Big East Basketball: 2022 offseason grades for each team

Seton Hall Pirates – Grade: B+

Although the Pirates lost head coach Kevin Willard to Maryland, they were able to get rising star Shaheen Holloway, who led 15-seed Saint Peter’s to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. He was able to keep forward Alexis Yetna for another year while adding MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo to follow him to the Big East program.

Also joining are ACC transfer guards, Al-Amir Dawes (Clemson), and Femi Odukale (Pittsburgh). It’s set up to be one of the best defensive units in the country but there are some offensive concerns as well. All things considered, it’s the start of a new era for Seton Hall and Coach Holloway has all the momentum in the world to build with it.

St. John’s Red Storm – Grade: B

To try and make up for the loss of star forward Julian Champagnie, the Red Storm landed DePaul transfer David Jones, who produced good numbers in a similar position and can step in at the four-spot. The key pickup was Andre Curbelo, a former top-30 recruit and point guard from Illinois. He’s one of the best passers in the country and a talented playmaker when healthy.

If Curbelo and Posh Alexander can work together in the backcourt, St. John’s can have one of the best offenses in the Big East. The concern here is the lack of shooting, as neither Jones nor Curbelo shot over 30% from three-point range last season. Had they added one sharpshooter to the group from the portal, it could’ve bumped them to potentially an “A”.