Big East Basketball: Projecting the 2019-20 all-conference teams

Big East All-Freshman Team

F Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova

Stats: 10.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.1 spg, 45/32/81 percent shooting

This was not exactly a banner year for Big East frosh, but Robinson-Earl still backed up his five-star status as a full-time starter for Villanova. JRE earned Wright’s trust from day one, and now ranks seventh among all high-major freshman in minutes played per game this season, including the full 40 against SHU on Wednesday. He is also just the seventh Big East rookie to average 9 ppg and 9 rpg, joining Carmelo Anthony, Troy Murphy, Eddie Griffin, Henry Ellenson, DeJuan Blair, and Angel Delgado. If Robinson-Earl can clean up his three-point stroke, great things lie ahead for the versatile young big.

F Justin Moore, Villanova

Stats: 11.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 42/40/71 percent shooting

While his teammate Robinson-Earl has ticked along with a metronome-esque consistency, Moore is a bit more boom or bust. Moore has alternated up-and-down stretches throughout Big East play:

• First 2 games: 13.5 ppg
• Next 3 games: 4.7 ppg
• Next 4 games: 13.3 ppg
• Next 3 games: 7.0 ppg
• Last 5 games: 15.4 ppg

For Villanova’s sake, let’s hope he is hitting his stride at just the right moment. Moore knocked down five huge treys in VU’s road win against the Pirates.

F Julian Champagnie, St. John’s

Stats: 9.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.2 spg, 46/31/77 percent shooting

At the mid-point of the year, It looked like Champagnie had crashed into the freshman wall. After averaging 10.7 ppg through the Johnnies’ first 12 games, he scuffled to a 5.4 mark over the next 10 contests and was pulled from the starting lineup in mid-January. But once he became accustomed to the intensity of conference play, he flipped the switch, fought his way back into Mike Anderson’s good graces, and has terrorized the league ever since. Champagnie is averaging 13.5 ppg since the start of February, which pairs nicely with his instincts on the glass. Champagnie ranks inside the top-15 among all high-major freshmen in defensive rebounding.

F Zach Freemantle, Xavier

Stats: 7.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.5 spg, 47/36/77 percent shooting

Freemantle became a bigger cog in Travis Steele’s machine as the year progressed, upping his minutes played from 16.3 in the non-conference portion to 22.8 in Big East action. He isn’t much of a three-point threat, though nearly 90 percent of his attempts from long-distance have come in conference play. Here’s betting Freemantle’s three-point tries spike as a sophomore.

F Romeo Weems, DePaul

Stats: 8.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 spg, 45/40/59 percent shooting

DePaul’s season has wobbled off the tracks in Big East play, but Weems has still shown enough to be a building block for the Blue Demons’ future. Weems dropped 13 points and 11 rebounds in DPU’s most recent win against Marquette and is now 8-15 from beyond the arc in his last four games.

G Kyky Tandy, Xavier

Stats: 6.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.8 apg, 39/37/63 percent shooting

Tandy’s shooting has been key for the Musketeers’ NCAA tournament push. The freshman from Kentucky has hit 58 percent of his treys over Xavier’s last nine games (XU is 6-3 in that span). The stock of Georgetown’s Qudus Wahab has risen late in the year as the Hoyas’ Yurtseven battles injuries, but Tandy’s floor-spacing off the bench for a superior Xavier squad gives him the edge.