Cincinnati is inexperienced and unsettled at point guard and center. Those “are two hard spots to fill,” Bearcats coach Bob Huggins said Sunday at the Conference USA media gathering at the O’Hare Marriott.
But that didn’t stop the conference coaches preseason poll from picking Cincinnati to again win the league title.
DePaul, under new coach Dave Leitao, is picked to finish seventh in the American Conference, which is just where the Blue Demons ended last season. But there is a measure of respect attained by the Chicago players in C-USA.
Marquette junior guard Dwyane Wade, out of Richards High, is the coaches’ choice as preseason player of the year. Joining him on the preseason all-league team are Blue Demons forward Andre Brown, out of Leo, and St. Louis guard Marque Perry, out of Prosser.
Louisville guard Reece Gaines and Cincinnati forward Jason Maxiell round out that team.
Huggins, who suffered a heart attack in late September, is back guiding his Bearcats and looking for an eighth consecutive C-USA title.
In Maxiell and guard Leonard Stokes, he has two talented performers. But seven of his players weren’t with the Bearcats last season. Still, despite these difficulties, he appeared trim and healthy at the conference’s media day and whenever asked about his health, Huggins quickly replied, “I feel great.”
Wade and the Golden Eagles, who are picked to finish behind Cincinnati in the American Division, were an afterthought 12 months ago. But after winning 26 games and making the NCAA tournament, Marquette enters the season ranked No. 19 in the nation.
That’sthe kind of resurgence that gives hope to Leitao, who took over at DePaul after a long internship under Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun.
“I look at it, there’s 14 schools in this league,” Leitao said. “It’s been established that Cincinnati, Louisville and Memphis … are able to do more than just about everybody.
“But to be on par with everybody else is where we’re at. Marquette has proven it [can be done] already. St. Louis is pretty good. There are other good teams in this league who do it without complaining about what you don’t have and using what you do have.”
Louisville has Rick Pitino and Memphis has John Calipari as coaches and both schools have deep resources. Pitino predicted the biggest changes for this league are still ahead.
“This league has outstanding recruiters now,” he said. “The coaches in this league can flat-out recruit. They were all great recruiters as assistants, they recruited big-name players, they know that end of the business.
“So this league is going to take off big-time. In three or four years we’ll be knocking on the door of being one of the premier conferences in basketball.”
2002-03 Conference USA coaches preseason poll
Cincinnati is picked to win its eighth Conference USA title. Here is how the rest of the league shakes out:
AMERICAN
1. Cincinnati
2. Marquette
3. Louisville
4. Charlotte
5. St. Louis
6. East Carolina
7. DePaul
NATIONAL
1. Memphis
2. Tulane
3. Houston
4. TCU
5. South Florida
6. Southern Miss
7. UAB
PRESEASON ALL-C-USA TEAM
Dwyane Wade, Marquette
Preseason player of the year
Reece Gaines, Louisville
Jason Maxiell, Cincinnati
Marque Perry, St. Louis
Andre Brown, DePaul
