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5-minute season preview: American Athletic Conference

Rodney Purvis will try to help lead UConn to its first ever league title in the AAC. (AP)
Rodney Purvis will try to help lead UConn to its first ever league title in the AAC. (AP)

Yahoo Sports will break down the top 10 leagues for the upcoming college basketball season working backward from No. 10 to No. 1. Here’s a look at our No. 7 league, the American Athletic Conference.

For a program whose rich history suggests it belongs in a stronger league, UConn hasn’t exactly dominated the American Athletic Conference.

The Huskies have yet to come close to winning a league title, finishing tied for third in their national championship 2013-14 season, tied for fifth a year later and alone in sixth last March.

This could be the year UConn ascends to the top of the American Athletic Conference if the Huskies can come close to reaching their ceiling. Not only do they return a high-scoring wing, an elite shot blocker and a promising young point guard, they also add maybe the best group of newcomers coach Kevin Ollie has landed in his four-year tenure.

In an era in which two point guard lineups are all the rage, UConn has the personnel to mount such an attack. Heralded sophomore Jalen Adams and McDonald’s All-American Alterique Gilbert are both dynamic playmakers capable of attacking off the dribble and making good decisions in the open floor.

With Adams and Gilbert in the backcourt, last year’s leading scorer Rodney Purvis should receive the bulk of his playing time at his natural small forward spot. Purvis, a former McDonald’s All-American who has never quite fully realized his potential, averaged 12.8 points last season, shot 38.5 percent from behind the arc and finished strong in the postseason, scoring a total of 36 points in two NCAA tournament games.

Anchoring UConn’s frontcourt will be senior Amida Brimah, an elite shot blocker who also runs the floor extremely well, defends out to the perimeter and finishes effectively at the rim. VCU transfer Terry Larrier should be able to score, rebound and defend multiple positions just like his predecessor Daniel Hamilton did, while 6-foot-11 Steven Enoch and freshmen Vance Jackson and Mamadou Diarra give the Huskies a deep bench.

If UConn fails to meet expectations this season, a pair of other contenders are capable of extending the Huskies’ league title drought. Cincinnati is poised to reach its seventh consecutive NCAA tournament and perhaps do damage there, while SMU should also compete for a bid now that it’s once-again postseason eligible.

Expectations are high at Cincinnati this season because the Bearcats return two of the league’s top players in point guard Troy Caupain and forward Gary Clark. Caupain averaged 13.0 points and 4.8 assists as a junior, though his efficiency was hurt by always being asked to create in late-clock situations. Clark also averaged double figures and earned the league’s defensive player of the year award because of his ability to rebound, guard multiple positions and protect the rim.

Defense has long been Cincinnati’s strength, but NC State transfer Kyle Washington provides Mick Cronin with maybe the most talented offensive big man of his Bearcats tenure. Fresh off his 26-point outburst against Saint Joseph’s in the NCAA tournament, Jacob Evans appears likely to start at one wing spot alongside Caupain. Sweet-shooting incoming freshman Jarron Cumberland should push senior Kevin Johnson for playing time at the other.

With three-time all-league guard Nic Moore having graduated, SMU will rely on last season’s league freshman of the year Shake Milton to take over as point guard and offensive catalyst. One of the league’s only returning players who sank more than 40 percent of his 3-pointers last season, Milton can create for himself or others off the dribble and is lethal pulling up for jumpers or knocking down catch-and-shoot looks.

Supporting Milton will be the frontcourt duo of Ben Moore and Semi Ojeleye. The long, athletic 6-foot-8 Moore runs the floor well, rebounds effectively and averaged 11.9 points per game last season. Ojeleye, a Duke transfer who hasn’t played a game in 22 months, is a skilled combo foward capable of raining down pick-and-pop jump shots, attacking off the dribble or backing down a smaller defender.

Of the rest of the league, Houston and Memphis have the best chance of emerging as surprise title contenders.

The backcourt duo of Rob Gray and Damyean Dotson gives Houston a chance of improving on last year’s 22-win NIT season, but the Cougars desperately need former Indiana forward Devin Davis to solidify the frontcourt and provide interior scoring, defense and rebounding. Memphis boasts a strong frontcourt headlined by league player of the year candidate Dedric Lawson and his brother K.J., but a dearth of shooters in a very unproven backcourt is a major concern.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PROJECTIONS

1. UConn
2. Cincinnati
3. SMU
4. Houston
5. Memphis
6. Temple
7. Tulsa
8. UCF
9. East Carolina
10. South Florida
11. Tulane

FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

G Troy Caupain, Sr, Cincinnati
G Shake Milton, So., SMU
G Damyean Dotson, Sr., Houston
F Gary Clark, Jr., Cincinnati
F Dedric Lawson, So., Memphis

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Dedric Lawson, Memphis

MAKING A LIST

Best shooter: Sterling Brown, SMU. When opposing defenders left him free to help on one of SMU’s more heralded offensive weapons, Brown consistently made them pay. He shot 53.6 percent from behind the arc last season, albeit on just under two 3-point attempts per game. If Shake Milton can force opposing defenses to collapse on him off the dribble or Ben Moore can draw double teams in the paint, that should free Brown up once again for more open catch-and-shoot looks.
Best playmaker: Jalen Adams, UConn. Everything about Adams’ freshman season was a learning process, from his decision making with the ball in his hands, to his occasional clashes with Kevin Ollie, to his failure to make the league’s all-rookie team. But Adams finished the season playing with confidence and showed more frequent flashes of his talent. In his first season as UConn’s full-time starting point guard, look for him to emerge as a double-digit scorer and improve on his meager 1.43-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Best defender: Gary Clark, Cincinnati. Defensive-oriented Cincinnati surrendered the 16th fewest points per possession in the nation last season, and one of the biggest reasons for that was the presence of Clark. The American Athletic Conference’s reigning defensive player of the year was the league’s only player to finish in the top eight in rebounds, steals and blocks. His instincts on help defense were just as valuable even if those didn’t show up in a box score.
Top NBA prospect: Dedric Lawson, Memphis. In a league without a surefire future first-round pick, Lawson has the best chance to be selected next June. The 6-foot-9 sophomore averaged 15.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in his debut season at Memphis. He tested extremely poorly at the draft combine last May and appeared overmatched during games at that event, but he still has NBA potential if he can improve his explosiveness and agility while also making strides on the floor.
Best backcourt: UConn. From Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, to Napier and Ryan Boatright, some of the best recent UConn teams have been powered by two point guards. The duo of freshman Alterique Gilbert and sophomore Jalen Adams could be the next one. They’ll be joined in the starting backcourt by wing Rodney Purvis, a former McDonald’s All-American whose scoring ability and senior leadership should be invaluable to the young Huskies even if he’s never fully lived up to his high school hype.
Best frontcourt: Cincinnati. Six-foot-7 junior Gary Clark is a dominant rebounder, an active defender and an efficient interior scorer. Six-foot-9 NC State transfer Kyle Washington may be the most talented offensive big man Mick Cronin has ever coached. That gives Cincinnati the league’s best frontcourt duo, though Memphis could have something to say about that by the end of the season if K.J. Lawson develops alongside his more heralded brother.
Best recruiting class: UConn. An awful lot of SEC and ACC programs intensely pursued Alterique Gilbert long and hard, yet UConn was able to get the Georgia native to come to Storrs. The high-scoring point guard is the first McDonald’s All-American to sign with UConn since 2009. He’s also the centerpiece of a five-person recruiting class that also includes sharpshooter Vance Jackson and defensive-oriented big man Mamadou Diarra.
Coach on the hot seat: Orlando Antigua, South Florida. Battered by injuries, suspensions and player defections, South Florida went 9-23 in Antigua’s debut season and 8-25 last year. Worse yet, Antigua’s brother was forced to resign from the staff this past summer after the NCAA began investigating South Florida for possible academic fraud. With attendance at the newly renovated Sun Dome dwindling, the third-year coach may need to demonstrate some semblance of progress this season to get another one.

FACTS AND FIGURES

New coaches: Mike Dunleavy Sr., Tulane; Johnny Dawkins, UCF; Tubby Smith, Memphis; Tim Jankovich, SMU
Regular-season winner last season: Temple
Tourney winner last season: UConn
League RPI rank in each of past 3 seasons: 2015-16: 8th, 2014-15: 8th, 2013-14: 8th
NCAA bids the past three seasons: 10 (Cincinnati 3, UConn 2, Temple, Tulsa, Memphis, SMU, Louisville)

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!