The Sports Bank’s college basketball season previews undergo a face lift this season. Rather than counting down the top 111 teams in 111 days, we will go conference-by-conference. I’ve already counted down the Pac-12, Big 12, and SEC, and now turn my attention to the already new-look AAC.
A year after claiming a share of the Conference USA regular season title and winning the league’s postseason tournament and automatic berth to the Big Dance, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane will play their inaugural season in the AAC led by first-year head coach, Frank Haith.
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
Last Season: T-1st, 13-3 in CUSA, 21-12 overall
Predicted AAC Finish: 6th
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: D’Andre Wright (Jr)/Emmanuel Ezechinonso (Jr)
F: Rashad Smith (Jr)/Brandon Swannegan (Jr)/TK Edogi (So)
SG: Shaquille Harrison (Jr)/Stevie Repichowski (So)/Keonde Dew (Fr)
SG: James Woodard (Jr)/Marquel Curtis (Jr)/Micah Littlejohn (Fr)
PG: Rashad Ray (Jr)
Gone: SG-Tim Peete, SG-Pat Swilling Jr., PF-Lew Evans (transfer-Utah State)
2014-2015 Outlook:
It should help their transition with four starters returning from a year ago. James Woodard was the team’s top scorer and can stroke it from downtown. Shaquille Harrison is a versatile wing who is at his best off the bounce and is a capable defender. Rashad Smith and D’Andre Wright will hold down the fort in the frontcourt.
Likely to join the starting five is point guard Rashad Ray who was a key contributor off the bench last season. That gives Haith the luxury of having five experienced juniors who should be the core of this program for another two years.
Finding role players off a rather unproven bench is a challenge Haith faces. Brandon Swannegan is a shot blocker and adds a needed defensive element to this team. TK Edogi and redshirt freshman Emmanuel Ezechinoso look to add depth upfront as well.
Stevie Repichowski and Marquel Curtis should be the first guards off the bench. Repichowski is a three-point specialist but doesn’t bring much else to the floor while Curtis looks for a bounce back season after missing most of last year due to injury. Freshmen Micah Littlejohn and Keondre Dew shouldn’t factor into the equation too much right away.
The AAC figures to be a four, maybe five bid league for the NCAA Tournament. With that being the case, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane should be on the outside looking in when the brackets are announced since they face an upgrade of competition and talent in their new conference.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/24 vs. Auburn (MGM Grand Main Event)
11/26 vs. Oklahoma State/Oregon State (MGM Grand Main Event)
11/29 at Wichita State
12/3 vs. Creighton
12/13 vs. Oklahoma
OTHER AAC PREVIEWS:
#7 UCF KNIGHTS
#8 SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS
#9 HOUSTON COUGARS
#10 TULANE GREEN WAVE
#11 EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
SEC PREVIEWS:
#1 KENTUCKY WILDCATS
BIG 12 PREVIEWS:
#1 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
#2 TEXAS LONGHORNS
PAC-12 PREVIEWS:
#1 ARIZONA WILDCATS
#4 UCLA BRUINS
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.