AAC Basketball: 2020-21 breakout candidates from each team

F Alexis Yetna, South Florida

Contesting Alexis Yetna’s status as a “breakout” candidate is fair – this is a player who won AAC Freshman of the Year once upon a time, after all. He’ll need to rebuild some of that cache, however, after missing the entire 2019-20 season.

As a freshman, the power forward averaged 12.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, hitting 15 double-doubles for the season. The Paris native led the entire conference in both double-doubles and rebounds. Hopes were high for him in 2019-20, but a left knee injury during a November practice ended his season before it even began.

Yetna has the skill and physique to come back from that setback. He’s coming back to a different USF team than the one he played on back in 2019-19, though. LaQuincy Rideau is graduating this spring. T.J. Lang is long gone, too. When Yetna last suited up, the Bulls were playing in the postseason (the CBI, to be specific), but last year, the program finished with a losing record.

That CBI trip is emblematic of what Yetna can become. During a Game 2 overtime loss to DePaul, Yetna was dominant, scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while also knocking down two three-pointers (he would hit six during the final series). That’s the box score of an All-AAC player. If Yetna can reach that form for good next season, the Bulls should find themselves back in the postseason.