Big East Basketball: Ranking of top 25 players entering 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
22. Quincy Olivari – Xavier
Another intriguing transfer, Olivari enters the Big East after spending four seasons down in Conference USA. He’s coming off four seasons in Rice’s backcourt, developing into a very important shooter for the Owls by the end of his career. He averaged 18.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during a 19-win campaign for the Owls, a nice bounce back after previously averaging more than 16 points a game as a sophomore.
He’ll slide nicely into a lineup that lost some key pieces from last year’s trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Olivari should see significant minutes in the backcourt, mostly at the 2, and will hope to continue developing as a shooter after making 36% of his 3-pointers last season. He’ll be a very solid piece for a new-look Xavier team on both sides of the ball, though we’ll have to see how the transition into a power conference goes for him.
21. Chris Ledlum – St. John’s
He’s never going to be the tallest guy on the court, or perhaps for his own team in that frontcourt, but Ledlum is a great performer and uses every bit of his 6’6 frame. He spent the last four years at Harvard, included the post-COVID season where the Crimson did not play, and developed into a starter and massive talent these last two years. He’s coming off a great season where he averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, with decent shooting numbers from inside the arc.
Ledlum slides into new head coach Rick Pitino’s system as an impressive power forward, expecting to contribute on both sides of the ball from the get go. Ledlum has continued to develop his game and saw his numbers rise last year, including in steals and shot blocking. Again, he’s another player making a big jump, from Ivy League to Big East, but he has the talent and strength to be a menace for the Red Storm.