DALLAS — The reigning American Athletic Conference champion Memphis Tigers were picked to finish second in the 2023-24 AAC Preseason Coaches Poll, the league announced Monday morning at the conference’s Media Day in Dallas.
League newcomer Florida Atlantic earned 11 first-place votes and finished with 167 total points to claim the top spot in the poll. Memphis collected three first-place tallies and 159 points.
Four Tigers were also recognized with preseason honors as Jahvon Quinerly landed on the first team all-conference and Jordan Brown earned a spot on the second team. Freshman Carl Cherenfant and JJ Taylor were tabbed Co-Rookies of the Year.
Quinerly scored over 1,100 points while winning two SEC regular season championships and two SEC tournament titles at Alabama. In 35 games last season for the Crimson Tide, he averaged 8.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and a team-high 3.6 assists per game.
Brown is the reigning Lou Henson Award winner who averaged 19.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and grabbed 10 double-doubles for Louisiana en route to being named first team all-conference and the Sun Belt Tournament MVP last season.
Cherenfant and Taylor will look to carve out a role on what many consider to be the deepest team head coach Penny Hardaway has had in his six years at the helm. Cherenfant averaged 9.3 points over the team’s three games in the Dominican Republic in early August, while Taylor dropped 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting in the final game of that foreign tour.
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AAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Florida Atlantic (11) 167
2. Memphis (3) 159
3. Tulane 142
4. UAB 128
5. East Carolina 105
6. North Texas 100
7. SMU 97
8. Wichita State 90
9. South Florida 62
10. Tulsa 59
11. Rice 56
12. Temple 49
13. Charlotte 46
14. UTSA 14
First-place votes in parenthesis
Preseason All-Conference First Team
Eric Gaines, UAB
Johnell Davis, Jr., G, Florida Atlantic
Alijah Martin, Jr., G, Florida Atlantic
Jahvon Quinerly, Sr., G, Memphis
Jaylen Forbes, Jr., G, Tulane*
Preseason All-Conference Second Team
RJ Felton, Jr., G, East Carolina
Jordan Brown, R-Sr., F, Memphis
Max Fielder, Sr., F, Rice
Zhuric Phelps, Jr., G, SMU
Kevin Cross, Jr., F, Tulane
Preseason Player of the Year
Johnell Davis, Jr., G, Florida Atlantic
Alijah Martin, Jr., G, Florida Atlantic
Preseason Rookie of the Year
Carl Cherenfant, G, Memphis
JJ Taylor, F, Memphis
* denotes unanimous selection
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