Big East Basketball: Updated WTE power rankings for 2022-23 season
By Joey Loose
The calendar reads June, which means we’re more than two months removed from the most recent NCAA Tournament and firmly in the offseason. The NBA Draft window closed a few weeks ago and the Transfer Portal is starting to settle down, even though there are still a handful of intriguing names out there. Still, we have a more firm grasp at how these rosters look right now than we did a month ago.
Big East Basketball is one of the best basketball conferences in the nation and certainly one of the most intriguing as well. This offseason has already been quite an adventure, with a number of high-profile head coaching changes, followed by some very intriguing roster moves made by these teams. Villanova was just in the Final Four, while teams like Providence, Seton Hall, and Creighton are heading in great direction in recent years. Some, like Butler and Georgetown, are really scuffling but could turn things around soon.
Today, we’ll be looking at how these teams currently stand for next season. Nothing is final yet, but these Big East teams understand the position they are in. We’ll be diving deeply into the current state of these teams and ranking them. Without further ado, let’s get right into it, starting with that familiar name at the bottom.
11. Georgetown
Perhaps one of the surprises of the offseason in the Big East was that Georgetown didn’t make a change at head coach, though it’s not easy to dismiss a program legend like Patrick Ewing. Last season was abysmal, with the Hoyas losing all nineteen of their conference games and mightily struggling a season after a surprise victory in the Big East Tournament. Will things be any better this season?
From last year’s team, the Hoyas will see leading scorer Aminu Mohammed leave for the NBA Draft and watched Donald Carey bolt to Maryland. A few other important pieces are gone, but how much will they miss from a team 0-19 in the Big East? Guard Dante Harris (11.9 ppg last year) is the best returning piece, and he’ll pair nicely with new pieces like Jay Heath, a former Arizona State combo guard, and Brandon Murray, a wing last season at LSU. Former Maryland center Qudus Wahab joins a frontcourt already led by 7’2 Ryan Mutumbo, while 4-star guard Denver Anglin is the best recruit.
It’s a bit of a reshuffle for the Hoyas, who may have a more talented team on the court this season, but does that mean there will be better results? This is a program that has really been scuffling in recent years, minus a lucky run of success early last March. Frankly, this program isn’t in position to compete with some of these talented and well-coached teams in the Big East.