NCAA Big East Basketball 2011-12: The Best Player on Each Team

The upcoming college basketball season is going to be a big one for power forwards.

Many of the best players in the country will be playing the four position, and nowhere is that more evident than in the Big East.

Many of the conference’s toughest big men from 2010-11 are back for another go-round. Hard-nosed battlers like Kevin Jones of West Virginia will only be harder to contain with another year of experience behind them.

Read on for a look at Jones and the rest of the leading lights in the Big East heading into the season.

Cincinnati: Yancy Gates

The lack of fanfare with which the Bearcats finished 26-9 is a strong indication of just how tough it is to make a splash in the Big East. The hero of last year’s campaign, and the key to Cincy’s hopes in 2010-11, is power forward Yancy Gates.

Gates led the Bearcats with 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a night. With his frontcourt partner Ibrahima Thomas lost to graduation, Gates will need to put up even more impressive numbers for Cincinnati to succeed this season.

Connecticut: Alex Oriakhi

A very close call over shooting guard Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi is better for a defender than Lamb is for a scorer (at least at this point). The 6'9" center averaged eight and a half rebounds a game last season, best among returning Big East players.

Oriakhi, who also blocked 1.6 shots a night, is one of the most imposing physical presences even in the stacked Big East.

UConn’s title defense (far from a long shot with four starters returning) will depend heavily on his ability to control the middle.

DePaul: Cleveland Melvin

Coach Oliver Purnell’s rebuilding project hasn’t exactly been a hit so far at DePaul, but Cleveland Melvin has given his new coach a few reasons for optimism. The 6’8" forward led the team in scoring (14.3 points a game) and blocks (1.5 a night) in 2010-11.

Melvin needs to pick up his rebounding performance (5.0 per game, tied for second on the squad last season) if DePaul is to avoid another 1-17 conference record.

Still, he’s got the talent to make the Blue Demons a better team than they were last year.

Georgetown: Hollis Thompson

After spending his sophomore year as a top-notch sixth man, Hollis Thompson needs to embrace the spotlight in 2011-12.

The graduations of Julian Vaughn, Austin Freeman and Chris Wright have left some big holes to fill in the Hoyas’ starting lineup, but Thompson should give his team one less position to worry about.

The 6’7” Thompson averaged 4.4 rebounds a game (tops among team returnees) and 8 points a game (second) last season.

He’ll obviously improve on those numbers, but he should also be good enough to compete with the Big East’s big boys in his junior year.

Louisville: Peyton Siva

Louisville has plenty of talent, both returning and coming in, but what it doesn’t have (now that Preston Knowles has graduated) is an obvious go-to guy. Junior point guard Peyton Siva has a chance to be that player.

The 5’11” Siva averaged 10.1 points a game in the Cards’ balanced offense, and he also dished out an impressive 5.3 assists a night (a category in which Louisville finished third in the nation as a team with 17.5).

With a year of starting experience under his belt, Siva could be 'scary' good this season.

Marquette: Darius Johnson-Odom

The perimeter tandem of Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom gave Marquette one of the country’s top offenses last season. Butler is gone to the NBA, but Johnson-Odom returns to lead the Golden Eagles in 2011-12.

The senior SG averaged 15.9 points a game last season, just a hair behind Butler for the team lead. He’ll have a chance to improve even on that impressive performance now that the offense will be entirely Johnson-Odom’s show.

Notre Dame: Tim Abromaitis

The loss of conference Player of the Year Ben Hansbrough will obviously hurt Notre Dame, but with Tim Abromaitis around, the Irish aren’t going to drop off the map, either. The 6’8” Abromaitis ranked second on the team with 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds a game last season.

Abromaitis actually raised his scoring average in conference play despite the brutal defenses of the Big East. Don’t expect him to shy away from the challenge of carrying the Irish forward in 2011-12.

Pitt: Ashton Gibbs

Brad Wanamaker's departure will take a heavy toll on the Panthers’ offense, but the return of Ashton Gibbs provides plenty of cause for optimism. The 6’2” shooting guard poured in 16.7 points a game last year while burying a formidable 49 percent of his three-pointers.

Pitt’s defense has never been much of a problem under Ben Howland. With some help on offense from standout freshman Khem Birch, Gibbs should be able to keep the Panthers firmly entrenched in the national rankings again in 2011-12.

Providence: Vincent Council

The challenge for Vincent Council this season is to prove that he can succeed on his own talents. Super-scorer Marshon Brooks is gone, but if Council can flourish as the centerpiece of the offense, the Friars will still be in excellent hands.

As Brooks’ right-hand man, Council averaged 13.7 points and a conference-leading 5.9 assists a game last season.

If the Friars are even to equal their 15-17 record this year, they’ll need an even bigger effort from their junior point guard.

Rutgers: Dane Miller

Rutgers basketball hasn’t been blessed with too many high-end athletes, but Dane Miller is a welcomed counterexample. The 6’7” swingman led the team in rebounding (6.1 a game) and blocks (1.6) while playing largely on the perimeter.

With Florida transfer Jonathan Mitchell gone, Miller will need to raise his 9.2-point scoring output this year. Expect him to thrive in a bigger role in the Scarlet Knights’ offense.

Seton Hall: Herb Pope

Seton Hall fans aren’t likely to have much to cheer about next season, not with high-scoring Jeremy Hazell gone from a team that was already 13-18. One of the team’s few bright spots in 2011-12 should be power forward Herb Pope.

Pope led the Pirates with 7.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game last season. If he can step up his scoring (9.8 points a night) to fill some of the void left by Hazell and Jeff Robinson, the senior should be able to stave off an overly disappointing end to his college career.

South Florida: Augustus Gilchrist

It’s frightening to imagine how bad the South Florida offense would be without Augustus Gilchrist.

Even with his team-high 13.4 points a game, the Bulls were 309th in the country with a total of just 61.9 points a night.

The 6’10” Gilchrist pulled in 6.0 rebounds a contest, good only for second on his own team, and blocked a mere 0.7 shots a night. South Florida could stand to see their center provide a little more muscle in addition to his much-needed scoring touch.

St. John's: Nurideen Lindsey

Steve Lavin’s effort at turning the Red Storm program around seems to have hit a roadblock with the graduation of an astounding eight seniors from last year’s team.

Luckily for Lavin, he has an impressive haul of recruits and transfers to restock his lineup.

The prize of that group may be point guard Nurideen Lindsey. The 6’4” Juco transfer is the favorite to take over the St. John’s offense from day one, a task that won’t be made any easier by the fall-semester suspensions of three of the team’s talented freshmen.

Syracuse: Scoop Jardine

Kemba Walker did a more-than-thorough job last season of showcasing the value of a great point guard, and few teams in the country have a point guard to match Scoop Jardine. The 6’2” senior has the talent (and the weapons around him) to lead the Orange to the Final Four.

Jardine finished second in the conference with 5.8 assists a game last season, and he also posted 12.8 points a night. With Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche back to help him out, expect Jardine to come up even bigger in 2011-12.

Villanova: Maalik Wayns

With three of ‘Nova’s four leading scorers from last season having graduated, Maalik Wayns will be facing a lot of pressure to keep the offense functioning.

Now that he’s out of Corey Fisher’s shadow, though, Wayns has the talent to stand on his own as one of the best guards in the Big East.

In 2010-11, Wayns posted 13.8 points and 4.5 assists, both tops among returning Wildcats. Now that he’s the main man in the Villanova offense, he’ll certainly top those numbers this year.

West Virginia: Kevin Jones

Truck Bryant can make an excellent case for this spot, but he needs to prove that he can take over for Joe Mazzulla’s leadership on the floor. Kevin Jones, on the other hand, has already established himself as a first-class power forward.

Jones led the Mountaineers with 7.5 boards a game in 2010-11 while scoring 13.1 points a night (best among the team’s returnees). With few weapons around them, both Jones and Bryant will need to come up big (and likely put up bigger numbers) for WVU to win this year.