5) Junior Etou, Tulsa 

Etou is another guy the coaches of the American picked to be a Second Team All-Conference player. Etou led his team in points and rebounds per game last season, and the Golden Hurricanes basically ran their offense through him.

He was also a frequent visitor to the free throw line, taking 146 shots from the charity stripe, among the most in the conference. Tulsa will live and breath through Etou’s production this year, so expect him to have big stats once again.

4) Kyle Washington, Cincinnati

Washington is the first player on Preseason All-Conference Team to make the list. He finished second in points and rebounds per game for the Bearcats last year, and was tied for the most blocks per game.

The big difference between Washington and the three players listed above him on this list is that he’s the prototypical big man down low, while the others are lengthy guys who can play both on the perimeter and down low. Paired with fellow Second Team All-Conference choice Gary Clark, Washington will become be a force in the American, both offensively and defensively.

3) Obi Enechionyia, Temple

Enechionyia is a similar inside-out threat to Reynolds, just not to the same extent. Last season, he finished second on the team in points per game and led Temple in rebounds per game. He was also one of the top three-point shooters in the American.

Paired with talented point guard Shizz Alston, you can expect a lot of offensive production out of Enechionyia this season on a much-improved Temple squad.

2) Markis McDuffie, Wichita State

McDuffie is a ballplayer. He can score, play defense, and get rebounds. His stats aren’t eye-popping by any means, and his minutes have been considerably lower than most of the other top players in the league, but that’s the nature of a team that goes 10, 11, 12 players deep every game.

McDuffie will take the American by storm when he returns from his injury.

1) Cameron Reynolds, Tulane

A lot of basketball experts would disagree with me on this, saying Reynolds is a guard, but he’s six-foot-eight and his twitter bio says he’s a small forward, so I’m rolling with it.

Tulane isn’t a very good basketball team, period. Reynolds is the only player they have worth naming, but he’s a good one. Last season, he finished sixth in the American, averaging 17 points and almost seven rebounds per game. He also made the fourth most three pointers in the conference.

Team-wise, he finished in the top three of every important statistical category, further showing how he carried his team. Unfortunately for Reynolds, his team won’t be much better this year, but he should be fun to watch.

Honorable Mention: Tacko Fall, Central Florida 

Fall is not a forward — he’s too tall to be a forward, and when I say too tall, I mean seven-foot-six. The tallest player in college basketball put his height to good use last season, cracking the top 10 in the nation in blocked shots and the top 20 in rebounds.

Even more impressive, he was top five nationally in field-goal percentage, making over 70% of his shots. The scariest part about Fall? That was just his sophomore season. Fall is the type of player that keeps opposing coaches up at nights trying to figure out how to handle him.