Beyond the Arc : Big East

Even if 'Nova loses Yarou, it's not a killer

Mike Miller — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:10:00 GMT

Villanova freshman Mouphtaou Yarou was supposed to help ease the loss of Daunte Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark. The 6-10 forward was the prize of a stellar recruiting class for coach Jay Wright, a guy who was big, athletic and could potentially blossom into a post presence the Wildcats rarely have.

That may have to wait a year.

Drew Hallowell/Getty

Mouphtaou Yarou blocks a shot against Penn.

According to a report from FOXSports.com’s Jeff Goodman, Yarou will likely miss the rest of the season due to a condition that’s not life-threatening. Yarou was sent home from the Puerto Rico Tip-Off due to a viral infection. His absence is probably related to that, but no word on what that reason is yet.

So what’s it mean for Villanova -- if he is out for the year? It’s not a killer, it just reduces their frontcourt depth.

Yarou played a total of 37 minutes in blowout wins against Fairleigh Dickinson and Penn, and wasn’t really a factor in either game, averaging 5 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block. ‘Nova (6-0) played well enough to win the Tip-Off without Yarou, winning close games against George Mason, Dayton and Ole Miss.

That leaves Antonio Pena and Taylor King as the team’s only capable big men. When Reggie Redding returns from a suspension it’ll give ‘Nova a little more size, but nothing substantial.

Still, I don’t think it sinks their Big East title hopes of Final Four aspirations. Villanova’s defense doesn’t rely on big guys swatting shots, but mobile, aggressive wing players who can play man-to-man and crash the boards when needed.

Mike Miller’s random musings can also be found on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller).

Syracuse can't get any better ... can it?

Mike Miller — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:35:00 GMT

OK, so everyone (me included) who didn’t include Syracuse on their preseason Top 25s turned out to be dumb. Only the coaches’ poll listed the Orange, and they were No. 25 in that.

But after crushing Cal (then ranked 13^th) and North Carolina (No. 6) last week, Syracuse vaulted to No. 10 in the AP poll, one of the biggest jumps in the poll’s history. Only two teams went from unranked to higher – and both ‘em logged more impressive wins, hard as that is to believe.

The most impressive move from unranked to ranked was Kansas’ jump in to No. 4 in 1989 after beating No. 2 LSU, No. 1 UNLV and No. 25 St. John’s in the Preseason NIT.

Second on the list was Arizona coming in at No. 8 in 2001 following wins over No. 2 Maryland and No. 7 Florida in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and a victory over No. 23 Texas.

Still, give the Orange their props. No team’s had a better start thus far. (No other team’s played two Top 15 teams either, but hey, just sayin’.)

Should they be higher, lower? Does it matter? Now they’ll do the slow burn to Big East conference play, with only a Dec. 10 showdown against Florida looming as a possible stumbling point. ‘Cuse is going to be a Big East title contender, though BP’s John Gasaway says there one important thing to note about the start: The offense probably can’t play any better.

Me, paraphrasing: ‘Cuse is making 63 percent of its twos (only Georgetown’s made more than 57.7 percent of their twos in conference play in the last seven years), scored 1.16 PPP vs. Cal and UNC (insanely good) and Wesley Johnson, as good as he is, probably won’t continue to make 47 percent of his 3s and 62 percent of his 2s. If he does, he should go No. 1 in the draft.

So Syracuse is playing really, really good right now. Don’t expect it to get better … but that wouldn’t be possible, right?

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'Nova wasn't efficient -- except with killer D

Mike Miller — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:33:00 GMT

It wasn’t pretty or efficient, but Villanova emerged from a solid tournament field unbeaten. The ‘Cats may even be a little bit better because of it.

Ricardo Arduengo/AP

Corey Stokes blocks a shot from George Mason's Johnny Williams.

A 79-67 win against Ole Miss on Sunday was just the capper of a tourney that revolved around defense and perseverance.

“You know, this tournament is a great tournament with all the teams that are in it,” said senior guard Scottie Reynolds, who scored 21 vs. the Rebs. “(We) haven’t really been tested against a tough team, and we beat three tough teams.”

Those teams include George Mason (which nearly knocked off Georgia Tech, then beat Indiana) and No. 18 Dayton (deep and aggressive on defense, just like ‘Nova), none of which scored more than a point per possession or shot better than 40 percent from the field.

Remember the stifling defense Villanaova used to smack Duke in the NCAA tournament last March? It hasn’t gone anywhere.

Yes, the Wildcats’ offense was simply good enough. They went for .992, .989 and .95 PPP in three games and never topped 45 percent eFG%. But what else would you expect when they’re without big men Reggie Redding – a starter last season – and star freshman Mouphtaou Yarou? (Yarou went home due to a viral infection, while Redding is still serving a suspension.)

When they return, could it be the best of both worlds -- a better offense and a defense that’s just as potent? May have to wait until Big East play begins to have that question answered.

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How serious are allegations at S. Florida?

Mike Miller — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:42:00 GMT

Sign of the times: The South Florida will probe the “issues” raised by an AOL Fanhouse report of numerous violations at the school. Ignoring Internet stories like this used to be easy. No longer.

The lengthy report, written by former Tampa Tribune reporter Brett McMurphy, who covered the Bulls and the Big East for the paper, is fairly well documented and covers a litany of issues, including a basketball aide providing improper transportation to a current player and overseeing open-gym workouts.

I don’t know the history between McMurphy and Bulls coach Stan Heath, but it doesn’t sound like Heath is impressed.

"You want to keep nickel and diming him," Heath said. "All this little [crap] ... I don't know what this is all about. It's stupid."

Are they serious allegations that could result in NCAA sanctions? Hard to say. It depends on how often they occurred. After all, even little things like phone calls can pile up into one big mess.

If the school deems it didn’t gain a competitive advantage from the allegations, they’ll likely self-report everything to the NCAA and it won’t be a big deal. I mean, even squeaky clean coach can make mistakes.

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So much for Stephenson being 'Born Ready'

Mike Miller — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:24:00 GMT

It’s a good thing Lance Stephenson moved on from his “Born Ready” nickname. It didn’t apply in his debut.

Cincinnati’s 6-5 guard is billed as one of the nation’s impact freshmen (fell for it), but there are no words for opening with a 7-point, 4-rebound performance against Prairie View A&M. The Bearcats won the game (barely), otherwise you’d be reading about UCLA and Cincy stumbling on Monday.

As for Stephenson – 2-10 from the field, 0-3 beyond the arc and 1 turnover in 22 minutes – there’s an explanation.

“He was a nervous wreck,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. “He’ll get better. I’ve got to make sure he’s not putting too much pressure on himself. When we were struggling, he was the one guy in the huddle trying to fire everybody up. You could see his frustration. You could see his desire to win.”

Nervousness in your college hoops debut is understandable. Only a chosen few can open with a memorable night.

But it seems odd for Stephenson to have those jitters. He’s one of the most celebrated players from NYC. He’s been on the AAU circuit and played in high-pressure situations before. What’s going to happen when the Bearcats play better teams or get into Big East play?

Perhaps Cincy now has a player who’ll stick around for more than one season.

(H/T: Ballin’ Is a Habit)

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OK Roy, this is getting ridiculous

Mike Miller — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:47:00 GMT

Roy Williams likes to say his name doesn’t belong in the same sentence as Dean Smith. When North Carolina won its fifth NCAA tournament last spring – its second under Williams, matching Smith’s total – he continually deflected attention from himself to his school and his players.

“Roy Williams is not that good,” he said last April. “But Ole Roy has got some big-time players and that’s what it takes.”

Well, chalk up another big-time player. Another title may follow.

Jeff Roberson/AP

Roy Williams has already won two NCAA tournament titles. Can another be right behind?

Harrison Barnes – perhaps the nation’s No. 1 recruit – committed to North Carolina on Friday. "He's the most complete offensive player in the country,” says Paul Biancardi, Scouts Inc.'s national recruiting director.

That gives the Tar Heels two of the Top 10 prospects and three of the top 32 in the class of 2010, according to Rivals.com.

It’s generally acknowledged that places like UNC don’t rebuild after winning a championship, they reload. But this is getting ridiculous.

Ever since 2005’s recruiting class that featured Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard and Bobby Frasor, Williams has snagged at least one five-star prospect and at least two four-star players every year except 2007. And that was only because Ole Roy didn’t have any available scholarships.

To call North Carolina’s annual recruiting hauls an embarrassment of riches would be too easy. This is more like John Rockefeller assembling building a bigger, more powerful oil monopoly year after year.

Of course, there are reasons Williams can secure classes like this.

North Carolina’s always attracted star players, both in-state and out. As one of the game’s premier programs – and with an alum like Michael Jordan – it’s the type of place that recruits itself. The school gets plenty of TV time and, perhaps most importantly, is almost always in the national title hunt.

But with places like Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA and Tobacco Road rival Duke steeping up their recruiting efforts the last few years, Williams has had to do the same.

He’s always been a year-round recruiter. Yet despite hitting an age (58) when some coaches shift into neutral and coast (hey, he’s got those two titles), he’s still at it. Check out this exchange Williams had with SI.com’s Grant Wahl.

SI.com: I will never forget riding back overnight on the Kansas team bus from Stillwater, Okla., to Lawrence, Kan., for an SI story back in 2002, and you stopped in Wichita to hop on a plane for California to recruit during a crazy stretch in your schedule.

Williams: I still do some of those things. I have several of my coaching buddies say that I do more recruiting during the season than any other head coach around. But what I do is when we give our team the day off from practice --NCAA rules state you have to have one day off each week -- that enables me to go somewhere and see a game or a practice. I'm still doing that. I think a couple years ago every single day off that we gave our kids after practice started, I went somewhere recruiting-wise. Or tried to go. A couple times I had weather complications getting there.

Williams isn’t the only coach putting in those kinds of recruiting hours. But few can match the players he’s nabbed between 2005 and 2009. All of these were rated as five- or four-star recruits: Hansbrough, Green, Ginyard, Frasor, Brandan Wright, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Alex Stepheson, Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, Larry Drew II, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Leslie McDonald, Dexter Strickland, David Wear and Travis Wear.

That’s two varsity teams worth of top-flight players. (To say nothing of Roy's luck when it comes to those players staying. Wright left after his freshman season and Stepeson transfered. Five of them stayed four years, Lawson and Ellington, three. That's not normal for that type of talent.)

Now it’s two five star guys in Barnes (a 6-7 swingman) and Reggie Bullock (6-5 shooting guard) and a four-star prospect in 6-3 point guard Kendall Marshall.

Reload? Yeah, with a machine gun.

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Could 'Nova get into troble with Yarou?

Mike Miller — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Villanova’s dynamite recruiting class is one reason why the Wildcats are a Final Four favorite and favored to win the Big East. Adding two elite guards and a power forward like Mouphtaou Yarou should be enough to offset the losses of guys like Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark to make another NCAA tournament run.

But ‘Nova may have just hit a speed bump. Turns out Yarou may not be eligible to play.

An odd twist first reported by the Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy highlights an irregularity in Yarou’s age. A Web site for FIBA – basketball’s governing body – shows that he played in the 2007 Africa club tournament with a listed age of 23. That would make Yarou 25 entering this season and ineligible to play.

Villanova coach Jay Wright told Sporting News that Yarou was OK’d by the NCAA clearinghouse after it examined his transcripts and passport. And the school’s compliance officer says it’s not an issue.

"I don't have a compelling need to look into it because I believe it's probably a typo," Gordon Finch, Villanova's associate athletic director for compliance, told Sporting News. "We've got his passport, his naturalization papers and his international student athlete form, all of which don't have that as his birthdate."

Any eligibility issues would arise from NCAA rule 14.2.3.5, which pertains to athletes playing on other teams after their 21^st birthday. Or, as DeCourcy points out, the NCAA could ding him for lying about his age. After all, Yarou wouldn’t be the first athlete to do that.

I’m sure the school did its due diligence on Yarou. And if the clearinghouse says he’s good to go, then that should be enough, right? Or not…

UPDATE: Wright announced that Yarou has been cleared to play Friday. I'm rooting for everything to work out.

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Putting Boeheim's 800th in perspective

Mike Miller — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:43:00 GMT

The list of men’s Division One coaches who’ve reached 800 career victories is a short one.

But the list of coaches who’ve done it faster than Jim Boeheim is even shorter.

Syracuse’s coach reached his “great milestone” Monday with a 75-48 win against Albany. It was the 1,088^th game of his career. In 33 seasons, he’s won at least 20 games 31 times.

Marc Squire/Getty images

Jim Boeheim reached 800 career wins faster than all but three D-I coaches.

That’s why only three coaches – Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski – have gotten to 800 faster than Boeheim. Guys like Bob Knight and Jim Calhoun (who got there last season) needed more games.

And every win has come at Syracuse. Only two coaches, Smith and Mount St. Mary’s Jim Phelan, have coached more games at one school, while only Smith, Phelan and Rupp have won more at one school. It’s quite a tribute to a coach who’s already in the Hall of Fame, but probably doesn’t get the recognition of some of his peers.

Part of that’s because he’s only won 1 NCAA tournament (only’s in italics for sarcasm; even 1 is significant), while taking the Orange to 3 Final Fours, 16 Sweet 16s and 26 NCAA tourney appearances. He’s been the Big East coach of the year three times.

But few coaches have ever won as consistently as Boeheim. And given that’ll he’ll only turn 65 next week, expect him to keep winning for a few more seasons and possibly surpass 875. (His successor is in place.)

Look, getting to 800 isn't easy. It's a combination of longevity and winning, which some coaches aren't going to match. Rick Pitino (age 57) is 247 away. Tom Izzo (54) isn't even halfway there. Same goes for John Calipari (50) and Bill Self (46). All those guys may fall short. Roy Williams wins 80 percent of his games, but at 59, he's still 205 away. Will he coach long enough to hit 800?

Only Bob Huggins (56, 163 away) seems like a sure thing, but he won't get there for another six years at best.

Even if you don't care about milestones, this was a biggie.

“Obviously, it’s a very big milestone for any coach to get,’’ Boeheim said in a story from the Syracuse Post-Standard. “The coaches and players that have been here have been consistently good for a long time. As I said out there, the fans have been a tremendous part of this. You have to have a good fan base to have a good basketball program. You have to. You have to have people coming. We’ve always had that.

“But it still goes back to the players that have played here over the years.’’

Those players have included guys like Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman, Lawrence Moten, Carmelo Anthony and Jonny Flynn, who were all world-class talents or Orange stalwarts.

Monday, their coach outdid them all.

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Syracuse gets an exhibition wake-up call

Mike Miller — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:08:00 GMT

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 located in Syracuse. That’s gonna be a brutal one to for the local TV, paper and radio.

Le Moyne coach Steve Evans enjoyed the win, but it sounds like he's already dreading what Syracuse is going to go through.

“I feel bad that the story tomorrow will be, ’What’s wrong with Syracuse basketball?’ I don’t think there’s anything wrong,” he said. “They’ve got tremendous players. It’s an exhibition game. They’re young. They’re going to be terrific."

As one commenter remarked on Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician:

It was a typical SU game. Uninspired play, got outhustled, bricked open shots, etc. Thankfully it doesn’t count, but the damage is done. That was pathetic and really puts a damper on this team going into the year.

Ouch. Still, there are some silver linings.

This kind of thing happens a lot, most recently to Michigan State and Ohio State. Transfer Wesley Johnson, who led all scorers with 34 points, looks like he can carry the scoring load. And this is just the kind of thing that Jim Boeheim relishes – a focal point for his team to build off of and not believe any preseason hype.

In fact, he's already laying the groundwork.

“Le Moyne really outplayed us from the beginning of the game to the end,” Boeheim said. “They (the Orange) are very, very young mentally. They really have got to grow up. We couldn’t stop them on the dribble. That’s something we’ve been looking at in practice.”

Now if only that defense can improve ...

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No smooth ride for Villanova this season

Mike Miller — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:28:00 GMT

It’s been 25 years since Villanova staged one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

Well, things have changed.

When the Wildcats staged their “Perfect Upset” of Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA tournament final, they were seeded No. 8 after finishing 19-10 overall and 9-7 in the Big East, tied for third behind the Hoyas and St. John’s.

Elsa/Getty images

Reggie Redding rebounds against Duke.

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.

"There's a real sense of pride here, there really is," coach Jay Wright said in an AP feature. "We've always had it. It's kind of on another level right now. There's also more responsibility that goes with that. We have to maintain that tradition (that previous classes) set. That's where the pressure comes for us, not from the outside."

Still, Villanova’s first test already arrived. Senior guard Reggie Redding – the team’s best defender and perhaps its most versatile player – was arrested this summer and charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

It’s the kind of move that drives coaches nuts. But it also makes the right kind of player crazy. After all, everyone’s made a foolish mistake.

"Of course he was angry, but he didn't yell," Redding said last week. "He didn't have to say much. I knew what I did. It wasn't like I was denying what happened or not accepting the responsibility. I took responsibility from the time that it happened. I knew what I did. There wasn't much he had to yell at me about."

As a result, Redding won’t play until Dec. 19, a 10-game suspension. That means he’ll miss games against Maryland, Big 5 rivals Temple and St. Joe’s and the entire O’Reilly Auto Parts Classic, which could have matchups against Dayton, Georgia Tech or Ole Miss.

Losing Redding for those games isn’t the end, but it means the freshmen either need to grow up quickly or ‘Nova’s going to have some issues. Throw in a Big East filled with teams all at roughly the same level and the Wildcats may be scratching their way to the top.

Maybe this season won’t qualify as a “Perfect Upset,” but it’s not going to be a smooth ride, either.

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