AAC Basketball: Why Houston is overlooked as contender for 2019-20

AAC competition

There are two teams that are consistently being projected ahead of Houston in pre-season AAC rankings. Those teams are the Memphis Tigers and Cincinnati Bearcats.

The Tigers are entering their second season under head coach Penny Hardaway, and they’re the heavy favorites in the conference after bringing in the number one recruiting class in the country. The class is led by James Wiseman, the consensus number one overall recruit, and Precious Achiuwa, a five-star small forward. Both players, while they unquestionably have a significant amount of talent, are fairly overrated by the common fan.

Wiseman is being called by many people the best big man prospect in years. The intrigue that leads people to make these comments is his fluidity as a 7-foot big man and his potential on both ends of the court. As it stands, however, he’s largely uncoordinated and lacks high-level instincts on both offense and defense. Quite frankly, Wiseman is still learning the game of basketball, and it’s fairly easy to tell while you’re watching him. Achiuwa is in a similar boat; he’s an unbelievable athlete who has some incredible flash plays, but he lacks instincts and struggles to make a consistent impact.

While those are the two highlights, the Tigers have a plethora of other four-star recruits and solid returners to fill out their roster. There’s no question that they have the conference’s most talented team, but it is worth questioning whether Penny Hardaway – in his second season when we’ve yet to see his identity as a coach – can manage all of their egos and make things flow. It doesn’t help that there isn’t a true point guard on the roster to act as an engine. Memphis is being projected as a top-10 squad by a lot of people, but all things considered, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see them finish outside of the top 25 altogether.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, lost head coach Mick Cronin to UCLA and replaced him with Northern Kentucky’s John Brannen. There’s no doubt in my mind that Brannen can get the job done with the Bearcats; he’s a fantastic coach, employs an exciting style of play, and already has a pipeline in the area. However, even with the return of AAC Player of the Year favorite Jarron Cumberland, it’s unreasonable to expect him to finish ahead of Kelvin Sampson in his first year with the team.

Other teams like Wichita State and South Florida have also been projected ahead of Houston in some instances, but the reality is that with Mick Cronin gone, Kelvin Sampson owns the American Athletic Conference. Despite the influx of talent experienced by other teams, I fully expect him to prove it this season.