The Red Storm are the pick in the Big East this season
By KEVIN McNAMARA
NEW YORK – It appears to be a two-horse race atop the Big East this winter. That’s according to the conference’s 11 head coaches anyways.
The league’s annual poll was released Tuesday morning with St. John’s (7 first place votes) nipping UConn (4) for first place. Creighton, Providence and Marquette round out the top five.
The rest of the order has Georgetown sixth, followed by Villanova, Xavier, DePaul, Butler and Seton Hall.
The Friars were last picked this high in 2020-21 when they were tabbed to finish third. That season was marred by several cancellations due to the lasting effects of the pandemic.
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiafor is the preseason Player of the Year and UConn’s Braylon Mullins the freshman of the year.
Providence transfer guard Jason Edwards was a second team All-Conference pick while sophomore big man Oswin Erhunmwunse made the third team.
Former Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, now at St. John’s, joined teammate Ejiafor on the first team. UConn’s Alex Karaban, Solo Ball and Tarris Reed, Jr., all made the first team along with Chase Ross (Marquette) and Owen Freeman (Creighton).
“I don’t take much stock in it,” PC coach Kim English said. “We have some good returners, (some of) the lone bright spots from last season are the guys we brought back. We have some good transfers that people know. I think this league has great parity. I think we can beat any team in this league and I think if we’re not right any team can beat us.”
As for the top of the conference, both St. John’s (No. 5) and UConn (4th) sit high atop the national rankings. That’s always good for the health of any league. However there appears to be a sizeable dropoff after the top two. Creighton is ranked 23rd in the Associated Press poll but at three Top 25 teams, the Big East sits below the Big Ten (6), SEC (6) and Big 12 (5).
Of course come March who knows what teams will have enjoyed strong seasons. That, ultimately, is what matters. Perhaps more than any other media day in memory, coaches and program insiders were asking one another about the status and progress of their teams. With most of the teams (except Marquette) relying heavily on new faces, the unknown dominates right now. Here are some themes:
*Marquette not picked in the top four? Largely due to a lack of a major star. No Tyler Kolek, no Kam Jones. Chase Ross (10.2) is the team’s top returning scorer and coach Shaka Smart has resisted the temptation of adding impact transfers, choosing instead to rely on player development and improvement. One example? Center Caedin Hamilton averaged six minutes and 1.5 points last season but is now seen as a possible starter at center so Ben Gold can play out on the floor more.
*Villanova has a new coach in Kevin Willard and one thing all Big East people appreciate is that this guy can coach. Willard won at Seton Hall, he won last year at Maryland and he will win at Villanova. Can he win big like a Jay Wright? That’s high cotton but the Wildcats are filled with solid players – maybe no stars – who can all average double digits. There is palpable buzz surrounding freshman guard Acaden Lewis.
*It’s Year Three for Ed Cooley at Georgetown. Are the Hoyas ready to make a push? Some believe that’s hard to believe with the loss of 1’st round pick Thomas Sorber and the all-around brilliance of Micah Peavy but Cooley likes his team. Arizona transfer K.J. Lewis gets a lot of the love.
*Xavier has a new coach in Richard Pitino, yes the Son Of and a Providence College alum. Xavier doesn’t mess around so it will be interesting to see how fast Richard gets it going in Cincy.
*Word is Butler has made some gains via the transfer portal. That’s good news because everyone in the sports knows that Thad Matta can really coach but needed an influx of talent to fight the good fight.
“I think Providence has done a really good job with their roster. I think they’ve added some great pieces,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “I think Ed’s got a better team than he’s had at Georgetown. We should have lost to DePaul on this floor (Big East Tourney/Madison Sq. Garden) last year. A lot of those guys are back. Shaka’s always going to be good.”
