Offseason news and notes from the Big East.
Cincinnati
Mick Cronin didn't exactly inherit a talented roster when he took over as head coach at Cincinnati before the 2006-07 season, and his 10-24 record in Big East play over that period of time reflects that. But the trend is definitely going in the right direction.
The Bearcats went from 2-14 in Cronin's first season of conference play to 8-10 a year ago. With an influx of new talent, he's hoping to sneak into the top half of the league standings and contend for an NCAA Tournament berth.
To do that, he'll need another All-Big East season from Deonta Vaughn. The 6-1 junior led the team with 17.3 points a game, including a 34-point effort against UConn, and knocked down 97 threes. Larry Davis is the leading candidate to begin the season alongside Vaughn in the backcourt, but he'll be pushed by the new guys -- freshmen Dion Dixon and Cashmere Wright.
The frontcourt is a little less certain, but the talent is there. Texas transfer Mike Williams missed last season because of an injured Achilles, but should start right away this season. Rashad Bishop started most of last season at forward, and Kenny Belton is hoping to take a big step forward as a sophomore. Freshman Yancy Gates will be in the rotation from his first day on campus. Nick Aldridge will miss the first semester because of NCAA transfer rules, but the former Western Carolina star hopes to provide the type of offensive skills that the Bearcats lacked a year ago.
Anthony McClain is also back in the paint, and juco transfer Steven Toyloy is capable of playing right away, but another newcomer who's expected to make an instant impact is John Riek, a 7-2 center from Sudan -- if, that is, he's cleared to play. Riek is recovering from an offseason knee injury, and has yet to be cleared academically to play in 2008-09. But if he recovers enough to be ready for the start of the Big East season, and if the NCAA rules him eligible to play, he could be the X-factor the team has lacked in recent years.
Connecticut
A year ago, Jim Calhoun was wondering if he had the right personnel to bring the Huskies back to the upper echelon of college basketball. Thanks to a decision by his starting center, that's not a worry any more. But due to decisions made by some of his reserves, he may have a different concern in team depth, and it's unclear whether the roster shuffle will solve the chemistry issues that plagued the team a year ago.
Hasheem Thabeet's offensive game was still inconsistent as a sophomore, but it was much better in March than it was in November. That progress only adds to his value on defense, where he was the consensus player of the year.
Thabeet joins Jeff Adrien to form one of the most imposing frontcourts in college basketball. Guard A.J. Price gives UConn a potent inside-outside combination, assuming his recovery from offseason knee surgery continues to progress, and Jerome Dyson also returns in the backcourt. Craig Austrie is back as well, and has shown that he can contribute both as a starter and a reserve.
But there are a lot of changes to the rest of the roster, some expected and some not.
Doug Wiggins rocky road at UConn ended with an offseason transfer, and Stanley Robinson left the team, at least temporarily, to move closer to his Alabama home. Frontcourt reserve Curtis Kelly also moved on.
That doesn't leave the Huskies with much of a bench, apart from the incoming class. That having been said, it's the typically excellent batch of recruits for Calhoun to rely on. Kemba Walker, Ater Majok, Nate Miles, Charles Okwandu and Scottie Haralson all are talented enough to win minutes, and Miles in particular is a good bet to get into the rotation early.
DePaul
Jerry Wainwright has always been a coach who likes to challenge his team in the pre-conference schedule, and will play anyone anywhere. That strategy hasn't worked so well at DePaul thus far, so the schedule has been tweaked in the hopes that the newcomers won't be overwhelmed early.
The Blue Demons still spend a lot of the early season on the road, with two trips to California and one to Las Vegas. At the end of that stretch, DePaul will potentially have played UCLA, Cal, Creighton and Fresno State, likely enough to keep that RPI in the impressive range.
But for a change, DePaul doesn't leave Chicago until December. Its other early-season road games are at Northwestern and Illinois-Chicago, where the toughest travel obstacle will be the rush-hour traffic. That might help a team that started Big East play 4-2 last year but won just one more league game the rest of the way.
For that to happen, Big East All-Rookie team members Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal will need to continue their early success. Tucker averaged 13. 6 points per game a year ago, and will take on more scoring responsibilities now that Draelon Burns has graduated. Koshwal looked strong in the paint and averaged 10.7 points and 8.4 boards.
Koshwal should have plenty of company in the paint, and might be looking up to whoever is alongside him. Matija Poscic (6-foot-10), 7-2 Kene Obi and 6-11 Krys Faber will push for time there, with Obi and Faber hoping to match the success in their freshmen campaigns that Koshwal enjoyed a year ago.
The backcourt is a little trickier, since both Burns and point guard Cliff Clinkscales are gone. Will Walker and Jabari Currie will start at the two-guard and the point, while Mario Stula may see time on the wing. But freshman Jeremiah Kelly will push Currie for time at the point, especially if the senior struggles early.
Complete Blue Demons team report
Georgetown
The 2007-08 season ended in disappointment for the Hoyas, who fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 10 seeded Davidson. So far, the offseason isn't going much better for the program.
Georgetown lost Roy Hibbert, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Jonathan Wallace to graduation, as expected. It also got the unpleasant surprises of transfers from Vernon Macklin and Jeremiah Rivers, and lost one of its top recruits when Chris Braswell failed to arrive as scheduled, reportedly because of academic issues.
The Macklin transfer was particularly puzzling, since the departure of Hibbert and Ewing seemed to finally create the opportunity he needed to start. But it's likely that he looked at the team's incoming class that includes 6-11 Henry Sims and 6-10 Greg Monroe and saw the writing on the wall. Both freshman are talented enough to contribute right away, though their roles will be more critical than coach John Thompson III would prefer.
This was the situation Thompson faced when he got to Georgetown, however, and it worked out fine. Jeff Green, along with Wallace and Hibbert, looked comfortable on the court early in their tenure on the Hilltop, and helped the Hoyas move forward faster than expected.
And unlike back then, Thompson still has some returning talent to work with. Point guatd Jessie Sapp is experienced, and the senior has been as steady as they come. He'll be joined in the backcourt by Chris Wright, who saw much of his potential lost to injuries as a freshman, and Austin Freeman. DaJuan Summers also returns to lead the frontcout.
Louisville
Louisville made it to the Elite Eight in 2007-08, and returns much of the core of that squad for the upcoming campaign. Talent-wise, the Cardinals are more talented now that they were a year ago, which offers Rick Pitino the challenge of finding enough playing time to satisfy everyone while at the same time getting the most out of his stars.
First, the team will have to replace some key pieces of its frontcourt. David Padgett fought through injuries to make the All-Big East first team and led Louisville in scoring as a senior and will be missed. Also gone is star-crossed Derrick Caracter, whose brief but turbulent stay on the team is over, at least for the time being.
The good news is that there's a lot of bodies to choose from in the paint. Earl Clark and Terrence Williams are joined by newcomers Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings in the frontcourt. The freshmen will likely man the middle by the start of Big East play, giving the team some badly-needed size.
Most Pitino teams are guard-focused, and this one is no exception. Andre McGee, Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith return in the backcourt, and will be joined by Mississippi State transfer Regineld Delk. Shooter Will Scott is also back to provide marksmanship off the pine, and Preston Knowles is a lockdown defender.
Louisville has been plagued by injuries in recent years, but the 2008-09 squad has a lot of depth to rely on if it needs to. The big key will be in the frontcourt, where there are less bodies to work with.
Complete Cardinals team report
Marquette
The Golden Eagles enter the 2008-09 season with a lot of confidence. The team has a veteran core of players to lean on with all five starters returning, as well as a talented incoming class.
It also has a new head coach. That combination makes this a very interesting time to be a Marquette fan.
The Golden Eagles have made three straight NCAA Tournaments and went 25-10 a year ago with 11 Big East victories. But the 2007-08 season ended in heartbreak, as Marquette fell just short of a stunning NCAA Tournament upset, falling to Stanford in overtime in a second-round game. That loss was followed with the departure of coach Tom Crean, who left to take over the reins at Indiana, and assistant Buzz Williams was promoted to replace him.
Williams inherits a nice lineup for his first year on the job. With Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal returning, shooter David Cubillan providing 3-point shooting off the bench, and Maurice Acker eligible after sitting out last season as a transfer, the Golden Eagles have perhaps the most dangerous backcourt in the Big East. Lazar Hayward anchors the frontcout along with Dwight Burke, though Ousmane Barro and Dan Fitzgerald will be missed there.
Marquette is one of just two schools bringing back a trio of 1,000-point scorers, and James, Matthews and McNeal have accomplished a tremendous amount in their three years on campus.
Complete Golden Eagles team report
Notre Dame
Mike Brey is in a unique spot with his Fighting Irish this season. There are no new players to merge in with the old, and a strong core of players back from last season's NCAA Tournament squad.
On paper, the Fighting Irish have a team more than capable of making a run deep into the NCAA Tournament. Four starters return, including the top inside and outside scoring threats. A late-summer trip to Ireland should improve team chemistry even more, and hopefully will help the team get better at winning away from South Bend, which the Irish struggled to do at times in 2007-08.
With Luke Harangody anchoring the inside and Kyle McAlarney the outside, Notre Dame will once again be tough to guard. When Harangody is on his game, he's all but unguardable, and collapsing on him only means that McAlarney will get an open look from three-point range, where he made a conference-high 108 treys a year ago.
Tony Jackson is back at the point, and between he and McAlarney the team won't lack for ballhandlers. Ryan Ayers and Zach Hillesland will play wing forward.
Replacing Rob Kurz in the paint will be a challenge. Luke Zeller will get the early nod, but he's not the rebounder Kurz was. If that proves ineffective, the Irish will likely go to a smaller lineup, but still will need a second paint presence alongside Harangody to be most effective.
Brey used the Ireland trip to try all the playing possibilities he could think of, using different lineups every night to gauge what was the most effective. That's a nice luxury for a coach to have, and the lessons he learned there could pay dividends once the regular season begins.
Complete Fighting Irish team report
Pittsburgh
Pitt was one of the biggest winners in the Big East this offseason not by signing an impressive freshman class, but by convincing its best upperclassman to stay.
Sam Young was thought of as a strong candidate to enter the NBA Draft early, particularly after a closing stretch that saw him named the MVP of the Big East conference tournament. By coming back for his senior season, he gives the Panthers a strong contender to win conference player of the year honors, and a force on offense who showed he could take over a game at times in 2007-08.
The next task for Jamie Dixon is to hope that some of his other returning players take that big step forward that Young did a year ago.
Tyrell Biggs is one of those guys who could help shift the team from good to great if he can take that next step. The senior came to campus four years ago with great expectations, but hasn't really become anything more than a solid but inconsistant power forward. If he breaks out in his final collegiate season, he'll join Young and DeJuan Blair to form one of the best frontcourts in the NCAA.
The backcourt returns Levance Fields at the point, and if Mike Cook wins his petition for an extra year of eligibility he'll give the Panthers a strong and experienced guard combination. If not, Gilbert Brown will likely start, with juco transfer Jermaine Dixon also in the mix. Dixon is a key figure in a strong incoming class, with five new players expected to join the squad. All of the new players have looked good in summer league play, albeit in a league that offers little in the way of defense to score against.
Providence
The Tim Welsh era finally came to an end in 2008, as another season that ended in disappointment was enough to convince the school to make a coaching change. But the trouble the school had finding a replacement is a sign that the Providence job isn't considered among the easiest in the Big East.
Keno Davis had only been head coach at Drake for one season, but the team did go 28-5 and make the NCAA Tournament, which proved good enough for an upgrade to the Big East. The team he inherits is experienced enough to reach the postseason right away, but also used to falling just short of its goals.
One reason the 2007-08 squad stumbled was the result of Sharaud Curry's absence. The junior point always seemed to be very close to recovering from his foot injury, but ultimately played just one game before being shut down for the season. It was the worst possible result for the Friars, who couldn't count on Curry but also couldn't quite cut the cord on him for the season and move on.
Curry should be ready to go to start the 2008-09 season, though he is still recovering from offseason foot surgery. Dwain Williams, who started at the point in Curry's absence, left the team, so Curry once again finds himself a critical part of the team's plans.
However, he'll be surrounded by a veteran group that knows each other well. Weyinmi Efejuku, Jeff Xavier, and Brian McKenzie all return to man the backcourt, along with sophomore Marshon Brooks who played well late in the season. In addition, Geoff McDermott can play both on the wing or in the paint. If Curry can't go, McKenzie, McDermott or Brooks will run the point.
The frontcourt is also experienced. McDermott has led the team in rebounding in each of his three seasons on campus, and he's joined by Randall Hanke and Ray Hall in the middle. Jonathan Kale can also play well off the bench, and Jamine Peterson and Alex Kellogg will challenge for playing time.
Rutgers
Rutgers last season seemed to be two different teams. On the one hand, there were the freshmen, the guys who Fred Hill recruited. On the other were the veterans, some of them talented. Those two units didn't meld often enough in 2007-08 for the Scarlet Knights to make much progress in the standings.
One year later, Hill has more players coming into campus, but he'll still be counting on the veterans if he hopes to get the team to the Big East tournament. That means that JR Inman, Anthony Farmer and Jaron Griffin, all of whom are rising seniors, will need to make their peace with Hill, and vice-versa.
That process will be critical, since the younger players should be much improved with a year under their belts in the Big East. Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn are returning starters in the backcourt, and Earl Pettis also played well at times a year ago. Junior shot-blocker Hamady Ndiaye will once again anchor the middle.
Freshman guard Mike Rosario is good enough to immediately challenge for minutes in the backcourt, and he leads a very strong recruiting class. He's the first McDonald's All-American in program history. Gregory Echenique could be in the frontcourt rotation from his first day on campus, as could Christian Morrow.
Complete Scarlet Knights team report
Seton Hall
Bobby Gonzalez waited a long tme to get his shot at coaching a major conference program, and has wasted no time putting his stamp on things at Seton Hall. But even though he's working hard on the recruiting trail, and even though the Pirates qualified for the Big East tournament in 2007-08, this is a big year for Gonzalez if he hopes to make his stay in New Jersey a long one.
It's relatively obvious that Gonzalez and athletic director Joe Quinlan are not always on the same page. Quinlan suspended Gonzalez for the Big East opener for the upcoming season for comments the coach made after a defeat to Rutgers in the regular-season finale. That's usually a signal that the AD thinks a coach's act is wearing thin, and in fact Gonzalez propensity to pick up technical fouls indicate that the officials might agree with Quinlan on that count.
Of course, all that is meaningless if the team starts winning more games. It will have to do so without team MVP Brian Laing and guard Jamar Nutter, both of whom were seniors a year ago. But that doesn't mean Gonzalez doesn't have a lot to work with.
It all starts with Paul Gause. The rising senior missed much of 2007-08 with injuries, but he's the game-changer on the Seton Hall squad. The 5-11 guard is a force on defense, quick enough to get the steals that lead to transition baskets that the Pirates count on. He'll be joined in the backcourt by veteran Eugene Harvey and Jeremy Hazell, who starred as a freshman a year ago. Larry Davis is also back and provideds instant offense, and newcomer Jordan Theodore will challenge for minutes as a freshman.
The Pirates started last season with a three-headed center, and ended with John Garcia emerging as the star of the paint. Garcia will be pressed by Mike Davis, while Augustine Okosun elected to transfer. Still, the Garcia-Davis combination, along with freshman Melvyn Oliver, gives the Pirates a frontcourt that can go toe-to-toe with its Big East rivals, an ability that was in doubt a year ago.
South Florida
It didn't take South Florida long to make an impact on the football field in Big East play. On the hardwood? That's another story.
But the talent gap between USF and the rest of the league is lowering, and Stan Heath looks like he's leading the team in the right direction. The returning nucleus and a host of talented newcomers leaves the Bulls in shape to take a big step forward in 2008-09.
The backcourt should again be solid, as Dominique Jones looks to build on his Big East All-Rookie freshman campaign and Jesus Verdejo is back to provide offense. Running the point will be Chris Howard, who started to emerge as a capable point guard last season as a sophomore. Georgia transfer Mike Mercer will be eligible to play in the second semester and has the scoring punch to make an immediate impact.
Replacing Kentrell Gransberry in the paint will be key. The Bulls are hoping for a favorable ruling on newcomer Gus Gilchrist. Gilchrist hasn't yet played a college game, but has already signed letters of intent with both Virginia Tech and Maryland without actually taking the court at either school. Now enrolled at South Florida, he hopes that the school is successful in petitioning the NCAA to make him eligible immediately.
If that happens, Gilchrist is good enough to play right away. But counting on charity from the NCAA is generally a losing proposition, so if he does wind up sitting, fellow frosh Eladio Espinosa and Gene Teague will join juco transfer Alejandro Rivas-Sanchez and holdovers Mobolaji Ajayi and Aris Williams in the paint.
St. John's
It's a big year ahead for the future of the Red Storm, particularly for its coach Norm Roberts.
Not only do the glory days of St. John's basketball seem very far away at this point, so do the dark times that followed the end of the Mike Jarvis era. Roberts was hired to clean up the program, and by and large he has done so. But now that St. John's has stopped making the back page of the tabloids, it's struggling to get any ink in the New York City market at all.
Roberts spent the last part of 2007-08 fending off calls for his job, and though he's back for a fifth year at the helm of the St. John's program, his uncertain future already seems to be hurting on the recruiting trail. Fortunately, he returns a core group of players that is capable of succeeding without reinforcements.
Anthony Mason Jr. leads the way. The senior forward was hurt for much of last year, but is an All-Big East caliber performer when healthy and makes everyone around him better. He'll be joined by a classfull of sophomores who hope to be more consistant now that they have a year under their belts.
Playing alongside Mason in the paint will be Justin Burrell, who made the All-Big East Rookie team a year ago. Senior Tomas Jasiulionis started part of the year at center, but didn't provide much of an impact and was mostly responsible for the opening tip. Dele Coker and possibly freshman Phil Wait will press for time at center when Roberts goes big, and redshirt sophomore Rob Thomas and sophomore Sean Evans will also see time up front.
The backcourt loses four-year starter Eugene Lawrence at point, a big hole to fill early in the season. Malik Boothe will get the first crack at the job, with freshmen Quincy Roberts and TyShawn Edmondson as possibilities as well. D.J. Kennedy returns on the wing, as does Paris Horne.
Complete Red Storm team report
Syracuse
A lot of college basketball teams have injuries, but not like the kind Syracuse dealt with in 2007-08. Syracuse had a two-man bench for most last season, and there were games where only six scholarship players were available.
So despite the loss of Donte Greene to the NBA Draft after his freshman season, it has been a successful offseason for Jim Boeheim because it looks like Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf are both going to be ready to play at the start of the season.
Rautins has recovered from a torn ACL suffered last summer, while Devendorf looks ready to return from a similar injury. They'll join iron man Jonny Flynn, who played nearly every minute of every game as a freshman. Scoop Jardine played a lot in his first year on campus as well, and can contribute in a reserve role.
The frontcourt returns two starters, though the loss of Greene is a considerable one. Arinze Onuaku was a relevation last season in the paint, and the redshirt sophomore is an All-Big East candidate at center. Kris Ongenaert and Rick Jackson also play inside, while Paul Harris can do anything and will start at small forward.
Villanova
Villanova made it to the Sweet 16 a year ago in a transition season. Now that his team is a year older, coach Jay Wright is hoping that the Wildcats can go even farther in 2008-09.
All five starters return for Villanova, with the key figure being point guard Scottie Reynolds. Reynolds, still only a junior, was dominant late in the season and was the difference-maker of getting the team into the NCAAs as a No. 12 seed and then helping lead it past Clemson in the opener. He averaged 16 points a game to go with 3.2 assists, and was the one figure who made the offense go.
In Philly college basketball, the two Coreys isn't the name of a reality tv show, but rather the sophomores competing to play alongside Reynolds in the Nova backcourt. Corey Fisher had the better season a year ago and is the better ballhandler, while Corey Stokes came on late in the season and can shoot the lights out. Both will play a lot, especially when Wright goes with a smaller lineup.
The wing will feature senior Dwayne Anderson and junior Reggie Redding, both of whom serve as glue guys who do the dirty work that helps their teammates get the glory.
Dante Cunningham anchors the frontcourt, as the senior enters his third year as the starting forward. Alongside him, however, are the questions. Can center Cassim Drummond stay healthy? Will Shane Clark, who was ineffective for much of his junior year because of his own health issues, be back in the form he showed as a sophomore? Will redshirt sophomore Antonio Pena be able to build on his strong freshman campaign? And what can freshman Maurice Sutton provide?
West Virginia
West Virginia had the reputation of being a system team, but showed it was something more last season by knocking off No. 2 Duke on its way to the Sweet 16. But that doesn't mean the doubters won't be back in force again in 2008-09.
The Mountaineers showed they could survive the loss of coach John Beilein, as Bob Huggins wasted no time getting the team back to the NCAAs. A large part of that was because of Joe Alexander getting hot at the perfect time, and Alexander rode that wave of success to become the eighth pick in the NBA Draft.
Alexander is one of three starters who Huggins will have to replace, but between the returnees and the newcomers the coach will be able to find a rotation that can compete to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Though Alexander's loss is huge, Joe Mazzulla has equally big shoes to fill as he takes over at point from the departed Darris Nichols. Nichols seemed to be at WVU forever, running a steady point and making things happen without turning it over. Mazzulla showed a lot of progress in his minutes last season, however, and will be joined by senior guard Alex Ruoff at the two-guard spot and Da'Sean Butler on the wing. If Mazzulla falters, freshman Darryl Bryant will get some minutes to show his stuff at the point as well.
The paint, however, will be a battle between last season's reserves and this year's freshmen. Wellington Smith and John Flowers return, as does Cam Thoroughman, who was hobbles with injuries a year ago. But freshman forward Devin Ebanks signed in the spring, and could be playing big minutes by the fall. So could Kevin Jones, Dee Proby, and Roscoe Davis.
