When the BIG EAST Conference held its annual Media Day shindig on Wednesday, it had been 230 days since the conference had last seen any action. It was back on March 12 when the St. John’s-Creighton BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal game was called off at halftime and the tournament was then cancelled.
A lot has happened in those 230 days since.
Purell has become the gold standard of hand cleansers, social distancing has become a common phrase in everyday life and facemasks are now considered a fashion accessory.
Yes, a lot has changed since that cold, gray day back in March. But one thing has remained the same, pandemic or not. That would be Villanova being crowned the top dog in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Wildcats also saw senior guard Collin Gillespie and sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team with sophomore guard Justin Moore grabbing a Second Team spot.
“I’m happy for Collin and Jeremiah,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. “I appreciate the respect the coaches have for them, and also Justin. I hope they live out these predictions. I hope we live out those predictions, too. That would be cool. But as you know we got a lot of work to do.”
The Wildcats return every key player aside from Saddiq Bey, who opted for the NBA Draft. Chief among those returnees are the aforementioned Gillespie and Robinson-Earl. Gillespie, who runs the Nova show with aplomb, averaged 15.1 points and 4.5 assists last season while Robinson-Earl averaged almost a double-double with 10.5 points and 9.4 rebounds. And while similar - or better - seasons are expected from that duo again this year, Wright points to Moore as a possible breakout candidate.
“I do expect him to make a big leap,” Wright said of the All-BIG EAST Second Team pick. “Number one because he’s got the ability and number two, because we need him to. It’s set up for Justin to do that and we need him to make that big leap.”
The rest of the poll saw Creighton finish second, Providence place third, newcomer/old friend UConn grab fourth place while Seton Hall took fifth.
The second half of the conference saw Marquette slotted in the sixth spot followed by Xavier in seventh, Butler in eighth and St. John’s tabbed for ninth place with DePaul and Georgetown finishing 10th and 11th, respectively.
Creighton, which finished in a three-way tie for the regular season title last year with Nova and Seton Hall, boasts the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year in Marcus Zegarowski. The junior guard checks a lot of boxes on the floor as he averaged 16.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists last season for the Bluejays. And though the Jays lost guard Ty-Shon Alexander and his almost 17 points a game to the NBA Draft, head coach Greg McDermott feels very comfortable with what he has returning this season.
“I really like the group,” McDermott said. “Obviously experience is key in college basketball and we’re blessed with some really good talented (and) experienced players back. They’re doing an incredible job helping some of our newcomers kind of find their way. I’ve always felt experience matters in college basketball.”
And while McDermott is excited to see what his three big men - Christian Bishop, Jacob Epperson and 6-11 newcomer Ryan Kalkbrenner - bring to the court on a nightly basis, it will be Zegarowski. coming off knee surgery at the end of last season, who will be the center of attention along with senior Mitch Ballock, a Second Team selection.
“His body looks great and I think his knee feels as good as it ever has,” McDermott said of Zegarowski. “Now it’s just a matter of getting some of the timing back from being out for three or four months. I think he’ll be a better version of himself once the season starts in a month.”
Perhaps no team was playing better than Providence at the end of last season as the Friars won their final six regular-season games, including wins over both Villanova and Seton Hall.
And though a lot of grizzled veterans walked out the door last spring due to graduation, chief among them being Alpha Diallo and his 14.1 points a game, Friars head coach Ed Cooley is optimistic about the 2020-21 season.
“Our players are excited, the coaches are excited,” Cooley said. “We’re developing slowly but I’m optimistic about the season. We lost a lot in Diallo and Kalif (Young), Maliek (White) and Pip (Luwane Pipkins) and the leadership of Emmitt Holt. But overall I like our team. I like the spirit of this group and I’m looking forward to what could be a good season. Always excited for BIG EAST play.”
Sophomore guard David Duke, a preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection, could be poised for a breakout season after a sophomore campaign that saw him average 12.0 points a game.
“David is the hardest working player I’ve coached in the gym,” Cooley said. “And I’ve been in coaching for 28 years, head coach for 15 years now. David lives in the gym, works at his game and it’s paying off. What makes him special is he’s able to play on both sides of the ball. He’s one of the best defenders in the country if not the best defender in the country. He’s just a great teammate, he’s really improved his leadership skills and he’s earned the right to be a first team all-conference player.”
The Friars will also benefit from the return of senior center Nate Watson, a Preseason BIG EAST Second Team pick, and junior guard A. J. Reeves to give Cooley’s squad a solid core around which to reload.
UConn will make its triumphant return to its old neighborhood being picked fourth in the poll.
“The postseason stuff, the postseason order of finish, postseason awards, to me those are the only things that matter,” said Huskies’ head coach Dan Hurley. “I like where we’re at as a program going into the season. I think we have a lot of momentum and we want to continue to build on that momentum as a program.”
The player to watch with UConn’s return is James Bouknight, a rising sophomore guard and an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick.
“We have the highest expectations for the type of season James could put together,” Hurley said. “I think James is going to prove himself to be potentially one of the best guards in the country this year.”
Seton Hall is about to learn what life will be like A.M. - After Myles - as Myles Powell has graduated, along with Quincy McKnight and Romaro Gill. That’s almost 40 points in offense the Pirates will have to make up for this season. A lot of that offense may come from the combination of senior Sandro Mamukelashvili and Harvard graduate transfer Bryce Aiken.
Mamukelashvili was named to the conference’s preseason first team.
“It feels amazing and it means the world to me,” Mamukelashvili said of his selection. “I’ve been working for this moment and coaches giving me a vote and putting me on the first team is a blessing. I couldn’t ask for more than that. But it’s just the preseason and there is a long way to go.”
Aiken averaged 16.7 points in seven games for Harvard last season before a foot injury ended his year. But if he rounds back into form, and the Pirates get solid contributions from Myles Cale, Jared Rhoden and others, that fifth-place finish in the poll handed Seton Hall will be quite the underestimation.
“I don’t think (the coaches) understand how much potential and talent we have left on this team,” Mamukelashvili said. “I feel like everybody is going to step up a lot more. So I don’t think the coaches understand the talent we got (but) we’ve always been underdogs. I just think it’s in our DNA to come out and play our hearts out. I feel like coaches are going to regret their decision, but we’ll see.”
Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski is headed into the post-Markus Howard world and knows his team will have huge shoes to fill.
“Obviously Markus was an incredible player for us and an incredible young man,” Wojo said. “As much as he did for us on the court, he did as much off the court and behind the scenes. You don’t replace him on the floor with one player. That would be impossible. What you have to do is take up those losses collectively, especially on the offensive end.
To that end we introduce Marquette’s 6-11 freshman Dawson Garcia, the centerpiece of Wojo’s Top 25 recruiting class and the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year.
“Dawson’s got a really bright future,” Wojo said. “He’s a guy who has tremendous versatility, he’s got a really good competitive spirit and motor, he wants to get better and he brings a high level of effort each and every day. He’s a kid who has a chance to have a huge impact on us winning this year.”
Xavier didn’t finish particularly strong last season, losing three straight to close out their season, including a loss to DePaul in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament. So does that bitter taste still linger with the Musketeers? You bet it does.
“Most definitely,” said sophomore Zach Freemantle. “Especially that loss to DePaul. That hasn’t sat with me well since that happened and I can’t stop thinking about it. I really just can’t wait to start playing again.”
And getting picked seventh, yeah, that didn’t sit too well with Freemantle either.
“I’m not really concerned with any preseason rankings. That doesn’t really matter at all. We’re just trying to come out on top. That’s all that matters to us.”
Lots of players will have to up their game a notch or three to replace the departed Naji Marshall and Tyrique Jones. Look for 6-9 senior Jason Carter and sophomore guard KyKy Tandy to be two of those players who will support senior guard Paul Scruggs, a Preseason Second Team pick.
Butler landed in the eighth spot due mostly to the loss of Kamar Baldwin, the backbone of the Bulldogs for the past several seasons. But Aaron Thompson, the human assist machine, returns along with Bryce Nze, a Preseason Second Team selection, and Bryce Golden. The Bulldogs lost six of their top nine scorers so there are lots of offensive holes to fix.
But Thompson said he is up to the task.
“Coming up under (Baldwin), he was one of the best leaders I’ve been around so I think he prepared me for the job,” Thompson said.
St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson looked at his Johnnies being picked ninth in the poll for a second year in a row and simply said, ‘It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”
True, and if Anderson is right about his team this year, they should improve on their 17 overall wins of a year ago.
“Rasheem (Dunn) will be better this year, Julian (Champagnie) will be better, Greg (Williams Jr.) will be better,” Anderson said. “And I think some of the freshmen we have coming in like Posh Alexander, he’s going to be an exciting player in our program. Vince Cole as well as Isaih Moore (will also contribute). But the guy I’m really excited about is Arnaldo Toro, a guy with experience, an older guy. There’s a lot of pieces and as a coach you got to put them all together. So we just want to pick up the momentum we had at the end of last year.”
DePaul saw Paul Reed and his nightly double-doubles leave the program but in Preseason First Team selection Charlie Moore and Monmouth transfer Ray Salnave, the Demons should be able to pile up some points in the backcourt. DePaul also brought in Manhattan College transfer Pauly Paulicap, a rebounding force with the Jaspers, to help pick up some of the slack left by Reed’s departure.
Something else to look for will be the continued growth of sophomore Romeo Weems, who averaged 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds last season and made the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
“I feel like I prepared for this season and I’m waiting for the challenges ahead,” Weems said. “Last year I was guarding the best players every game and that was a big challenge. So now I’m ready to give a second push and hope for a better season.”
Perhaps no program endured more tumult in the past year than Georgetown. Last season saw the departures of program building blocks James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc. Then head coach Patrick Ewing contracted the coronavirus last spring, a time when Mac McClung also bolted for Texas Tech. Finally, last month brought the passing of the legendary former Hoya coach John Thompson.
If better days are ahead for the Hoyas on the court, then holdovers Jahvon Blair and Jamorko Pickett will have to elevate their games - and quickly.
And 6-11 sophomore Qudus Wahab will have to begin to become the next great big man at Georgetown.
“I feel confident,” said Wahab, who averaged 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds last season. “I feel like last year prepared me a lot for this year. I’m just going to do whatever I can to help my team win.