(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Only Villanova's Scottie Reynolds returns to a team that will return enough talent to make the it a national contender. West Virginia should return enough talent to finish as well as, if not better than, last season.
Georgetown's loss of Summers is the school's only significant personnel loss.
That means six of the Big East's superior programs should be ready to step back a bit in 2010.
And that means several schools that typically call the bottom half of the standings home have a realistic chance to make some noise.
The Queen City Has a Program Ready to Compete with the Kings of the Big East
Cincinnati has essentially done nothing since the school joined the Big East. The Bearcats have notched a few upsets early in the conference slate, but overall have a 26-42 Big East record.
UC even lost in the first round of the 2009 Big East Championship to formerly winless DePaul.
But, there is hope for Mick Cronin's club.
Cronin is finally beginning to move outside of the gigantic shadow Bob Huggins left. The Bearcats won just two league games in 2007, followed by eight wins in 2008, and eight more in 2009. They managed to increase its overall win total from 13 in 2008 to 18 in 2009.
Cronin returns perhaps the league's second best rising junior, Deonta Vaughn, and one of the most under-appreciated freshman, Yancy Gates.
The majority of Cronin's '08-09 rotation also consisted of underclassman. Plus, highly touted freshman Cashmere Wright will be added to the rotation after missing the 2009 season with a knee injury.
On paper, only Villanova and West Virginia are clearly better than the Bearcats. A third-place finish for Cincinnati may be unlikely, but should be a realistic goal for a Bearcats team ready to compete and beat the beasts of the east.
Seton Hall Will Be One of the Nation's Most Improved Teams
The Pirates have one of the best scoring trios returning in the country. Jeremy Hazell (22.7 ppg), Robert Mitchell (14.7 ppg), and Eugene Harvey (12.5 ppg) will team up with two of the biggest impact transfers in the country.
Both Keon Lawrence (from Missouri) and Herb Pope (from New Mexico State) averaged 11 points per game for their former schools.
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