CBS Sports has published its Top 100 (and one!) list of college basketball players for the upcoming 2015-16 season and the Big East Conference is heavily featured on the list.
Providence Friars superstar guard Kris Dun, the reigning Co-Big East Player of the Year has been deemed the top player in the country by the college hoops writers of CBS Sports. Writer Sam Vecenie had nothing but praise for the New London, Connecticut native:
Based on skill alone, this is the best player in college basketball in 2015-16. Want a guy who can get you a bucket? He scored 15.6 points per game last year on solid efficiency. A guy who can set up plays for others? He's the best in the nation, with a 50.0 assist rate. Need someone who can get you a defensive stop? Dunn was the co-Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He does it all at an elite level, and deserves the No. 1 spot on our list. And we have a preseason feature story on him, courtesy of Norlander, right here.
(Note: Definitely encourage you to read that story on Dunn)
Elsewhere, eight other Big East names were named to the list. Only three teams - Creighton, DePaul, and St. John's were without a single representative. How the rest of the list looked from a Big East perspective you might ask? Here's a look:
32. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Georgetown)
54. Henry Ellenson (Marquette)
55. Kellen Dunham (Butler)
66. Jalen Brunson (Villanova)
77. Roosevelt Jones (Butler)
81. Daniel Ochefu (Villanova)
86. Trevon Bluiett (Xavier)
92. Isaiah Whitehead (Seton Hall)
As far as omissions go: Slightly surprised to see no sign of Villanova guard Ryan Arcidiacono, the other half of last year's Co-Big East Player of the Year award go unnoticed. With that said, there was a tonnage of guards on this list so it was likely difficult to include another.
Aside from that, the story pretty much checks out here and it highlights the fact that there is absolutely an abundance of talent in the conference this season. Including what they believe to be the best player in America, not just the Big East.
