SB Nation - Luke Harangody

Bruins Put Up A Fight But Notre Dame Holds Serve In South Bend

Nestor — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:05:12 -0000

Ben Howland and his Bruins were undone once again by Nikola Dragovic and Jerime Anderson

Well the at least on the scoreboard the conventional wisdom turned out to be true. Notre Dame (now with a record of 10-2) held serve on their home court to beat the Bruins by a score of 84-73. Bruins now fall to a record of 3-7 with no chance of getting back to .500 before the start of the Pac-10 conference season.

For the Bruins there were some bright spots this afternoon. They came out on fire, shooting lights out on offense while playing classic Ben Ball defense on the other ends of the court. Our defense was suffocating early on as we were putting on vintage display of Howland defense with quick rotations, intense double teams while securing our rebounds. We were also getting our offense started with our intense defense. Things were working as we were in the lead late in the first half.

Then some of the old habits (by usual suspects) kicked on. Jerime Anderson turned the ball over in a careless possession that resulted in 4 point turn around. We also let Luke Harangody get confidence (after he missed his first shots) with a perfect execution via an inbound play. Late in the first half our defensive intensity just sagged off (and it was probably not a coincidence that it happened after Reeves Nelson had to sit down with 2 fouls) allowing Notre Dame to finish the half with a 40-36 lead.

In the second half, Notre Dame went on a run thanks to lazy defensive efforts from the entire team and the usual bricks from Nikola Dragovic on the offensive side. Dragovic had yet another pathetic game making only 4 out of his 12 shots and essentially shooting us out of the game early in the second half. Thanks to a spectacular effort from Malcolm Lee, who had a career day with 29 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, Bruins made it close but it just wasn’t enough. Here is the box score and more thoughts after the jump.

As mentioned above Malcolm Lee was easily the player of the game on our side. He did get some help from few other Bruins. Michael Roll did his part scoring 19 points with 4 assists and 2 steals. Although, I wish we had gotten a better effort from Roll on the defensive end. Reeves Nelson once again stood out as the defensive stalwart while chipping in with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Honeycutt as usual flashed his abilities for the time he got on the court, which included 3 rebounds on the offensive end.

I think on the whole the effort of our team was encouraging as they clearly built on the confidence building blowout against New Mexico State. They did show poise, composure and desire early on to start the game. However, they didn’t get it done at the end because of not being able to maintain their defensive intensity.

Jerime Anderson’s effort was not encouraging but he is a sophomore. Perhaps someday he will realize he needs to play within his athletic ability and not hurt his team with going for the spectacular play. As for Dragovic, there isn’t much to add to this point. Sure he got some rebounds and made some shots here and there, but the only thing consistent about him is how he continues to hurt our team with awful defensive effort, careless and unfocused plays on offense, and just horrific shooting in general. We are not going anywhere this season if Dragovic continues to waste minutes that could be allocated to other younger players with more talent and upside in the team. Not to mention Dragovic with his pathetic defensive effort continue to serve as a poor example of what a Ben Ball warrior should be performing on the court.

Anyway, as I said up top despite the loss, there were some positive signs in today’s loss. I can see a core emerging in this team around the leadership of Michael Roll and the natural talent and ability of Lee, Nelson and Honeycutt. I hope in the coming games Howland allows those guys – especially Honeycutt – give them bigger roles, while limiting the minutes of Dragovic and Anderson. With those guys leading the way at least the Bruins showed some fight in their first true road game of the season.

With that I will leave the analysis up to you. Fire up your thoughts in this post-game thread. If you have extensive reflections to share please put them up in a separate fanpost. Enjoy your Saturday as best as you can despite the (not so unexpected) loss in South Bend.

GO BRUINS.

Ben Ball Gameday Roundup: Brunch With The Irish

Nestor — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:20:35 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Can Drago and Bobo show up on the defensive end this afternoon?

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In about couple of hours Bruins will take on the Fighting Irish in a nationally televised game (CBS) at Joyce Center. I am sure we will hear the usual nostalgic memories around this game during the pre-game teaser but the game will essentially be a chance for both teams to make one last ditch impression before the conference season.

While we have all discussed the early struggle of our basketball team last few weeks, Notre Dame without a marquee win during their 9-2 start will be equally desperate for a win. The Chicago Tribune has a piece on how the Irish who have already lost this season to Northwestern and to LMU, are hungry for a victory:

"If we're fortunate enough to beat (UCLA), it's a quality win," Brey said. "I think they can win double digits in the Pac-10. They still have really good players there -- they're just still trying to get a feel for the whole thing."

It is another dress rehearsal for surviving to Selection Sunday with a chance at an invite. For that, the ability to recover from gut-wrenching defeat is mandatory.

"You still can be in the mix for one of the bids out of our league if you handle that the right way," Brey said.

The conventional wisdom has the game going the Irish's way this afternoon:

The Irish are averaging a healthy 82.2 ppg on the campaign and Luke Harangody is the centerpiece of this team. The 6-8, 246-pound Harangody is one of the most dominant players in the nation and he is currently averaging an impressive double-double of 24.6 ppg and 10.1 rpg. Tim Abromaitis, a 49.2 percent three-point shooter, is another weapon for ND at 15.7 ppg, and Ben Hansbrough can also be effective with 12.5 ppg and 5.0 apg to his credit. In the team's last game, Harangody notched his fifth double-double of the campaign with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but it still wasn't enough in a shocking 87-85 loss to LMU. Abromaitis poured in 23 points to complement to the big man, but was whistled for a costly five-second violation in the final moments. Tory Jackson had a chance to force overtime, but his jumper in the last seconds was off the mark.

ND appeared to be a team destined for a big campaign after a fast start and a national ranking earlier in the season. However, the team's last loss was quite puzzling and could possibly be a sign of things to come. With that said, the Irish are still better than UCLA and they should prevail on their home floor today.

Well I am not sure if I can disagree with that prediction, but I do believe the Bruins might have a shot today. I think our guys will have a chance to pull the upset if they can replicate the defensive intensity and effort from earlier this week, which was indicative of the kind of heart and determination they showed against Kansas. More after the jump.

Ramon Shelburne from the Daily News earlier this week had a really great piece on how our team is finding room to breathe and gradually chip away amidst all the frustration of this early season:

"You have to be patient, especially with young kids who are learning everything for the first time," Howland said. "This is early in the season. Everybody acts like we're writing things off here. It's still very early."

That's not to say this group will turn into a Final Four team by the end of the season. It's not even to suggest that an NCAA Tournament bid is back on the table.

Just to say that UCLA has room to grow, and finally, some room to breathe after the weight of past expectations has been lifted off of them.

With his scrappy style, Nelson can be the second-coming of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson can lead the team in scoring.

Honeycutt has the potential to be one of the best slashers in the Pac-10.

But there's about 300 hours of film study, practice and hard knocks to go through before we can remove the word "can" from any of those sentences.

"We watch a lot of film," Lee said. "We watched all of that film of us against Mississippi State. Every little thing that we did wrong. Then we worked on it in practice (Monday)."

It's not glamorous. It's not what's been happening around UCLA since Howland took over. But it also does happen.

It also sounds like Jerime Anderson and his team-mates are getting the message:

Mounting losses have caused players to openly doubt themselves. At the same time, some underclassmen have struggled with Howland's style of basketball.

His offense requires patience and ball movement while his defense asks players to constantly adapt, pressuring the ball, double-teaming and looking to help.

"That's been a problem with a couple of the players and definitely myself," Anderson said. "I'm out there on the floor and I'm thinking a little bit more than I should. I should just play."

Well Anderson definitely showed some signs of improvement with perhaps his best game of the season against New Mexico State. Yes, it was against a cupcake team, but we didn't see that from Jerime against other cupcakes earlier in the season. I am hoping Jerime will use the confidence gained from that outing with another solid effort grounded in fundamentals and defense this afternoon at Joyce Center. Hope we can see JA and his team-mates take another step forward with just two more games left in this out of conference season.

GO BRUINS.

Ben Ball Roundup: Early Notre Dame Notes

Nestor — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:11:39 -0000

More photos » by Joe Raymond - AP

How do we stop the Beast? 6-foot-8, 246-pound Luke Harangody is averaging 24.6 points and 10.1 rebounds

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Our friends over at Rakes Of Mallow are still too euphoric about their hiring of new football coach. So, can't blame them for not thinking too much about the 9-2 Fighting Irish's upcoming (gulp) nationally televised non conference game against our 3-6 Bruins. May be they will get fired up about it before Saturday but they are not yet.

We can expect the Irish hoops team to be fired up on Saturday because they are going to want revenge for what we did them to Pauley last year drubbing them by a score of 89-63. They have a record of 9-2 but they are coming into this game following a 2 point loss against LMU (may be they were already looking ahead to UCLA?). Their other loss this season came against in a 15 point defeat against North Western. The best team the Irish has beaten this year is St. Louis in the third-place game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

Obviously the center of attention on Saturday will be Luke Harangody. It will be interesting to see how the Bruins can defend him at Joyce Center. Perhaps they can use the same formula that allowed Nelson to contain Aldrich at Pauley. Then again, may be it's too much to ask our freshmen to show the kind of poise and maturity needed to get a win in a fired up, hostile, roald enviroment. Besdes Harangody, 5-11 guard Tory Jackson is the other dependable option returining from last season. Currently their rotation looks like this:

Usual Starters -- F Luke Harangody, F Tyrone Nash, G Jonathan Peoples, G Ben Hansbrough, G Tory Jackson. Key Subs -- F Tim Abromaitis, F Carleton Scott.

Ben Hansbrough, was hobbled a bit early in the season by a sprained right ankle, but he is rounding into form. He has been in double figures from the scoring line last 5 games and almost shooting 50 percent from the 3 point line.

Meanwhile, junior forward Tim Abromaitis, who played rarely as a freshman and missed the entire 2007-08 season, has emerged as the second leading scorer in the team as he begin this year with seven straight game in double figures. So, in other words, with injury to Keefe, Coach Howland is going to have his hands full dealing with the Irish front court. More on that after the jump.

Well here is the latest on Keefe. He is out at least 2-3 weeks with a dislocated shouler. It was the same shoulder that kept him out with a huge chunk of the season two years ago with a torn labrium. Thankfully though per Jon Gold the xrays this time were negative. I have to say again Keefe was an absolute warrior on Saturday. He got off to such a great start on the defensive end. When he got hurt it was pretty amazing to see how composed he was in dealing with the pain (when it was clear on camera (and to those who were at Pauley) what was happening to him). If there is a kid who deserves a happy ending at UCLA, who has done everything Coach Howland has asked him to do over the years without complaining one bit, it's James Keefe. I hope he can get fully healthy and can make a return to make some meaningful contributions before he is done.

Now without Keefe Bruins are going to be short handed against Harangody and Abromaitis in the front court. It will be all about playing team defense:

The 6-foot-8, 246-pound Harangody is averaging 24.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.

"He's a beast," UCLA guard Michael Roll said. "It's going to be a team defense."

That means double-teams, help-side defense and players scrambling to box out.

UCLA Coach Ben Howland plans to throw a bench-full of players at Harangody, including Nikola Dragovic, Reeves Nelson, J'mison Morgan and perhaps Brendan Lane.

"Obviously losing James is really, really a tough deal for us," Howland said.

Well perhaps one guy who might be ready to step a little more will be freshman point-forward Honeycutt. Tyler is feeling pretty good after his effortless performance on Saturday. As poncho fanshotted this is what TH had to say about starting off 3-6:

"It's been real hard. I didn't expect this at all when I came here. I knew we had a tough schedule, but I thought it'd be competitive, close games. It's kind of helped us actually, kind of set us in our place. Let us know we're not all that and still have room to improve."

I was even more encouraged by this:

"I'm still getting back into it. Obviously I've only had about three practices. Eventually it will come along. I can improve on a lot. Defense, on-ball defense. I'm not used to turning the ball over that much.

Having him talk about the need to cut down on TOs and improving his "on-ball defense" is music to my ears. Honeycutt is not the only underclassmen excited about building on Tuesday's confidence gaining blowout win:

"A win against anybody right now makes a difference," point guard Jerime Anderson said. "It helps our confidence a little bit. It helps us feel better about ourselves.

"We've been working hard. That's one thing you can't take away from us. It just hasn't been transferring into games. The main thing for us was to really work hard, and it finally transferred to a game. I think we should try and build from that win."

All of the comments from this week has been encouraging. However, right now for me the key is for these guys to maintain their composure when they are on the road this Saturday. I still can't take too much from the blowout win against a cupcake team on Tuesday night. I think that effort will win something if they can replicate it again on national TV by slugging it out with what I expect to be a hungry and angry Irish team on both ends of the court.

It means the Bruins will have to come into that game with a defensive mindset. They will have to think about getting their points by generating suffocating defensive pressure, going after lose balls and then playing smart ball on the offensive end. It will mean not jacking up hurried three pointers (and you know who I am especially thinking about here) and looking for that extra pass down low to find the team-mate with easiest shot. If the Bruins can come out and give another all out effort with intensity and passion, it might just might set them up to finish rest of the non-conference season in a positive note.

GO BRUINS.

Notre Dame Coach Watch 2009: The Recap

CW — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:00:46 -0000

More photos » by Joe Raymond - AP

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It's been a busy last few days for the Irish, so let's attempt to catch up.

Friday

The Greatest Hoax of December 2009 was perpetuated on the internet, showing just how unreliable everything we'd heard up until that point had been and making Wisconsin's day a little more interesting. At this point in time, most people accepted that no one had any idea what was going on and just waited for some more concrete information. Others threw themselves further into the Stoops rumor, believing that an offer was on the table, and that everything from ResLife's restrictions to the tiny fact he'd been living in the same place for a decade making four million dollars a year and was building a dream house for his very happy family. The women's soccer team lost in the Final Four to North Carolina in a 1-0 heartbreaker and the hockey team loses a 1-0 game to the top ranked Miami (OH) Redhawks. The internet explodes over the entire day as people attempt to wrap their minds around the events of Jersey Shore.

Saturday

The Chicago Sun-Times decided to try to be as wrong as many times as it could in a 24-hour span by just reporting every possible option regarding Stoops, and getting them all wrong. They then went all-in with a "Well, we'll know Sunday morning! Something will be decided!". (Spoiler alert: Nothing was decided by Sunday morning.) Bob Stoops issued his first real denial-denial and the first bit of Weis' comments regarding Pete Carroll, a grad student and a Malibu beach house started trickling out. Notre Dame hockey loses at top ranked Miami (OH) again, this time 4-0.

Sunday

Tim Abromaitis scored 31 points against Central Florida (Luke Harangody had 29 and 7 on 11 of 16 shooting, but we expect that sort of thing). Not a lot in regards to the coaching search today, although people started losing their minds that Stoops wasn't coming and claiming that "the process" wasn't good enough (these people are all insane, and will be addressed later in the week). It was also reported that Urban Meyer had been hospitalized after the SEC title game, leading to speculation of whether it was caused by the shock of seeing Jack Swarbrick creepily staring in his window in the middle of night. Brady Quinn turns in a nice little start, going 25 of 45 for 271 and 3 touchdowns against the Chargers. Meghan and Cheyne win this season of Amazing Race, meaning yours truly successfully predicted the winner before the first episode for the second consecutive season.

Monday

Things get real. In the saddest news of the day, both Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate announce they will be heading for the NFL at a presser with Charlie Weis, who was there by the 7-to-23 combination's request. In major coaching news, Brian Kelly said on the Dan Patrick Radio Show that there was no guarantee he'd coach in the Sugar Bowl, while the New York Times reported that Kelly would be meeting with Swarbrick in New York today. In perhaps the most transparent action ever by someone involved in a high profile coaching hunt, Brian Kelly then tweeted that he'd indeed be meeting with Notre Dame and listening to their offer. Tom Zbikowski picks off Aaron Rodgers on Monday Night Football.

Now

We wait.

A Brief Preview of Your Fighting Irish Basketball Team

CW — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:09:23 -0000

More photos » by Joe Raymond - AP

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Nothing substantial from the coaching rumor mill so far today - Charlie didn't quit at his press conference, at least - so let's take a look at Mike Brey's 2010 squad.

In the interest of full disclosure, when Scott Martin went down with an ACL injury, I was ready to write off this Irish hoops season. Not from a record standpoint - oh no, the schedule is so putrid they would roll up some victories on the Harangody/Jackson combination alone - but from a being a quality team that could compete for a Big East title standpoint. Martin was so perfect for the Brey offense, a Rob Kurz/Ryan Ayers 2.0 that could go inside/outside, knock down threes and space the floor for Harangody on offense while still providing some size on defense. Short of the big man himself going down, there wasn't a worse injury that could have occurred. I was certain we were going to see an anomaly: a Mike Brey team that couldn't shoot, and therefore, would be just sort of awful and gruesomely entertaining to watch on the occasional Big Monday.

But then the Seth Davis preseason puff piece happened and likened Tim Abromaitis, who barely saw the floor last season, to Matty Carroll. Well, that would be one shooter, and Ben Hansbrough would be another, and Tory and Jonathan Peoples maybe could continue progress on their jumpers, and Harangody's range was extending towards the end of last season....

That was a best case scenario and it seemed quite unlikely, but here we are two games into the season and the idea that Mike Brey would have a team without shooters seems completely laughable in hindsight. I understand the competition has also been something to chuckle at, but you have to put the ball in the bucket no matter who you're against, and the Irish have been doing that from behind the arc and then some. The team is 26 for 48 from 3m for a blistering 54%. Hansbrough is 9 for 11, Peoples is 3 for 6, Tory is 4 for 7 and Tim "Matt Carroll" Abromaitis is 6 for 10 off the bench. Throw in Luke Harangody tossing in 3 of his 9 and you have the main reason (beyond the schedule ) for the Irish averaging 90.5 points per game.

As long as Peoples and Jackson can continue knocking down a decent percentage - and they will get looks, with the double and triple-teams that will be thrown at Gody all season - this offense will be in fine shape. Ty Nash can do nitty gritty things, bang with some guys and clean up misses, with Carleton Scott doing the same - plus shooting the occasional three! - when he's in the game. Abromaitis is some bonus scoring punch off the bench, and also adds some size if you wanted to go a little bigger on the outside and move Hansbrough over to point while sitting Tory. Or, if you really wanted to space things out, slide Abromaitis down to the four and put Harangody in there with him, Tory, Ben and Peoples. You need another guy to add into the rotation, but this Irish team has some different combinations it can deploy and will be competitive in every game as long as Harangody stays out of foul trouble.

My other thought with this line-up is whether this might be the best perimeter defense we've seen from a Mike Brey squad in recent years. God bless Kyle McAlarney, who elicited a record number of "laughing, shaking your head and high-fiving your nearest friend" with his three point barrages and will be sorely missed, but he wasn't exactly Gary Payton out there on the defensive end. Chris Thomas, with a banged up knee plaguing him the whole season, couldn't guard anybody his senior year. Tory is tenacious, but often undersized and forced into bad match-ups. But this team -if Brey wants to - could be a very solid defensive squad. Hansbrough played a hard-nosed style at Mississippi State and has the size, while Peoples has the athleticism to maybe make that Russell Carter leap for his senior season. Tory is a bulldog pressuring the ball, so it's possible a lot of the problems that plagued the Irish over the years, like giving up penetration to make for easy slash-and-kick threes or dunks, could be mitigated. With Harangody gobbling up rebounds and Nash/Scott jumping out of the gym to block shots, this could potentially be a considerably more balanced Irish team that we're used to seeing . Granted, it's likely the perimeter defense assumes its usual position as a sieve-like turnstile, but the personnel is there to lock things down on the outside.

Your notable games for the Irish this season:

November 27^th vs. Northwestern

December 19^th vs. UCLA (who lost to Cal State-Fullerton last night)

January 2^nd at UConn

January 9^th vs. West Virginia (one preseason Big East favorite)

January 27^th at Villanova (the other)

And then the closing stretch of the Big East schedule, which consists of @Louisville, Pitt, @Georgetown, UConn and @Marquette. Not quite as bad as the Bataan Death March in the middle of last year, but still no easy trek into the Garden. Remember, some of these teams aren't as good as last year - Louisville lost Clark and Williams, Pitt Blair and Young, Marquette James, Matthews, McNeal and Burke - but they aren't exactly going to be gimme wins either, especially with the young players stepping into the replace the losses having a full season of conference play to get seasoned.

Fun Luke Harangody goal for the season that doesn't involve winning National Player of the Year or setting the career Big East marks in scoring or rebounding :

I'd like Harangody to get a triple-double. He'll get the points and rebounds with his eyes closed, but the assists will be a little tricky simply because he is just a high volume scorer. He only averaged two a game last year with a game-high of six against Syracuse, but if it turned into an up and down game and the opposition was really throwing double teams at him, it's possible.

Sunday Zags Around the Web - Tweet, Tweet...

Zach B — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:00:19 -0000

First of all, I feel I must offer a bit of an apology. I was unable to break through the security at the Pepsi Center yesterday and couldn't watch our beloved Zags take on the Texas Longhorns. The two sides have done a good job at keeping the results pretty well hushed except for a few message board leaks so it is hard to get any solid news out of the event. We've heard that the overall outcome of the game favored Texas but it was close the whole way and Gonzaga showed very well...an emotional victory, if you will. Now we'll all have to practice some patience as Gonzaga will kick off their most anticipated season in recent memory on Saturday. So much mystery, intrigue, and speculation surrounding this program that it just feels like it is time to lace em' up. Here are a few links and things to hold you over on football Sunday...

NCAA men’s basketball preview - KansasCity.com

Let the pundits continue to overlook this Gonzaga team. In this article, Gonzaga was listed as the fifth best "non-BCS" team behind Butler, Dayton, Xavier, and Siena. With as little bias as possible...I'd take the Zags against all those opponents. Actually a pretty funny article in general as the author claims Luke Harangody is the most overrated player in the country and doesn't deserve to make any All-American team. Ohhhkay...

Kraziness in the Kennel Video

Takes a little while to load but you won't see a better video of Gonzaga basketball. Shot from various angles, this video captures the events of Kraziness in an outstanding way. Some great looks at the new guys for us out-of-towners.

The Sports Network - Men's College Basketball: Preview of the WCC

A nice preview done by The Sports Network predicts that Gonzaga will once again reign supreme in the WCC but this could be the season for Portland. One of the few previews that actually mentions Elias Harris so it is worth noting.

Twitter / Matt Bouldin: Just got back to spokane f ...

From Matt Bouldin's twitter account:

Just got back to spokane from denver. Scrimmaged texas at the pepsi center. Zags looked good.

Sorry, Gonzaga fans. That's all I can offer you from the Gonzaga-Texas scrimmage. Lots of rumors going around about the game but this is the only thing we've seen from one of the horses mouth.

Twitter / Rush the Court: #46 Gonzaga - This is the ...

#46 Gonzaga - This is the yr to catch the Zags in the WCC, but Mark Few and Matt Bouldin (14/4/3) aren't about to let that happen.

Rush the Court, one of the best general college basketball blog ranks Gonzaga #46. Love being under the radar...

That's all we've got for you today in Zagland, but smile! College basketball begins TOMORROW!

Raking The Muck: St. Michael Rises Again

CW — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:36:39 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

about 1 month ago: FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2009, file photo, Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd heads upfield after making a catch during NCAA college football game against Nevada in South Bend, Ind. Floyd will play against Navy on Saturday, six weeks after breaking his left collarbone. Coach Charlie Weis said Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, that the 6-foot-3, 220-pound sophomore was cleared to play Monday for the No. 19 Fighting Irish. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

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A lot ofimportant stuff in regards to injuries in Coach Weis' Tuesday. First, the good:

Michael Floyd is cleared to play for the Navy game (!!!!!). Floyd had 13 catches for 358 yards and five touchdowns before going down with a broken collarbone in the Michigan State game. With Golden Tate playing at the level he is, Jimmy is going to have a field day back there.
Robbie Parris is also back after Taylor Mays' attempted homicide. It's nice to see college football writers across the country starting to realize that Mays isn't actually a top-tier safety in the Eric Berry/Earl Thomas/Kyle McCarthy-mold, but really just a head hunter who we all were led into thinking was good. I was guilty of it as much as anyone, but writers are redeeming themselves nicely in noticing this, although it'll be interesting to see if NFL scouts pick up on it. (Probably not.) Nice to see Parris back, especially since Robby Toma and Duval Kamara have got some reps in his absence. Receiving corps is looking particularly deep now.

And the not so good:

Back-up quarterback and heir apparent to the throne whenever Jimmy leaves, Dayne Crist, is out 4-to-6 months with a torn ACL. He could be back for spring practice, but nothing is certain there. If you were on the Notre Dame message boards this week, you might have been as surprised as I was to find that A) Only Notre Dame players enter the draft early and B) Only Notre Dame players get injured. I should start selling "Hold me, I'm Irish" t-shirts on this site for all of the emo Fighting Irish fans, we'd make a killing.
Trevor Robinson is doubtful for Navy, and Armando Allen is day-to-day. If I had my druthers, I'd try to limit their action against the Midshipmen and get everyone up to one hundred percent for the throwdown with Pitt next Saturday night.

The most important things from these bullets are obviously St. Michael's return and Crist's injury. The offense might almost be unstoppable with Floyd back, but sadly, getting a big fourth quarter lead will mean increased reps for Evan Sharpley, who won't be on the team next season. John Goodman will now be your emergency third string quarterback, so um, Wildcat anyone?

We'll get into a more extensive look at the team in the coming weeks, but I'm very worried about the Irish basketball team this season. Even though they are playing an embarrassingly awful non-conference schedule, the Big East is still really good and Scott Martin's injury was an absolute killer. Martin was the second most important player on the team after first-team preseason All-American Luke Harangody, as was going to fill in the Kurz/Ayers roll as big forward who could shoot perfectly. Now we have a team that goes seven deep and relies on three-point shooting, only there are about two shooters you'd feel comfortable with.

Oh, what is it that you're drinking there, Seth Davis? May I have a sip?

Oh yeah, indeed:

Maybe I'm overreacting to one practice, but this team was bigger, deeper and more talented than I anticipated. Clearly, the Irish do not have much margin for error, and they certainly cannot afford any more injuries. But they've got the best player in the league, if not the country, and that's not a bad place to start. Notre Dame might have a low ceiling, but it also has a pretty high floor. Write it down: The Gody is going back to the NCAA tournament.

During the course of the article, Davis praises everyone on the team for something and compares Tim Abromaitis to Matty Carroll. I obviously hope he's right, but I'm going to maintain some skepticism until we actually see it mesh on the floor. The first non-tomato can for the Irish is Northwestern on November 27. They'll then play either Saint Louis or Iowa State, with the only opportunity for a big non-conference win coming December 19, when the UCLA Bruins roll into town. The Big East slate isn't as tough as it was last year with UConn and Louisville twice, but it's still not going to be easy. I will leave you with my single favorite part of the story:

When Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry told Harangody that the Cavs considered former Louisville forward Earl Clark a better pro prospect, Harangody told him, "I have a f------ problem with that."

Staying over at SI.com, Stewart Mandel spends part of his mailbag advocating a plus-one plan. If you frame the plus-one as a natural step to getting to a playoff, then I can accept it. If you frame it as some sort of cure to the many ills of the collegiate football postseason, you're an idiot. Tell me, if we're using the "Mandel Plan," what do you do in years like 2002 or 2005, when you have two clear, undefeated teams at the top heading into the bowls? Or, even more fun, what about in years like 2007, when it's a giant clusterf*ck? Who would play in the plus-one game then? LSU vs. USC? Or Georgia? Or Kansas? Or West Virginia?

Mandel tacks this onto the bottom:

I'm sure I will now be deluged with 800 e-mails picking my proposal apart, but keep one thing in mind before you hit send: There's at least a glimmer of hope the Mandel Plan could become reality (the SEC and ACC are already open to a plus-one), whereas any larger playoff proposal -- no matter how many political action committees form to support it -- still has a 0.0 percent chance of getting adopted any time soon.

Great, so I'm supposed to be excited your shitty plan has a chance to come into reality? Awesome. Thanks for that caveat, Stewart.

In the latest College Football Is Going To Hell News, they just added the Dallas Bowl for New Year's Day 2011. What esteemed program will you see play on what used to be a holy day for college football? I'm glad you asked!

Jan. 1, 2011 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Big 12 (No. 7 team)
Jan. 1, 2012 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Conference USA team
Jan. 1, 2013 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Big 12 (No. 7 team)
Jan. 1, 2014 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Conference USA team

Can I set my Tivo now?! Gee golly, can't wait to see Purdue and and UTEP square off while I'm nursing a hangover. IS NOTHING SACRED TO YOU PEOPLE?!

BtB 2009-10 Big East Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:19:46 -0000

The Big East had a BIG season last year, but not quite the monster year many predicted. At the end of the year, the conference only qualified eight teams for the NCAAs, instead the nine or ten many had predicted. Louisville earned the tournament's overall number one seed, while UConn and Pitt joined them on the top line. The Huskies were the only one of this group to make it to Detroit, but the 3 seed in the East region, Villanova, knocked off the Panthers to join Connecticut at Ford Field.

Graduation and the NBA Draft sapped some of the star power from the conference during the offseason, and teams like Pitt and Marquette, look to be in rebuilding mode because of it. Louisville, whose summer included personnel losses and revelations about Rick Pitino's personal life, will be a contender but not quite the power of last year. UConn and Syracuse also lost significant personnel, but have some exciting recruits coming in to fill the voids. Two teams who fell flat last year, Georgetown and Notre Dame could be back, while Cincinnati, St. John's, and Seton Hall may be waking from a long slumber.

But the two teams who appear to be head and shoulders above the rest are the two who lost the least, Villanova and West Virginia. They'll start with the biggest targets on their backs, and they'll take plenty of shots in the early season, particularly in tournament play. Both play in loaded fields this November, the Wildcats in Puerto Rico; the Mountaineers in Anaheim.

More on all 16 teams in the largest league in the land after the jump.

Here's a recap of last year's Big East standings.

Big East Conference Standings

(updated 4.5.2009 at 12:15 AM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Louisville Cardinals	16	2	31	6
Connecticut Huskies	15	3	31	5
Pittsburgh Panthers	15	3	31	5
Villanova Wildcats	13	5	30	8
Marquette Golden Eagles	12	6	25	10
Syracuse Orange	11	7	28	10
West Virginia Mountaineers	10	8	23	12
Providence Friars	10	8	19	14
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	8	10	21	15
Cincinnati Bearcats	8	10	18	14
Seton Hall Pirates	7	11	17	15
Georgetown Hoyas	7	11	16	15
St. John's Red Storm	6	12	16	18
South Florida Bulls	4	14	9	22
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	2	16	11	21
DePaul Blue Demons	0	18	9	24

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order. If a team name appears in red, click it to go to that schools SBNation site, your source for more in depth analysis.

DePaul (last NCAA: 2004) The Blue Demons defeated a league opponent once only last season, bursting Cincinnati's bubble in the first round of the Big East tournament. The pressure is definitely on Jerry Wainwright at the moment, but this team doesn't look like it will improve much. The foundation is good, even with swingman Dar Tucker's departure for the professional game, as 6-10 Mac Koshwal is a beast inside for Wainwright, as he averaged over 12 points and nearly 10 boards a game last year, and Will Walker averaged nearly 15 points a game in the backcourt. But the rest of the squad lacks scoring punch and experience. Ohio State transfer Eric Wallace, Oregon State transfer Eric Wallace, and returnees Devin Hill (3.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Mario Stula (1.7 ppg) will have to produce more to make up for the loss of Tucker, while Jabari Currie (5.3 ppg, 1.8 apg) and Jeremiah Kelly (4.3 ppg, 2.4 apg) will need to help Walker out more in the backcourt. DePaul will play Northern Iowa in the Paradise Jam, then East Carolina or Tennessee in their second game. They'll also head to Tampa to take on Mississippi State in the Big East/SEC Invitational.

Providence (last NCAA: 2004) The Friars won 10 Big East games in Keno Davis' first season at the helm, but ended up in the NIT. Providence's schedule is a big reason for their failure, as they defeated Cincinnati and Rutgers twice, and were swept by Villanova, making their victory total a bit suspect. Providence should drop significantly this season, as they lost four starters off an already disappointing team. Senior point guard Sharaud Curry (11.7 ppg, 4.2 apg) is the lone returning starter, so at least the offense will be in good hands. Production will have to come from 6-5 wing Marshon Brooks (10.6 ppg) and 6-4 Brian McKenzie (4.6 ppg), along with JC transfer Kyle Wright and freshman Duke Mondy, both of whom lit it up at their previous level of competition. 6-9 JC transfer Russ Permenter and 6-8 freshmen Kadeem Bates and James Still will join two redshirt freshmen, 6-6 Jamine Peterson and 6-8 Bilal Dixon, on an all new frontline. How quickly that group can adjust to the rigors of the Big East will determine how well PC can do this season. The Friars don't participate in a tournament this year, but they travel to Alabama and host former Big East member Boston College.

South Florida (last NCAA: 1992) The Bulls should be better this year, but the question is whether that will show up in the standings. Stan Heath returns three starters from a team that won only four Big East contests a season ago, including guard Dominique Jones (18.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.9 apg) and 6-10 forward Augustus Gilchrist (10.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg). Both of those players will receive significant help in their particular units, as Ohio State transfer Anthony Crater will take some of the playmaking pressure off Jones (as will a bigger role for senior Chris Howard, who averaged over 4 assists a game last year) and 6-11 JC transfer Jarrid Famous will combine with Gilchrist to form one of the more intimidating frontlines in the conference. 6-4 guard Mike Mercer (8.5 ppg, 33.3% from 3) returns to the team for his final season after head coach Stan Heath booted him in January for disciplinary issues. USF's freshmen, heavy on guards and wings, includes Joe Dumars' son, Jordan. The Bulls will play in the Charleston Classic before Thanksgiving, where they'll play Davidson on Day 1. A matchup with either La Salle or South Carolina awaits on Day 2. USF will also face San Diego and San Francisco in Las Vegas before Christmas.

Rutgers (last NCAA: 1991) The Scarlet Knights once again struggled in the Big East, winning only two games in the conference in '08-09. Fred Hill's team should face another tough year despite the return of 6-3 sophomore guard Mike Rosario (16.2 ppg) and an improving frontline featuring imposing shotblocker 6-9 Gregory Echenique (8.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.4 bpg) and 6-11 center Hamady Ndiaye (5.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg). 6-7 Jonathan Mitchell, a transfer from Florida, and 6-6 sophomore Patrick Jackson, a rarely used freshman, are expected to contribute as well. While Rutgers is set at shooting guard thanks to Rosario, JC transfer James Beatty will likely replace Anthony Farmer at the point, though junior Mike Coburn (4 ppg, 2.1 apg), last year's backup, will see plenty of time there as well. The Scarlet Knights will make the short trip to Atlantic City, where they'll face UMass in the semifinals of the Legends Classic. They'll play either Florida or Michigan State on the following evening. A December 28 trip to North Carolina also looms large.

Marquette (last NCAA: 2009) The Golden Eagles appear due for a fall in Buzz Williams' second year at the helm. Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews, and Dominic James, Marquette's starting backcourt of a season ago, have all graduated. And while 6-6 F Lazar Hayward (16.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg) is back, that's a lot of production Williams will have to replace. Jimmy Butler (5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg), another 6-6 forward, should move from the sixth man role to the starting lineup, but he needs to show more offensive consistency. Two-time Wisconsin HS Player of the Year Jeronne Maymon, yet another 6-6 forward, will be expected to contribute immediately, as will 6-7 shot blocking machine Erik Williams. Marquette's all-new backcourt features two JC All-Americans, 6-3 Dwight Buycks and 6-1 Darius Johnson-Odom, and 6-1 Canadian freshman Junior Cadougan, the heir apparent to James. Maurice Acker (2.8 ppg, 1.8 apg), who replaced James when he went out with a broken foot, is also back for the Golden Eagles. Marquette plays in the Old Spice Classic this year, where they open with Xavier. They'll then play either Michigan or Creighton in what has to be called that tournament's Midwestern half of the bracket.

Pittsburgh (last NCAA: 2009) The Panthers will be in full rebuilding mode this season, as Jamie Dixon lost four starters from a season ago. However, the one starter who is back, senior guard Jermaine Dixon (8.4 ppg, 2 apg), is out until November thanks to a broken foot. Reserves Gilbert Brown (5.4 ppg), Brad Wanamaker (5.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg), and Ashton Gibbs (4.3 ppg, 43.9% from 3) will have to take on a greater role, but replacing Levance Fields at the point is the biggest issue for Pitt. Ultimately, Gibbs and Centenary transfer Chase Adams (14.6 ppg, 4.5 apg) will have to shoulder the load. The frontcourt was decimated thanks to the departure of DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, and Tyrell Biggs. 6-10 center Gary McGhee (1.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg in roughly 6 minutes per game) will see a lot more time this season, as will 6-6 swingman Gilbert Brown (5.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg), but 6-9 freshman Dante Taylor, a McDonald's All-American, could become the most exciting frontcourt player for the Panthers this season. Pitt will travel to Kansas City for the CBE Classic, where they'll open against Wichita State. Big 12 power Texas or now-perennially-rebuilding Iowa awaits on the second night.

Seton Hall (last NCAA: 2006) Bobby Gonzalez not only brings back four starters from a season ago, led by offensive force Jeremy Hazell (22.7 ppg), he has several transfers coming in to provide much needed depth. The Pirates' solid backcourt, featuring Hazell, starting point guard Eugene Harvey (12.5 ppg, 4.5 apg), and backup PG Jordan Theodore (5.9 ppg, 2 apg) receives a major reinforcement in the form of Missouri transfer Keon Lawrence (11 ppg, 2.3 apg in '07-08). An emerging frontline, featuring 6-6 Robert Mitchell (14.7 ppg, 8 rpg) and 6-9 John Garcia (8 ppg, 7 rpg), will be even better thanks to the presence of 6-8 New Mexico State transfer Herb Pope, who averaged more than 11 points and almost 7 boards a game in his single season in Las Cruces. Melvyn Oliver, a 6-11 sophomore who weighs in at an immovable 340 pounds and 6-6 Memphis transfer Jeff Robinson will also see some minutes. Seton Hall won't participate in a tournament this year, but they'll still get some time in the sun. They'll travel to Cancun to take on Virginia Tech on the second day of 2010.

St. John's (last NCAA: 2002) Last season, Norm Roberts' Red Storm won 16 games, 6 in the Big East, during a campaign that was plagued by injuries. St. John's hasn't quite been able to shake the injury bug yet, as their best player, 6-7 senior F Anthony Mason, Jr. (14 ppg, 4.3 rpg) will be out until at least late November with a hamstring injury. He only played three games last season thanks to a torn tendon in his right foot. When he returns, he'll join 6-6 junior D.J. Kennedy (13 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and 6-8 junior Sean Evans (10.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg) to form a quality frontcourt. 6-3 junior Paris Horne, who led the Red Storm in scoring a season ago (14.6 ppg), and 5-9 PG Malik Boothe (6.4 ppg, 4.4 apg) will anchor the backcourt, with sophomore Quincy Roberts (5 ppg) and freshman PG Malik Stith, as the supporting cast. St. John's will participate in the Philly Hoop Group Classic over Thanksgiving weekend at the Palestra, where they'll face Siena and Temple.

Notre Dame (last NCAA: 2008) The Fighting Irish have a chance of improving on last year's disappointing 21-win NIT campaign thanks to the return of 6-8 Luke Harangody (23.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg), a player who has numerous school and conference records within reach. In the backcourt, point guard Tory Jackson (10.6 ppg, 4.9 apg) returns, but perimeter sharpshooters Kyle McAlarney (15 ppg) and Ryan Ayers (11.1 ppg) will be sorely missed. Mississippi State transfer Ben Hansbrough, brother of Tyler, will be called on to make up some of that production, though he's just as likely to score inside, as he can really drive to the basket. Unfortunately, another player who would've fit in immediately, 6-8 Purdue transfer Scott Martin, will miss the year with a knee injury. That means 6-8 junior Tyrone Nash (3 ppg, 3.6 rpg) will have to take on a greater role. Ultimately, a lack of depth will keep the Irish from rising too high in the standings, but they should be competitive for an NCAA bid. Notre Dame will participate in the Chicago Invitational Challenge, where they open with Northwestern. The second day the Irish will face either Iowa State or Saint Louis.

Cincinnati (last NCAA: 2005) Thanks to four returning starters and a couple of key newcomers, Mick Cronin's team should be able to improve on last year's 18 wins (8 in the conference), and with the losses other Big East teams suffered, they should get back to the Dance. The Bearcats' strength will be their backcourt, led by all-Big East pick Deonta Vaughn (15.3 ppg, 4.7 apg). He'll receive more help than he had last year, as PG Cashmere Wright is back after missing all of last year with a knee injury and Larry Davis (6.8 ppg) also returns from an ankle injury. 6-9 Yancy Gates (10.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg), who was one of the league's top freshmen last season anchors the frontcourt, which will also feature 6-11 Oklahoma State transfer Ibrahima Thomas (8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) when the fall semester ends. However, the arrival of 6-6 New Yorker Lance Stephenson gives the Bearcats a second legit star. New York State's all-time leading scorer averaged nearly 29 points a contest last year, so he should provide an instant boost to a team that was weak on the offensive end last season. Cincy will play in Maui this November, where they open with Vanderbilt. If they win that, a semifinal with Maryland would likely await.

Georgetown (last NCAA: 2008) The Hoyas were touted as a Final Four team by some last year, but struggled with consistency throughout the season. DaJuan Summers left early for the NBA, which is a major blow, and Jesse Sapp, the senior point guard and defensive specialist who saw a lot more action than anticipated last year, graduated, but John Thompson III has plenty of talent returning to improve on last season's 16-15 mark. Chris Wright (12.5 ppg, 3.8 apg) is back to run the point after showing well in his first league campaign. He missed all of the previous conference season with an ankle injury. At the 2 spot, Austin Freeman (11.4 ppg, 2 apg) will be expected to improve his production in Summers' absence. The frontcourt is anchored by conference Newcomer of the Year Greg Monroe (12.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg), but those expected to start alongside him, sophomore PF Henry Sims and freshman SF Hollis Thompson are relatively inexperienced. That means reserve Julian Vaughn (1.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg), who was expected to contribute more in his first year after transferring from Florida State, and occasional starter Nikita Mescheriakov (2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg) may see quite a bit more time than anticipated. The Hoyas won't participate in a tournament this season, but they will head west to take on Washington in the Wooden Classic (not UCLA, which would make sense) and up to New York to face Butler in the Jimmy V Classic.

Louisville (last NCAA: 2009) Rick Pitino was the center of a lot of unwanted attention this offseason thanks to some well-publicized off the court issues. On the court, the Cards the news was also negative, as the team's two leading scorers and rebounders from last season, Earl Clark and Terrence Williams, are now in the NBA. The cupboard is far from bare for Pitino, however. He has a backcourt led by seniors Edgar Sosa (7.3 ppg, 2.3 apg) and Jerry Smith, a gifted shooter who averaged almost 8 points a game while shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. Junior Preston Knowles shot even better from outside, 43 percent, as the sixth man last year. The Cards will need their production, along with that of 6-4 freshman sharpshooter Mike Marra and McDonald's All-American PG Peyton Siva, to replace some of the production that left with Clark and Williams. The frontcourt should be a strength, thanks to the return of 6-9 Samardo Samuels (11.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg), though he'll need to be more consistent. Samuels will be challenged by having to do more of the dirty work on the glass, as he was only the third leading rebounder on last year's team. 6-9 sophomore Terrence Jennings should also provide more punch this season, as he averaged 4.2 ppg and 2.9 rpg in only about 12 minutes worth of action as a freshman. Tony Delk, a 6-4 swingman, who averaged less than a bucket a game last year, should also see more time. Besides the traditional game with Kentucky, Louisville will play Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase in St. Louis before they play home games against three mid-major opponents in the same event.

Syracuse (last NCAA: 2009) The Orange lost their three leading scorers--NBA first rounder Jonny Flynn, his Niagara Falls High School teammate Paul Harris, and Eric Devendorf--off a squad that reached the Sweet 16. But don't expect Jim Boeheim's squad to fall too far down the Big East pecking order. Two regular frontcourt starters--6-9 C Arinze Onuaku (10.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.4 bpg) and 6-9 F Rick Jackson (8.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.6 bpg)-return, as does part-time starter Andy Rautins (10.5 ppg, 36.6% from 3). The newcomers are even more intriguing. 6-7 F Wesley Johnson, who averaged over 12 points and almost 8 boards as a freshman and 12+ points and 4 boards as a sophomore at Iowa State, will fill Harris' spot in the frontcourt. 6-4 freshman Brandon Triche will replace Flynn at the point. The Orange have some talent on the bench, as 6-1 sophomore guard Scoop Jardine returns after sitting out last year injured, 6-7 sophomore Kris Joseph will provide some depth up front, but he'll have to be more consistent than he was as a freshman. 6-8 freshman James Southerland should see some time off the bench because of his ability to shoot. Syracuse makes the short trip to New York City for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, where they'll face California in the semifinals, then either Ohio State or North Carolina. They'll travel to Tampa to take on Florida in the Big East/SEC Invitational and host Memphis in the Dome.

Connecticut (last NCAA: 2009) Jim Calhoun lost three starters off a Final Four team, Hasheem Thabeet, A.J. Price, and Jeff Adrien, but don't expect UConn to fall too far. PG Kemba Walker (8.9 ppg, 2.8 apg) got a lot of experience off the bench in '08-09 and will be ready to fill Price's shoes at the 1 spot. Freshman Darius Smith should also see some time at the point and maybe even at the 2 spot, thanks to his scoring ability. Jerome Dyson (13.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.1 apg) returns from a torn meniscus to provide more toughness to the backcourt. In the frontcourt, SF Stanley Robinson (8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) needs to show more consistency, while 6-9 senior Gavin Edwards steps into a starting role for the first time. Calhoun has some impact youngsters on his frontline, including 6-10 Ater Majok and high school teammates Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. If the younger frontcourt produces as the season goes on, UConn could go on another long March run. Of course, the ongoing investigation surrounding Josh Nochimson could still lead to some distractions during the season. Schedule-wise, the Huskies will host the North regional of the NIT Season Tip-Off. That should result in the first of two trips to MSG for them, as they also face Kentucky in the Big East/SEC Invitational.

West Virginia (last NCAA: 2009) The Mountaineers bring back the bulk of a team that disappointingly lost to Dayton in the first round of last year's NCAAs. Bob Huggins' frontcourt features two players who will challenge for national honors this year, 6-7 senior Da'Sean Butler (17.1 ppg. 5.9 rpg) and 6-9 sophomore Devin Ebanks (10.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg)-a player who really came on in the second half of last season. PF Wellington Smith (5.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg), a 6-7 senior, should up his performance now that he's recovered from a stress fracture in his leg, while 6-8 sophomore Kevin Jones (6.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) is another solid reserve player for the Mountaineers. The backcourt will be new as JC transfer Casey Mitchell will be the starting shooting guard and Alex Ruoff's replacement at point guard is a real question mark. Darryl Bryant (9.8 ppg, 2.7 apg), Ruoff's heir apparent, was suspended by Huggins over the summer. Joe Mazzulla (5.6 ppg, 3.7 apg), another player who had to deal with off the court issues last year, is another option. His minutes depend on how well he's recovered from the severe shoulder injury he suffered early last season. The Mountaineers will play in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, where they'll open with Long Beach State. A matchup with either Clemson or Texas A&M awaits on the day after Thanksgiving.

Villanova (last NCAA: 2009) Leading scorer Dante Cunningham (16.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and swingman Dwayne Anderson (9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) may be gone from last year's Final Four team, but there's enough quality on the roster to ensure that the Wildcats remain near the top of the league. Sixth man Corey Fisher (10.8 ppg, 2.8 apg) should move over to the point full-time, while senior Scottie Reynolds (15.2 ppg, 3.4 apg) will continue to help with the playmaking, even in a more offensive role. The frontcourt corps of 6-5 Corey Stokes (9.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg), 6-5 Reggie Redding (7.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg), and 6-8 Antonio Pena (5.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg) will be joined by several newcomers. 6-11 redshirt Maurice Sutton, 6-6 Duke transfer Taylor King, and 6-7 freshman Isaiah Armwood will see considerable minutes, while 6-10 Mouphtaou Yarou, a high school teammate of Armwood, will give the Wildcats an inside dimension they haven't had in years. Nova will play in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off before Thanksgiving. They'll open with George Mason before facing either Dayton or Georgia Tech on the second day.

The Wildcats will hold the Big East's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. There will undoubtedly be a few of their conference brethren joining them.

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-Big East team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Big East Team

Player of the Year: Luke Harangody, 6-8 F, Sr. (Notre Dame)

Remainder of the Team
Da'Sean Butler, 6-7 F. Sr. (West Virginia)
Devin Ebanks, 6-9 F, So. (West Virginia)
Greg Monroe, 6-11 F, So. (Georgetown)
Scottie Reynolds, 6-2 G, Sr. (Villanova)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Big East this season?

Cincinnati

7 votes

Connecticut

9 votes

DePaul

1 votes

Georgetown

24 votes

Louisville

13 votes

Marquette

0 votes

Notre Dame

1 votes

Pittsburgh

6 votes

Providence

0 votes

Rutgers

2 votes

St. John's

1 votes

Seton Hall

1 votes

South Florida

0 votes

Syracuse

10 votes

Villanova

18 votes

West Virginia

19 votes

112 votes | Poll has closed

Your obligatory Big East primer

SFBE.NF — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:26:57 -0000

Based on last year's Conference RPI ratings, the Big East finished fourth overall. But when you put two teams in the Final Four (Nova, UCONN), another two in the Elite Eight (Louisville, Pitt), have the top overall team coming into the tournament (Louisville again), and host one of the greatest games of attrition in college basketball history (Cuse-UCONN), you shouldn't let Jerry Palm and the like tell you otherwise. Common sense whispered in my ear and said this was the best conference in college basketball last season. It's odd though...seven months removed from that epic season, the Big East isn't facing as much of a hangover as you would expect.

West Virginia will be a lot of fun to watch. Devin Ebanks and Da'Sean Butler know how to score on their own terms, and Bob Huggins knows how to win...on his own terms.

Villanova is going to run, and run until their opponent concedes defeat. They have a great balance of experience and young guns in Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek. The majority of their rotation will consist of guards, but I have always been a believer that having talented guards is remarkably more important in college basketball than having a solid front court.

UCONN is UCONN. They remain freakishly athletic, and you can't blindly discount a Jim Calhoun team until they prove their mediocrity on the court.

Syracuse loses 55 percent of their scoring but will ease into the season with their, as expected, paltry non-conference schedule (Colgate and Cornell and Columbia!!!). Oh Jim Boeheim you're so wise. Meanwhile, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris will get to watch all of this from afar, wondering what was in that sticky stuff they smoked last spring, which told them to "go pro."

And of course there's still Luke Harangody, who is bound to break at least a few scoring records this season and is a leading candidate for all those national player of the year awards.

Yup, the Big East is still our favorite conference. So much so that even your dreadful Providence-Depaul match-up is something we can stand to watch.

A breakdown is after the jump.

Tourney teams (in order of conference finish)

1.      Villanova
2.      West Virginia
3.      UCONN
4.      Syracuse
5.      Georgetown
6.      Notre Dame
7.      Louisville
8.     Cincinnati

*and maybe, just maybe, Seton Hall sneaks in here

All Conference Team

Jerome Dyson, UCONN
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati

Most overrated - Louisville's backcourt. Karen Sypher.

Most underrated - Cincinnati. Stanley Robinson.

Notable non-conference match-ups:

12/6 - Villanova vs. Maryland
12/9 - UCONN vs. Kentucky (MSG)
12/12 - Georgetown vs. Washington
1/1 - West Virginia @ Purdue
1/2 - Louisville @ Kentucky

Five story lines to keep tabs on:

Cincinnati. Has Mick Cronin finally turned the corner? He has three scoring threats in Deonta Vaughn, Yancy Gates and Lance Stevenson. The Bearcats may breakout this season.

Guard U. How will Jay Wright handle a team that has three bonafide guards, two elite incoming guards, and a Reggie Redding who is suspended for the fall semester but will spend most of his time on the wing once he returns.

Luke Harangody. For the few who play fantasy college basketball, he's your number one pick. With transfer Scott Martin tearing his ACL last month, the Irish are now even that much thinner. Gody currently ranks 8^th on the programs all-time scoring list, and if he just replicates his 23.3 ppg output from last season, he will supplant Austin Carr as the most prolific scorer in Irish history.

Louisville. How do they hold up now that they are down this season and their in-state counterparts have catapulted back into the Final Four picture?

Depaul. Do they win a Big East game this season? They're 2-28 in their last 30 Big East regular season games dating back to January 2008.

Iowa State Men's Basketball: The Pre-Scrimmage Preview!

Mark Kieffer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:51:00 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Coach McDermott is smiling now, because he finally has a good team. I hope we're all still smiling at the end of the year!

Browse more photos »

Warning: this is a long post. It includes almost all of my thoughts about the Men's Basketball team as we head into the scrimmage on Monday. I tried to break it up into sections so you can read what you're interested in. With the football dominating the end of the week and the weekend, I figured I would post the entire thing instead of doing it in pieces.

So here we go:

Everyone Else’s Expectations Of The Team and the Big 12:

This is what the "experts" and coaches think: Anywhere from 8th to 10th in the conference, and possibly getting an NIT bid. I don’t see it as a slap in the face, as ISU has not been relevant in basketball for several years now, and most are just going on recent history.

The Big 12 is looking much tougher than it did last year. The Preseason Coaches’ Poll was released. Three Big 12 teams made the Top 25 (KU #1, Texas #3, and Oklahoma #16), while four got votes (Oklahoma State #31, Missouri #32, Kansas State #39, Texas A&M #47). If one were to rank all of the teams, I would expect to see ISU in the 70-80 range, as no one outside of ISU is saying we’re an NCAA team.

But at the same time, we are going to be better as well. Last year we finished 9th in the conference. With the additions we have this year, staying the same, or moving up only one spot relative to the rest of the conference is going to be disappointing.

My Expectations, And More After The Jump!

My Expectations:

I expect this team to finish in the top half of the Big 12 and go to the NCAA tournament.

This is Greg McDermott’s time to show what he’s got coaching-wise. If Paul Rhoads can get a 2-10 football team into bowl contention in his first year, there’s absolutely no reason that Greg McDermott can’t put a NCAA team on the floor in year four of his tenure. I know they are different sports, but generally it takes longer to build a football program than a basketball program. Also, seeing a program fans had low expectations for do really well thus far, is only going to turn up the pressure on those same fans when they’re looking at the basketball team. I am the exact same way.

I don’t want to hear about all of his bad luck. That was then, this is now. The facts are that he’s got an All-American Forward in Brackins who passed up the NBA to come back. He’s got another Forward who has the potential to be an NBA player as well in Gilstrap. His point guard is one of the best in the conference in Assist/Turnover Ratio. He’s got a shooting guard who is going to be a professional player in Europe when it’s all said and done.

I honestly could see all of Garrett, Staiger, Gilstrap, Brackins, and Dendy playing professional ball at some level in the future. If you can’t take this team to the NCAA tournament, then you probably aren’t going to do it in the near future. 2010 is a rebuilding year, as the prospect of landing Harrison Barnes is pretty low. I have never heard of a D1 coach that has gone o-fer in NCAA bids after 4 years, and ended up doing a good job at that school.

If this were year 2 or 3, then I’d be fine with an NIT bid. It’s been too long in my opinion since we’ve made the dance, however. As Jamie Pollard said when he fired Wayne Morgan, "the basketball program should be the marquee of the athletic department".

I know I sound harsh at times, but it isn’t me setting the standard; I’m just trying to hold my expectations to the standard the athletic department has. If the AD says that basketball should be our strongest program, then damn-it, make it happen!

I’d love to see McDermott get the job done. He seems like a smart guy, he wants what’s best for his players, cares a lot about Iowa State, and is trying to do things the right way. I like all of that, but you have to win games also. If they fail to do so, many fans will have a tough time supporting the team financially. If he does get us to the tournament, and we have a great year, then my confidence in him will be restored greatly, knowing full well that it may be another year or two before we’re back in the mix again.

Projected Starters:

Below are the guys that I think would start, based on what I know and have heard. Obviously this can change, and we will have a better idea after the two scrimmages. Usually during the first scrimmage, everybody plays, as the rotation is scripted. It gives the coaches another look at different player groupings. I will be at that and watching all of the guys on the floor closely. Often times the second scrimmage is played more like a game situation. The rotation gets deeper as the game goes on because you’re typically scrimmaging a team you’re going to blow out. Based on these, my thoughts on the roster may change, and I'll do another update prior to the first game that counts.

G: Diante Garrett – Hasn’t realized his full potential, but has made some strides and looks like he’s ready to make another breakthrough. He takes care of the ball well, and him starting really isn’t in doubt.
G: Lucca Staiger – I worry about Lucca’s knee. Realize that he played about 50 organized basketball games this past summer and fall. If he’s healthy, I think he will do a better job at shooting and moving when he doesn’t have the ball. If he struggles, I’d look for both Scott Christopherson and Chris Colvin to cut into some playing time.
F: Marquis Gilstrap – Pretty obvious. He’s a JUCO stud that can score from anywhere on the floor, and can hopefully help with rebounding as well.
F: Craig Brackins – Obvious as well. Looking forward to see how he plays with all of the attention he will now garner, along with having a better supporting cast around him
F: LaRon Dendy or Justin Hamilton - Whomever starts depends on the matchup I would think. Dendy is built similar to Brackins, but may be a little more athletic. He can block shots, and move up and down the court. If we’re trying to run and get points, I think we go with Dendy. With Hamilton, he’s the only true Center that ISU has, and would be someone you put out there if you’re going at a slower tempo. He works hard, but I don't know if he's there yet. I feel like he got a lot of PT, mostly because of how thin we were in the frontcourt last year. With basketball, I always prefer the more athletic guy, especially if you don’t have to rely on him as a top scorer. Most teams do not have a true center anyways, and that’s OK.

I think a lot of people previewing this Iowa State team, think a lineup has to have 2 guards, 2 forwards, and 1 center. In reality, it’s way more flexible as you play to your strengths in college basketball. You can have lineups of 3 guards, 2 forwards; 2 guards, 3 forwards; 1 guard, 3 forwards, 1 center; etc. Heck, Oklahoma State basically played 5 guards at times last year, and they did pretty well!

The Reserves:

G: Scott Christopherson – could see him as our first scorer off the bench. If the team needs a spark, he’s the guy to go to here. After redshirting for a year, he should have a good handle on the system and know what to do.

F: Jamie Vanderbeken – He’s injured at the moment, so he’ll be slow starting. He’ll go in for any of Gilstrap, Brackins, Dendy/Hamilton. He’s a legit 3 point shooter, and I think he would do better playing more from the outside offensively. Defensively, he’s shown he can rebound and block shots I’d expect it all to depend on matchups and game situation, but he’ll get some PT when healthy.

G: Chris Colvin – I would think we’d see more of him at the 2 to start the year. From all accounts McDermott’s system is the hardest to learn for a point guard. Colvin is a scorer, and could probably benefit more with moving without the ball.

G: Dominique Buckley – I would expect him to relieve Garrett when needed to start the season. I look at him more as a point guard, and with a year under his belt, I’d expect to see him more comfortable out there.

G/F: Charles Boozer – He plays hard. How much he gets to play depends on how much he’s improved offensively. He is definitely a hustle guy, and a jack of all trades guy. He’s the guy you out there when the team needs a lift, intensity-wise. His style of play is contagious, even if he himself is somewhat limited. Last year, I thought he played well down the stretch, and for some reason McDermott scratched him, which I thought was a horrible call. If he can shoot better, I can’t see how he wouldn’t play more, even if this team is deeper.

F: L.A. Pomlee – Coming off a redshirt, he has a lot of upside. But with the team focused on winning now, I don’t see how he’ll get a lot of clock outside of garbage time.

F: Alex Dorr – He’s gotta be the 13th guy off the bench right now. I don’t know a lot about him, but he’s a walk-on. I think he’ll probably do a good job helping the team in practice, but I’m guessing we’ll see him as much as Clinton Mann and/or Cam Lee last year.

G: Antwon Oliver – He’s 2 inches taller than DG, but 15 lbs lighter. That screams redshirt to me. Needs to put on some size, if he’s going to play in the Big 12.

G: Bubu Palo – Like Alex Dorr, another walkon, and ditto the similar comments about practice. If the coaches think he could develop into a player down the road, or if they like the way he prepares the team during practice, you may see a redshirt on him. Otherwise, I wouldn’t think there is a need to use it.

Noteable Non-Conference Opponents:

The non-conference is improved over what I thought was almost a joke last year. Below is a listing of the teams we’re facing in the non-conference that you may be wondering about, or should keep a watch out for:

@ Drake: Only because we’ve lost 3 straight. The Missouri Valley coaches, have put them at 8th in the conference, so I’m hoping we finally beat this team!

Notre Dame: We will either play Notre Dame or Northwestern in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend. I have a feeling we will play Notre Dame as they should be the better team. They are lead by Two-time All-American and Preseason Big East POY in Luke Harangody. They’re projected by the coaches to finish 8th in the Big East. In a lot of ways they are similar to ISU, in that they have some talented players but feel like they’re being underrated a little.

UNI: They got some votes in the Preseason Top 25, and are expected to win the Valley this year. They will likely be improved from last year and are a likely NCAA team, yet again.

@ California: Cal is currently ranked #10 in the Preseason Top 25 and the favorite to win the Pac 10. It’s going to be a tough, tough game.

Iowa: Shouldn’t be too concerned here. They are expected to finish last in the Big 10, and it’s being played at our place.

Houston: Expected to compete for the C-USA title and could find themselves in the NCAA tournament as well.

Duke: Enough said

North Dakota State: An NCAA team last year, but lost some guys and isn’t expected to be as good.

Overall, I don’t think it’s too tough of a schedule, as I wouldn’t expect more than 2-3 losses, but I like that we’re playing some tougher teams like Cal and Duke, as it should prepare the team for the tough conference schedule. If we could beat one of those two teams, it would do wonders for our RPI if we indeed did become a bubble team.

Other Basketball News:

Brackins is on the preseason Naismith Watch List.
It sounds like Coach McDermott has been happy with the way his team has been practicing, as he tweeted a couple of days ago.
The team has new uniforms. I think these have changed every year the past few years.
Be on the lookout for my writeup on the scrimmage on November 3rd. If any news about the team breaks, I’ll post it in the meantime.

I’m really excited to see what this team does, and can’t wait to set foot in Hilton for the first scrimmage of the year, which is on Monday, November 2nd at 7pm against Black Hills State!

What are your thoughts and expecatations as we tip off the 2009-2010 season?