Anonymous Assesses From Big East Coaches

[NovaBigEastFan85]

This article is about Butler, Nova, SH, X and Providence:

Butler (18–9, 7–8): "They're a good, solid team, but they lost a lot last year with [the graduations of forward Kameron] Woods and [guard Alex] Barlow. They don't have the rim protection they had last year. [Sophomore forward] Kelan Martin is going to be the next star at Butler. He has tremendous scoring instincts. You have to take up his space and try to make him put it on the floor. If you have to give something up with Martin, I'll give up his jumper. When they're allowed to play physically, they can really disrupt your offense. They've had to play [senior Roosevelt] Jones a lot at the point. He's good there, but I don't think ideally that's where you want him playing. They're doing that out of necessity. Jones is so unique. You have to appreciate a guy who has virtually no shooting skill but can dominate a game. When he gets in the paint, he's just running you over with his shoulder. [Senior guard Kellen] Dunham is a great shooter, but he does some things off the dribble you have to respect."

Providence (19–8, 7–7): "They have two great players in [junior guard Kris] Dunn and [sophomore forward Ben] Bentil. The question mark is whether the guys around them are gonna show up. They're not a great shooting team. That has caught up to them in a few games. [Sophomore forward Rodney] Bullock has been in good in the big games they've won, but at times he can be a nonfactor. Dunn's offense starts with his defense. He's always playing for steals. You have to build a wall around him in transition because he's a one-man fast break. He has gotten better as a shooter, but that's not where he hangs his hat. When you gear up to him, he'll try to make those other guys good, and some days they haven't been. I don't know if anybody expected Bentil to be this good this soon. He's the real deal. You have to respect his outside shooting, but you'd rather him be doing that then scoring in the paint."

Seton Hall (19–7, 9–5):"Really athletic and tough. They look like they enjoy playing with one another. They put a lot of pressure on your defense because they have three really hard-driving perimeter guys in [sophomores Isaiah] Whitehead, [Khadeen] Carrington and [Desi] Rodriguez. Their big guys embrace their roles. They're workmanlike. They have really good team toughness. They're not a great shooting team. At times, they can play to the level they think they need to. If you can protect the paint and make them score over you, you can beat them. You have to try to make Whitehead a volume shooter. If he's going to get 20, you want him shooting 20 shots to get it, and he can do that. He can be wild with his shot selection. Their big guys are screeners and rim runners, not scorers. They mix it defensively. They're good on that side of the floor, but they can be undisciplined. There are still some youthful kinks that are being worked out there. Isaiah Whitehead has transformed himself into a really good player. His reputation was that he's selfish, but he has been distributing more and making other guys better."

Villanova (24–4, 13–2): "Their reliance sometimes on the three-point shot can be a problem. If they're playing a team that can physically beat 'em up, that may prove to be problematic. They show up every game because they have older, really good players. They don't have great depth on the front line, which can be a problem for one game in March. [Senior center Daniel] Ochefu is solid, but I wouldn't say he's a great offensive player. He plays his role. [Junior forward Kris] Jenkins at the four is tough, because he's a great shooter and has a really good feel. [Senior guard Ryan] Arcidiacono is probably the toughest player in our conference. [Junior guard Josh] Hart is a right-handed player who does everything left-handed. If you crowd him and sit on his left hand, it's almost comical how it affects him. Ochefu is bigger than you realize. If you get him off the block, like most bigs, he's not nearly as effective."

Xavier (25–3, 13–3): "You have to match their physicality and their toughness. If you're going to sit there and take punches, they're going to beat you badly. There are not a ton of holes in what they do. They can shoot the ball, they can score in the low post, they rebound like crazy. At times they can be over-emotional. [Junior forward Jalen] Reynolds can be a little bit of a wild card and can mess up a game because he can be very unpredictable. [Junior guard] Myles Davis has had a terrific year. He can be their point guard when [freshman Edmond] Sumner goes out. You have to take him off the three-point line, make him drive and be a two-point shooter. Their ball screen defense at times is not great. Once you get the ball moved, you can drive them. Their 1-3-1 is a great change-up for them. It's not a defense you see that much, and they play it well. You want to make [sophomore guard Trevon] Bluiett shoot long twos if possible. They're a little high strung. Sometimes they've had games where guys go off on their own and try to get shots up instead of playing team basketball. Against their 1-3-1, they give you the corner jump shot; but if it goes in the corner, they don't let it come back out. Blueitt is not a great defender. He's slow and it doesn't look like he puts a lot of pride into it."

http://www.campusrush.com/big-east-big- ... 37553.html

[RetireFiftyTu]

I agree with everything in that article about Xavier except that Bluiett doesn't have high-level effort on defense. He's not a great defender, and he is slow-footed, but he does give good effort on defense. That's something that has really improved in his game from last year.

[XUFan09]

I agree with everything in that article about Xavier except that Bluiett doesn't have high-level effort on defense. He's not a great defender, and he is slow-footed, but he does give good effort on defense. That's something that has really improved in his game from last year.

Frankly, I think Bluiett is a good defender against guys for whom his lateral quickness isn't an issue.

[X Factor]

I thought Bleuitt struggled last night against Jenkins. Jenkins got the best of him more than a couple of times and Jenkins isn't a very quick guy himself.

I think he gives good effort though. I think Kaiser Gates could be a great defensive matchup for X on Jenkins with his size and lateral quickness.

[RetireFiftyTu]

I thought Bleuitt struggled last night against Jenkins. Jenkins got the best of him more than a couple of times and Jenkins isn't a very quick guy himself.

I think he gives good effort though. I think Kaiser Gates could be a great defensive matchup for X on Jenkins with his size and lateral quickness.

Gates is outstanding at moving his feet to stay in front of his man. A lot of freshman will try and play defense with their hands. Gates plays defense with his feet. Xavier got a good one with him.

[RetireFiftyTu]

I agree with everything in that article about Xavier except that Bluiett doesn't have high-level effort on defense. He's not a great defender, and he is slow-footed, but he does give good effort on defense. That's something that has really improved in his game from last year.

Frankly, I think Bluiett is a good defender against guys for whom his lateral quickness isn't an issue.

I agree 09. He's definitely not a liability on defense anymore.

[XtoDC]

I thought Bleuitt struggled last night against Jenkins. Jenkins got the best of him more than a couple of times and Jenkins isn't a very quick guy himself.

I think he gives good effort though. I think Kaiser Gates could be a great defensive matchup for X on Jenkins with his size and lateral quickness.

Gates is outstanding at moving his feet to stay in front of his man. A lot of freshman will try and play defense with their hands. Gates plays defense with his feet. Xavier got a good one with him.

Agree with Gates. If he takes pride in his defense and studies it I think he has an opportunity to be an all league caliber defender from next year until he leaves Xavier. He will still sometimes get lost in the shuffle fighting through screens or when his man doesn't have the ball, but between his length and foot speed it is really hard to dribble by him. Add in a little more confidence, weight, and rebounding and he will be a really good one.

[PorthosPA]

FWIW, according to sports-reference.com, Gates has a defensive rating of 95.6 points given up per possession...Bluiett is only a point behind at 96.6

[XUFan09]

I thought Bleuitt struggled last night against Jenkins. Jenkins got the best of him more than a couple of times and Jenkins isn't a very quick guy himself.

I think he gives good effort though. I think Kaiser Gates could be a great defensive matchup for X on Jenkins with his size and lateral quickness.

Really, I think that says more about how good Jenkins is than anything. I still really wish Xavier got him.