Big East Basketball: 5 biggest takeaways from 2019 recruiting classes

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 14: James Farr #2 of the Xavier Musketeers and Daniel Ochefu #23 of the Villanova Wildcats jump for the opening tip during the championship game of the Big East basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images) /

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MILWAUKEE, WI – DECEMBER 27: Tyrique Jones #0 of the Xavier Musketeers reacts to a score against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the first half at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on December 27, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

3. Travis Steele showing off his recruiting chops

Former Xavier Basketball Head Coach Chris Mack had a great first-full recruiting class for Louisville, ranking just outside of the top-10 overall. But his replacement Travis Steele did a pretty good job with his first group of new Musketeers.

Ranked in the top-25, there are five incoming players that are all ranked individually in the top-200 overall. Leading the way are four-star guards KyKy Tandy and Dahmir Bishop. Zach Freemantle, Dieonte Miles and Daniel Ramsey are talented frontcourt prospects that should get the chance to play early on due to the graduations of forwards Zach Hankins and Ryan Welage.

We might not see the early returns of this recruiting class, thanks to four starters returning for next season. But they should serve as solid depth in the beginning before being the new core of Musketeers. The Big East is up for grabs and this team has an outside shot.

After Coach Mack’s departure, Xavier’s program could have gone in multiple directions and it’s no guarantee the program would remain as a consistent NCAA Tournament team. The hire of Steele – and least from seems to be working out for now. However, finals judgments will be made once the Musketeers make it back to the Big Dance.

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