In a college basketball landscape that features prolific one-and-done freshman stars year in and year out, the Big East continues to thrive on player development and veteran success. The last one- and-done to attend a Big East School was Henry Ellenson of Marquette in 2015-16. Ellen- son was drafted 18th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft to the Detroit Pistons. He is the only player to truly be one- and-done in the Big East since the conference’s realignment in the 2014-15 season.
Chris Mack, the former Xavier coach, who is now at Louisville once told The Washington Post, “Player development has certainly been a hallmark of this conference… Just being able to make a guy better, own his skills and still think team-first, I think, has been a trademark of our league and something that, at least in our program, we’re really proud of.