Big East Preview/Conference Preseason Teams, etc.

The Big East, aka the Catholic Conference, has a little something for everybody. They have the under-achievers from the old Big East (St. John’s, Seton Hall, Providence, DePaul), the old head haunchos from the Horizon League (Butler), A10 (Xavier) and Missouri Valley Conference (Creighton) and the ol’ standbys (Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova). This conference should be pretty competitive top to bottom with no team truly elite. It should be interesting to see which conference between the Big East and the AAC proves to be tougher.

1st Team all Big East

G – D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s (2012 stats: 17.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 spg)

G – Markel Starks, Georgetown (2012 stats: 12.8 ppg, 3 apg, 1.8 rpg, 42% 3PT)

G – Bryce Cotton, Providence (2012 stats: 19.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 36% 3PT)

G – Semaj Christon, Xavier (2012 stats: 15.2 ppg, 4.6 apg, 2.9 rpg, 44% FG)

F – Doug McDermott, Creighton (2012 stats: 23.2 ppg, 7.7 apg, 55% FG, 49% 3PT)

2nd Team all Big East

G – Grant Gibbs, Creighton (2012 stats: 8.5 ppg, 5.8 apg, 4.1 rpg, 53% FG)

G – Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall (2012 stats: 16.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 44% FG)

F – Davante Gardner, Marquette (2012 stats: 11.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 59% FG, 0.6 bpg)

F – JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova (2012 stats: 13.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 46% FG)

F – Cleveland Melvin, DePaul (2012 stats: 16.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 48% FG, 0.8 bpg)

3rd Team all Big East

G – Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova (2012 stats: 11.9 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.1 rpg, 34% 3PT)

G – Brandon Young, DePaul (2012 stats: 16.7 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.3 rpg, 44% FG)

F – Jamil Wilson, Marquette (2012 stats: 9.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 44% FG)

F- JaKarr Sampson, St. John’s (2012 stats: 14.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 45% FG, 1.1 bpg)

C – Chris Obepka, St. John’s (2012 stats: 3.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.0 bpg, 45% FG)

NOTE: Roosevelt Jones (Butler) and Greg Whittington (Georgetown) were intentionally omitted based on injuries

Honorable Mention:

G – Dee Davis, Xavier

G – Kellen Dunham, Butler

G – D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown

G – Deonte Burton, Marquette

G – Phil Greene IV, St. John’s

F – God’sgift Achiuwa, St. John’s

F – Khyle Marshall, Butler

F/C – Kadeem Batts, Providence

C – Eugene Teague, Seton Hall

C – Josh Smith, Georgetown

Projected Order of Finish:
1) Marquette

2) Georgetown

3) Creighton

4) Villanova

5) St. John’s

6) Butler

7) Xavier

8) Providence

9) Seton Hall

10) DePaul

Top 5 Newcomers

1) Deonte Burton, Marquette

2) Josh Smith, Georgetown

3) JaJuan Johnson, Marquette

4) Rysheed Jordan, St. John’s

5) Brandon Austin, Providence

Outlook:

The Big East has some talent, and I think we’ll see the top 7 schools all get into the NCAA tournament. That being said, without an elite team (Marquette being the closest to it, and I think they’re probably around 18th best in the nation) this conference might struggle to gain kudos from the tourney committee without some big time upsets. I think St. John’s returns a lot, and with Steve Lavin at the helm, I imagine they’ll be mightily improved. Butler losing Roosevelt Jones hurts a lot, but they return a few key guys from last year’s team. Xavier may have the 2nd best player in the conference in Semaj Christon but they’re thin everywhere else. I think Georgetown could end up being the best if Josh Smith plays like he did in high school (and weighs what he did in high school as well). Overall, I’m excited to see who ends up being the best team here.

Top Shooter: Doug McDermott, Creighton

Best Playmaker: Semaj Christon, Xavier

Most Intriguing: JaKarr Sampson, St. John’s

Most Versatile: Roosevelt Jones, Butler (when healthy…otherwise, Grant Gibbs, Creighton)

Has to Carry his Team: Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall

Top NBA Prospect: Semaj Christon, Xavier

Most Underrated: Cleveland Melvin, DePaul

Boom or Bust: D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s

Best Defender: Chris Obepka, St. John’s

Most Improved: James Bell, Villanova

Freshman of the Year: Deonte Burton, Marquette

Best Coach: John Thompson III, Georgetown

MVP: Doug McDermott, Creighton