The Only Conference Preview You Need To Read: Conference USA

Over the next month and a half, we will be rolling out all of our 2011-2012 Season Preview posts. You can find a full schedule of all the preview posts here. If you want to browse through the rest of the conference previews, click here.

AWARDS

Player of the Year: Arsalan Kazemi, Jr., Rice

There is quite a bit of talent in Conference USA this year, but the most productive player -- and probably the best NBA prospect -- is tucked away at the other school in Houston. Arsalan Kazemi, the first Iranian-born player to play Division I basketball, is quite possibly the most underrated player in the country. Standing just 6'7", Kazemi was the only player in Conference USA to average double figures in rebounds last season. In fact, he was seventh nationally at 11.0 rpg, ranking 15th in offensive rebounding percentage and second in defensive rebounding percentage. Kazemi also managed to average 15.2 ppg despite being the focal point of every defensive attack in league play; he didn't even lead his team in scoring during conference play last season. That said, after going from one win in 2009-2010 to five wins last season, the Owls should continue to improve this year. With their top four scorers returning -- including fellow junior Tamir Jackson in the back court -- there will be less attention on Kazemi. And while Kazemi isn't the kind of offensive talent that can be isolated in the post, he plays such an active and energetic brand of basketball that he almost requires a double team when he is cutting to the rim or hitting the offensive glass. Think Kenneth Faried, only without the dreads.


And a close second goes to...: Joe Jackson, So., Memphis

This pick may be a bit out of the box, but I'm expecting a big season out of Jackson. I'm not saying I think he'll be the leading scorer for this team -- although I do think he will have some big games -- but I do think he'll be the engine that drives the Memphis Tigers. Jackson had a very inconsistent freshman season, which isn't unusual, but it hit Jackson harder than a typical freshman. Jackson is a Memphis native and really felt the pressure of playing in front of a hometown crowd with his entourage in his ear every day. Jackson persevered, however, and was responsible for sparking the comeback in what amounted to a road game in the C-USA title game, making the game-winning play -- drawing a foul and hitting the two free throws -- with 7.5 seconds. You don't always have to be your team's leading scorer to win a conference's Player of the Year award or make first-team all-conference. Last year's winner was Aaron Jackson, who led the country in assists and was that team's leader but was the Blazer's third-leading scorer. I don't expect Jackson to lead the country in assists, but I do expect him to be the guy Josh Pastner calls upon when he needs a big bucket this year.

Breakout Star: Jordan Clarkson, So., Tulsa

Tulsa always seems to have a guy on the perimeter that is dangerous with the ball in his hands. Last year it was Justin Hurtt. Before that it was Ben Uzoh. With Hurtt graduating, is Clarkson the next in line? An athletic, 6'4" slasher, Clarkson averaged 11.5 ppg despite battling a couple of injuries during the season. He also came on strong late in the season, averaging 15.9 ppg on 50.7% shooting from the field and getting to the line 41 times. Clarkson will have a chance to become the No. 1 option offensively this season. If he can cut down on some of his turnovers and become a more consistent jump shooter, Clarkson has a chance to be a big-time scorer this year.

All-Conference First-Team:

- POY: Arsalan Kazemi, Jr., Rice
- G: Joe Jackson, So., Memphis
- G: Jordan Clarkson, So., Tulsa
- G: Deandre Kane, So., Marshall
- F: Keith Clanton, Jr., UCF
- C: Cameron Moore, Sr., UAB


All-Conference Second-Team:

- G: Damier Pitts, Sr., Marshall
- G: Marcus Jordan, Jr., UCF
- G: Will Barton, So., Memphis
- F: Kendall Timmons, Jr., Tulane
- C: Darius Morrow, Sr., East Carolina

Four summer storylines

- Everything Central Florida: The Golden Knights were an episode of Jerry Springer this summer. It started with praise for Donnie Jones ability to recruit, as he added center Michael Chandler and point guard Kevin Ware to an incoming class that already included three high-major transfers and three highly-regarded recruits. But that commitment from Ware lasted all of 10 days, as the former Tennessee-signee backed out a day before Pat Forde and Pete Thamel dropped a bombshell that Jones had recruits steered towards his programs by a convicted felon with strong ties to an agent; in other words, a runner. That runner, named Ken Caldwell, has a twitter account and decided to tee-off on the media in response. As a capper, both Chandler and Ware, who ended up at Louisville, were ruled ineligible for this season.


The irony here? None of the conversation about UCF this offseason had to do with the fact that they are one of the most intriguing teams in the country heading into this season. It wasn't all bad news for the Golden Knights. Tristan Spurlock, who was one of three ineligible transfers that formed a practice squad called "Team Buckets", is starting a non-profit with the same name to help local youths.

- Will Barton guarantees another title: Prior to Will Barton ever suiting up for the Tigers, he made the decision to guarantee that Memphis would win the national title. It was all in good fun, but it made headlines and it was, well, way off. Memphis finished fourth in Conference USA and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This offseason, Barton did it again, telling the crowd at the annual High Tops party that "we're going to win it all." I'll agree with Pastner here. If he's saying it, he better back it up.

- Arsalan Kazemi in the Asia Games: Not only is Arsalan Kazemi the first Iranian-born player in the Division I ranks, he also happens to be one of the stars for his country's national team. It originally appeared as if Kazemi wasn't going to be able to try and help his country qualify for the Olympics this September, as classes at Rice and NCAA regulations got in the way. Eventually, however, the ruling was overturned -- why its a bad thing for an athlete to represent his country, I'll never know. Iran did not qualify for the Olympics, getting upset and eliminated by Jordan, but Kazemi played well, averaging 12.0 ppg and 8.9 rpg.

- DJ Newbill transfers to Penn State: DJ Newbill made some headlines when he decided to transfer out of Southern Miss and head to play for Pat Chambers at Penn State. It wasn't exactly a surprise, however. Newbill ended up in Hattiesburg when his scholarship to Marquette disappeared, an event that just so happened to coincide with a talented Wisconsin native trying to transfer back home. But the question some people wound up asking is whether or not what Newbill did to Larry Eustachy was fair? It was July 2nd of last summer when Newbill's scholarship offer was taken away. Newbill was lucky that Eustachy gave him a place to land safely.

But after an excellent freshman season, Newbill headed for the door at the first opportunity to play high-major basketball. On the one hand, it seems a bit unfair for Newbill to, essentially, take advantage of the opportunity given to him by Eustachy. On the other hand -- which I happen to agree with -- Newbill never wanted to be at Southern Miss in the first place. He was the victim of a coach looking out for himself. What's wrong with Newbill doing the same?

Four storylines to watch this season

- Will Memphis regain control over the conference?: The Tigers owned Conference USA at the end of John Calipari's tenure with the school. When I say owned, I mean owned, as in they didn't lose a league game the last three years he was in Memphis. The Pastner era has been no where near as successful. That's not meant to be a shot at Pastner, either, but finished second and fourth in his first two years is not exactly what Tiger fans are expecting. This may be the year that the Tigers regain their strangle hold on the league. Memphis is loaded. They bring back everyone except Will Coleman, they add Adonis Thomas and Stan Simpson, and the freshmen that struggled early and started to gel late are all now sophomores. Based on talent alone, Memphis is by far the best team in the conference and will likely find themselves sitting somewhere in the top 15 of every preseason poll. Will Pastner be able to fit all the pieces together?


- Who wins the battle for second place?: There's not much of an argument over who is the best team in Conference USA heading into the year. There will be quite a few arguments over who is the second best team, however, as three clubs have a legitimate argument to be slotted there. Marshall has been the trendy pick heading into October. The Thundering Herd not only return arguably the best back court in the league with Deandre Kane and Damier Pitts, they only lose one player from their rotation while adding a number of talented recruits and transfers. Tulsa should be good as well. The Golden Hurricanes do lose their leading scorer in Justin Hurtt, but they bring back a big front line, two talented kids on the perimeter in Jordan Clarkson and Scottie Haralson, and should finally have a healthy point guard in Donte Medder. The most interesting team? Central Florida. They are coming off of a roller coaster season in which they started out the year 14-0 but finished just 6-10 in league play, including an eight game losing streak. But with both Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton returning and a talented crop of recruits and transfers joining the program, there is reason to be hopeful. It begs the question ...

- Will there be more than one team worthy of an at-large bid?: I'd say there is a good chance there will be. Let's assume, for argument's sake, that Memphis wins the regular season and tournament titles, meaning that Tulsa, Marshall and UCF -- and any other team that puts together a strong enough resume to warrant consideration -- will have to earn an at-large bid if they want to go dancing. My guess is that Marshall has the best chance. They get Memphis and UCF twice in league play, and while they have to travel to Tulsa, they get West Virginia, Iona and Belmont at home in non-conference games. Marshall will also travel to Cincinnati, Syracuse and Belmont (they play the Bruins twice).

Tulsa will travel to South Carolina for the Charleston Classic -- whose field is not as strong as it was last year -- before playing non-conference roadies against Missouri State and Oklahoma State while hosting Arizona State, Creighton and Wichita State. Its worth noting that Tulsa only gets Marshall, UCF and Memphis once each in league play, hosting each game. UCF better hope they beat the College of Charleston in their opener in the Battle 4 Atlantis and get a shot a UConn, because if they don't, their only quality non-conference game may end up being at Florida State.

- What will Conference USA look like in the future?: That is a really good question and one that cannot be answered by a single person. The rumors involving Conference USA teams as plug-ins for the major conferences as been non-stop. Its not secret that East Carolina and UCF both want in the Big East. Memphis wants in a BCS league, and while the Big East would make sense, the school doesn't particularly care what league it is. All four of the Texas schools -- Houston, Rice, UTEP, and SMU -- have, at one point, been a rumored target of both the Big 12 and the Big East. And who can forget the massive, country-wide merger of Conference USA and the Mountain West that was discussed last month?

Power Rankings

1. Memphis: There were good things and there were bad things to take out of the 2010-2011 season for the Memphis Tigers. The good news is that, despite having a roster overloaded with freshmen, they were still able to win the Conference USA Tournament, locking up a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The bad news is that thanks to a season full of underwhelming and inconsistent performances, the Tigers almost assuredly needed that automatic bid to go dancing.

One thing is clear heading into this season for the Tigers -- there is not shortage of talent on their roster, as Josh Pastner has really been able to flex his muscles as a recruiter. The back court should be one of the best in the country next season. Joe Jackson had an up-and-down season as a freshman as he struggled to deal with the expectations that come with being a star high school player from Memphis, but he came around by the end of the year and was the guy Pastner called upon with the C-USA championship on the line. There's no reason that Will Barton can't improve, either. He was the Tiger's leading scorer as a freshman, but he needs to learn to be more efficient with his shot selection and turnovers. Sophomores Antonio Barton and Chris Crawford and senior Charles Carmouche are all quality defenders that excel in their roles offensively. In the front court, sophomore Tarik Black eventually played his way into the starting lineup and should be able to provide an anchor in the paint. With Seton Hall transfer Ferrakhon Hall, JuCo transfer Stan Simpson, and redshirt freshman Hippolyte Tsafack also on the roster, the Tiger's should have plenty of bodies to rotate through up front. The x-factors could end up being Wesley Witherspoon and Adonis Thomas. Witherspoon is a versatile forward that struggled in a leadership role and has never really lived up to his potential. Will he lose minutes to Thomas, a Memphis native and 6'6" forward that some believe is the best prospect in this class? If he does, will that throw off the team's chemistry? Memphis is the overwhelming favorite in the league, and has the talent to make the Final Four.


2. Marshall: Marshall had a bit of a surprising season in 2010-2011. After seeing their head coach bolt for Conference USA rival Central Florida, the Herd still managed to win 22 games -- including victories over West Virginia and Memphis -- while finishing 9-7 in the league. Even more promising is the fact that Marshall loses just two players from last season's team. The future looks bright in Huntington, WV.


This season, it starts with the back court. Senior Damier Pitts is one of the best point guards in the conference. Assuming he stays academically eligible (he missed the first semester last season and still led the team in scoring and assists), he's nightmare to try and defend. DeAndre Kane, Pitts' back court mate and only a sophomore, is a very well-rounded player (15.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.4 apg) and has a chance to be Player of the Year in Conference USA by the time he graduates. He's that good. Shaquille Johnson will also return in the back court and will provide experience. Replacing Tirrell Baines inside won't be easy, but Nigel Spikes will provide size in the paint while Dago Pena gives Marshall a forward that can really shoot the ball from the perimeter. Tom Herrion has an impressive influx of talent, as well. Yaos Mbao, a 7'2" Marquette transfer, should provide depth up front. Justin Coleman, who was ruled academically ineligible at Louisville, also joins the program. Freshmen DeVince Boykins and Jamir Hanner and JuCo transfers Chris Martin and Robert Goff should also see some minutes. The Thundering Herd have enough talent to be Memphis' strongest contender in Conference USA.*

(*Ed. Note: While I think Marshall is the second best team in the league and the second most likely to earn an at-large bid, I think Tulsa will end up in second place at the end of the season. Marshall, UCF and Memphis are all in the eastern division of the league on the football side, meaning they will play each other twice. Tulsa, who plays in the much weaker western division, has a schedule that is unbelievably favorable, as they host Marshall, UCF and Memphis in their only meetings.)

3. Tulsa: Tulsa is as consistent as any program in the country. Keep in mind, this was a program heading into the 2010-2011 having lost two potential NBA players in Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh, and after a rough non-conference slate, the Golden Hurricane managed to play their way into the No. 2 seed in the Conference USA Tournament. That's impressive. And while Tulsa lost leading scorer Justin Hurtt to graduation, the pieces are in place to make a similar run next season.

Hurtt averaged 20.0 ppg as a senior and was the guy that had the ball in his hands the majority of the time on the offensive end of the floor. There is no doubt that his graduation is going to result in a tweaking offensively, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Tulsa is going to suffer as a result. UConn transfer Scottie Haralson averaged 10.9 ppg, shooting a better percentage from beyond the arc than Hurtt, while being named Newcomer of the Year. Jordan Clarkson averaged 11.5 ppg and was named to the C-USA all-freshman team. I wouldn't be surprised to see both of those guys average 15 ppg next season. Junior Donte Medder will, hopefully, be healthy after tearing the acl in his right knee in back-to-back years. Sophomore Tim Smith and freshman Eric McClellan will push for minutes. Point guard play will be huge for Tulsa, as they were last in the conference in assists, assists-to-turnover ratio (0.8:1) and turnover margin. If healthy, Medder can be that answer. Up front, 6'11" senior Steven Idlet returns, giving Tulsa a back-to-the-basket scorer. He'll be joined by a deep group of front-line players in seniors DJ Magley and Joe Richard and sophomore Kodi Maduka. If Medder is healthy and can provide steady point guard play, I'd say Tulsa will have a very good chance of finishing second in the league next season and may even be able to get back to the NCAA Tournament.


4. Central Florida: UCF had one of the stranger seasons I've ever seen in 2010-2011. After winning the first 14 games of the season and climbing to their first ever national ranking, the Knights lost eight straight games in league play before finishing the regular season with five wins in their last seven games to solidify a trip to the CBI. Despite the eight game losing streak, UCF still managed to put together a 21 win season, which included wins over Florida and Miami.

As we mentioned, what makes UCF's season all the more impressive is that they weren't supposed to be good until this year. And that is what makes them scary -- and unpredictable -- heading into the season. In terms of talent, UCF has as much as anyone in the conference, save Memphis. It starts with who they bring back, namely juniors Marcus Jordan (Michael's son) and Keith Clanton. Jordan is a 6'3" slasher on the wing that can score and create, but he needs to work on improving shot selection and avoiding settling for jumpers. Clanton is a 6'8", 240 lb power forward that can do a bit of everything -- score inside, rebound the ball, block a shot, hit a three. Senior AJ Rompza didn't have a bad season running the point as a junior, but he may see his playing time cut due to the arrival of some talented transfers. Jeff Jordan (Michael's other son) will be eligible after transferring in from Illinois and is a tough, defensive-minded lead guard. Tristan Spurlock, a sophomore small forward that was once a top 100 recruit at Virginia, and Josh Crittle, a big-bodied center that transferred in from Oregon, will also become eligible this season. Throw in a well-regarded recruiting class of Rod Days, Wayne Martin and Casey Wilson -- all of whom are 6'7" forwards -- as well as returners PJ Gaynor, a senior front court player, and Isaiah Sykes, a sophomore wing, and Donnie Jones has plenty of able bodies. Assuming Donnie Jones can iron out the consistency issues from a year ago, there are two issues here for the Golden Knights. The first will be managing minutes, particularly in the front court, where UCF has a number of options. The other will be finding a perimeter shooting threat. With Isaac Sosa being run off, Jones lost his best three point shooter. Who fills that role? The talent is there, on paper, to finish as high as third, but will all the pieces come together? Will Spurlock and Crittle finally live up to their expectations coming out of high school?


5. UAB: For what is one of the most consistent programs in the country, UAB had their best season to date under head coach Mike Davis. They won the Conference USA regular season title and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Davis was named Coach of the Year in the league. Point guard Aaron Johnson was named Player of the Year while Jamarr Sanders earned first-team all-league honors. Even when they lost, they did it in a competitive manner, with just three losses coming by more than five points.

It will be difficult for Davis to sustain that level of success, however. For starters, both Johnson and Sanders -- who were as good as just about any back court in the country -- both graduated, leaving a gaping hole in the Blazer's back court. This year's team will likely be built around the interior. Cameron Moore, who was well on his way to averaging a double-double last season before breaking his hand, is back. Ovie Soko is back as well and will likely start along side Moore. With Moore's ability to knock down shots from the perimeter and Soko's aggressiveness on the offensive glass, Davis will have a solid tandem up front. Todd O'Brien, who started at St. Joe's, and Beas Hamga, an athletic seven-footer that was once a top 25 recruit in the country, are also on the front line. In the back court, Preston Purifoy is a 6'5" sophomore on the best shooter on the roster. With more playing time, he could be primed for a big season. Sophomore Robert Williams and Quincy Taylor were in and out of the starting lineup as freshmen, and don't be surprised to see newcomers KC Whitaker or Isiah Jones make a push for minutes. With that much youth in their back court, expect the Blazers to remain competitive but don't expect them to make a push to finish in the top three or four of the league.


6. Rice: Its a real sign of your program if a 14 win season that ends with a 5-11 record in conference play is considered a good year, but that's exactly the situation that the Rice Owls currently find themselves in. Its also what happens when that team is coming off an eight win campaign that saw just a single league victory. Throw in the fact that the Owls swept cross-town rival Houston and knocked off Memphis -- both C-USA firsts -- and now returns their top four scorers from a year ago, and you may understand why there is actually a bit of excitement surrounding this team.

Ben Braun has two all-league caliber players at his disposal. The first is Arsalan Kazemi, an Iranian-born power forward and arguably the best big man in the conference. He averaged 15.2 ppg and 11.0 rpg as a sophomore despite being the sole focus of some defenses during league play. Combo-guard Tamir Jackson was actually the team's leading scorer in C-USA, as the junior was to take advantage of the attention that was being shown to Kazemi. Connor Frizzelle will provide some leadership and experience in the back court while Lucas Kalpers will help spread the floor for Kazemi with his ability to shoot as a forward. That's a solid core in Conference USA, but the issue Rice is going to face has to do with their depth. They don't have much of it, and the guys they do have are freshmen. Will youngsters like Dylan Ennis and Julian DeBose be able to contribute immediately? Can Braun find some athleticism in his back court and a burly big man to play along side Kazemi? Finishing .500 in league play is not a stretch for this team, but I'm not sure they have the depth for much beyond that this season.


7. East Carolina: The Pirates 2010-2011 campaign was, without a doubt, an overwhelming success. With new head coach Jeff Lebo took over a team that managed just 10 wins the year before and playing much of the season with their star guard Brock Young battling a knee injury, ECU won 18 games -- this first time they finished above .500 in 14 years -- while going 8-8 in league play. They also knocked off Memphis for the first time ever and their two wins in the Conference USA Tournament earned them a trip to the CIT.

The issue that Lebo is going to run into this season is how he can build on that success. Two starters -- including leading scorer Jontae Sherrod -- and Conference USA's sixth man of the year (Young) all graduate, leaving a team that only went eight deep without half of their rotation. Expect senior Darius Morrow to be the star of this year's Pirate squad. Last season's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, Morrow averaged 21.7 ppg and 13.7 rpg in the Conference USA Tournament. Also back is junior Corvonn Gaines, a 6'4" playmaker (3.1 apg) that led the team in minutes and steals. Erin Straughn, a 6'6" guard who started 33 games as a sophomore, also returns, as does 6'8" sophomore Robert Sampson, who has some range on his jumper and should provide a solid inside-outside attack with Morrow. Beyond that, however, there are plenty of minutes available. South Carolina transfer Austin Steed, JuCo transfer Miguel Paul, sophomore Darius Morales and freshman Yasin Kolo will provide front court depth. JuCo transfer Shamarr Bowden and freshman Paris Roberts-Campbell will likely be the guys that provide the back court depth. If Lebo can coach this team up to another .500 season, it should probably be considered a success.


8. Southern Miss: There is no question that the 2010-2011 season was a major disappointment for the Golden Eagles, who were as talented as they have been in the Larry Eustachy era. Led by seniors Gary Flowers and RL Horton, Southern Miss jumped out to a 14-3 record, but road struggles, a late-season swoon that dropped them out of the hunt for the C-USA regular season title and a second-round exit in the conference tournament meant that USM was left without as much as an invite to the NIT. When you head into the season with expectations of dancing, settling for the CBI just doesn't cut it.

This year will be a rebuilding one for Southern Miss. Not only do they lose Flowers -- who led the team in points, rebounds, blocks and steals -- and Horton -- their second leading scorer, freshman DJ Newbill decided to transfer out of the program and closer to his Philly to play for Penn State. With the graduation of a couple role players as well, Eustachy returns just four players that cracked last season's rotation. Senior point guard Angelo Johnson, a transfer from USC, will be counted on to lead this team next season. He was terrific as a distributor and a facilitator as a junior, but USM will need him to be more of a scorer and a playmaker this year. Seniors Torye Pelham and Maurice Bolden will likely move into the starting lineup in the front court with Ahyaro Phillips coming off the bench while junior scoring guard LaShay Page will start along side Johnson. JuCo transfers Keith DeWitt and Jonathon Mills and freshman Christian Robbins may also provide some minutes up front. Eustachy has pieces in the front court, but the back court will be interesting to keep an eye on. Behind Johnson and Page, Eustachy will only have a pair of seldom used freshmen and a pair of transfers (Neil Watson from Toledo and Rashard McGill from Iona). Watson redshirted at Toledo, but McGill had a promising freshman season, starting a handful of games.


9. SMU: SMU had their best season in the five-year tenure of Matt Doherty in 2010-2011, winning 20 games and earning a bid to the CIT. And while Doherty touts the season as proof that the Mustangs program is officially turned around, the true mark of a basketball program is sustainability. What happens the year after you are successful? Doherty's team loses quite a bit from last year's squad. Five players from their eight-man rotation have moved on, including Papa Dia, a monster in the paint that opened everything up for the rest of the SMU team.

Perhaps the best news for Doherty is that Jeremiah Samarrippas turned to be better than he expected as a freshman. The 5'10" Florida native stepped in and ran the point from day one. Samarrippas can do a little bit of everything, and as he continues to develop, there is no reason he can't become one of the best point guards in the conference by the time he graduates. Doherty will also have some veteran leadership on the roster in the form of Robert Nyakundi and Robert Clinkscales. Nyakundi is a sharpshooting 6'8" small forward (49.7% from three, 97 threes made) that thrived complimenting Dia's post presence. Clinkscales will be counted on to be more of a scoring threat last year. There will be quite a few newcomers here. Shawne Williams, a former top 100 small forward that couldn't get off the bench at Texas, joins the program, as does London GIles, who was a seldom-used point guard at Nevada. Leslee Smith and Ricmonds Vilde are both redshirt freshmen forwards. Those four have all had a year to practice with the team and should be able to contribute right away. Doherty also has brought in a solid recruiting class -- big men Cannen Cunningham and Eric Norman and wings Jalen Jones and Ryan Manuel. There will be a lot of youth and inexperience on this roster, but if Clickscales and Samarrippas improve, a low-post threat emerges and a couple of these newcomers outperform expectations, the Mustangs will be competitive.


10. Houston: When the Cougars fired Tom Penders and hired James Dickey, they knew that the program would be undergoing a massive overhaul. Penders coached a run-and-gun style that didn't exactly ignore defense, but made it look that way on the final box score. Dickey's always been a defensive-minded head coach, and while the transition seemed to go fairly well early in the season -- as Houston won 11 of their first 17 games and three of their first four in C-USA -- it wore on the team as the season progressed. As Houston continued to lose close games (they lost five in a row by less than five points, including two in OT), the infighting only got worse. Trumaine Johnson left the team mid-season, Kendrick Washington transferred to Arkansas State when the year ended, and when it was all said and done, Houston had lost 12 of their last 13 games and had been swept by Rice.

Dickey will almost be given a clean slate heading into this season. In addition to the early departures, Houston will also be losing their three leading scorers to graduation. But the cupboard is far from bare. Don't be surprised if sophomore Alandise Harris becomes the go-to guy for Dickey this season on the offensive end of the floor. The 6'6" power forward really came on strong late in his freshman season. If Harris is the go-to guy, count on Darian Thibodeaux to be the team's leader. He led the team in minutes played last season, starting every games and providing playmaking and three-point marksmanship from the wing. The only other returners of consequence are sophomore Mikhail McLean and junior Kirk van Slyke, two big men that were in and out of the starting lineup. After that, Dickey's roster will be chock full of question marks and newcomers. The name you've probably heard before is Joseph Young, a talented guard out of Houston that was forced to take a year off when Keno Davis wouldn't allow him out of this letter of intent at Providence. Young isn't the only well-regarded newcomer, however. TaShawn Thomas is a four-star big man. Jherrod Stiggers and JJ Thompson are guards that had some high-major interest. JuCo transfers Jonathon Simmons and Leon Gibson, as well as freshman LeRon Barnes, will also have ample opportunity to earn playing time. Houston will be young and is still probably a year or two away from finishing in the top half of the league.


11. Tulane: Tulane looked like they were ready to shock the world in Ed Conroy's first season as head coach. After a 10-4 non-conference season -- which surprised just about everyone -- the Green Wave won their first two Conference USA games. But that was, more or less, the end of the good news for Tulane, as they proceeded to lose 12 consecutive games and 14 or their last 15, finishing the year 3-13 in the league. And while they bring back their two best players, including second-team all-conference performer Kendall Timmons, they lose five seniors that combined for 84 starts this past season.

The good news for Tulane is that Timmons and Jordan Callahan, who solidified the point guard spot, are back for their junior years. Timmons averaged 17.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 3.4 apg despite being forced to play out of position. A strong and physical kid, Timmons stands just 6'5" and is a natural two-guard, but he played the four due to a lack of size. Despite the Green Wave struggling against conference competition, Callahan proved that he will be able to compete against some of the best in the league. It will be interesting to see what Conroy does to surround those two. Sophomore Kevin Thomas should get a chance to start in the middle, and if a couple of the front court newcomers -- freshmen Grant Fiorentinos, Trevante Drye, and Lotanna Nwogbo; JuCo transfer Tomas Bruha; or NC State transfer Josh Davis -- can prove themselves worthy of consistent playing time, Timmons can slide over and play the wing. In the back court, Ben Cherry -- who started four games before injuring his knee -- should be healthy, as should Penn transfer Don Monckton. Throw in a quartet of freshmen on the perimeter, and its pretty obvious that there will be some serious competition for those available minutes. I'd say there is an outside chance Tulane finishes .500 in the league this year.


12. UTEP: I think it would be unfair to say that Tim Floyd had an unsuccessful season in his first year with UTEP, but it wasn't exactly a storybook year, either. He led a senior-dominated team to 25 wins, a second-place finish in a top 10 conference, to within a pair of Joe Jackson free of the C-USA Tournament title and a to the NIT. It could have been much worse. But given the amount of talent on the roster -- and the number of players that UTEP lost to graduation -- the season felt like a disappointment heading into the summer.

Floyd is going to have his work cut out for him rebuilding the Miners. He loses eight seniors, including his five leading scorers. Only three players from the Miner rotation return. Senior forward Gabriel McCulley and sophomore center John Bohannon both were in and out of the starting lineup last season. They should anchor the front line next season. Sophomore guard Michael Perez played limited minutes as a freshman, but the back court will be held down by Jacques Streeter, a transfer that started as a freshman and a sophomore at Cal State-Fullerton. Floyd does bring in a massive recruiting class -- eight freshmen and one Juco transfer. Wing forward Julian Washburn, the son of Chris Washburn, is the most highly-touted of the group and he should crack the starting lineup immediately. But beyond that, most of the newcomers are solid recruits that will take a year or two to develop into impact players in the conference. A .500 season in league play should probably be considered a success.
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The Only Conference Preview You Need To Read: Conference USA

Summer officially ends on September 22nd, but for me, the end of summer always coincided with the end of August. Or when I had to go to school. (That first day was always the worst, wasn't it?) Anyway, school is right around the corner, which means that college basketball season is around the corner, down the street, through two lights, and on the left. Since we've all had a fight with our GPS at one time or another, we at BIAH will take this week to roll out our way-too-early, all-encompassing conference previews.

To browse through the other conferences, click here.


Preseason Awards

Player of the Year: Randy Culpepper, UTEP, Sr.

Culpepper could very well be the most exciting player in the country to watch. He's arguably the best dunker in the country, routinely soaring for highlight worthy dunks despite barely pushing six feet. Culpepper is not a point guard, however. He is a scorer, through and through, with no conscience whatsoever. Its not unusual to see him pull-up from 25 feet, and when he gets hot, watch out. Ask Central Florida, who saw Culpepper go for 39 last season, or East Carolina, who was the recipient of one of the most impressive offensive performances last year as Culpepper went for 45 points (31 in the first half) on 14-18 shooting, 9-12 from deep. With Caracter and Moultrie gone, Culpepper is going to be expected to carry an even bigger share of the offensive workload as a senior.


And a close second goes too: Gary Flowers, Southern Miss, Sr.

The Golden Eagles have a chance to be a very good team this season, and it is in no small part due to the play of Flowers, a 6'8" power forward. Flowers was fantastic in his first season with USM, finishing among the league leaders in points (15.0), rebounds (8.3), and blocks (1.8) and providing Larry Eustachy with his only real consistent threat throughout an up-and-down season. Southern Miss has a deep and talented back court, and Eustachy has been vocal about his willingness to play four guards around Flowers. Flowers should once again be a steadying force for the Golden Eagles, and if he can improve upon the season he just had, there is no reason that Southern Miss cannot build on what was a positive finish to the 2009-2010 season.

Breakout Star: Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis, Jr.

Witherspoon has not had the smoothest two years in Memphis. As a freshman, the 6'8" small forward was tried out at point guard, but that test didn't last long as John Calipari eventually discovered that it was Tyreke Evans' natural position. Last year, Witherspoon was expected to carry much of the workload under new head coach Josh Pastner, but it was an up-and-down year. Witherspoon had some fantastic performances -- including a two games stretch where he scored 55 points against Gonzaga and UAB -- but also disappeared offensively during some games. This kid has tons of talent. He's a lanky and athletic 6'8" wing that, when he is at his best, is slashing to the basket and getting to the foul line. He's also added a consistent three point stroke, knocking down 43% of his shots from beyond the arc, although he only took 79 on the season. Memphis is going to be loaded with talent this year, but the majority of that talent will be freshmen. Witherspoon, who seems destined to be a first round pick when he finally heads to the NBA, will be the experienced leader on this team. Eventually, his talent is going to take over. Could this be the year? If it is, then I may end up regretting not picking him as the preseason PoY.


All-Conference First Team:

• POY - Randy Culpepper, UTEP, Sr.
  
• G - Brock Young, East Carolina, So.
  
• G - Justin Hurtt, Tulsa, Sr.
  
• F - Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis, Jr.
• F - Arsalan Kazemi, Rice, So.
  
• F - Gary Flowers, Southern Miss, Sr.

All-Conference Second Team:

• G - Aaron Johnson, UAB, Sr.
  
• G - Joe Jackson, Memphis, Fr.
  
• G - Will Barton, Memphis, Fr.
  
• F - Keith Clanton, UCF, So.
  
• F - Papa Dia, SMU, Sr.
  

Freshman of the Year: Will Barton, Memphis

Of the lauded freshman class that Pastner is bringing in, Barton is probably the best. A wiry athlete, the 6'6" Barton has everything you look for in a wing player. Most importantly, however, is that Barton can really score. He can take a defensive rebound coast to coast, he can get to the rim in a one-on-one setting in the half court, he can finish above the rim, and he is a capable shooter in both the mid-range and from three. His length also allows him to be a good defender, and Pastner has said that Barton is the best rebounding guard in this class. Keep in mind, Barton prepped a year, meaning he is coming in as a 19 year old freshman. There is still plenty of room for this kid to grow, but he has the talent, and he will have the opportunity to showcase it this season.

All-Freshman team:

• G - Joe Jackson, Memphis
• G - Preston Purifoy, UAB
  
• G - Isaiah Sykes, UCF
  
• F - Michael Haynes, UTEP
• F - Tarik Black, Memphis
  

What Happened?:

• Tim Floyd finds a place to land: UTEP did what some believed was unthinkable -- they hired Tim Floyd, the guy who built the USC program into a contender, then left as OJ Mayo's fallout hit. And it didn't take Floyd long to create a stir. Only months after he was hired, Floyd was off making package deals, bringing in three players -- one of whom was Rashanti Harris, who has since been declared ineligible -- closely associated with two of his new assistant coaches.
  
  That wasn't the end of UTEP's drama filled off-season. Not only did starting center Arnett Moultrie bolt for greener SEC pastures, but one player Floyd booted off the team, Myron Strong, made quite a fuss on his way out the door.


• Floyd wasn't the only one with a drama filled summer: Let's begin with DJ Newbill, a 6'3" guard that is currently at Southern Miss. Newbill, a Philly native, signed a Letter of Intent with Marquette only to see his scholarship taken away by Buzz Williams when Jamil Wilson decided he wanted to transfer into Marquette.
  
  If that wasn't bad enough, take Joseph Young's case. Young signed his Letter of Intent with Providence, but do to his father's hiring at Houston and the illness of one of his aunts, Young decided he would rather play for Houston. Keno Davis wouldn't let him out of his LOI, so Young is sitting out this season while waiting to play for Houston.
  
  Memphis may have had the wildest ride. First, it was Will Barton, the talented Tiger recruit that believed that he was initially ruled ineligible academically, but once the NCAA received all of the information they needed, they reversed their stance and cleared him to participate. Another talented freshman, Jelan Kendrick, has been suspended from the Tigers for allegedly threatening a teammate. We don't have details, but most believe he will back in Tigers uniform at some point.


• Floyd also isn't the only new coach in C-USA: Conference USA has seemingly become the preferred landing spot for coaches that lost their chance at a Big Six school. Larry Eustachy is at Southern Miss, Mike Davis is at UAB, Matt Doherty is at SMU, and Ben Braun is at Rice. Now, you can add former Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo, the new head man at East Carolina.
  
  Or how about James Dickey? He was the coach at Texas Tech in the 90's, but lost his job to Bobby Knight. Dickey replaced Tom Penders at Houston.
  
  Believe it or not, I'm still not done talking about new coaching hires. Former Citadel head coach Ed Conroy is taking over the Tulane program, while Donnie Jones (more on him in a second) went to a different school within the same conference, leaving Marshall for Central Florida. Tom Herrion was hired to replace Jones at Marshall.
  


• UCF is loading up: The future looks bright for Donnie Jones at Central Florida as he is stockpiling talent. Not only does he return the entire rotation from last season, he adds a talented group of freshmen this year, headlined by Isaiah Sykes. He also added three high-major transfers -- Jeffery Jordan from Illinois, Tristan Spurlock from Virginia, and Josh Crittle from Oregon -- that will be eligible to play next season. In addition to those transfers, UCF also adds two very talented recruits next year in Kamil Wilson and Rod Days.
  
  In case you didn't notice, Jones now has both of Michael Jordan's sons -- when they aren't partying in Vegas -- playing for his program. I wonder is they can get His Airness to come play at practice? That would be a hell of a recruiting tool...
  
  There are a few other notable transfers from the league. Desmond Wade, Houston's starting point guard, has transferred to Fairfield, while Paul McCoy, who averaged 13.4 ppg as a freshman before struggling last season, has left the SMU program. And Beas Hamga, a seven-footer that was a top 30 recruit coming out of high school and originally enrolled at UNLV, will be eligible this season as a junior for UAB. Yea, he's tall.


• Arsalan Kazemi is a player: He averaged damn near a double-double as a freshman for a bad Rice team, and the future only looks brighter for college basketball's first Iranian. Why does the future look bright? Well, maybe its the 14 points he had against Team USA in the World Basketball Championships.
  

What's Next?:

• How long will Conference USA be this Conference USA?: Its not a secret that Memphis wants to join the Big East, and during the conference realignment madness that happened back in June, it was rumored that the Tigers, and possibly Central Florida, would be headed to the Big East. That didn't happen, but when BYU made the decision to leave the Mountain West, theories started floating around about how the country's second-tier conferences -- the WAC, the MWC, C-USA -- would realign themselves. That process if far from over, and we could end up seeing a major change at some point.


• Can Memphis return to the top?: Its not a secret that Josh Pastner brings in arguably the best recruiting class in the country. After finishing last season second place in the league and missing out on the NCAA Tournament, this crop of freshmen should be good enough to get the Tigers back to the top of the conference standings. Will it lead to postseason success?


• More than a one-bid league?: Generally speaking, there is pretty good basketball being played in Conference USA, but with teams like UAB and Tulsa fading down the stretch last season, C-USA was only able to nab a second tournament bid when Houston made a run to the league's tournament title and UTEP was given a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament. will this conference be able to support more than one at-large bid this season? Memphis seems like a pretty safe bet to earn themselves a bid, but with a number of solid teams behind them -- Southern Miss, UTEP, UAB, Tulsa -- will anyone perform above expectations?
  

Power Rankings

1. Memphis: Last season, UTEP took the C-USA title from the Tigers, and while Memphis loses four of their top five scorers, don't expect the Tigers to be down for long. Josh Pastner proved himself to be a force on the recruiting trail, landing one of the nation's best classes. It is headlined by a few potential stars on the perimeter. Joe Jackson is an ultra-quick point guard with athleticism for days that is a nightmare to keep out of the paint. Jelan Kendrick is a point forward that could stand to improve his handle and jumper, as well as adjusting his attitude. It remains to be seen if Kendrick will play this season after threatening a teammate. Will Barton, a 6'6" slasher and scorer on the wing, may be the best of the bunch. Junior Wesley Witherspoon, a first round pick in the making, had a couple of huge games last season, and could develop into a star if he can become more consistent. Freshmen Antonio Barton and Chris Crawford, as well as Charles Carmouche, a transfer from New Orleans, should also get some time in the back court. The Tigers front court should also be quite good next season. Will Coleman is a freak athlete, a 6'9", 245 pound dunker and shotblocker reminiscent of Joey Dorsey. 6'11" Angel Garcia looks like he'll finally be ready to contribute this year, while freshmen Hippolyte Tsafack and Tarik Black, who drew high praise for his play on the Tiger's trip to the Bahamas, will also get quite a few minutes. Memphis is a big-time favorite to win the league, but how good they are on a national scale will depend on just how good some of these freshmen end up being.


2. Southern Miss: USM had a bit of a quirky season in 2009-2010. They started off slow, losing to Canisius and North Florida during non-conference play before starting 0-4 in the league. But they finished strong -- getting to 8-8 in the conference -- and with Larry Eustachy bringing back all five starters and a quality class of newcomers, the Golden Eagles look like they can make a push towards the top of the league. It starts with Gary Flowers, a 6'8" post player that was USM's most consistent performer, notching averages of 15 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 1.8 bpg, good enough to earn him a spot on the all-conference team. But Flowers is not all that Eustachy has on his roster. Juniors Angelo Johnson and Maurice Bolden, as well as seniors RL Horton and Sai'Quan Stone, all started for much of last season. Johnson and Horton need to mature as decision makers and improve their consistency, but they proved to be capable of handling the back court duties. At 6'10", Bolden is a perimeter threat, which should help create some space for Flowers, while Stone is a tough, physical defender. There will be some depth on this club, as well. Torye Pelham was a part-time starter up front last season, while Josimar Ayarza also saw minutes in the front court. JuCo transfer Aharyo Phillips -- who played his freshman season at Nevada before being kicked off the team -- should also compete for time. In the back court, Eustachy will have an inexperienced bench, but one that could push the starters for playing time. JuCo transfer LaShay Page and freshman DJ Newbill, who originally committed to Marquette, were both rated as three-star recruits according to Rivals. Four other newcomers -- freshmen Kody Williams, Trency Jackson, and Cedric Jenkins as well as sophomore Kayland Partee -- all will have a shot at earning some playing time as well. The Golden Eagles aren't going to win pretty, but with their experience, their talent level, and a player like Flowers, Southern Miss should be near the top of the C-USA standings come season's end.


3. UTEP: The Miners will take a big hit to their front court this season, as Derrick Caracter headed to the NBA and Arnett Moultrie has transferred to Mississippi State. While that loss will no doubt effect this team, the good news is that they get, essentially, the rest of their roster back, including senior guard Randy Culpepper. Culpepper may be the most entertaining player in the country to watch. Barely reaching 6'0", Culpepper is an athletic freak, soaring for highlight reel dunks while also being unafraid to jack up any shot he deems fit, even if it is 28 feet from the rim. Also returning for the Miners will be senior swingmen Christian Polk, Julyan Stone, and Jeremy Williams, who combine to form quite a versatile group to complement Culpepper. Another senior, 6'11" Claude Britten found himself buried on the bench behind Moultrie and Caracter, but he was still able to score a point in every two minutes of playing time when he did see the floor. The rest of Tim Floyd's rotation will likely be made up of freshmen. Michael Haynes and John Bohannon will see minutes inside, while Michael Perez and DeShun Watkins should provide depth in the back court. UTEP will once again be in the mix near the top of the league standings.


4. Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane were expected to be a top 25 team last season, but struggled down the stretch before being eliminated in the first round of the NIT to end a disappointing season. That disappointment was compounded by the fact that their two best players -- Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan -- both graduated. While Tulsa will have no where near the same preseason expectations, there are still enough quality pieces on Doug Wojcik's team that they will once again be at the top of C-USA. To start, Justin Hurtt returns for his senior season. Hurtt has been the shooter that spread the floor for Tulsa the last few years -- and successfully, he averaged 14.5 ppg last year -- but the Golden Hurricane will be counting on him to have a big year this year. Joining him in the back court will be UConn transfer Scottie Haralson, two players coming off of serious injuries in Donte Medder and Glenn Andrews, and two talented freshmen in Tim Peete and Jordan Clarkson. Sophomore swingman Bryson Pope should see time on the perimeter as well. Up front, Steven Idlet and Joe Richard both return. They split time starting last season, and while both have proven to be solid rebounders and post defenders, Tulsa is going to need one, or both, to become more of a scoring threat. The same can be said for Western Kentucky transfer DJ Magley, who started half the time during his two seasons with the Hilltoppers. Freshmen Blondy Baruti and Kodi Maduka should see minutes as well.


5. UAB: The Blazers lose quite a bit from last season's 25 win team. Three of their top six scorers graduate, while Elijah Millsap, UAB's leading scorer and rebounder, left school to turn pro. This year's club will be based around the perimeter. Aaron Johnson, a 5'8" point guard, returns for his senior season. Johnson, who made the C-USA all-defensive team, is a good distributor who will be counted on for more offensive production. Starting alongside Johnson will be Jamarr Sanders, a senior that averaged 10.4 ppg in his first season under Mike Davis who will be the Blazers best perimeter shooter. One player to watch will be sophomore Dexter Fields. Fields was a three-star recruit last season, and while he saw limited minutes last year, he had a couple of big games and was productive when he did get on the court. Freshman Preston Purifoy, a 6'5" small forward, should help fill the void left by Millsap at the three, while Robert Williams and Quincy Taylor, redshirt and true freshmen, respectively, should also compete for time. The front court will be a bigger question mark. Junior Cameron Moore and sophomore Ovie Soko both were in the rotation last season, but averaged a combined 5 points and 5 boards in just 22 minutes. Freshmen Anthony Criswell should also see time, but the x-factor could end up being Beas Hamga. An athletic seven-footer, Hamga -- who has a 9'6" wingspan -- was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. He's raw, but he has a ton of potential. UAB has some question marks, but there is enough talent on this team that they could finish in the top four of the league.


6. UCF: Things are really looking up for the basketball program at Central Florida. As we touched on earlier, Donnie Jones has a serious influx of talent coming into the program, and while the addition of that talent is still a full season away, there is reason to believe that the Golden Knights will be a factor in the C-USA race this season. In 2009-2010, UCF played with, essentially, an eight man rotation, and all eight of those players return. Six of them were underclassmen last season. Sharpshooting junior Isaac Sosa and 6'9" senior AJ Tyler led a balanced scoring attack at 10.3 ppg each. Two sophomores, guard Marcus Jordan -- who really came on as the season progressed, working his way into the starting line up -- and big man Keith Clanton, showed that they can be impact players at the C-USA level. Senior Taylor Young and junior AJ Rompza will handle the point guard duties, while Dave Diakite and PJ Gaynor are role playing forwards. What UCF really lacks -- and what likely won't be provided by newcomers Jarvis Davis, Dwight McCombs, and Isaiah Sykes (although Sykes, a 6'5" swingman, was a fairly highly regarded recruit that attracted a lot of high-major attention) -- is a go-to scorer. UCF struggled against more athletic and aggressive teams, but part of that was an overall lack of experience on the roster. With this group now playing together for a second year, the Knights should improve.


7. Marshall: The Thundering Herd are going to look a lot different this season as both of their talented big men -- Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Wilker son -- and head coach Donnie Jones are all gone. Instead, this is going to be a team whose strength in on the perimeter. The leaders will be Damier Pitts and Shaquille Johnson, two junior guards that have the potential to be very good at this level. Much is also expected of Dago Pena, a 6'6" scorer that had some big games off the bench last season. There isn't a ton of talent behind them -- Justin Howe is a freshman, DeAndre Kane was a partial qualifier last season, and Johnny Higgins is a JuCo transfer -- but the Herd shouldn't need a ton of depth as Pitts, Johnson, and Pena will likely play a lot of minutes. The question is going to be where Marshall gets their front court scoring from. Replacing the 27 points, 16 boards, and 6 blocks the Herd lost with Whiteside and Wilkerson won't be easy. Tirrel Baines may be the best scoring option. Baines, a 6'6" forward, averaged 11.5 ppg as a freshman, but saw his minutes cut as the Herd improved their front line. Antonio Haymon returns for his senior year, while 6'10" Nigel Spikes could also see more time. Joining them will be some new faces. Orlando Allen is a 6'10" transfer from Oklahoma. Eladio Espinosa started a dozen games at South Florida before transferring. Aundra Williams is a big-bodied, 6'10" JuCo addition. Depending on how the Herd's trio of junior guards develops, this team has a shot at getting to 20 wins.


8. East Carolina: The good news for the Pirates is that they basically bring back their entire roster. The key to that roster is going to be Brock Young, a senior point guard that was one of the more productive players in C-USA last season (15.5 ppg and 5.5 apg, which led the league). Young is an excellent penetrator, but he needs to improve on his perimeter shooting and cut down his turnovers, something that will be helped as he gets more production around him. And therein lies the problem -- while ECU returns the same team from last season, its a team that was only able to muster 10 wins, four in league play. There are a couple of kids that showed potential last season. Junior Darrius Morrow proved to be a capable post player at this level, while senior Jamar Abrams, who can really shoot the ball, came on strong down the stretch after a sluggish start to the season. Jontae Sherrod joins Young to give the Pirates a solid back court, and 6'11" Chad Wynn will likely get the nod at center. ECU does have some depth, which will get helped by incoming front court players Robert Sampson and Darius Morales, but there aren't many impact players on the bench. Young is a player, but unless he gets more help this season, Jeff Lebo will likely lead ECU to another losing season.


9. Rice: Ben Braun has not had much success in his first two seasons at the helm of a struggling Rice program, but there is reason to be optimistic. Braun returns essentially the same group of kids from last season. While it is difficult to get excited about a team coming back that won just eight games, consider this -- the four most important players on the roster are back, and three of them were underclassmen last year. And while the Owls went 8-23 last year, they weren't getting run out of the gym. This is a group that played hard and played with pride, and as their talent level increases -- and the young talent on the roster develops -- Braun's club only has one direction to go. They will be led once again by Tamir Jackson, a 6'2" sophomore guard, and 6'7" sophomore forward Arsalan Kazemi. Jackson had some big games last season and led the Owls in scoring, but he was inconsistent, especially with his jumpshot (although, to be fair, it was about what you would expect from an overwhelmed freshman on a bad team). Kazemi has the potential to be a star. The Iranian nearly averaged a double-double last year, was even better in league play, and put 14 points on Team USA in the World Basketball Championships. Connor Frizzelle, a junior who is probably the team's best shooter, also returns, as does big-bodied center Trey Stanton. Beyond that, there are question marks. Will Lucas Kuipers and Suleiman Braimoh ever be more than a role player? Can any other returner develop into a consistent contributor? Will any of Braun's freshmen -- some of whom look promising, including David Chadwick, a 6'9' power forward that was a three-star recruit on Rivals, and Omar Oraby, a 7'1" Egyptian that had 15 points and 8 boards against the USA in the 2009 U-19 Worlds -- be impact players? Rice is still a long way from being considered a contender, but I expect more wins from the Owls this year.


10. Houston: The Cougars are going to have some big shoes to fill next season as their starting back court of Aubrey Coleman, Kelvin Lewis, and Desmond Wade are all gone along with head coach Tom Penders. The cupboard isn't going to be completely bare for new head coach James Dickey, however, as the Cougar team looks like it is going to be more oriented around front court players. 6'9" senior Maurice McNeil had a solid season after transferring in from a JuCo, while 6'7" sophomore Kendrick Washington looked pretty impressive down the stretch last season. Kirk Van Slyke should also see time inside. Like I said, the back court is going to have quite a bit of turnover. Seniors Adam Brown and Zamal Nixon, who both played about 20 mpg off the bench last season, figure to feature prominently next season. Beyond that, there are going to be a lot of new faces for the Cougars. San Diego transfer Trumaine Johnson, a 6'2" transfer from San Diego that averaged 11.6 ppg in the WCC in 2008-2009, should see quite a few minutes alongside Brown and Nixon. Alandise Harris and Mikhail McLean are freshmen forwards, while JuCo transfers Darian Thibodeaux and Jonathon Simmons should be able to provide some experience. Overall, it seems as if it will be a rebuilding year for Houston.


11. SMU: The bad news for SMU is that they lose two of their top three scorers from a team that, at times, struggled offensively. The Mustangs also lost Paul McCoy to a transfer, a talented guard that struggled to repeat his impressive freshman season. Simply put, there are a lack of quality pieces returning for Matt Doherty. Doherty's most dangerous weapon is probably third team all-conference forward Papa Dia, a 6'9" post player that averaged 12.3 ppg and 8.6 rpg. Robert Nyakundi, a sharpshooting 6'8" forward, should start full time this season as well. Beyond that, the Mustangs are going to have some interchangeable pieces, which works well given the grind-it-out style that they like to play (they ranked in the 300's in tempo last season, and were at their best when the pace was slower than that). Justin Haynes is a tough 6'5" wing that was a starter last season, while Ryan Harp, Rodney Clinkscales, and Mike Walker all saw minutes in the back court last year. North Texas transfer Collin Mangrum should also provide some depth in the back court. The front court won't be as deep for the Mustangs, and Dia and Nyakundi are really the only returners. Freshmen Leslee Smith and Ricmonds Vilde will compete with seniors Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Myles Luttman for minutes off the bench. Unless some of the Mustang's returners develop this season, or their incoming freshmen end up being instant impact kids (none of them even received a three-star ranking from Rivals, it could be a long season for Doherty.


12. Tulane: The Green Wave didn't have much success, or consistency, last season, as they won just seven games while using 13 different starting line-ups. The strength of Tulane this season is going to be in the back court. To start, they return leading scorer Kris Richard, a 6'5" swing man that is back for his senior season. Joining him in the back court will be two sophomores that had promising freshmen seasons. 6'5" Kendall Timmons led the team in scoring during conference play, proving to be quite a versatile player, while Jordan Callahan may be the program's point guard of the future. He played sparingly to begin the season, but when starting point guard Kevin Sims went down with an injury midway through the year, Callahan filled in quite nicely, proving to be a capable shooter and distributor while posting a couple of big scoring games. David Booker is really the only returning interior player for the Green Wave, and as a senior, it would be nice to see him become more assertive and improve on his averages of 7.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg. After that, the front court is a bit of a question mark for new head coach Ed Conroy, who will need Geoff Hogan, Keith Cameron, or freshman Kevin Thomas to develop into a player he can rely on. When the Green Wave is hot from the perimeter, they should be able to be competitive, but expect to see them back at the bottom of the league standings again this season.

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What expansion did to Conference USA

For those that have been ignoring the possibility of the Big Ten expanding to 16 teams, take a look at Conference USA.

I know that doesn't make much sense on the surface, but stay with me here.

Back in the early 2000's, Conference USA was all but considered a major conference, especially in basketball. With teams like Memphis, Cincinnati, Marquette, Louisville, and DePaul, there was legacy, there was talent, there was great coaching, and they annually had success in the NCAA Tournament.

That was before Miami got fed up with playing football in the Big East.


As the Hurricanes pushed harder and harder to join the ACC, the ACC pushed harder to get three Big East schools to join their ranks. They initially wanted Syracuse and Boston College, but after quite a bit of politicking and negotiating, in 2005 it was Virginia Tech, and not the Orange, that switched conferences.

This left the Big East in a tough situation. Already a league known more for their basketball than their football -- and we all know football is the real moneymaker -- they were left with just four schools that had D1 football teams. UConn decided to bump their football program up from D1-AA, but the Big East still needed to add three more football programs to their conference to remain in the BCS.

So they raided Conference USA.

Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, and South Florida all went to the Big East, giving them three football playing schools (Louisville, Cinci, USF) and two basketball-only schools in untapped markets -- DePaul in Chicago and Marquette in Milwaukee. Charlotte and St. Louis both decided that with all the defections, they would be better off in the Atlantic 10.

Conference USA was left with Memphis ... and not much else. Houston, East Carolina, Tulane, UAB, and Southern Miss. To combat their defections, the league added Marshall, Central Florida, Rice, Tulsa, UTEP, and SMU.

Not exactly a murderer's row.

We all know what happened after that. Memphis dominated the league for four seasons under John Calipari. But when Cal bolted for Kentucky, Josh Pastner was left with a depleted roster and an NIT team. Gone was the league's shining star, replaced atop the conference by a UTEP that went 15-1 during the regular season. To get a feel for how strong the conference was this year, that UTEP team was a 12 seed, barely sneaking into the NCAA Tournament.

UAB beat Butler, Cincinnati, Georgia, and Arkansas, climbed to as high as 20th in the RPI before league play started, and after going 11-5 in the conference, the Blazers missed the NCAA's altogether. So did Memphis and Tulsa. Conference USA got two bids for the first time since 2006 for the simple fact that, with Memphis having a down year, someone was able to pull an upset in the conference tournament.

Elijah Millsap and UAB missed the tournament this season.
(photo credit: The Birmingham News)

Dan Wolken, a fantastic reporter for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal who has been extremely vocal (well, on twitter) the problems with this league, penned a great article on Sunday detailing precisely how bad things have gotten for Conference USA:

A year ago, UAB put together perhaps the most impressive non-conference resume (outside of Memphis) since the league reorganized in 2005 with victories over Cincinnati, Georgia, Arkansas and Butler. The Blazers entered conference play with a 12-2 record and an RPI of 20. After playing (and beating) East Carolina, Tulane and SMU to start the league schedule, UAB's RPI dropped to 35. When UAB played Tulane for a second time in late February, its RPI dropped from 32 to 37.
...
With poor performances in the non-conference season, teams like SMU (208), ECU (231), Tulane (282) and Rice (311) have created a power-ratings drain on the league's top teams, to the point that RPI guru Jerry Palm came to Florida last week and told the coaches that UAB and Memphis would have likely been in the NCAA Tournament if the bottom of the conference wasn't so bad.

Those are pretty staggering numbers for a league that just six years ago was routinely considered on a par with the six power conferences. To get an idea of just how far this conference has fallen, Wolken lists four teams from the league (a third of their membership) that were ranked outside of the top-200 in the RPI. The six power conferences, combined, had four teams ranked outside of the top-200 -- DePaul, Iowa, Indiana, and LSU.

All four of those teams were truly horrific this season. None of them play in the Pac-10, either.

How does the league plan on fighting this problem? Wolken explains:

There's not much C-USA can do about the quality of teams in its league; that's on coaches to go out and recruit and players to go play.

But what it plans to do, if last week's meetings are any indication, is clamp down on how its teams are scheduling in the non-conference season. In an attempt to manipulate the RPI to its advantage, the league is telling its coaches to build schedules for which they can win 70 percent of their non-conference games.

For ECU, that means don't schedule almost-certain losses to Wake Forest, Tennessee, Northern Iowa, Charlotte, Clemson and Virginia Commonwealth, as the Pirates did last season.

To enforce, or at least encourage, better scheduling, Banowsky said C-USA has created a formula to distribute its postseason revenue on the basis of winning percentage. The more Division 1 non-conference games a team wins, the more money it gets from the league.

Moreover, the league is going to review all non-conference games and give feedback on whether schools are scheduling at the appropriate level. If the directives are ignored -- for instance, if an athletic director at a bottom-tier program starts taking multiple paydays at power-conference schools just to help balance the budget -- C-USA may seek even more control.

Wait, what?

The conference is paying schools that load up on teams like East West State University for the Deaf and Blind?

I'm not exactly sure that makes a whole lot of sense.

For starters, the way quite a few of the schools -- especially the ones near the bottom of the league, the schools that the league is trying to get to turnaround -- fund their athletic program is by cashing in on the paydays from high-majors. Are they really going to scrap the high-five, low-six figure payout they get to let a Duke beat them by 50? If they don't, than doesn't this new rule only make the rich get richer? Won't a school like Memphis, who rarely is going to finish with a non-conference winning percentage below 70%, be the school that benefits from this rule?

The other problem is that these teams aren't guaranteed to win these games. What happens in ECU goes 3-9 against teams like Arkansas-Pine Bluff and High Point? What does that do to the conference RPI?

I understand what Conference USA is trying to do. Improving the competitive balance between the best teams and the bottom teams is one way to boost the conference RPI. But trying to get teams to play weak schedules to make the league look better is like putting a band aid on a stab wound.

It doesn't fix the problem. It doesn't make SMU or Tulane more competitive. Its not going to actually make Conference USA any better. And until the bottom of Conference USA actually does get better, they are going to continue to have these same problems.

Would the league have been in this position if it didn't lose all of their best teams to the Big East and Atlantic 10?

That right there is the problem with expansion.

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Conference Tournament Preview: Conference USA

Where: BOK Center, Tulsa, OK

When: March 10th-13th

Final: 11:30 am CBS




Favorite: UTEP Miners

The Miners were never really considered the favorite to win this league until Dec. 13th when Derrick Caracter first suited up. Despite the baggage, Caracter is still a very good player at this level, averaging 14.3 ppg and 8.9 rpg. While adding that kind of production to a lineup is going to help any team, Caracter's addition was about more than just then numbers. He added the missing piece to this team.

6'0" point guards aren't supposed to be able to do that.
(photo credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre)

UTEP is a talented squad. You won't find a higher-flying, more dynamic scoring guard anywhere in the country than Randy Culpepper. Julyan Stone is an excellent creator at the point forward spot. Christian Polk and Jeremy Williams are capable complimentary scorers. Arnett Moultrie provides size in the middle. But until Caracter was thrown in the mix, the Miners didn't have a bruiser inside. With him, this team is complete.


And if they lose?: Memphis Tigers

When John Calipari left, a lot of folks wrote of the Tigers this season. They lost their recruiting class, they lost guys to the pros, they lost guys to injury. Josh Pastner was walking into a pretty bare cupboard. But he's done a great job with this team, getting them to the precipice of the NCAA tournament by winning seven of their last eight (including two wins over Tulsa and a win over UAB), with the chance to earn an at-large bid with a good performance in the C-USA tourney.

Elliot Williams has turned into a star with the Tigers.
(photo credit: ESPN)

The Tigers best player is Elliot Williams, but that was expected. He played great at Duke last season when he got the chance, so it only made sense that he would thrive as the focal point in a weaker league. Wesley Witherspoon's development, however, has been a pleasant surprise. Roburt Sallie and Doneal Mack have been their usual selves. But the key to this team is going to be the play of Will Coleman and Angel Garcia. Memphis lacks a lot of size, especially with Pierre Henderson-Niles gone. If those two can rebound and be productive inside, the Tigers have a real shot at winning this thing.


Don't count out: UAB Blazers and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

UAB started out the season great, picking up non-conference wins over Cincinnati, Butler, Georgia, and Arkansas. But a mid-season stumble in which they lost three of four, and losing their last two, left the Blazers with five losses against the top of the league and a longshot to earn an at-large. But the Blazers are a good team, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Elijah Millsap is one of the best players in the league. When they shoot well from the perimeter, they are a tough team to beat.

Tulsa, on the other hand, had a ton of preseason expectations. But that's what happens when you have Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan on your roster. Tulsa has simply been disappointing. The win against Oklahoma State is nice, but they lost to Missouri State, Nebraska, and Nevada, and only notched a one win against the teams above them in the league - a home game against Marshall. Tulsa has talent, but it will be interesting to see if they can win against quality competition.


Sleeper: Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall is a tough team to gauge. Their only quality win is against UAB, but of their five losses in league play only one came by more than four points. Marshall may have the best front line in the conference with Tyler Wilkerson and Hassan Whiteside. The key is going to be the play of their back court of Shaquille Johnson, Damier Pitts, and Chris Lutz. When those three are scoring, Marshall is a dangerous team.


Names you need to know:

• Aubrey Coleman, Houston: Coleman is the leading scorer in the country at 26.0 ppg. He has the ability to go for 40 on any given night. The problem for Houston is that in order to win, they need about 40 from him a night.


• Hassan Whiteside, Marshall: Whiteside burst onto the national scene this season. An unheralded recruit out of The Patterson School, Whiteside has loads of potential, and will likely end up a lottery pick, and possibly a top five pick, when he finally goes pro. Whiteside is a fantastic athlete and does most of his damage by taking advantage of those tools - blocking shots, catch-and-dunks, rebounding. He has shown flashes of a back to the basket game as well. Tulsa and Marshall are on track for a quarterfinal matchup, which would pit Jerome Jordan and Marshall for the third time this season.


• Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis: Witherspoon is the x-factor for the Tigers. He has all the tools to be a dominant player at this level, but it is rare for him to put it all together. Memphis needs him to be the Witherspoon to be a dominant second scorer. If he is, the Tigers will have the best perimeter in this tournament.
  

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