My Big East Picks

[Bill Marsh]

Westbrook, you always have good ideas and opinions worth listening to. I posted at the top why I ranked X where I did. What do you like about them? What am I missing?

I guess it boils down to besides Georgetown and St. John's, I have less questions about X, than Providence, Seton Hall, and Marquette. Sure they lose Semaj, but I'm thinking they were a little to dependent on him last year to carry the load. Without Semaj to defer to I think the other players like Stainbrook, Reynolds, Farr, both Davies's, Abell, and they brought in like what 5 good freshman? I think that enough of them will flourish with expanded roles and offset the loss of Semaj. Then again maybe I'm wrong and they do finish 7th.

Thanks. I appreciate the analysis.

[FormulaX]

Remy is the one many don't know about. He was the only guy who kept up with Semaj in practice last year. Before, that he was the under study to that Oladipo guy at Indiana. Oladipo was the ROY in the NBA.
Last year, Stainbrook was on a new team and in new conference. It was also his first year in his new body. His old one was 345 lbs. He could improve still this year.

I also think Bill's prediction for X is low, but a couple of minor quibbles with this. First, Michael Carter-Williams was NBA ROY, Oladipo finished a very distant 2nd(in a weak class of incoming rookies), like I said, minor point but still. Secondly, we're talkin' bout practice man, practice, ... practice, seriously we're talkin' bout practice. Going in to last year at Nova we heard for a year about how Dylan Ennis was ripping it up at practice, was arguably the best player on court, yada, yada, yada. Look at how that panned out, he was a role player with upside and the unnerving ability to chuck up(and brick/airball) ill-advised 3 pt. shots. Practice is practice it ain't regular season BE play, so I think trying to draw any comparison to how a player will perform is a very risky proposition.

BTW, here's my take on it...

1.) Villanova

2.) Georgetown
3.) St. John's <-- Tier 2 could see these 3 finish in any order
4.) Xavier

5.) Providence
6.) Seton Hall
7.) Marquette <-- Tier 3, again could see these 5 finish in any order
8.) Creighton
9.) Butler


10.) DePaul

Thanks for posting Westbrook and sorry about the miss info. on Oladipo. Not sure why I assumed he won. I forgot about Carter-Williams. I agree with a lot your saying and your rankings. I just use history and so-called experts to guess the future of sports teams. History is why everyone is high on X and low on St. Johns. Xavier is underrated and over achieves. St. Johns seems to be the opposite.
As far as Abell and the "Practice" he is going into his 4th year at Div. 1. Not a freshman or Dylan Ennis from Rice? The info. on him should be pretty solid by now. We will see how he does in games this year.
Just saw the BE media day poll had STJ voted 3rd X 4th.

[Westbrook#36]

The practice thing was an attempt at an Allen Iverson joke, but besides that it's not just about Ennis(that freshman from Rice was also C-USA ROY) or Abell, I've heard this same type of thing on many, many transfers blowing up at practice. Until they show it in the regular season it's still just speculation, some live up to the hype, most do not. Anyway, Remy doesn't need to kill it, he just needs to be a very solid piece of the puzzle for Xavier.

[BEX]

I'll take a stab at this.

1)Nova
2)SJU
3)XU
4)GT
5)Providence
6)Seton Hall
7)Marquette
8)Creighton
9)DePaul
10)Butler

Got St. Johns at 2 because it just feels right to me

The talent is certainly there, but isn't Lavin still the coach?

[FlyJays]

Not saying Creighton is going to be a top 20 squad this season, but I would be stunned if they finished 9th in the league as the preseason poll predicts.

Starting PG (Chatman) and a part-time starting/major contributor (Artino) at PF returning. Add in the transfer Kreklow (starter for Cal), Devin Brooks, James Milliken, and I think they are going to surprise a few folks. Also, they have two top-100 Freshman on the roster who have an opportunity to help out right away. The area where they may be strongest, was where they were weakest last season: the post. They have a 7'0" 250lb center who had achilles issues which kept him out all of last season. He is fully healthy this year, and should be able to contribute some solid minutes at the 5. He, combined with 6'11 Artino and 6'9" 250lb Hanson creates a front-line that should be able to match up decently well with just about anyone, and gives Creighton the ability to roll out a "big" lineup as opposed to their trademark small shooter lineup. Not many teams can roll out three legitimate PF options. I think the Jays finish somewhere in the 5-7 range, which should be a success in a transition year following the graduation of the best player in the country. Also, for the 2nd straight year, their season ticket figure topped 15,000, which is remarkable considering Doug and Co. are gone. The CLink will be a massive home-court advantage once again.

2015-2016 looks VERY bright for the Jays, however. Two impact transfers in Maurice Watson (former top-100 recruit was 4th in the nation in assists last season and 2nd in ast/to ratio as a Soph.) and Cole Huff (Mountain West all-conference as a Soph.), as well as top-40 recruit Justin Patton all suit up.

Here's my take on the league:

1. Nova
2. GTown
3. Providence
4. Xavier
5. St. Johns
6. Creighton
7. Seton Hall
8. Marquette
9. Butler
10. DePaul

[Bill Marsh]

Not saying Creighton is going to be a top 20 squad this season, but I would be stunned if they finished 9th in the league as the preseason poll predicts.

Starting PG (Chatman) and a part-time starting/major contributor (Artino) at PF returning. Add in the transfer Kreklow (starter for Cal), Devin Brooks, James Milliken, and I think they are going to surprise a few folks. Also, they have two top-100 Freshman on the roster who have an opportunity to help out right away. The area where they may be strongest, was where they were weakest last season: the post. They have a 7'0" 250lb center who had achilles issues which kept him out all of last season. He is fully healthy this year, and should be able to contribute some solid minutes at the 5. He, combined with 6'11 Artino and 6'9" 250lb Hanson creates a front-line that should be able to match up decently well with just about anyone, and gives Creighton the ability to roll out a "big" lineup as opposed to their trademark small shooter lineup. Not many teams can roll out three legitimate PF options. I think the Jays finish somewhere in the 5-7 range, which should be a success in a transition year following the graduation of the best player in the country. Also, for the 2nd straight year, their season ticket figure topped 15,000, which is remarkable considering Doug and Co. are gone. The CLink will be a massive home-court advantage once again.

2015-2016 looks VERY bright for the Jays, however. Two impact transfers in Maurice Watson (former top-100 recruit was 4th in the nation in assists last season and 2nd in ast/to ratio as a Soph.) and Cole Huff (Mountain West all-conference as a Soph.), as well as top-40 recruit Justin Patton all suit up.

Here's my take on the league:

1. Nova
2. GTown
3. Providence
4. Xavier
5. St. Johns
6. Creighton
7. Seton Hall
8. Marquette
9. Butler
10. DePaul

I understand why you are optimistic about the Jays, but don't you think the same case can be made for Seton Hall, Marquette, and Butler - all of whom you're picking to do worse than Creighton?

Seton Hall - Return 3 starters and add one of the best recruiting classes in the country featuring 2 top 50 players, one of who is top 15.
Marquette - Return 4 of their top 8 players, and add 2 high quality transfers.
Butler - Return 3 starters, including their leading scorer and their top rebounder, and a 4th starter from 2 years ago who was out with injury this past season.

It's a tough league. The question has to be, why will Creighton win more games than these 3?

[marquette]

Starting PG (Chatman)

Wasn't Gibbs your starting PG?

[FlyJays]

No. This will be Chatman's 3rd full season as the starting PG. Gibbs was our starting 2/3.

[FlyJays]

Not saying Creighton is going to be a top 20 squad this season, but I would be stunned if they finished 9th in the league as the preseason poll predicts.

Starting PG (Chatman) and a part-time starting/major contributor (Artino) at PF returning. Add in the transfer Kreklow (starter for Cal), Devin Brooks, James Milliken, and I think they are going to surprise a few folks. Also, they have two top-100 Freshman on the roster who have an opportunity to help out right away. The area where they may be strongest, was where they were weakest last season: the post. They have a 7'0" 250lb center who had achilles issues which kept him out all of last season. He is fully healthy this year, and should be able to contribute some solid minutes at the 5. He, combined with 6'11 Artino and 6'9" 250lb Hanson creates a front-line that should be able to match up decently well with just about anyone, and gives Creighton the ability to roll out a "big" lineup as opposed to their trademark small shooter lineup. Not many teams can roll out three legitimate PF options. I think the Jays finish somewhere in the 5-7 range, which should be a success in a transition year following the graduation of the best player in the country. Also, for the 2nd straight year, their season ticket figure topped 15,000, which is remarkable considering Doug and Co. are gone. The CLink will be a massive home-court advantage once again.

2015-2016 looks VERY bright for the Jays, however. Two impact transfers in Maurice Watson (former top-100 recruit was 4th in the nation in assists last season and 2nd in ast/to ratio as a Soph.) and Cole Huff (Mountain West all-conference as a Soph.), as well as top-40 recruit Justin Patton all suit up.

Here's my take on the league:

1. Nova
2. GTown
3. Providence
4. Xavier
5. St. Johns
6. Creighton
7. Seton Hall
8. Marquette
9. Butler
10. DePaul

I understand why you are optimistic about the Jays, but don't you think the same case can be made for Seton Hall, Marquette, and Butler - all of whom you're picking to do worse than Creighton?

Seton Hall - Return 3 starters and add one of the best recruiting classes in the country featuring 2 top 50 players, one of who is top 15.
Marquette - Return 4 of their top 8 players, and add 2 high quality transfers.
Butler - Return 3 starters, including their leading scorer and their top rebounder, and a 4th starter from 2 years ago who was out with injury this past season.

It's a tough league. The question has to be, why will Creighton win more games than these 3?

Absolutely. The league is wide open after Nova, I'd say.

Regarding the teams you mentioned, Seton Hall is the one I'm the most uncertain about. I could see them finishing much higher. Their guard play is going to be stellar, but they have big time question marks at the 4/5. Marquette got a great pickup with Carlino, and Burton is a stud. But their PG play lacks big time, and aside from Carlino they lack any quality shooters. They also aren't going to have a player over 6'7" (!) eligible until conference play starts, which is a setback in terms of adjusting once he's eligible. Butler seems to be a mess. They return three starters from a very bad team. I know they get Jones back healthy, and he and Dunham are a very good combo, but other than that, their roster looks slim to me. Add in the situation with Brandon Miller, and I can't see them having a very strong season.

[Bill Marsh]

Not saying Creighton is going to be a top 20 squad this season, but I would be stunned if they finished 9th in the league as the preseason poll predicts.

Starting PG (Chatman) and a part-time starting/major contributor (Artino) at PF returning. Add in the transfer Kreklow (starter for Cal), Devin Brooks, James Milliken, and I think they are going to surprise a few folks. Also, they have two top-100 Freshman on the roster who have an opportunity to help out right away. The area where they may be strongest, was where they were weakest last season: the post. They have a 7'0" 250lb center who had achilles issues which kept him out all of last season. He is fully healthy this year, and should be able to contribute some solid minutes at the 5. He, combined with 6'11 Artino and 6'9" 250lb Hanson creates a front-line that should be able to match up decently well with just about anyone, and gives Creighton the ability to roll out a "big" lineup as opposed to their trademark small shooter lineup. Not many teams can roll out three legitimate PF options. I think the Jays finish somewhere in the 5-7 range, which should be a success in a transition year following the graduation of the best player in the country. Also, for the 2nd straight year, their season ticket figure topped 15,000, which is remarkable considering Doug and Co. are gone. The CLink will be a massive home-court advantage once again.

2015-2016 looks VERY bright for the Jays, however. Two impact transfers in Maurice Watson (former top-100 recruit was 4th in the nation in assists last season and 2nd in ast/to ratio as a Soph.) and Cole Huff (Mountain West all-conference as a Soph.), as well as top-40 recruit Justin Patton all suit up.

Here's my take on the league:

1. Nova
2. GTown
3. Providence
4. Xavier
5. St. Johns
6. Creighton
7. Seton Hall
8. Marquette
9. Butler
10. DePaul

I understand why you are optimistic about the Jays, but don't you think the same case can be made for Seton Hall, Marquette, and Butler - all of whom you're picking to do worse than Creighton?

Seton Hall - Return 3 starters and add one of the best recruiting classes in the country featuring 2 top 50 players, one of who is top 15.
Marquette - Return 4 of their top 8 players, and add 2 high quality transfers.
Butler - Return 3 starters, including their leading scorer and their top rebounder, and a 4th starter from 2 years ago who was out with injury this past season.

It's a tough league. The question has to be, why will Creighton win more games than these 3?

Absolutely. The league is wide open after Nova, I'd say.

Regarding the teams you mentioned, Seton Hall is the one I'm the most uncertain about. I could see them finishing much higher. Their guard play is going to be stellar, but they have big time question marks at the 4/5. Marquette got a great pickup with Carlino, and Burton is a stud. But their PG play lacks big time, and aside from Carlino they lack any quality shooters. They also aren't going to have a player over 6'7" (!) eligible until conference play starts, which is a setback in terms of adjusting once he's eligible. Butler seems to be a mess. They return three starters from a very bad team. I know they get Jones back healthy, and he and Dunham are a very good combo, but other than that, their roster looks slim to me. Add in the situation with Brandon Miller, and I can't see them having a very strong season.

Absolutely agree that the league is wide open 2-9. So we may just be spinning our wheels with preseason analysis until we actually have some games to go on. But just to keep the conversation interesting . . .

Seton Hall has 6-9 Brandon Mobley, a starter last year, and Angel Delgado, a top 50 recruit, to handle the 4/5. Mobley is a junior who averaged 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block per game in 24 minutes per game last year as a sophomore. He should see improvement in those numbers with more experience and increased playing time.

Derrick Wilson was good enough at the point last year for Marquette to have a winning season and to win half their games in the Big East. Duane Wilson is a 4 star recruit whom they actually brought in a year ago but who sat out last season, so he is technically a freshman and is like bribing in a new recruit this year. Sophomore John Dawson provides additional depth at the point as he did last year in 10 mpg/24 games. With Carlino, who can also play the point, to hit shots from the perimeter and open things up for the inside game, I expect they'll find ways to score points. JaJuan Johnson, a top 50 recruit as a shooting guard a year ago, came into the program with the reputation of being an excellent perimeter scorer and will also help with outside shooting.

Butler may not have a very strong season and I don't expect big things from them either. But what they have going for them is 4 starters back from last year and Roosevelt Jones, a starter 2 years ago, who is a very good player. That's a lot of experience on the starting 5. Whenever I saw them play last year, they played very well and seemed to lose a lot of close games. They played hard, they played together, and were fundamentally sound. They'll miss Marshall, but otherwise all of the key players are back from last year. Back and another year older, they could be a surprise. This is a veteran group, who may handle the loss of Miller well. Like the St. Louis team that rallied together after they lost their coach, Majerus, Butler may use this as a rallying point. I wouldn't write them off just yet.