1. Xavier: They lose Abell and Farr, but return Edmond Sumner, Trevon Bluiett, J.P. Macura, Jalen Reynolds and Myles Davis. They picked up a 4 star recruit in Quentin Goodin, and activate 4 star red-shirt Makinde London.
2. Seton Hall: This rating could change if Whitehead declares for the draft. But as of now they only lose Derrick Gordon, the teams 5th leading scorer, and they add 4 star Myles Powell. Contributors, Desi Rodriguez, Khadeen Carrington, Ismael Sanogo, Angel Delgado and Isaiah Whitehead all return, and they will be a year older and wiser.
3. Villanova: They lose Ochefu and Arch, but they add 5 start big man Omari Spellman. Still they have to take a step back without Arch, right? Nova returns Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth, Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart. Plenty of key players and talent to contend still. The big question mark is what happens without Arch.
4. Creighton: Swapping out Goatselle for Patton and Mili for Foster. We add depth at the PG position with Mintz, an improved Krampelj and a healthy squad overall with 3PT shooters Huff and Z that don't have to be feature guys anymore... Maybe we go for the championship next year. But this is my sober, objective guess.
5. Marquette: Before you criticize this pick, consider first who you'd put over them. Then consider that Marquette is more top loaded with 4 star+ players than any other team in the league. I don't think Henry Ellenson is going to go pro. The team has some unfinished business for sure, and he'd get to play with his brother another year. I think he's coming back. And yeah... they didn't set the world on fire this year, but they have to move up, considering Butler and Providence should take steps back.
6. Providence: It's a fore-gone Kris Dunn will go pro. He was crazy to not go last year IMO. Can Bentil be as big of a force next year without Dunn? Would it be enough? Is Bentil going to declare for the draft? And more importantly, who is going to step up for Providence now that their studs have all gone? If Bentil stays, he can't do it all by himself.
7. Georgetown: After a bad bad year they lose DSR and Hayes. Their most significant add is Akoy Agau. With the only returning contributors being Copeland, Peak and Govan it looks like Town is in trouble. Their only recruit this year is a 3 star player. They do have 2 scholarship spots open for next season still. Can't imagine that the answer is waiting out there. Georgetown's saving grace is that they have a crap ton of talented athletes who could maybe just blow-up. Which is what saves them from the bottom two spots. They should be better than this. But right now it's hard to see how they can improve.
8. Butler: They lose Rosey Jones and Kellan Dunham (and that Etherington Kid) They gained one notable recruit in 4 star Joey Brunk. Even with 4 players in their freshman class, they don't have a full roster. 2 of their 12 players are walk-ons, and one of their scholarship guys is a senior player who was a A10 hanger-on 2 star player. Outside their freshman class, they have Kelan Martin and Andrew Chrabascz. That's it. But it's Butler, so they'll probably win some games nobody expects. On Paper, DePaul is better than Butler. But Butler is Butler and DePaul is DePaul.
9. Poor DePaul needs a massive recruiting class in 2017. Maybe they will be successful getting some guys with the new arena opening that year. Their best players from a talent perspective will all be seniors next year, and their 2016 class aint much. RJ Currington, Tommy Hamilton IV, Darrik Wood, and Bill Garett Jr are all senior next year. They have no Juniors. 3 of their 5 Sophmores were 2 star players. But I think having a good cast of seniors will keep them in front of SJU.
10. St. John's: With Sima, LoVett, and Yakwe a year older, and Ponds coming in to general the floor, maybe they can steal the #9 spot. Maybe.
2. Seton Hall: This rating could change if Whitehead declares for the draft. But as of now they only lose Derrick Gordon, the teams 5th leading scorer, and they add 4 star Myles Powell. Contributors, Desi Rodriguez, Khadeen Carrington, Ismael Sanogo, Angel Delgado and Isaiah Whitehead all return, and they will be a year older and wiser.
3. Villanova: They lose Ochefu and Arch, but they add 5 start big man Omari Spellman. Still they have to take a step back without Arch, right? Nova returns Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth, Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart. Plenty of key players and talent to contend still. The big question mark is what happens without Arch.
4. Creighton: Swapping out Goatselle for Patton and Mili for Foster. We add depth at the PG position with Mintz, an improved Krampelj and a healthy squad overall with 3PT shooters Huff and Z that don't have to be feature guys anymore... Maybe we go for the championship next year. But this is my sober, objective guess.
5. Marquette: Before you criticize this pick, consider first who you'd put over them. Then consider that Marquette is more top loaded with 4 star+ players than any other team in the league. I don't think Henry Ellenson is going to go pro. The team has some unfinished business for sure, and he'd get to play with his brother another year. I think he's coming back. And yeah... they didn't set the world on fire this year, but they have to move up, considering Butler and Providence should take steps back.
6. Providence: It's a fore-gone Kris Dunn will go pro. He was crazy to not go last year IMO. Can Bentil be as big of a force next year without Dunn? Would it be enough? Is Bentil going to declare for the draft? And more importantly, who is going to step up for Providence now that their studs have all gone? If Bentil stays, he can't do it all by himself.
7. Georgetown: After a bad bad year they lose DSR and Hayes. Their most significant add is Akoy Agau. With the only returning contributors being Copeland, Peak and Govan it looks like Town is in trouble. Their only recruit this year is a 3 star player. They do have 2 scholarship spots open for next season still. Can't imagine that the answer is waiting out there. Georgetown's saving grace is that they have a crap ton of talented athletes who could maybe just blow-up. Which is what saves them from the bottom two spots. They should be better than this. But right now it's hard to see how they can improve.
8. Butler: They lose Rosey Jones and Kellan Dunham (and that Etherington Kid) They gained one notable recruit in 4 star Joey Brunk. Even with 4 players in their freshman class, they don't have a full roster. 2 of their 12 players are walk-ons, and one of their scholarship guys is a senior player who was a A10 hanger-on 2 star player. Outside their freshman class, they have Kelan Martin and Andrew Chrabascz. That's it. But it's Butler, so they'll probably win some games nobody expects. On Paper, DePaul is better than Butler. But Butler is Butler and DePaul is DePaul.
9. Poor DePaul needs a massive recruiting class in 2017. Maybe they will be successful getting some guys with the new arena opening that year. Their best players from a talent perspective will all be seniors next year, and their 2016 class aint much. RJ Currington, Tommy Hamilton IV, Darrik Wood, and Bill Garett Jr are all senior next year. They have no Juniors. 3 of their 5 Sophmores were 2 star players. But I think having a good cast of seniors will keep them in front of SJU.
10. St. John's: With Sima, LoVett, and Yakwe a year older, and Ponds coming in to general the floor, maybe they can steal the #9 spot. Maybe.
