BIG EAST MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Saint John’s
- Connecticut
- Creighton
- Providence
- Marquette
- Georgetown
- Villanova
- Xavier
- DePaul
- Butler
- Seton Hall
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 1ST TEAM:
-Solo Ball – JR, G – Connecticut
-Alex Karaban – SR, F – Connecticut
-Tarris Reed Jr. – SR, C – Connecticut
-Owen Freeman – JR, F – Creighton
-Chase Ross – SR, G – Marquette
-Bryce Hopkins -SR, G/F – Saint John’s
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 2ND TEAM:
-Silas Demary Jr. – JR, G – Connecticut
-Josh Dix – SR, G – Creighton
-KJ Lewis – JR, G – Georgetown
-Jason Edwards – SR, G – Providence
-Ian Jackson – SO, G – Saint John’s
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 3RD TEAM:
-Nik Graves – SR, G – Creighton
-Jackson McAndrew – SO, F – Creighton
-CJ Gunn – SR, G – DePaul
-Malik Mack – JR, G – Georgetown
-Oswin Erhunmwunse – SO, F – Providence
-Dillon Mitchell – SR, F – Saint John’s
-Joson Sanon – SO, G – Saint John’s
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Saint John’s had an incredible season last year where they won 31 games, earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and just kept picking up momentum as the season went on. They were an amazingly good pressure defense team that could also get into the passing lanes and just shut teams down. While they lost early in the NCAA Tournament, it was still a program-changing season for the Johnnies. Only one starter returns, but if anyone is equipped for the transfer-heavy era of the modern day, it is Rick Pitino. He also gets the kind of players that he knows he can plug into his high energy system. Oziyah Sellers is a great all-around player and fantastic outside shooter from Stanford, Joson Sanon is another good all-around player from Arizona State, Bryce Hopkins comes in after being a star at Providence, Dillon Mitchell put up some decent numbers at Cincinnati last year, Dylan Darling put up big numbers at Idaho State, and Ian Jackson saw productive minutes at North Carolina, so this is a deep/athletic/talented team.
-You know your program is top-notch when you can win 24 games, finish 3rd in a major conference, make the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, and consider that a down year. So, by their own standards, UConn is coming off of a down year. Three starters are back, and Silas Demary Jr. and Solo Ball make up a very talented/experienced/formidable backcourt. Alex Karaban is a great power forward who also has range. He can hit from the outside, and from pretty much anywhere else on the court. He is also a good rebounder. Malachi Smith transfers in from Dayton as another big-time player. I like this UConn team a lot, and I think they can keep pace with Saint John’s and possibly win the league. I DO NOT like @HurleyMania, but I have to admit that I think UConn is pretty good.
-I used to pick on Greg McDermott for his early exits in the NCAA Tournament, but that is clearly no longer the case. Creighton has won 25 games each of the last two years, has shown that they are not just a top-25 team, but a top-25 program, and appear to be back in that range this year. They do lose two absolute winners from last year’s team, but Nik Graves comes in after having a fantastic career at Charlotte, Owen Freeman comes in at center after putting up big numbers at Iowa, Josh Dix was also a standout player at Iowa, and Blake Harper was one of the best players in the MEAC last year, so they have reloaded their talent.
-I was a little surprised to see Providence picked this high. They won just 12 total games last season and finished 8th in the Big East. Four starters are gone and they do not seem to have much in the way of proven D-1 talent. Jason Edwards is a solid player, and while a lot of the other guys on the roster are decent, they do not seem to have the talent level that a lot of the league has.
-Marquette had an early exit from the NCAA Tournament last year, but it was still a successful season overall with 23 total wins and a respectable 13-7 record in Big East play. They return ten guys from last year’s roster and I think they can still be pretty good this year. They are losing three of their best players from a year ago, so I can understand why some are expecting them to take a step back. To me, I think a team with that many guys who have experience in head coach Shaka Smart’s system and can step into it right away can also contribute right away even if they did not put up big numbers a year ago. I am not expecting a complete drop-off this year.
-For a long time Georgetown has been a Big East punching bag, but they are making progress under Coach Ed Cooley. They took a big step forward last year winning 18 total games, and are looking to continue their improvement into this year. Just one starter is back, but they have gone into the portal and grabbed KJ Lewis from Arizona, Jeremiah Williams from Rutgers, and Langston Love from Baylor. These are decent players and not stars, but they should be able to keep Georgetown’s forward momentum going.
-The days of Villanova being a consistent top-five caliber program now seem like a long time ago. Kevin Willard takes over as head coach, and while he has proven that he can be successful and likely will be successful at Nova if he is given time, it may be a long season for the Wildcats this year. All five starters are gone from a year ago, but they did land some quality players from Under the Radar schools who can probably help them out. Devin Askew was a fantastic player at Long Beach State last year and averaged close to 19ppg, Zion Stanford comes in from Temple (who plays right across town), Bryce Lindsay was a contributing player for a pretty good James Madison team, and Duke Brennan saw a lot of minutes for Grand Canyon last year. So, they have some pieces, and can probably finish near the middle of the league if things go right for them.
-Xavier won 22 games last year and barely snuck into the NCAA Tournament where they won a First Four game, but lost in the Round of 64. Strangely enough, the team that Xavier beat in the First Four (Texas) ended up hiring their coach and grabbing a few of their key players, so Xavier is starting completely over. Richard Pitino takes over after a successful run at New Mexico and he has his work cut out for him. The roster consists of several players who saw key minutes and put up decent numbers at some Under the Radar programs last year, but the question remains as to whether or not they can compete at the Big East level.
-DePaul won 14 games last season, which is not good, but considering they won just 3 the year before it was a noticeable improvement. They didn’t get a whole lot of love at Media Day, but with CJ Gunn and Layden Blocker both returning after putting up solid numbers last year, and Kaleb Banks transferring in after having a very good year at Tulane, as well as a few other guys who look like they can step into bigger roles, I think DePaul will exceed expectations. I do not think they will finish near the top, nor do I think they will be anywhere near the bubble, but I bet they end up being better than 9th.
-As for Butler, I like Thad Matta as a coach, and I like Butler as a program, and I keep thinking that soon those two forces will join forces and pull Butler back into national relevance, but it has n’ot happened yet and it does n’ot look like it will happen this year. Having said that, Jalen Jackson is a phenomenal addition to the roster, and was arguably one of the best players in the Horizon League a year ago. Finley Bizjack put up solid numbers as a freshman last year and is a very good outside shooter. Yame Butler also comes in after having a good year at Drexel. They have a few good pieces. They are perhaps better than where they have been projected to finish in this poll. But, I do not see them finishing anywhere near the bubble.
-Seton Hall was a train wreck last year winning just two Big East games and finishing last. All five starters are gone and Coach Shaheen Holloway has gone into the portal to try and rebuild. Adam “Budd” Clark averaged close to 20ppg at Merrimack last year, Elijah Fisher put up big numbers at Pacific, and TJ Simpkins was a very solid guard for Elon, so they do have some proven talent and we should see some improvement this year.
