ESPN INSIDER Big East early signing period superlatives

[Hoya Hoya Hoya]

The early signing period (Nov. 11 – Nov. 18) saw every conference in college basketball add to its talent pool. RecruitingNation took a deeper look at all the top leagues, examining what was added and what’s still to come:

Biggest get: Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s: Chris Mullin and his staff put a lot of emphasis on keeping the best players in the greater New York City area, but when they lost out on Mustapha Heron and found themselves in a state of flux with Rawle Alkins, Ponds gave the Red Storm an immediate impact talent who could rally the local fan base and serve as sign of things to come.

Biggest miss: Bryce Aiken, Harvard: Seton Hall is a team that is already thin in the backcourt, and with Isaiah Whitehead likely to be tempted by the NBA sooner rather than later, landing a true point guard who could come in and play immediate minutes was crucial. Kevin Willard and his staff thought they were in good shape with Aiken but ultimately ended up losing out to Tommy Amaker and Harvard.
Top five classes

1. Xavier Musketeers
Chris Mack has the Big East’s top class to date with a pair of ESPN 100 products in Tyrique Jones and Quentin Goodin along with a third, Eddie Ekiyor, who was just on the cusp. Ekiyor is currently planning to join the Musketeers at the semester break, though he won’t suit up until next fall when he and Jones will provide an athletic frontcourt duo. Goodin is a skilled shot-maker who can play both on and off the ball.

2. Marquette Golden Eagles
Steve Wojciechowski not only continues to add immediate impact talent, but also talent that fits his style of play. Brendan Bailey and Sam Hauser are both ESPN 100 products as well as two forwards who will immediately upgrade the team’s skill level and ability to stretch the floor from the frontline positions.

3. Villanova Wildcats
Jay Wright is typically known for his guards, but this year’s class has been built around his bigs. Omari Spelllman is going to not only be an immediate impact player, but he’ll also afford Wright a ton of flexibility to play as a skilled five or a big four, and we know how Wright loves to take advantage of the versatility in his lineup.
Villanova's Omari Spellman is arguably the biggest talent entering the Big East for the 2016 class. AP Photo/Gregory Payan

4. Butler Bulldogs
Joey Brunk gives the Bulldogs an ESPN 100 player to build around in the middle but the real story of this class is its depth with Howard Washington and Kamar Baldwin forming a talented and compatible backcourt duo and Henry Baddley giving them a high level athlete on the wing. Chris Holtmann and his staff targeted all four of these guys early and came away with just what they were looking for.

5. St. John's Red Storm
They’re a one man class right now, but it’s an important man in ESPN 100 guard Shamorie Ponds. Not only is Ponds a guy who can score points, and do it in a multitude of ways, but he’s a local New York City product who gives Chris Mullin that boost of local momentum he was looking for with his inaugural class.

Work to be done: Overall, most of the teams in the league -- with the possible exceptions of Xavier and Butler -- are still shopping for players heading into spring. In fact, there are multiple teams that have yet to fill the better part of their classes to date. Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall and St. John’s all need to find some impact pieces for next year and that’s a process that’s going to be as much about making a good evaluation -- since there aren’t a whole lot of no-brainers left on the board -- as anything else.
Three who will make an impact in 2016-17

1. Omari Spellman, Villanova Wildcats
He’s not only the top-ranked recruit in the conference but he’s also heading into a situation where he could walk into a starting spot from Day 1 following the graduation of Daniel Ochefu. Spellman is a deceptively athletic wide-body with skill to the arc, catchers' mitts for hands and a true back-to-the-basket game to match.

2. Myles Powell, Seton Hall Pirates
As we said, Seton Hall is going to need reinforcements in their backcourt next season and in Powell they have quite possibly the best three-point shooter in the entire country. He’s not a one-trick pony either and is far better off the bounce and leaning in for crafty layups than most give him credit for.

3. Quentin Goodin, Xavier Musketeers
The Musketeers should be poised to return a good percentage of their lineup from this season, and so Goodin’s most notable contributions may be a couple of years away. But, like Powell his shot-making prowess gives him an immediate niche while his ability to play on or off the ball gives him the potential to plug various holes in the backcourt.

Sleeper: Maliek White, Providence Friars
He may not be an ESPN 100 player but neither was Bryce Cotton. White is hard-nosed, plays with a chip on his shoulder, is coming off a big summer and will walk into an immediate opportunity with the departure of Kris Dunn leaving a huge void to fill.

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncbrecruiting/o ... t?id=14872

[NovaBall]

Nova is going to be relying heavily on Oamri Spellman next year in the post.

Problem is, not only is he just going to be a frosh, but he's not a traditional center in the sense of Ochefu. He is considerably shorter than Ochefu. He is a wide load and is very skilled, but he's not a 6-10 rim protector type. Think more like Jayvaughn Pinkston type player.

Nova will be the type of team with no true big, but a lot of length combined with athleticism in Hart, Bridges, and the Fordham transfer Paschall, to go along with Spellman and the backcourt which should remain solid.

[GumbyDamnit!]

Nova is going to be relying heavily on Oamri Spellman next year in the post.

Problem is, not only is he just going to be a frosh, but he's not a traditional center in the sense of Ochefu. He is considerably shorter than Ochefu. He is a wide load and is very skilled, but he's not a 6-10 rim protector type. Think more like Jayvaughn Pinkston type player.

Nova will be the type of team with no true big, but a lot of length combined with athleticism in Hart, Bridges, and the Fordham transfer Paschall, to go along with Spellman and the backcourt which should remain solid.

True. But Nova will be adding the following to next year's rotation:
6'7 (& extremely athletic) - Paschall
6'8" - Delaney
6'9" - Spellman
6,10" - Painter

So most likely a drop off at the 5 but Jay still bringing in more height than he's had in a while.

Also next year's lineup may be as close to a clone of the GS Warriors that you'll see at the college level (not trying to say that they'll be as good--just a similar philosophy). Brunson, Booth, Hart, Paschall, Jenkins, Spellman, Bridges, DiVencenzo. Very interchangeable parts and EVERY one can light it up from 3. Will be entertaining to watch and tough to defend at the very least.

[NovaBall]

I'm not expecting Painter or Delaney to be in the rotation come conference play next year. If anyone, I hope to see more Reynolds next year.

It's going to be more of a gang style attack of interchangeable forwards with a very solid backcourt (assuming Brunson stays along with Booth and Divincenzo). But that worked pretty well in 2009 when Dante was playing center at 6-8.

It could actually be a real fun look with Hart, Bridges and Paschall really giving Nova the most athletic forward look they have ever had under Jay. He's wanted that type of player for a while (thinking back to Isaiah Armwood type players and what the 2006 Florida team did to Randy and the boys). Now he is going to have three of them that could really make things interesting.

[NJRedman]

The thing with us is that it's not just Ponds coming in but our two guys ruled ineligible. Thats 3 studs right there, all we need is one or two more guys and we're set. I know we're going hard after the big German and still have our sites set on Alkins.

[GumbyDamnit!]

I'm not expecting Painter or Delaney to be in the rotation come conference play next year. If anyone, I hope to see more Reynolds next year.

It's going to be more of a gang style attack of interchangeable forwards with a very solid backcourt (assuming Brunson stays along with Booth and Divincenzo). But that worked pretty well in 2009 when Dante was playing center at 6-8.

It could actually be a real fun look with Hart, Bridges and Paschall really giving Nova the most athletic forward look they have ever had under Jay. He's wanted that type of player for a while (thinking back to Isaiah Armwood type players and what the 2006 Florida team did to Randy and the boys). Now he is going to have three of them that could really make things interesting.

Agreed. A lineup of Booth (athletic 6'3) at the point, Hart (athletic 6'5") at the 2, Bridges (a very long and athletic 6'7")and Paschall (long and ultra athletic 6'7") at the wings along with either Spellman or Reynolds (6'9" & 6'8", both long and athletic) and we'll look nothing like a typical Nova team under Jay. Maybe it's the roster evolution he needs to take the next step. It'll be fun to watch. I see a perennial Top 10 team for the next few years with that roster.