Big East
Big East's teams, coaches and style of play.
Anyone who thought Syracuse wouldn’t miss a beat after losing Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris from last season’s 28-10 squad (I’m staring at you, coaches’ poll), was served a nice, cold glass of reality Tuesday.
Le Moyne College 82, Syracuse 79.
It was only an exhibition game, but still. Le Moyne is a D-II school of about 2,800 kids in Syracuse. That’s gonna be a brutal one to for the local TV, paper and radio.
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It’s been 25 years since Villanova staged one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Now, they’re coming off a 30-8 season, a Final Four, have a dynamic freshman class and are picked to win the Big East by the coaches and media.
If they win an NCAA title this season, it’ll be far from an upset.
But it's not going to be a smooth ride, either.
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Syracuse is trying to replace its three top scorers/players from last season. It’s no easy task, especially when one of them was star point guard Jonny Flynn, the No. 6 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Then again, maybe it won’t be that hard.
The Orange started freshman Brandon Triche during an exhibition win last weekend against Cal State-Los Angeles, while redshirt sophomore Scoop Jardine also nabbed some minutes.
Their line: 14 assists, zero turnovers.
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A year after arguments were made about the Big East being perhaps the best conference ever, the 16-team league is now talking about parity. How’s that for a one-year swing?
The conference’s coaches are giving fair warning: don’t expect more this year. You know, like three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, five teams in the Sweet 16 and four in the Elite Eight – all Big Dance firsts.
"Last year was the best year that I think any league has ever had in terms of teams top to bottom," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.
Instead, last year’s top teams are gonna be a little worse, and the bottom feeders aren’t gonna be as bad.
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Maybe the Big East coaches and the media people who cover them aren’t so different. Turns out they see eye-to-eye on pretty much everything regarding preseason basketball.
Both think Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody is the player of the year.
The league’s top three teams are (in this order) Villanova, West Virginia and Connecticut. DePaul is the worst (again).
But there's one major difference.
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It wasn’t long ago that talk circulated about Jim Calhoun possibly retiring.
It wasn’t just age talking, either. The UConn coach, 67, was miffed about allegations of NCAA violations, which bubbled over after a Final Four loss.
And it looks like he’s going to stick around a lot longer.
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Villanova’s prospects for a Final Four return just got a little brighter.
Actually, a lot brighter.
After all, with Scottie Reynolds returning for his senior season, the Wildcats not only have a four-year starter and their floor leader back, but everyone knows Reynolds is the go-to guy for a game-winning shot.
Now, you'd have to slot 'Nova in as a true title contender for next season.
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The NBA draft did a number on Big East teams this week.
Underclassmen stars like UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet, Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn and Louisville’s Earl Clark all signed (or, in the case of Thabeet, is expected to sign) with agents, ending their college eligibility. Another, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, declared for the draft, but probably won’t sign with an agent.
Georgetown was one of the few schools that did get some good news: The Hoyas’ rising star, freshman Greg Monroe, announced he’ll return to school.
Monroe, a 6-11 center, took a page out of Blake Griffin’s book. Instead of declaring after his freshman year to likely be a Top 10 pick, he could boost his stock with a monster sophomore season and be the No. 1 overall selection in 2010.
And if any team could use a Blake Griffin-type season in 2009-10, it’s the Hoyas.
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If you could design the perfect finish to an NCAA tournament game, it’d probably feature Tyus Edney – or Danny Ainge, depending on your generation – making a mad dash the length of the floor, or Bryce Drew and Valparaiso, winning off an in-bounds play that had a little trickery.
Or, it could have a little of both. Just like Villanova’s classic 78-76 victory against No. 1 Pittsburgh in the East Regional final.
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DeJuan Blair could be the most crucial post player for a national champ since Sean May.
At the least, Blair is trying to join the likes of Kevin Love, Greg Oden and Glen Davis as big, bruising rebounding machines who helped propel their teams to the Final Four.
But if the Panthers hope to cut down the nets in Detroit come April, May would be the ideal.
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