Memphis picked second in AAC preseason poll, four Tigers earn preseason honors

MemphisAthleticscommunications
·2 min read

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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