UConn sophomore Josh Carlton has experienced a breakout season, improving every part of his game.

American Athletic Conference coaches have taken notice, selecting Carlton co-winner of the league's most improved player award along with Temple guard Nate Pierre-Louis.

Carlton is the first UConn player to earn that honor in the AAC.

Numbers back up Carlton's improvement.

A 6-foot-10 forward/center, Carlton jumped from averaging 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds as a freshman to 9.1 points and a team-best six rebounds this season. He's shooting 61.8 percent from the field and blocking 1.7 shots per game. He's the only Husky to start all 31 games.

Coach Dan Hurley projects a bright future for Carlton.

"Josh is a talented player," Hurley said recently. "Josh is a guy that will get better and better. He's gotten better and better and will benefit greatly and will be even a better player next year when he gets a full offseason with us and in the weight room.

"... He's a guy that's coming on. And his rim protection was better than I thought it would be."

Carlton has been on a tear the last three games, averaging 19 points, 8.7 rebounds and shooting a sizzling 81.5 percent (22-for-27) from the field.

"He just wants the ball," sophomore Tyler Polley said. "He's just being aggressive. He's just playing with that fire that everybody knows he can play with. And you see what he does."

Here's what Temple coach Fran Dunphy said after Carlton had a career-best 21 points and seven rebounds versus the Owls on Thursday:

"He's really got a nice confidence level going," Dunphy said. "His footwork is great. His shooting percentage is outstanding. Very impressed with Josh. And he battled for some extra rebounds, too, that hurt us."

In conference play, Carlton is averaging 10.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He's tied for first in blocks, third in field goal percentage (61.4), fourth in offensive rebounds (2.9) and fifth in rebounding.

Pierre-Louis also improved in nearly every statistical category, averaging 13.4 points and 5.7 rebounds,

The AAC announced three other individual awards on Tuesday, naming USF's Laquincy Rideau defensive player of the year, Houston's DeJon Jarreau sixth man of the year and Houston's Galen Robinson, Jr., sportsmanship award winner.

Ninth-seeded UConn (15-16) opens AAC tournament play against No. 8 South Florida (19-12) at 1 p.m. Thursday at the FedExForum in Memphis.

In other news, UConn senior Jalen Adams was selected to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District I team. Vermont swept the district's individual honors, as Anthony Lamb was named top player and John Becker top coach.

Other members of the All-District team include: Lamb, Harvard's Bryce Aiken, Boston College's Ky Bowman, Brown's Desmond Cambridge, Providence's Alpha Diallo, Rhode Island's Cyril Langevine, Yale's Miye Oni, Quinnipiac's Cameron Young and Northeastern's Vasa Pusica.

g.keefe@theday.com