Busting Brackets
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AAC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

By Holden Walter-Warner

Mar 14, 2021; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Houston Cougars players and coaches celebrate as confetti falls after defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats in the American Athletic Conference tournament final at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ben Ludeman-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 14, 2021; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Houston Cougars players and coaches celebrate as confetti falls after defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats in the American Athletic Conference tournament final at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ben Ludeman-USA TODAY Sports /
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AAC Basketball Sam Griffin #1 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
AAC Basketball Sam Griffin #1 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Tulsa was one of the worst teams in the AAC a year ago. They seem poised to be once again this season, despite a changing of the guard at head coach.

The Golden Hurricanes went 11-20 last season, finishing 10th in the conference. Frank Haith resigned at the end of the season, closing out an eight-year run that included only one NCAA Tournament appearance, though there likely would’ve been a second had the tournament been held in 2020.

Tulsa worked quickly to install Eric Konkol as the next head coach, two decades after he was briefly a student assistant for the program. Konkol seems like a shrewd hire, spending the last seven years at Louisiana Tech. While the Bulldogs never made the NCAA Tournament under Konkol, they won at least 20 games in six of his seven seasons.

Konkol didn’t need much time to get Louisiana Tech going, but that program was already in good shape. Tulsa seems to be in line for a larger rebuild.

The best thing going for Tulsa is Sam Griffin. The former UT Arlington guard has flashed potential to be an elite scorer in the conference. He’ll probably carry the heaviest scoring load for the Golden Hurricanes.

Beyond that, however, it’s hard to see where Tulsa will get the bulk of its contributions from. Senior guard Brandon Betson will carry some of the burden, but who else? Things already start to get hairy when looking for a third or fourth option on the roster.

Tulsa is a difficult rebuild, but talent does come through those halls. Brandon Rachal, Elijah Joiner, DaQuan Jeffries, and Shaquille Harrison are among those to play for Haith. Konkol will be tasked with developing – and retaining – top-level AAC talent.