Since we are in the final week of the first month of the college basketball season, I wanted to take a look at the Big East conference, and how the additions throughout the conference from the transfer portal have fared so far. There is an inherent understanding that the season is still young, teams are getting used to each other, and this will change. I plan to revisit this occasionally throughout the season.
Providence
Starting with our Friars, they have three players from the portal on this year’s squad, all from George Mason. Justyn Fernandez appears headed for a redshirt year, as he’s still recovering from a knee injury. The other two, Ticket Gaines and Josh Oduro, have earned their way into the Friars starting lineup. To date, Gaines’ numbers this season (5.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1 assist) are right at his career averages. He has also added 7 steals and 5 blocks in the first six games. His true value is in the intangibles. He has the ability to guard nearly every position in the opponent’s lineups and backs down from no one. He also unofficially leads the Big East in diving on the floor for loose balls. I do not believe he is at Justin Minaya’s level defensively, but he gives Coach English a security blanket in that he can match up with almost any member of the opposition.
The other portal member, Josh Oduro has been everything Friartown hoped for and more in the first six games. His numbers (15 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists) are outstanding, but his presence has been even more important. He has hit two-thirds of his shots from the field, including 5-7 from three, and over 81% from the free throw line. His size is a concern with so many big quality centers in the conference, but he more than held his own against near seven footers on Wisconsin, Kansas State, and Georgia. His bulk and court awareness so far have helped him play taller than his listed height of 6’9”.
Connecticut
Connecticut is easy because they only have one transfer, and Cam Spencer has been nothing short of outstanding. I was not convinced that the Huskies were going to be a contender this year, until they got a late commitment from Spencer and the return of last year’s portal entrant, Tristen Newton. These two have allowed UConn’s young stars, Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban to have a second year without the pressure of carrying a team, and they have not missed highly touted freshman Stephon Castle, who is expected to return shortly from a knee injury. Spencer has been their leading scorer, is hitting roughly half of his three point attempts (19-39), and in their two biggest games against Indiana and Texas, went a combined 12-12 from the free throw line to seal the victories. He’s also provided 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal per game, to go along with a 2.4:1 assist to turnover ratio.
Creighton
The Bluejays have two contributors from the portal, Steven Ashworth and Isaac Troudt. While both players appear to fit into the Creighton system, and have shown excellent three point shooting ability, their production has been less than I expected going into the season, especially from Ashworth. I expect him to improve as he gets more comfortable with his new team. To date he has not shown the leadership ability or willingness to hunt big shots that he did at Utah State last year. So far, he seems content to hang from outside the arc, whereas last year he drove to the basket just enough to keep the opposition honest. I think it’s also fair to point out that the three point threats of both Ashworth and Traudt have helped open the floor for Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman, allowing them to greatly expand their offensive games this season. My guess is that Ashworth will find his niche and continue to improve, and Traudt will be a reliable option for the Creighton offense.
Villanova
The Wildcats made four significant portal additions, TJ Bamba, Tyler Burton, Hakim Hart, and Lance Ware. At this point, I would say this has been a mixed bag for Villanova. Bamba made a significant leap in his third year at Washington State, jumping from 7 to 15 points per game. This year, he’s fit in nicely to Vilanova’s offense, providing another offensive option and solid defense in a physical backcourt with Justin Moore. Tyler Burton also appears to have benefited from a reduced workload on the Main Line. His totals are lower than at Richmond, but he’s been able to score when needed and concentrated on defense and rebounding otherwise. He’s also taking fewer but better quality three pointers as a result of his fit in Villanova’s offense.
On the other hand, both Hakim Hart and Lance Ware have not found their role to date. Hart is more surprising since he appeared to be a perfect fit in the Villanova style. He has not been able to get many shots and is struggling when he does. Even his defense, a strong point while at Maryland, does not appear as effective this year. He has not been on the court as much down the stretch in their close games. In the overtime win over North Carolina, he only played 16 minutes and may be losing minutes off the bench to Jordan Longino. Finally, Lance Ware has contributed almost nothing offensively, and only gets minutes because of Villanova’s lack of size among their big men. While Eric Dixon has been outstanding to date, their offense simply is not the same with Ware on the court. After 84 games of suboptimal production, it may be time to accept that this is who he is.
Butler
I was cautiously optimistic about Butler with their portal additions, but to date it has worked out better than anyone could have expected. Butler had to build the majority of their team and grabbed Pierre Brooks, Jahmyl Telfort, Posh Alexander, DJ Davis, Andre Screen, and Landon Moore. What has been so impressive is how quickly and how well they have meshed to date. Brooks (Michigan St) and Alexander (St. John’s) came from high major schools while the rest are taking a major step up in competition.
Brooks has shown why he was a top 50 prospect coming out of high school, averaging 17 points per game and shooting over 40% from three. Telfort and Davis have not skipped a beat despite moving from the CAA and Big West respectively to the Big East. And Andre Screen provides solid defense and rebounding off the bench. Landon Moore is a nice role player coming from the lowest conference in the country to one of the best. He should be a key player in the next two seasons for the Bulldogs.
The keys for the play of Butler to date are two-fold. First, Posh Alexander is the player we thought he would be after his outstanding freshman season at St. John’s. He looks to be in the best shape of his career, and his mid-range game has improved, even though his three-point shooting is still a struggle. His defense has been outstanding, even though his steals are down. He has also drawn seven offensive fouls, no small achievement with the new block charge rules in effect. Finally, Coach Matta has praised Posh’s leadership at making all the new pieces fit together on the court. This leads me to my other key, which is Thad Matta’s coaching. Last season he looked like an old man that the game had passed by. Whether it took time for him to readjust or he saw something in the new roster, he appears rejuvenated this year and seems to be enjoying the fit of their new pieces. He supposedly joked to his players, “Can you believe they picked us 10th in the Big East?” So far, he is doing his part to make that prediction look bad.
Next time, I will go through the rest of the Big East, as everyone but Marquette made significant portal additions.