Who is under the most pressure in the Big East?

Our staff discusses some Big East figures that could be feeling the heat next season.

The Big East is a pressure cooker. It's a league that chews up good coaches and players and spits them out. That's what happens when you play in a conference that produces national championships and plays under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden for nearly half a century. Here's a look at some of the players and coaches who are feeling the heat this season.

Chris Thedinga: I'll give an outside the box answer for 'Who is under the most pressure?' I'll go with Jordan Dingle, the former Penn Quaker. Dingle comes to St. John's and Rick Pitino boasting massive numbers at Penn in his three-year tenure. There's a lot on the line for Dingle when it comes to his post-collegiate career.

The bump up in competition from the Ivy to the Big East is considerable, but the '23 version of the Ivy was nothing to scoff at. Dingle put up 23.4 points per game while shooting at a 46 percent clip. He also got the free throw line about as much as any guard in the country.

Dingle has the skillset and the pedigree to play at the next level. But he'll have to prove it this season at SJU to maintain the attention of NBA front offices.

Jake Zimmer: Pressure comes in all different forms. Many others on this list have to prove that they belong in their new positions as a coach, athletic director, or staff member. But for Donovan Clingan, the pressure to rise up to his expectations - which some say could land him in the NBA Draft Lottery - trumps many of them. The highly touted recruit was only given 13.1 minutes per game off the bench last year, but still managed to rack up almost 7 points and 6 rebounds per game. Now, there are talks that he could be in the running for the Wooden Award - his 7-foot-2 stature naturally attracts attention, and he's made the most of it. All eyes are on the reigning national champs to see how they'll make out without some key cogs in the machine; is Clingan ready for the spotlight?

Michael DeRosa: Picture this: You have been working as a CEO of a company for one year and have already been offered the CEO job at a Fortune 500 company. You are now in the shadow of one of the brightest minds in the history of your field. That comes with a ton of pressure, right? Now, imagine you were working there for one year and it didn’t live up to expectations. It was a tough transition and people understand the rough year but are anxious for you to thrive his upcoming year. That’s an insane amount of pressure, right? That’s the exact situation Kyle Neptune finds himself in.

(Yes, I used a Rothsteinism to make my argument and no, I won’t apologize.)

Coming off of a tough year one, Kyle Neptune is under a ton of pressure. You can’t say he doesn’t have the resources or the talent to compete in this conference. This Villanova roster is a consensus Top 25 team, and for good reason. That team is really good. You can give Neptune a pass for year one due to injuries Nova had but would he get the same leeway this season? The pressure is on, and Kyle Neptune has a lot to prove.

Matt St. Jean: Shaka Smart entered last season with low expectations - Marquette was picked to finish No. 9 in the Big East. Following last year's stunning performance and with the return of nearly every key piece, Shaka may find his team ranked as high as No. 9 in the country when this season tips off. Those increased expectations come with immense pressure to meet them; simply making March Madness is not enough to exceed them this time around. Shaka Smart will be expected to not only replicate his regular season success but make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. While Smart is not a stranger to playing deep into the dance - he became a household name in 2011 following his Final Four run with VCU - he has been unable to match that performance ever since. In fact, he has more wins since he last saw the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament than Dan Hurley has in his career. Smart has a chance to silence the Shaka Skeptics this season thanks to a group of special players on his roster. If he can't take advantage of this opportunity to make a run, those national voices will be as loud as ever.

Joe Haughey: My pick for the individual from the Big East that’s under the most pressure this season comes straight out of Providence, RI: Steve Napolillo. While most might argue that the new Friar Head Coach, Kim English, is the frontrunner for this title, I’ll defer to the man that hired him. And there’s one main reason for this: back in March, after Ed Cooley had departed his home of 12+ years, Napolillo told the press that this next hire would be a defining moment of his career. If it was a home run hire, he’d be remembered for it, and if it was a bust, he’d be cursed for it. And while Steve doesn’t have the ability to control the on-court results that will be used to evaluate English throughout the season, he did volunteer himself as the one who would assume responsibility for the performance of his new head coach. Napolillo was faced with a very difficult hurdle in his first year at the helm of the Providence Friars Athletic Department, and his swift move to fill the role with a charismatic young coach will either be seen as short-term band aid, or a long-term stitch.

Will Tondo: There are three Big East coaches in new positions who will have short windows to succeed and face mounting pressure as the season kicks off this fall. However, there’s one guy that has the biggest target on his back: Ed Cooley.

He dramatically left a successful Providence program for his “dream job”, with rumors beginning of his departure midway through the season. He was Rhode Island royalty, many considering him “the mayor of Friartown”. Now, he takes over a historic program, but a program that’s been a combined 13-50 in the past two seasons. Cooley has Big East success, and has made a handful of tournament appearances, however, can he change the culture of the program? He added some talent from the portal, including Illinois transfer Jayden Epps and North Carolina transfer Dontrez Styles, but is that enough? Only time will tell.

Cooley is a guy who won in Providence, but never won big. He left a bad taste in everyone's mouth after a sloppy transition between inter-conference foes. He talks a big game and has to restore the legacy that Georgetown once had. The Big East is filled with competition, and early rankings are showing the Hoyas at the near bottom of the table. If he doesn’t earn a tournament bid this season, people are going to start asking questions.