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Big East Basketball: Cleaning out the notebook from Media Day

By Carmine Carcieri

Mar 12, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Isaiah Whitehead (15) shoots the game winning basket over Villanova Wildcats forward Kris Jenkins (2) of the championship game of the Big East conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall won, 69-67. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Isaiah Whitehead (15) shoots the game winning basket over Villanova Wildcats forward Kris Jenkins (2) of the championship game of the Big East conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall won, 69-67. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big East basketball held their annual Media Day at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday morning.

The Big East Conference is the strongest and stablest it’s been since the league realigned to 10-teams back in 2013. Villanova won their first National Title since 1985 over North Carolina last year and they could possibly become the first college basketball team since Florida in 2006-07 to repeat.

Related Story: Big East schedule observations

Xavier has become one of the more consistent programs in the country. Creighton is a borderline top-25 team in 2016-17. Georgetown is projected to rebound from a disastrous 2015-16 season. Providence has earned a berth to three straight NCAA Tournaments.

Seton Hall has four starters back. Butler loses Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham, but they still maintain a veteran roster and add two valuable transfers. Marquette is a young roster that has a lot of potential. St. John’s should be much improved in 2016-17. And even DePaul has a bright future thanks to the improvements of Eli Cain and the opening of a new arena next season.

“This league is great. Each night your going to need to play your best because you can lose to anyone of these teams, no matter what their record is,” Xavier point guard Edmond Sumner said.

“The league’s really really good,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said. “It’s the best it’s been since the new realignment from top-to-bottom. There’s some great coaches in here and some players I’d like to have.”

Villanova is likely to win their fourth straight Big East Conference crown, however, this league looks deep, exciting and they once again could get half their teams into the Big Dance.

Here are some other topics that stood out from Big East Media Day on Tuesday:

  • St. John’s forward Kassoum Yakwe said that he worked hard in the weight room this summer and “gained 15 pounds.” He also has been working on his jump shot with head coach Chris Mullin.
  • Mullin was asked how deep he expects his rotation to be and mentioned that he has “10 capable guys who can contribute.” Apparently, not one player on the roster has locked up a starting slot.
  • There was a lot of praise for Big East Freshman of the Year and St. John’s point guard Shamorie Ponds.
    • “He’s got a very natural instinct for the game, plays within himself, plays with any combination of guys,” Mullin said. “He has an easy going personality and his game reflects that as well. He really figures out how to fit in no matter what group he’s playing with.
    • “He’s a talented kid, high octane, high scorer, an elite level passer,” Cooley, who recruited Ponds out of high school, said. “He’ll probably have some bumps and bruises early, but once he learns the rhythm and speed and how physical our league is, he’ll be an elite player in this league.”
  • Villanova guard/forward Josh Hart believes that the new NBA Draft process was “very beneficial,” but that he could’ve used an extra week or two to workout for a couple more professional teams. As far as adjusting to a new leadership role without Ryan Arcidiancono and Daniel Ochefu, Hart said there are “a lot of growing pains.”
  • Sumner on how he views his true freshman season when he sat out with a serious knee injury: “It motivates me like crazy because being away from basketball for a whole year, it was my first time ever not touching a ball for that long. It really motivated me every day and that was probably the darkest time. It’s always in the back of my mind because you really see who’s by your side.”
  • Villanova head coach Jay Wright says he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on Fordham transfer Eric Paschall this early in the process. However, Villanova is excited about his progress. Wright mentioned that the big man “changed his body.”
  • With the Colin Kaepernick situation and all the social issues that have impacted our country, Wright said that he plans to have a team meeting regarding these issues and that he has already spoken to the captains about the situation. “Everyone’s opinion is important to me,” Wright said.

With the season right around the corner (a month from now there will be actual games on the docket), optimism is in full gear for every team across America.

Next: In-depth Atlantic 10 preview

The Big East Preseason Poll won’t hold to form though, as teams are set to emerge and others are set to fall. Just expect one thing: For Villanova to repeat and for Xavier and Creighton to be top-25 teams.

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