All American

We started off this week of media days with the American. What did we learn from the show? Plus: Georgetown landed 2027 four-star wing Marri Wesley, Kenpom released his rankings, and more.

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Sam Lance
October 13, 2026

Good morning everyone! We’re less than 20 days out from the season. Let’s get to the news.

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1. Notables from American media day

We kicked off another week of media day coverage with the American on Monday. Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster were in Tampa live and had the opportunity to catch up with all the league’s coaches and select players.

The full six-hour show is above, and we encourage you to check it out. If you’re short on time, though, here’s some notables from the media day:

  • It’s no secret last year was a tough season for Memphis and Penny Hardaway. That’s why this offseason he prioritized toughness and guys that care about the city. He also chipped in some NIL money: “I put $2.6 million of my own money in to try to build this roster up,” Hardaway said.

  • FAU head coach John Jakus has the preseason freshman of the year in Felipe Quinones, a top-60 recruit: “We’ve kind of found a niche of kids that don’t want to go sit on a P4 bench. They want to play right away… and he’s easy to play with. He’ll be the FOTY unless something crazy happens.”

  • Wes Miller took over Charlotte after being let go by Cincinnati, and he brought point guard Keyshuan Tillery with him: “I expect Keyshuan to be as good as any. He’ll be one of the best guards in college basketball this year.”

  • The preseason POTY, Je’Shawn Stevenson, came back to North Texas despite lucrative offers to potentially enter the portal and play elsewhere: “The things I value more than any money are the relationships I’ve built and how much I’ve been challenged here and grown,” Stevenson said. “I value those things more and my game more than dollars.”

  • Andy Kennedy, now UAB interim AD and head basketball coach, has high hopes for returning guard Salim London: “He leads with the way he works. His body has changed. His shooting has improved. I think he’s going to have a tremendous year.” Kennedy also had high praise for true freshman guard Korie Corbett: “I think he’s going to play and help us.”

  • Why did Chris Mack leave Charleston for South Florida?: “The American has historically been more than a one bid league. And I love the CAA and Charleston was great, but there’s never going to be two teams that go, ever… This conference has the opportunity for multiple bids, and that’s why I came here.”

  • Wichita State is the known commodity of this league, returning 11 players. That’s likely why the Shockers were picked first. But Paul Mills noted the preseason favorite hasn’t won each year he’s been in the league. Can they break that trend?

  • James Madison was added as a league member on Monday, with official entry set for July 1, 2028. Why did commissioner Tim Pernetti bring them in?: “They came to us. We had a very detailed conversation… They meet the mark with what the DNA is in our league. It’s going to strengthen our conference. They’re investing, and that’s a really important thing. They have a brand that’s emerged.”

2. Georgetown lands four-star, plus more commits

Ed Cooley and Georgetown have kickstarted its 2027 class with four-star wing Marri Wesley committing to the Hoyas on Monday.

Wesley, the 6-5 wing out of Southeastern Prep, is one of the grittiest players in the 2027 class. He plays hard as you know what and does a little bit of everything to help his team win.

Over the summer with AB Elite, Wesley was a key cog next to five-star point guard Beckham Black. The four-star wing averaged 12.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 2.7 apg while shooting 47.4% from the field and 30.5% from 3-point range. His highlights can be found here.

“Marri just has a certain toughness about him, a toughness we needed to put us in position to have a chance to win games,” AB Elite coach James Stafford said. “We don’t do it without him and his effort. We don’t.”

Wesley has previous connections to the Georgetown program, which helped him end up with the Hoyas. He’s close with former players Micah Peavy and KJ Lewis, both who are from Texas like Wesley.

Other 2027 commits from Monday:

3. Kenpom is here!

While it came a little later than usual due to the fifth-year eligibility chaos across the sport, we finally have Kenpom’s preseason rankings for the 2026-27 season.

Here’s a look at the top 60:

A few things that stand out?

  • It’s Duke, not Florida, at the preseason No. 1 spot for Mr. Pomery. The Gators have been pretty much the consensus No. 1 team across rankings.

  • The Big 12 has four teams in the top eight, most of any league, with Houston, Arizona, Iowa State and Kansas.

  • The SEC has a whopping 10 teams in the top 30. The league is LOADED.

  • The only mid-majors in the top 60 are Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Utah State, St. Louis and Boise State. All in all, 48 of Kenpom’s top 50 come from power leagues.

  • Duke, Florida and Houston all have historic preseason NET ratings, ahead of 2021-22 Gonzaga and 2025-26 Houston.

  • The two schools from last year’s national title game, UConn (No. 11) and Michigan (No. 28) are certainly lower than expected.

Wright way

It was a whirlwind of an offseason for BYU point guard Rob Wright, but he ultimately decided to return to BYU. Rob Dauster caught up with the potential All-American to discuss the new-look roster and more:

Links as we inch closer to the season…

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