Busting Brackets
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AAC Basketball: 5 biggest takeaways from 2019 recruiting classes

By Tristan Freeman

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 11: during the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 11: during the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 23: Quentin Grimes #5 of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts to a play against the Auburn Tigers during their game in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 23: Quentin Grimes #5 of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts to a play against the Auburn Tigers during their game in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

2. AAC focusing more on transfers than high school prospects?

Collectively, the AAC did okay for the 2019 recruiting classes. But if you take away what Memphis did, then things look a bit different. Only two other programs (UConn and Wichita State) were ranked in the top-40 team classes and only one non-Tiger player in the top-60 is going to another AAC team. It’s not great for a league who is trying to be closer to the power conferences instead of the mid-majors.

The thing is though, there’s not much the 12 teams can do when it comes to recruiting. Even Memphis before hiring Hardaway wasn’t landing the top-tier players since arriving at the AAC. These teams will have to find another of landing high-major talent and it looks like the transfer market is the way to go.

Several talented transfers have found their way to the AAC this offseason. Houston landed former five-star guard Quentin Grimes from Kansas, while another Jayhawk KJ Lawson came back to the conference to play for Tulane and hew head coach Ron Hunter, who brought in four other transfers to raise the talent pool. Temple brought in a pair of Big Ten transfers while having a 17 ppg scorer eligible to play in James Scott after sitting out last season.

SMU is another team who has multiple transfers while UConn has the reigning MEAC Player of the Year in RJ Cole coming on board (although he’ll be playing in the Big East with the team moving). With most of these programs having no real recruiting pipelines to work with, going through the transfer portal is probably the best way to keep up with Memphis when it comes to getting talent.