BIG EAST MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Connecticut
- Saint John’s
- Villanova
- Marquette
- Providence
- Xavier
- Creighton
- DePaul
- Seton Hall
- Georgetown
- Butler
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Silas Demary – SR, G – Connecticut
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Colben Landrew – FR, F – Connecticut
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 1ST TEAM:
-Braylon Mullins – SO, G – Connecticut
-Nigel James Jr. – SO, G – Marquette
-Ian Jackson – JR, G – Saint John’s
-Tounde Yessoufou – SO, G – Saint John’s
-Tyler Perkins – SR, G – Villanova
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 2ND TEAM:
-Na’jai Hines – SO, F – Connecticut
-Royce Parham – JR, F – Marquette
-Miles Byrd – SR, G – Providence
-Kwame Evans Jr. – SR, F – Villanova
-Devin Royal – SR, F – Villanova
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 3RD TEAM:
-Oswin Erhunmwunse – JR, C – Creighton
-Jackson McAndrew – JR, F – Creighton
-Layden Blocker – SR, G – DePaul
-Sananda Fru – SR, F – Marquette
-Jovan Milicevic – JR, F – Xavier
-Mike Nwoko – SR, F – Xavier
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Connecticut was last year’s national runner-up and with the talent they have coming back along with the talent they are adding, not only are they once again the favorites to win the Big East, but they are a team that could be on their way back to the Final Four. Silas Demary Jr. is the preseason player of the year, and he and Braylon Mullins make up what is probably the best backcourt in the conference and perhaps one of the stronger backcourts in the nation. Colben Landrew is a highly-touted freshman and should be able to contribute right away. This team is balanced, they have depth, and they could make yet another deep run come March.
-Saint John’s was last year’s regular season Big East Champs, posting an amazing 18-2 conference record. The bad news that only one starter is back. The good news is that no one has adapted to the modern day transfer-heavy-portal world that we live in as well as the Johnnies, particularly because of Coach Rick Pitino, and they are once again reloaded with talent. Tounde Yessoufou was a standout player at Baylor last year, and they also add guys like Quinn Ellis (who played in Italy), Ian Jackson (who was a good outside shooter last year and should see way more minutes this year), and Babacar Sane (who is a strong frontcourt player but has an eligibility case that remains unresolved). It is hard to say how well the Johnnies will do with so many new players, but they have won 30+ games for two straight years and history seems to indicate that they will have another strong team.
-Villanova is coming off a solid year where they won 24 games, finished 15-5 in the Big East, and made the NCAA Tournament. Matt Hodge and Tyler Perkins return after playing key roles last year and give the Wildcats a strong frontcourt presence. 7’3″ Luigi Suigo is an international player who is expected to play a big role and is worth keeping an eye on as the starting center. Kwame Evans Jr. transfers in from Oregon and Devin Royal comes in from Ohio State, both of whom averaged over 13ppg last year, so Nova definitely has some pieces.
-Marquette had a nightmare season last year where they only won 12 total games and finished just 7-13 in Big East play. Having said that, they were starting to play better down the stretch and with three starters back and the additions of Sananda Fru from Louisville and Nolan Minessale from Saint Thomas, they seem to have a mixture of both experience and talent and Shaka Smart’s gang will likely be much improved this year. I am a little surprised the media picked them this high given how poorly they played last season, but I do agree with the pick.
-Bryan Hodgson takes over at Providence and has his work cut out for him. The Friars won just 15 games last year and just 12 the year before that. They went into the portal to add Miles Byrd from San Diego State, who is a good all-around player. Arrinten Page was a double-digit scorer for Northwestern and Samson Aletan was a solid player for Yale. Malik Mack, who averaged over 13ppg last year at Georgetown, also transfers in and will likely be starting at the point. So the Friars have picked up some good pieces and managed to build a solid roster. We will see if they can improve this year.
-Richard Pitino is in his second year at Xavier, and after winning just 15 games last year he must rebuild the roster. Just one starter is back, but they have picked up quite a bit of talent. Tru Washington was a solid player for Miami FL last year and Chance Westry was really strong at UAB. Ruben Dominguez also comes in having averaged double-figures for Texas A&M last year, and Mike Nwoko is a solid forward who comes in from LSU. So, Xavier has a solid roster that is balanced and more talented than it was a year ago. I also like Richard Pitino as a coach and can see Xavier as a dark horse in the Big East this year. It would not shock me to see them make the (now expanded) NCAA Tournament.
-Alan Huss takes over head coaching duties at Creighton after a subpar 16-win season a year go. Creighton had won 25 games in each of the two previous seasons. I am thinking last year was just an anomaly and the Bluejays will be strong again this year. I think they are being picked a little low in the preseason rankings. Jasen Green returns and is a solid frontcourt player, Isaac Traudt is a solid outside shooter who can step into a bigger role this year, Fredrick King was a solid player for Murray State a year ago, and Wesley Rosa was a strong rebounder for Kansas last year. The Jays have some pieces and appear to have a very solid frontcourt and several guys who can hit from beyond the arc.
-I am a huge fan of Chris Holtmann and believe him to be a fantastic coach. While DePaul still has a long way to go, they are noticeably better than they were before he got there. They were a solid 16-16 last year, which is more wins than they have had in recent memory. The problem is they are having to rebuild their roster. Only two starters are back, but they do add Wilson Jacques, who was a solid frontcourt player at Fresno State last year, and 7′ Magoon Gwath, who was (surprisingly) a fantastic outside shooter at San Diego State. DePaul will probably not be anywhere near the NCAA Tournament, but they will not be quite as far away as what we are used to seeing.
-Seton Hall was one of the biggest surprises in all of college basketball last year. After being picked almost unanimously to not only finish last, but to finish a long way off from 10th place, the Pirates won 21 games, finished a very impressive 10-10 in Big East play, and were just outside the top 50 of the NET. This year, expectations are once again low. Just one starter returns, but they do have some guys that were standout players at other D1 programs coming in. Del Jones averaged over 17ppg at Radford last year, Roddie Anderson III was a solid player at Xavier, Kareem Thomas averaged just under 16ppg at Dartmouth, and Mayar Wol was a double-figure scorer and good outside shooter at Bowling Green, so are we once again overlooking the Pirates??
-Georgetown cannot seem to climb out of the basement. They did win a preseason exhibition game at Wake Forest by 17 PTS last weekend…but you can never read too much into that. Just one starter is back from a team that struggled last year and while they have some guys that may be able to step into bigger roles, I do not like them quite as much as most of the rest of the league.
-I believe it may finally be time for me to stop banging Butler’s drum. I have said that I like Thad Matta as a coach, and in years past I have commented on how I thought they were starting to add the right pieces, but you cannot argue with results…or in the case of Butler, the lack of results. They are picked to finish last, so new head coach Ronald Nored has his work cut out for him. Butler nearly won the national title twice when Nored was there as a player, but they are a long way away from that now. Treyson Anderson was a solid player at North Dakota State last year, and Christian Moore comes in from a Citadel team that really was a lot of fun to watch last season, but I just do not think that Butler has the pieces to compete with most of the rest of the league. Or, for that matter, any of the rest of the league.
