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Message: [QUOTE="tcf15, post: 4408325, member: 208"] [SIZE=6]Big East Players in Top 20 Wings[/SIZE] [B]2. Cam Whitmore | 6-6 power wing | Villanova[/B] Whitmore has a fractured thumb and could miss the start of the season, but it’s tough to get past him at No. 2 given his talent. He has this rare mix of power and grace as a driver, being able to bully smaller players while also possessing the talent to hang in the air and change the angle on rim protectors in order to get cleaner looks as a finisher. He can shoot, and he’s a tough defender. As long as the thumb doesn’t set him back too badly, he’s almost a shoo-in top-10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. But more importantly, even for a program that doesn’t tend to rely on freshmen, Whitmore brings the kind of scoring explosiveness that the Wildcats will desperately need in Kyle Neptune’s first year as they hope for Justin Moore’s return from his Achilles injury. No freshman has ever won the Big East Player of the Year award, but Whitmore is undoubtedly the most talented player in the league this season. If he gets healthy quickly, he has a real shot to be the first. [B]7. Baylor Scheierman | 6-6 point floor-spacer | Creighton[/B] Man, did Creighton get lucky that one of the most valuable players on last year’s transfer market grew up just a couple hours away from Omaha. Last year’s Summit League Player of the Year, Scheierman is one of the most prolific shooters returning to college basketball this season, having made 47 percent of his five 3-point attempts per game last season. But he’s more than a shooter. Essentially running the point last year for South Dakota State, Scheierman is a terrific passer who also grabs rebounds and can initiate the offense at times even at the high-major level. My guess is that he slides into more of a wing role with Ryan Nembhardaround, but Scheierman should be terrific this season. He’s an up-transfer you can trust, having posted a 10-point, 18-rebound, six-assist game against [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/alabama-crimson-tide-college-basketball/']Alabama[/URL], an 18-point, 10-rebound game against [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/providence-friars-college-basketball/']Providence[/URL] in the NCAA Tournament, an 18-and-10 game against [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/iowa-state-cyclones-college-basketball/']Iowa State[/URL], and a 15-point game against [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/west-virginia-mountaineers-college-basketball/']West Virginia[/URL] already in his career. [B]14. Colby Jones | 6-6 wing guard | Xavier[/B] I’ve been the conductor of the Colby Jones hype train for the last couple of years. I’m a big believer in his game, and he finally started to showcase it last year in the NIT, on his way to becoming the MVP of that event. His last 10 games of last season, overall, were a star-making turn. He averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 52 percent from the field and finally being let loose to be the dynamic on-ball creator he’s capable of being. If Xavier had hired a more creative offensive coach, I probably would have had Jones as a top-seven or so wing entering the year. But I’m a bit worried about Sean Miller getting the most out of him. This roster is tailor-made for a five-out structure with Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle as skilled bigs. If Miller lets those two play on the perimeter and lets Jones loose, he could be this season’s breakout star. But that would be something different than we’ve seen from Miller in the past. [B]18. Arthur Kaluma | 6-7 power wing | Creighton[/B] Kaluma is a breakout projection based on how he closed last season for the [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/creighton-bluejays-college-basketball/']Bluejays[/URL]. He averaged 13 points and six rebounds as a freshman in his final 14 games, including a killer 24-point outing in the team’s final loss against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. He is a mismatch waiting to happen for Greg McDermott and company — too strong for wings, and too quick for bigs. If Kaluma can just take a leap as a shooter this season, Creighton should have every expectation of being there at the end of the season given how well-rounded the roster is. He should also be able to pair with Ryan Kalkbrenner— more on him later in the bigs section — to form one of the best frontcourts in the country. [B]Five breakout wings to watch Bryce Hopkins | 6-6 forward | Providence[/B] Hopkins was a little-used forward for Kentucky last season, stuck behind juniors Keion Brooks and Jacob Toppin, older players that were just more ready to play. The Chicago area native decided to transfer and chose Providence as his landing spot. I couldn’t love this fit more. Hopkins was a fast-rising prospect over the back half of his junior season, into his final grassroots season and through his senior season. He’s a killer face-up four-man who will thrive in Providence’s flex offense because of his abilities to handle the ball in the mid-post, face-up in the midrange area and be an offensive mismatch threat, and rebound. He also has the potential to stretch it out to the 3-point line. I would bet he averages 14 to 16 points, eight rebounds, and has a shot to be an All-Big East player. [/QUOTE]

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