The 2015-16 version of Big East Media Day is in the books and the preseason awards and polls are out. I already gave you my picks for Preseason Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big East and my Preseason Poll. Now it’s time to break down the choices made by the league’s coaches.

First let’s tackle the individual player awards and All-Big East Teams before finishing with the Coaches’ Poll.

Big East Preseason Player of the Year

Kris Dunn, Junior, Providence

This one shouldn’t have been a surprise. Dunn was the reigning co-Big East Player of the Year from last season and is poised for an even bigger year in what will likely be his final in a Providence Friar uniform. Dunn joins Ryan Gomes as the only other Friar to ever be named the Big East’s Preseason Player of the Year and he is the only Friar to ever win the postseason award. He is also the only Friar to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award and he’s the only guard in league history to win both awards in the same season.

Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year

Jalen Brunson, Freshman, Villanova

As I said in the article with my picks for these preseason awards I think Brunson is the correct call here. The lefty lead guard isn’t the highest ranked player in the Big East’s freshman class but he may just be the most ready to contribute — and that’s saying something since he is on the league’s best team. Brunson was the MVP of the FIBA Americas U-19 Championships in July and will push for minutes right away even though Jay Wright’s team returns Ryan Arcidiacono, Josh Hart and Phil Booth.

All-Big East First Team

• Ryan Arcidiacono, Senior, Villanova
• Kris Dunn, Junior, Providence
• Kellen Dunham, Senior, Butler
• Roosevelt Jones, Senior, Butler
• Jalen Reynolds, Junior, Xavier
• D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Senior, Georgetown

I’m a little surprised to see two Butler Bulldogs on the First Team but they are both very good players. I had a hunch that Roosevelt Jones might get bumped down to the Second Team because he lacks the gaudy scoring numbers of teammate Kellen Dunham but the league’s coaches obviously recognize how valuable and talented Jones is for Butler. They also picked a full team of 5, in addition to Dunn being automatically on the First Team by virtue of being named POY.

All-Big East Second Team

• Angel Delgado, Sophomore, Seton Hall
• Henry Ellenson, Freshman, Marquette
• Billy Garrett, Jr., Junior, DePaul
• Daniel Ochefu, Senior, Villanova
• Isaiah Whitehead, Sophomore, Seton Hall

The Second Team is a good mix of youth and experience. Angel Delgado, Isaiah Whitehead and Henry Ellenson make up the youth movement, while Daniel Ochefu and Billy Garrett, Jr. are the veteran contingent. All of these players are more than capable of making the leap to the First Team list after the season but I’m not sure any of them — aside from Ochefu who I had on my First Team — are there right now. The league is strong and has bevy of talented upperclassmen returning and that is shown in the First Team being made up of exclusively juniors and seniors.

Delgado has a really good chance to lead the league in rebounding again while Ochefu will surely push him for that title — they are the top returning board-grabbers from a season ago. Ellenson is the top ranked recruit entering the Big East this season and was a McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic All-Star. Garrett, Jr. and Whitehead are two very talented guards and both will be the key to their team’s success this season.

All-Big East Honorable Mention

• Trevon Bluiett, Sophomore, Xavier
• Jalen Brunson, Freshman, Villanova
• Isaac Copeland, Sophomore, Georgetown
• Luke Fischer, Junior, Marquette

My initial reaction when seeing all of the All-Big East teams was surprise that there was no other Friar on any team besides Dunn. I was pretty sure Ben Bentil would get at least Honorable Mention, but after looking at the players on the Honorable Mention team it’s hard to figure out who should be jettisoned in favor of Bentil. Every player on this list has the potential to be a First Teamer before their career  is over in the Big East. The one player you could have a beef with being there over Bentil is Copeland. They had very similar numbers in their first seasons in the league and Bentil finished much stronger than Copeland.

2015-16 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. Villanova – 81 points (9)
2. Georgetown – 70 points (1)
3. Butler – 67 points
4. Xavier – 55 points
5. Providence – 45 points
6. Marquette – 44 points
7. Seton Hall – 27 points
8. DePaul – 25 points
9. Creighton – 23 points
10. St. John’s –  13 points

The coaches and I agree exactly on the top 5. Villanova is the clear pick for the top spot after winning the league last season and returning almost everyone, while adding Preseason Freshman of the Year Brunson to the mix. The Wildcats received 9 of the 10 first -place votes with the other going to Georgetown. The interesting thing to see with the coaches’ poll is there appears to be a pretty significant drop-off after Marquette in the 6th spot. The Golden Eagles got 44 points — just 1 behind the Friars — but the 7th ranked Seton Hall Pirates only got 27 points. That 17 point difference between 6th and 7th is the largest gap, while the second-largest gap between adjacent spots is the 12 points between 3rd and 4th. I have more faith in Creighton than the coaches but there really isn’t a lot of complain about with their poll this preseason.

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Mike Hopkins

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