Quentin Goodin, Xavier
If Xavier is to make good on its preseason potential as a dark-horse Big East title contender, Travis Steele and Co. need Goodin to be much better, plain and simple. Goodin’s career shooting line is 39/29/68 percent through three seasons, marks that were almost identical to his junior-year numbers. Of the 29 Big Easters who posted a 20 percent usage rate last year, Goodin ranked second-to-last in offensive rating (96.0). The only player worse than Goodin? Teammate Naji Marshall (95.1). Be wary when picking the Musketeers this year.
Koby McEwen, Marquette
For people who remain bullish on the Golden Eagles sans Hausers, McEwen may be the biggest reason. In two seasons at Utah State, McEwen averaged 15.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 3.1 apg on 43/37/73 percent shooting. McEwen and Howard are both capable of playing on and off the ball, which will be a welcome sight in Milwaukee after Howard spent large portions of 2018-19 as the only reliable ball-handler on the floor. McEwen’s 6-foot-4 frame also gives Wojciechowski another perimeter defensive option this season and will allow Howard to shift over to the easier defensive assignment.
For the first time in the past four years, Marquette is not loaded with shooting, so Wojciechowski – who has proven more than capable of creating a successful three-point-oriented system – will have to use his magic once again to find some open looks for McEwen. McEwen’s three-point numbers dropped from 42 percent as a freshman to 33 percent as a sophomore as his attempts increased from 4.3 to 6.8 per game. Expect McEwen to land somewhere in between those shooting percentages as opponents throw multiple defenders at Howard.
AJ Reeves, Providence
Here’s betting the under-the-radar Friars will turn some heads in the Big East with the dazzling duo of Reeves and Alphia Diallo. Diallo, entering his senior season, is a known quantity, and of players who are yet to log a first-team all-Big East appearance in their career, Diallo may be the safest bet to earn that honor in 2019-20.
Reeves, on the other hand, is more of a mystery after an up-and-down freshman campaign that saw him get off to a red-hot start (14.2 ppg through 10 games) before a foot injury sidelined him for nearly two months. Upon returning, he struggled to get comfortable in Big East play, and averaged just 6.9 ppg over the final 15 contests as PC missed the tournament for the first time since the Big East was reshaped around the Catholic 7. Now that Reeves is fully healthy, entering his sophomore campaign, and coming off an offseason in which he played with some of the Big East’s best in the Pan-American Games, he seems as primed as anyone in the league for a breakout year.