Who’s going to take over at Marquette for Markus Howard? 
 
It’s one of the biggest questions of the offseason in the BIG EAST, but before throwing that on one player’s shoulders, it bears noting what one head coach said about Marquette’s all-time leading scorer. 
 
“Markus Howard’s not walking through these doors again. There won’t ever be a player truly like him,” said Purdue’s Matt Painter after losing to the Golden Eagles last December in the Gavitt Games. Painter wasn’t criticizing Marquette, but rather praising the Golden Eagle great’s career. No one player can fully compensate for the top scorer in college basketball this past season. 
 
The Golden Eagles are going to look different - and bigger - in 2020-21 season. Marquette brings in the top-ranked recruiting class in the BIG EAST according to 247sports.com with a trio of four-star recruits: 6-11 Dawson Garcia, 6-7 Justin Lewis and 6-9 Osasere Ighodaro.
 
“Certainly we wouldn’t mind a few of Markus’ 50-point games,” said Wojciechowski with a smile. “With him leaving, we’re going to have to make adjustments. We are appreciative of the foundation that’s been laid here, but we’re excited about doing some new things that we haven’t done to this point. I really love this freshman class. Those three guys are all multi-positional. They bring great versatility.” 
 
That said, none of those three players are guards. While Koby McEwen returns for his senior year, the questions remained for Marquette with youth in the backcourt department. Wojciechowski has found what the Golden Eagles’ staff believes is a big part of the answer in the form of an Ohio State transfer, D.J. Carton. 
 
The rising sophomore, who has been ruled immediately eligible for the 2020-21 season by the NCAA, averaged 10.4 points with 3.0 assists per game for coach Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes this past season. 
 
“D.J.’s a big-time player,” said Wojciechowksi. “He’s a guy who can impact the game in every way. The thing I loved about him when I watched him in high school was that he made everybody better. He does that with a full package of skills. That’s combined with elite-level athleticism. He’s a very unique player who’s going to compliment the roster we have.” 
 
Carton was named a co-honoree for Iowa Mr. Basketball as a high school senior and was the 34th-best player nationally in the recruiting class of 2019 out of Bettendorf High School. 
 
If you head from the Midwest to the Northeast, Seton Hall’s Kevin Willard is dealing with a loss of a first team all-American as well, Myles Powell. While he brings back senior forward Myles Cale and an impact transfer in junior Takal Molson, there was still a need to bring in someone who could provide a consistency in scoring for the Pirates to contend for the NCAA Tournament in 2021. 
 
As was Powell, a New Jersey native is going to aim to keep the program on the Big Dance floor. Harvard grad transfer Bryce Aiken committed to Seton Hall in April reportedly over Maryland, Iowa State and Michigan. 
 
“The determining factor for me was my relationship with coach Willard,” said Aiken, who’s averaged 16.9 points per game in his career. “The first conversation we had, he expressed his belief in me as a player to help sustain the success they’ve been able to achieve over the past few years. He felt I could be that piece to help elevate them going into next season.” 
 
When Seton Hall recruited Aiken back in 2015, the program was in a totally different place than it is now. Had coronavirus not ended this past season, the Pirates would have marched on to their fifth straight NCAA Tournament, a feat that has not been accomplished in program history. Winning is the cure to all, and the Pirates are seeing the benefits of it in multiple ways as Willard readies for his 11th season at the helm. The Hall should contend near the top of the conference once again in the upcoming season. 
 
A BIG EAST team that lived and died particularly on its point guard play this past season was Providence. When the Friars were 13-12 on the season, they looked like an NIT team at best. Then Luwane Pipkins and his five senior classmates flipped the script. The UMass grad transfer hit another gear, averaging 19.1 points per game over the final six contests, all of which were wins. 
 
Pipkins alleviated the pressure from David Duke and AJ Reeves, allowing both of them to surge as well and send the Friars on a red-hot streak and the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. 
 
While Duke and Reeves enter their junior season and are expected to lead the Friars, having a steady presence at the ‘1’ position is a priority for coach Ed Cooley to allow the duo to play off the ball and flourish offensively. 
 
The next in line at point guard is St. Joseph’s transfer Jared Bynum. The rising sophomore sat out last season due to transfer rules and is expected to take over at the point. As a freshman for the Hawks, Bynum stood out with 11.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. 
 
Those around the Friars’ staff think the Largo, Md., native has the potential to be a player like Kyron Cartwright turned out at PC. Cooley is high on Bynum’s quickness and ability to run the offense. He’ll be asked to do that with Duke and Reeves joining him, and Nate Watson anchoring the PC frontcourt, as the Friars look to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in seven tries.