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(Need a new graphic. Sorry UConn! Well, I’m not sorry for Leigh Delvecchio, but I am sorry for everyone else!)
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES POLL:
- Villanova
- Connecticut
- Xavier
- Saint John’s
- Seton Hall
- Butler
- Providence
- Creighton
- Marquette
- Georgetown
- DePaul
BIG EAST PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
-Collin Gillespie – SR, G – Villanova
BIG EAST PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
-Aminu Mohammad – FR, G – Georgetown
BIG EAST PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:
-Nate Watson – SR, C – Providence
-Julian Champagnie – JR, G/F – Saint John’s
-Jared Rhoden – SR, G/F – Seton Hall
-Paul Scruggs – SR, G – Xavier
-Zach Freemantle – FR, F – Xavier
BIG EAST PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:
-R.J. Cole – SR, F – Connecticut
-Tyrese Martin, SR, G – Connecticut
-Posh Alexander – SO, G – Saint John’s
-Justin Moore – JR, G – Villanova
-Jermaine Samuels – SR, F – Villanova
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Villanova appears to once again be the top team in the conference and perhaps one of the top teams in the nation. The debate with them (at least for now) seems to be are they a Final Four-caliber team, or just merely a top-10-caliber team? The are deep. They are talented. They have perhaps the best player in the entire conference in Collin Gillespie, they can shoot, they can rebound, and they can defend. Other than that, this team is REALLY going to struggle this year!
-As hard as this is to believe, it’s been five years since UConn had a 20+ win season, but they appear to be on their way back in a big way. They staggered out of the gate last year, but finished really strong down the stretch, played their way into the NCAA Tournament, and with four starters back can carry that momentum into this season. Dan Hurley has the pieces to make this a top-25-caliber team this year.
-The next group of teams appear to be a toss-up.
-The preseason polls don’t seem to be favoring Providence all that much, but if I had to pick a dark horse it would be the Friars. They had an unspectacular overall season last year so it’s understandable that people aren’t all that high on them, but with four starters back, some quality additions, and an exciting style of play, I could see the Friars making some noise this year.
-Saint John’s has some key returning players mixed in with some key transfers. Coach Mike Anderson looks to have the personnel he needs to play the style he wants to play, so the Johnnies may surprise some people this year.
-Xavier is picked to finish 3rd, and while they certainly have the potential to do that with the talent they have coming back, this is also a team that for the last few seasons has started off really impressively, and then tapered off down the stretch. Last season the Muskies won just two games after February 1st. I see possibilities for this team, but I won’t be a full-blown believer until they can start winning consistently in the last third of the season.
-Seton Hall is coming off a rather unspectacular season where they finished just 14-13. I see them once again finishing in the middle of the pack this year.
-Butler has all five starters back! That’s the good news! The bad news is they won just ten games a year ago. So…if you believe that experience can equal improvement then there are reasons to be optimistic. but they certainly didn’t look good down the stretch last season so it could be another long year for the Bulldogs this year.
-Creighton made the Sweet Sixteen last year for the first time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams: it was a huge monkey off their backs!! The problem is…absolutely no starters are back. They are in complete reset mode, and while I think the long term health of this program is good I could see this being a rebuilding year.
-Georgetown had a long, unimpressive, and frustrating season last year that was followed up with one hell of a finale when they managed to win the Big East Tournament! Several pieces from that team are gone, and when it comes to this year I have a feeling they may look more like the team that finished in 8th place last year than the team that won the conference tournament.
-Shaka Smart begins his era at Marquette this year! And, WOW! he has his work cut out for him!! No starters are back, and they are also in complete reset mode. I think Shaka is an incredible coach who will get this program rolling rather quickly, but it most likely won’t be this year.
-DePaul….has work to do.
