Welcome to The Holy Land of Hoops

Yes, I know people on this site are still rightfully focused on this season, but for someone like myself (a SJU fan), I'm already looking forward to next year.

Obviously there's a lot we don't know in terms of who will leave for the NBA, etc.

Recruiting classes for next year:
#23 Xavier
#31 Marquette
#36 St. John's (fully expecting this to increase)
#38 Butler
#39 Villanova
#71 DePaul
#83 Seton Hall
#94 Providence
#95 Georgetown
#124 Creighton

RPI rankings:
#2 Villanova
#5 Xavier
#24 Providence
#43 Seton Hall
#65 Butler
#78 Georgetown
#103 Creighton
#109 Marquette
#147 DePaul
#197 St. John's

I don't know that much about any of these teams besides SJU, so fans of each team please correct me where I'm wrong.

SJU I expect to be a lot better. Not that that's saying much, however next year we'll have LoVett eligible, Ponds, Ahmed, most likely Freudenberg, and possibly more. We're not losing anyone who'd be a starter on next years team. Verdict: much better.

Villanova will be losing Arch and Ochefu. Obviously two big losses but still have talent coming in next year (5 star player). I do expect them to be slightly down simply because they're already ranked so high this year (#2 in RPI). When you're that high it's hard to go anywhere but down unless you're returning everyone. Verdict: slightly worse.

Xavier has a great incoming class and I know Farr is leaving however it seems like they will be retaining the majority of their best players. They could on paper be the best team to start the year. Similarly to Nova it's very hard to retain such a high ranking, however Xavier will probably retain more of their talent. Verdict: the same.

Providence obviously revolves around Dunn and Bentil. If both leave, which I'd expect, they should be significantly worse next year especially since their recruiting class doesn't have much going for it. Verdict: much worse.

Seton Hall could be pretty amazing next year if the team stays in tact. I'm going to guess the team stays together and SHU is a top 25 team next year. Verdict: slightly better.

Butler has Jones and Dunham leaving which will hurt. Incoming class looks solid. Based on their current ranking, my verdict: slightly worse.

Georgetown has Smith-Rivera and Hayes leaving, however I have a hard time seeing them underachieving as much as they currently are this year. Verdict: slightly better.

Creighton looks to be returning the majority of their roster next year. Verdict: slightly better.

Marquette will obviously take a hit if Ellenson leaves, however it looks like outside of that the team should stay the same and has some impressive recruits coming in. I'll be optimistic and say Ellenson stays. I don't feel too confident in that, however. Verdict: much better.

DePaul I don't know much about their roster but my verdict: the same.

What does everyone think?

Creighton getting Marcus Foster will be huge for next year

Nova - slightly worse. Has potential to be very good, but will have to adjust to life without the big man. Back court will be very strong. Will be loaded at forward. Front court will be very thin and inexperienced.

Xavier. This one interests me the most. tough to say that they will be just as good, but what are they really losing? Sky may be the limit here

Providence. Worse. I am assuming both bentil and Dunn are gone. If bentil returns, they could be respectable, maybe a bubble team. They have some good athletes who will be back, cooley knows how to run a system. With bentil, a remain a little optimistic they won't completely fall off.

Seton Hall. Much better. This year's bubble team will be next year's contender.

Butler. Worse. Time to rebuild a little.

Creighton. Better. I think tournament is possible next yr.

Marquette. The same. A bubble team. Losing Ellenson will hurt, but they have some good pieces returning.

DePaul. No confidence in hem improving.

St. John's. I'm not expecting them to be good next yr. If they improve I expect it to b per more like two years from now. That cupboard is still pretty bare next year.

Georgetown. Much better.



Predicted pre-season rankings:

Tourney teams:
1. Xavier
2 seton Hall
3. Villanova
4. Georgetown

Bubble:
5. Creighton
6. Marquette
7. Providence (if bentil returns, otherwise 8 or 9)

Other:
8. Butler
9. DePaul
10. St. John's.

Great topic, and I hope people really give some feedback here. In regards to Villanova, I still think we are going to be a Top 20 team and looking at around a 4 or 5 seed when it is all said and done. Most likely our starters will be Brunson, Booth, Hart, Jenkins and Omari Spellman.

Spellman is not eligible to be a McDonald's All-American because he is doing an extra year at St. Thomas More but the kid is the real deal. Without going through all the rankings (Scout, Rivals, etc.), ESPN has him ranked as a 5 star recruit and the 16th overall player in the class. He is a 6'9", 275 lbs, Power Forward. Jay will want him to shed a few pounds I imagine, but he will be a contributor right away.

After Spellman, we have Tim Delany and Dylan Painter, both serviceable big men who will give us added size. Not to mention Darryl Reynolds, an experienced forward who has given us good minutes off the bench will be back for his senior year.

We will then have Eric Paschall, a 6'6" guard/forward who was the A-10 rookie of the year at Fordham, eligible. He will be a sophomore. http://fordhamsports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5543 This is another kid who is going to give us some added size and is going to contribute right away. Like Mikal Bridges, who is probably Villanova's best freshman this year, even ahead of Jalen Brunson, both Paschall and Bridges could find themselves in the starting lineup. Regardless, both players will play significant minutes.

Then we have Donte DiVencenzo. A 6'5" super athletic guard who can jump out of the gym. He is currently injured but I don't see him redshirting and he will probably be back in the rotation in the next week or so. He was Mr. Basketball in Delaware. ESPN had him ranked as a 4 star recruit and he was offered by Syracuse, Notre Dame, Pitt, Vanderbilt, BC and Virginia Tech, so he certainly had some big time names going after him before he committed to Villanova.

We will miss Arch more than we will miss Ochefu, due to the simple fact we will have more size to work with next year. We don't really gain as much as far as guards.

The Wildcats are really looking to bring in 2 big time guards (going very hard after Lonnie Walker right now) in the 2017 class to stay on track.

Nova sounding promising, forgot about the A10 transfer and didn't realize the 5 star player was that good. If Nova can be top 25 again I'll definitely take that.

Dunn leaves and Bentil stays one more year. Friars have POY three years in a row.....

Isaiah Jackson is eligible next year and will be a strong contributor.

Cartwright, Jackson, Bentil, Bullock, Fazekas, Lindsey, Edwards will do fine....

No way they are much worse..

EMT wrote:Dunn leaves and Bentil stays one more year. Friars have POY three years in a row.....

Isaiah Jackson is eligible next year and will be a strong contributor.

Cartwright, Jackson, Bentil, Bullock, Fazekas, Lindsey, Edwards will do fine....

No way they are much worse..

Again I don't know as much as you would, but isn't Bentil playing better than Dunn? Wouldn't he be a first round pick? Why are you confident he's staying?

Didn't know about Isaiah, good to know.

Edit: BTW by much worse I mean more like a NIT team rather than a top 25 team. I don't mean SJU or DePaul bad.

adoraz wrote:

EMT wrote:Dunn leaves and Bentil stays one more year. Friars have POY three years in a row.....

Isaiah Jackson is eligible next year and will be a strong contributor.

Cartwright, Jackson, Bentil, Bullock, Fazekas, Lindsey, Edwards will do fine....

No way they are much worse..

Again I don't know as much as you would, but isn't Bentil playing better than Dunn? Wouldn't he be a first round pick? Why are you confident he's staying?

Didn't know about Isaiah, good to know.

Edit: BTW by much worse I mean more like a NIT team rather than a top 25 team. I don't mean SJU or DePaul bad.

Bentil is playing great but he is not playing better than Dunn. Bentil's numbers are in a large part because of Dunn. Bentil will be a 1st round pick but after another year of college. He still has work to do on his game.

[i wrote this up before the previous 3 posts were written]

The Friars lose Dunn and probably Lomomba (would be a 5th year).
At this point I would guess that Bentil will return for at least one more season.
So we will have two openings next year.

1 opening goes to new recruit Maliek White, a 6-3, tough 3 to 4 star PG.
The other opening with be filled in the Spring by a big man.

In addition, George Mason transfer Isaiah Jackson will be active. Talented and versatile SF.
And of course the rest of the team will be a year older and wiser.

Starting Lineup i would guess:
1 - Cartwright - Maliek White.
2 - Drew Edwards - Ricky Council.
3 - Fazekas - Isaiah Jackson.
4 - Bullock - Lindsey.
5 - Bentil - Quadree Smith.

So without Dunn, and Junior, a step back, but Cooley's teams usually improve during the season.

Regarding Bentil, he hasn't hit any 2016 mock drafts but that could change. However, even if one thinks he's playing better than Dunn in college that doesn't translate to being a 1st round NBA draft pick - and he absolutely will not be selected higher than Dunn this year. Height and length at position matter, defense matters, the combine matters, etc. Ryan Gomes was a First Team AP All American as a junior. After his senior season, he was a second round draft pick. He put together a decent NBA career, but it's just one of dozens examples of college success not equating to being a high draft pick (Bryce Cotton, undrafted,was another). My guess is the NBA will want to see Bentil improve his handle and outside shooting based on his size. He's probably a bit short to be an NBA PF. However, if he is guaranteed to be a first round pick I'm sure he will enter the draft. As a reference, Ellenson would go higher in the draft than Bentil.

As for PC being much worse, I heard that when Cotton left and I heard that when Henton/Derosiers/Harris/Chukwu left last year. Each time Cooley has proven the doubters wrong (including the majority of preseason picks on this board). He's proven me wrong many times.

If Bentil does come back, PC will likely be in the mix for a 4th NCAA appearance in a row (possibly a bubble team?). While he will never come close to being Kris Dunn, I'm growing more and more comfortable that Cartwright can be a solid PG. And if Bentil comes back, PG is the only position being replaced. It's probably the most important position, and there will be a drop off after years of Cotton and Dunn, but I think Cartwright can manage it if he has Bentil up front.