For the reign of John Calipari at Memphis, the Conference USA was a race for second. In Josh Pastner's first year as coach, the Tigers missed out on Calipari's excellent recruiting class and the conference opened up for the rest of the USA. UTEP won the regular season and Houston took the conference tournament to represent Conference USA in the NCAA tournament. Memphis is back to its old tricks and has a very impressive incoming class of freshmen. Do the other 11 teams have enough to keep up with Memphis or are we headed back to the Calipari age?
East Carolina Pirates
There is generally a sense of excitement when a Tier 1 player transfers to a smaller school, but is there that same sense with a coach? Jeff Lebo's six-year run at Auburn was not terribly successful. He was, however, previously a winning coach at Tennessee Tech and Chattanooga. He comes to ECU with a pretty decent roster including a top fantasy pick, guard Brock Young. The senior called his own number more in 2009-10 and scored a career-high 15.5 points with 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals. Young is not a great shooter (38.3% from the field, 27.8% on threes), so he needs help. Junior forward Darrius Morrow should provide some balance. He scored 12.6 points while shooting 58% from the field and pulled in 6.5 rebounds. Swingman Jamar Abrams hit 1.8 threes on his way to averaging 11 points.
Houston Cougars
The Cougars use their tremendous backcourt to run the Conference USA tournament table as a seven seed. That backcourt along with coach Tom Penders is gone. Former Texas Tech coach James Dickey hopes to provide some deliverance for Houston, but will do so with an inexperienced roster. Forward Maurice McNeil provided 8.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first year in Houston. He had four double-doubles in January and will likely be the go-to player as a senior. Freshman small forward Alandise Harris could provide some help, but the Cougar backcourt has a lot of question marks. Former San Diego guard Trumaine Johnson could provide an answer or two. Shooting guard Joseph Young will need to sit out the 2010-11 season after not qualifying academically.
Marshall Thundering Herd
Three Conference USA teams, three new coaches. Donnie Jones took his transfer-heavy recruiting to Central Florida and left Tom Herrion in charge. Herrion has been an assistant coach at Pittsburgh for three years after guiding College of Charleston for four years. The Thundering Herd will rely on their backcourt in 2010-11 after their two two frontcourt stars left. In Damier Pitts and Shaquille Johnson, the team has a pair of veteran guards who could keep the team in the top half of Conference USA. Pitts averaged 10.4 points and 4.7 assists as a sophomore and Johnson averaged 9.3 points and three assists. Johnson did tail off in the second half of the season. Sophomore DeAndre Kane, a 6-foot-4 guard, was allowed to practice with the team last year, but did not play. He may lead the team in scoring and will be a defensive presence.
Memphis Tigers
Can a 13-win conference season be classified as a failure? The Tigers might think so, but 13 wins in conference may be the basement of what this talented team can achieve in their second year under Pastner. Freshman guard Will Barton is the jewel of the recruiting class. He had some early eligibility questions cleared up and may be among the conference leaders in scoring. He will team with Memphis product Joe Jackson in the backcourt. Jelan Kendrick is the third freshman worth mention and will provide the Tigers with wing support. Kendrick is currently suspended because of some personal issues. Of the returners, swingman Wesley Witherspoon should lead the way. The 6-foot-9 junior averaged 12.4 points and 4.6 rebounds. Forward/center Angel Garcia also returns after being limited to 12 games with a knee injury.
Rice Owls
The good news for the Owls is that the new season can't be worse. Rice won just one conference game, but their young players got a lot of playing time and should benefit from the experience. Forward Arsalan Kazemi, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Iran, had nine double-doubles including a streak of four straight in January and February. He averaged 10.3 points and 9.1 rebounds and should lead the conference in rebounding in his second year. Guard Tamir Jackson was not afraid to shoot as a freshman and did provide 10.8 points. He only hit 37.7% of his shots from the field and 18.3% of his threes. Egyptian born center Omar Oraby will provide the Owls with size (7-foot-1, 250 lbs) if nothing else.
SMU Mustangs
Over the last five years, the Mustangs have been unable to break the 14-win barrier. The team returns Papa Dia who provided 12.3 points and a team-leading 8.6 rebounds. He had ten double-doubles last year and had a career game against Houston on Feb. 27 with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Dia will be supported by Robert Nyakundi, a 6-foot-8 junior. He averaged 7.6 points, 1.7 threes, and 3.2 rebounds. The perimeter has more problems but Rodney Clinkscales should provide points. The 6-foot-1 junior hit 40.9% of his three-pointers. Don't forget juco transfer Aliaksei Patsevich from Belarus.
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles are a rarity in Conference USA in that they welcome back both their coach, Larry Eustachy, and all five starters. The stud here is Gary Flowers who blossomed in his first year as a Golden Eagle. The 6-foot- 8 senior had 11 double-doubles, including a streak of five straight in December as well as double-doubles in five of his last six games. Flowers led the team with 15 points and 8.3 rebounds. Flowers is complemented by Maurice Bolden in the frontcourt. Bolden started the season well, including double-doubles in his first two games, but faded in conference play. The backcourt is led by Angelo Johnson and R.L. Horton. Johnson started his career at USC and provided 10.1 points and 2.6 assists in his first year with USM. Horton's 9.2-point average was the worst of his three-year career, but he figures to bounce back.
Tulane Green Wave
The Green Wave follow the conference trend in getting a new coach. Ed Conroy left The Citadel where he led the Bulldogs to the CBI tournament two years ago. While expectations for Tulane in Conroy's first year won't be too high, he does have some veteran players returning. Guard Kris Richard led the team with 11.8 points and hit the 20-point plateau four times. Richard injured his ankle in early February, missed two games and was not as effective in the final stretch of the season. Richard should be supplemented by freshman Kevin Brown who can score from the perimeter and by attacking the rim. Senior forward David Booker had some nice moments including a career-high 26 points in a win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Prior to last season, the Golden Hurricane were predicted to ride their seniors to a Conference USA championship. It didn't happen and the senior leadership has departed. Yet, there are reasons to watch Tulsa, including 6-foot-4 senior guard Justin Hurtt. The three-point specialist hit 39% of his long range jumpers and ended up hitting 2.2 threes per game. He averaged 14.5 points and had a career-high 34 points in a win over East Carolina on Feb. 27 that included seven threes. Sophomore point guard Donte Medder hurt his knee in the Conference USA tournament but has big expectations. Steven Idlet, a 6-foot-11 forward, was the conference Sixth Man of the Year and should lead the team in rebounding.
UAB Blazers
When one player does so much for a team, it is hard to imagine them without him. Elijah Millsap tried to use his fine season as a springboard to the NBA and is currently in Thunder training camp. Without Millsap, guard Aaron Johnson becomes the leader of the team. The 5-foot-8 senior provided 9.6 points and 4.8 assists. Johnson will be flanked by Jamarr Sanders, a former Alabama State transfer. Sanders is the leading returning scorer at 10.4 points. He had 17 points in an NIT loss to North Carolina. Well-traveled center Beas Hamga may actually play this year. The former UNLV recruit was once a highly touted shot blocker, but hasn't seen much actually court time.
UCF Knights
The aforementioned Jones jumped from Marshall to UCF. Last year the Thundering Herd had 24 wins and a big in the Collegeinsider.com tournament. The Knights have some pieces for Jones to work with. Forward Keith Clanton had a nice freshman season with 9.8 points and 6.7 rebounds. He burned Marshall for 20 points and 12 rebounds on Feb. 27. Point guard A.J. Rompza led the Knight attack with 4.6 assists and had 13 assists in the loss to Marshall. A.J. Tyler, a 6-foot-9 forward who began his career at Clemson, averaged 10.3 points and five rebounds. Guard Isaac Sosa also averaged 10.3 points and finished the season well.
UTEP Miners
Half of the conference's teams have new coaches, but none of them come with the notoriety of UTEP coach Tim Floyd. He's the guy who replaced Phil Jackson in Chicago (unsuccessfully) and led USC to a now-abandoned NCAA tournament appearance. For all of his career's up and downs, he does get players to get after it on defense. The Miners have the best returning backcourt in conference with Conference USA MVP Randy Culpepper and 6-foot-6 point guard Julyan Stone. Culpepper averaged 17.8 points and burned East Carolina for 45 points on Feb. 13. Stone provided 6.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. The Miners have some holes to fill in the frontcourt but do have Jeremy Williams back. Williams averaged ten points, but scored inconsistently. Rashanti Harris was recruited to UTEP but did not qualify academically.