The Way-Too-Early 2017-18 Big East Hoops Prediction Thread

[Novachap]

On top of that, depending on his health, it may be Booth as the starting #2 vs Donte.... that can be a pretty decent back court at nova that I dont think we'd trade with anyone.

St john's guards are very good and dynamic on the offensive side of the ball, but defensively, not so much IMO.

After nova (pure homer pick), providence, xavier, butler, seton hall, marquette all have very good guard combinations (sorry, i know i am missing/offending someone here).. tremendous depth in the league at guard will make for some great battles.

[FriarJ]

St. John's will have one of the best backcourts in the Big East, but THE best? PC, Xavier and Villanova all have better backcourts. Those three teams have Cartwright, Lindsey, Divincenzo, Brunson, Goodin and Macura. Those combinations are damn hard to beat. You could say SJU's backcourt will be 4th, but I think Marquette and Seton Hall could make a pretty good argument for that 4th slot as well.

I disagree, any team that has Ponds in the backcourt is one of the top no matter who is next to him, they just happen to have another stud in LoVett. They may not be the best but they are right there.

[milksteak]

St. John's will have one of the best backcourts in the Big East, but THE best? PC, Xavier and Villanova all have better backcourts. Those three teams have Cartwright, Lindsey, Divincenzo, Brunson, Goodin and Macura. Those combinations are damn hard to beat. You could say SJU's backcourt will be 4th, but I think Marquette and Seton Hall could make a pretty good argument for that 4th slot as well.

I disagree, any team that has Ponds in the backcourt is one of the top no matter who is next to him, they just happen to have another stud in LoVett. They may not be the best but they are right there.

Let's wait until they put together a 0.500+ season. We are getting ahead of ourselves.

[milksteak]

After nova (pure homer pick), providence, xavier, butler, seton hall, marquette all have very good guard combinations (sorry, i know i am missing/offending someone here).. tremendous depth in the league at guard will make for some great battles.

I'd wager most Butler fans don't share your enthusiasm. Our backcourt for next season is very unproven outside of Baldwin. He has a shot at 2nd Team All-Big East, but the rest of the backcourt is pretty much a mystery. Someone other than Baldwin is going to have exceed expectations to belong on the same tier as those other teams.

[JohnW22]

St. John's will have one of the best backcourts in the Big East, but THE best? PC, Xavier and Villanova all have better backcourts. Those three teams have Cartwright, Lindsey, Divincenzo, Brunson, Goodin and Macura. Those combinations are damn hard to beat. You could say SJU's backcourt will be 4th, but I think Marquette and Seton Hall could make a pretty good argument for that 4th slot as well.

Depends who you say is in Xavier's backcourt but if we're talking just the 1 and 2 it will be Scruggs and Goodin. I wouldn't put those two in the top half yet lots of questions with Goodin still and Scruggs just a freshman but at the same time if Goodin improves as fast as he did throughout the season and Scruggs is as good as advertised then it could be on of the best in the conference.

[JohnW22]

After nova (pure homer pick), providence, xavier, butler, seton hall, marquette all have very good guard combinations (sorry, i know i am missing/offending someone here).. tremendous depth in the league at guard will make for some great battles.

I'd wager most Butler fans don't share your enthusiasm. Our backcourt for next season is very unproven outside of Baldwin. He has a shot at 2nd Team All-Big East, but the rest of the backcourt is pretty much a mystery. Someone other than Baldwin is going to have exceed expectations to belong on the same tier as those other teams.

Is the plan for Baldwin to play on or off the ball? Right now who would be the ideal starting lineup for Butler? Been trying to figure it out but not sure what Butler fans think.

[milksteak]

After nova (pure homer pick), providence, xavier, butler, seton hall, marquette all have very good guard combinations (sorry, i know i am missing/offending someone here).. tremendous depth in the league at guard will make for some great battles.

I'd wager most Butler fans don't share your enthusiasm. Our backcourt for next season is very unproven outside of Baldwin. He has a shot at 2nd Team All-Big East, but the rest of the backcourt is pretty much a mystery. Someone other than Baldwin is going to have exceed expectations to belong on the same tier as those other teams.

Is the plan for Baldwin to play on or off the ball? Right now who would be the ideal starting lineup for Butler? Been trying to figure it out but not sure what Butler fans think.

I prefer Baldwin playing off the ball. With the way the game has changed, you typically want your 2s to have more size than he does, but he makes up for it with his athleticism and long arms.

That said, if he wants to play in the league, he's gotta learn to play some PG. I'm not entirely sure what the staff has planned for the point, but it will interesting to watch that position this year. Butler will be interesting in general to watch. Butler has nine new faces this year if you count Brunk and the walk-ons.

[scoscox]

St. John's returns three starters in the backcourt that all averaged over 13 points a game. That's better than anything anyone else has returning. As of right now, it's hard to say they don't have the edge. That being said, Nova, PC, SH, and Marquette are also returning stellar backcourts and if Bluiett returns I'd certainly put us near the top of the list.

[JohnW22]

Does Bluiett really count as part of the backcourt? He plays the 4 in Xavier's offense. I know a lot of people consider him part of that back court but I never understood that.

[scoscox]

Does Bluiett really count as part of the backcourt? He plays the 4 in Xavier's offense. I know a lot of people consider him part of that back court but I never understood that.

He plays the 4, but we basically play a 4 guard system.