Steve Coulter of the DU Clarion is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Memphis (15-1)
2. UTEP (14-2)
3. UAB (12-4)
4. Marshall (10-6)
5. Southern Mississippi (9-7)
6. Houston (8-8)
7. Tulsa (8-8)
8. East Carolina (6-10)
9. Southern Methodist (6-10)
10. Central Florida (5-11)
11. Tulane (2-14)
12. Rice (1-15)

All-Conference First Team

• G: Justin Hurtt, Tulsa, Sr.
• G: Randy Culpepper, UTEP, Sr. (Preseason Player of the Year)
• F: Wesley Witherspoon, Memphis, Jr.
• F:  Gary Flowers, Southern Mississippi
• F/C: Will Coleman, Memphis, Sr.

All-Conference Second Team

• G: Brock Young, East Carolina, Sr.
• G: Joe Jackson, Memphis, Fr.
• G/F: Will Barton, Memphis, Fr.
• F: Jeremy Williams, UTEP, Jr.
• F/C: Papa Dia, SMU, Sr.

Memphis has a talented stable of young talent, including the recently-cleared Will Barton. (bouncemag.com)

Impact Newcomers

Several freshman and transfer players will suit up for C-USA squads this season, but three that have grabbed everyone’s attention before the season has gone under way.

• Charles Carmouche, SG, Memphis: The junior transfer from New Orleans is a sharpshooter who can be the difference-maker late in the season. He is eligible to play right way, as the Privateers dismantled their program and moved to Division III status.
• Scottie Haralson, G, Tulsa: The UConn transfer could get a lot of playing time and be one of those studs that people talk about at the end of the season. Of course, it really depends whether he is cleared to play.
• Joseph Young, G, Houston: The freshman was a Parade All-America Third-Team selection from Yates High School. He is a talented young guard in a class with athletic forwards that makes Houston a contender in the conference once again. The infusion of a guy like Young into the lineup could spark a team looking for a playmaker. Young was the Texas Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year last season.

What You Need to Know

• There are six first-year coaches in the league this season; Tim Floyd getting hired at UTEP was probably the biggest offseason coaching move.
• The Conference USA Men’s Basketball Championships will be held in El Paso, giving UTEP a slight home court advantage against their conference opponents. The first game tips off on Wednesday, March 9. The tournament ends on Saturday, March 12 and the final will be broadcasted on CBS.
• UAB’s Aaron Johnson enters the season in need of 173 assists to become the school’s all-time leader. 597 assists is currently the record and the senior point guard leads a well-balanced UAB squad that could emerge as an at-large dark horse. The 5’8 point guard finished his junior year averaging 9.6 points per game, 4.8 assists per game, and 2.5 rebounds per game.

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Just about anyone can name the best teams in college basketball, and, as far as individual players, if you’re reading this site you can most likely reel off three or four of your own personal All-America teams.  But what about those individuals who specifically excel at a few of the more exciting aspects of the game?  There are certain plays that make everyone come out of their seats:  a massive and powerful dunk that liberates some poor defender of his pride;  a ridiculously long three-pointer, especially at crunch time; and a blocked shot where the ball goes into orbit.  And of course everyone loves basketball players with cool names.  So here they are:  RTC’s rankings of the best dunkers, best long-range bombers, best shot-blockers, and coolest names in the game today.

The Most Excellent Dunkers

Unlike the NBA All-Star Weekend, we’ll begin with the dunk artists.  Each player is listed with a link leading you to an example or two of his work.  Sorry, UConn fans.  We respect you and your team, but we had to put Summers over Robinson because…well, you know why.

1. Paul George, Fresno State  (vs St. Mary’s 2008, practice video 2009, Open Gym 2009)
2. Chris Wright, Dayton  (vs Ohio State 2008, vs Marquette 2008)
3. Durrell Summers, Michigan State (vs UConn over S. Robinson 2009, vs Minnesota 2009)
4. Stanley Robinson, Connecticut (vs Michigan State 2009, vs Villanova 2008)
5. Isaiah Thomas, Washington  (Madness 09)
6. Scotty Hopson, Tennessee (vs Arkansas 2009)
7. Keion Bell, Pepperdine  (Madness 09, Madness 09 over 5 guys)

Honorable Mention (or, guys who will probably be on this list by year’s end): Will Coleman, Memphis; John Wall, Kentucky; Delvon Roe, Michigan State; Wes Johnson, Syracuse.

The All-Jeff Fryer Team

This list of the best long-range bombers is named after the legendary (in our minds) Loyola Marymount guard who still holds the record for most three-pointers made in an NCAA Tournament game, an incredible 11 against Michigan in 1990’s second round.  If you can catch that game on ESPN Classic, it is something to behold.  You have to be a little nuts to be a bomber; you have to forget your last miss like it never happened and be willing to keep firing even when they just won’t fall (our editors are familiar with this feeling).  Here’s our ranking of 25 of this season’s best:

1. T.J. Campbell, Portland
2. Rihards Kuksiks, Arizona State
3. Jared Stohl, Portland
4. Andrew Goudelock, College Of Charleston
5. Mike Roll, UCLA
6. Jerome Randle, California
7. Brandon Hazzard, Troy
8. Ryan Staudacher, Montana
9. Corey Allmond, Sam Houston State
10. Ryan Wittman, Cornell
11. Josh Young, Drake
12. Corey Stokes, Villanova
13. Jonathan Tavernari, BYU
14. Gordon Hayward, Butler
15. Troy Cotton, Wisconsin-Green Bay
16. Tweety Carter, Baylor
17. Rotnei Clarke, Arkansas
18. Corey Lowe, Boston University
19. Ricky Harris, Massachusetts
20. Mac Hopson, Idaho
21. Andy Rautins, Syracuse
22. Nic Wise, Arizona
23. Willie Warren, Oklahoma
24. Jimmy Langhurst, Robert Morris
25. Kelvin Lewis, Houston

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