AAC Basketball: Updated 2018-19 preseason rankings for the conference

Considering UCF finished just sixth in the AAC a year ago, this might be a bit of a hot take. Yet, it would not be a major surprise if the Knights were predicted to be the preseason favorite in the conference by the coaches. Quite honestly, this is clearly the best roster in the AAC when completely healthy. The issue, though, is that the Knights have been far from healthy over the past couple of seasons and they also had to bid farewell to A.J. Davis, who led the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game, this offseason.

Regardless of this, though, you would be hard-pressed to find a better senior duo in the country than B.J. Taylor and Tacko Fall when they are both healthy. The two players, although vastly different in height and playing style, work very well when on the floor together. Of course, we did not see much of that this past season, though, as the two played just one total game together (Jan. 16 vs. Cincinnati) because Taylor missed the first half of the season and Fall the second.

Still, when healthy, this duo features the elite two-way play that is hard to stop. In Taylor, the team has an elite scoring guard who averaged 17.4 points per game during his last full season. In addition, Fall represents one of the best rim-protectors in the country. In 2016-17, the 7-foot-6 (yes, you read that correctly) Fall averaged 10.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. For reference, the Knights also went 24-12 (11-7 AAC) when this duo last played a full season together. Also, it is important to keep in mind that the players were just sophomores then and the majority of the roster has changed around them since then.

In terms of that surrounding talent on the roster, it would be a mistake not to mention Ceasar DeJesus. One of the more surprising freshman guards in the country last season, the 6-foot-3 DeJesus was a steady offensive threat amidst injuries suffered by the rest of the roster. He played and started in all 32 games for the team while posting 8.6 points per game on 37.8% shooting from distance. If he able to take the next step and Taylor/Fall stay healthy, watch out for this trio to take the AAC by storm.

Overall, AAC basketball is going to be extremely fun to watch this season. There are no clear favorites going in that makes for interesting basketball. The AAC has sent multiple teams to the Big Dance in each of the last five seasons and it will be intriguing to see who those teams are this time around.