Big East Basketball: 20 most interesting people of 2019-20 season

Jordan Tucker, Butler

If there were any guarantees in the Big East this season, it’s that Butler was going to be picked eighth in the preseason coaches poll. Not much has changed from last year’s roster, but now the Bulldogs will get a full season of Tucker, a mid-season transfer from Duke who averaged 9.7 ppg and 4.1 rpg in 22 games for BU a year ago.

Tucker is a former top-100 recruit and showed real promise for the ‘Dawgs in 2018-19. Over a four-game stretch in January, the 6-foot-7 small forward averaged 16.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg on 45 percent shooting. But there were some growing pains as he experienced his first real minutes of college basketball (he only appeared in two games at Duke before transferring). Tucker’s shot selection was an issue, something that was borne out by both the eye test and the data (only 16 percent of his attempts came at the rim and his free throw rate ranked in the 18th percentile).

Butler needs Tucker to be more aggressive attacking the basket. Not only does positive aggression lead to stress-free points at the free throw line, but it makes things easier for the rest of the Bulldogs offense, which is already handing out a lot of minutes to one-dimensional pieces (Aaron Thompson rarely shoots from the outside, while Sean McDermott seldom steps inside the arc). If Tucker can diversify his skillset and flash a game that extends from the restricted circle to the three-point line, he will relieve some of the mounting pressure on senior guard Kamar Baldwin and create more second-hand opportunities for Butler’s role players.

Paul Reed, DePaul

While the rest of the country was rightfully enraptured by the 2019 NCAA tournament, little attention was paid to DePaul’s run to the CBI championship. This isn’t to say that CBI should be appointment TV going forward, but for anyone who saw what Reed did in six games in that event, they know that he is the first Blue Demon in some time to actually qualify as a must-watch.

Reed averaged 18.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.7 bpg, and 2.2 spg in the CBI last season, and will be promoted to DPU’s centerpiece following the graduations of the team’s three leading scorers. Reed was ridiculously efficient in 2018-19, posting a 118 offensive rating on a 21 percent usage rate; he won’t have Max Strus to attract multiple defenders anymore, but he has shown enough flashes of an inside-outside game that he should be able to carry the mantle for the Blue Demons as they get their footing with a new roster. Defensively, Reed is a menace, as he became the first DePaul player to post 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game since Sports-Reference began tracking data in 1992-93.

Jacob Epperson, Creighton & Ike Obiagu, Seton Hall

Epperson and Obiagu are two highly-talented big men who are yet to see play much college basketball, yet may hold the keys to their team’s success.

Creighton has two rotation players that stand over 6-foot-7: Kelvin Jones, a grad transfer from Idaho State, and Epperson, who has appeared in just 21 college games while battling injuries for the past two years. Epperson has flashed as a highly-productive rim-running five but is yet to put it together for any substantial stretch of time. CU’s perimeter options are as good as anyone’s in the Big East; the difference in the Jays contending for the conference crown or sliding towards the back of the league could depend on Epperson’s health and productivity.

For Seton Hall, Obiagu represents one of two headliner additions to the Pirates rotation (freshman Tyrese Samuel is the other). The Florida State transfer was the only high-major player in the past decade to average over 2 blocks in less than 10 minutes per game in 2017-18. His rim protection is already unparalleled, but will he show enough development across the rest of the game to actually get on the floor? Seton Hall has plenty of frontcourt options, so the 7-foot Obiagu won’t make-or-break the Pirates’ season, but he does have a chance to be the difference-maker alongside Powell that Kevin Willard seeks.