Ranking the Big East's Top 40 Players Heading into the 2022-23 Season
There are a few ways to approach ranking the top 40 players in a conference heading into a season, including looking at efficiency numbers from the year prior, or determining which players are most likely to make all-league teams at the end of the season.
This list didn’t take a scientific approach to the top 40, rather I came up with a list of about 60 players in the league and simply asked myself who was the best player of all remaining and made my way down the list. Some players lower on the list may have better statistical seasons than those ranked ahead of them, but for this exercise I aimed my focus at which players in the league will have the most impact on winning. Ultimately, a lot of this came down to “Who would you rather have?”
And with that, here are my top 40 players heading into the 2022-23 season:
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton: The 7 '1 Kalkbrenner gets the top spot because he can dominate the game defensively. He’s also a wildly efficient offensive player. Took his game to another level after point guard Ryan Nembhard went down.
Adama Sanogo, UConn: A terror on the block and on the glass, Sanogo will have at least one 25-point, 15-rebound double double this year. Looking to slow him down inside? Those without multiple bodies to throw at Sanogo need not apply.
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton: The South Dakota State transfer was the only player in the country to average at least 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game last year. In fact, fewer than 20 players have done so over the past ten years. He is a contagious passer, skilled scorer, and very good rebounder at 6’6. His numbers will likely dip on a talented Creighton team, but his impact in the league will be significant.
Jack Nunge, Xavier: Finally given a shot at extended minutes, Nunge shined at Xavier last season (13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds). Nunge is a threat on the block and has range extended out to the 3-point line at seven feet tall.
Jared Bynum, Providence: Bynum may have been Providence’s best player in league play last year. No returning player averaged more points per game in league play (15.2) last season, plus he was fifth in field goal percentage, third in assists, and top 15 in steals, and shot 46% from deep in conference games.
Posh Alexander, St. John’s: Alexander put up big numbers as a sophomore (13.8 points, 5.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds) and should see a spike with the departure of Julian Champagnie.
Caleb Daniels, Villanova: Opportunity awaits for Daniels, following the departures of Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels, plus injuries to Justin Moore and superstar freshman Cam Whitmore that will keep them sidelined early.
David Jones, St. John’s: I’m higher on Jones than most, but thought he was terrific at DePaul last season, when he averaged 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. His scoring numbers were consistent all year, he proved early he can be a force on the glass with a 33-point, 14-rebound double double at Louisville, and he showed that he can make plays for others when he had 22/14/10 against Georgetown last February.
Arthur Kaluma, Creighton: The sophomore is one of the best NBA prospects in the league, and should be set for a breakout season. His numbers may not be what they could be playing on a team with four other players with all-league talent, but Kaluma proved as a freshman that he can shine on the biggest stage.
Colby Jones, Xavier: I feel like I’m missing something with Jones, as he doesn’t always come to mind when thinking through the league’s top players, but his numbers late in the season say otherwise (see: 21/4/3 in the NIT title game).
Justin Moore, Villanova: With health, Moore is a top three player on this list. He could return from a torn achilles in January, and that return will play a significant role in how the top three teams in the league shake out.
Cam Whitmore, Villanova: Expected to be a top 10 pick in next June’s NBA Draft, we will have to wait to see Whitmore after he recently had thumb surgery, which will cause him to miss games early in the season.
Tyler Kolek, Marquette: The Rhode Island native led the league in assists last season, and is a better shooter than he showed in his first year in the league. Kolek could be a 14-point, seven assist type this season. The defensive side of the ball is the question.
Eric Dixon, Villanova: What a year for big men in the Big East. Dixon is a terrific offensive player and offensive rebounder, but may be just the fourth best big in the league this year. A classic Villanova type, who gets better every year and has seemingly been in school forever.
Ryan Nembhard, Creighton: It’s going to be a lot of fun for Creighton’s scorers to play alongside Nembhard and Scheierman this season. The league’s Freshman of the Year played nearly 35 minutes a night and put up over 11 points and four assists as a freshman running the show for an NCAA Tournament team. Will his shooting numbers (40% from the field, 31% from three) rise in year two?
Andre Jackson, UConn: With Tyrese Martin off to the NBA, does Jackson see a huge spike in offensive production in his third year in Storrs? It’s hard to argue with his rebounding (6.8) and assist (3.1) numbers from the wing spot. He also shot 36% from deep last year. Jackson is as good of a pure athlete as there is in the league.
Bryce Hopkins, Providence: The league will shortly find out that the 6’6 Hopkins is the real deal. Hopkins will pick apart any team that tries to play zone against the Friars, and could be the best finisher Ed Cooley has coached at PC. He can do a lot with the ball in his hands.
Tristen Newton, UConn: The Huskies’ success this year could be dependent upon how Newton adjusts to running the show after coming in from East Carolina. He did it all for the Pirates last year — 17.7 points, 5.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds — and should be freed up by a lot of teams doubling Sanogo.
Kam Jones, Marquette: The scorer more people need to be talking about, the 6’4 sophomore is a terrific shooter from beyond the arc. Marquette lost a lot of production last year, and Jones will help fill the void.
Andre Curbelo, St. John’s: A Puerto Rico native who later prepped near St. John’s campus, Curbelo was a preseason All Big Ten selection last year before suffering through a trying season at Illinois. The former top 50 recruit suffered a concussion that caused him to miss 14 of Illinois’ first 18 games.
Brandon Slater, Villanova: One of the more versatile pieces in the Big East, Slater has played in so many big games. Slater has terrific size on the wing (6’8, 220) and showed that he was capable of stepping into a bigger offensive role after Justin Moore went down in the Elite Eight — going for 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists on 4-7 shooting from deep against Kansas in the Final Four.
Zach Freemantle, Xavier: Freemantle was expected to be one of the best players in the league last season after averaging 16.1 points and 8.9 boards as a sophomore. He had foot surgery just prior to the start of last season and never quite regained his form.
Trey Alexander, Creighton: Playing on another team, Alexander would likely put up good enough numbers to earn All Big East honors at season’s end. Alexander was terrific for the Jays after Nembhard went down with an injury. He’s a pure scorer with a game not too dissimilar from Justin Moore at Villanova.
Al-Amir Dawes, Seton Hall: The Clemson transfer scored over 11 points per game last season, and has shot 39% from deep the past two years. Opportunity awaits for the Newark native.
Brandon Murray, Georgetown: Perhaps one of the five most sought-after transfers on the market last spring after being named to the SEC All Freshman team, Murray will step into a significant role at Georgetown. He was a double figure scorer at LSU last year.
Jordan Hawkins, UConn: The expectation in Connecticut is that Hawkins becomes a star in his second season at UConn. Hawkins was a top 50 recruit who got early season buzz by putting up 16 against Auburn in November. He played under 15 minutes a game last year, and scored just shy of six points per. Those minutes will double this season.
Umoja Gibson, DePaul: Gibson will have the opportunity to let it fly at DePaul this season. He’s already made 339 three pointers between his two previous stints (North Texas and Oklahoma) and is a career 39% shooter from three.
Chuck Harris, Butler: Butler fans likely won’t be pleased to have to wait until #29 to see their first Bulldog. Harris is a solid scorer, but saw his 3-point percentage dip from 40% as a freshman to 29% last year. Harris was terrific in scoring 29 points in an upset of Xavier in the Big East Tournament last March.
Souley Boum, Xavier: Boum has already scored 1,850 points in his career. He was a 10.9 point per game scorer as a freshman at San Francisco before going for 18.8 in 2020-21 and 19.8 last season at UTEP. With the departure of Paul Scruggs, Boum should get a lot of looks.
Zach Wrightsil, Marquette: The best player on the NAIA National Champions last year, Wrightsil put up 18.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists a game last year. His career numbers are pretty wild at that level — 2,104 points, 1,065 rebounds, 480 assists — and we saw what type of impact a proven winner can have when playing up a division with Ryan Hawkins at Creighton last year.
Simas Lukosius, Butler: Lukosius flirted with the transfer portal after last spring’s coaching change, but the versatile sophomore returned to play under a great coach in Thad Matta. He started to emerge last February and should take off this season.
Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall: A physically punishing guard who came to Seton Hall via Syracuse. Richmond has the physical ability to be a lockdown defender under Shaheen Holloway, and he can take advantage of smaller defenders in the post. The jump shot and turnover issues are the biggest question marks.
Manny Bates, Butler: Butler needed to get bigger, and they did so in nabbing the North Carolina State transfer. Bates is one of the best shot blockers in the country, when healthy. He dislocated his shoulder a minute into last season and was for of the year.
Nick Ongenda, DePaul: The 6’11 Canadian is an active body and a good rim protector (8 blocks against Louisville last year, 7 versus Providence).
Devin Carter, Providence: Carter scored over nine points per game as a freshman in the SEC last year, earning all freshman team honors. He’s a ball of energy who plays with aggression on both ends of the floor.
Alexis Yetna, Seton Hall: The 24 year old Yetna is a good rebounder, who had three games in which he grabbed at least 15 boards in his first year with Seton Hall. Yetna’s production dipped late last season.
KC Ndefo, Seton Hall: Ndefo will be one of the top defenders in the league after following Shaheen Holloway from St. Peter’s. He was the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, but may have been even better as a junior when he blocked 3.6 shots per game in just 25 minutes a night. He had 14 blocks in four games during last year’s NCAA Tournament, including six versus North Carolina.
Ali Ali, Butler: A solid scorer (13.9 points, 40% from 3) who comes in from Akron.
Ed Croswell, Providence: Croswell figures to be one of the better rebounders in the league with extended minutes this year. Despite being undersized, Croswell finishes at a high rate at the rim.
Qudus Wahab, Georgetown: Welcome back to the Big East, Qudus. Wahab left for Maryland and decided to transfer back to Georgetown last spring. His numbers dipped at Maryland (7.7 points, 5.6 rebounds) and now he’s back playing for Patrick Ewing and Georgetown, where he averaged 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in the 2021 Big East Tournament — a tournament the Hoyas won.