AAC honors Memphis’ Haggerty, Hardaway, others

Mar 11, 2025, 05:23 PM ET IRVING, Texas– Memphis sophomore guard PJ Haggerty was called the American Athletic Conference player of the year Tuesday, when Cent Hardaway was tabbed as the top coach in a vote by his peers after the 16th-ranked Tigers won the league’s regular-season title.The league

also acknowledged the late Amir Abdur-Rahim as an honorary coach of the year. Abdur-Rahim, who led South Florida to the AAC’s regular-season championship in 2015, died in October from complications while going through a medical procedure.Editor’s Picks

1 Associated A vote of the league’s 13 head coaches determined the honors announced a day before the start of the postseason competition in which Memphis (26-5, 16-2 AAC) is the top seed.Tigers forward Dain Dainja, a transfer from Illinois, was named the league’s beginner of the year and Florida Atlantic center Matas Vokietaitis the leading freshman. FAU junior forward Tre Carroll got the league’s sportsmanship award that was renamed in honor of Abdur-Rahim. UAB senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg was the defensive

player of the year and North Texas junior forward Brenen Lorient the league’s leading sixth man.There were 10 players named to the All-AAC first team, led by consentaneous choices Dainja, Haggerty, Lendeborg, North Texas senior guard Atin Wright and East Carolina senior guard RJ Felton.Haggerty, the league’s top freshman last season, is balancing an AAC-high 21.2 points a game, which is

5th in Department I. He likewise averages 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.