The Three Man Weave Ranks 10 Big East Players Among College Basketball's Top 100
A breakdown of the rankings, what they say about the Big East, and who might have been overlooked.
The crew at The Three Man Weave took their shot at ranking the top 100 players in college basketball heading into next season and ten Big East players made the cut, with another six getting honorable mention nods:
Big East players on the Three Man Weave top 100:
Silas Demary Jr., UConn (#8)
Najai Hines, UConn (#31)
Braylon Mullins, UConn (#34)
Nigel James Jr., Marquette (#38)
Tounde Yessoufou, St. John’s (#39)
Sananda Fru, Marquette (#56)
Miles Byrd, Providence (#59)
Tyler Perkins, Villanova (#60)
Quinn Ellis, St. John’s (#79)
Oswin Erhunmwunse, Creighton (#100)
Honorable Mention: BJ Davis (Creighton), Wes Enis (Creighton), Jaland Lowe (Georgetown), Kwame Evans (Villanova), Devin Vanterpool (Providence), Chance Westry (Xavier)
Takeaways: Connecticut is the clear favorite heading into the season, especially with Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman sidelined for the year for St. John’s.
Demary and Mullins might be the best backcourt in the country, while the TMW writers are expecting a massive leap for sophomore center Najai Hines, who averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in just 18.0 minutes a night at Seton Hall. Hines' placement likely reflects his outstanding per-40-minute production last season and the expectation that he'll take a leap under Dan Hurley. The ranking also suggests the TMW staff expects Hines to adapt to UConn more quickly than Tarris Reed did after arriving from Michigan.
James Jr. should push for Big East Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, while Sananda Fru, the center transfer from Louisville, cracks the top 100 at #56 for Marquette. Fru will provide Shaka Smart with the interior finishing he missed last year. He could make James a lethal screen-and-roll guard. Fru was one of the best finishers at the rim in the country last year.
Meanwhile, Creighton welcomes two new guards in Wes Enis (USF) and BJ Davis (San Diego State) who both earned honorable mention, along with Providence transfer Oswin Erhunmwunse, who came in at No. 100.
Villanova has two players listed — returning guard Tyler Perkins (#60) and versatile 6’9 forward Kwame Evans, an Oregon transfer and former McDonald’s All-American.
Providence also had two players make the cut in honorable mention nod Devin Vanterpool (FAU) and Miles Byrd (#59, San Diego State), as did St. John’s with #39 Tounde Yessoufou and #79 Quinn Ellis.
Meanwhile, Xavier (PG Chance Westry/UAB) and Georgetown (PG Jaland Lowe/Kentucky) had one player on the honorable mention list, while DePaul, Seton Hall, and Butler didn’t have anyone.
Who might they have missed?
Who else could crack the top 100? Here are our early guesses.
Jackson McAndrew, Creighton: The 6’10 redshirt sophomore was expected to be one of the best players in the league last year before going down with a foot injury. He’s a lights-out shooter who put on needed strength in his year away. If Creighton finishes in the top five of the league next year, McAndrew will likely have played a big part in it.
Dink Pate, Providence: The 6’8 forward from the G League will need to be big for the Friars this season. PC head man Bryan Hodgson told Jeff Goodman this summer that Pate has a chance to be special. If Pate approaches 15 points per game, he'll likely play his way onto lists like this. He’ll remain a bit of a mystery until the ball tips in November, but hopes are high in Friartown.
Magoon Gwath, DePaul: The Demons completely revamped their roster and should have terrific size in the frontcourt, headlined by Gwath — an outstanding shot blocker and former Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. Gwath missed all of last offseason with an injury and didn’t quite live up to expectations as a sophomore, but he can stretch the floor, is a lob threat, and may lead the Big East in blocks.
Nik Khamenia, UConn: The Duke transfer steps into the Alex Karaban role for Dan Hurley. He’s a versatile offensive player at 6’8 with favorable defensive metrics from his freshman campaign at Duke. His ceiling may ultimately depend on how consistently he shoots from the perimeter.
Babacar Sane, St. John’s: An athletic freak, Rick Pitino said the 6’8 forward could play anywhere from the three to the five spot when talking about Sane this spring. The loss of Freeman means Sane will likely see heavy minutes at the four — and potentially a big spike in production.
Devin Royal and Luigi Suigo, Villanova: Kevin Willard’s frontcourt will be massive this season with Evans, Ohio State transfer Devin Royal and 7’3 Italian import Luigi Suigo. Suigo is a potential first-round pick, while Royal put up nearly 14 PPG.
Jovan Milicevic, Xavier: He’ll need to rebound at a higher clip to crack a top-100 list, but Milicevic hit 67 threes at 42% in his first year in the Big East, and he averaged 12.4 PPG.
Samu Adler, Butler: Here’s a swing at a portal deep cut. Adler won’t enter next season with the notoriety of teammates Jalen Jackson or Asim Duolovic, but the 19-year-old guard could be one of the biggest surprises in the league. He’s 6’6, can really shoot it, and put up terrific numbers in Finland last year. His Finals MVP performance included some big-time scoring nights.
