Big East coaches make ESPN's Top 50 list

ESPN is doing a countdown of the Top 50 coaches in college basketball, and some might be surprised at the amount of Big East coaches featured. But an impressive 10 percent of the list came from the conference, as Georgetown Hoyas coach John Thompson III (46), Xavier Musketeers coach Chris Mack (43), Providence Friars coach Ed Cooley at (41), Creighton Bluejays coach Greg Mcdermott (23) and Villanova Wildcats coach Jay Wright (19) all found themselves within the Top 50.

John Thompson III would have been ranked higher, but last season was just not good. With that said, we have to look at the fact that Georgetown had problems throughout the season and were critically damaged for a better part of it. If Thompson III would have done better and not had that many injuries, the Hoyas would have seen more success during the year, and he could have found himself higher in the countdown. It also should be noted that Georgetown's recent lack of success in the postseason could have made for this position.

Chris Mack has done a fantastic job at Xavier from an on-court and off-court perspective with the players that he has. The Musketeers have only missed the NCAA tournament once out the last four seasons, and Mack's teams have been so young. They will certainly need to find someone to replace the production of Semaj Christon who was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, and Justin Martin who transferred to Southern Methodist University.

Ed Cooley, who led his team to win the Big East Tournament last season, has been doing a great job on the recruiting trail. Bryce Cotton helped him a lot last season, as he averaged 21.8 points per game and roughly five assists per game. Cotton averaged those numbers while nearly playing 40 minutes a game. Cooley has been doing a good job for a few years now, but the question is, can he replicate that success with Cotton having graduated from the program.

Greg McDermott is at the position he has at because he has a talented son in Doug McDermott, who provided so much for the Bluejays in his time in Omaha. The only question mark on McDermott going forward is how he will be able to perform without his son on the floor, but we cannot take credit away from the other players. Who will be the next big star at Creighton? Time will tell.

Finally, Jay Wright has been doing a great job with the Wildcats team over the past few seasons. He has been doing a good job with bringing players in and also been getting them to produce at a high level. I like what he has been doing with his big men and guards, Josh Hart for example. People will have high expectations for him this season because of the recent success, and deservedly so.