Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Jan 23, 2015 13:17:19 GMT -5
For no apparent reason, I wanted to look out at the league to see based on graduations and known recruits (not transfers), how things look for each program next year. I hope we can keep the league in the top two or three in the country year in and out and I think things look good if the recruiting and level of out of conference play continues.
Teams that will likely be worse: St. John's & Creighton
Rationale: St. John's loses everybody except Jordan and brings in a small class. They will have some work to do and with a smallish freshman class, they might need some grad transfers to keep things moving in the right direction. Creighton despite losing a ton last year basically loses most of the guys getting minutes this year. I think they have another transfer or two in their pocket and I am not sure about their incoming freshman class but it would seem they have a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail.
Teams that will likely be the same or slightly better: Georgetown, Nova, & Butler
Rationale: These three are already having solid seasons. We lose Josh, Mikael, Jabril & Bowen. If our freshman make a leap into their sophomore years, coupled with our incoming class, transfer and a senior DSR, you would assume we will be better but losing Josh is really big. I think we are slightly better next year with a shot to be really good based on development. Villanova loses Pinkston & Hilliard but they have another good recruiting class coupled with a solid core coming back. They seem to grow guys like Hilliard in bunches there and I think their roster make-up is really balanced although after Ochefu they also have a hole in the middle. Butler loses Kameron Woods & Barlow. They have Tyler Lewis to fill the Barlow role with a bit more offense. They will need Martin to take a step and they are also thin in the frontcourt. They really need to crank up their recruiting but I think next year they remain a borderline top 25 team. The coaching shuffle that occurred coupled with recruiting kids at the Big East level versus Horizon & then A-10 has left them a bit thin but I think this new coach can get it done.
Teams that will likely be better: Marquette, Depaul, Seton Hall, Xavier & Providence.
Rationale: Marquette gets a big freshman class coming in and everybody except Carlino back. They are bad this year so they have a lot of room to grow but I think year two of the floor slap project will be successful. Depaul loses two key rotation players but their core is young. Just like Marquette, they have a long way to go but with their W's this year, it seems like they will be formidable next year but need to get off to a good start in OOC. Seton Hall loses Mobley and if Whitehead comes back, they have some really nice pieces to build on coupled with some success this year and freshman growth. Xavier loses Stainbrook & Davis but they have a good core coupled with a solid freshman class that like the Hoyas, you would assume make a leap next year. Their frontcourt will have the same question marks as ours as they will be thin with Stainbrook gone. Providence loses Henton, Desrosiers & Bancroft. The key for them will be Dunn. If he sticks around, they, like GU & XU, have a strong freshman class that could make a leap. Guys like Bentil, Chukwu & Lindsey are key pieces going forward.
Overall the current make up of the conference is really strong. It would be ideal to have three or four consistent top 25 teams throughout the year from an exposure standpoint. This year I think everyone except Depaul, Marquette & Provy have sniffed the top 25. If we can get six bids and more importantly, get those teams to the second weekend, it will do wonders for preseason top 25's and conference exposure.
Teams that will likely be worse: St. John's & Creighton
Rationale: St. John's loses everybody except Jordan and brings in a small class. They will have some work to do and with a smallish freshman class, they might need some grad transfers to keep things moving in the right direction. Creighton despite losing a ton last year basically loses most of the guys getting minutes this year. I think they have another transfer or two in their pocket and I am not sure about their incoming freshman class but it would seem they have a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail.
Teams that will likely be the same or slightly better: Georgetown, Nova, & Butler
Rationale: These three are already having solid seasons. We lose Josh, Mikael, Jabril & Bowen. If our freshman make a leap into their sophomore years, coupled with our incoming class, transfer and a senior DSR, you would assume we will be better but losing Josh is really big. I think we are slightly better next year with a shot to be really good based on development. Villanova loses Pinkston & Hilliard but they have another good recruiting class coupled with a solid core coming back. They seem to grow guys like Hilliard in bunches there and I think their roster make-up is really balanced although after Ochefu they also have a hole in the middle. Butler loses Kameron Woods & Barlow. They have Tyler Lewis to fill the Barlow role with a bit more offense. They will need Martin to take a step and they are also thin in the frontcourt. They really need to crank up their recruiting but I think next year they remain a borderline top 25 team. The coaching shuffle that occurred coupled with recruiting kids at the Big East level versus Horizon & then A-10 has left them a bit thin but I think this new coach can get it done.
Teams that will likely be better: Marquette, Depaul, Seton Hall, Xavier & Providence.
Rationale: Marquette gets a big freshman class coming in and everybody except Carlino back. They are bad this year so they have a lot of room to grow but I think year two of the floor slap project will be successful. Depaul loses two key rotation players but their core is young. Just like Marquette, they have a long way to go but with their W's this year, it seems like they will be formidable next year but need to get off to a good start in OOC. Seton Hall loses Mobley and if Whitehead comes back, they have some really nice pieces to build on coupled with some success this year and freshman growth. Xavier loses Stainbrook & Davis but they have a good core coupled with a solid freshman class that like the Hoyas, you would assume make a leap next year. Their frontcourt will have the same question marks as ours as they will be thin with Stainbrook gone. Providence loses Henton, Desrosiers & Bancroft. The key for them will be Dunn. If he sticks around, they, like GU & XU, have a strong freshman class that could make a leap. Guys like Bentil, Chukwu & Lindsey are key pieces going forward.
Overall the current make up of the conference is really strong. It would be ideal to have three or four consistent top 25 teams throughout the year from an exposure standpoint. This year I think everyone except Depaul, Marquette & Provy have sniffed the top 25. If we can get six bids and more importantly, get those teams to the second weekend, it will do wonders for preseason top 25's and conference exposure.
