Big East Basketball: Breakout players from each team for 2020-21 season

MILWAUKEE, WI - JANUARY 07: The Big East logo logo on the court before a college basketball game between the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Providence Friars at the Fiserv Forum on January 7, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

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WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 19: David Duke #3 of the Providence Friars (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Big East Basketball breakout candidate – David Duke (Providence)

The player that led Ed Cooley’s Providence Friars in nearly every statistical category last season, Alpha Diallo is gone, but luckily for Friars’ fans, there is a guy that seems poised to step in and fill a few of those shoes in junior guard David Duke. Duke is the player that kept Diallo from leading the team in every major category, leading the team in assists with 3.1 per game, besting the now-departed Diallo by just 0.6 per contest.

The 6-5 native of Providence had a solid freshman campaign but took a big leap last season, not only in his offensive numbers but his percentages as well. In addition to leading the team in assists, he also averaged 12 points and grabbed over four rebounds per game. He shot 42% from deep compared to the 29% he shot as a freshman, and at the free-throw line, he really honed his craft, improving by 10 percentage points over his first season, shooting over 79% last year

. He also showed the ability to take over a game, scoring 20 or more four times, including a season-high 36 in a four-point loss to Creighton. While Providence will undoubtedly miss Diallo’s ability to do just about everything, Duke looks like a guy who is ready to have that torch passed to him.

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