Big East Player Development

Part 4 of the series looks at every player in the Big East playing over 20% of his team's minutes when active.

Big East Freshmen

PPG, Min%, Poss%, ORtg, Player, Team

16.0, 80%, 27%, 100.6, *+Henry Ellenson, Marquette

12.3, 81%, 21%, 94.7, Federico Mussini, St. John's

10.6, 69%, 21%, 95.3, *Haanif Cheatham, Marquette

10.3, 62%, 23%, 108.6, *+Jalen Brunson, Villanova

8.5, 66%, 20%, 91.8, Elijah Cain, DePaul

8.4, 66%, 18%, 101.9, +Yankuba Sima, St. John's

7.3, 51%, 16%, 124.9, *Mikal Bridges, Villanova

6.9, 50%, 18%, 109.0, Khyri Thomas, Creighton

6.6, 39%, 23%, 103.3, *+Jessie Govan, Georgetown

6.5, 50%, 19%, 105.1, *Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown

6.5, 50%, 25%, 75.7, Malik Ellison, St. John's

6.3, 56%, 19%, 83.8, *Kassoum Yakwe, St. John's

5.8, 53%, 12%, 118.6, Ryan Fazekas, Providence

5.1, 56%, 19%, 91.5, Traci Carter, Marquette

3.0, 27%, 15%, 94.6, Amarveer Singh, Seton Hall

2.9, 29%, 14%, 106.4, Kaleb Johnson, Georgetown

2.8, 24%, 17%, 98.6, Kaiser Gates, Xavier

2.8, 24%, 20%, 99.8, *Ronnie Harrell, Creighton

2.7, 29%, 14%, 104.2, Drew Edwards, Providence

2.0, 39%, 13%, 76.8, Erten Gazi, DePaul

Players marked with a * were consensus Top 100 recruits. Players marked with a + were players we picked as instant impact freshmen at SI.com.

Marquette is a bit of an enigma. The team has quite a bit of "recruiting" talent. The team has six players in the rotation who were former Top 100 recruits. Moreover last year's struggles on defense appeared to be due to the team's limited size. In the preseason my model pegged Marquette as a defense-led team, who would be elevated by the play of the team's super-elite freshman Henry Ellenson. It saw them as likely one of the last teams in the NCAA tournament. As it turns out, Marquette has mostly followed the script. The defense is much better than the offense. And Ellenson really has elevated the level of the team's play.

But turnovers have absolutely crippled Marquette. Both freshman Traci Carter and Hannif Cheatem are playing a lot of minutes and turning the ball over at an exceptionally high rate. That's killing the offense and the defense and causing the team to underperform in both areas.

Turnovers aren't the only reason the team has lost. They've had games where they shot poorly. The team has been unlucky to have opponents make 76% of their FTs, partly because they've frequently trailed in close games. Marquette has sometimes lacked size when the team gets into foul trouble, since despite a Top 100 recruiting rank, freshman big man Matt Heldt is clearly not ready for Big East basketball. (Heldt and Xavier's Makinde London are the only two Top 100 freshman not to play over 20% of the minutes for their team.)

But turnovers are probably the biggest reason a tournament run is looking like a long-shot for Marquette. The only good news I can offer is that players that make lots of mistakes tend to be the most likely to benefit from the sophomore leap as they clean up their game.

Besides Ellenson, the next most hyped Big East recruit was probably Villanova's Jalen Brunson. Brunson has played well and teammate Mikal Bridges has made a remarkable 74% of his twos. With Villanova continuing to recruit well and putting their players in position to be efficient, their dominance in the Big East is not close to coming to an end.

Big East Guys Who Sat Out 2 Years

12.3, 81%, 20%, 103.4, Rodney Bullock, Providence

When Ben Bentil leaves the floor, Providence is just not the same team. He brings so much on offense and defense, and we saw that against DePaul. But of course, Kris Dunn is probably the conference player of the year. So is it fair to say that Rodney Bullock is also essential? Providence often needs Bullock's scoring to get the victory. When Bullock has played poorly (the team's three home losses), they often don't have enough complimentary scoring to get it done. These three players have absolutely carried an otherwise lackluster roster into a Top 25 poll ranking.

Big East JUCOs

None

All the transfers in the Big East to crack their team's rotation had previous D1 experience. The Big East's only notable JUCO recruit, Darien Williams of St. John's, was hurt early in the season.

Big East D1 Transfers

PPG, Min%, Poss%, ORtg, Player, Team, LastPPG, LastTeam

14.2, 76%, 28%, 109.3, Mo Watson, Creighton, 13.3, Boston University

12.4, 72%, 22%, 97.0, Durand Johnson, St. John's, 8.8, Pittsburgh

9.6, 51%, 22%, 104.2, Cole Huff, Creighton, 12.4, Nevada

8.9, 67%, 17%, 101.5, Ron Mvouika, St. John's, 6.8, Missouri St.

8.5, 61%, 22%, 93.6, Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall, 9.8, Massachusetts

7.0, 59%, 17%, 119.0, Tyler Lewis, Butler, 4.4, North Carolina St.

4.1, 38%, 15%, 96.4, Jordan Gathers, Butler, 8.2, St. Bonaventure

1.9, 23%, 13%, 99.5, Wally Ellenson, Marquette, 2.3, Minnesota

A lot of people seemed shocked that Creighton is playing well this year but the numbers really liked transfers Mo Watson and Cole Huff and they have delivered. All of these players have performed about as expected.

Finally Playing

This group of players were technically on the roster last year, but they didn't play meaningful minutes.

PPG, Min%, Poss%, ORtg, Player, Team

10.4, 63%, 24%, 103.2, Edmond Sumner, Xavier

8.9, 54%, 23%, 103.9, Bradley Hayes, Georgetown

7.7, 59%, 22%, 88.8, Felix Balamou, St. John's

7.5, 65%, 19%, 87.6, Christian Jones, St. John's

6.7, 50%, 16%, 111.5, Reggie Cameron, Georgetown

5.0, 41%, 19%, 87.7, Amar Alibegovic, St. John's

4.8, 67%, 12%, 104.2, Ismael Sanogo, Seton Hall

4.5, 37%, 14%, 118.6, Michael Nzei, Seton Hall

3.7, 20%, 22%, 109.7, Sean O'Mara, Xavier

3.6, 25%, 22%, 95.1, R.J. Curington, DePaul

2.4, 28%, 16%, 92.0, Larry Austin, Xavier

2.3, 43%, 10%, 106.2, Darryl Reynolds, Villanova

1.3, 24%, 14%, 83.7, Peter Ryckbosch, DePaul

Edmond Sumner's emergence is a huge reason Xavier was able to climb in the polls this season.

Georgetown has traditionally played a very tight rotation, and players that don't crack that rotation often transfer. But Bradley Hayes and Reggie Cameron are two of the rare players to stick it out, sitting on the bench for extended seasons, and then finally earn playing time. While both are to be complimented for what they've been able to do offensively, Georgetown's defense has been suspect, and both have played a role in that.

Returning Players

Once again, when interpreting changes in PPG, you should keep in mind the changes in pace and opponent defense. Providence's schedule has been slightly easier defensively this year than it was on the whole season last year. Meanwhile, Creighton's games have had 9 more possessions than their games had on the full year last year. Obviously that is going to inflate scoring totals.

ChOppDef, Team, ChRawPace

3.3, Providence, 4.3

3.2, Marquette, 8.2

2.8, Creighton, 9.0

1.9, Georgetown, 4.2

1.8, Xavier, 5.7

1.5, Villanova, 1.9

1.1, DePaul, 1.0

1.0, St. John's, 4.6

0.7, Butler, 5.6

0.6, Seton Hall, 4.6

Here are the biggest changes in PPG:

ChPPG, ChMin, ChPoss, ChORtg, Player, Team, Class, CurrentPPG

13.3, 29%, 9%, 10.9, +Ben Bentil, Providence, So, 19.7

8.5, 29%, -1%, 18.6, Kelan Martin, Butler, So, 15.7

6.4, 13%, 5%, 27.9, James Farr, Xavier, Sr, 10.6

6.2, 22%, 1%, 10.7, Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall, So, 11.8

6.0, 36%, 1%, 26.2, Tyler Wideman, Butler, So, 8.3

5.5, 22%, 0%, 15.1, Geoff Groselle, Creighton, Sr, 10.9

5.4, 11%, 2%, 6.8, Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall, So, 14.2

5.4, 14%, 4%, -7.0, Josh Hart, Villanova, Jr, 15.5

4.7, 21%, 4%, -3.9, Kris Jenkins, Villanova, Jr, 11.0

Players marked with a + are players we projected as breakout players at SI.com. We were high on Bentil coming into this off-season, but I don't think anyone could have expected him to become as invaluable a player as he has become. He not only is the heart of the defense and an elite offensive rebounder, he has also developed enough of a jump shot to really scare defenses and spread the floor. Through four conferences (Big 12, SEC, Pac12, Big East), Bentil has the biggest jump in PPG since last season. He is also the only Big East player with a significant jump in aggressiveness as Bentil went from using 18% of the possession's when on the floor last year to 27% this year.

James Farr is second with a 5% increase in possession's used, but due to Farr's phenomenal increase in efficiency, his jump in PPG is also extremely impressive. Farr used to struggle with free throws, but he has improved in that area this year and I have to wonder if that hasn't also contributed to his ability to finish around the rim. He is no longer afraid of contact. Farr's turnover rate is also down noticeably. We pegged Jalen Reynolds as a breakout post-player for Xavier based on his stellar per minute numbers last year, but Farr's improvement has stolen much of the focus on Reynolds. That might not be great for Reynold's draft prospects, but having a super-athletic player like Reynolds off the ball isn't a bad thing for the team as a whole.

ChPPG, ChMin, ChPoss, ChORtg, Player, Team, Class, CurrentPPG

4.5, 43%, 2%, 12.2, Junior Lomomba, Providence, Jr, 6.2

4.3, 6%, 1%, 6.1, Trevon Bluiett, Xavier, So, 15.4

4.2, 7%, 1%, 7.8, Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall, So, 16.2

3.8, 13%, -1%, 33.2, Zach Hanson, Creighton, Jr, 7.5

3.5, 27%, -1%, 14.7, Sandy Cohen, Marquette, So, 7.3

3.5, 22%, -3%, 22.5, J.P. Macura, Xavier, So, 8.9

2.9, 28%, 0%, -4.1, +Isaac Copeland, Georgetown, So, 9.7

2.9, -4%, 4%, 11.4, L.J. Peak, Georgetown, So, 10.8

2.6, 1%, 0%, 12.0, Myke Henry, DePaul, Sr, 14.6

2.6, 17%, 4%, -8.2, Jalen Lindsey, Providence, So, 6.5

2.3, 3%, 2%, -0.1, Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova, Sr, 12.4

2.1, 12%, 0%, -0.5, Isaiah Zierden, Creighton, Jr, 11.6

Creighton's Zach Hanson actually has the biggest jump in ORtg in the Big East (just ahead of Farr). His two point percentage has improved from 55% last season to 69% this season. Tyler Wideman had the third biggest jump in ORtg, but like Georgetown's Bradley Hayes, that comes with a caveat to me. While Wideman has been a good offensive player, he isn't nearly the defensive player that Kameron Woods was due to his lower rebounding totals. Teams are getting a lot more second chances against Butler this year.

The biggest reason for Georgetown's slightly disappointing season is probably the defense, but another factor is that Isaac Copeland has not emerged. John Thompson III has done a great job developing players like Otto Porter and Hollis Thompson into sophomore stars. But Copeland has not matched that trajectory and his three point shot has been broken this year.


ChPPG, ChMin, ChPoss, ChORtg, Player, Team, Class, CurrentPPG

1.9, -5%, -1%, 17.8, Roosevelt Jones, Butler, Sr, 14.7

1.9, 17%, -2%, 8.5, Aaron Simpson, DePaul, Sr, 6.7

1.9, 9%, 2%, 1.8, Kyron Cartwright, Providence, So, 5.4

1.6, 0%, 0%, 2.5, Kris Dunn, Providence, Jr, 17.2

1.6, -4%, 4%, -4.2, Billy Garrett, DePaul, Jr, 13.8

1.4, -2%, 1%, 9.3, Luke Fischer, Marquette, Jr, 12.4

1.3, 0%, -4%, 17.7, JaJuan Johnson, Marquette, Jr, 8.6

1.3, 9%, 0%, -2.4, Rashaun Stimage, DePaul, Sr, 5.9

1.2, 21%, 3%, -31.9, +Phil Booth, Villanova, So, 7.0

1.0, 8%, -4%, 12.6, Darrick Wood, DePaul, Jr, 5.5

Villanova's Phil Booth was also supposed to step into a slightly larger role for Villanova this year, but his three point shot has gone in the tank and his efficiency drop is the biggest in the Big East. Notably, players that depend on outside shooting suffer much wilder fluctuations in ORtg than other players.

ChPPG, ChMin, ChPoss, ChORtg, Player, Team, Class, CurrentPPG

0.8, 3%, -1%, 0.8, Angel Delgado, Seton Hall, So, 10.1

0.7, 14%, 0%, -11.4, Tre Campbell, Georgetown, So, 4.2

0.6, 9%, -2%, 9.0, Myles Davis, Xavier, Jr, 11.2

0.5, -5%, 2%, -3.2, Daniel Ochefu, Villanova, Sr, 9.7

0.3, 1%, -3%, 3.9, Duane Wilson, Marquette, So, 12.2

0.3, 5%, 1%, -7.2, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown, Sr, 16.6

-0.1, -6%, 1%, 3.0, Austin Etherington, Butler, Sr, 2.2

-0.2, -6%, 0%, 1.3, Kellen Dunham, Butler, Sr, 16.3

-0.3, 0%, 2%, -10.1, +Jalen Reynolds, Xavier, Jr, 9.6

-0.3, 0%, -2%, -4.1, Toby Hegner, Creighton, So, 6.4

-0.6, 11%, -5%, 15.4, Andrew Chrabascz, Butler, Jr, 10.6

-0.9, 5%, -3%, -1.7, Tommy Hamilton, Jr., DePaul, Jr, 9.1

-1.8, -4%, -2%, -6.4, James Milliken, Creighton, Sr, 7.8

-2.1, -5%, -1%, -9.5, Remy Abell, Xavier, Sr, 6.3

Of course Copeland isn't the only Georgetown player to see his efficiency fall. The same can be said for Tre Campbell and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera.