The Holy Land of Hoops

Now that our seasons have all concluded, I thought I'd start this thread just for fun. Here are my thoughts on all 10 teams going into next year. These projections assume every player I mention stays, so it's barring transfers or leaving to go pro.

Butler
Could definitely be the league favorite. Barlow and Woods are gone but they'll return some studs in Jones, Chrabascz, and Dunham. They also get a transfer PG from NC State who's a former McDonalds All-American in Tyler Lewis to replace Barlow. I also really like Martin and Wideman. They had solid frosh years and will continue to get better. The Bulldogs have a two-man recruiting class coming in. Nate Fowler is a 6"9 big man from Cincinnati and he reminds me a little of Chrabascz or Andrew Smith. A good scorer in the paint and also holds his own defensively. The other guy is Sean McDermott from Indiana. I don't know his game much other than he's a shooter. Holtmann is working with mostly Brad Stevens recruits so I'm not too sold on him as a coach just yet but it sure seemed like the Butler team really enjoys playing for him, so that's a good sign. Dawgs will be a player, next season.

DePaul
Oh boy, with them currently being without a coach, it's hard to project them. Yes they've been in the basement for a long time but they have some good players. BGJr, Henry, TH4, McDonald, and Simpson are some talented players. They can flourish if they're developed properly and clearly Purnell and his staff weren't good at developing their players. I don't know much about their recruiting class but I don't expect them all to remain committed. I hope they hire a young and energetic coach who's proven he can win. DePaul seems like a bad job now but I see it as a hidden gem. They might have a losing culture and play in a crappy arena that's miles away from campus that's also nearly empty and commonly has many opposing fans in the arena. But thankfully a new arena is on the way that'll be much closer to campus, DePaul has a good program history as I know it was a powerhouse in the 70's/80's. It's located in freaking CHICAGO! Arguably the best sports city in the country and Chicago has a HUGE pool of great talent in the high schools. I hope the right guy comes and he recruits Chicago hard and he wakes this sleeping giant up. No matter who is hired though, the Blue Demons will probably spend another year at the bottom.

Georgetown
Biggest name brand in the league. I think they'll be among the favorites in the league next year. Smith, Trawick, Bowen, and Hopkins all leave. But DSR, Copeland, White, Campbell, and Peak all return. This years frosh class for the Hoyas put on an excellent showing. Campbell, White, and Peak were solid and I think Copeland could be a gem in the making. The recruiting class looks good and I think Marcus Derrickson from the DMV and Jessie Govan from NYC could be very good players. Both are big men, Derrickson is more of a shooting big man while Govan gets his buckets inside and is a "wall" defensively. JT3 is a very good coach and I think he guides the Hoyas back to the dance next season.

Marquette
Should be improved next season. They got a great recruiting class headlined by the McDonalds All-American, Henry Ellenson. They also got some other good recruits besides him, but their names escape me haha. Some good players leave but they got some good pieces back too. Anderson, Carlino, and Derrick Wilson leave but Duane Wilson, Fischer, Johnson, and Cohen are some good players that'll be back, add them with the recruiting class and you'll have a squad that could surprise next season. Wojo might have had a tough first year but his team loves to play for him and he's a very energetic coach who can recruit. The Golden Eagles have a bright future.

Providence
Tough team to look at right now since we don't know Dunn's intentions yet. But assuming he returns, I look for PC to be another solid squad. Henton, DeRosiers, and Harris will be missed but they got some young studs in Lindsey, Bentil, Chukwu, Cartwright, and Lomomba. Cooley is one of the most underrated coaches in the country and has done a great job with developing his players. They got a solid recruiting class headlined by Alex Owens, the big man from Florida. Cooley won't get the most talented players but he will get the right players and he'll develop them properly.

Seton Hall
Oh my, what seemed like what was such a promising future suddenly all went down the drain in a flash. Not good. They might have some very good players in Gibbs, Delgado, Whitehead, Carrington, and Rodriguez, but unless if they can somehow get along altogether, I can't see the Pirates doing well next season. Can't judge recruits much by their rating and I could be wrong about them but I don't think next years froshes will help much. Willard is lucky to get another year. He better find a way to clean this mess up or it's gonna get REAL ugly REAL fast and the Pirates should be looking for a new coach next season.

St Johns
Idk what the heck is going on with Lavin but whether he stays or goes, the Johnnies are gonna be in trouble. Branch, Greene, Harrison, and Pointer are all gone and if the rumors are true, Jordan and Obekpa could be on their way out as well. If that's true, then regardless of who's coaching, the Red Storm are gonna be in REAL hot water. Lavin hasn't been a very good coach but at least he COULD recruit. That's not really the case now. If Lavin leaves, I hope another coach who's young and energetic (bonus if he has NYC ties) comes in. Like DePaul, this program is a sleeping giant because it's in NYC.

Villanova
They might lose Hilliard and Pinkston but they got Arch, Ochefu, Hart, Jenkins, and Ennis all returning. The recruiting class looks fantastic, headlined by the McDonalds All-American PG, Jalen Brunson. Tim Delaney and Donte Divicenzo are also solid players that I think can do well at Nova. Jay Wright is IMO the best coach in the league and you know he's gonna have his Wildcats ready to fight each night. They go back to the dance next season.

Xavier
They lose Dee Davis and Stainbrook but return Abell, Blueitt, Austin, Myles Davis, Reynolds (unless if he's booted), Farr, and Macura. Those are some good players. I think Mack is a pretty good coach even though his teams are very inconsistent. Musketeers should be a league favorite next season.

Creighton
And finally, the best for last (hahaha), the Creighton Bluejays. Oh man, what a rough year they had. Gut punch after gut punch after gut punch. I loved how despite having every reason to give up on the year, they didn't. They took teams that are much more talented than them down to the wire, but their lack of a closer/Big East talent, killed them time after time. Dingman, Chatman, Brooks, Artino, and Kreklow will be missed but they got some good young guys on the way up. Mo Watson is the transfer PG from Boston U who will replace Chatman, very talented and I've heard great things from him in practice. Cole Huff is the other talented transfer, a 6"8 wing who transferred from Nevada. He's mainly a shooter but from what I've heard in practice, he's added more dimensions to his game now. Hopefully he can keep his head on straight but James Milliken really came on at the end of the year, the dude is a stud and he can flat out get buckets. Groselle also had a solid end of the year, hopefully he continues to improve. Zierden has had a good career that unfortunately has been riddled by injuries. Hopefully he can regain his edge once he's healthy (again). Hegner is a stretch 4 that I'm excited about. He had a typical frosh year so he had bad moments but also some moments of brilliance. He can score inside and out. Gilmore and Harrell spent their time this season on the Scout team (Harrell actually redshirted). Both are very talented. Gilmore is an athletic slasher who can rebound too and Harrell is a bucket-getter who can slash and shoot. The recruiting class looks solid. Idk much about Marlon Stewart or Martin Kramplij but Justin Patton and Khyri Thomas are local kids whom are BigEast caliber recruits. JP is a big man who's got great length and athleticism and is also very fundamentally sound. Once he gains more weight, he can be a special player. Thomas is a 6"4 athletic slasher who's also active defensively. Coach McDermott is an excellent coach who's established a positive culture in the locker room and he's got this program in good hands.

Welp, we can now confirm Lavin is gone. Hopefully the new coach recruits NYC hard and turns the program into the dominant brand in the area that it once was in the Carnesecca days. It's gonna be a 3-4 year rebuild but it can be done. I'd go after Masiello if I'm the SJU AD.

X also has Sean O'Mara - who will need big steps to replace Stain, Makinde London, also 6'10" and 4 star Kaiser Gates PF. Maybe the biggest wildcard will be Edmond Sumner, said to be a terrific athlete/player who Red shirted this year due to knee problems from growing 4-5 inches in a year. Cupboard is full. Lots of depth.

As you said, waaaay too early but I'll give a quick overview of my thoughts.

Butler
Tyler Lewis will be a huge offensive upgrade over Barlow, but also a huge downgrade defensively. Lewis also has the ball in his hand a ton, which is great, but it will be interesting to see what Roosevelt Jones does off the ball since his dribble drive is usually his strength. Losing Woods is definitely big as you could pencil him in for near 10 rebounds a night. Definitely going to need growth from Wideman, Martin and even Jackson Davis. From what I do know about both recruits I wouldn't expect either to get a ton of run next year which means depth is going to be a major concern again next year for the Dawgs barring a spring addition.

DePaul
Pretty much impossible to talk about DePaul until they hire a coach. If they can keep their key pieces and bring in a solid coach though they could be respectable I think.

Georgetown
Smith had his games but won't be too missed IMO. Hopkins, Trawick and even Bowen to a lesser extent were solid role players whose toughness (specifically Trawick) will be missed but they are absolutely stocked with young guys like Copeland and Campbell who should take the next step as well as a great recruiting class. Definitely would be my pick to finish 2nd behind Nova if I had to pick today.

Marquette
Obviously going to be extremely young but extremely talented. Will be interested to see how Wojo deals with all of the young guys. High ceiling for sure but could take awhile to click.

Providence
I love Cooley but definitely see a big drop off next year for PC. I am assuming Dunn leaves, but if he doesn't that obviously does change things a bit. The talent is still there but just think they will be too young to really compete next year.

Seton Hall
I don't even know where to start with Seton Hall after this season's collapse. I still there is a chance Gibbs leaves, which would be a brutal blow since they really don't have any other point guards on the roster. If Delgado improves at all look out though, he was insanely good as a freshman. Willard brought in the talent but it's all about getting the players to buy into the system at this point.

St Johns
Same story as DePaul except I think St. John's could be in a REALLY rough spot next year if Jordan and Obekpa leave now that Sampson has also decommitted. Of the whopping 6 returning players, only Jordan and Obekpa really played much of a role for most of the season.

Villanova
Just as good as this year, maybe better. Hilliard was obviously incredible but with their stable of guards it's next man up. I was never a huge fan of Pinkston due to his inconsistencies but his size may be a little more difficult to replace.

Xavier
Dee and Stainbrook both played tough roles which will be tough to replace but Xavier is still loaded with talent. Jalen Reynolds showed in March that things are finally starting to click. If he plays up to his potential consistently next year, he's probably an NBA draft pick. Depth at the wing is definitely there too with Bluiett, Myles, Remy and JP all coming back. Only real big question is will Sumner (redshirt) or Larry Austin be able to backfill Dee Davis at the point guard spot.

Creighton
I'll be honest when I say I really don't know what to say about Creighton going into next year. They had obvious struggles and deficiencies this year. I really liked the two transfers they got in Watson and Huff though who should be able to anchor the team next year. Patton is also supposed to be an impressive recruit. They seem to be going hard after some JuCos right now too so it will be interesting to see who defects from the program. \


Overall (and obviously this could change drastically by next fall) but I definitely think the league will be much more top heavy next year with quite a few teams loaded as well as quite a few in a bit of a "rebuild" mode.

If I have time this summer I'm going to try and write some preview capsules for each team once things are all set.
As for right now, there is going to be a lot of roster movement (Creighton, DePaul, St. John's, Seton Hall, Marquette, Providence - looking at you) in the next month.

think really almost like 3 groups of teams....

1st group is Butler, Georgetown, Nova, and Xavier. The top 4 programs in the league right now I feel. All lose some, but have a lot of good returning pieces... All 4 should be certain tourney teams next year I would think.
2nd group is Marquette, Creighton, and PC. Marquette has a lot of newness coming in. A real x factor type of team- similar to Butler this year. Creighton will be interesting to watch. PC loses a lot(think it's foregone conclusion that Dunn is gone). Will be extremely young next year.
3rd group is Seton Hall, DePaul, and St John's. Of these 3, I like DePaul the most actually if they can get a good coach.

1 thing that will be interesting to see in about 10 days is Lunardi is going to do a way too early bracketology for the '16 season. Will be extremely interesting to see what his perception is of us.

OmahaGuy wrote:Marquette
Should be improved next season. They got a great recruiting class headlined by the McDonalds All-American, Henry Ellenson. They also got some other good recruits besides him, but their names escape me haha. Some good players leave but they got some good pieces back too. Anderson, Carlino, and Derrick Wilson leave but Duane Wilson, Fischer, Johnson, and Cohen are some good players that'll be back, add them with the recruiting class and you'll have a squad that could surprise next season. Wojo might have had a tough first year but his team loves to play for him and he's a very energetic coach who can recruit. The Golden Eagles have a bright future.

Some good players leave? Do you know something I don't? haha. Steve Taylor was good for the last 4 games and that's about it, Carlino was good but I think was just a temporary fix to keep us at least competitive. Derrick I won't lament getting rid of, he becomes the starter and Marquette falls off the map due to his inability to score, great guy, great defender, absolutely horrid offensively. Juan was decent at best but nothing compared to Henry.

Duane and Fisher are a great core, Henry will come in and be solid. We will be back in the tournament if Johnson makes the jump going into his junior year. If not we'll beat a lot of good teams and lose to some bad ones.

MUBoxer wrote:

OmahaGuy wrote:Marquette
Should be improved next season. They got a great recruiting class headlined by the McDonalds All-American, Henry Ellenson. They also got some other good recruits besides him, but their names escape me haha. Some good players leave but they got some good pieces back too. Anderson, Carlino, and Derrick Wilson leave but Duane Wilson, Fischer, Johnson, and Cohen are some good players that'll be back, add them with the recruiting class and you'll have a squad that could surprise next season. Wojo might have had a tough first year but his team loves to play for him and he's a very energetic coach who can recruit. The Golden Eagles have a bright future.

Some good players leave? Do you know something I don't? haha. Steve Taylor was good for the last 4 games and that's about it, Carlino was good but I think was just a temporary fix to keep us at least competitive. Derrick I won't lament getting rid of, he becomes the starter and Marquette falls off the map due to his inability to score, great guy, great defender, absolutely horrid offensively. Juan was decent at best but nothing compared to Henry.

Duane and Fisher are a great core, Henry will come in and be solid. We will be back in the tournament if Johnson makes the jump going into his junior year. If not we'll beat a lot of good teams and lose to some bad ones.

Carlino was the leading scorer and only reason Marquette was in a lot of their games.
Anderson was your leading rebounder
Wilson despite all the crap he got from the marquette fan base was a solid role player, if a good PG doesn't emerge for Marquette next year you'll really miss him. Duane isn't a point neither is cheatham. Carter is, but is a complete unknown.
Taylor wasn't great, but he was one of the few players with any size on the roster.

You'll have 3 bigs on next years team that's pretty thin to cover 2 spots now imagine someone gets injured. Losing Taylor in addition to Anderson's graduation really hurts depth. You had an 8 person team that struggled with it's lack of depth and you lost half of those players.

A line up of: Carter, Cheatham, Wilson, Ellenson, and Fischer looks good on paper, but right now off the bench you have Cohen, Johnson, Heldt and Amin. Once again not a very deep team and a lot of reliance on unproven parts.