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10.15.18
PHILADELPHIA - The American Athletic Conference men's basketball head coaches have voted UCF as the favorite in the 2018-19 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Knights garnered six of a possible 11 first-place votes and 114 points to edge Cincinnati for the No. 1 spot.

UCF returns eight of its top 10 scorers, nine letterwinners and four starters from a squad that won 19 games a season ago. Preseason Player of the Year, senior guard B.J. Taylor, is one of five seniors on a team that ranked No. 3 in the nation last season allowing just 61.7 points per game.

Cincinnati, the 2018 American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion, was just seven points behind UCF in the poll and received three first-place votes. Houston, which reached The American Championship final last season, earned two first-place votes. The Cougars were also recognized with the Preseason Rookie of the year in freshman guard Nate Hinton. Memphis received one first-place vote and was fourth.

http://theamerican.org/news/2018/10/14/m...orite.aspx

Cumberland named to first team, no other UC players chosen.

// BEARCATS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN AAC
League coaches predicted a second-place finish for the Bearcats, who received 107 points behind first-place UCF. The Knights garnered a league-best 114 points and six first-place votes to UC's three first-place votes. Houston finished third with 103 points and two first-place votes while Memphis took fourth with 85 points and one first-place vote.

The predicted order of finish for the remaining team in the league follows: UConn (75 points), Temple (74), SMU (63), Wichita State (60), Tulsa (48), Tulane (23), ECU (22) and USF (18).

// AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 2018-19 PRESEASON POLL & AWARDS
Coaches Preseason Poll
Finish – Team (1st-Place Votes) – Points
1 – UCF (6) – 114
2 – Cincinnati (3) – 107
3 – Houston (2) – 103
4 – Memphis (1) – 85
5 – UConn – 75
6 – Temple – 74
7 – SMU – 63
8 – Wichita State – 60
9 – Tulsa – 48
10 – Tulane – 23
11 – ECU – 22
12 – USF – 18

Preseason Player of the Year
B.J. Taylor, guard – UCF

Preseason Freshman of the Year
Nate Hinton, guard – Houston

Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Jalen Adams, guard – UConn *
Jarron Cumberland, guard – Cincinnati
Jeremiah Martin, guard – Memphis
Quinton Rose, guard – Temple
B.J. Taylor, guard – UCF

Second Team ^
Corey Davis, Jr., guard – Houston
Tacko Fall, center – UCF
Jarrey Foster, guard – SMU
Markis McDuffie, forward – Wichita State
Jahmal McMurray, guard – SMU
Sterling Taplin, guard – Tulsa
*unanimous selection
^extra member due to tie in voting

https://gobearcats.com/news/2018/10/13/m...econd.aspx

Not really surprising. There are a lot of question marks surrounding our team this year.

Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

(10-15-2018 09:20 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

Frankly...I'm still most confident in Cincinnati, Houston and Wichita State until proven otherwise. I think the predictions are undervaluing those coaches and their ability to reload.

I'm intrigued by Uconn with a competent coach and want to see if UCF can finally make a leap.

(10-15-2018 09:25 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:20 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

Frankly...I'm still most confident in Cincinnati, Houston and Wichita State until proven otherwise. I think the predictions are undervaluing those coaches and their ability to reload.

I think Wichita's roster make-up is very similar to Memphis last season. Talent wise they are definitely a bottom half team going into this season but if other middle of the pack teams suffer injuries then they could possibly move up.

I expect them to be a regular tournament contender again in 2 years.

Just as a refresher, here is what last year's preseason polls and teams looked like:

Preseason Coaches Poll
AAC Media Day took place October 15, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA. Cincinnati was picked to win the conference's regular season (seven votes) with Wichita State a close second (five votes).[10]

Rank Team
1. Cincinnati (7)
2. Wichita State (5)
3. UCF
4. SMU
5. Connecticut
6. Houston
7. Temple
8. Tulsa
9. Memphis
10. Tulane
11. East Carolina
12. USF
first place votes in parentheses

Preseason All-AAC Teams

Preseason Player of the Year Shake Milton, SMU

Preseason All-AAC First Team
Shake Milton, SMU
Jalen Adams, Connecticut
Rob Gray, Houston
Landry Shamet, Wichita State
B. J. Taylor, UCF

Preseason All-AAC Second Team
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Junior Etou, Tulsa
Jacob Evans, Cincinnati
Tacko Fall, UCF
Kyle Washington, Cincinnati

Preseason Rookie of the Year Alterique Gilbert, Connecticut

- just some food for thought!

I'd bet UCF does not finish in first. Not sure if UC does either, but I really don't see a johnny Dawkins coached team winning this conference.

(10-15-2018 09:20 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

They were 2nd in conference last year and lost a lot of talent...it happens. Don't expect them to remain down for long.

(10-15-2018 09:25 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:20 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

Frankly...I'm still most confident in Cincinnati, Houston and Wichita State until proven otherwise. I think the predictions are undervaluing those coaches and their ability to reload.

I know next to nothing about the other teams in the conference, but that's what I'd think too.

Marshall's had good teams for close to a decade now, I imagine he's not caught with a bad one this season.

On the flipside, I have no faith at all in UCF winning the league.

(10-15-2018 10:52 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:25 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:20 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

Frankly...I'm still most confident in Cincinnati, Houston and Wichita State until proven otherwise. I think the predictions are undervaluing those coaches and their ability to reload.

I know next to nothing about the other teams in the conference, but that's what I'd think too.

Marshall's had good teams for close to a decade now, I imagine he's not caught with a bad one this season.

On the flipside, I have no faith at all in UCF winning the league.

If Tacko Fall continues his improvement, he takes UCF to a level we've never seen from them before. You can't teach height, and at 7'6", he is a formidable obstacle around the basket. If he averages only 10-12 points per game but gets 15 rebounds and blocks 6 shots, he can make a good UCF team a VERY good team. The question is can he stay out of foul trouble, improve his conditioning and make foul shots. That's a lot of questions, which suggests to me that UCF will not live up to its billing in conference games and that some other team, likely Houston or UC, will prevail. UCF gets to the big dance, however, along with UH, UC and either UConn, Wichita or Memphis.

Better not finish second; according to this article the AAC may be a "one bid" conference this season:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketb...r-rankings

While I believe the regular season could be wildly unpredictable, there's just too much talent in the AAC not to place at least three in March Madness.

(10-15-2018 03:48 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  Better not finish second; according to this article the AAC may be a "one bid" conference this season:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketb...r-rankings

While I believe the regular season could be wildly unpredictable, there's just too much talent in the AAC not to place at least three in March Madness.

I think you'll see 3 with a lot of NITish teams.

(10-15-2018 03:48 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  Better not finish second; according to this article the AAC may be a "one bid" conference this season:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketb...r-rankings

While I believe the regular season could be wildly unpredictable, there's just too much talent in the AAC not to place at least three in March Madness.

Wouldn't that be something if we miss the tournament our first year in the new Shoe? It would be miserable around here. Guard play scares me this year. Evans and Caupain were two of the best.

Love that another team is picked to win the conference although I don't know that I'd pick UCF. Our guys aren't going to have anything handed to them and I'm sure Mick will make that point. I still like our chances to repeat but it is a long season and we need to stay healthy. My surprise team is Tulane. I think Dunleavy is undervalued as a coach and they will finish better than #10. I know they lost a couple of their main scorers from last season but this will be his third year at the helm with his system and his players in place. I think the biggest question mark is Memphis with Penny coaching for the first time at the collegiate level. Would love nothing more for our conference to have a strong Memphis program once again.

(10-15-2018 03:42 PM)vabearcat Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 10:52 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:25 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:20 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

Frankly...I'm still most confident in Cincinnati, Houston and Wichita State until proven otherwise. I think the predictions are undervaluing those coaches and their ability to reload.

I know next to nothing about the other teams in the conference, but that's what I'd think too.

Marshall's had good teams for close to a decade now, I imagine he's not caught with a bad one this season.

On the flipside, I have no faith at all in UCF winning the league.

If Tacko Fall continues his improvement, he takes UCF to a level we've never seen from them before. You can't teach height, and at 7'6", he is a formidable obstacle around the basket. If he averages only 10-12 points per game but gets 15 rebounds and blocks 6 shots, he can make a good UCF team a VERY good team. The question is can he stay out of foul trouble, improve his conditioning and make foul shots. That's a lot of questions, which suggests to me that UCF will not live up to its billing in conference games and that some other team, likely Houston or UC, will prevail. UCF gets to the big dance, however, along with UH, UC and either UConn, Wichita or Memphis.

Tacko only plays 30 minutes per game at most. When he's not in the game, UCF becomes a very below average team on both sides of the ball. I just don't think his game is going to improve that much in one year.

(10-15-2018 06:14 PM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 03:42 PM)vabearcat Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 10:52 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:25 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-15-2018 09:20 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  Pretty sad how far Wichita State has fallen. They were supposed to be one of the conference's standard bearers in basketball, yet aren't even picked to finish in the top half of the league.

Frankly...I'm still most confident in Cincinnati, Houston and Wichita State until proven otherwise. I think the predictions are undervaluing those coaches and their ability to reload.

I know next to nothing about the other teams in the conference, but that's what I'd think too.

Marshall's had good teams for close to a decade now, I imagine he's not caught with a bad one this season.

On the flipside, I have no faith at all in UCF winning the league.

If Tacko Fall continues his improvement, he takes UCF to a level we've never seen from them before. You can't teach height, and at 7'6", he is a formidable obstacle around the basket. If he averages only 10-12 points per game but gets 15 rebounds and blocks 6 shots, he can make a good UCF team a VERY good team. The question is can he stay out of foul trouble, improve his conditioning and make foul shots. That's a lot of questions, which suggests to me that UCF will not live up to its billing in conference games and that some other team, likely Houston or UC, will prevail. UCF gets to the big dance, however, along with UH, UC and either UConn, Wichita or Memphis.

Tacko only plays 30 minutes per game at most. When he's not in the game, UCF becomes a very below average team on both sides of the ball. I just don't think his game is going to improve that much in one year.

Taco Bell averaged under 22 minutes per game. Make him run and he cannot play 20 minutes.

It's really hard to gauge UCF considering the injuries they suffered last year. Everyone knows about Tacko Fall, but Aubrey Dawkins who averaged 7.0 and 6.5 ppg in his freshman and sophomore campaigns at Michigan was lost to injury before the season even started and probably would have been their #3 or #4 option. Plus BJ Taylor missed half the year, so you're talking about 3 of your best 4 players being out most of the season. If all stay healthy, UCF is a tournament team.

Really both UCF and SMU were decimated by injuries last season, which really screwed the conference. We should have had 4 teams in the tournament at worst barring injuries.