It’s all about the players when we’re talking about college basketball; heck that’s true for any collegiate sport. Each season gives us unforgettable moments and memories but it’s the players who make these moments happen. While they need programs to want them and coaches to recruit them, it’s the action of these players on and off the court that shape this sport.
We’re talking about players again today as we continue this major series, focusing on the best players of the last decade at each of the current conferences. After our first piece looked deeply at the underappreciated America East, we’ll be ramping things up slightly with today’s look at AAC Basketball.
The AAC is a pseudo-power conference that plays FBS football but in the Group of Five. The conference is actually still in relative infancy, forming in 2013 when the old Big East divided. There have actually been a number of changes in this conference in its first decade, with schools like Connecticut, Louisville, and Rutgers briefly members of the league. There is also a slew of new teams joining the league this upcoming season, but we’re focused on the recent past.
As a reminder, this series is focusing solely on the best players of the last ten years who played in the AAC. Someone who became a star in another league but started or ended their career in the AAC won’t necessarily be considered. At the same time, someone who did spend only a season or two in this league could certainly warrant inclusion if those were marvelous seasons. With more than a dozen schools in the league, plus a national championship just under a decade ago, we have quite the list to choose from, but let’s get right into the AAC rankings.