Big East Seizing Transfer Portal After Disappointing Year for Conference

The Big East has been on the wrong end of a lot of jokes in college basketball recently.

After only getting three teams in the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three seasons, the conference needed to do something about elevating its overall play and reclaiming its spot as one of the best leagues in the country and it could not have gotten off to a much better start this offseason.

St. John’s and UConn have the history, head coaches, and financial backing to remain at the top of the league, but others are putting together rosters to challenge the Red Storm and Huskies next year.

Providence brought in USF head coach Bryan Hodgson to replace Kim English and he hit the ground sprinting with six commitments already led by G-League guard Dink Pate and San Diego State guard Miles Byrd.

Richard Pitino has used an increased NIL budget to land five players, including his former player at New Mexico Tru Washington and LSU big man Mike Nwoko.

Creighton, with new head coach Alan Huss taking over for Greg McDermott, also inked five players that includes Providence transfer Oswin Erhunmwunse and South Florida transfer Wes Enis, who was thought to be following his head coach to Friartown.

Ed Cooley, who will be entering this season on the hot seat after a disappointing start to his tenure at Georgetown, landed two big prizes from blueblood programs to begin his offseason with Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe and Kansas guard Elmarko Jackson.

DePaul’s resurgence was palpable last year in the second season with head coach Chris Holtmann, and he has quietly put together a very solid transfer portal class, headlined by beating out Kentucky for San Diego State transfer Magoon Gwath.

Villanova, despite losing a lot of talent this offseason, is being calculated how it approaches the portal with additions of Oregon’s Kwame Evans Jr. and Ohio State’s Devin Royal while UConn also made an intra-conference move by landing Seton Hall center Najai Hines.

Seton Hall, despite getting ravished by outgoing players again, landed Texas transfer Simeon Wilcher, who spent his first two seasons of college at St. John’s and Butler, with new head coach Ronald Nored, have added four portal players.

Even Marquette has gotten in on the transfer portal action with the addition of Louisville center Sananda Fru.

The only team not to add a player from the transfer portal is St. John’s, although they landed British point guard Quinn Ellis from the EuroLeague this week.

College basketball is much better when the Big East is thriving, and it seems like the messaging from the league office has hit home with all of its teams. Now, the conference will hope the aggressive offseason will translate to wins on the court.

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