AAC Media Day: UConn men picked first in preseason poll

UConn Men's Basketball Head Coach Kevin Ollie

The 2014-15 AAC preseason picks are in, and to no one’s surprise, the Huskies dominate.

Ryan Boatright was picked as preseason player of the year and was a unanimous first-team all-AAC selection, Amida Brimah was named to the all-AAC second team

Behold
Behold

and Daniel Hamilton was tabbed as preseason rookie of the year.

Oh, and the Huskies edged SMU by one vote to earn the title as preseason AAC favorite.

All of this was posted on a board outside conference media day at the New York Athletic Club, so it’s no surprise that the Huskies also owned the discussion pretty much all morning: The National Championship trophy was on display next to the stage while each coach in the conference participated in a panel discussion with ESPN’s Len Elmore. Commissioner Mike Aresco touted the Huskies’ men’s and women’s titles in his opening statement. Nearly every coach referenced UConn’s March run and Kevin Ollie was placed front and center.

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It was basically UConn media day, featuring a cranky Larry Brown and nine other coaches.

I’ll have more fun stuff from media day over the next couple days (I have a real job, so I can’t sit here and transcribe all day). For now, here are some notes:

Notes:

• Kevin Ollie was complimentary of Amida Brimah’s growth as a leader. Ollie said the team has faith in Brimah and that it’s rare for an underclassmen center to receive the honor of co-captain.
• Ollie on being picked No. 1 in the conference: “It’s not a burden. It really doesn’t matter to me. It can’t be a burden if I don’t care.”
• Brimah said he has recovered well from offseason shoulder surgery and was back to work almost immediately.
• Boatright’s decision to return to school had a lot to do with Ollie’s coaching future: “I just called KO straight up and asked him ‘what are you going to do? Your decision really impacts my decision.’ I was kinda nervous after the Lakers offered him $12 million for four years.”
• According to Ollie, Boatright’s greatest asset as a leader is his ability to self-correct. In the past, Boatright might have passed the blame elsewhere, but now he takes responsibility and works to learn from his mistakes.
• USF head coach and 2013-14 Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua on UConn’s run last year: “To their credit, they played everyone they had to play in front of them and they beat them. Kevin and his staff did an unbelievable job. Obviously it hurt at the time, but I’m thankful to be in the league with them because it’s brought a lot of notoriety [to the league].”
• If Larry Brown had his way, we’d still be using peach baskets. During the panel, he said he did not favor shortening the shot clock, would like to eliminate that three-point line and eliminate ball screens. Whether he was serious about the last two is uncertain (probably not).
• ECU head coach Jeff Lebo wore a purple jacket. It was quite jarring, but at least now we know what an ECU basketball coach looks like.
• Everyone still asks about the APR ban in 2012-13. Because of course.

Preseason Poll (first-place votes in parentheses):

1. UConn (6)
2. SMU (5)
3. Memphis
4. Cincinnati
5. Tulsa
6. Temple
7. Houston
8. USF
9. UCF
10. East Carolina
11. Tulane

Preseason Player of the Year: Ryan Boatright

Preseason Rookie of the Year: Daniel Hamilton

First Team All-AAC:

Ryan Boatright (National Champion)
Shaq Goodwin (Memphis)
Austin Nichols (Memphis)
Nic Moore (SMU)
Markus Kennedy (SMU)
James Woodard (Tulsa)

Second Team All-AAC:

Amida Brimah (National Champion)
Anthony Collins (USF)
Chris Perry (USF)
Will Cummings (Temple)
Quenton DeCosey (Temple)