Media Day is just under two weeks away, so let’s put some heads together to figure out what we might see at MSG.
Hi!
If you turned up here at Anonymous Eagle looking for a new Marquette men’s basketball player preview, I have to disappoint you until Monday. With Big East Media Day coming up on October 23, we need to make some preseason picks for men’s basketball. Our picks for women’s basketball are already up on the site, so go check those out to make sure you’re up to speed on what’s going on in the league.
Instead of just making some picks and being done with it, I reached out to my Marquette Discord group and asked who wanted to participate in a little bit of preseason polling. Thus, you’re getting the compilation of 10 opinions on the men’s basketball league instead of just my goofball opinions that you’ve come to know and tolerate.
We’ve got poll results for everything you’re going to see on Media Day: Predicted order of finish for all 11 teams in the Big East, Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and a preseason all-Big East team. Just to add some spice to life, I also asked the group two questions about the 2024-25 season in the conference that I think helps shed some light on the most interesting storylines that we’ll see play out this winter.
If you’re a big nerd who wants to comb through the data, feel free to check out the Google Sheet.
Here we go!
Predicted Order Of Finish
This was done assigning points by way of predicted spot. Picked to win? 11 points. Picked to finish last? 1 points. Big number good, small number bad.
1 — Connecticut, 106 points (7 1st place votes)
2 — Marquette, 96 points (1)
3 — Creighton, 94 points (2)
4 — St. John’s, 81
5 — Xavier, 71
6 — Providence, 55
7 — Butler, 47
8 — Villanova, 43
9 — Seton Hall, 34
10 — DePaul, 21
11 — Georgetown, 14
It looks like our pollsters ended up creating four tiers of teams. UConn/Marquette/Creighton as #1, followed by St. John’s and Xavier, then a PC/BU/VU/SHU group, then DePaul and Georgetown rummaging around in Tier 4. Commentary!
Alan Bykowski, Cracked Sidewalks: At this point, you have to put Dan Hurley and UConn at the top until someone knocks them off. What they’ve done since that loss to Marquette at MSG in 2023 is simply ridiculous, especially with two completely different rosters. They’ve earned this.
Joe McCann, Scrambled Eggs Podcast: I would throw out the “Marquette will be better than people think” cliche, I’m honestly not sure what people think. [Editor’s Context: Joe picked MU 3rd.] Losing [Tyler] Kolek and Oso [Ighodaro], conventional thinking should probably “not as good,” but I feel like fans around the Big East view MU as taking a big step back without those two. Maybe they will, but I don’t think it’s a giant step back. All of the other returners should have MU near the top of the league, but maybe not quite at a championship level. UConn is the king of the league until someone else takes them down.
Ben Snider, noted raconteur: Providence and the next 4 teams [Editor’s Context: Ben picked PC 6th.] are roughly the same but Providence gets the tie-breaker after some meme breaks out about Friar fans eating rats and Kim English dresses as the Rat King on a Tuesday night game against Butler and it makes the difference in the standings.
Ryan Jackson, Paint Touches: I think Creighton, Marquette, and UConn are near interchangeable again. I’ve got Creighton coming out on top because I didn’t like Trey Alexander as much as everyone else did and I probably like Pop Isaacs too much.
Paladin Kit, Noted Travel Documenter: I‘ve heard a lot of doubt from my fellow undergrads about how good we’re going to be this year with the loss of Tyler and Oso, and it’s a lot of hooey, imo. [Editor’s Context: Kit picked Marquette 1st.] That attitude doesn’t give nearly enough credit to the other powerhouses on the team, nor does it give nearly enough credit to Shaka Smart’s coaching abilities.
Big East Preseason Player of the Year: Kam Jones, Marquette
Also Receiving Votes: Kadary Richmond, St. John’s (2), Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, Alex Karaban, UConn
I’m one of the Richmond votes. Why? Because, even though he’s changing teams from Seton Hall to St. John’s, Richmond is still the only returning All-Big East First Team player from the end of last season. I make my picks based on how the coaches will vote, and that’s what Ryan Jackson did when he made his vote as well. Did I not realize that Richmond was the only remaining First Teamer until I opened up last year’s press release to start putting my ballot together? Mind your business.
So, why Kam Jones at the top of the ballot other than hilariously biased homerism? Joe McCann nailed it down pretty well:
Alex Karaban was a strong consideration, but I have to throw some support behind our guy. He’s got a great chance to lead the league in scoring, and Marquette doesn’t necessarily have to win the league for him to get the player of the year. If MU is near the top of the Big East, Kam will be a huge reason why. Plus, he has that “wow” potential, the ability to have those highlight reel performances that get people saying he’s the player of the year. If those games translate into a lot of wins, Kam has a good shot to win POY.
Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year: Liam McNeeley, Connecticut
Also Receiving Vote: Fedor Zugic, Creighton
Okay, let’s give the floor to Alan Bykowski and let him explain why he’s the only one not picking the top 20 prospect playing for the two-time reigning national champions as preseason FOY:
He played over 200 professional games in Europe, proving to be an able scorer, and comes into an ideal offense for his skillset. I struggle to call him a freshman considering his background [Editor’s Note: He just turned 21 but became the youngest EuroLeague player ever in 2019.] but if he qualifies, he’s the guy.
Preseason All-Big East Team
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Kam Jones, Marquette*
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton*
Alex Karaban, Connecticut
Kadary Richmond, St. John’s
Also Receiving Votes: Zach Freemantle, Xavier (2); Bryce Hopkins, Providence (2); Dayvion McKnight, Xavier (2); Hassan Diarra, Connecticut; Pierre Brooks, Butler; Aiden Mahaney, Connecticut
The asterisks are for the unanimous choices, and yes, Kam Jones and Ryan Kalkbrenner were the only two to get all 10 votes. Alex Karaban, the biggest name returning for UConn, just barely missed out at 9, while Kadary Richmond, the only returning First Teamer ended up at 8. It’s kind of a mixed bag after that, as Eric Dixon snags the last spot with just four votes after Second Team honors last season.
I think we get why Kam Jones was unanimous, but why Ryan Kalkbrenner? Alan Bykowski gets it pretty much right here:
He’ll be favored to become the second player (Patrick Ewing) to ever win four Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards. Doubling down on his rim protection and screen disruption on the defensive end is his volume scoring at high efficiency. Creighton will be good, and Kalkbrenner will be the top reason why.
Other comments!
Snider on Eric Dixon: He’s a guy I will always fear. His ability to shoot as consistently as he has while being as physically dense as he is creates matchup nightmares. I tend to think his defense is way better than advertised and he’s going to put up star numbers on an otherwise middling team.
Phil Bush, Scrambled Eggs Podcast: I think this really is gonna be a crap shoot. I think UConn will get two on because they’re UConn and Kam makes it because he’s Kam but I think this is the first season in a while where I don’t feel at all certain that there will be clear cut choices.
[Editor’s Note: The injury/recovery status on Providence’s Bryce Hopkins and Xavier’s Zach Freemantle definitely throws a wrench in making picks in late September/early October. We could all look very stupid by the time we get to Thanksgiving.]
This isn’t a comment on playing ability, but I want to note that Tim Blair from Cracked Sidewalks realized that his picks all had a K theme to them one way or another. As the son of a first grade teacher, recognizing patterns is always fun for me.
Roundtable Questions!
#1 — Given that he’s a first year head coach (the only one in the league!) and he has a completely brand new roster, what bar does Chris Holtmann need to clear to declare 2024-25 a success at DePaul?
Andrei Greska, Paint Touches: If Holtmann can get DePaul into the top-150 with multiple Big East wins, I think that’s a clear success. That would constitute a 150+ spot jump and nearly match the BE win total from the past 2 seasons combined (2).
McCann: When the bar is “just don’t be an embarrassment,” Holtmann has plenty of room to work with here. Winning literally one Big East game is an improvement, but on the other hand, if DePaul goes 2-18, I don’t think their fans will exactly be jumping for joy. I guess the simple goal for Holtmann is for his team to look competent: beat a couple teams at the bottom of the league, maybe pull one stunning win over a team in the top half of the league, and just don’t get humiliated night in and night out. Show the fans and the rest of the league that you have some decent young guys to work with who are committed to building something that’s not a disgrace, and then use that in the portal and recruiting in the offseason to take another step. I think Holtmann is the best coach DePaul has hired since… geez, maybe since I started following Marquette basketball? He’ll do fine, but it’s not going to happen overnight.
Snider: One good, solid, basketball win and 3-5 solid losses. Georgetown doesn’t count and neither does an egg-laying from like Seton Hall. If they can line up and play against a team playing good ball and pull out a win that’s sandwiched by a few respectable single digit losses, that’s all they need.
Jackson: My hottest take is DePaul finishing 8th in the conference this season. I’m all in on Chris Holtmann, baby. He’s going to get the Blue Demons all the way up to the basement after being stuck in the crawlspace. As for what he needs to accomplish to be considered a success? Well, his predecessor went out on an 0-20 season (well technically he was fired at 0-7, you get the point) so there’s not much of a bar to clear. Maybe avoid any stretches where he goes 1-9 or worse? DePaul hasn’t managed a season without a 1-9 stretch since the 2018-19 season.
Bykowski: Win all the buy games in the non-con, then get at least 4-5 wins in the Big East. If they’re in the cellar, that’s fine, this is DePaul after all, but they have to show signs of life. They can put five shooters on the floor at almost all times and when the shots are falling, they’ll be a tough out. I think they’re positioned to be fine and certainly won’t be sub-300 like last year.
Patrick Leary, Retired Podcaster: Winning 10 games would be a good start for Chris Holtmann at DePaul. Torvik has them favored in their first seven, all of which are varying degrees of mid-major cakewalks, so it would be cool if they won six or seven of those. And in the conference, they should be able to win 3-4 games on sheer randomness. The completely new roster element is cool because no team has more justifiably needed to clear the entire deck like DePaul.
Kit: I think we should all approach DePaul this year with the mindset of “come on, do something.” As this season is a completely fresh start for DePaul, any positive difference from last year’s team should be considered a success for Chris Holtmann. It’s unfair to hold any negative expectations, knowing that basically anything could happen for them this season.
#2 — Is Kyle Neptune on The Hot Seat at Villanova? Does he have to make the NCAA tournament to keep his job?
Jackson: Neptune probably should be fired if he can’t make the tournament this season. This is a proud program that pre-Neptune had missed one NCAAT from 2005-2022. Missing three in a row should be a fireable offense. And it’s not like you can justify it by saying that Neptune is just waiting for his guys because he hit the transfer portal hard every offseason. He tries to reload every offseason and is 0/2 so far. 0/3 should spell the end…but I have a suspicion that he’ll be given another year. By all accounts, he was Jay Wright’s hand-picked successor and is popular amongst a lot of the former Wildcats currently in the NBA. Schools are loathe to make moves that can alienate their most famous alumni. And Villanova is not a program known for cycling through coaches. They’ve had eight head coaches in their entire 105-season history, five in the past 89 seasons. If fired, Neptune would tie John Cashman as the shortest-tenured coach in Villanova history. If you’ve never heard of John Cashman, it’s because he coached Villanova from 1926-1929. Every other coach got at least six seasons, and in the past 89 years every coach got at least nine.
Bush: Hot seat for sure regardless of outcome but I don’t think he has to make the tournament to keep his job because I’m not sure a quick hook is in Villanova’s DNA. There’s always gonna be the “Jay Wright took a while to become Jay Wright” mindset at Nova. I think they are dead wrong and I think Kyle Neptune will prove to be a bad coach but we all make choices in life. Basically Kyle is Wojo except he has an NIL budget to squander. Fun times in Philly!
Leary: I don’t really see a scenario where Kyle Neptune is the coach of Villanova this time next year. He hasn’t shown anything to prove he’s worthy of such an important college basketball job, and there’s something about the third year of a coach’s tenure that rapidly turns the page from too early to say definitively to running out of chances. I don’t think the 2025 Big East is set up for the 2025 Villanova roster to succeed, so after three missed NCAAs, Nova will have to fire Neptune.
Greska: Yes and yes. 3 consecutive years without a tournament at Nova would be more than enough to justify his firing. I can’t believe, they brought him back, to be honest. He has a senior heavy roster that is projected to be mid at best, and it’s not like he’s got a loaded recruiting class to point to. Neptune’s seat should be blazing hot all season.
Kit: If Kyle Neptune can make the tournament and prove that there’s still some fight in the Wildcats, he might be safe for now. However, if they can’t rise above roster losses and prove themselves this year, I think Nova might be teetering into capital B Bad territory.
Bykowski: I do think Neptune is on the hot seat, and I’m not sure it’s entirely fair. This is the problem with being the guy that follows the guy. Jay Wright missed the tournament his first three years and his KenPom finishes were worse than Neptune’s worst year so far. Last year, Villanova was #37 in KP, good enough to be a tourney team, but just didn’t have the results because of Philadelphia Big 5 missteps and poor results in close games. Certainly some of that is Neptune’s fault, but in a vacuum I think he’s an okay coach. The problem in this Big East is when you are competing with Hurley, Smart, Rick Pitino, Greg McDermott, Sean Miller, and Thad Matta, okay just isn’t good enough. When you are following the best coach in program history coming off a Final Four on top of that, you need to do more than be okay. I think they’ll be in that 40-60 range nationally this year, probably be competitive, but I don’t see enough results to get to the Tournament. Fair or not, that probably won’t be enough to save his job.
Snider: I was high on Villanova last year and watching them play together was simply disappointing. There’s a ton of talent and steady methods of acquiring talent. I truly get the system Neptune is trying to implement on a high level, but he still doesn’t have the means and methods of getting to that point down yet. If that can’t get figured out this year, he needs to be gone.
McCann: I think we’re just being nice if we say Neptune is NOT on the hot seat. Villanova fans, to their credit, have been pretty forgiving so far. Neptune has had two things working for him in his first two seasons: he has Jay Wright’s full support, and Kenny Payne was doing 100 times worse with an equally (probably more) prestigious program in Louisville. Nova fans could always say, “hey, at least we’re not Payne and Louisville!”
Well, one of those things Neptune had working for him is gone now. If Villanova misses the tournament for a third straight year, it’s going to be tough for Jay Wright to say “yeah, this is going just fine.” I don’t think Jay would ever publicly call for Neptune to be fired, but at some point it gets tough to get in front of cameras and say a guy is doing a great job when he’s clearly not. It’s going to be harder if there are more teams who HAVE made coaching changes zip right past them. Three years may be a small time frame to give up on a coach, but I think it’s also okay to just admit it’s not working and try something else. Does Villanova want to do what Marquette did with Wojo: just be patient for 7 years before they finally admit they could do better? I don’t think they do. If Villanova misses the tournament this year, Neptune will – at the very least – be coaching for his job in 2025-26, if he’s not fired this year.