The 2010 season was a historic year for the Big East conference. It ended with eleven teams representing the league in the NCAA Tournament, and the Big East Tournament champion Connecticut Huskies cutting down the nets in Houston. However, the conference will be hard pressed to duplicate that kind of success this year as many of its top stars have moved on. Of the 16 players that received All- Big East team honors last year, only four return for 2011. The league’s top five scorers are gone, as are 12 of the top 15 from last season. In St. John’s case, literally everyone is gone. With the likes of Kemba Walker, Marshon Brooks, Dwight Hardy, Ben Hansbrough, Jeremy Hazell, and Rick Jackson departing, fantasy players will be looking for new stalwarts from the “BEAST” this year. Luckily with 16 teams, the Big East always provides ample depth.
1. Augustus Gilchrist, center, South Florida Bulls (13.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
While it may surprise some to see a player from USF at the top of this list, Gilchrist is one of the league’s top returning big men. At 6- foot- 10 245 lbs, he is a precious commodity in the college fantasy hoops world, a productive player with center eligibility. Gilchrist finished out last season strong posting double figure scoring in USF’s last seven games including a 32-point, eight-rebound performance against DePaul. He isn’t much of a shot blocker, but is an adequate free throw shooter at 70%. Gilchrist has a tendency to fall in love with the three point shot. He shot 28 last season which is about 28 too many for a man his size.
2. Jeremy Lamb, forward, Connecticut Huskies (11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.6 apg)
Lamb exploded onto the scene during the Huskies’ postseason run averaging double figures in the team’s last 11 games including a 24-point performance against San Diego State in the NCAA Tournament. He is an efficient shooter from the floor, keeps his turnovers low, and is a solid free throw shooter, but he needs to get to the line more. He only had 59 free throw attempts last year. With Walker in the NBA, and not much experienced talent around him besides forward Alex Oriakhi, the sophomore should be seeing the ball in his hands a lot more. If his performance last March is any indicator, Jim Calhoun has a stud.
3. Darius Johnson-Odom, guard, Marquette Golden Eagles (15.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.4 apg)
Alongside forward Jimmy Butler, DJO led the Golden Eagles to a victory over Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament. With the departure of Butler, energetic forward Jae Crowder will assume the duties of Johnson-Odom’s inside compliment. DJO is an explosive scorer who has a knack at getting to the line, and converted his two point shots at a 48% clip in 2010-2011. One area of concern: he saw a steep drop in his three-point shooting from 2009-2010, from 47% to 36%. If he can get that back around 40%, he has the potential to be a 20-point a game scorer.
4. Tim Abromaitis, forward, Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Abromatis garnered All Big East third team honors in 2010-2011. While Luke Harangody and Ben Hansbrough have received much of the press in South Bend the last two seasons, Abromatis has been one of the most efficient players in the Big East. This year, he could see an increase in his rebounding with the departures of Tyrone Nash and Carlton Scott. His specialty is his dead eye three-point shooting. For his career, he is 42% from three-point land. It is yet to be seen what effect the loss of a quality point guard like Hansbrough could have on his production.
5. Ashton Gibbs, guard, Pittsburgh Panthers (16.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.8 apg)
If you’re into player comparisons, Gibbs is very similar to John Jenkins of Vanderbilt. Both are very good catch-and-shoot guys. While they won’t help you much in rebounds and assists, their shooting is too great to ignore. With his remarkable 49% shooting from three last year, Gibbs is one of the most consistent scorers in the league. He failed to post double figures in points only five times last year and had 12 games with 20+points.
6. Kevin Jones, forward, West Virginia Mountaineers (13.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
Jones was a disappointment for those who drafted him last year. He was expected to have a breakout junior season with the graduation of Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks, but his production stagnated as his shooting percentages dropped precipitously across the board. With that said, he is still an effective rebounder and will be the number one option for Bob Huggins. Jones flirted with the NBA in the spring, so the talent is there. If his shooting improves close to what it was in his sophomore season, I could be underrating him here.
7. Kris Joseph, forward, Syracuse Orange (14.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg)
Joseph is the leading returning scorer and rebounder for the Orange. I wouldn’t expect to see a huge leap in production this season from Joseph though. With the likes of Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Dion Waiters, and incoming star freshman Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse probably has the deepest team in the league, so it may be difficult for Joseph to really stand out individually with all the collective talent. Joseph should put up solid numbers again this year, but I would caution against reaching too highly for any Syracuse player during your draft as it is difficult to project if any will have a breakout year.
8. Maalik Wayns, guard, Villanova Wildcats ( 13.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.5 apg)
The Wildcats are looking to bounce back after a late season collapse last year in which they lost eight of their last ten games. With the departure of Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes, Wayns is the next in the line of Villanova guards under Jay Wright. Wayns has a tendency to monopolize the ball which is good news for fantasy owners. He is a quality assist man, very quick off the dribble, effective at getting to the free throw line, and converting once there. Nova and fantasy owners would probably be better off if he shot less threes. Last year, he was only 27% from beyond the arc.
9. Cleveland Melvin, forward, DePaul Blue Demons (14.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
While DePaul won only one conference game last year, Melvin was a bright spot for Oliver Purnell. He won Big East Rookie of the Year honors, despite injuring his thumb and missing the last four games of the season. He scored in double figures in 18 games and had 20+ in nine of those. His highlight was a 25-point, 12-rebound performance against UConn on Jan. 15. If your league counts blocks, he can help you there as he was eighth in the conference with 1.5 blocks per game. With the exception of Brandon Young, the Blue Demons don’t have much else to speak of, so Melvin is the quintessential example of a guy on a bad team who should put up numbers because of the amount of possessions that have to go through him.
10. Hollis Thompson, forward, Georgetown (8.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
With the loss of Chris Wright and Austin Freeman, the Hoyas will be relying on Thompson and guard Jason Clark to carry most of the load. While his per game statistics from last year don’t exactly look impressive, Thompson is in line for a major bump in production this year. As a role player last year, Thompson proved he can be effective scoring from inside and outside the three-point arc. He made 57% of his twos and 45% of his threes. His 26-point, seven-rebound performance against VCU in the NCAA Tournament was a glimpse at how effective Thompson can be when given an expanded role.
Others receiving consideration: G Vincent Council, G Gerard Coleman- Providence; G Peyton Siva, F Kyle Kuric, C Gorgui Sy Dieng- Louisville; F Mouphtaou Yarou- Villanova; G Jordan Theodore, F Herb Pope- Seton Hall; F Yancy Gates- Cincinnati; F Dane Miller, F Gilvydas Biruta- Rutgers; G Darryl Bryant, F Deniz Kilicli- West Virginia; F Scott Martin- Notre Dame; F Norvel Pelle, F Amir Garrett, G Nurideen Lindsey- St. John’s