Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: 2018-19 breakout candidates from each team

By Lukas Harkins

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 10: Sean McDermott #22 of the Butler Bulldogs drives to the basket against Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 10: Sean McDermott #22 of the Butler Bulldogs drives to the basket against Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – FEBRUARY 28: Makai Ashton-Langford #1 of the Providence Friars handles the ball. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – FEBRUARY 28: Makai Ashton-Langford #1 of the Providence Friars handles the ball. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Makai Ashton-Langford, Providence Friars

Sophomore | Guard | 6-foot-3 | 185 lbs

For a team who lost three of its top four scorers this offseason, Providence’s roster is full of budding stars. At the forefront of this, of course, is rising junior Alpha Diallo. However, he had his breakout season a year ago and projects as one of the brightest stars in the conference for this year. Still, he is only returning Friar who averaged in double figures for scoring last season at 13.2 points per game. This is why, although there are a lot of really nice pieces on this Providence roster, someone else will need to emerge as a scorer in order for the team to reach its potential.

Even though Makai Ashton-Lanford finished just ninth on the team in scoring last season, he is the player with the most potential for a breakout season, in my opinion. A top-100 recruit out of high school, MAL played in limited minutes last season due to the presence of star lead guard Kyron Cartwright. Now that Cartwright is out of the picture (graduation), Ashton-Langford can take over as one of the featured guards alongside Maliek White for head coach Ed Cooley.

During 2017-18, Ashton-Langford averaged 4.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 13.1 minutes per game. These are not particularly great numbers but the expectations are high for MAL as a sophomore because of the opportunities he is likely to receive. Even though he fell almost completely out of the rotation by the second half of last season (6.3 minutes per game over the last 15 contests), he has a high ceiling as a starter or sixth man if he plays to his potential during this coming year.

Others considered: Nate Watson, Kalif Young, and Maliek White.

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