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2018-19 American Athletic Conference preview: UConn is still on top, but the middle of the pack is strengthening

By Russell Steinberg

Connecticut Huskies guard Crystal Dangerfield (5) pushes the ball up court against Temple during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018 at McGonicle Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. Dangerfield scored 12 points to help UConn to 113-57 victory. (John Woike/Hartford Courant/TNS via Getty Images)
Connecticut Huskies guard Crystal Dangerfield (5) pushes the ball up court against Temple during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018 at McGonicle Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. Dangerfield scored 12 points to help UConn to 113-57 victory. (John Woike/Hartford Courant/TNS via Getty Images) /
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UNCASVILLE, CT – MARCH 05: Central Florida bench cheers the team on during the game as the South Florida Bulls take on the Central Florida Knights on March 05, 2018 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNCASVILLE, CT – MARCH 05: Central Florida bench cheers the team on during the game as the South Florida Bulls take on the Central Florida Knights on March 05, 2018 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

UCF Knights
Predicted finish: Third

Key returners (last season’s stats):

G Kornelia Wright, 5’7, Jr.: 10.8 PPG, 4.2 APG, 3.2 RPG, 33.7 MPG
F Fifi Ndour, 6’1, Sr.: 7 games played, 9.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG
F Masseny Kaba, 6’3, So.: 8.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 48% FG
G Lawriell Wilson, 5’8, Sr.: 4.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG,
G Nyala Shuler, 6’0, Sr.: 4.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 29.6 MPG
F Tolulope Omokore, 5’11, Jr.: DNP last season with injury, but had several promising spurts in 2016-17. Averaged 7.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG.

Biggest losses (last season’s stats):

G Zakiya Saunders, 5’9: 16.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.6 SPG, 36.8 MPG
G Aliyah Gregory, 5’10: 9.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 77% FT

Newcomers:

G Diamond Battles, 5’8, Fr.: Four-star recruit ranked No. 95 in her class, per ESPN. A consistent triple-double threat as a high school senior, Battles is an athletic combo guard who can create on offense and be a pest on defense.
G Sianni Martin, 5’8, Jr.: Transfer from Towson who sat out last year but started 28 games the year before that. Averaged 14.1 PPG as a sophomore.
G Anna Kelly, 5’6, So.: Transfer from Davidson who sat out last year. Played in 33 games as a freshman, averaging 5.7 points on 44 percent shooting.
G Britney Onyeje, 5’9, Fr.: McDonald’s All-American candidate who was named TABC All-Region in Texas.
F Brittney Smith, 6’3, Fr.: McDonald’s All-American candidate who was a 1,000-point scorer in high school.

Head coach: Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, 3rd season

All Abrahamson-Henderson has done in her two seasons is take a team that won seven games the year prior to her arrival and lead them to back-to-back 20-win seasons and a pair of WNIT appearances. The Iowa grad came to UCF three years ago after bringing Albany to five NCAA Tournaments, and she’s close to bringing the Knights to one as well. Though UCF suffered some major losses from last year’s team, Abrahamson-Henderson has built a contender in the AAC — not easy for any team outside of Storrs.

Key non-conference games:

Nov. 25 vs. Villanova
Dec. 12 at Duquesne
Dec. 22 vs. Syracuse
Dec. 30 at Quinnipiac

Outlook: Without question, UCF has elevated itself as a program over the last few seasons. Now, the tougher test: to see if the Knights can maintain their success despite some major losses. Saunders is now playing professionally in Sweden and double-digit scorer Gregory is gone as well, but UCF has a ton returning, including a pair of forwards who missed most or all of last year with injury. Throw in the top-100 recruit Battles and a pair of transfers with legit D-I experience to shore up the back court and it’s possible that UCF could be every bit as good as it was last year. Look for Wright to make her case as an all-conference selection.

Best-cast scenario: The new pieces mesh with the old ones and UCF is every bit as good as it was last year. And more. The Knights avoid early slip-ups that hampered them last year and instead pick up some key non-conference wins against Villanova and Duquesne. The result? The Knights dance for the first time since 2011.

Worst-case scenario: Losing the two players who accounted for over 41 percent of your scoring last year hurts. Go figure. The transfers and freshmen can plug the hole, but that’s about it. The lack of any significant front court presence next to Kaba ends up hurting and the team never finds its stride. A few sloppy losses in-conference and UCF struggles to even get back to the WNIT.

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