Big East Basketball: Early grades for each teams 2023 offseason moves

2. Xavier Musketeers – Grade: A

The Musketeers knew they were losing most of their starters but there was a chance that one of the big men could come back for an extra year. Turns out it’s Zach Freemantle, who averaged 15.2 ppg and 8.1 rpg before suffering a season-ending injury. Joining him in the frontcourt are Indiana transfer center Logan Duncomb and North Texas forward, Abou Ousmane.

Dayvion McKnight and Quincy Olivari are two of the top guard pickups of the entire offseason and as good as Xavier could get this offseason. There certainly will be questions as to how these former Conference USA players will work out at Big East Basketball but Souley Boum did well and he led the team to the Sweet 16 this past season.

1. Marquette Golden Eagles – Grade: A+

The top eight scorers (for now) are back for the Golden Eagles, including Big East Basketball Player of the Year Tyler Kolek, along with leading scorer, Kameron Jones. Getting all of that back from a team that won 29 games overall and went 17-3 in league play should make them the favorite in the conference next season.

Of course, that’s assuming that forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper comes back from the NBA Draft process and even if that doesn’t happen, David Joplin is more than capable of stepping up in the frontcourt. They haven’t landed any transfers this offseason but there’s no need to since they have so much talent and depth coming back.

It may be a quiet past month for Marquette but that’s a good thing since the roster is already set to compete for a Final Four bid next season. Despite not doing anything, it’s been a perfect offseason so far for the program.