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AAC hoops has its day

By Al Myatt
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Audio clips from Media Day...

ORLANDO, FL — The three-year-old American Athletic Conference continues to make a name for itself. The league currently has three of the Football Bowl Subdivision's unbeaten football teams.

Houston, Memphis and Temple are all 7-0. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 by the Associated Press, the Cougars are No. 18 and the Owls are No. 21 going into a high profile matchup on Saturday in Philadelphia with Notre Dame.

As good as its going on the gridiron, the AAC has been even better in basketball.

Connecticut is always a good bet against the field for the national title in women's basketball. Much of the league's star power is back in men's basketball from the season after UConn made an improbable run to the NCAA title in 2014.

Commissioner Mike Aresco noted at the AAC basketball media day on Tuesday at the Amway Center that league members have a total of six national championships. That's some impressive history in itself.

The AAC will play its league tournament March 10-13 at the home of the Orlando Magic, where the weather and nearby attractions such as Disney World should make for a popular venue. The proximity of fan bases from Central Florida and South Florida should serve to boost attendance.

The process of building the AAC brand will continue during the remainder of the football season and through the upcoming hoops campaign.

"We've all been in Conference USA and different leagues," said UCF coach Donnie Jones on Tuesday. "Now we're trying to put our feet in somewhere to have a little stability. ... We have the historic programs in UConn and Cincinnati and Memphis, which have had success for many, many years, which gives us a recognition, but from top to bottom we haven't gotten the respect yet."

Several coaches made the point that Temple was deserving of an NCAA Tournament bid last year and that Southern Methodist should have been in the field in the AAC's first season.

The Mustangs were named preseason favorites in the AAC's preseason poll released Tuesday although SMU will not participate in the league tournament in Orlando because of NCAA sanctions relating to academic fraud.

Mustangs coach Larry Brown, who won an NCAA title at Kansas in 1988, addressed his program's penalties during a round table discussion with all the AAC coaches. SMU will not be eligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament in 2016.

"We're embarrassed by what happened and we apologize to everyone here," Brown said.

All 11 of the AAC coaches return this year, including Mick Cronin of Cincinnati who was on a leave of absence last season for health reasons.

East Carolina's Jeff Lebo is back for his sixth season with the Pirates. ECU will be going into its second season in the AAC.

"We learned a lot about how good and how physical this league is," Lebo said. "The television exposure means we're competing on a national stage against some great programs and we're honored to be part of it."

The Pirates knocked off Cincinnati and Memphis in Greenville last year and won their inaugural game in the AAC Tournament 81-80 over UCF in overtime in Hartford.

ECU has four (B.J. Tyson, Caleb White, Marshall Guilmette and Michael Nzege) of its top five scorers back although post players Guilmette and 6-10 addition Deng Riak have been out with injuries during preseason practice.

The Pirates open the season at home against Grambling State on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.

There are significant rule changes in the college game for 2015-16. The shot clock will decrease from 35 to 30 seconds. The restricted area under the basket has been expanded to four feet. There are rules designed to reduce physicality.

Lebo doesn't particularly like the shortened shot clock. He thinks it will mean a reduction of offensive styles and more one-on-one as the clock winds down.

Tulsa coach Frank Haith noted that less physical play had been a point of emphasis in the past that had largely been abandoned during the season. He said it would be different now that changes had been incorporated into the rules.

Lebo noted that there were 69 fouls called in ECU's initial scrimmage.

"If there's more scoring, it might be because we're shooting more foul shots," said the Pirates coach.

Scheduling was a topic. UConn has matchups with Michigan, Maryland, Ohio State and Texas.

"We believe we have the right team," said Kevin Ollie of the Huskies. "That's what we tell our kids. 'We're going to play the best out of conference schedule.' "

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson offered some caution.

"How you schedule depends on where you are with your program," Sampson said. "If your team is not very good, you better be careful."

Lebo is taking the Pirates out west for a series of games after a Nov. 16 home date with Charlotte. ECU will visit California-Berkeley on Nov. 20 at 11 p.m., Eastern time, and San Diego State on Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. before moving on to the Las Vegas Invitational. The Pirates play two games in the gambling capital – against Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving) at 2 p.m. and against Bethune Cookman or Stetson on Nov. 27.

Temple has an opportunity in hoops similar to the season-opening statement the Owls made in football with a 27-10 win in Philly against Penn State. Temple starts its basketball season Nov. 13 against North Carolina in the Veterans Classic in Annapolis.

New rules have allowed coaches two hours a week with players in the summer and six hours for strength and conditioning.

"I can't figure that out," Brown said. "I want basketball players, not body builders."

The coaches as a group indicated they would like more offseason time with their players.

The coaches also discussed transfers, whose numbers have increased to 600 annually, according to moderator Tim Welsh of ESPN.

Jones said if graduated seniors had to sit out a year before becoming eligible as transfers, it would cut down on the situation.

SMU guard Nic Moore was the Player of the Year in the AAC in 2014-15 after hitting 41.6 percent of his 3-pointers and averaging 14.5 points. He was named the preseason Player of the Year for 2015-16.

Moore came to the podium after Aresco on Tuesday.

"Let's have a great year and have fun," Moore said.

E-mail Al Myatt

PAGE UPDATED 10/28/15 04:34 PM.

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