2015 College Hoops Preview: The AAC, Big East and ACC
Everyone do their best Ma$e impersonation and sing it with me. ‘Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back…” That’s right, college basketball is a mere three weeks away from starting, which should let all of us rejoice.
Now, if you’ve forgotten already I gave you the tiers of college basketball rankings heading into the season. Well, it’s time to get more in depth, taking a look at conference breakdowns of the major six conferences plus the AAC and a little UMass preview for you stoolies up there. We’ll split this into two different previews, with the AAC, ACC and Big East today followed by the Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.
The American Athletic Conference
The AAC will always have part little-brother syndrome due to the fact it’s outside the big six basketball conferences. However, there’s still plenty of talent this year in the conference, especially from the top two teams and I expect this to be a two-horse race all year between SMU and UCONN. I’m giving SMU the edge as a better team thanks to Nic Moore, who is one of the best point guards in the country. The senior for the Mustangs put up over 14 points and five assists per game last year while shooting 42 percent from deep. Having McDonald’s All-American Keith Frazier return to the lineup will only bolster a team that won the league last season. Frazier missed the majority of last season with an academic eligibility situation and his return gives old man Larry Brown his best roster as head coach of the Mustangs. Now, if they can just find a way not to blow a lead in the Round of 64 and more importantly learn how not to goaltend a contented three.
UCONN does lose the heart of soul of its team in Ryan Boatright, but returns Daniel Hamilton, who was the only freshman in the country last season to put up 300 points, 200 rebounds and 100 assists. More importantly the Huskies have some depth this year with transfers Sterling Gibbs (let’s keep your elbows to yourself this year, man) and Shonn Miller joining the team. Miller led Cornell in points, rebounds and assists last season. After missing the Tournament last season, Kevin Ollie will have his team back in it this March.
Cincinnati should contend for a NCAA Tournament bid since it returns everyone from last year and gets back its head coach in Mick Cronin. However, the rest of the conference is pretty bad to put it kindly. Memphis lost its best player Austin Nichols to a transfer and Temple lost leading scorer Will Cummings. Two teams to keep an eye on though are Tulsa and South Florida. Tulsa returns everyone from a team that went 15-3 last season in the AAC, including James Woodard who was first-team All-Conference last season. If the Golden Hurricanes can win some nonconference games against quality opponents the American should get four bids this year.
Reags’ Predictions:
Projected Standings: SMU, UCONN (a big gap before a lot of crap) Cincinnati, Tulsa, Temple, Memphis, Houston, Tulane, South Florida, Central Florida, East Carolina
Player of the Year: Nic Moore (SMU)
Newcomer of the Year: Shonn Miller (UCONN)
Coach of the Year: Mick Cronin (Cincinnati)
All-Conference Team: Nic Moore (SMU), Daniel Hamilton (UCONN), James Woodard (Tulsa), Shaq Goodwin (Memphis), Markus Kennedy (SMU)
The Atlantic Coast Conference
The crown jewel of college basketball once again is the ACC. There’s no better league this season, with plenty of depth and a loaded top of the conference. There are at least two true title contenders in UNC and Duke before the season starts and don’t be surprised to see the ACC put 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
North Carolina loses just one player (J.P. Tokoto) from last year’s disappointing team that still made the Sweet 16. Marcus Paige should be healthy this season, after battling plantar fasciitis last season and having to carry a massive workload because Roy Williams is an idiot. Justin Jackson, a McDonald’s All-American, started to come on toward the end of his freshman year scoring in double digits 11 of his last 12 games, thanks to the most beautiful floater in college hoops. As long as the looming possibility of sanctions stays that way, the Tar Heels will likely be the No. 1 team in the country in preseason polls.
The reigning national champions reload yet again with a recruiting class that includes Brandon Ingram (5-star), Derryck Thornton (5-star), Chase Jeter (5-star) and Luke Kennard (5-star). Get ready to hate Kennard and Grayson Allen who will bring back memories of JJ Redick as the cocky white boys who light teams up. Kennard is a filthy outside shooter who can also attack the basket and we saw what Allen can do in the national title game (sorry Big Cat).
Teams to watch on the rise are Wake Forest and Florida State, both programs are getting bigger recruits and are no longer the laughing stock of the league. Florida State is bringing in a five-star and two four-stars to join Xavier Rathan-Mayes, which immediately makes the Seminoles a contender for the third best team in the conference. Meanwhile at Wake, Danny Manning is using his skills to make the Demon Deacons relevant again. Despite going 13-19 last year, Wake came within one possession of beating Virginia, Florida State, Syracuse and Clemson all on the road. There are your sleeper picks.
Reags’ Predictions
Projected Standings: UNC, Duke, Florida State, Virginia, Miami, Louisville, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Syracuse, NC State, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Boston College
Player of the Year: Justin Jackson (UNC)
Newcomer of the Year: Brandon Ingram (Duke)
Coach of the Year: Leonard Hamilton (FSU)
All-Conference Team: Marcus Paige (UNC), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (FSU), Justin Jackson (UNC), Brandon Ingram (Duke), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia)
The Big East
I’m not going to sit here and tell you how much I miss the old Big East, like an ex-girlfriend staring at pictures on Facebook at 2 am while slugging wine and eating ice cream. No, I’m here to tell you about the new and improved Big East. The one that is shedding the midmajor label with depth and great recruiting. The league who will be the most fun to watch this year.
Villanova will once again be the cream of the crop when it comes to the conference. The Wildcats have won the league the last two seasons and this will happen again this year with Jay wright using his guards, reigning co-Big East Player of the Year in Ryan Arcidiacono, McDonald’s All-American Jaylen Brunson and rising star Josh Hart. Don’t let the two failures in the Round of 32 the last two seasons fool you, this is a strong program.
After that, take a look at Butler, who is becoming a staple on the national scene. The Bulldogs somehow return both Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones (early candidates for How the Hell are the Still in College Team) and grab former McDonald’s All-American Tyler Lewis from North Carolina State. Butler has a legit chance at the Final Four this year.
Toss in Georgetown, Xavier and Marquette and there are five bids easily for the Big East this season. All five of these teams listed so far could finish anywhere 1-5 in the conference standings as they all have a flaw. However, the one constant with each team is solid coaching and a star on each team. Seriously, make sure to find Fox Sports 1 on your TV this year. This league is going to be awesome.
Reags’ Predictions:
Projected Standings: Villanova-Butler-Xavier-Georgetown-Marquette-Providence-Seton Hall-DePaul-St. John’s-Creighton
Player of the Year: Kris Dunn (Providence)
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Newcomer of the Year: Henry Ellenson (Marquette)
Coach of the Year: Chris Mack (Xavier)
All-Conference Team: Kris Dunn (Providence), Josh Hart (Villanova), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Henry Ellenson (Marquette), Roosevelt Jones (Butler)