So who's the Big East favorite in 2014-15?

[SJHooper]

It will be:
1. Nova (clear cut best team)
2. G-town (JT3 has the best incoming class, Josh Smith comes back, and Smith-R will be POY).
3. PC (Returns alot of talent, great class incoming, Kris Dunn!!, different style but Cooley will have a better "team" next year).
4. X-men (Lose Semaj, but the entire team is back. Add in some real talent)
5. Seton Hall (I love the incoming class, but they are freshmen. Will lose many close ones. People are forgetting they lose ALOT)-should have been better this year. Very good in 2015, Decent 2014.
6. Butler (Their best player returns from injury. A year of maturity. Most of the guys are back).
7. Depaul (I think they finally have a competitive year. The nucleus is solid, they dont have much coming in but the transfers could help)
8. Marq (They also lose alot of guys. New coach. Transition year, not enough talent to compete at the top of the conference right now.
9. St. Johns (middle of the pack when they had the most talent. Now alot of that talent is gone. They dislike each other+coaches, will not buy in, selfish play, no recruits= bad outlook.)
10. Creigh (surprised myself with this one. I like the gaurds, offense will be good. But not good enough to overcome poor defense. Rebuilding year in the BEAST.)

I think NOVA is clearly #1.
Then 2-4 will be grouped together.
5-8 will be grouped together and competitive.
I see Creighton and St. J finishing at the bottom next year.

PC losing Cotton means much more than SJ losing Sampson. You really think PC won't take a step back? A better team? Really? How does PC have a better team without its undisputed #1 star player they won the conference with? PC will be good but I think they take a step back. Seton Hall brings in a good class but loses a ton and they have a lot of question marks. Let any SJ fan tell you that recruits mean nothing until they prove their worth. Most never live up to hype. Probably 1 in 10 do if not fewer. No way Creighton finishes 10th. Creighton in a great year can get up to #4 IMO assuming they can still shoot after losing everyone. 10th is impossible. I also think Nova comes back to earth after escaping upset bids all year to somehow be in the top 10 and finally got revealed as a pretender in the Big East and NCAA tourneys. If they are ranked this year it will be more like 17-25 not top 10. I don't see an early season top 5 win again.

SJ will be bad but Jordan, Harrison, Greene, and Branch return along with Obekpa. Jordan has Big East POY potential if he works on his shots as does Harrison. If we get Adonis it will at least help make us look a bit more respectable even just for his body size. SJ is a team that will always do poorly under Lavin and never make the NCAA's, but during the season SJ can definitely knock off their share of top 25's. Look for SJ to be this year's Seton Hall and finish near the bottom half but upset people along the way.

[adoraz11]

Hooper, obepka is said to almost certainly be leaving over at redmen

[GumbyDamnit!]

Hooper/Lavinwood, so Nova losing to the team in its region of the bracket that is now sitting in the FF makes them a fraud huh? I will bet you right now that Nova starts the year ranked in the Top 10. So your prediction will be wrong in the first week of the poll next year. And you should hope the same so your Johnnies at least get 2 opportunities to beat a marquee team next year.

[stever20]

Hooper/Lavinwood, so Nova losing to the team in its region of the bracket that is now sitting in the FF makes them a fraud huh? I will bet you right now that Nova starts the year ranked in the Top 10. So your prediction will be wrong in the first week of the poll next year. And you should hope the same so your Johnnies at least get 2 opportunities to beat a marquee team next year.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Nova not in the top 10. This year outside Atlantis, Nova beat 2 top 50 teams- St Joe's and Providence twice. That's it. Even if you include Atlantis, Iowa falls off. So best wins outside Atlantis were a 10 seed and a 11 seed 2x. Given how poorly Big East did in the tourney, wouldn't be a shock at all to see Nova in that 11-15 range. We'll see a smidge next week after the tourney when folks release their way too early top 25's. I suspect Nova will be the only team in the preseason top 25, just like this year.

[Irishdawg]

I guess I won't make predictions until we see where things shake out with everyone's rosters. What I will say is that Butler getting Jones back by itself isn't going to spring them up to 6th unless the other teams fall off dramatically. They were an awful team offensively, and they really haven't added anyone (at this point anyway) that is going to swing things on that side of the ball back the other direction significantly.

Jones will make their defense tougher, and will give them someone else that is at least a halfway decent ball handler. But he has no jump shot to speak of, really struggles at the foul line and turned the ball over a LOT during the 2012-13 campaign.

Martin I think will be a solid contributor for a Freshman off the bench, and if Butler doesn't get another big, whether it's Jackson Davis, Trevor Thompson, Sean Obi or anyone else they may be looking at, then Tyler Wideman will pretty much have to play a few minutes as well, which will be interesting to see how he does (think he needs a redshirt year to get a little seasoning offensively and defensively).

Only other team I know even a little about really is Xavier, and that's because 2 of their 14 commitments were guys that Butler was going after as well, and both Bluiett and Macura are going to be good ones for those guys. Bluiett plays like a 50 year old man at the Y, but other than dunking, that dude has every other move in his offensive arsenal. Macura is a little skinny, but is very skilled and is athletic as well.

[BEX]

X will have more balance. Stain will get his. Hopefully JMart becomes more consistent and becomes a proven scorer EVERY nite. Dee Davis is a good floor general but needs to step up his ball control and 3 pt. shot. Look for IU transfer Remy Abell to lead this team. He has been very good in practices this season. Reynolds must continue to improve and raise his unlimited ceiling. I think Bluiett gets a lot of minutes. He can shoot the 3 ball. Think we could play 9-10 guys. We need shooters and looks like we have a bunch of them coming in. Macura is a wildcard. Starts shooting three's when he gets in the parking lot. Team will have a lot of talent but that doesn't get you anywhere unless Mack can coach 'em up in the OOC. Methinks 2-5.

[Bluejay]

10. Creigh (surprised myself with this one. I like the gaurds, offense will be good. But not good enough to overcome poor defense. Rebuilding year in the BEAST.)

Don't know where Creighton will end up, but I believe the defense will be better. McBuckets was an offensive superstar, but almost a sieve defensively. As bad as Doug could be defensively at times, Gibbs was worse (and even slower). Wragge tried hard and can shoot the leather off the ball, but he was way too undersized to play the 5 defensively. Of our returners, Chatman and Dingman are pretty good defensively and Hanson gives us a wide body to play the post (hopefully Artino isn't starting come conference season).

We haven't created many turnovers in the last 4 years or so because we generally haven't had the athletes to do so. This incoming recruiting class brings us a few long armed athletic types that may just help out there too.

Creighton may certainly struggle overall, but I think they will be better defensively.

[notkirkcameron]

No question I think Wojo has his work cut out for him, but honestly, I'm optimistic. Assuming everybody stays (big if, but listening to the players it sounds like it was a relief that Buzz is gone), then MU might be in a position to surprise some people. Despite graduating 3 senior starters (Davante Gardner, Jake Thomas, Jamil Wilson) he cupboard isn't exactly bare.

Buzz's 2013-14 season featured Buzz leaning heavily on upperclassmen, seemingly out of loyalty to them, not performance. Howls from the Marquette fanbase to "Play the kids for God's sake" were audible as early as just after Christmas, and were in full throat by mid-January. For a sampling of how this looked on the other end, see Steve Taylor Jr.'s interview. Taylor will be a Junior, and was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school, where he was a first-team all-state in Illinois, and was a teammate of Jabari Parker at Simeon.

Buzz's 2013 recruiting class, which I will politely say was used "sparingly" featured three ESPN Top 100 players, each one a four-star recruit in Jajuan Johnson, Deonte Burton, and Duane Wilson. Wilson was a redshirt this year, and Burton certainly showed flashes of brilliance when Buzz would actually let him play. There is also three-star recruit John Dawson, who Georgetown fans may remember putting MU on his back in overtime at the Verizon Center, only to disappear to the bench, rarely to be seen again after that.

The incoming class is similarly loaded, assuming everybody stays. Ahmed Hill and Sandy Cohen are both four-star recruits, and three-star Marial Shayok has also signed. Cohen claimed he was reopening his recruitment during the coaching search, but if I recall correctly he has not been given his release just yet. Probably going to give Wojo a chance to try and convince him to stay. Three-stars Malek Harris and Satchel Pierce have verbally committed. And of course, Luke Fischer will be eligible in mid-December, which should give the Indiana big man a couple nonconference games to work his way into the rotation before the start of conference season.

MU will miss its big men in Otule and Gardner, but it wouldn't surprise me to see MU return to the old four-guard lineup that they enjoyed in the late Crean/early Buzz years. They'll play aggressive defense and push the ball in transition probably.

[marquette]

No question I think Wojo has his work cut out for him, but honestly, I'm optimistic. Assuming everybody stays (big if, but listening to the players it sounds like it was a relief that Buzz is gone), then MU might be in a position to surprise some people. Despite graduating 3 senior starters (Davante Gardner, Jake Thomas, Jamil Wilson) he cupboard isn't exactly bare.

Buzz's 2013-14 season featured Buzz leaning heavily on upperclassmen, seemingly out of loyalty to them, not performance. Howls from the Marquette fanbase to "Play the kids for God's sake" were audible as early as just after Christmas, and were in full throat by mid-January. For a sampling of how this looked on the other end, see Steve Taylor Jr.'s interview. Taylor will be a Junior, and was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school, where he was a first-team all-state in Illinois, and was a teammate of Jabari Parker at Simeon.

Buzz's 2013 recruiting class, which I will politely say was used "sparingly" featured three ESPN Top 100 players, each one a four-star recruit in Jajuan Johnson, Deonte Burton, and Duane Wilson. Wilson was a redshirt this year, and Burton certainly showed flashes of brilliance when Buzz would actually let him play. There is also three-star recruit John Dawson, who Georgetown fans may remember putting MU on his back in overtime at the Verizon Center, only to disappear to the bench, rarely to be seen again after that.

The incoming class is similarly loaded, assuming everybody stays. Ahmed Hill and Sandy Cohen are both four-star recruits, and three-star Marial Shayok has also signed. Cohen claimed he was reopening his recruitment during the coaching search, but if I recall correctly he has not been given his release just yet. Probably going to give Wojo a chance to try and convince him to stay. Three-stars Malek Harris and Satchel Pierce have verbally committed. And of course, Luke Fischer will be eligible in mid-December, which should give the Indiana big man a couple nonconference games to work his way into the rotation before the start of conference season.

MU will miss its big men in Otule and Gardner, but it wouldn't surprise me to see MU return to the old four-guard lineup that they enjoyed in the late Crean/early Buzz years. They'll play aggressive defense and push the ball in transition probably.

You make it difficult to maintain my "I refuse to get excited about next season" attitude. Don't make me optimistic. It's a hard fall, as we learned this season.

[R to the OB]

10. Creigh (surprised myself with this one. I like the gaurds, offense will be good. But not good enough to overcome poor defense. Rebuilding year in the BEAST.)

Don't know where Creighton will end up, but I believe the defense will be better. McBuckets was an offensive superstar, but almost a sieve defensively. As bad as Doug could be defensively at times, Gibbs was worse (and even slower). Wragge tried hard and can shoot the leather off the ball, but he was way too undersized to play the 5 defensively. Of our returners, Chatman and Dingman are pretty good defensively and Hanson gives us a wide body to play the post (hopefully Artino isn't starting come conference season).

We haven't created many turnovers in the last 4 years or so because we generally haven't had the athletes to do so. This incoming recruiting class brings us a few long armed athletic types that may just help out there too.

Creighton may certainly struggle overall, but I think they will be better defensively.

Length will certainly help us out next season.
I really can't see Artino starting by conference season, unless he vastly improves all facets of his game during the offseason. Hanson will probably start at the 5.