppg) decided to transfer to Xavier. The Owls return 4 starters, but I just can’t see Rice being good at basketball so I’m not ranking them high.
Last NCAA Tournament bid was 1970.
SMU
G Zhuric Phelps 17.7 ppg
G Chuck Harris 10.4 ppg (Butler)
G Jalen Smith 4.6 ppg
F Samuel Williamson 9.3 ppg
C Mo Nije 1.7 ppg
Courtesy of @rellahcsedaw, here is a preview of each player in starting 5.
Zhuric Phelps – big expectations out of the returning leading scorer. Will hopefully settle into a more natural off-ball role this season. Has worked on refining his offensive skillset and would like to see him be more efficient
Sam Williamson – finally fully healthy. Once a highly regarded shooter, a wrist injury has
hampered his shooting mechanics and forced him to be a close-range scorer. Now that he is
healthy I expect to see him step out and make some 3s. Should help with spacing tremendously
Chuck Harris – Butler transfer and the likely starting PG / primary ball handler. Will be the
veteran leader with experience this team needed. Playing hard is a hallmark of Lanier teams and Harris personifies it
Jalen Smith – one of the best athletes and the best defender on the team. Liable to go games
without taking a shot, so would like to see him lean into his offensive game a bit more
Mo Njie – was slated to be the teams starting center last season before an injury limited him for most of the season. Raw, but you can see the talent. Former all-freshman player at his prior stop. Plays well above the rim and is a shot blocker.
Temple
G Hysier Miller 8.6 ppg
G Jordan Riley 4.6 ppg (Georgetown)
G Jahlil White 5.8 ppg
F Steve Settle 11.1 ppg (Howard)
C Emmanuel Okpomo 1 ppg
Temple was predicted to finish 12 th in the AAC preseason poll; the lowest since being in the league. Miller will lead the Owls at point guard and their best defender Jahlil White is back. The rest of the team is a huge question mark and unpredictable. I hope to someone steps up to be a go to scorer. Jordan
Riley?
Tulane
G Asher Woods 13.2 ppg (VMI)
G Jaylen Forbes 18.5 ppg
F Sion James 9.7 ppg
F Colin Holloway 6.2 ppg
F Kevin Cross 14.8 ppg
Huge news for Tulane as Jaylen Forbes will return for another season. Will they finally make the NCAA Tournament? Another weak out of conference schedule doesn’t help their case.
Tulsa
G Cobe Williams 18.8 ppg (LA Tech)
G Keaston Willis 12.4 ppg (LA Tech)
G Jesaiah McWright 2.5 ppg
F Isaiah Barnes 1.1 ppg (Michigan)
F Jared Garcia 2.3 ppg 2021 stats (Charlotte)
A big turnover from a 5 win team last year with a lot of new faces. Eric Konkol brings in a couple guards from his previous school Louisiana Tech. I reached out to @GoldenHurricast but no luck this year.
UAB
G Eric Gaines 11.5 ppg
G Alenjandro Vasquez
G James White 4 ppg (Mississippi)
F Yaxel Lendeborg
F Javian Davis 6.1 ppg
“Prediction on starting 5 would be Gaines, Vasquez, White, Yax, and JD. Ortiz and Coleman round out the top 7 but expect to play 9 or 10 (in some games). Expectations are to compete right away in the AAC even with transfers in.” – @blazerpod
USF
G Selton Miguel 10.3 ppg
G Chris Youngblood 14.7 ppg (Kennesaw)
G Brandon Stroud 9.2 ppg (Kennesaw)
F Sam Hines 6.8 ppg
F Corey Walker 3.5 ppg
Info from Robert Steeg
“Expectations for USF men’s basketball this year should be relatively high. The hiring of Amir
Abur-Rahim from Kennessaw St may directly inject some juice back into this program that was
sorely missed under the previous leadership. AAR brought in three cornerstone pieces from his
KSU team that made the NCAA tournament, three JUCO studs, two productive transfers from
mid major programs, and two talented freshmen to shore up with the three holdover players
from last year’s squad. There’s some positive hype around the team being able to turn the
corner quickly and compete in a re-tooled AAC this upcoming season.”
UTSA
G Christian Tucker 4.8 ppg
G Jordan Ivy-Curry 10.3 ppg (Pacific)
F Justin Thomas 7.3 ppg (Milwaukee)
F Massal Diouf 2 ppg
C Carlton Linguard 1.3 ppg (Kansas State 2021)
“No clue what to expect this year for the Roadrunners other than them being pretty bad. Most fans expected to see Steve Henson let go, but the administration gave him another year. If Jordan Ivy-Curry gets an instant eligibility waiver (second transfer) he’ll be a starter. Carlton Linguard will start at center. Then I think Christian Tucker, Massal Diouf, and Justin Thomas probably round out the starting five. If Ivy-Curry is ineligible, then Dre Fuller probably gets the
nod at SG.” @jaredutsa
Wichita State
G Xavier Bell 4 ppg
G Colby Rogers 14.1 ppg (Siena 2021)
G Bijan Cortes 3.2 ppg (Oklahoma)
G Harnold Beverly 3.5 ppg (Miami)
C Kenny Pohto 8.6 ppg
I think this is the year the Shockers finally emerge as one of the better teams in American. Colby Rogers is now eligible to play.
We Give a Hoot TU 