A few weeks ago, I was debating the relative merits of Doug McDermott in terms of being a fantasy asset with a couple of friends of mine. They indicated that the move to the Big East was a good thing for McDermott because they league was not as strong as it once was. I countered that I thought the Big East would be pretty good, and certainly a step up from McDermott’s previous competition in the Missouri Valley. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, but I think there are a few more reasons to be excited about the Big East that I didn’t (or more likely, forgot) to include.
First off, there really shouldn’t be any 16-team conferences in college basketball. With an 18-game conference schedule, teams only get to play each other once per season with three home-and-homes. While conference realignment has been bad for some rivalries, I can’t think of many worse things than only playing your closest foes once per season. Ten is the perfect number for conferences. It even works for football.
Speaking of football, perhaps the greatest thing about the new Big East is that it is giving college football the nice juicy middle finger. Big East college football (which I covered in 2012 for RotoWire) was nothing to write home about. Louisville was good, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati had their moments, but it was clearly a second- or third-tier conference. The teams that split away were deemed the Catholic Seven, but they really should have been called the Basketball Seven. None of the teams in the new Big East have major FBS college football teams, and that’s great. The more I watch college football and learn about the sport, the less I like it. The fact that college football leads college basketball around by the nose is annoying. Unlike the compact college basketball contests, college football games are sprawling (and often non-competitive). If college football were to disappear (maybe as a cause of concussion-related nonsense), I wouldn’t mind. Of course, how would the NFL find players (other than making their own minor leagues)?
In any case, the Big East has no football to worry about. These are basketball schools, and more power to them. I think the new Beast fits into three tiers: perennial contenders, Big East chum, and the new guys. Let’s look at the new guys first. We’ve already discussed Creighton and Doug McDermott, the best scorer in the nation. They have made it to the NCAA tournament the past two years and won a game in both seasons (last year, ironically over Big East evictee Cincinnati). Xavier is arguably the best team from the A10 and has made the Big Dance every year since 2005. They have advanced to the Sweet 16 in four of the last five years. The last newby is Butler, which needs no introduction. The Bulldogs have also punched Big Dance tickets the last six years. These schools all have good track records, but that does not mean that they will do well this year. Butler is breaking in a new coach, Brandon Miller, and lost their best player, Roosevelt Jones, to a wrist injury. They may have a tough introduction to Tier 1, but the team has been overcoming low expectations for the past few years. Don’t count them out.
While the chum has not had much success in the 16-team Big East, all four cellar dwellers have interesting pieces that make them of interest (at least to fantasy players like me). Providence, which hasn’t been to the Big Dance since 2004, has a powerful frontcourt of LaDontae Henton and Kadeem Batts to go along with Kris Dunn, a good-looking and speedy point guard. St. John’s has one of the best shot blockers in the country in Christopher Obekpa and a sweet-scoring duo in forward Jakarr Sampson and D’Angelo Harrison. Sir’Dominic Pointer is one of those do-it-all swingmen who could be a player to watch. The Johnnies were in the 2011 tournament, but their previous appearance was in 2002 and they have not won a tournament game since 2000. For Seton Hall, Fuquan Edwin is a fine scorer (16.5 points in 2012-13) and Gene Teague, a transfer from Southern Illinois, is one of the few centers worth talking about. The Pirates haven’t sniffed the Dance since 2006. Even lowly DePaul has had three years of excellence from guard Brandon Young and forward Cleveland Melvin.
I am not sure what to make of Villanova. They have only missed the tournament once since 2005, but they haven’t won a tournament game since 2010. If Jayvaughn Pinkston takes another step forward, they could be a tournament team. They are not chum, but I am not sure that they fit with Marquette and Georgetown, who both enter the season looking for new lead scorers. Otto Porter was an all-around great college player and I think he’ll be a good role player in the NBA. He will be missed, but the Hoyas have a lot of interesting pieces. I like the backcourt of Markel Starks and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, and am always intrigued by enormous Josh Smith. It seems like the Golden Eagles make up for lost stars every year. This year, Vander Blue is gone, but Marquette has shooters like Jamil Wilson and Todd Mayo to go along with bigs such as Davante Gardner.
All in all, there isn’t a bad team (other than DePaul) in the bunch. All ten teams have something to watch and the rivalries should spring up quickly. If you want to ignore the American Athletic Conference (which Louisville should rule with an iron fist before skedaddling to the ACC), that’s fine with me. It’s full of jilted Big East teams and Tier 1 wannabes from Conference USA. The Big East should once again be great.
Perry Missner is a college basketball enthusiast who writes for RotoWire along with several other outlets. He welcomes your comments on Twitter at @PerryMissner or via email at [email protected]
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