Big East Basketball: Top 10 Assist Leaders in Early '11-12 Action

The Big East may have the best collection of point guards in the nation.

From top-to-bottom, the conference is loaded with playmakers who are effectively setting up their teammates to succeed.

Here is the Big East's top 10 assist men thus far in the 2011-12 season.

There is so much depth at the point that some of the most widely known guards in the conference (see Scoop Jardine) didn't even make this list.

Special Mention: Travon Woodall (pictured) would most likely have been on the top or near the top of this list if he hadn't sustained a groin strain and a torn abdominal muscle in late November.

Woodall was averaging 14.1 points and 8.3 assists when he went down after Pitt's seventh game of the season.

The Panthers are hoping to get him back in early January.

10: Jerian Grant (Notre Dame)

Jerian Grant is an attacking slasher who is averaging 4.2 assists along with 12.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

The 6'5" sophomore guard, who is an excellent ball-handler and passer, has an 2.71 assists-to-turnover ratio.

With the season-ending injury to Tim Abromaitis, Grant is being counted on, along with Eric Atkins, to pick up the slack.

Keep an eye on this backcourt. They could become one of the best, not only in the Big East in the coming years, but one of the best in the country.

9. Cashmere Wright (Cincinnati)

Cashmere Wright is a slick ball-handling, pass-first playmaker that averages 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.

Wright commits more turnovers than he should (3.1 tpg; a 1.4 assists-to-turnovers ratio), but he is ready to step up in light of the recent shockwaves that went through the Bearcats roster.

In the first game since the brawl with Xavier, Wright scored 12 points and handed out eight assists against Wright State.

8: Lamar Patterson (Pitt)

Lamar Patterson is the only swingman on this list.

Since Patterson can play any of the perimeter positions, he has stepped up since Pitt's true point guard Travon Woodall went down to injury two weeks ago.

Patterson is averaging 8.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Because the 6'5" 229-pound Panther rarely turns the ball over (1.3 tpg) he has an exceptional assists-to-turnover ratio (3.6—the best on this list).

7: Brandon Young (DePaul)

DePaul won seven games all last year.

One of the reasons that the Blue Demons are off to a 6-3 start is Brandon Young's outstanding overall play.

The 6'3" sophomore from Baltimore is averaging 17.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

Young's floor leadership will help the Blue Devils go beyond their 1-17 Big East record from the 2010-11 season.

6: Maalik Wayns (Villanova)

From year to year, Maalik Wayns' game continues to expand and improve.

Wayns is leading the Wildcats in scoring and assists, averaging 18.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 5.2 apg.

Wayns 1.6 assists-to-turnover ratio isn't bad but Villanova needs him to come up big as they start Big East play on December 28th at West Virginia.

5: Shabazz Napier (UConn)

Shabbaz Napier has doubled almost every statistical area of his game.

Napier has gone from averaging 7.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as a freshman, to averaging 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game as a sophomore.

Unfortunately, he is also committing 3.6 turnovers per game (most of any player on this list).

The Huskies need the 6'0" sophomore to maintain his production level while reducing his ball-handling miscues.

4: Junior Cadougan (Marquette)

One of the many players on Marquette who has stepped up their game in 2011-12 is Junior Cadougan.

Cadougan is an excellent creator and distributor who is averaging 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.

The 6'1" 205-pound junior from Toronto has the best assists-per-40-minutes rate (9.7) and the second best A/TO ratio (2.63).

3: Peyton Siva (Louisville)

Peyton Siva is the trigger man on a Cardinals team that has started off a perfect 9-0.

The 5'11" junior from Seattle is averaging 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists.

Siva's assists-to-turnover ratio (1.88) is decent, but reducing his turnovers (3.4 tpg) will be key as Louisville heads towards Big East play. 

2: Vincent Council (Providence)

Providence is off to a good 9-2 start in the 2011-12 season largely because of the excellent all-around play of Vincent Council.

Council is leading the Friars in scoring (17.1 ppg) and assists (6.5 apg)

The 6'2" junior from Brooklyn has a superb 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

If Providence is going to improve on its 4-14 Big East record of the '10-11 season, Council needs to continue to go off.

1: Jordan Theodore (Seton Hall)

Seton Hall has only lost one of its first nine games, largely due to Jordan Theodore, the Big East's leading assist man in the early going of the 2011-12 season.

Theodore is averaging 7.2 assists, as well as averaging 14.8 points per game (second on the team).

Theodore's excellent assists-to-turnover ratio (2.6) helps the Pirates make the most out of their possessions. 

Besides leading the conference in assists, Theodore is currently No. 6 in the nation.