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Six months from now, the weather will probably be about the same as it is right now. Basketball season will be over then, and we'll be looking back on the year evaluating what went right, what went wrong, and what it's going to take to repeat as national champions. In between now and then, someone is going to have established himself as the team's MVP. Here are the three guys I think it will come down to.
NB: the numbers listed with the players are theirs from last season, just in case there was any confusion.
Jalen Reynolds
| PPG/RPG/APG | 9.9 | 6.1 | 0.4 |
| FG%/3P%/FT% | .618 | .000 | .683 |
| Ortg/Usage/(O/DReb%) | 114.9 | 22.5% | 11.9%/24.6% |
Jalen is kind of the obvious choice here. He has grown from a role player as a freshman to a solid piece as a sophomore, and it's not difficult to look at his size and skill set and see him as a stud as a junior. Sports Illustrated projects him to average 15 PPG this season. He has the body to handle the Big East season and - with this being his fifth year since he graduated high school - he's probably itching to go big and then go make some money.
Trevon Bluiett
| PPG/RPG/APG | 11.0 | 4.2 | 1.9 |
| FG%/3P%/FT% | .422 | .326 | .746 |
| Ortg/Usage/(O/DReb%) | 109.9 | 21.2% | 6.4%/11.8% |
Trevon kind of skidded to the finish line last season, but don't let that obscure the fact that he was outscored only by Matt Stainbrook. He displayed good feel for the game and was both a shot hunter and an opportunistic scorer when the situation called for it. Also, he was nails from the line against UC when the chips were down. There's a reason he was a top 100 recruit and a reason CBS has him in the top 100 players in all of college basketball. It's fairly well-known that he took the Arizona loss hard and has been working his tail off last summer; you can look at him and see the team MVP without having to use too much imagination.
Myles Davis
| PPG/RPG/APG | 10.6 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
| FG%/3P%/FT% | .394 | .384 | .872 |
| Ortg/Usage/(O/DReb%) | 112.9 | 20.1% | 1.5%/9.5% |
Scour all the preseason publications you can find and let me know if you come across someone feting Myles Davis in glory. He's been out of high school just as long as Jalen has, but I'm guessing he's going to be a four-year guy at Xavier. That's a good thing for X, because this guy just does whatever needs to be done. He's not a natural point guard, but he was the one bringing the ball up when Dee Davis got his minute per game of rest. He's not a great rebounder, but he's the one hugging the final board of the Crosstown Shootout. He's never shot over 40% from the floor for a season, but he's the one Coach Mack is drawing up looks for when the team is trying to stay with Arizona. Myles probably won't have the best numbers on the team when the curtain drops, but he may well be the guy who keeps the train moving in the right direction all year.
A dark horse
Maybe you think Ed Sumner is going to get on the floor and explode from day one. Maybe you think JP is going to tighten up that handle, quicken up that release, and become the most hated player in the Big East. Maybe you think this is the year the Big Game James becomes all the good things he's ever been, but all at the same time. Vote in the poll, then let us know your thoughts in the comments section.