BIG EAST Basketball Signing Week Roundup

Editor's Note: Hat tip to NovaCat13 for the inspiration to do this post - all credit to him for helping me get started on the research with this nice FanPost from a few weeks back.

This week is the "early" signing period for class of 2014 prospects who wish to lock in their future to a college basketball program. Those who wait will have to wait until the spring. Typically, basketball does not see as many signing day flips as their football counterparts, but this week has already seen two moves of this nature, with Payton Dastrup flipping from Ohio St. to BYU a few days ago, and Quentin Snider flipping from Illinois to Louisville this morning.

Luckily, Villanova hasn't had such issues with waning commitments, as both Mikal Bridges and Phil Booth signed with Villanova this week.

One of the biggest concerns we've seen around these parts is the worry that the BIG EAST will not be able to compete over the long haul. Immediate success is the consistent key to making the national media take notice, and supplementing that with continued success on the recruiting trail is vital to staying relevant over the long haul. Currently in the 247 Team Rankings the BIG EAST has two programs ranked in the Top 10, and five in the Top 25 - only the ACC has more with 6 programs. Villanova currently ranks 29th nationally.

You'll notice that quantity helps, a lot.

Here's the breakdown, with relevant links so you can get to know the Wildcats' future foes. All rankings are national.

#9 Seton Hall Pirates

South Orange Juice believes that all four commitments should be signed by the end of the week, giving Kevin Willard a huge haul as they try to rise closer to the top in the BIG EAST.

#15 SG Isaiah Whitehead | #44 PF Angel Delgado | #136 SG Khadeen Carrington | #181 SF Ismael Sanogo

#10 Georgetown Hoyas

Casual Hoya, our mortal enemies, haven't yet commented on their class, all four players have signed for the Hoyas.

#39 SF Issac Copeland | #63 PF Paul White | #70 SF L.J. Peak | #105 PG Tre Campbell

#15 Xavier Musketeers

Banners on the Parkway is calling this monster 5-man recruiting class one of the best in program history. It's one of the largest, for sure.

#45 SF Trevon Bluiett | #74 PF Makinde London | #112 SG J.P. Macura | #114 PG Edmond Summer | #182 C Sean O'Mara

#17 Providence Friars

FriarBlog is typically where we recommend you head for your PC knowledge, but they've yet to comment on their class. That's odd too, because it's a really strong one.

#61 C Pascal Chukwu | #67 SF Jalen Lindsey | #94 PF Ben Bentil

#19 Marquette Golden Eagles

Anonymous Eagle reports that three of Marquette's five commitments have signed at the time of this post. Three shooting guards? Looks like Buzz may be adopting the small-ball approach too. They landed big Satchel Pierce late on Friday afternoon to round out another monster class for the second year in a row.

#62 SG Ahmed Hill | #79 SG Sandy Cohen | #92 SG Malek Harris | #138 SG Marial Shayok | #231 C Satchel Pierce

#60 Butler Bulldogs

For a program that has done so well in recent years, you would think that The Bark of Hinkle would be posting more frequently. Maybe they all overdosed on mayonnaise in the wake of Brad Stevens' departure.

#113 PF Kelan Martin | #255 PF Tyler Wideman

#64 Creighton Bluejays

White and Blue Review(we need an SBN Creighton ally!) is the best place for your Doug McDermott news. In addition to the McD love, they've got stories up on their signings here and here.

#125 SF Leon Gilmore | #221 SF Ronnie Harrell

#109 DePaul Blue Demons

More of a forum than anything else, but Blue Demons Nation gets some decent discussion going. Most of it is about wanting get their AD and coach out in any way possible, but it's decent discussion.

#250 PG Jon Davis

St. John's Red Storm

No commitments in 2014, for which we give Rumble In The Garden a :( - this is especially surprising considering they are losing God'sgift Achiuwa, Orlando Sanchez and Marc-Antoine Bourgault after this season - and if the hype is believed to be true, maybe a few more to the NBA.

What do you think? Is the BIG EAST recruiting well relative to your expectations and to the rest of the country? How does Villanova stack up?