Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big East Basketball: 10 biggest storylines and questions for 2022-23 season

By Tristan Freeman

CINCINNATI, OHIO - FEBRUARY 16: Posh Alexander #0 of the St. John's Red Storm dribbles the ball in the first half against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on February 16, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - FEBRUARY 16: Posh Alexander #0 of the St. John's Red Storm dribbles the ball in the first half against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on February 16, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 10
Next
Xavier Musketeers forward Zach Freemantle Big East Basketball Vanderbilt Commodores Vs Xavier Musketeers Nit
Xavier Musketeers forward Zach Freemantle Big East Basketball Vanderbilt Commodores Vs Xavier Musketeers Nit /

5. Xavier’s frontcourt dilemma

New head coach Sean Miller is back with his old program, looking to get Xavier back to the NCAA Tournament. He has some good pieces to work with, including versatile guard Colby Jones, sharpshooter Adam Kunkel and UTEP transfer Souley Boum in the backcourt. There also are a pair of All-Big East forwards in Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle, two of the better individual frontcourt players in the league.

The good news last year was that the Iowa transfer proved to be better than anyone expected. Nunge led the Musketeers with 13.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg and had a bunch of big outings, including 31 points and 15 rebounds against Cincinnati. He started off the bench and ended up in the starting lineup in the second half of the season.

The bad news was that it came at Freemantle’s expense. He led Xavier in scoring and rebounding the year prior but saw his numbers take a big dip and his production was largely inconsistent this past season and even came off the bench at times.

If Coach Miller can find a way to get them to play well together on the court, the Musketeers could be a sleeper team to win the Big East. But considering that Freemantle has already been suspended this offseason by the new staff, it’s clearly still a work in progress.

Home/Big East