College Hoops today preseason ranking of the Big East

[CL82]

The Hall comes in at #5

5. Seton Hall
Projected Starting 5:
G Kadary Richmond
G Myles Cale
G Jared Rhoden
F Tyrese Samuel
C Alexis Yetna
Projected Bench: Bryce Aiken, Ikey Obiagu, Jamir Harris, Brandon Weston, Tyler Powell, Ryan Conway, Tray Jackson, Jeff Ngandu
Newcomers: Kadary Richmond (Syracuse), Alexis Yetna (South Florida), Jamir Harris (American), Brandon Weston, Tyler Powell, Ryan Conway
Losses: Sandro Mamukelashvili, Shavar Reynolds, Takal Molson

Big East Breakout Player - Tyrese Samuel
Under the radar freshman - Brandon Weston
Under the radar transfers - Jamir Harris

Champagnie coming back to St. Johns bumped them to # 3 dropping Xavier and Seton Hall. I continue to think that your transfer portal bonanza of Richmond, Harris and Yetna is being underrated. I think Kardary in particular is going to be an electric player. I'm not sure that we have anyone who matches up well with him. Maybe Jackson.

 

[radecicco]

Not buying X ahead of SHU.

 

[Fishjam]

Not buying X ahead of SHU.

I think it's put up or shut up time for Travis Steele. His first 3 seasons have been disappointing. The last time Xaver had 3 straight years out of the NCAA tournament was 1979-1981 and prior to his arrival they had made 16 NCAAs in the last 18 years.

He got a big gift with the return of Paul Scruggs for an extra year. He and Freemantle give him 2 potential 1st Team Big East players. Pair that with some solid depth and if Steele can't get a NCAA bid this year it won't look good.

If Xavier is good I think Freemantle could compete for BEPOY.

 

[CL82]

Not buying X ahead of SHU.

I'm guessing it is more of a 3-4-5 thing where it's a coin flip which is which. FWIW, as I frequently say both here and I the Boneyard. I think people are underestimating Seton Hall, mostly because Richmond, Harris and Yetna haven't played in a SH uni yet. I think that a lot of people will be surprised. Richmond especially is a special player potentially.

 

[SOBO1]

BigEast is fun because it’s such a competitive conference. Typically there’s a 1 or 2 game difference between 3rd and 7th.

 

[phelanma]

Not sure how much to read into Ike not starting. If he isn't, wondering if he even gets more than 15 minutes a game.

 

[mikewalsh]

Not buying X ahead of SHU.

SHU in top 3, ahead of X and SJU.

 

[sami]

I'm guessing it is more of a 3-4-5 thing where it's a coin flip which is which. FWIW, as I frequently say both here and I the Boneyard. I think people are underestimating Seton Hall, mostly because Richmond, Harris and Yetna haven't played in a SH uni yet. I think that a lot of people will be surprised. Richmond especially is a special player potentially.

Plus, no one gives enough credit to Jeff Ngandu.

 

[HallBall02]

Coin flip between 2-5.

Not sold on UConn offense or having any elite go-to players in crunch time.

I'm guessing it is more of a 3-4-5 thing where it's a coin flip which is which. FWIW, as I frequently say both here and I the Boneyard. I think people are underestimating Seton Hall, mostly because Richmond, Harris and Yetna haven't played in a SH uni yet. I think that a lot of people will be surprised. Richmond especially is a special player potentially.

 

[dehere23]

SHU in top 3, ahead of X and SJU.

I think coin flip for 2-5, but maybe I’m underrating UCONN.

 

[TheHall87]

I think it's put up or shut up time for Travis Steele. His first 3 seasons have been disappointing. The last time Xaver had 3 straight years out of the NCAA tournament was 1979-1981 and prior to his arrival they had made 16 NCAAs in the last 18 years.

He got a big gift with the return of Paul Scruggs for an extra year. He and Freemantle give him 2 potential 1st Team Big East players. Pair that with some solid depth and if Steele can't get a NCAA bid this year it won't look good.

If Xavier is good I think Freemantle could compete for BEPOY.

I sat near a Xavier fan on the opening night of the 2020 BET before it was cancelled.

This fan didn't believe Steele was going to get a lot of rope and that were already rumblings that some of the program's big boosters wanted to move on from him. That was after year two.

I'm not sure the hype around X is doing Steele any favors because I'm not sure this group has it in them to be a top three Big East team. I do think they have a legit chance to get an NCAA bid as I do see the potential for six BE teams to earn spots.

 

[dehere23]

Steele has recruited well, so that’s not the issue. He stepped into a program that was humming more so than any school in the league not named Nova. Agree with Fish that Steele needs to do well with this group, especially now with Scruggs back.

 

[CL82]

Coin flip between 2-5.

Not sold on UConn offense or having any elite go-to players in crunch time.

I think coin flip for 2-5, but maybe I’m underrating UCONN.

That's fair. Like Seton Hall without Mamu, UConn is going to need to prove itself without Bouknight. I like our guys but they've got to show that they can carry the load. I think @HallBall02's comment about who is the go to scorer is spot on.

FWIW, here is what the same article says about UConn:

Big East Breakout Players
Andre Jackson, UConn
Adama Sanogo, UConn

Impact Big East Freshmen
Rahsool Diggins, UConn
Jordan Hawkins, UConn
Samson Johnson, UConn

Sanogo was a man-child last year already establishing a physical presence in the paint. He's the reason Josh Carlton transferred to Houston. He may end up getting the call when we need a bucket.

Jackson is crazy athletic (like Richmond) but he deferred too much. The key for him is developing at least a respectable jumper so people have to play him at the three point line. Last year defenders sagged way, way off of him.

As for the freshman, Diggins reminds people of El Amin the way he is already establishing a presence. He'll give us some much needed depth at point guard. (Rivals 55 overall, 11 at point guard.) Rivals ranked Hawkins at the 45th player in his class, 11th at shooting guard. We beat out Louisville, Marquette, and Clemson for him. Johnson is a 6'10" center (Rivals 77, 12th at center.) I'm not sure how much he''' play this year but he's a nice piece.

Not listed but worth talking about is Akok Akok. He played a bit last year but was only 11 months back from a ACL tear. Now at 18+ months he's back a full speed/strength. As a freshman he averaged 3 blocks a game showed range out to the 3pt arc, plus he is a great kid. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does. Supposedly he's looked good over summer, back up to speed.

So to your point none of them have really done much yet at the college level, but there is a whole a lot of talent. I'd agree we are in a very similar position to Seton Hall next year. If everything goes well, we will could very, very good. FWIW, I think there is the potential for the Hall/UConn games to be great basketball next year. We both have young athletic teams with decent depth. That likely means a lot of uptempo play, which is fun basketball to watch.

(Sorry if that was a little too much UConn, but I always like hearing about opponents in off season. I won't go there much unless someone asks a question.)

 

[cernjSHU]

That's fair. Like Seton Hall without Mamu, UConn is going to need to prove itself without Bouknight. I like our guys but they've got to show that they can carry the load. I think @HallBall02's comment about who is the go to scorer is spot on.

FWIW, here is what the same article says about UConn:

Big East Breakout Players
Andre Jackson, UConn
Adama Sanogo, UConn

Impact Big East Freshmen
Rahsool Diggins, UConn
Jordan Hawkins, UConn
Samson Johnson, UConn

Sanogo was a man-child last year already establishing a physical presence in the paint. He's the reason Josh Carlton transferred to Houston. He may end up getting the call when we need a bucket.

Jackson is crazy athletic (like Richmond) but he deferred too much. The key for him is developing at least a respectable jumper so people have to play him at the three point line. Last year defenders sagged way, way off of him.

As for the freshman, Diggins reminds people of El Amin the way he is already establishing a presence. He'll give us some much needed depth at point guard. (Rivals 55 overall, 11 at point guard.) Rivals ranked Hawkins at the 45th player in his class, 11th at shooting guard. We beat out Louisville, Marquette, and Clemson for him. Johnson is a 6'10" center (Rivals 77, 12th at center.) I'm not sure how much he''' play this year but he's a nice piece.

Not listed but worth talking about is Akok Akok. He played a bit last year but was only 11 months back from a ACL tear. Now at 18+ months he's back a full speed/strength. As a freshman he averaged 3 blocks a game showed range out to the 3pt arc, plus he is a great kid. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does. Supposedly he's looked good over summer, back up to speed.

So to your point none of them have really done much yet at the college level, but there is a whole a lot of talent. I'd agree we are in a very similar position to Seton Hall next year. If everything goes well, we will could very, very good. FWIW, I think there is the potential for the Hall/UConn games to be great basketball next year. We both have young athletic teams with decent depth. That likely means a lot of uptempo play, which fun basketball to watch.

(Sorry if that was a little too much UConn, but I always like hearing about opponents in off season. I won't go there much unless someone asks a question.)

Sanogo is a beast. He will be remembered as one of those very special college players. I always wanted him here at SHU. He is the best big man in the conference by a mile. Will he be playing PF or Center? If he slides to PF, there is no one that can stop the big fella.

 

[HallBall02]

“An old school in the paint big man” as your go-to player is easier to defend against than a “create for yourself guard or forward that can shoot from the permitter” but I do like Sanogo overall.

Next year will be an old man’s league, juniors and seniors and super seniors. Super seniors especially and big time transfers will be dominating college basketball. The best teams will be stronger, more developed, and a little more skilled bc of them.

I don’t think most teams are worried about freshman unless they are one or two and done players. I don’t see any freshman like that on UConn. Will any freshman start of UConn?

Like most teams this year, Hurley will have a challenge of making sure his bench players stay happy. If he can do that and they don’t transfer, uconn can be really good in 22-23. The best part of UConn is it’s quality depth. Depth is helpful but without a really good scorer, I’m not sold in UConn being crowned 2nd best team just yet.
.

 

[dehere23]

BE was already an experienced league IMO because of the type of kids the league gets and programs. How many freshman that come into the BE have a significant impact? Look at last year - Alexander obviously, Garcia to some extent, and Sanogo in moments.

I think the case for Uconn is more what they ate bringing back with perhaps a surprise here or two for the young guys.

 

[HallBall02]

BE was already an experienced league IMO because of the type of kids the league gets and programs. How many freshman that come into the BE have a significant impact? Look at last year - Alexander obviously, Garcia to some extent, and Sanogo in moments.

I think the case for Uconn is more what they ate bringing back with perhaps a surprise here or two for the young guys.

I agree UConn will be counting on the players that they had last year stepping up. It’s not necessarily what the UConn fan is claiming. Seems to me he is counting on major offensive production from the freshman.

I think UConn is going to be real good on defense, prob the best or 2nd. On offense, I think they will be towards the worst 8-10th in league. They will balance out to being at the end of the day, 2-5 in league but in no way do I see them being a given for 2nd best team despite the what analysts like Rothstein say.

 

[CL82]

Sanogo is a beast. He will be remembered as one of those very special college players. I always wanted him here at SHU. He is the best big man in the conference by a mile. Will he be playing PF or Center? If he slides to PF, there is no one that can stop the big fella.

Center. Akok will likely be the starting PF.

 

[CL82]

Will any freshman start of UConn?

I doubt it. Diggins and Hawkins should see significant minutes though.

 

[CL82]

It’s not necessarily what the UConn fan is claiming. Seems to me he is counting on major offensive production from the freshman.

Nope, I was just talking about what was different from last year, other than losing Bouk. I could talk about all the returners, but I felt like it would be too much on a SH board.

I think UConn is going to be real good on defense, prob the best or 2nd. On offense, I think they will be towards the worst 8-10th in league. They will balance out to being at the end of the day, 2-5 in league but in no way do I see them being a given for 2nd best team despite the what analysts like Rothstein say.

As I noted above, I agree offense is the question mark for us. Actually a lot of question marks. Is a healthy Tyler Polley the zone buster we want him to be? Can Akok be the stretch 4 he showed flashes of freshman year? Can Cole be more consistent from deep? What about Gaffney? Which Tyrese Martin do we see, the one who could not miss from deep while Bouk was out or the one that went like 3-17 to close the season?

I do think that we will see a lot of transition basketball, backdoor cuts and PnR given the size and athleticism we have.

 

[hallstorm]

I certainly think there are tiers in the Big East after Nova. UConn, St. John’s, SHU, Butler and maybe Xavier fall into that second tier. But I just don’t put much stock in Steele yet.

Most writers will place UConn second strictly due to UConn’s old Big East pedigree. The writers aren’t really doing much analyzing.

 

[Fishjam]

UConn belongs 2nd in the preseason. Their depth and overall talent is undeniable and I'd expect them to win a lot of games strictly off their defense and Rebounding.

As mentioned by others, their ceiling depends on their offense. Will someone step up to make big buckets when they need them, especially from the perimeter. I think their freshman guard duo of Diggins and Hawkins are capable of stepping up eventually. One of them could suprise by the 2nd half of the season.

 

[HallBall02]

UConn belongs 2nd in the preseason. Their depth and overall talent is undeniable and I'd expect them to win a lot of games strictly off their defense and Rebounding.

As mentioned by others, their ceiling depends on their offense. Will someone step up to make big buckets when they need them, especially from the perimeter. I think their freshman guard duo of Diggins and Hawkins are capable of stepping up eventually. One of them could suprise by the 2nd half of the season.

I agree UConn should prob be viewed as the 2nd best in most preseason big E projections but they are far from a lock to end up there. The range is wide in where they end up.

Look around the league, so many teams got super seniors and high impact transfers.

I mentioned the UConn freshman class (Esp the new guards bc the new center isn’t playing much with too many folks ahead of him-huge transfer risk IMHO) as taking on a big part of their scoring burden but CL82 doesn’t think that will happen so hopefully some of their role players from last year step up on offense otherwise they won’t end up as good as preseason projections.

Defense will keep them in most games but when they play good offenses (especially from 3) they won’t be able to keep up with a stagnant offense.

2-5 is still my range for UConn. Gun to head, I bet they end up 3-4th best.

Not loving their fire power. Next year if all their key players stay, they can be really good though.

 

[CL82]

I mentioned the UConn freshman class (Esp the new guards bc the new center isn’t playing much with too many folks ahead of him-huge transfer risk IMHO) as taking on a big part of their scoring burden but CL82 doesn’t think that will happen so hopefully some of their role players from last year step up on offense otherwise they won’t end up as good as preseason projections.

I think they'll contribute but they aren't going to be the "go to guy" that was talked about earlier. It is rare that freshmen can do that consistently at the high major level.

I think your post is a fair assessment. The key for UConn will be tempo and points in transition where their athleticism can shine. They don't want to be in a half court, clock burning, slug fest.