Big East Basketball: Ranking conference’s top position groups for 2019-20
By Brian Foley
Guards
1. Marquette
Key Names: Markus Howard, Koby McEwen
Role Players: Greg Elliott, Symir Torrence
Scouting Report: The reigning Big East Player of the Year Howard, who is on pace to shatter both program and conference records, now has more backcourt help in the form of Utah State transfer McEwen, the defensive-minded Elliott, and top-75 recruit Torrence. Howard and McEwen could average close to 40 points a night between them. Elliott is the one wild card, as he might be a captain of the Big East’s all-potential team, but has been heavily limited by injuries to this point. Ankle surgery in June put him on track for an early October return, but at this point in his career, we’ll need to see him in live game action before projecting any future results.
2. Seton Hall
Key Names: Myles Powell, Quincy McKnight
Role Players: Anthony Nelson, Shavar Reynolds, Asiah Avent
Scouting Report: With Powell lighting up the Big East on one end of the court and McKnight shutting it down on the other, the Pirates’ starting guards will be the catalysts for Seton Hall’s push upwards in the conference standings. McKnight settled in as a complementary offensive piece a year ago, but after averaging nearly 19 ppg as a sophomore at Sacred Heart, the redshirt senior may be able to hit another gear with the ball in his hands. Nelson and Reynolds don’t provide a ton of depth, though, which will once again force Powell to play almost the entire game (Powell’s 36 mpg last year ranked second among all Pirates this decade).
3. Creighton
Key Names: Marcus Zegarowski, Ty-Shon Alexander
Role Players: Davion Mintz, Denzel Mahoney, Shereef Mitchell
Scouting Report: Creighton’s backcourt features an ideal mix of top-end talent and dependable depth. The Bluejays do not rely on a superstar like Howard or Powell, but Zegarowski and Alexander are capable of outshining anyone in the league on a given night. Off the bench, Greg McDermott can turn to the steady hand of senior glue guy Mintz, potent transfer scorer Mahoney, or diminutive freshman point guard Mitchell. Mahoney averaged 17 ppg on 40 percent three-point shooting in two seasons with Southeast Missouri State in the Ohio Valley Conference.
4. Butler
Key Names: Kamar Baldwin, Aaron Thompson
Role Players: Henry Baddley, Khalif Battle
Scouting Report: Baldwin is in the Big East’s second-tier of stars behind Howard and Powell, and is a prime candidate to grab a first-team all-conference spot. The rest of the Bulldogs backcourt is light on scoring, though Battle has a chance to make an impact in that regard as a freshman. Baldwin and Thompson are also the backbone of the sturdiest defensive backcourt in the conference, though the rest of the team will need to improve significantly in that regard (the Bulldogs finished 123rd in adjusted defensive efficiency last year, per KenPom).
5. Villanova
Key Names: Collin Gillespie, Bryan Antoine
Role Player: Justin Moore
Scouting Report: Gillespie has his limitations, but Jay Wright will get the best from the next man up in his long line of reliable upperclassmen. Gillespie doubled his production across the board between his freshman and sophomore campaigns without losing much of his shooting efficiency, and now his raw totals should climb even higher as the Wildcats’ lone experienced ball-handler. Wright will fill out the backcourt with a pair of talented freshmen, five-star recruit Antoine and four-star recruit Moore. Antoine is a top-20 prospect, but underwent shoulder surgery in May, opening the door for Moore to pick up additional opportunities this offseason.
6. Georgetown
Key Names: James Akinjo, Mac McClung
Role Players: Terrell Allen, Jagan Mosely
Scouting Report: Akinjo and McClung have the potential to climb into the upper-echelon of Big East backcourts, but the Hoyas’ two young stars must improve their efficiency before we can project that kind of growth (they combined to shoot under 38 percent from the field last year). Allen – a UCF grad transfer – and Mosley are steady seniors who can handle the ball and shoot a bit from beyond the arc, but they are unlikely to be game-changers in the Big East.
7. Xavier
Key Names: Quentin Goodin, Paul Scruggs
Role Players: Bryce Moore, KyKy Tandy
Scouting Report: There is a lot of high-end talent here, but the Muskies need more consistency from their upperclassmen Goodin and Scruggs. Goodin often floats in and out of games, and now owns a 39/29/68 percent shooting line for his career. Scruggs, one of the most well-regarded recruits in program history, gradually appears to be developing into one of the Big East’s best shooting guards but needs to officially take the next step in year three. Tandy – a 6-foot-1 combo guard – leads Travis Steele’s five-man recruiting class, and Moore is a grad transfer who started all 32 games for Western Michigan a year ago.
8. St. John’s
Key Names: Mustapha Heron, Rasheem Dunn
Role Players: Greg Williams Jr., Nick Rutherford, Johnathan McGriff
Scouting Report: The Johnnies’ backcourt took a hit when both Shamorie Ponds and Justin Simon left school early this offseason, though Heron should help the program whether the (red) storm in Mike Anderson’s first season. Dunn joins St. John’s after two seasons at St. Francis and a one-year redshirt at Cleveland State; he averaged 14/5/2 during his Terriers career, but will need to vastly improve his efficiency to survive in the Big East (a 39/26/73 shooting line). Rutherford, a grad transfer from Florida Atlantic and Monmouth, is a heady defender who will thrive in Anderson’s steal-happy system. Williams and McGriff are both young but should see the court in what is almost certainly going to be a rebuilding year in Queens.
9. Providence
Key Names: Luwane Pipkins, David Duke
Role Player: Maliek White
Scouting Report: The UMass grad transfer Pipkins should be an upgrade on last year’s point guard situation, but he needs to clean up his efficiency as he makes the transition from the Atlantic-10 to the Big East (Pipkins shot 35 percent last season). He also needs to prove he can handle off-ball duties next to Alpha Diallo, AJ Reeves, and Nate Watson, as Pipkins most certainly will not finish with one of the nation’s 25 highest usage rates with Providence. Duke and White may also take mini-leaps with another year in Ed Cooley’s program, but they had similar inefficiency issues in 2018-19. The Friars success will come from their star wings and bigs, but they do still need stronger backcourt play to alleviate last year’s spacing issues.
10. DePaul
Key Names: Jalen Coleman-Lands, Devin Gage
Role Players: Charlie Moore, Markese Jacobs, Lyrik Shreiner, Flynn Cameron
Scouting Report: There is some legitimate depth here, but the dearth of a true playmaker puts a ceiling on this unit. Even if Gage will steps into that lead role as a junior in 2019-20, everyone around the Blue Demons program is surely hoping Jacobs can grab that mantle sooner rather than later. Coleman-Lands is back after missing most of 2018-19 with a broken hand, though he was brutally inefficient when he did play. How quickly can he get up to speed after essentially missing two years of competitive basketball (a transfer redshirt year and then an injury-lost campaign)?
The well-traveled Moore was an impact piece on a respectable Cal team as a freshman in 2016-17 before a transfer to Kansas led to a reduced role last year. He may be a prime bounce-back candidate now that he has left the blazing spotlight of Phog Allen Fieldhouse. DePaul features one of the more interesting guard rotations in the league, and could certainly rise up this list, but with so many moving parts, it’s tough to be overly confident about any one player heading into the season.