AAC Preseason MBB Power Rankings

[Basketball Jones]

8 hours ago, Friscobull said:

Light years is a stretch, they got squat.  CBG had a dumpster fire of dog poop.  Dawkins has a dumpster that smells but it just has not caught fire yet, name 2 or 3 players that they have that deserves to be starting in the AAC next year.

Collin Smith, Dazon Ingram and Matt Milon?

[granger87]

On 7/1/2019 at 1:34 PM, BullyPulpit said:

We don't need to sneak up on anyone this season. We have a legit squad and will have a chance to make the NCAA tournament. Given our gritty style of play if we see any improvement in shooting from 3 and the FT line, watch out. I expect Durr to take a giant step forward and Yetna to start getting his name mentioned as a possible NBA prospect. The CBI may not have been big on the national radar, but it provided invaluable postseason experience for a squad that really needed it. The players have bought in and believe in CBG and each other. A prime example is the OT victory over Stony Brook. Coming back after trailing by 25 points late in the first half is the type of program defining, trajectory altering victory that often gets overlooked in the big picture.  

I fully expect UCF to fall to the bottom half to bottom third of the league. If they can find a way to make the postseason, then Dawkins is the real deal as an HC and will probably be scooped up by a larger program. 

I'm visiting this site briefly as a Temple alum/fan, and I was really impressed with USF's team when the Owls played them last year, escaping with extremely narrow victories.  I don't know much about the differences in the Bulls team between last season and the next one, but the Bulls were a very young team last season, so I'm assuming that, with a year of experience under their belts, they will be more competitive in the AAC in 2019-20.

Regarding the top half of the AAC  - based on this and other projections that are available - Memphis and Houston seem the consensus top two teams, followed by a group of 5 teams who will battle for 3rd through 8th place:  USF, Cincy, Wichita State, Temple, and UConn.

Given the incredible energy level that USF played with last season, the Bulls could possibly have a shot at third place if its talent and experience level has increased by a notch or so since last season.   Wichita has lost 2 key players but has reloaded with some very good recruits, so they'll be in the mix.  Cincy's lost 3 starters and this will be a transitional year, but the AAC POY returns for them, along with a couple of talented new players.  UConn adds some talented recruits and might be a force to contend with.  FYI, Temple loses Shizz Alston and their starting Center Aflakpui, but adds a high-scoring (18+ ppg) transfer guard (James "Monty" Scott) and a #155 ranked PG/CG recruit, while returning 6 players from last year's core rotation, plus Scott and the new PG/CG.

It looks like there could be a free-for-all between USF, Wichita, Cincy, Temple, and UConn contesting for two of what will hopefully be 4 NCAA teams from our conference.  Despite having talented players, UConn, Cincy and, to some extent Wichita will all be going through a transitional year, so I think that USF and Temple will be among the bubble teams battling for a NCAA invitation in the final weeks of the season.

[Friscobull]

9 hours ago, Basketball Jones said:

Collin Smith, Dazon Ingram and Matt Milon?

Forgot about Milon and the way he tore up the Colonial, should translate into 5-6 ppg in the AAC.   I stand by my 10-12 place finish but will concede the cabinets are not bare however they still have a massive rebuild on their hands and will love seeing them suk this year.

[Triple B]

3 hours ago, Friscobull said:

Forgot about Milon and the way he tore up the Colonial, should translate into 5-6 ppg in the AAC.   I stand by my 10-12 place finish but will concede the cabinets are not bare however they still have a massive rebuild on their hands and will love seeing them suk this year.

Just like Hoops Q tearing up the Big South translated to 5-6 ppg in the AAC ....... I'd love to see them suck this year, too, but I'm definitely not as confident as you are they will. They've got a lot of unknowns coming into this year like we did this year but unlike us, they've got a lot more experience.

[Basketball Jones]

6 hours ago, Friscobull said:

Forgot about Milon and the way he tore up the Colonial, should translate into 5-6 ppg in the AAC.   I stand by my 10-12 place finish but will concede the cabinets are not bare however they still have a massive rebuild on their hands and will love seeing them suk this year.

Not just the Colonial. As a freshman reserve at Boston College Milon averaged 5.4 ppg and made 39-79 threes (.494). He made 23-48 (.479) against ACC opponents and was expected to have a bigger role as a sophomore.

So, if Dawkins figures out how to use Milon I'd expect him to double your 5-6 ppg in the AAC.

 

[Friscobull]

17 hours ago, Basketball Jones said:

Not just the Colonial. As a freshman reserve at Boston College Milon averaged 5.4 ppg and made 39-79 threes (.494). He made 23-48 (.479) against ACC opponents and was expected to have a bigger role as a sophomore.

So, if Dawkins figures out how to use Milon I'd expect him to double your 5-6 ppg in the AAC.

 

He will average around 12 out of necessity because somebody has to score for them,  I still don’t see them winning more than a handful of conf games, too many new pieces, maybe I am overly optimistic in their challenges but they will have a completely new team and they will struggle.

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

On ‎07‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 10:47 PM, granger87 said:

Regarding the top half of the AAC  - based on this and other projections that are available - Memphis and Houston seem the consensus top two teams, followed by a group of 5 teams who will battle for 3rd through 8th place:  USF, Cincy, Wichita State, Temple, and UConn.

I hate to say it, but until they get knocked off their perch, I think you have to keep that Orlando team in the mix for the top spot as well (preseason projections anyway).

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

Oops my Bad - we are talking basketball.  Ignore my last post.

[usf97]

August 4th is right around the corner. More Men's Basketball. 

https://gousfbulls.com/news/2019/6/6/mens-basketball-matchups-set-for-usf-canadian-foreign-tour.aspx

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

1 hour ago, usf97 said:

August 4th is right around the corner. More Men's Basketball. 

https://gousfbulls.com/news/2019/6/6/mens-basketball-matchups-set-for-usf-canadian-foreign-tour.aspx

Good to see the team get some pre-season play.  It should help bond the team and get some of the new pieces some work into the system.  Very excited for Basketball this year.  But first things first, come on Football - hurry up and get here!