Say what you want about Mick Cronin (and UConn fans say a lot about him, mostly negative), the guys makes great conversation.

Spoke with Cronin for about a half-hour this morning about his team and, more to the point, the American Athletic Conference. Had a similar conversation with Wichita State's Gregg Marshall late last week.

Marshall's Shockers will be a consensus national top-10 pick this year and without question the pick to win the AAC in their first year in the new league. But don't sleep on Cincinnati. It loses Troy Caupain and Kevin Johnson, but returns everyone else, including its top three scorers (Jacob Evans, Kyle Washington and Gary Clark). And, let's face it, Caupain was pretty disappointing last season, and East Hartford's own Caine Broome (a Sacred Heart transfer) will combine with Justin Jenifer to ease the loss of Caupain at point guard.

Anyway, here's some of what Cronin and Marshall had to say:

CRONIN:

(on addition of Wichita State)

"When our league changed, we gave away the name to the Big East, but obviously lost a lot of quality basketball teams. We picked up some teams from Conference USA trying to raise their program to a new level where the Big East was. For those teams, I think they've gotten a lot better and they continue to add to their basketball budget. A lot of quality coaches were hired. But the facts are, we lost some really good basketball teams. It's great to be able to add basketball school like Wichita State, with everybody back, who'll be ranked in the top-10 this year."

"The fact that they're a basketball school really helps our league as far as showing a commitment to basketball. I think it's hurt us in NCAA seeding, as far as perception. I don't think people on the committee or AD's from around the country realize how good SMU has been."

"We need anything to help our profile. Wichita State does have the respect. Cincinnati and UConn have names because our our history and past. Wichita State, because of their run to the Final Four (in 2013), people know who they are. That's just how it is. But we have another team that's just as perennial in SMU."

"The future is bright for basketball in our league."

(on the fact WSU is basketball-only and doesn't bring the almighty, money-making football to the table)

“I don’t care. And you can quote me on that. It’s great to see somebody cared enough about basketball to do the right thing for basketball in our league. Everything’s done for football. But when you sit in the chair I sit in, (people say) ‘Oh, but we need basketball to win and win big.’ It’s beyond refreshing to see something done for the betterment of basketball in our conference – or any conference.”

(Does the league need UConn to be better?)

"Absolutely. Throw Memphis in, too ... Eight years (combined), eight possible tournaments, what are the odds of them going 3-for-8 (combined)? No doubt, it's important for your traditional schools to be good, in any conference. Whether it's North Carolina and Duke or UCLA and Arizona out west, it's no different. But I think UConn (last year), in all fairness, came down to injuries."

"And guys that go pro early. Give them Daniel Hamilton and tell them how their season went. It makes the margin for errors smaller. It's harder when one or two guys go down. It can devastate you. Nobody's got that kind of depth anymore." 

(on Caine Broome, who will play point guard for Bearcats after being one of nation's leading scorers two years ago at Sacred Heart)

"We knew he was a really good player watching him on film. Once we got him here ... we realized he had to score for Sacred Heart, but he's much more comfortable playing point guard. In fact, he's probably a better passer than scorer. When you look at his Sacred Heart stats, that doesn't make sense. But having him in practice every day, watching him up close, his ability to break down a defense ... he gives us a weapon we haven't had, as far as getting teammates easy shots and being able to get in the paint really at will."

GREGG MARSHALL:

(on AAC)

"I think we've got some nationally-known brands for college basketball. We've got nationally-known coaches that have had national-championship success, coach of the year-type success. We feel like this will be a very, very good opportunity for us to join a conference that should be a multi-bid conference every year. It has teams that can go deep in the tournament."

(on being preseason favorites)

"I really try not to put too much stock in it. I will tell you that I'd much prefer that than to be predicted to be not very good. If I had my druthers, I'd rather be picked as a good team. If people don't expect much from you, you probably haven't been very good."

(on importance of UConn being good)

"I think the key for us to be a very good conference is for as many teams as possible - you can't say all, because if somebody's having a great year, somebody's having a bad - to play up to their potential and what they've done in the past. Teams such as Wichita State, Cincinnati, SMU, Connecticut, Memphis, Temple, now Central Florida, all of those teams. Tulsa has shown in recently it can be one of the best programs in the country. If you can get a lot of those teams to do that, the majority to do that, you can get a handful of bids."

AAC preseason coaches poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Cincinnati (6) 95
2. UConn (5) 94
3. SMU 76
4. Houston 75
5. Memphis 63
6. Temple 56
7. ECU 39
8. UCF 37
9. Tulsa 34
10. USF 25
11. Tulane 11

Preseason players of the year
Troy Caupain, Sr. G, Cincinnati
Dedric Lawson, So. F, Memphis

Preseason rookie of the year
Alterique Gilbert, Fr. G, UConn

Preseason all-conference teams

First Team

Troy Caupain, G, Cincinnati*
Gary Clark, F, Cincinnati*
Dedric Lawson, F, Memphis
Ben Moore, F, SMU
Damyean Dotson, G, Houston

Second Team

Shake Milton, G, SMU
Jalen Adams, G, UConn
Jahmal McMurray, G, USF
Rob Gray, Jr., G, Houston
B.J. Tyson, G, East Carolina

* — unanimous selection

I'm OK with Cincy being picked ahead of UConn. I even ranked the Bearcats ahead of the Huskies in my preseason AP Top 25, though to me, it's really a coin flip between the two.

Certainly agree with Alterique Gilbert getting preseason rookie of the year, as well. And more than fine with Caupain and Lawson sharing player of the year honors.
But definitely surprised Rodney Purvis didn't make first or second team all-conference, and that Jalen Adams was the Huskies' lone selection - as a second-team pick.

What surprises me is guys like B.J. Tyson and Jahmal McMurray made second team ahead of Purvis. I think Purvis is definitely a better player than both. They were able to put up nice numbers last year because they were essentially the whole show for their respective teams. Also don't think Rob Gray, Jr. belongs.

I would've had: Caupain, Clark, Milton, Lawson and Purvis on first team. Moore, Adams, Dotson, Tacko Fall and maybe Obi Enechionyia on second.

But that's just me.

Happy to announce that I'll be an AP Top 25 men's basketball voter again this year. The first preseason poll comes out on Oct. 31, but we have to send them in by Oct. 24.

So, here's the preseason poll I've sent in, along with the five-man All-America team they also request:

PRESEASON TOP 25

1. Duke: This seems too easy, but it's hard to deny Grayson Allen and one of Coach K's best recruiting classes. Almost had them No. 2 because of Harry Giles' health concerns, but it appears he'll be back soon.

2. Kansas: Gee, ya think they'll win the Big 12 again?

3. Oregon: UConn could meet Ducks in Maui next month.

4. Kentucky: You know the deal - great recruiting class, etc., etc.

5. Virginia: I liked Austin Nichols a lot at Memphis, and I love him with the Cavs. He and London Perrantes make a heck of a tandem.

6. Villanova: Why do I think the loss of Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu will hurt the defending champs more than others seem to believe?

7. Xavier: Until Billy Preston commits next year, Myles Davis will be the butt of most of my music-related college hoops jokes. Sorry in advance

8. North Carolina: UConn could meet Tar Heels in second game in Maui. Would be fun.

9. Wisconsin

10. Indiana: Are we sure Yogi Ferrell has graduated?

11. UCLA: Daniel Hamilton may have gone pro, but his brother Isaac could be poised for stardom.
Arizona.

12. Arizona

13. Saint Mary's: Not a misprint. I liked the Gaels last year, and I love veteran teams that bring back their entire starting five.

14. Michigan State: Gavin Schilling's knee surgery a huge concern for Spartans.

15. Gonzaga

16. Cincinnati: With Troy Caupain, Gary Clark, Jacob Evans and NC State big man transfer Kyle Washington in tow, I think Bearcats deserve to be favorites in the American. Watch out for Washington. He put up big numbers against UNC and Syracuse a couple of years ago.

17. UConn: There's no doubt the Huskies have the most talent in the AAC, but a lot of it is young and new, and it may take a while to mesh. That may mean some early-season struggles, but by February, I think Kevin Ollie & crew will have it figured out. Season finale vs. Cincy at Gampel could be for regular season title.

18. URI: It gives me no extra pleasure voting in my alma mater. (OK, maybe a little). But seriously, a healthy E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin makes Dan Hurley's Rams legit.

19. Louisville: How many games for Rick Pitino? Gotta be at least nine, right?

20. Syracuse

21. West Virginia

22. Iowa State

23. Texas

24. Purdue

25. Florida State: New Haven native Tharon Mayes' stepson, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, is a star.

ALL-AMERICAN TEAM:

(FYI, I don't put freshmen on my preseason All-American team)

Grayson Allen, Duke

Jaron Blossomgam, Clemson

Josh Hart, Villanova

Ivan Rabb, California

Thomas Bryant, Indiana

In its third season, the AAC doesn't appear to be as good as we thought it was going to be just a few months ago. With SMU barred from the postseason, could this be a one-bid league? Probably not, but considering how the league has had the two biggest snubs for each of the last two NCAA tournaments (SMU in 2014, Temple in 2015), it's hard to envision any more than two bids -- at least at this point.

We chronicle all this in today's Register. Meanwhile, with conference play just underway (and UConn readying for its league opener on Saturday at Tulane), here's our picks for the league's award-winners this season:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Daniel Hamilton, UConn. The most complete player in the league, and possibly its best NBA prospect. Hamilton leads the league in assists, is fifth in reboundng and 13th in scoring. Even with reigning POY Nic Moore back and playing well, we're gonna side with Hamilton on this one.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Dedric Lawson, Memphis. He's got strong competition from SMU's Shake Milton, but Lawson has thus far made the transfer of Austin Nichols far more bearable. He's fifth in the league in scoring and second in rebounding.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shaq Harrison, Tulsa. Amida Brimah isn't expected back until about mid-February, so we're eliminating him from the competition. With that in mind, we'll throw Tulsa a bone and give it to the player who currently leads the league in steals.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Kelvin Sampson, Houston. No matter how many games SMU wins, there's no way they'll give this award to Larry Brown -- right? Houston was expected to be better this season, and Sampson -- a very good coach -- may have the Cougars even better than expected.

ALL-CONFERENCE

FIRST TEAM

Daniel Hamilton, UConn
Rodney Purvis, UConn
Nic Moore, SMU
Jordan Tolbert, SMU
James Woodard, Tulsa
Troy Caupain, Cincinnati

SECOND TEAM

Shaq Harrison, Tulsa
Quenton DeCosey, Temple
Dedric Lawson, Memphis
Shaq Goodwin, Memphis
Rob Gray, Houston

HONORABLE MENTION

B.J. Tyson, East Carolina
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
Octavius Ellis, Cincinnati
Louis Dabney, Tulane

ALL-ROOKIE

Dedric Lawson, Memphis
Shake Milton, SMU
Jahmal McMurray, South Florida
Jalen Adams, UConn
Tacko Fall, UCF

A few awards that won't be announced at the AAC tournament in Orlando in March:

BEST NAME: Tacko Fall, UCF. Is there any competition? That he's 7-foot-6, 300 pounds and playing pretty well (2.5 blocks per game) only adds to his intrigue.

BEST TRANSFER: Jordan Tolbert, SMU. Texas Tech transfer leads the league in rebounding at 10.2 per game, to go with 12.6 points. He's overshadowed Markus Kennedy to this point.

BEST GRAD TRANSFER: Ricky Tarrant, Jr., Memphis. UConn fans love Shonn Miller and Sterling Gibbs, but Tarrant, who started his career at Tulane, then played two seasons at Alabama, may have the bigger overall impact.

BEST JUCO TRANSFER: Rob Gray, Houston. After playing at Howard JC last year, Gray is leading the AAC in scoring at 18.5 points per game.

BEST SHAQ: Shaq Goodwin, Memphis. In a narrow victory, Goodwin, who seems to have been around forever, edges Harrison, who along with James Woodard forms one of the top guard combos in the league.

BEST ATHLETE: Bo Zeigler, South Florida.


BEST POINT GUARD: Nic Moore, SMU.

BEST SHOOTING GUARD: James Woodard, Tulsa.

BEST SMALL FORWARD: Daniel Hamilton, UConn.

BEST POWER FORWARD: Jordan Tolbert, SMU.

BEST CENTER: Amida Brimah, UConn.

HOTTEST COACH'S SEAT: Josh Pastner, Memphis. (Runner-up: Donnie Jones, UCF).

Happy to be an AP Top 25 voter again this season. Fans of teams I don't vote for, or don't vote high enough, aren't happy -- or at least they won't be. We don't know who they are yet, of course, but they'll be out there.

Here's my preseason Top 25 ballot that I submitted last night, along with a five-man All-America team we're asked to contribute. Just couldn't vote North Carolina No. 1. (I mean, is everybody just going to keep whistling in the wind and ignoring perhaps the worst academic scandal in college sports, at least in recent years?) Instead, I'm going with the Heels' former ACC rival, Maryland, which boasts some terrific returnees (Melo Trimble, Jake Layman) and some top-notch newcomers ... including, of course, Diamond Stone.

And while I understand that many freshmen have burst onto the scene and been stars right off the bat in recent years, even leading teams to national titles, I'm erring on the side of caution and not ranking freshman-laden teams too high, for the most part. I'm also excluding freshmen from my preseason All-America team.

And, as you'll notice, I'm giving the AAC some love. This isn't bias or homerism. This is voting for the teams whose talent I'm most familiar with. I really believe UConn has the chance to be a terrific team -- though it may take a little bit for all the newcomers to get on the same page. You could make an argument that the Huskies have four of the league's top 10 players -- and that's not even including Shonn Miller.

I love SMU's talent but was a little wary about how the team would perform, knowing it's barred from the postseason. That wariness changed after Tuesday's AAC Media Day, where Markus Kennedy and Nic Moore appeared to have the perfect attitude in handling the situation -- though it remains to be seen if they can keep that focus when everybody starts talking March Madness come February.

And I'm really high on Cincinnati. I know they're boring, but you can't deny the Bearcats' defense. And, to be honest, they shoot the ball pretty well, too, and figure to score a little better this season. They've got just about everybody back from last year's NCAA team that gave Kentucky all it could handle in the Round of 32, including Octavius Ellis, Troy Caupain and, perhaps the most talented of them all, Gary Clark. And, of course, they've got Mick Cronin back on the sidelines this season.

I wouldn't be surprised if UConn, SMU or Cincinnati win the AAC regular season title. These are three very good teams, and I'm giving them the love they deserve.

1. Maryland
2. North Carolina
3. Kansas
4. Virginia
5. Kentucky
6. Iowa State
7. Oklahoma
8. Duke
9. Gonzaga
10. Arizona
11. Wichita State
12. California
13. UConn
14. Villanova
15. Michigan State
16. Indiana
17. Utah
18. LSU
19. SMU
20. Cincinnati
21. Butler
22. Wisconsin
23. Notre Dame
24. Vanderbilt
25. Texas A&M


All-America:

Kris Dunn, Providence
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga
Georges Niang, Iowa State

The AAC all-conference and all-rookie teams were announced this morning.

They are as follows:

FIRST TEAM

Ryan Boatright, UConn *
Nic Moore, SMU *
Austin Nichols, Memphis
James Woodard, Tulsa
Will Cummings, Temple

SECOND TEAM

Markus Kennedy, SMU
Yanick Moreira, SMU
Shaq Harrison, Tulsa
Octavius Ellis, Cincinnati
Louis Dabney, Tulane

HONORABLE MENTION

Daniel Hamilton, UConn
Amida Brimah, UConn
Troy Caupain, Cincinnati
Jaylen Bond, Temple

ALL-ROOKIE

Daniel Hamilton, UConn
Adonys Henriquez, UCF
B.J. Taylor, UCF
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
B.J. Tyson, East Carolina

* -- unanimous selection