Big East basketball enjoyed a season to remember with UConn winning a second straight national title. Creighton and Marquette advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. Add in Seton Hall’s run to the NIT champion to a memorable 2023-24 season for the Big East.
Players entering the transfer portal from the power conferences were certainly paying attention as twice as many transfers are joining Big East teams than trying to see if the grass is greener playing for programs in the ACC, the Big Ten, Big 12, or the SEC.
The top scorers in the Big East last season all began their college careers elsewhere. UConn’s top two scorers were former transfers, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer. The On3.com transfer rankings had guard Malik Mack who transferred from Harvard to Georgetown as the Big East’s top incoming.
The Big East recently announced its 2024-25 schedule. Let’s take a look at how the Big East teams used the transfer portal to set them up for success heading into the 2024-25 season. The rich could get richer with 20 players transferring in from the power conferences. Only 10 ended up joining teams from the Power-4 conferences.
Big East Basketball Transfers Could Make Conference Even Better
UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley has made some smart choices when adding transfers to the players that his staff has recruited. Newton, Spencer, and Hassan Diarra were key contributors on the most recent national championship team. Therefore the Huskies needed to find a shooter with the departure of Spencer and former Saint Mary’s star Aidan Mahaney could fill that role. Also, Tarris Reed Jr. is a former top-40 recruit who averaged 9 points and 7.2 rebounds as a sophomore at Michigan.
God got me…I ain’t stressin 😮💨 #Committed pic.twitter.com/dwrbVsOFGz
— Tarris”Big Hoss” Reed Jr. (@TarrisReedJr) April 17, 2024
Creighton saw its top two scorers embark on professional careers. Adding Pop Isaacs from Texas Tech should help as Isaac was the top scorer for a team that finished tied for third in the Big 12 last season.
Marquette passed on adding high-profile transfers even with point guard Tyler Kolek and top rebounder Oso Ighodaro being taken in the 2024 NBA Draft. While Villanova landed former Miami guard Wooga Poplar and Alabama forward Kris Parker.
Some Big East Teams Got Busy Working the Portal
St. John’s might have landed the biggest prize of all with Kadary Richmond going from Seton Hall to St. John’s. The 247sports.com transfer portal database listed Richmond as the No. 1 incoming transfer. St. John’s is ready to make some noise in Big East basketball circles.
The star power of St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino likely played a role in Utah guard Deivon Smith (13.3 points, 7.1 assists per game) landing with the Red Storm. North Texas forward Aaron Scott (11 points per game, 44 three-pointers) and USC center Vincent Iwuchukwu are also at St. John’s. It wasn’t too long ago that the 7-foot-1 Iwuchukwu was in the news for suffering major heart failure.
“Kadary Richmond is a player I admired so much in the Big East,” Pitino said in the official release. “Awesome talent and we are so excited to have him. [Simeon Wilcher], Deivon [Smith] and now Kadary, along with our young talents, is a dream backcourt.”
Seton Hall losing Richmond to St. John’s and seeing Dre Davis land at Ole Miss was not ideal. The Pirates welcomed Garwey Dual from Providence in addition to three transfers from the power conferences.
Indiana State guard Ryan Conwell and Florida State forward Cam’Ron Fletcher are among the incoming transfers for a Xavier team that saw two of its top four scorers leave.
DePaul Hopes New Additions Means Better Results
After going winless in Big East basketball play and picking up just three victories during the 2023-24 season, DePaul subsequently went to work in the transfer portal. Layden Blocker, who started five games as a freshman at Arkansas, and JJ Traynor, who averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in eight games at Louisville, lead the list of incoming transfers for the Blue Demons.
Former Indiana guard CJ Gunn had 17 points in 24 minutes in a Big Ten tournament loss to Nebraska. Forward Patrick Suemnick, went off for 20 points and six rebounds in West Virginia’s upset of Kansas. He is surely another newcomer to keep an eye on. All things considered, it wasn’t all good news as second-leading scorer Elijah Fisher was one of three players who averaged at least 20 minutes per game to transfer out of DePaul.
Who Gets The Edge – Players Coming Or Leave Big East Basketball?
Let’s take a look at how a team of players transferring from the power conferences into the Big East would fare against a squad consisting of Big East products landing at ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, or SEC schools.
St. John’s Deivon Smith (@sneakgod) will be a triple-double threat in the Big East this season!!
Smith will be a major impact for Rick Pitino and @StJohnsBBall as they look to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
The Utah transfer averaged 13.3 PPG,… pic.twitter.com/KTcYqiqKwi
— GREENLIGHT MEDIA (@atlgreenlight) August 24, 2024
Georgetown forward Micah Peavy, who had a double-double against No. 1 Houston in the Big 12 tournament during his third and final season at TCU would be another key addition to their frontcourt.
The team of outgoing transfers would include Xavier’s No. 2 scorer Desmond Claude. He is now at USC. Also, forward Dre Davis (who left Seton Hall for Ole Miss) could be a key contributor. Guard TJ Bamba, one of two double-digit scorers at Villanova, could make an impact at Oregon. DJ Davis, one of the top three-point shooters in the Big East last season while at Butler, landed at Washington.
Former Georgetown standouts Dontrez Styles and Supreme Cook would bolster the frontcourt. Styles transferred to NC State while Cook left for Oregon. Ultimately, although some talented players left the Big East, the team of incoming transfers probably has the advantage.
