The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn returns to a different, still strong Big East conference
In a men’s college basketball world that is all about transfers these days, UConn enters the most exhilarating yet daunting transfer portal of all.
UConn will officially “transfer” from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East on Wednesday. Or, more aptly, UConn will return to the Big East. Of course, UConn never really left the Big East — the conference left UConn seven years ago — but that’s a whole ’nother story.
Bottom line: UConn is back in its rightful home. Fans are ecstatic, as they should be. UConn is an original Big East member, and it’s back in a league with historic rivals Georgetown, Villanova, St. John’s and Providence. Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Louisville, of course, are no longer there. Been that way for a while now. The Big East of 2020 isn’t exactly the Big East of old. Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Pearl
Washington aren’t walking through that door. Heck, neither are Roy Hibbert, Gerry McNamara or DeJuan Blair.
The league is no longer the monster it was 30, 20, even 10 years ago. But it is still a bear. The Big East was the No. 3 in the nation per kenpom.com this past season, largely because of its overall depth. Its last-place team (DePaul) won at Iowa and Minnesota and beat Texas Tech at home.
The Big East may not have
the same overall depth next season, but should be strong again. The league will likely have at least two teams (Villanova, Creighton) in the preseason AP Top 25 and others (Providence, Seton Hall) that could easily be ranked at some point in the season. Could UConn be one of those latter teams? It’s certainly possible.
For now, let’s take an early look at the Huskies’ competition next season in the Big East:
VILLANOVA
UConn is already all too familiar with the Wildcats after playing a three-game, home-neutral-away series the past three seasons. Villanova won all three, the first two by 20-plus points. But the Huskies are getting closer. They led by four with five minutes left before falling 61-55 at Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 18. Afterwards, Dan Hurley proclaimed: “People better get us now. Because it’s coming.”
It won’t get any easier next season. When Jay Wright was asked what he’d tell his seniors after the coronavirus canceled the NCAA tournament, he noted, “We don’t have any seniors.” Indeed, the Wildcats lose no one to graduation from a team that finished in a three-way tie for first (with Seton Hall and Creighton) atop the Big East standings at 13-5. Talented forward Saddiq Bey has turned pro, but Collin Gillespie, Jeremiah RobinsonEarl and Jermaine Samuels (who torched UConn for 19 points in January) form an impressive foundation. Wright has also been the Big East coach most enthusiastic about UConn’s return to the league.
CREIGHTON
The Bluejays took a big hit when leading scorer Ty-Shon Alexander elected to enter the NBA Draft. But they should still be a preseason Top 25 team, with Marcus Zegarowski back in the fold. Zegarowski (16.1 ppg) suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee suffered in Creighton’s final regular-season game, but the talented point guard should be good to go for next season. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by Antwann Jones, a transfer from Memphis.
PROVIDENCE
The Friars were one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch last season, making up for some puzzling early-season losses. They will lose two of their top players (Alpha Diallo and Luwane Pipkins) to graduation, but return perhaps their best all-around player in guard David Duke, who averaged 12 points per game while providing lockdown defense. Along with ultratalented A.J. Reeves, 6-10 Nate Watson and some promising transfers (guard Jared Bynum and forward Noah Horchler), PC should be up near the top of the league standings. Coach Ed Cooley and Hurley had friction in the past when Hurley was at the helm at Rhode Island, and Cooley has expressed his displeasure with UConn returning to the league. So, this could turn into the sizzling border rivalry that Friar fans have always wanted and UConn fans have largely sneered at over the years.
SETON HALL
Tough to expect the Pirates to repeat this past season’s magic, which had them ranked in the top 10 for four weeks and in position to win the league title outright before faltering down the stretch. Big East Player of the Year Myles Powell graduated, as does Bridgeport’s Quincy McKnight, one of the nation’s best defenders, and 7-footer Romaro Gill, who was named the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year. But the Hall nabbed one of the top grad transfers on the market in Harvard point guard Bryce Aiken. If Sandro Mamukelashvili, who missed part of this season with a broken wrist and is going through the NBA Draft process, returns, along with wing Jared Rhoden, the Pirates should be formidable again. And, of course, this is Dan Hurley’s alma mater, which will make things interesting.
XAVIER
The Huskies dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker to Xavier at the Charleston Classic back in November. The Musketeers lost Bloomfield’s Tyrique Jones (14 ppg, 11.1 rpg) to graduation, and Naji Marshall (16.8 ppg) to the NBA Draft. Still, Paul Scruggs (12.7 ppg) and KyKy Tandy should lead a formidable lineup, and Xavier also boasts the league’s No. 2rated recruiting class, led by four-star point guard Dwon Odom.
ST. JOHN’S
Mustapha Heron, the talented guard who grew up in Waterbury and West Haven, sadly had his career curtailed due to an ankle injury in early February, and the Red Storm never quite got going this season. Leading scorer LJ Figueroa has surprisingly transferred to Oregon, but with point guard Rasheem Dunn, Julian Champagnie and Greg Williams, better days could be ahead for coach Mike Anderson & Co.
MARQUETTE
No team suffered a bigger loss than the Golden Eagles. Markus Howard, the nation’s leading scorer (27.8 ppg) and all-time leading scorer in Big East history, graduated — and can’t really be replaced. Second-leading scorer Sacar Anim also graduated, though the future has promise: Marquette boasts the top-rated incoming recruiting class in the league, led by a trio of four-star recruits.
BUTLER
Butler did it this season with defense that had it ranked for much of the year and a lock for the NCAA tournament. Things could get trickier next season, as leading scorer and First Team All-Big East guard Kamar Baldwin graduated. Second-leading scorer Sean McDermott is also gone, though coach LaVell Jordan brings in a good recruiting class with five three-star players.
GEORGETOWN
It’s been a tumultuous past couple of years under Patrick Ewing, with multiple players (including former UConn commit James Akinjo) leaving the program. It got even worse this offseason, when leading scorer Mac McClung unexpectantly transferred to Texas Tech and big man Omer Yurtseven decided to enter the NBA Draft. Ewing also was hospitalized with COVID-19, but reportedly is doing better. Jahvon Blair, Qudus Wahab and Jamorko Pickett is a nice foundation, but it could be a rough year for the Hoyas. Again.
DEPAUL
At one point last season, the Blue Demons were 12-1, with wins at Iowa, at Minnesota and against Texas Tech, and were sitting just outside the AP Top 25. Soon after, the Big East happened, and DePaul lost 15 of its final 19 games. Surprisingly, head coach (and former UConn assistant) Dave Leitao was rewarded with a contract extension through 2023-24.