VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

Tigers figure to be class of new-look C-USA

From staff, C-USA and ECU reports

Conference USA's reconfigured membership roster has prompted much preseason speculation about how the league's new basketball power structure will shake out.

But there's little disagreement on who will be the leader of the pack.

One prediction the conference's coaches agree on is that traditional powerhouse Memphis will be the program the other 11 teams will be chasing in the upcoming 2005-06 season.

Led by Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year selection Rodney Carney, the Tigers are the coaches' unanimous favorite to win the regular season title when the six C-USA holdover teams mix it up with six new members to determine the league's new pecking order.

The preseason prognostications were announced by the league office Tuesday in conjunction with C-USA's basketball media day in Irving, TX.

Memphis, coming off its fifth straight postseason appearance under John Calipari — the league's highest-profile coach — welcomes back a pair of standout starters in Carney and Darius Washington, Jr.

Carney, a second team All-Conference selection last season, averaged 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Washington, a point guard, was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2004-05.

While the departures of a host of schools — Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, South Florida, Saint Louis and Texas Christian — to new conference homes depleted C-USA of some of its marquee programs, it also opened new opportunities for other teams to rise to the occasion in pursuit of postseason bids.

C-USA's returning teams — East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Tulane and UAB — will compete with newcomers Central Florida, Marshall, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas-El Paso and Tulsa in the new 12-team format, two less teams than the league's sometimes unwieldy previous configuration.

In this new landscape, according to the votes of the coaches, UAB and Houston figure to reside with Memphis in C-USA's upper quartile. The Blazers, with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances under their belts, were selected to finish second, while Houston was picked third.

UAB returns three starters, including forward DeMario Eddins, the team's leading returning scorer (12.5 ppg). Senior guard Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson, a defensive wizard, is also back after leading C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Houston was one of the nation's most-improved teams in 2004-05, making a return to postseason play for the first time in three years. The Cougars return four starters coupled with a highly-regarded recruiting class. Junior guard Lanny Smith led Houston with 134 assists and is the team's top returning scorer (14.6 ppg).

Former Western Athletic Conference member UTEP, a team that played in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments, was chosen to finish fourth. The Miners have a pair of returning starters in Jason Williams (11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg ) and John Tofi (6.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg).

Rice, also a former WAC member, and UCF, whose basketball team previously competed in the Atlantic Sun Conference, were tied in the voting for fifth place.

The Owls have participated in the NIT the past two seasons and return three starters in 2005-06, led by senior forward J.R. Harrison (9.1 ppg, team-leading 31 blocked shots).

The Golden Knights won the A-Sun title each of the past two years and have three regulars back in the fold, including junior guard Josh Peppers (13.1 ppg), the Golden Knights' leading returning scorer.

SMU, another WAC transplant, was chosen seventh, just ahead of Southern Miss and Tulsa, which will be led by first-year head coach Doug Wojcik.

East Carolina, under new head coach Ricky Stokes, has been picked to finish 10th, ahead of Tulane and Marshall, respectively.

The Pirates are led by senior forward Corey Rouse (10.6 ppg), C-USA's leading rebounder last season (10.2 rpg), and sophomore guard Tom Hammonds (8 ppg).

Last season, Conference USA produced a league-record nine postseason teams. Memphis advanced to the semifinals of the NIT and UAB went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 6 LSU in the first round.

UCF and UTEP also earned NCAA berths, while Houston and Rice participated in the NIT.

Memphis will serve as host city for the 2006 Conference USA Tournament, March 8-11, at the FedExForum. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be carried on CSTV. The championship game, scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 11 at 11:45 a.m. EST, will be broadcast by CBS.

Copyright 2005. All rights rights reserved. Bonesville.net contributed to this report. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

02/23/2007 11:45:14 AM
-----