I'm breaking the tie here and giving the nod to Walker, the highest-ranked signee in the program's history and the first five-star to sign with the school in a decade. There is some debate over which Cougars player is more deserving of this honor - GP and I are in lockstep that it should be Walker, while Matt Norlander believes it should be his teammate, Terrance Arceneaux - but there's no debate that Houston has the best incoming talent in the league. Preseason Freshman of the Year Jarace Walker | PF | Houston If healthy he's one of the most gifted scorers in college basketball. But he missed 22 games with injury and only competed in seven. Khalif Battle | SG | Temple: Battle's 21.4 points per game last season extrapolated out for the entire season would have led all AAC players and probably put him into conference POY discussion. He's one of five returning starters for the Green Wave in 2022-23 and the biggest reason for optimism that the program will jump back into relevance in the fourth year under Ron Hunter. Jalen Cook | PG | Tulane: A former LSU transfer, Cook finished second among all AAC players in points per game in his first season last year with Tulane. The third-year point guard is the catalyst on offense and an ever-present force on defense. Jamal Shead | PG | Houston: On a Cougars team loaded with talent on both ends, Shead is the glue that holds it all together. The reigning AAC Player of the Year heads to Memphis where he gives Penny Hardaway his most talented point guard since he took over the Tigers program. Kendric Davis | PG | Memphis: Davis is the highest profile intra-conference transfer within the AAC. He'll be one of the most prolific scorers in the country on a Houston team that has had a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense each of the last two seasons. Houston rebounded remarkably, finishing 32-6 and advancing to the Elite Eight with a litany of injuries, but Sasser back at full strength gives Cougars fans permission to dream as big as possible. Sasser was pacing towards All-American status last season with Houston until a season-ending injury cut short his breakout year just before he became a household name. Preseason Player of the Year Marcus Sasser | SG | Houston This is the final year of membership for Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, all Big-12 bound, so while the league may exist in some form, its makeup after this year will look quite a bit different this time next year. Lost in the shuffle of the AAC discussion is of course the ratcheted-up stakes of what the AAC is now and will become soon. And there's even some cautious optimism emanating out of perennial cellar-dwelling Eastern Carolina, one of three programs entering new regimes after a bustling coaching carousel saw tons of turnover. Temple's transfer-heavy influx of talent under Aaron McKie could jolt the Owls back to life. Ron Hunter and his Tulane team should ride the wave straight to relevance this year with their trajectory ascending upward. What should change this year is a much-improved middle and bottom of the league, flickering a glimmer of hope that the AAC - long considered one of the seven major conferences in college hoops - could regain its foothold in the greater college landscape. There's questions about a lot of the league, but there aren't about the top of it it should be strong once more. Then there's Cincinnati, which under Wes Miller looks ready to be build on a sturdy foundation. Memphis might've finally grabbed the final infinity stone by adding a point guard in SMU transfer Kendric Davis. Houston looks like it'll have one of the best teams in the country because - much to the chagrin of all non-Houston programs in the American - Kelvin Sampson still runs the show. The chances that's once again the case in 2022-23 aren't nothing, either. Its two teams in the Big Dance tied for the second-fewest since the league's inception, and only one of the other teams in the league (SMU) made the NIT, a result representative of just how big a dip there was from the top tier of the league to everyone else looking up at them. From nearly every angle you look at it, the American Athletic Conference took a step back last season propped up mostly by two NCAA Tournament teams - Houston and Memphis - and by a respectable SMU club.
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