Big East Recruiting Roundup: Big East at par with other power conferences

Despite the criticism the newly shaped conference has faced recently, one thing is certain: the Big East has had great success on the recruiting trail, stacking up well with the big boys.

The Georgetown Hoyas, Seton Hall Pirates, Xavier Musketeers and Providence Friars rank in the top tier of the 2014 college basketball team class rankings. The Hall earned a No. 12 spot in the nation by 247Sports, the Hoyas came in at No. 11 and Xavier at No. 21, with Providence sporting the spot below. The likes of Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina precede the Jesuit schools.

Big East teams are also home to some of the best young talent in college basketball. Georgetown's Isaac Copeland was ranked as a four-star prospect and in the Top 30 by 247Sports, and Seton Hall's Isaiah Whitehead was arguably the best guard in high school basketball last year and a highly touted recruit. Billy Garrett Jr., had an outstanding year for DePaul last year, and decided to attend the university even though he had more premier offers from Stanford and UNLV.

Now under the leadership of former Duke coach, Steve Wojciechowski, Marquette has recruited very well and is in the mix with Michigan State and Kentucky for Henry Ellenson, a five-star big man.

The Big East is deep in the field of recruiting, with multiple teams in the league having great 2015 classes and many are setting themselves up for success in the 2016 class by visiting targets, recruiting them hard and watching their practices.

Universities in the Big East have also capitalized on the skillful players in their state. Marquette has landed Matt Heldt and Nick Noskowiak, two 2015 four-star prospects from Wisconsin. Creighton has only received one commitment in the class of 2015 in Justin Patton, a four-star center from Nebraska. In the NYC metro area, Seton Hall has done a great job, despite not being able to get Chris Silva, a four-star forward out of Roselle Catholic High School recently. Seton Hall's 2014 class included excellent local talent like Angel Delgado and Isaiah Whitehead.

Over in The Windy City, DePaul has even been able to recruit some good talent as of late, garnering commitments from two three-star prospects, Oumar Barry and Develle Phillips.

Big East teams are involved highly in the recruitment of Isaiah Briscoe, a 6-foot-3 guard that is ranked by 247Sports as a five-star prospect and number one point guard in the country. Briscoe told the The Basketball Diary in an interview in August that he cut list of schools to Arizona, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova, which was great news for those three Big East schools. But recently, the recruitment of the star point guard has taken unexpected turns with Kentucky, UConn and Missouri back in the recruitment for him. Kentucky head coach John Calipari will likely make it a struggle for the Big East schools to even have a chance at getting Briscoe.

The Big East may not be able to land Isaiah Briscoe or the number one players in each and every class, but there is no doubt that the Big East has done a great job in recruiting.