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2019-20 American Athletic Conference preview: After UConn, the league is wide open

By Russell Steinberg

ALBANY, NY - MARCH 29: Connecticut Huskies Guard Crystal Dangerfield (5) dribbles the ball past UCLA Bruins Guard Japreece Dean (24) defending during the first half of the game between the UCLA Bruins and the University of Connecticut Huskies on March 29, 2019, at the Times Union Center in Albany NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ALBANY, NY - MARCH 29: Connecticut Huskies Guard Crystal Dangerfield (5) dribbles the ball past UCLA Bruins Guard Japreece Dean (24) defending during the first half of the game between the UCLA Bruins and the University of Connecticut Huskies on March 29, 2019, at the Times Union Center in Albany NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – JANUARY 15: Wichita State Shockers guard Carla Bremaud (12) drives to the basket during the game between SMU and Wichita State on January 15, 2019 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JANUARY 15: Wichita State Shockers guard Carla Bremaud (12) drives to the basket during the game between SMU and Wichita State on January 15, 2019 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Wichita State Shockers
Predicted finish: Tenth

Key returners (Last year’s stats):

G Carla Bremaud, 5’11, So.: 9.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.0 APG
G Seraphine Bastin, 5’8, So.: 7.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.2 APG
G Jaida Hampton, 5’10, So.: 6.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.1 APG
F Raven Prince, 6’1, RS-Sr.: 5.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 46% FG
G Ashley Reid, 5’5, Sr.: 3.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG
G Maya Brewer, 5’11, Sr.: 3.4 PPG

Biggest losses:

F Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage, 6’2: 8.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG
F Shiya Smith, 5’11: 4.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG
F Alyssia Faye, 6’2: 2.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 7-17 3PT

Newcomers:

C Diamond Forrest, 6’5, Jr.
G DJ McCarty, 5’8, Fr.
G Mariah McCully, 5’7, Jr.
F Natalia Ryng, 5’10, RS-Fr.
F Ashlei Kirven, 6’3, Fr.

Head coach: Keitha Adams, 3rd season

Adams came to Wichita State three years ago from UTEP, where over 16 seasons, she brought the Miners to the NCAA Tournament twice and to the WNIT two more times. It’s tough to take much from her first two years with the Shockers. Her first season was the program’s first in the American, a clear step up from the Missouri Valley, and in her second, she had one of the youngest teams in Division I. This year will be her first chance to truly contend in the top half of the AAC… but a lot needs to break right.

Key non-conference games:

Nov. 20 at Louisiana Tech
Nov. 30 vs. Oklahoma
Dec. 4 at Missouri State
Dec. 21 vs. Virginia Tech (Puerto Rico)

Outlook:

Wichita State was the worst offensive team in the conference last year, and that’s saying a lot when you look at the bottom of the league. The Shockers had no double-digit scorers and ranked dead-last in total points, field goals, two-pointers, rebounds, assists, and assist-to-turnover ratio.

But hey! Carla Bremaud was pretty good as a freshman. She shot about 50 percent from two and ended the season strong. The same could be said for Seraphine Bastin, who ended the season with two monster performances against Tulsa. If she can cut down on her turnovers and keep her assist rate up, it’ll go a long way.

Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage is a tough loss to swallow, but the Shockers bring in Diamond Forrest, a JuCo transfer who shot 60 percent from the field last year, to sure-up the front court. Natalia Ryng, a Polish National Team member, is also eligible after redshirting her freshman year. Then there’s true freshman Ashlei Kirven, who averaged close to a triple-double in high school with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

Barring disaster, count on the Shockers to win more conference games than last year and, at minimum, not be a total pushover against most of the top-tier teams.

Best-case scenario:

I like the Shockers this year… even if I only picked them to finish 10th. Sure, it was a four-way tie for last a season ago, but Wichita State still managed to win five conference games in a season where it wouldn’t have been tough to project them to win only one or two. Now, all those freshmen are sophomores. They beat each of the other bottom-half conference teams once last year. They should do that again this year, maybe sweep one or two, and knock off someone else. Best-case scenario: a .500 finish and the 5 or 6 seed in the AAC Tournament, putting them in position to steal a postseason bid.

Worst-case scenario:

There’s reason to be excited about the newcomers, particularly the pair of JuCo transfers. But if they don’t work out, there’s not a ton of production to be counted on. Maybe a 5-11 AAC team last year is just a 5-11 AAC team this year.

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