- 649
- 10
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
Yeah their women's team is good. They landed that 6"8 chick from Texas that is dunking on everyone. Supposedly she is the top player in the 09 class.
College Basketball "off-season" Thread (players leaving/coaching changes/recruiting)
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by wildkycat,
- Start date
- 10,056
- 10
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2006
Maybe it's just me...but if I'm running the Baylor program post Dave Bliss...
I'm not doing anything to raise eyebrows...
I'm not doing anything to raise eyebrows...
- 6,996
- 127
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2004
National Champs Bracket: Down goes Alcindor! UK (fans) overpower UCLA
July 30, 2008
By GaryParrish
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Congratulations, Kentucky fans.
You have done the impossible -- or at least the improbable -- by figuring out a way to beat a UCLA team featuring Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, whichis about as simple as figuring out a way to out-scandal Alex Rodriguez.
[table][tr][td]
[/td] [td] [/td] [/tr][tr][td]With the Big Blue fans, Tony Delk and Kentucky can win any vote. (Getty Images)[/td] [td] [/td] [/tr][/table]It's a tall task. And by tall, I mean 169 inches tall -- otherwise known as the height of Alcindor and Walton stacked on top of each other, whichsounds like a strategy John Wooden should've probably tried given how his UCLA Bruins were blown out in the title game of the CBSSports.com NationalChampions All-Stars Bracket.
(Confused? If so, click this link and catch up).
Indeed, the championship was a blowout.
How much of a blowout?
Consider that Billy Packer said "It's over" early on, and he was correct this time. Kentucky got 73 percent of the vote, leaving UCLA withjust 27 percent and another flameout on the national stage. It's almost like Luc Richard Mbah a Moute -- he of the three straight Final Four losses -- wasinvolved. But he wasn't. Instead, the UCLA roster consisted of Alcindor, Walton, Ed O'Bannon, Gail Goodrich, Walt Hazzard and Sidney Wicks.
That's four former National Players of the Year and an unbeatable team, as far as I'm concerned. But Kentucky fans thought differently (or at leastthey voted that way) and in the process proved anything is possible when a massive fan base unites behind one cause and votes until they can't voteanymore.
[table][tr][td] [table][tr][td]
Poll
http:// [table][tr][td]
Which all-star team is the best?
[table][tr][td] 27% [/td] [td]UCLA[/td] [/tr][tr][td] [/td] [td] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [td] [/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][tr][td] 73% [/td] [td]Kentucky[/td] [/tr][tr][td] [/td] [td] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [td] [/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][tr][td] [/td] [/tr][/table]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Total Votes: 15980[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][/table]Seriously, I'm not sure there's an online poll Kentucky fans couldn't win. With the proper motivation, they could get Ralph Nader electedthis year, and I can't even remember whether the old kook is running. But it doesn't matter. If somebody pinned a Vote for Nader post at thetop of the UK message board -- somebody like UK4BEN or BigBlue1121 or UKSmitty27 -- I'm confident Nader would be our next President, which would probablyshock the hell out of everybody, Barack Obama included.
Anyway, the whole thing got me thinking. If Kentucky fans are strong enough to help their Wildcats win an online poll against a UCLA team featuring Alcindorand Walton -- two men who combined to go 174-6 in their college careers -- what other online polls could they manipulate in their favor?
I came up with the following list:
(All percentages are reasonable projections)
Best Band
[size=+1]•[/size] The Beatles: 44 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 56 percent
Best Food
[size=+1]•[/size] Pizza: 31 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 69 percent
Best Movie
[size=+1]•[/size] The Godfather: 28 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 72 percent
Best Late night Talk Show Host
[size=+1]•[/size] David Letterman: 38 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 62 percent
So let the record show nothing is impossible for Kentucky when it comes to online polls. I bet Billy Gillispie wishes the NCAA would put DeAndreLiggins' eligibility up for a vote. The heralded incoming freshman would be cleared by noon Friday if that happened. As it stands, everything remains onhold. But while Kentucky fans wait for that news they can take pleasure in the fact they have given their program another national title -- this one thanks toa hands-on-(mouse) approach.
[table][tr][td]The Bracket[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Opening round[/td] [td]Semifinals[/td] [td]Championship[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Voting closed July 15[/td] [td]Voting closed July 22[/td] [td]Voting closed July 29[/td] [/tr][tr][td] [table][tr][td]4 North Carolina[/td] [td]63%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]5 Duke[/td] [td]37%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [td] [table][tr][td]4 North Carolina[/td] [td]43%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1 UCLA[/td] [td]57%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [td] [table][tr][td]1 UCLA[/td] [td]27%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2 Kentucky[/td] [td]73%[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][tr][td] [table][tr][td]3 Indiana[/td] [td]56%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]6 Kansas
[/td] [td]44%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [td] [table][tr][td]3 Indiana[/td] [td]42%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2 Kentucky[/td] [td]58%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]UCLA Bruins (11 national championships -- 1964-65, 1967-73, 1975, 1995)[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]Guard
Walt Hazzard[/td] [td]Guard
Gail Goodrich[/td] [td]Forward
Ed O'Bannon[/td] [td]Forward
Bill Walton[/td] [td]Center
Lew Alcindor[/td] [td]Sixth Man
Sidney Wicks[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Years[/td] [td]1962-1964[/td] [td]1963-1965[/td] [td]1992-1995[/td] [td]1971-1972[/td] [td]1967-1969[/td] [td]1969-1971[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Games[/td] [td]87[/td] [td]89[/td] [td]117[/td] [td]87[/td] [td]88[/td] [td]90[/td] [/tr][tr][td]PPG[/td] [td]16.1[/td] [td]19.0[/td] [td]15.5[/td] [td]20.3[/td] [td]26.4[/td] [td]15.8[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FG%[/td] [td].432[/td] [td].476[/td] [td].513[/td] [td].651[/td] [td].639[/td] [td].511[/td] [/tr][tr][td]3PT%[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].394[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FT%[/td] [td].706[/td] [td].702[/td] [td].739[/td] [td].642[/td] [td].628[/td] [td].635[/td] [/tr][tr][td]RPG[/td] [td]5.5[/td] [td]4.7[/td] [td]7.0[/td] [td]15.7[/td] [td]15.5[/td] [td]9.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]APG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.8[/td] [td]3.6[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]2.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]SPG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.2[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Misc.[/td] [td]1 title (1964); 1964 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]2 titles (1964-65); 2 Final Fours[/td] [td]1 title (1995); 1995 Tournament MOP; 1995 Wooden award winner[/td] [td]2 titles (1972-73); 3 Final Fours; 1972, 1973 Tournament MOP; 1972-74 Naismith award winner[/td] [td]3 titles; 3 Final Fours; 1967-69 Tournament MOP; 1968-69 national POY; 1969 Naismith award winner[/td] [td]3 titles; 3 Final Fours; 1971 POY[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Coach: John Wooden, 620-147, 27 seasons, 12 Final Fours, 10 titles (1964-65, 1967-73, 1975)[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]Kentucky Wildcats (7 national championships -- 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 199
[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]Guard
Ralph Beard[/td] [td]Guard
Tony Delk[/td] [td]Forward
Jack Givens[/td] [td]Forward
Alex Groza[/td] [td]Center
Bill Spivey[/td] [td]Sixth Man
Cliff Hagan[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Years[/td] [td]1946-1949[/td] [td]1993-1996[/td] [td]1975-1978[/td] [td]1945, 47-49[/td] [td]1950-1951[/td] [td]1951-1952, 54[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Games[/td] [td]139[/td] [td]133[/td] [td]132[/td] [td]120[/td] [td]63[/td] [td]77[/td] [/tr][tr][td]PPG[/td] [td]10.9[/td] [td]14.2[/td] [td]15.4[/td] [td]14.5[/td] [td]19.3[/td] [td]19.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FG%[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].474[/td] [td].515[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].381[/td] [td].425[/td] [/tr][tr][td]3PT%[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].397[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FT%[/td] [td].624[/td] [td].709[/td] [td].798[/td] [td].678[/td] [td].669[/td] [td].700[/td] [/tr][tr][td]RPG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]3.5[/td] [td]6.0[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]13.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]APG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.6[/td] [td]2.0[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]SPG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.5[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Misc.[/td] [td]2 titles (1948-49); 2 Final Fours[/td] [td]1 title (1996); 2 Final Fours; 1996 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]1 title (197; 2 Final Fours; 1978 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]2 titles (1948-49); 2 Final Fours; 1948-49 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]1 title (1951); 1951 Tournament MOP; 1951 POY[/td] [td]1 title (1951)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Coach: Adolph Rupp, 876-190, 41 seasons, 6 Final Fours, 4 titles (1948, 1949, 1951, 195[/td] [/tr][/table]
July 30, 2008
By GaryParrish
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Congratulations, Kentucky fans.
You have done the impossible -- or at least the improbable -- by figuring out a way to beat a UCLA team featuring Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, whichis about as simple as figuring out a way to out-scandal Alex Rodriguez.
[table][tr][td]
(Confused? If so, click this link and catch up).
Indeed, the championship was a blowout.
How much of a blowout?
Consider that Billy Packer said "It's over" early on, and he was correct this time. Kentucky got 73 percent of the vote, leaving UCLA withjust 27 percent and another flameout on the national stage. It's almost like Luc Richard Mbah a Moute -- he of the three straight Final Four losses -- wasinvolved. But he wasn't. Instead, the UCLA roster consisted of Alcindor, Walton, Ed O'Bannon, Gail Goodrich, Walt Hazzard and Sidney Wicks.
That's four former National Players of the Year and an unbeatable team, as far as I'm concerned. But Kentucky fans thought differently (or at leastthey voted that way) and in the process proved anything is possible when a massive fan base unites behind one cause and votes until they can't voteanymore.
[table][tr][td] [table][tr][td]
Poll
http:// [table][tr][td]
Which all-star team is the best?
[table][tr][td] 27% [/td] [td]UCLA[/td] [/tr][tr][td] [/td] [td] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Total Votes: 15980[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][/table]Seriously, I'm not sure there's an online poll Kentucky fans couldn't win. With the proper motivation, they could get Ralph Nader electedthis year, and I can't even remember whether the old kook is running. But it doesn't matter. If somebody pinned a Vote for Nader post at thetop of the UK message board -- somebody like UK4BEN or BigBlue1121 or UKSmitty27 -- I'm confident Nader would be our next President, which would probablyshock the hell out of everybody, Barack Obama included.
Anyway, the whole thing got me thinking. If Kentucky fans are strong enough to help their Wildcats win an online poll against a UCLA team featuring Alcindorand Walton -- two men who combined to go 174-6 in their college careers -- what other online polls could they manipulate in their favor?
I came up with the following list:
(All percentages are reasonable projections)
Best Band
[size=+1]•[/size] The Beatles: 44 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 56 percent
Best Food
[size=+1]•[/size] Pizza: 31 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 69 percent
Best Movie
[size=+1]•[/size] The Godfather: 28 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 72 percent
Best Late night Talk Show Host
[size=+1]•[/size] David Letterman: 38 percent
[size=+1]•[/size] UK Basketball: 62 percent
So let the record show nothing is impossible for Kentucky when it comes to online polls. I bet Billy Gillispie wishes the NCAA would put DeAndreLiggins' eligibility up for a vote. The heralded incoming freshman would be cleared by noon Friday if that happened. As it stands, everything remains onhold. But while Kentucky fans wait for that news they can take pleasure in the fact they have given their program another national title -- this one thanks toa hands-on-(mouse) approach.
[table][tr][td]The Bracket[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Opening round[/td] [td]Semifinals[/td] [td]Championship[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Voting closed July 15[/td] [td]Voting closed July 22[/td] [td]Voting closed July 29[/td] [/tr][tr][td] [table][tr][td]4 North Carolina[/td] [td]63%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]5 Duke[/td] [td]37%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [td] [table][tr][td]4 North Carolina[/td] [td]43%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1 UCLA[/td] [td]57%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [td] [table][tr][td]1 UCLA[/td] [td]27%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2 Kentucky[/td] [td]73%[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][tr][td] [table][tr][td]3 Indiana[/td] [td]56%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]6 Kansas
[/td] [td]44%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [td] [table][tr][td]3 Indiana[/td] [td]42%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2 Kentucky[/td] [td]58%[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Complete results[/td] [/tr][/table][/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]UCLA Bruins (11 national championships -- 1964-65, 1967-73, 1975, 1995)[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]
Walt Hazzard[/td] [td]Guard
Gail Goodrich[/td] [td]Forward
Ed O'Bannon[/td] [td]Forward
Bill Walton[/td] [td]Center
Lew Alcindor[/td] [td]Sixth Man
Sidney Wicks[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Years[/td] [td]1962-1964[/td] [td]1963-1965[/td] [td]1992-1995[/td] [td]1971-1972[/td] [td]1967-1969[/td] [td]1969-1971[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Games[/td] [td]87[/td] [td]89[/td] [td]117[/td] [td]87[/td] [td]88[/td] [td]90[/td] [/tr][tr][td]PPG[/td] [td]16.1[/td] [td]19.0[/td] [td]15.5[/td] [td]20.3[/td] [td]26.4[/td] [td]15.8[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FG%[/td] [td].432[/td] [td].476[/td] [td].513[/td] [td].651[/td] [td].639[/td] [td].511[/td] [/tr][tr][td]3PT%[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].394[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FT%[/td] [td].706[/td] [td].702[/td] [td].739[/td] [td].642[/td] [td].628[/td] [td].635[/td] [/tr][tr][td]RPG[/td] [td]5.5[/td] [td]4.7[/td] [td]7.0[/td] [td]15.7[/td] [td]15.5[/td] [td]9.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]APG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.8[/td] [td]3.6[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]2.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]SPG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.2[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Misc.[/td] [td]1 title (1964); 1964 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]2 titles (1964-65); 2 Final Fours[/td] [td]1 title (1995); 1995 Tournament MOP; 1995 Wooden award winner[/td] [td]2 titles (1972-73); 3 Final Fours; 1972, 1973 Tournament MOP; 1972-74 Naismith award winner[/td] [td]3 titles; 3 Final Fours; 1967-69 Tournament MOP; 1968-69 national POY; 1969 Naismith award winner[/td] [td]3 titles; 3 Final Fours; 1971 POY[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Coach: John Wooden, 620-147, 27 seasons, 12 Final Fours, 10 titles (1964-65, 1967-73, 1975)[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]Kentucky Wildcats (7 national championships -- 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 199
[/td] [/tr][tr][td][/td] [td]
Ralph Beard[/td] [td]Guard
Tony Delk[/td] [td]Forward
Jack Givens[/td] [td]Forward
Alex Groza[/td] [td]Center
Bill Spivey[/td] [td]Sixth Man
Cliff Hagan[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Years[/td] [td]1946-1949[/td] [td]1993-1996[/td] [td]1975-1978[/td] [td]1945, 47-49[/td] [td]1950-1951[/td] [td]1951-1952, 54[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Games[/td] [td]139[/td] [td]133[/td] [td]132[/td] [td]120[/td] [td]63[/td] [td]77[/td] [/tr][tr][td]PPG[/td] [td]10.9[/td] [td]14.2[/td] [td]15.4[/td] [td]14.5[/td] [td]19.3[/td] [td]19.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FG%[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].474[/td] [td].515[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].381[/td] [td].425[/td] [/tr][tr][td]3PT%[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td].397[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]FT%[/td] [td].624[/td] [td].709[/td] [td].798[/td] [td].678[/td] [td].669[/td] [td].700[/td] [/tr][tr][td]RPG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]3.5[/td] [td]6.0[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]13.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]APG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.6[/td] [td]2.0[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]SPG[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]1.5[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [td]N/A[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Misc.[/td] [td]2 titles (1948-49); 2 Final Fours[/td] [td]1 title (1996); 2 Final Fours; 1996 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]1 title (197
; 2 Final Fours; 1978 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]2 titles (1948-49); 2 Final Fours; 1948-49 Tournament MOP[/td] [td]1 title (1951); 1951 Tournament MOP; 1951 POY[/td] [td]1 title (1951)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Coach: Adolph Rupp, 876-190, 41 seasons, 6 Final Fours, 4 titles (1948, 1949, 1951, 195[/td] [/tr][/table]
dacomeup
Supporter
- 26,351
- 37,026
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2006
We played against this kid this year in a holiday tournament. He gave our 4 star guard that is in the same class as him all that he could handle and some. He
can score in an array of ways. His floater is simply disgusting with either hand, and his ball handling is great also. He really needs to work on long range
shooting and strength. He has a great feel for the game though.
Doron's def. the real deal. He's the type of kid we need to keep at home. He's going to really blow up though and go to one of the major
schools instead of St. John's
I know UCONN is on him hard. I would like to see him at a school like UCONN or Nova. I remember one article he said that 'Cuse was his dream school a whileback. Getting him at St. John's would be great for getting that program back on track, and I would love to see it get back to being one of the top schoolsin the league. Locking down that NY talent alone could save the school though. However, it'd just make the league even tougher for my 'Cats than italready is.
- 25,494
- 653
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2004
that shows how stupid kentucky fans are
- 91
- 10
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2007
Anyway, the whole thing got me thinking. If Kentucky fans are strong enough to help their Wildcats win an online poll against a UCLA team featuring Alcindor and Walton -- two men who combined to go 174-6 in their college careers
- 6,996
- 127
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2004
[h1]Braswell 'open to everybody'[/h1]
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Braswell instead has reclassified into the class of 2009 and will attend Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy for a year of post-graduate work.
He had been ranked among the top 75 players in the '08 class and his play this summer impressed a number of coaches, who are not hot on his trail.
Braswell gave me a list of the following schools: Indiana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Charlotte, Wake Forest, Xavier, Providence, West Virginia, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Cincinnati and Georgetown. But he noted there's no favorite.
"I'm open to everybody," said Braswell, who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds last season during a 29-0 season at Hargrave.
When I asked him about Indiana, Braswell mentioned his close relationship with Indiana commitment Maurice Creek (who will also play at Hargrave this fall) and his like for new coach Tom Crean as why he's considering the Hoosiers.
"I have a big interest in Indiana," Braswell said.
- 10,056
- 10
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2006
Best of luck to him. Hopefully he can finally get his grades straightened out. At this point he wouldn't have lasted academically at Georgetown.
LAHAINA, Hawaii - North Carolina, which returns national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough and its top five other scorers from last season's Final Four team,will open the 25th annual EA Sports Maui Invitational against host Chaminade.
The pairings for the early season tournament, which will be held Nov. 24-26 at the Lahaina Civic Center, were announced Tuesday.
[table][tr][td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Reigning national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough will lead North Carolina against Maui Invitational host Chaminade.[/td] [/tr][/table]
The other first-round games will have Texas, a regional finalist last season, against Saint Joseph's, Indiana meetingNotre Dame in an all-Hoosier state matchup, and Oregon facing Alabama.
The North Carolina-Chaminade and Oregon-Alabama games are on the same side of the bracket.
North Carolina, expected to be the runaway preseason No. 1 in almost every poll, has Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington - who all withdrew their names from the NBA draft - returning from theteam that went 36-3. In addition, coach Roy Williams has oneof the nation's top recruiting classes heading for Chapel Hill.
Chaminade, the Division II school from Honolulu, beat Princeton in last year's seventh-place game to improve its all-time record in the tournament to5-65. The Silverswords pulled off one of college basketball's biggest upsets on Dec, 23, 1982, when it beat then-No. 1 Virginia andthree-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson 77-72.
North Carolina won the Maui Invitational in 1999 and 2004. Duke holds the record with four Maui titles in as many appearances.
Indiana, the only other former champion in the field having won in 2002, comes in under new coach Tom Crean, who is trying to rebuild a program that has lost seven possible returning playersfrom last year's team. Crean led Marquette to the title game last season where the Golden Eagles lost to Duke 77-73.
Saint Joseph's, Oregon and Alabama are all making their first appearances on Maui.
All the games will be televised live on one of ESPN'snetworks.
..
I'd love to see a Jamychal Green vs Hansbrough matchup.
LAHAINA, Hawaii - North Carolina, which returns national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough and its top five other scorers from last season's Final Four team,will open the 25th annual EA Sports Maui Invitational against host Chaminade.
The pairings for the early season tournament, which will be held Nov. 24-26 at the Lahaina Civic Center, were announced Tuesday.
[table][tr][td]
The other first-round games will have Texas, a regional finalist last season, against Saint Joseph's, Indiana meetingNotre Dame in an all-Hoosier state matchup, and Oregon facing Alabama.
The North Carolina-Chaminade and Oregon-Alabama games are on the same side of the bracket.
North Carolina, expected to be the runaway preseason No. 1 in almost every poll, has Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington - who all withdrew their names from the NBA draft - returning from theteam that went 36-3. In addition, coach Roy Williams has oneof the nation's top recruiting classes heading for Chapel Hill.
Chaminade, the Division II school from Honolulu, beat Princeton in last year's seventh-place game to improve its all-time record in the tournament to5-65. The Silverswords pulled off one of college basketball's biggest upsets on Dec, 23, 1982, when it beat then-No. 1 Virginia andthree-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson 77-72.
North Carolina won the Maui Invitational in 1999 and 2004. Duke holds the record with four Maui titles in as many appearances.
Indiana, the only other former champion in the field having won in 2002, comes in under new coach Tom Crean, who is trying to rebuild a program that has lost seven possible returning playersfrom last year's team. Crean led Marquette to the title game last season where the Golden Eagles lost to Duke 77-73.
Saint Joseph's, Oregon and Alabama are all making their first appearances on Maui.
All the games will be televised live on one of ESPN'snetworks.
..
I'd love to see a Jamychal Green vs Hansbrough matchup.
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Here are the fields and schedules for the Maui Invitational, Anaheim Classic and Old Spice Classic:
[h3]EA Sports Maui Invitational[/h3]
Dates: Nov. 24-26
Site: Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
Official Bracket (last season's record; home team listed second):
Monday, Nov. 24:
Quarterfinal #1: Saint Joe's* (21-13) vs. Texas* (31-7), 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #2: Indiana* (25-
vs. Notre Dame* (25-
, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #3: North Carolina* (36-3) vs. Chaminade% (21-
, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Quarterfinal #4: Oregon* (18-14) vs. Alabama (17-16), 11:59 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Tuesday, Nov. 25:
Consolation #1: 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Consolation #2: 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Semifinal #1: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Semifinal #2: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Wednesday, Nov. 26:
Fifth-place game: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Third-place game: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Seventh-place game: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Championship: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN[h3]Old Spice Classic[/h3]
Dates: Nov. 27, 28, 30
Site: Milkhouse at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Fla.
Official Bracket (last season's record; home team listed second):
Thursday, Nov. 27:
Quarterfinal #1: Tennessee* (31-5) vs. Siena* (23-11), 12 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #2: Wichita St. (11-20) vs. G'town* (28-6), 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #3: Maryland^ (19-15) vs. Michigan State* (27-9), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #4: Oklahoma State^ (17-16) vs. Gonzaga* (25-
, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Friday, Nov. 28:
Consolation #1: 10:30 a.m., ESPNU
Semifinal #1: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Semifinal #2: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Consolation #2: 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Sunday, Nov. 30:
Seventh-place game: 10:30 a.m. ET, ESPNU
Fifth-place game: 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Third-place game: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Championship: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2[h3]Anaheim Classic[/h3]
Dates: Nov. 27, 28, 30
Site: Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Official Bracket (last season's record; home team listed second)
Thursday, Nov. 27:
Quarterfinal #1: Saint Mary's* (25-7) vs. UTEP# (19-14), 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Quarterfinal #2: Wake Forest (17-13) vs. Cal State Fullerton* (24-9), 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #3: Arizona State^ (21-13) vs. Charlotte^ (20-14), 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Quarterfinal #4: Providence (15-16) vs. Baylor* (21-11), 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Friday, Nov. 28:
Consolation #1: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Consolation #2: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Semifinal #1: 10 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Saturday, Nov. 29:
Semifinal #2: 12:30 a.m. ET, ESPN2
Sunday, Nov. 30:
Seventh-place game: 3 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Fifth-place game: 5 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Third-place game: 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Championship: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
*denotes NCAA tournament team
^denotes NIT team
#denotes College Basketball Invitational team
%Chaminade competes in Division II
[h3]EA Sports Maui Invitational[/h3]
Site: Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
Official Bracket (last season's record; home team listed second):
Monday, Nov. 24:
Quarterfinal #1: Saint Joe's* (21-13) vs. Texas* (31-7), 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #2: Indiana* (25-
Quarterfinal #3: North Carolina* (36-3) vs. Chaminade% (21-
Quarterfinal #4: Oregon* (18-14) vs. Alabama (17-16), 11:59 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Tuesday, Nov. 25:
Consolation #1: 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Consolation #2: 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Semifinal #1: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Semifinal #2: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Wednesday, Nov. 26:
Fifth-place game: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Third-place game: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Seventh-place game: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Championship: 10 p.m. ET, ESPN[h3]Old Spice Classic[/h3]
Site: Milkhouse at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Fla.
Official Bracket (last season's record; home team listed second):
Thursday, Nov. 27:
Quarterfinal #1: Tennessee* (31-5) vs. Siena* (23-11), 12 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #2: Wichita St. (11-20) vs. G'town* (28-6), 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #3: Maryland^ (19-15) vs. Michigan State* (27-9), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #4: Oklahoma State^ (17-16) vs. Gonzaga* (25-
Friday, Nov. 28:
Consolation #1: 10:30 a.m., ESPNU
Semifinal #1: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Semifinal #2: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Consolation #2: 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Sunday, Nov. 30:
Seventh-place game: 10:30 a.m. ET, ESPNU
Fifth-place game: 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Third-place game: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Championship: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2[h3]Anaheim Classic[/h3]
Site: Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Official Bracket (last season's record; home team listed second)
Thursday, Nov. 27:
Quarterfinal #1: Saint Mary's* (25-7) vs. UTEP# (19-14), 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Quarterfinal #2: Wake Forest (17-13) vs. Cal State Fullerton* (24-9), 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Quarterfinal #3: Arizona State^ (21-13) vs. Charlotte^ (20-14), 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Quarterfinal #4: Providence (15-16) vs. Baylor* (21-11), 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Friday, Nov. 28:
Consolation #1: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Consolation #2: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Semifinal #1: 10 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Saturday, Nov. 29:
Semifinal #2: 12:30 a.m. ET, ESPN2
Sunday, Nov. 30:
Seventh-place game: 3 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Fifth-place game: 5 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Third-place game: 8 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Championship: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
*denotes NCAA tournament team
^denotes NIT team
#denotes College Basketball Invitational team
%Chaminade competes in Division II
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[h1]?[/h1]
ESPN.com
Updated: August 5, 2008
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz has the Hawks looking up.
[h3]John Chaney's influence on Hartford[/h3]
By Andy Glockner
ESPN.com
In the height of the July evaluation period, when downtime is more or less a pipe dream, Hartford head coach Dan Leibovitz still found the time for an hour-long phone call with his family friend and mentor, former Temple coach John Chaney. If that surprises you, consider their main talking point. "The other night, seriously, he talked to me for 25 minutes about how to make pork ribs in your backyard," Leibovitz said, laughing in part about the unspoken conflict between his own Jewish faith and the consumption of the so-called other white meat. Lest you think Chaney was being ignorant, realize that he spent part of his youth working for a Jewish catering company and, according to Leibovitz, is well versed in the faith's prayers, traditions and culture. Rather, this conversation was just the latest cultural exchange between two men from different generations and very different backgrounds who are much more similar than you would think. Chaney says he sees a lot of himself in Leibovitz, whom he calls "one of his great sons." Chaney grew up very poor in Jacksonville, Fla., went to historically black Bethune-Cookman College and used his position at Temple, in part, to try to enact positive change in the black community in Philadelphia. Leibovitz was raised in a comfortable suburb outside Philly and graduated from Penn in the historically lily-white Ivy League. But when Leibovitz showed an interest in coaching after working with his former high school program during his time at Penn, Chaney quickly offered him a graduate assistant spot. Leibovitz repaid Chaney's faith in him by staying at Temple for 10 years, an unheard-of stretch of time for a young assistant at his first program. Now, Leibovitz understandably has taken a lot of Chaney with him to his first head-coaching job at Hartford. "Everything that I know and everything I believe in basketball pretty much comes from Coach Chaney," Leibovitz said. "… When I talk to my staff, the things that Coach Chaney says, or used to say, just flow out of me. It's not like I walk around trying to quote him, but when you deal with a given situation, you just hear his voice [in mine]." Leibovitz credits Chaney with helping him stay patient in his approach to building the Hartford program, and the tack is working. Last year, in just his second season in charge, the Hawks won a program-best 18 games at the Division I level, and they return almost every key piece from the club that finished second to UMBC and lost to the Retrievers in the America East title game. Hartford, long a dormant program, and Leibovitz are now being noticed. "They only know how to play one way: hard," said UMBC head coach Randy Monroe, whose Retrievers split a pair of one-point games with Hartford in the regular season before dusting the Hawks by 17 for the championship. "He and his staff have done a terrific job of getting the best out of each and every one of his guys, and his team will be one to be reckoned with." Don't expect Leibovitz and Chaney's mutual admiration to fade anytime soon, even though they're apart. Now retired from coaching, Chaney said that he's living vicariously through Leibovitz and that he watches the Hawks on TV whenever they are on. He said that he and Leibovitz talk in such depth that "I know some of his players almost as well as he does." Leibovitz says that Chaney is "the closest thing you can have" to a father figure after his own parents. Now with children himself, Leibovitz has the chance to pass this relationship down to the next generation. As in his head-coaching career, he's off to a good start there, too. Three months ago, he and his wife, Nancy, welcomed their second child, a baby boy. The infant's middle name? Chaney. [h3]Five Things To Watch in '08-09[/h3]
By Andy Glockner
ESPN.com
• Who's the favorite this season?
More often than not, the first team mentioned by league coaches was Boston University. The Terriers were very young and banged up for a good part of last season but played well down the stretch, winning nine of their final 12 games. This season, they have everyone back and guard Tyler Morris, the league's 2007 rookie of the year, should be back at 100 percent after slogging through the second half of last season upon return from injury. With Morris healthy and back in playing condition, the Terriers will have numerous solid scoring options to complement their typically stingy defense. Don't be fooled by last season's 14-17 overall mark. BU has the talent and now the maturity to make a serious title run. • Is BU a lock to win the league?
Far from it. In fact, you can make fairly convincing arguments for up to six of the league's nine programs, which should make the A-East a lot of fun this season. Vermont adds Michigan State transfer guard Maurice Joseph to a strong core led by league player of the year Marqus Blakely and combo guard Mike Trimboli. Hartford has everyone back from its second-place club except for forward Warren McLendon, who was dismissed from the program. UMBC, the defending league and tournament champ, still has matchup nightmare Darryl Proctor in the post and point guard Jay Greene, who led the country in assist-to-turnover margin last season. Albany is loaded with young talent that should mature in time for league play, while fellow SUNY school Binghamton is rolling the dice with some high-talent (and high-risk) transfers. • What is Binghamton doing?
Supporters of second-year head coach Kevin Broadus' open-door policy will point out that UMBC won the league going away last season with the considerable help of one-year transfers Ray Barbosa and Cavell Johnson. This year, Binghamton's two biggest incoming names are guard Tiki Mayben -- who was kicked off his high school team, didn't qualify academically at Syracuse and then played one season at UMass -- and Theo Davis, a former Gonzaga center who was the other player arrested for drug possession with Josh Heytvelt in February 2007. There's no doubt that the Bearcats have improved their talent level significantly, but on the heels of the negative publicity from the Miladin Kovacevic case (even though he never played for Broadus), what they do off the court may be just as important as what they do on it. • Is there a spoiler in the house?
The Wildcats may not have enough to threaten to win the league, but a number of people around the A-East say to watch out for New Hampshire. The Wildcats return everyone except forward Mike Christensen from a team that was at times very potent offensively and now gets James Madison transfer Colbey Santos as an additional weapon. • Who is the biggest X factor?
It's probably Trimboli, the Catamounts' dynamic yet erratic floor leader. There's no doubt that he can score in bunches, but Joseph's arrival to complement Blakely should mean that there's less of a need for him to put up big scoring numbers. If that's the case, the onus will be on Trimboli to improve his assist-to-turnover numbers, which are very low for a lead guard. Last season, Trimboli had 11 games with at least five giveaways, which helped contribute to Vermont's 16 games where the Catamounts turned it over on at least 20 percent of their possessions. If backup point Nick Vier can become more efficient himself, Trimboli also could find some time at off guard, where his long-range shooting can better be utilized. If Vermont can cut down on its miscues, the Catamounts have a very real chance to win the league. [h3]If I were commish …[/h3]
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
The conference coaches made a suggestion that the conference tournament rounds be held at higher seeds instead of one neutral site prior to the final. The athletic directors will look into this proposal. It's not bad for a tournament that has really struggled to draw in early
In this scenario, the America East schools are earning the home games in the conference tournament. The conference tournament will be in Albany this season, taking place at the same time as the MAAC tournament in the same city. They will be playing in different buildings but attracting fans could be an issue.
Albany
The Great Danes you see in November probably won't resemble the club you'll see come America East play. Albany could have freshman Anthony Raffa and juco transfer Michael Johnson starting in its backcourt sooner rather than later. Given time to jell with returnees like guard Tim Ambrose (7.2 ppg) and forward Brian Connelly (10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), expect the Danes to be a much more freewheeling bunch than last season's half-court grinders. The bigger questions are whether they can defend in a 94-foot game and, without departed senior forwards Brian Lillis and Brent Wilson, if they will be able to rebound like last season. Albany was the second-best team in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage, allowing opponents to claim only 25.6 percent of their misses.
Binghamton
Rolling the dice on Theo Davis, a Gonzaga transfer, could be smart business for a team that really struggled to defend inside the arc and rebound its defensive glass last season. While fellow transfer Tiki Mayben, formerly of UMass, might help stabilize the Cats on the offensive end, Davis is the kind of athlete you rarely see in the A-East. If he takes his second chance seriously, the rest of the conference could be in for some long nights in the paint.
Boston University
What was a very young team the past two seasons is now maturing, and it's time for the Terriers to become more efficient on offense. According to kenpom.com, no individual BU player was even above average offensively last season. That and the injuries help explain how BU ended up in the nation's bottom 100 in both 2-point and 3-point shooting percentage. Throw in turnovers on 21.3 percent of the Terriers' possessions (197th in Division I), and that makes for a very mediocre offense. One good thing going for BU is that Corey Lowe, the Terriers' leading scorer and highest volume shooter, made a team-best 37.1 percent from the arc. He'll need some help, though, if the Terriers are going to fulfill their preseason promise.
Hartford
Addition by subtraction? We'll see how the Hawks can replace the production of forward Warren McLendon (12.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), who was dismissed from his second Division I program after also flaming out at The Citadel. The Hawks like to score and rebound en masse, so in theory they should be able to replace the inconsistent McLendon's production, but they were a terrible rebounding team last season even with him around. Improved chemistry can go only so far if you can't rebound. What Hartford can do, though, is shoot the ball. The Hawks are led by junior Joe Zaglinski (16.2 ppg), who knocked down 41 percent of his 251 3-point attempts last season.
Maine
UMBC won the league at 13-3. Maine finished tied for last at 3-13. So, of course, the Black Bears went on the road on Jan. 12 and upended the Retrievers 77-74 in the second league game of the season. Unfortunately, not much went right after that for Maine, which lost 13 of its last 15 games. The good news is that the Black Bears bring back virtually everyone for another run.
UMBC
It's not easy being green? Kermit the Frog received a strong rebuttal last season from Retrievers point guard Jay Greene (7.2 assists, 2.1 turnovers per game). He was a huge reason why UMBC was the second-most careful team in the nation, only coughing up the ball on 14.7 percent of its possessions. How Greene balances his shooting and dishing with less firepower around him this season will be a key to UMBC's title defense.
New Hampshire
It's a good thing the Wildcats can shoot the 3, because last season they couldn't defend it or make shots from inside the arc. UNH was lit up for 39.3 percent shooting from the arc (320th) in Division I, so its own proficiency from that range was muted. The Wildcats were smart to take so many of their shots from the arc, though, given they were worse than all but two teams in the nation in 2-point field goal percentage. Despite its shooting imbalances, UNH still returns eight of its top nine scorers.
Stony Brook
Head coach Steve Pikiell has to replace the top two scorers from last season's 7-23 squad. In Demetrius Young and Dayton transfer Desmond Adedeji, the Seawolves have some bulk inside, but on paper, they lack quality scoring options, which is troublesome given their struggles on that end last season.
Vermont
You hate to play the "what if?" game, but you have to believe that Catamounts head coach Mike Lonergan will occasionally look wistfully at Boston College box scores this season and daydream about how well former Catamounts forward Joe Trapani would fit into this guard-heavy team's lineup. Back to reality … It will be interesting to see how former Michigan State guard Maurice Joseph changes the Cats on both ends. Last season's club played some of the most "3-free" ball in the land, finishing in the bottom 40 both in percentage of shots taken and allowed from 3-point range. In his sophomore season at Michigan State in 2006-07, Joseph took 116 3s in just 520 minutes.
[h4]2007-08 America East Standings[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
[/td] [td]Overall record[/td] [td]America East record[/td] [/tr][tr][td]UMBC*[/td] [td]24-8[/td] [td]13-3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Hartford[/td] [td]18-16[/td] [td]10-6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Albany[/td] [td]15-15[/td] [td]10-6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Vermont[/td] [td]16-15[/td] [td]9-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Binghamton[/td] [td]14-16[/td] [td]9-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Boston University[/td] [td]14-17[/td] [td]9-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]New Hampshire[/td] [td]9-20[/td] [td]6-10[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Stony Brook[/td] [td]7-23[/td] [td]3-13[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Maine[/td] [td]7-23[/td] [td]3-13[/td] [/tr][/table] *NCAA tournament
For all the America East news and notes, check out the league page.
[h4]Top Returning Scorers[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player[/td] [td]PPG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Marqus Blakely, Vermont, Jr.[/td] [td]19.0[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Corey Lowe, Boston University, Jr.[/td] [td]18.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Mike Trimboli, Vermont, Sr.[/td] [td]17.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Joe Zeglinski, Hartford, Jr.[/td] [td]16.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Darryl Proctor, UMBC, Sr.[/td] [td]15.1[/td] [/tr][/table]
[h4]Top Returning Rebounders[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player[/td] [td]RPG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Marqus Blakely, Vermont, Jr.[/td] [td]11.0[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Darryl Proctor, UMBC, Sr.[/td] [td]8.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Lazar Trifunovic, Binghamton, Jr.[/td] [td]7.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Demetrius Young, Stony Brook, Sr.[/td] [td]6.7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Scott Brittain, BU, Jr.[/td] [td] 6.3
[h1]Green not surprised that Broadus gives recruits a second chance[/h1]
By Robert B. Bonaparte • Press & Sun-Bulletin • August 5, 2008
VESTAL -- Jeff Green offered some words of encouragement Monday for fans of Binghamton University men's basketball team.
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"Coach (Kevin) Broadus knows talent," said Green, a 21-year-old NBA forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder, formerly the Seattle SuperSonics. "There's something about him when he sees a player, he can tell if the player is going to be real good or not. He has that eye for talent."
Green spoke with the boys and girls of Kevin Broadus' Basketball & Fitness Camps at the Events Center at Binghamton University.
Green, one of Broadus' top recruits while Broadus was an assistant coach to John Thompson III at Georgetown University, was the 2007 Big East Player of the Year.
Green was drafted with the fifth pick overall in the 2007 draft by the Boston Celtics and then traded hours later to the Seattle SuperSonics for Ray Allen. The Seattle-based franchise moved to Oklahoma City this past summer.
Broadus was an assistant coach at George Washington University in 2003 when he first tried to recruit Green, a high school senior-to-be at the time. A year later, Broadus was hired by Georgetown and convinced Green with him.
"I really was going to go GW with him if he didn't transfer over to Georgetown," said Green, who averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first NBA season, earning All-Rookie first team honors. "He's straight up. He's not like these other coaches that lie just to get you. Through my three years at Georgetown, he gave the speeches when I needed them.
"He's the reason I'm at where I'm at now."
Broadus took a chance on Green, who had struggled with poor grades in high school.
Broadus said he will continue to take similar risks with some members of Binghamton University's squad.
Among recruits with previous off-the-court problems include forward Theo Davis, who was suspended by Gonzaga University in February of 2007 following an arrest for possession of marijuana and guard Tiki Mayben, who signed to play for Syracuse University in 2005 but failed to qualify academically.
"I've taken heat in the past few weeks about taking these transfers," said Broadus, who'll enter his second year as coach. "They call them second-third chance guys. But these kids are people too.
"Did the rape someone? No. Did they kill someone? No. They have had some hiccups along the way but we all do."
Broadus, whose team finished 14-16 last season and lost in the America East Conference tournament first round, spoke in particular of a July 22 article written by ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
In the article Katz writes: "These moves are being watched closely by Broadus' rivals in the league. I spoke with a number of them Tuesday (July 21), and while they wouldn't go on record, they did say they wouldn't take the same kind of chances.
"One rival head coach said Broadus' transfers will backfire or the Bearcats will suddenly become a power."
Green said he thinks Bearcats fans should just be patient before jumping to conclusions about Broadus' recruiting.
"Look how I turned out," Green said. "Some people have certain disadvantages. ... For myself I wasn't focused. Maybe these recruits weren't around the right people. Hopefully they can come here and turn it all around."
[/td] [/tr][/table]
ESPN.com
Updated: August 5, 2008
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz has the Hawks looking up.
[h3]John Chaney's influence on Hartford[/h3]
By Andy Glockner
ESPN.com
In the height of the July evaluation period, when downtime is more or less a pipe dream, Hartford head coach Dan Leibovitz still found the time for an hour-long phone call with his family friend and mentor, former Temple coach John Chaney. If that surprises you, consider their main talking point. "The other night, seriously, he talked to me for 25 minutes about how to make pork ribs in your backyard," Leibovitz said, laughing in part about the unspoken conflict between his own Jewish faith and the consumption of the so-called other white meat. Lest you think Chaney was being ignorant, realize that he spent part of his youth working for a Jewish catering company and, according to Leibovitz, is well versed in the faith's prayers, traditions and culture. Rather, this conversation was just the latest cultural exchange between two men from different generations and very different backgrounds who are much more similar than you would think. Chaney says he sees a lot of himself in Leibovitz, whom he calls "one of his great sons." Chaney grew up very poor in Jacksonville, Fla., went to historically black Bethune-Cookman College and used his position at Temple, in part, to try to enact positive change in the black community in Philadelphia. Leibovitz was raised in a comfortable suburb outside Philly and graduated from Penn in the historically lily-white Ivy League. But when Leibovitz showed an interest in coaching after working with his former high school program during his time at Penn, Chaney quickly offered him a graduate assistant spot. Leibovitz repaid Chaney's faith in him by staying at Temple for 10 years, an unheard-of stretch of time for a young assistant at his first program. Now, Leibovitz understandably has taken a lot of Chaney with him to his first head-coaching job at Hartford. "Everything that I know and everything I believe in basketball pretty much comes from Coach Chaney," Leibovitz said. "… When I talk to my staff, the things that Coach Chaney says, or used to say, just flow out of me. It's not like I walk around trying to quote him, but when you deal with a given situation, you just hear his voice [in mine]." Leibovitz credits Chaney with helping him stay patient in his approach to building the Hartford program, and the tack is working. Last year, in just his second season in charge, the Hawks won a program-best 18 games at the Division I level, and they return almost every key piece from the club that finished second to UMBC and lost to the Retrievers in the America East title game. Hartford, long a dormant program, and Leibovitz are now being noticed. "They only know how to play one way: hard," said UMBC head coach Randy Monroe, whose Retrievers split a pair of one-point games with Hartford in the regular season before dusting the Hawks by 17 for the championship. "He and his staff have done a terrific job of getting the best out of each and every one of his guys, and his team will be one to be reckoned with." Don't expect Leibovitz and Chaney's mutual admiration to fade anytime soon, even though they're apart. Now retired from coaching, Chaney said that he's living vicariously through Leibovitz and that he watches the Hawks on TV whenever they are on. He said that he and Leibovitz talk in such depth that "I know some of his players almost as well as he does." Leibovitz says that Chaney is "the closest thing you can have" to a father figure after his own parents. Now with children himself, Leibovitz has the chance to pass this relationship down to the next generation. As in his head-coaching career, he's off to a good start there, too. Three months ago, he and his wife, Nancy, welcomed their second child, a baby boy. The infant's middle name? Chaney. [h3]Five Things To Watch in '08-09[/h3]
By Andy Glockner
ESPN.com
• Who's the favorite this season?
More often than not, the first team mentioned by league coaches was Boston University. The Terriers were very young and banged up for a good part of last season but played well down the stretch, winning nine of their final 12 games. This season, they have everyone back and guard Tyler Morris, the league's 2007 rookie of the year, should be back at 100 percent after slogging through the second half of last season upon return from injury. With Morris healthy and back in playing condition, the Terriers will have numerous solid scoring options to complement their typically stingy defense. Don't be fooled by last season's 14-17 overall mark. BU has the talent and now the maturity to make a serious title run. • Is BU a lock to win the league?
Far from it. In fact, you can make fairly convincing arguments for up to six of the league's nine programs, which should make the A-East a lot of fun this season. Vermont adds Michigan State transfer guard Maurice Joseph to a strong core led by league player of the year Marqus Blakely and combo guard Mike Trimboli. Hartford has everyone back from its second-place club except for forward Warren McLendon, who was dismissed from the program. UMBC, the defending league and tournament champ, still has matchup nightmare Darryl Proctor in the post and point guard Jay Greene, who led the country in assist-to-turnover margin last season. Albany is loaded with young talent that should mature in time for league play, while fellow SUNY school Binghamton is rolling the dice with some high-talent (and high-risk) transfers. • What is Binghamton doing?
Supporters of second-year head coach Kevin Broadus' open-door policy will point out that UMBC won the league going away last season with the considerable help of one-year transfers Ray Barbosa and Cavell Johnson. This year, Binghamton's two biggest incoming names are guard Tiki Mayben -- who was kicked off his high school team, didn't qualify academically at Syracuse and then played one season at UMass -- and Theo Davis, a former Gonzaga center who was the other player arrested for drug possession with Josh Heytvelt in February 2007. There's no doubt that the Bearcats have improved their talent level significantly, but on the heels of the negative publicity from the Miladin Kovacevic case (even though he never played for Broadus), what they do off the court may be just as important as what they do on it. • Is there a spoiler in the house?
The Wildcats may not have enough to threaten to win the league, but a number of people around the A-East say to watch out for New Hampshire. The Wildcats return everyone except forward Mike Christensen from a team that was at times very potent offensively and now gets James Madison transfer Colbey Santos as an additional weapon. • Who is the biggest X factor?
It's probably Trimboli, the Catamounts' dynamic yet erratic floor leader. There's no doubt that he can score in bunches, but Joseph's arrival to complement Blakely should mean that there's less of a need for him to put up big scoring numbers. If that's the case, the onus will be on Trimboli to improve his assist-to-turnover numbers, which are very low for a lead guard. Last season, Trimboli had 11 games with at least five giveaways, which helped contribute to Vermont's 16 games where the Catamounts turned it over on at least 20 percent of their possessions. If backup point Nick Vier can become more efficient himself, Trimboli also could find some time at off guard, where his long-range shooting can better be utilized. If Vermont can cut down on its miscues, the Catamounts have a very real chance to win the league. [h3]If I were commish …[/h3]
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
The conference coaches made a suggestion that the conference tournament rounds be held at higher seeds instead of one neutral site prior to the final. The athletic directors will look into this proposal. It's not bad for a tournament that has really struggled to draw in early
In this scenario, the America East schools are earning the home games in the conference tournament. The conference tournament will be in Albany this season, taking place at the same time as the MAAC tournament in the same city. They will be playing in different buildings but attracting fans could be an issue.
Albany The Great Danes you see in November probably won't resemble the club you'll see come America East play. Albany could have freshman Anthony Raffa and juco transfer Michael Johnson starting in its backcourt sooner rather than later. Given time to jell with returnees like guard Tim Ambrose (7.2 ppg) and forward Brian Connelly (10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), expect the Danes to be a much more freewheeling bunch than last season's half-court grinders. The bigger questions are whether they can defend in a 94-foot game and, without departed senior forwards Brian Lillis and Brent Wilson, if they will be able to rebound like last season. Albany was the second-best team in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage, allowing opponents to claim only 25.6 percent of their misses.
Binghamton Rolling the dice on Theo Davis, a Gonzaga transfer, could be smart business for a team that really struggled to defend inside the arc and rebound its defensive glass last season. While fellow transfer Tiki Mayben, formerly of UMass, might help stabilize the Cats on the offensive end, Davis is the kind of athlete you rarely see in the A-East. If he takes his second chance seriously, the rest of the conference could be in for some long nights in the paint.
Boston University What was a very young team the past two seasons is now maturing, and it's time for the Terriers to become more efficient on offense. According to kenpom.com, no individual BU player was even above average offensively last season. That and the injuries help explain how BU ended up in the nation's bottom 100 in both 2-point and 3-point shooting percentage. Throw in turnovers on 21.3 percent of the Terriers' possessions (197th in Division I), and that makes for a very mediocre offense. One good thing going for BU is that Corey Lowe, the Terriers' leading scorer and highest volume shooter, made a team-best 37.1 percent from the arc. He'll need some help, though, if the Terriers are going to fulfill their preseason promise.
Hartford Addition by subtraction? We'll see how the Hawks can replace the production of forward Warren McLendon (12.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), who was dismissed from his second Division I program after also flaming out at The Citadel. The Hawks like to score and rebound en masse, so in theory they should be able to replace the inconsistent McLendon's production, but they were a terrible rebounding team last season even with him around. Improved chemistry can go only so far if you can't rebound. What Hartford can do, though, is shoot the ball. The Hawks are led by junior Joe Zaglinski (16.2 ppg), who knocked down 41 percent of his 251 3-point attempts last season.
Maine UMBC won the league at 13-3. Maine finished tied for last at 3-13. So, of course, the Black Bears went on the road on Jan. 12 and upended the Retrievers 77-74 in the second league game of the season. Unfortunately, not much went right after that for Maine, which lost 13 of its last 15 games. The good news is that the Black Bears bring back virtually everyone for another run.
UMBC It's not easy being green? Kermit the Frog received a strong rebuttal last season from Retrievers point guard Jay Greene (7.2 assists, 2.1 turnovers per game). He was a huge reason why UMBC was the second-most careful team in the nation, only coughing up the ball on 14.7 percent of its possessions. How Greene balances his shooting and dishing with less firepower around him this season will be a key to UMBC's title defense.
New Hampshire It's a good thing the Wildcats can shoot the 3, because last season they couldn't defend it or make shots from inside the arc. UNH was lit up for 39.3 percent shooting from the arc (320th) in Division I, so its own proficiency from that range was muted. The Wildcats were smart to take so many of their shots from the arc, though, given they were worse than all but two teams in the nation in 2-point field goal percentage. Despite its shooting imbalances, UNH still returns eight of its top nine scorers.
Stony Brook Head coach Steve Pikiell has to replace the top two scorers from last season's 7-23 squad. In Demetrius Young and Dayton transfer Desmond Adedeji, the Seawolves have some bulk inside, but on paper, they lack quality scoring options, which is troublesome given their struggles on that end last season.
Vermont You hate to play the "what if?" game, but you have to believe that Catamounts head coach Mike Lonergan will occasionally look wistfully at Boston College box scores this season and daydream about how well former Catamounts forward Joe Trapani would fit into this guard-heavy team's lineup. Back to reality … It will be interesting to see how former Michigan State guard Maurice Joseph changes the Cats on both ends. Last season's club played some of the most "3-free" ball in the land, finishing in the bottom 40 both in percentage of shots taken and allowed from 3-point range. In his sophomore season at Michigan State in 2006-07, Joseph took 116 3s in just 520 minutes.
[h4]2007-08 America East Standings[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
[/td] [td]Overall record[/td] [td]America East record[/td] [/tr][tr][td]UMBC*[/td] [td]24-8[/td] [td]13-3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Hartford[/td] [td]18-16[/td] [td]10-6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Albany[/td] [td]15-15[/td] [td]10-6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Vermont[/td] [td]16-15[/td] [td]9-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Binghamton[/td] [td]14-16[/td] [td]9-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Boston University[/td] [td]14-17[/td] [td]9-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]New Hampshire[/td] [td]9-20[/td] [td]6-10[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Stony Brook[/td] [td]7-23[/td] [td]3-13[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Maine[/td] [td]7-23[/td] [td]3-13[/td] [/tr][/table] *NCAA tournament
For all the America East news and notes, check out the league page.
[h4]Top Returning Scorers[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player[/td] [td]PPG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Marqus Blakely, Vermont, Jr.[/td] [td]19.0[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Corey Lowe, Boston University, Jr.[/td] [td]18.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Mike Trimboli, Vermont, Sr.[/td] [td]17.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Joe Zeglinski, Hartford, Jr.[/td] [td]16.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Darryl Proctor, UMBC, Sr.[/td] [td]15.1[/td] [/tr][/table]
[h4]Top Returning Rebounders[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player[/td] [td]RPG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Marqus Blakely, Vermont, Jr.[/td] [td]11.0[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Darryl Proctor, UMBC, Sr.[/td] [td]8.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Lazar Trifunovic, Binghamton, Jr.[/td] [td]7.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Demetrius Young, Stony Brook, Sr.[/td] [td]6.7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Scott Brittain, BU, Jr.[/td] [td] 6.3
[h1]Green not surprised that Broadus gives recruits a second chance[/h1]
By Robert B. Bonaparte • Press & Sun-Bulletin • August 5, 2008
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VESTAL -- Jeff Green offered some words of encouragement Monday for fans of Binghamton University men's basketball team.
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"Coach (Kevin) Broadus knows talent," said Green, a 21-year-old NBA forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder, formerly the Seattle SuperSonics. "There's something about him when he sees a player, he can tell if the player is going to be real good or not. He has that eye for talent."
Green spoke with the boys and girls of Kevin Broadus' Basketball & Fitness Camps at the Events Center at Binghamton University.
Green, one of Broadus' top recruits while Broadus was an assistant coach to John Thompson III at Georgetown University, was the 2007 Big East Player of the Year.
Green was drafted with the fifth pick overall in the 2007 draft by the Boston Celtics and then traded hours later to the Seattle SuperSonics for Ray Allen. The Seattle-based franchise moved to Oklahoma City this past summer.
Broadus was an assistant coach at George Washington University in 2003 when he first tried to recruit Green, a high school senior-to-be at the time. A year later, Broadus was hired by Georgetown and convinced Green with him.
"I really was going to go GW with him if he didn't transfer over to Georgetown," said Green, who averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first NBA season, earning All-Rookie first team honors. "He's straight up. He's not like these other coaches that lie just to get you. Through my three years at Georgetown, he gave the speeches when I needed them.
"He's the reason I'm at where I'm at now."
Broadus took a chance on Green, who had struggled with poor grades in high school.
Broadus said he will continue to take similar risks with some members of Binghamton University's squad.
Among recruits with previous off-the-court problems include forward Theo Davis, who was suspended by Gonzaga University in February of 2007 following an arrest for possession of marijuana and guard Tiki Mayben, who signed to play for Syracuse University in 2005 but failed to qualify academically.
"I've taken heat in the past few weeks about taking these transfers," said Broadus, who'll enter his second year as coach. "They call them second-third chance guys. But these kids are people too.
"Did the rape someone? No. Did they kill someone? No. They have had some hiccups along the way but we all do."
Broadus, whose team finished 14-16 last season and lost in the America East Conference tournament first round, spoke in particular of a July 22 article written by ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
In the article Katz writes: "These moves are being watched closely by Broadus' rivals in the league. I spoke with a number of them Tuesday (July 21), and while they wouldn't go on record, they did say they wouldn't take the same kind of chances.
"One rival head coach said Broadus' transfers will backfire or the Bearcats will suddenly become a power."
Green said he thinks Bearcats fans should just be patient before jumping to conclusions about Broadus' recruiting.
"Look how I turned out," Green said. "Some people have certain disadvantages. ... For myself I wasn't focused. Maybe these recruits weren't around the right people. Hopefully they can come here and turn it all around."
[/td] [/tr][/table]
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Monday, August 4, 2008
Big East ShootAround: Supersized league faces supersized tournament
[h3]Who's afraid of the big, bad tourney?[/h3]
By Dana O'Neil
ESPN.com
Two years ago, Syracuse rewrote the Big East record books, becoming the first team in the league's history to win four games in four days and capture the conference tournament. The Orange, riding the crest of Gerry McNamara's magic, were rightly lauded as a team of survivors. Winning back-to-back-to-back-to-back games in a league stuffed to the gills with talent, is only slightly less difficult than forcibly eating questionable bugs to earn $1 million from a television show. And now Syracuse -- and Pitt, which replicated the Big East tourney feat last season -- are nothing more than a bunch of slugs. Four games in four days? Puh-lease. Like a game of hopscotch. Welcome to 2009, where the Big East tournament will be the biggest beast in basketball, a five-day hoopfest where the equivalent of one region of the NCAA tournament bracket (16 teams in all) will vie for the conference's tournament crown. Member schools' university presidents voted this year to include all Big East schools in the conference tournament, ending a three-season run (that coincided with the league's expansion) that left four teams out of the March mix in New York. "It gives everybody a chance to compete, and that's what everybody wants," said Rutgers coach Fred Hill, whose team didn't make it to New York last season. "If you haven't had the best season, there's a light at the end of the season to salvage your season." But putting together this gargantuan enterprise doesn't come without misgivings, including concerns from the commissioner who has shepherded the league for 18 years. Mike Tranghese has steered the Big East through every sort of bump and potential pitfall, including the expansion to 16 teams that everyone argued was unwieldy. Now set to retire at the end of the season, Tranghese isn't sold on this latest Big East wrinkle.
[h3]It won't have the same significance. It can't.[/h3]
--Mike Tranghese, Big East commissioner
For four days, the Big East tournament is on par with the hottest Broadway show as one of the toughest tickets to get a hold of in New York City. The building is rarely empty and never quiet, a raucous atmosphere from the first tip at noon on Wednesday until the championship game on Saturday night. Tranghese worries that schools at the bottom of the league barrel won't bring the same fan numbers on Tuesday night and more, that other schools' fans -- particularly those from the top four seeds who don't play until Thursday -- will use Tuesday as nothing more than a travel day and not scoop up the tickets. "How do we get them into the building on Tuesday?" said Tranghese, who voted against expanding to 16 teams. "We usually sell them in packets. That's our challenge, to put people in the stands on Tuesday, to create an environment." There's also the notion that by inviting everyone, the regular season becomes about as exciting as T-ball, where there are no losers. Two years ago, Notre Dame hosted DePaul in the regular-season finale, with each team teetering at 5-10 in the league. Winner goes to New York; loser to the sofas. In front of a packed Joyce Center, the game came down to the last shot, with Draelon Burns' missed 3-pointer signaling the end for the Blue Demons and a new beginning for the Irish. Will that same end-of-the-season fury be created, Tranghese wonders, if the only thing at stake is an 11-seed in the tournament versus a 14? "It won't have the same significance," he said. "It can't." Of course, with NCAA tournament bids on the line, there are far more pressing concerns to teams and coaches than empty seats. The Big East jammed eight teams into this year's NCAA tournament bracket, the most of any conference in the country. Early indications this season are that the league could make a legitimate argument for nine squads (Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Villanova and West Virginia). What happens if one of those teams is knocked off by the 15th- or 16th-place team in the league? Or more likely, what if the 10th-place team sitting decidedly on the bubble when the tournament opens, loses to the winner of a Tuesday game? Dana O'Neil covers college basketball for ESPN.com and can be reached at [email protected]. In a twist of cruel irony, could the league weaken its NCAA tournament status with its own postseason? "Yeah, it could hurt you; you could lose," said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose eighth-place Big East team played its way into the NCAA tourney with a first-round win over Syracuse in New York last season. "There are a lot of potential negatives but so what? We can't be afraid of games." [h3]Five things to watch in '08-09[/h3]
By Dana O'Neil
ESPN.com
• Can Keno Davis do a Drake at Providence?
Keno Davis knows the knock on Providence by heart -- you can't win there, not with Syracuse and Connecticut breathing down your recruiting neck, not with subpar facilities, not with a Catholic non-football budget in the world of power basketball. He knows it because he's living it now and because he lived it before; just insert the word Drake for Providence. "All we heard was how strong the [Missouri] Valley was, how we were lucky to be in the conversation with Creighton and Southern Illinois," said Davis, tabbed to replace Tim Welsh in April. "I don't think we're in that situation at Providence. There are some doubters, I know, but the people around here -- the administration, everyone -- they want a strong academic college and successful athletic programs. Hopefully I can benefit from being in the right place at the right time." Davis, the easy choice for coach of the year honors last season, certainly knows the formula well. At Drake he used seasoned veterans to turn the Valley on its ear and make the previously unknown school the story of the year. At Providence he has an entire roster returning, including injured point guard Sharaud Curry. Davis isn't kidding himself. He knows the Big East isn't the Valley and turning around Providence, in a jammed, top-heavy league, will be a lot more work than it was to turn around Drake. The Friars haven't been a factor since 2004, the last time they made the NCAA tournament. They haven't won an NCAA tournament game since 1997. "These guys are very open and excited about their senior year," Davis said. "Sometimes with players, it takes until their senior years for them to understand how to motivate themselves. That's what I have now. We have seniors, but they don't think anything is guaranteed. No one feels like it's their turn. They want to work and they want to win.'' • Will A.J. Price return to form?
Just how vital the Connecticut point guard is to the Huskies was made painfully obvious during the NCAA tournament. Price tore his ACL minutes into UConn's first-round game against 13th-seeded San Diego, and the Huskies promptly exited the tournament. Now the Huskies' top 10 ranking seems to hinge on Price's health. Price, who has endured more than Job in his collegiate career, is on track for a September return, but the question is whether he'll be the same guard this year as he was before the injury. By March, Price was averaging 14.5 points and 5.8 assists per game, the kind of numbers Jim Calhoun expected when he first recruited the point guard out of Amityville, N.Y. The good news for Price is that he has some help so he doesn't have to rush. Rookie Kemba Walker, who starred for the Under-18 team, is a more than capable temporary replacement and could, in the long run, allow Price to slide over to his more natural 2-guard spot. Price shot 37 percent from beyond the arc last season, and the combination of the two guards together might be even more powerful than Price all by himself. • Can a team climb out of the Big East basement?
Yes, but not overnight. Fred Hill sat on the bench when Villanova, never a Big East basement dweller, brought in a top recruiting class in Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter and Jason Fraser. Everyone expected instant results. Those Wildcats took two trips to the NIT before reaching the NCAA tournament as juniors and the Elite Eight in their final season. Hill, now the Rutgers head coach, believes there's a lesson to be learned there, and it's not necessarily a popular one: Patience is rewarded in the Big East. Other leagues can enjoy one-hit wonders, teams that come from nowhere to sudden success. Not so, Hill said, in a league that boasts some of greatest basketball traditions in the country, benches filled with Hall of Fame coaches and recruiting that is every bit as competitive as the games on the court. "It's very difficult to climb the ladder,'' Hill said. "Everyone in this league has great players. If you have a great recruiting class, so does everyone else. That just puts you on a level playing field. What you have to do is have back-to-back classes and let them grow together and develop. It's very hard to win with freshmen in this league. Even Carmelo Anthony was surrounded by great players." Hill, who knows fans that have been waiting since 1991 for a Rutgers NCAA tournament bid are itchy, believes he's close to making that sort of turnaround in New Jersey. He has savvy veterans (J.R. Inman) and talented rookies (McDonald's All-American Mike Rosario), but he also knows that a great year for his program still could equate to nothing better than an 11th-place finish. "Eleventh place, 10th place, that could be a very good year for us," Hill said. "Believe me, no one wants to accelerate the process more than a coach. I would love to turn things around overnight, but in this conference it's impossible." • Will Luke Harangody repeat as Big East Player of the Year?
It's gonna be tough. Harangody deservedly earned the honors over preseason favorite Roy Hibbert last season. Harangody's numbers -- 23.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in conference play -- not only were ridiculously impressive, but what Harangody meant to the Irish's success couldn't be measured. But you can bet the double-teams Harangody saw by midseason last season will come in a steady stream this season. His production on occasion, suffered by the extra attention, and he can ill afford to get frustrated this season, not with a loaded Notre Dame team that returns everyone but Rob Kurz. Harangody also will have more competition for Big East Player of the Year this season, what with a bevy of talented players bypassing the NBA for another year in college -- Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet, Syracuse's Jonny Flynn, Louisville's Terrence Williams and Earl Clark and Marquette's Jerel McNeal -- all could give Harangody a run for the honors. If Harangody is looking for inspiration, he need only head over to the Irish's trophy case. The last player to win back-to-back top honors in the conference was Notre Dame's Troy Murphy, who was named player of the year in 2000 and 2001. • Will the Big East top its own record with nine teams in the NCAA tournament?
The tournament was Big East top heavy last season, with eight teams earning bids and three making it to the Sweet 16. That could be chump change. Granted, judging teams by their preseason rosters is as flimsy as the paper the rosters are printed on, but it's still easy to make an argument for nine NCAA-worthy teams (and even nine preseason Top 25 worthy teams) without breaking a sweat: Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Villanova and West Virginia. What separates the Big East is that unlike a lot of leagues, the conference wasn't decimated by a mass exodus to the NBA. Thabeet came back to UConn; Williams and Clark remained at Louisville; Harangody is back with Notre Dame; McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews will suit up for Marquette again; West Virginia might have lost Joe Alexander, but added Devin Ebanks; Georgetown mixes Greg Monroe in with Austin Freeman; Villanova has its entire roster back; and Syracuse, despite losing Donte Greene, still can count on Jonny Flynn. When the league first expanded to 16 teams, coaches fretted they'd be punished for their size, losing spots on the NCAA tournament bracket. Turns out, bigger can be better. [h3]If I were commish …[/h3]
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
There is no indication that the league is going to dissolve into two fractions: the football schools and non-Division I football schools. Everything seems good right now with the league and the decision to move to 16 teams in the Big East tournament. But there are a few things to tinker with in terms of scheduling. Currently, each team plays every Big East team once and three teams twice. There should be a computer-driven (i.e. random) way to select the three repeat opponents. That way, there can be no incorrect guessing about which teams will be better than others, and there can be no complaining about the inequity of scheduling the best Big East teams as repeat opponents. [h3]2007-08 Big East Standings[/h3] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
[/td] [td]Overall record[/td] [td]Big East record[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Georgetown*[/td] [td]27-5[/td] [td]15-3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Louisville*[/td] [td]24-8[/td] [td]14-4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Notre Dame*[/td] [td]24-7[/td] [td]14-4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Connecticut*[/td] [td]24-8[/td] [td]13-[/td] [/tr][tr][td]West Virginia*[/td] [td]24-10[/td] [td]11-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Marquette*[/td] [td]24-9[/td] [td]11-7[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Pitt*[/td] [td]26-9[/td] [td]10-8[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Villanova*[/td] [td]20-12[/td] [td]9-9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Syracuse^[/td] [td]19-13[/td] [td]9-9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Cincinnati[/td] [td]13-18[/td] [td]8-10[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Seton Hall[/td] [td]17-15[/td] [td]7-11[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Providence[/td] [td]15-16[/td] [td]6-12[/td] [/tr][tr][td]DePaul[/td] [td]11-19[/td] [td]6-12[/td] [/tr][tr][td]St. John's[/td] [td]11-19[/td] [td]5-13[/td] [/tr][tr][td]South Florida[/td] [td]12-19[/td] [td]3-15[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Rutgers[/td] [td]11-20[/td] [td]3-15[/td] [/tr][/table]*NCAA tournament
^NIT berth For all the Big East news and notes, check out the league page.
[h4]2008-09 Team Capsules[/h4]
The Bearcats were a surprising success story last season, posting six more conference wins than the year before. Deonta Vaughn proved to be a great scorer, putting up 30 against a Pitt team not exactly known for giving up tons of points. Vaughn finally should get some help this season. Mick Cronin adds transfer Mike Williams from Texas and a talented freshman class, but Cincinnati has to learn how to win over the course of a season. The Bearcats crashed and burned their way to seven consecutive losses at the end of the season.
Everyone is talking about Hasheem Thabeet's return to Storrs and A.J. Price's knee, but the real key to the Huskies is Jeff Adrien. The senior deservedly earned All-Big East first-team honors for the Huskies after he led the league in double-doubles (17). He's the perfect inside partner for Thabeet. Assuming Price, who proved his value after blowing out his knee against San Diego in the NCAA tournament, is OK, UConn appears poised to right last season's early exodus from both the Big East and NCAA tournaments.
No matter how good the young talent is, it's impossible to win if you can't keep the opposing team from scoring, and DePaul simply could not. Opponents shot better than 45 percent against the Blue Demons and averaged nearly 76 points a game. That's not going to get it done in the Big East and to no surprise, DePaul watched the Big East tournament from home. If they can learn to play better defense, the Demons have some players. Mac Koshwal averaged 10.7 ppg and 8.4 rpg, and Dar Tucker put up 13.6 ppg despite averaging only 23.6 minutes as a sub.
It's DaJuan Summers' turn. Is he ready? With Roy Hibbert and Patrick Ewing Jr. gone, this team now belongs to Summers. And with the way John Thompson III likes to run his offense through the paint, Summers' play will be crucial. Fortunately he won't have to go it entirely alone. Austin Freeman was terrific in his rookie season and former McDonald's All-American Chris Wright should improve now that he's healthy. There's also the matter of a nice little addition in the form of Greg Monroe. The power forward is the 20th-ranked player coming out of high school.
It's hard not to love a team loaded with the talent that the Cardinals have coming back -- Terrence Williams, Earl Clark and Edgar Sosa -- and coming in (Samardo Samuels), but don't discount the loss of David Padgett. Rick Pitino ran his offense through Padgett, whose keen decision-making helped find the talented players on the wings. And he was the solid head on the shoulders that this team of chronic misbehavers sorely needed. Getting Derrick Caracter back will be good if he gets in shape, but it would be a disaster if he becomes the suspended distraction he's been for most of his career.
Tom Crean might not be universally loved by the fan base in Milwaukee, but former assistant Buzz Williams has to like the man. Crean left Williams a loaded team that should contend for Big East honors. By season's end, Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James were as tough a backcourt as you could find in the country. McNeal was arguably one of the best players in the conference by season's end. Just how much better the Golden Eagles can get will depend a lot on whether James can get out of the injury-plagued funk that ailed him last season. He wasn't bad by any means, but he was nowhere near as good as he was two years earlier when he took the league's top rookie trophy.
Yet another team that is hard not to like as a preseason favorite, the Irish return the surprise (but deserving) Big East Player of the Year in Luke Harangody, 3-point shooter extreme Kyle McAlarney and improving point guard Tory Jackson. Keeping Jackson, who slumped some midseason, on track will be key for a team that took a somewhat disappointing second-round exit from the NCAA tournament.
It's hard not to envision the Panthers as a top five team nationally. Overwhelmed by injuries all season, Pittsburgh rolled to an improbable Big East tournament title on the emerging stardom of Sam Young. Unassuming off the court, he was a beast on it and his decision to return to campus should have been greeted with hosannas and hallelujahs. Mix in a healthy Levance Fields, powerful DeJuan Blair and the Panthers' trademark nasty defense, and you have to give them the slightest of edges to win the league.
Just how healthy Sharaud Curry is could determine the Friars' future. Curry missed nearly all of last season with a broken foot, and his absence was painfully obvious. The Friars limped to a 12th-place finish in the league, looking nothing better than wayward in the backcourt. Now with Dwain Williams gone, Curry's even more vital. Despite a roster filled with returning players, the Friars have no one else on the roster with much experience at the point.
Fred Hill is bringing the talent to New Jersey. Now it's time to see what he can do with it. A good recruiting class coupled with a nucleus of young returning players (including all-rookie guard Corey Chandler) should help pull the Scarlet Knights out of the Big East basement. Paramount among Hill's duties, though, is managing J.R. Inman. The most talented player on Rutgers, but also the most disruptive. Despite leading the team in scoring and rebounding, he lost his starting job for a time and with new blood coming in. Hill will need to somehow keep Inman happy without upsetting the balance with the rest of his roster.
The seat is burning beneath Norm Roberts. Losses, compounded with disinterest and empty seats at the Garden are putting heavy pressure on the coach to produce this season. Anthony Mason Jr. hindered much of the year with an ankle injury, averaged a solid 15.7 ppg in conference play, but needs to become a force in his final season. More of the pressure, though, lies with the development of key sophomores such as Malik Boothe (3.0 ppg) and Rob Thomas, who struggled to recover from a knee injury.
Jeremy Hazell and Eugene Harvey should provide plenty of scoring punch for the Pirates, but Harvey needs to be a better ballhandler if Seton Hall wants to survive. Inconsistent at the point, Harvey contributed to the Pirates' late-season skid. The return of Paul Gause, who missed a bulk of the season with injuries, should help, but perhaps the most important thing for Seton Hall is to make sure its coach's season goes smoothly. Bobby Gonzalez will be suspended for the first conference game after a postgame run-in with Rutgers' coach Fred Hill last season, and Gonzalez's fiery temperament has made him the subject of intense speculation about his job security and relationship with his athletic director.
One piece of paper will have a lot to say about the Bulls' success. If Gus Gilcrhist's appeal is heard and the freshman is granted immediate eligibility, South Florida suddenly has an inside game to make up for the graduation of Kentrell Gransberry. If the NCAA nixes the appeal, Dominique Jones is going to be one busy dude. The guard scored 30 in back-to-back games last year, the first rookie in the league to do that since Allen Iverson. He'll get some help from Georgia transfer, Mike Mercer, but it will be Jones' show all the way.
Jim Boeheim has a nice problem. Fabulous rookie point guard Jonny Flynn is back, but so are guards Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins, who both missed the last season with knee injuries. Making the rotation work will be Boeheim's trickiest problem, but not his only one. As talented as that trio is, replacing Donte Greene, who made the jump to the NBA, will be equally tough. Boeheim will need Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson to be more productive to help ease the scoring void left by Greene's departure. Still this figures to be a team to get the Orange out of the NIT bracket.
The last team into last season's NCAA tournament, the Wildcats legitimized their selection with a run to the Sweet 16. Everyone is back, including 2006-07 Rookie of the Year Scottie Reynolds. Corey Stokes needs to continue to score as he did last season, and Corey Fisher has to improve as a ballhandler, but Villanova will be picked high. An unforgivable conference schedule -- the Cats have Syracuse, Providence and Marquette twice and have to go to West Virginia, Notre Dame and Connecticut -- won't make it easy.
Bob Huggins nearly made it to the Elite Eight last season with players who he didn't recruit and who weren't accustomed to his style. Scary to imagine what he can do with a full offseason and some of his own recruits. Losing Joe Alexander is a huge blow, but the Mountaineers proved they could win when he didn't have his A game when they beat Duke in the second round despite Alexander's struggles. Saying goodbye to Darris Nichols is equally tough, but Joe Mazzulla proved to be a more than capable replacement. And the real intrigue will be rookie Devin Ebanks, a late pickup from the Kelvin Sampson-Indiana ruins, who should battle Georgetown's Monroe for rookie of the year honors.
[h4]Big East's Best[/h4]By Jay Bilas
ESPN Jay Bilas counts down the best teams in the Big East:
1. Connecticut: Jim Calhoun always has built toward title-contending teams, and this season, the bulk of the roster that made the NCAA tournament returns, with the addition of a great prospect, Kemba Walker.
2. Louisville: Rick Pitino loses David Padgett, but Terrence Williams and Earl Clark are ready to take off.
3. Pittsburgh: Jamie Dixon returns a star with a chip on his shoulder in Sam Young, an undersized interior stud in DeJuan Blair and one of the top point guards in the country in Levance Fields.
4. Notre Dame: Luke Harangody returns as player of the year, and Mike Brey has really good guard play with Kyle McAlarney and Tory Jackson.
5. Marquette: Few have guards as good as Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Matthews, and Lazar Hayward is ready for the next step.
6. Villanova: Jay Wright's young guards should be more grown up, and the Wildcats should be a Top 25 team.
7. Syracuse: Jim Boeheim will get Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf back from torn ACLs to team with point guard Jonny Flynn, and that will be the difference between NIT and NCAA.
8. West Virginia: Bob Huggins will have this team competitive in the Big East, which will get the Mountaineers into the postseason.
9. Georgetown: While others will focus on what the Hoyas don't have, this is an NCAA tournament team.
10. Providence: Keno Davis inherits a very good crop of players, and if the Friars stay healthy, this can be an NCAA tournament team.
11. Seton Hall: The Pirates will be better this season than last, but that may not be enough to gain entry into the NCAA tournament.
12. Cincinnati: Mick Cronin made the Bearcats into fighters, and Deonta Vaughn should help Cincy take another step forward.
13. St. John's: The Red Storm can show improvement this season, but still not move up in the Big East standings.
14. DePaul: Mac Koshwal has to take over, and DePaul has to learn how to win … fast.
15. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights won only three league games last season, but showed some flashes by beating Villanova, Pitt and Seton Hall.
16. South Florida: Dominique Jones is one of the best unknowns in the Big East, but that won't be enough.
[h4]
Top Returning Scorers[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player[/td] [td]PPG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, Junior[/td] [td]20.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Sam Young, Pittsburgh, Senior[/td] [td]18.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, Junior[/td] [td]17.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Dominique Jones, South Florida, Sophomore[/td] [td]17.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, Junior[/td] [td]15.9[/td] [/tr][/table]
[h4]Top Returning Rebounders[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player[/td] [td]RPG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, Junior[/td] [td]10.6[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Jeff Adrien, UConn, Senior[/td] [td]9.2[/td] [/tr][tr][td]DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, Sophomore[/td] [td]9.1[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Mac Koshwal, DePaul, Sophomore[/td] [td]8.4[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Paul Harris, Syracuse, Junior[/td] [td]8.2[/td] [/tr][/table]
[h4]Top Returning Assist Leaders[/h4] [table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player[/td] [td]APG[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Tory Jackson, Notre Dame, Junior[/td] [td]5.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]A.J. Price, UConn, Senior[/td] [td]5.8[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, Sophomore[/td] [td]5.3[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Eugene Harvey, Seton Hall, Junior[/td] [td]4.9[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Geoff McDermott, Providence, Senior[/td] [td]4.9[/td] [/tr][/table]
[h4]Final Shot[/h4]The Big East powerhouses are all over ESPN.com's Prestige Rankings. Three teams -- Connecticut (6), Syracuse (9) and Georgetown (10) -- made the Top 10. Recent additions Louisville (16) and Cincinnati (19) also made the Top 25. Villanova (31), St. John's (36) and Pitt (44) made the Top 50. And the Big East's average ranking made it the No. 1 conference. Prestige Rankings Will the Big East Conference set a record with nine teams in the 2009 NCAA tournament? Bracketology
At Providence he has an entire roster returning, including injured point guard Sharaud Curry.
Curry, Efejuku, McDermott...
Rookie Kemba Walker, who starred for the Under-18 team, is a more than capable temporary replacement and could, in the long run, allow Price to slide over to his more natural 2-guard spot.
Dar Tucker put up 13.6 ppg despite averaging only 23.6 minutes as a sub.
STUD. Dre, this boy's game might be to your liking..
in the form of Greg Monroe. The power forward is the 20th-ranked player coming out of high school.
Rick Pitino ran his offense through Padgett, whose keen decision-making helped find the talented players on the wings.
Which is why I'm not sold on this team for the coming year. They'll win games defensively...to be great they'll have to score.
McNeal was arguably one of the best players in the conference country by season's end.
Just how much better the Golden Eagles can get will depend a lot on whether James can get out of the injury-plagued funk that ailed him last season. He wasn't bad by any means,
Yes he was. Marquette always has excuses, too.
The return of Paul Gause, who missed a bulk of the season with injuries, should help
Kid is tough. One of the better bench players in the league
Paul Harris could snatch 10 boards a game playing the 4 this season at 6'4.
And all 16 teams in the BET?
- 3,603
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After seeing Monroe I don't think he was the best HS player in the country...but 20? Damn...that's beyond ridiculous
- 2,714
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- Joined
- Jun 25, 2008
ewww.
UK winning that tourney is atrocious.
UK winning that tourney is atrocious.
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check out Florida's OOC schedule...
[table][tr][td]Mon Nov 3[/td] [td]Warner Southern[/td] [td] [/td] [td]Gainesville, FL[/td] [td]TBA[/td] [td]
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- Joined
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haha that fla sched is a joke....
Indiana startin 2 get some solid recruits
Indiana startin 2 get some solid recruits
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- 6,996
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^ who y'all got ooc? (duke)
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Duke plays G'Town..at Cameron.
^^ Crean will get guards...and nobody over 6'8...and the 6'8 kids will just be role players.
And he'll never have a serious chance to win a title at IU
^^ Crean will get guards...and nobody over 6'8...and the 6'8 kids will just be role players.
And he'll never have a serious chance to win a title at IU
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Rick Barnes puts a nice one together yet again...
[table][tr][td]Date[/td] [td]Opponent / Event[/td] [td]Location[/td] [td]Time / Result[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
And then they're looking at St. Joe's for sure, then probably Notre Dame in Round 2, and North Carolina in the Finals if the brackets broke down thatway...
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They got St. Joe's first round of the Maui Invitational, not St. John's...just makes the schedule a little better...
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^ that has to be the toughest ooc sched in the country, especially if y'all end up seeing UNC.
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Gonzaga's OOC games:
Old Spice Classic (Oklahoma State in first round)
Indiana (in Indianapolis)
@ Washington State
@ Arizona
UCONN (in Washington)
Portland State
@ Utah
@ Tennessee
Memphis (in Washington)
Old Spice Classic (Oklahoma State in first round)
Indiana (in Indianapolis)
@ Washington State
@ Arizona
UCONN (in Washington)
Portland State
@ Utah
@ Tennessee
Memphis (in Washington)
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I believe Izzo has constructed a tough one again...can't remember though.
As usual...The Georgetown program releases NO information until they have to...III certainly has taken that page outa pops notebook
So far..
@ Duke
vs Memphis
Old Spice vs Witchita State
6 games TBA.
As usual...The Georgetown program releases NO information until they have to...III certainly has taken that page outa pops notebook
So far..
@ Duke
vs Memphis
Old Spice vs Witchita State
6 games TBA.
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Originally Posted by wildKYcat
man, i've heard them all. most of the people on catspause refer to him as "CBC" as in Coach Billy Clyde.
i just say Gillispie, or maybe BG. or if he just did something gangster, i call him BGeezy.
not really.
