Big East Basketball: Ranking conference’s top position groups for 2019-20

Wings

1. Providence

Key Names: Alpha Diallo, AJ Reeves
Role Player: Greg Gantt
Scouting Report: Diallo continues to plug along for Providence, checking nearly every box on the basketball court. Since the 1992-93 season, only six high-major players have averaged 16 ppg, 8 rpg, 3 apg, and 1.5 spg on 33 percent three-point shooting: Ben Simmons, Evan Turner, Ryan Gomes, Jamal Mashburn, Draymond Green, and Diallo. Alongside the Friars’ do-it-all forward is Reeves, who was off to a scorching start in 2018-19 before he was slowed by a foot injury, and Gantt, a 6-foot-7, top-75 prospect who chose PC over a host of high-major schools in the south. Providence’s crop of guards may be a bit lackluster this year, but the Friars are going to be a force on the wing.

2. Villanova

Key Names: Saddiq Bey, Cole Swider
Role Players: Brandon Slater, Eric Dixon
Scouting Report: Bey came to Villanova as the least-heralded of these four young wings, but he may develop into one of VU’s long-term stars. Bey played within himself as a freshman in 2018-19 and averaged eight ppg and five rpg. The opportunity for substantial growth is there though, as the Wildcats look to log production without Phil Booth and Eric Paschall. Swider was working his way into the rotation during last year’s non-conference slate, but he was sidelined for a large chunk of Big East play with a hand injury and was scantly used upon returning. Slater was glued to the bench as a freshman, only earning 52 total minutes; Dixon joins the fray as a top-75 commit who grew up just 20 miles from Villanova’s campus. The Wildcats’ season hinges on the progress of its absurdly young wings.

3. Xavier

Key Name: Naji Marshall
Role Players: Dahmir Bishop, Dontarius James
Scouting Report: Marshall remains Xavier’s centerpiece on the wing after he grabbed all-Big East second-team honors with averages of 15/7/3 and 1 steal per game a year ago. Marshall is something of a Diallo-lite stat-stuffer, but his shooting numbers are a far cry from where they need to be (39/28/72 percentages last season). Behind him, there isn’t much experience. Bishop, a top-100 recruit, is nominally a shooting guard, but at 6-foot-5, he and Scruggs will likely toggle between the backcourt and wing spots. James only played in 12 games in 2018-19, but his 6-foot-7 frame should earn him some more minutes going forward.

4. St. John’s

Key Names: LJ Figueroa, David Caraher
Role Players: Damien Sears, Julian Champagnie, Marcellus Earlington
Scouting Report: Figueroa entered the transfer portal after Chris Mullin’s firing, but elected to remain at St. John’s for his junior season. The Red Storm have a million moving parts this year, and will likely struggle in a deep Big East, but the Figueroa-Heron combo is one of the better one-two punches in the league. Caraher is now eligible after sitting out last year following his transfer from Houston Baptist, where he averaged 16 ppg on 36 percent three-point shooting as a freshman in 2017-18. Sometimes good numbers on terrible teams (HBU finished 333rd in KenPom) are more empty calories than anything, though Caraher did put together some decent moments against top-tier competition He averaged nearly 12 ppg in six road games against Providence, Belmont, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, and Vanderbilt, highlighted by 19 points and 7 rebounds against the Friars.

5. Creighton

Key Names: Mitch Ballock, Damien Jefferson
Role Players: Christian Bishop, Jalen Windham
Scouting Report: Outside of the top-billed stars in the Big East, Ballock is as exciting as any player in the conference. He has a sweet stroke from outside and is unafraid to launch. That can be a double-edged sword for the Bluejays – just last year, he shot 2-10 from three against Providence, and then backed it up shooting 11-12 from three against DePaul just days later – but it sure does make for thrilling television. If Creighton can overcome their size issues (more on that later) and make a run at the Big East title, Ballock’s dead-eye shooting will play a huge role. Down the depth chart is the redshirt junior Jefferson, who had a really strong start to the 2018-19 season before sputtering in Big East play (partially due to an ankle injury), the sophomore Bishop, who saw more time as the season went along and tallied double-digit minutes in six of his last seven games, and the freshman Windham, a three-star recruit from Indianapolis.

6. Butler

Key Names: Sean McDermott, Jordan Tucker
Role Player: Christian David, Markeese Hastings
Scouting Report: Tucker has a chance to make this ranking look really dumb by Christmas. The former four-star prospect and Duke transfer became eligible for Butler midway through last season, and immediately became a valuable piece of LaVall Jordan’s puzzle, averaging 10 ppg and 4 rpg in 24 games. With another offseason and a full non-conference slate to get up to Big East speed, he could be one of the biggest risers in the league. There are some quibbles with Tucker’s game – particularly a lack of physicality and a poor assist rate – but the raw talent and scoring potential is there for Tucker to make a huge splash in 2019-20.

McDermott similarly could be an impact wing player for Butler, as he may be one of the three best shooters in the conference, but he seemingly refuses to put the ball on the floor. McDermott is a highly efficient player, so much so that it is almost to his detriment. Of the 48 players to top 1,500 minutes over the past two seasons while averaging at least a 60 percent effective field goal percentage, McDermott ranks just 35th in usage rate. As he enters his senior season, it might be expecting too much for a drastic change, but c’mon Sean – let it fly!

7. Marquette

Key Names: Sacar Anim, Brendan Bailey
Role Players: Jamal Cain, Dexter Akanno
Scouting Report: Anim is as reliable as they come, with the ability to both credibly defend several positions and knock down spot-up threes (he shot 14 percent from beyond the arc in his first 38 career games, but has now nailed 44 percent of his treys in his last 44 contests). The versatile Bailey is one of the league’s leading candidates to pop as he enters his sophomore season; the former top-100 recruit is now another year removed from his two-year Mormon mission, and will undoubtedly look more comfortable on the court. His shooting can be hit or miss, but he already looks the part of an elite defender.

Anim was a bit overextended as MU’s top defensive option last year, so if Bailey can fill that role with his size and speed, Anim should excel in matchups with the opponent’s second option. Cain took a sizable step backwards last season after a promising rookie campaign but still possesses tantalizing potential as a 3-and-D wing off the bench.

8. Seton Hall

Key Name: Myles Cale
Role Player: Jared Rhoden
Scouting Report: This ranking is no shade at Cale (10 ppg, 4 rpg), who while a tad inconsistent, is generally a very solid player operating alongside the Myles Powell show. Even Rhoden began to emerge towards the end of his freshman season, averaging 6 ppg and 18 mpg during SHU’s final seven contests, including 15 points in a win over Villanova. The problem, though, lies with a lack of depth – Seton Hall just does not have a ton of switchable wings on the perimeter. The Pirates are well-stocked down low and have a stable of guards to which Kevin Willard can turn, but there will be a lot riding on Cale on both ends of the floor.

9. Georgetown

Key Names: Jamorko Pickett, Jahvon Blair
Role Player: Galen Alexander
Scouting Report: After earning spots on the Big East all-freshman team in 2017-18, both Pickett and Blair saw a reduction in their minutes last season as Georgetown re-centered its team around Akinjo and McClung. Blair seems to be nothing more than a bench piece at this point – he owns a meager 34/33/80 percent career shooting line. The bloom has not completely fallen off the rose with Pickett, though, particularly if the Hoyas’ coaching staff can clean up his shot chart.

Pickett is a reliable three-point shooter (36 percent on good volume), but last year, he only attempted 17 percent of his shot at the basket, where he shot 70 percent, compared to the 26 percent of his attempts which were two-point jumpers, where he shot just 24 percent. At 6-foot-8, Pickett will have so much more value if he trades in those long twos for layups and threes. The X-factor for the Hoyas could be Alexander, a former top-100 recruit who committed to LSU for the 2017-18 seasons, before moving to the JuCo level last year after just nine career games in Baton Rouge.

10. DePaul

Key Name: Romeo Weems
Role Player: Darious Hall
Scouting Report: Weems, the four-star crown jewel of Dave Leitao’s recruiting class, will likely be thrust into the rotation immediately as a freshman. The 6-foot-7 wing can play either forward spot, but may see more time at the 3 with DePaul’s log jam down low. Moving Weems into a more perimeter-oriented role could gum up the Blue Demons’ offense at times, but it should be a positive move for his long-term development. Hall transferred into DePaul following one season – and the accompanying redshirt year – with Arkansas, where he averaged 5 ppg and 3 rpg. He hit double-digit scoring seven times as a freshman with the Razorbacks despite playing limited minutes.