*** College Basketball Preview - Big East Conference ***
The My Sportsbook
By Gregg Xenakes, College Basketball Staff Writer
OUTLOOK: The Big East Conference may be lacking in marquee names this season, but there's no denying that the league is still one of the strongest in the nation. The last two national champions and three of the last six title holders have emerged from the Big East, so there's always something exciting going on. The Big East finished up postseason play in the NCAA Tournament with a record of 12-5, 20-7 overall when the NIT was taken into account in 2003-04. Three teams (UConn, Pittsburgh and Syracuse) all made it to the Sweet 16 and there's no reason to believe that those same teams can't turn the trick again, although most doubt that the Huskies will repeat as national champions. As far as the coaches and the media are concerned heading into 2004-05, the Orange are the odds on favorite to bring home the regular season crown, but the Panthers and Huskies cannot be overlooked. Notre Dame and Boston College both have some quality returning players, but the schools just don't have the push up front that it takes to compete with the more physical programs. Providence is in the same boat as the two aforementioned schools, while Villanova could have been a contender were it not for another set of rules violations recently. Seton Hall, West Virginia and Rutgers are all going to win their share of games this season, but not enough to contend. Then there's the bottom feeders in the Big East, Georgetown and St. John's. Both of these prominent and previous successful programs have fallen on such hard times that it's going to take quite some time for the Hoyas and Red Storm to get turned back around. A conference in a state of flux, the Big East lost Virginia Tech and Miami this year and will add five schools from Conference USA next season.
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Syracuse
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Syracuse; 2. Connecticut; 3. Pittsburgh; 4. Notre Dame; 5. Providence; 6. Boston College; 7. Seton Hall; 8. West Virginia; 9. Villanova; 10. Rutgers; 11. Georgetown; 12. St. John's
TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:
SYRACUSE: Up until two seasons ago the Orange were always the bridesmaids and never the bride, but coach Jim Boeheim finally broke through in his 27th season with the program in 2002-03. Last year the team took a few steps back with a 23-8 record because Carmelo Anthony opted to make the jump to the pros after winning that elusive championship in Syracuse. Except for guard Billy Edelin who had his share of strong efforts for the Orange last season, the heart of the team is still intact and that's why the Orange are favored to bring the regular season title in the Big East Conference back home to upstate New York. Forward Hakim Warrick could have made his move to the NBA, but he understands that getting a little more tutelage at this level will go a long way in extending his longevity in the pros, and that's why he has returned to the Carrier Dome ,after averaging 19.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season. He will team with Gerry McNamara once again to form a potent one-two punch. The pair was the most productive duo in the league last season, combining for 37 ppg and 200 of the unit's 465 assists. McNamara took the bulk of his shots from behind the three-point line, hitting on 105-of-270 chances, his 87.2 percent accuracy at the free-throw line usually preventing opponents from getting too physical with him in desperate times. Fellow guard Josh Pace provided a competent outlet for McNamara when he ran into trouble, while senior center Craig Forth picked his spots to score and crash the boards.
CONNECTICUT: For the second time since 1999 the Huskies were national champions after galloping through the rest of the tournament field last season. It's not going to be all that easy in 2004-05 however, especially now that household names like Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon are no longer on the roster. Combined those two players posted better than 36 points and 16 rebounds per contest, while Okafor was an All-American, the Big East Player of the Year and the Final Four MVP and Gordon made the Final Four All-Tournament Team and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament. So with those two now having moved on to the NBA, the only question is who will take their places? Junior guard/forward Rashad Anderson is the top returning scorer for the Jim Calhoun-coached program, hitting for 11.2 ppg last season. Anderson shot 43.7 percent from the field but knocked down an impressive 41 percent beyond the arc a year ago. Few people were expecting now-sophomore Josh Boone to have that much of an impact last year, but there were times when he was brilliant in Okafor's absence, even though he averaged just 5.9 ppg. The one player that the Huskies and the fans are expecting a lot from this season is Charlie Villanueva who started just four games last year and put up 8.9 ppg. Villanueva, who flirted with jumping to the NBA right out of high school, played far too timid in the presence of Okafor and Gordon, so perhaps their absence will open the door for him to be more aggressive this season. Throw in incoming freshman Rudy Gay (6-9, 220) and the Huskies are once again stocked and ready to make a postseason run.
PITTSBURGH: For the longest time last year the Panthers were the talk of the Big East Conference, ripping off 18 straight wins before their first loss of the season to UConn on January 19. Pittsburgh, which was under the direction of first-year head coach Jamie Dixon, turned in a season for the ages, at least as far as the regular season is concerned, posting an overall record of 31-5 to register its highest win total in school history. The squad was a healthy 19-1 at the Peterson Event Center and could have similar numbers this year with teams like Howard, Robert Morris and Loyola-Maryland stopping by in the early going. Junior guard Carl Krauser started all 32 games in which he played for the Panthers and is the top returning scorer for the group with his 15.4 ppg. If that were not enough, Krauser was also responsible for a team- best 145 assists and registered 52 steals. Dixon, who was named the Big East Coach of the Year to no one's surprise, sees a lot of potential in sophomore forward Chris Taft who came on late in 2003-04 and finished up with 10.9 ppg, 13.3 ppg against the rest of the conference. While Taft was clearing more than eight rebounds a game against league opponents, forward Chevon Troutman added 6.6 rpg and another 10 ppg in Big East matchups. Unfortunately, aside from those three players, the rest of the roster for the Panthers is a bit thin on experience, which means there's plenty of room for someone to step up and make a name for himself this year.
NOTRE DAME: The Fighting Irish lost a couple of important players from last season's roster (Torrian Jones and Tom Timmermans), but for the most part the core of the team remains intact. Head coach Mike Brey, who recently signed a two-year contract extension that will take him through the 2010-11 campaign, is ready to build on last year's 19-13 record (9-7 in conference). Everyone, including Brey, is waiting for guard Chris Thomas to lead his teammates to the late rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but that just hasn't happened yet. Thomas will become one of the top three scorers in school history this year at the very least since he is actively the top scoring player in the Big East with an average of 18.4 ppg over three seasons. Thomas is a warrior who plays nearly every minute of every game, but that also means that once March rolls around he could be a bit fatigued, which is why fellow guard Chris Quinn (14.3 ppg) and forward Torin Francis (14.2 ppg) have to take on more responsibility in order to cut Thomas some slack and ease his pain. In addition, Arizona transfer Dennis Latimore (6-8, 253) could be one of the real surprises this season and provide immediate frontcourt help for the Irish.
PROVIDENCE: As an All-Big East Conference First Team choice, forward Ryan Gomes made the rest of the league stand up and take notice of his exceptional play both inside and out on the perimeter. While Gomes, who averaged a team- high 18.9 ppg, was clearing a team-high 9.4 rebounds per contest for the Friars in his 29 games, he was also dragging defenses out to the perimeter where he was knocking down 40.4 percent of his three-point attempts in conference play. Few teams, if any, had a defender that could cover the floor as they tried to attach themselves to Gomes, which is why he is a favorite to win the Big East Player of the Year award for 2004-05. As the only other senior on the squad, aside from Gomes, forward Tuukka Kotti averaged less than 22 minutes per game last season, so expect his time on the floor to grow with his scoring average from 6.1 ppg. Junior guard Donnie McGrath, who led the unit with 100 assists and is the only other double-digit scorer (10.0 ppg) returning for Providence, takes the gameplan from head coach Tim Welsh and tries to make it a reality on the court. However, with so many newcomers and underclassmen vying for time this season, that might be easier said than done. Dwight Brewington, who shot just 28.6 percent from three-point range and a meager 56.8 percent at the free-throw line, represents the last of the truly experienced players for the Friars, and that spells trouble for the team if they think that they are going to do much better than last season's 20-9 mark.
BOSTON COLLEGE: Last year head coach Al Skinner was tasked with finding a replacement for super guard Troy Bell in order to stay competitive in the Big East Conference. He never did find a player to take Bell's place, but the team still finished with a record of 24-10, including two rounds of action in the NCAA Tournament. As the team's leading scorer from a year ago, forward Craig Smith is back again to help lead BC to the Promised Land. Smith put up staggering numbers for the Eagles in 2003-04 as he shot 55.3 percent from the floor and dropped in 16.9 ppg as a result. If opponents thought all that was impressive, when it came to Big East foes Smith turned his game up a notch with 17.4 ppg on 60.2 percent shooting. Smith, who also cleared better than eight rebounds per game last season, is a preseason All-Big East First Team selection. Having started all 34 games for the Eagles last season, both Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall provide plenty of support in the scoring department after they produced 11.9 and 8.0 ppg, respectively. Junior guard Louis Hinnant only averaged 5.2 ppg on the year, but his job was to distribute the ball for BC, which turned into a team-high 102 assists. Senior Nate Doornekamp is being penciled in as the starting center for the squad, but after averaging just 3.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last year, the seven footer might be finding his way to the bench if someone else steps up and plays tougher in the paint for the Eagles.
SETON HALL: Gone is the team's floor leader in Andre Barrett, but not all is lost in South Orange as the Pirates prepare for yet another season of Big East basketball. Seton Hall still has four players who averaged double-digit scoring a year ago, the high man being junior forward/center Kelly Whitney, which is why there is still hope at Seton Hall. Whitney, who also led the team in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocked shots (29), shot an impressive 56.2 percent from the field for the team a season ago, as the Pirates finished 21-10 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The one knock against Whitney is that he shot just 61.3 percent at the free-throw line, considerably less than the 71.4 percent put up by Seton Hall as a team. John Allen (12.4 ppg) helped to balance some of that out by connecting on 80 percent of his chances at the stripe, while his 71 assists and 36 steals were second only to Barrett, who now leaves the program in the capable hands of head coach Louis Orr. Guards Andre Sweet and J.R. Morris each averaged 10.1 ppg for the Pirates, the difference being that the former started all 31 games for the team and Morris was a reserve each and every contest. In an offense that is often predicated on the play of speedy guards and aggressive forwards, the center position is often overlooked, and that will be a problem this season for the Pirates.
WEST VIRGINIA: In his second season with the Mountaineers, head coach John Beilein had a lot of housekeeping to take care of, and it wasn't very pretty. The team actually surprised a lot of folks by going 17-14 and making it to the third round of the NIT before being sent home to Morgantown. A year earlier WVU was in the midst of an absolute mess that had players coming and going, resulting in a record of just 14-15 and an eighth-place finish in the Big East Conference. Guard Drew Schifino, who was supposed to be the savior for the team in 2003-04, played in just 11 games before being sent away, which opened the door for now-senior center D'or Fischer to assume command of the program on the floor. Fischer, one of the top shot blockers in the entire nation with four rejections per contest, was an intimidating presence on the defensive end of the floor, but his offensive repertoire could still use some work to get him motivated at the other end of the court as well. He averaged only 10.8 ppg, one of three returning players to hit for at least 10 points per contest, the other two being Tyrone Sally and Kevin Pittsnogle. The latter is an enigma in that he has a good feel for the game both outside the three-point line where he shot 36.8 percent, or on the inside around the basket with his 6-11 frame. Height in the post is not a concern for the Mountaineers as they have three players listed at 6-11, and now the guard play should be of higher quality now that St. Bonaventure transfer Mike Gansey is eligible to take the floor after sitting out for a season.
VILLANOVA: First things first with the Wildcats and that's that head coach Jay Wright is perched firmly on the hot seat in the Philadelphia suburbs this season. Sure, he has a record of 52-46 in three years with Villanova, but when he arrived on the mainline he was expected to bring the program back from the brink and into the national spotlight again. Things got off to a shaky start in 2003-04 when the 'Cats fell to Chaminade in the Maui Invitational. There were wins over weak opponents like La Salle, Penn, Northeastern and Columbia, but there was also a stretch towards the end of the campaign when the team won just once in eight games. Allegations of NCAA rules violations hurt the integrity of the already fragile program which had just survived a phone card scandal. And now, just weeks before the opening game for the Wildcats, it turns out that junior forward/center Jason Fraser is out for the time being after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in late October. All that means is that junior guard Allen Ray now has even more responsibility when it comes to getting this team ready for Big East play. Ray led all scorers last season with 17.3 ppg, while Fraser paced the squad with a team- high 7.1 rpg as well as 39 blocks in 27 games. Junior forward Curtis Sumpter, who was selected to compete with the USA Basketball squad at the World Championships in Nova Scotia over the summer, also added seven rebounds and 14.3 ppg to the Villanova attack. With injury being the topic of choice for the Wildcats, it is also worthy to mention that the lone newcomer to the program, local product Kyle Lowry tore his left ACL in late August and is now sidelined indefinitely.
RUTGERS: For the first time in more than two decades the Scarlet Knights enjoyed a 20-win season in 2003-04, but chances are head coach Gary Waters and company are going to have some trouble making that happen again this year. Rutgers achieved its record of 20-13 after finishing as runner-up in the postseason NIT, but was just 7-9 against the rest of the Big East in conference matchups. Senior guard Ricky Shields led the team with his 15.5 ppg and actually shot better from three-point range (.374) in league affairs than he did overall from the field (.373) during those 16 games. As a team the Knights established a new school standard with 239 three-pointers made, hitting 36.4 percent of their attempts overall while opponents converted just 31.2 percent. Also shooting better beyond the arc on the entire season was guard Quincy Douby who, when combined with Shields, accounted for more than 400 three-point attempts. The team will need to have similar success this year in order to make its way through the league schedule, while also having to play non-conference opponents like Charlotte, Wisconsin, Princeton, Kansas State and Air Force. This will not be an easy year by any stretch of the imagination for the Scarlet Knights, but it should still be an exciting one. With their tallest player, 6-11 Dan Waterstradt, just a freshman, the Knights will have trouble banging in the paint with bigger and more seasoned opponents.
GEORGETOWN: With just 13 overall wins in 28 games and a record of 4-12 against the rest of the Big East, the Hoyas were becoming the butt of many a joke in the league last season. Because of that, the institution made a change at head coach once again, bringing in John Thompson. No, not that John Thompson that led them to success throughout the 1980's, but John Thompson the III. This coach is coming over from Princeton where he led his alma mater over four campaigns and is bringing a new attitude with him to Maryland. The 52-year old coach loses standout forward Gerald Riley and his team-high 17 ppg, but Brandon Bowman should be able to shoulder the load as he adds to his 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest from 2003-04. Like Bowman, guard Ashanti Cook started every game for the team and produced 9.2 points and a team-best 106 assists in the process, making him the perfect setup man for newcomers like Cornelio Guibunda and local product Roy Hibbert who need a strong leader on the court in order to develop properly at the college level. Hibbert is a 7-2 giant in the paint who in his senior year of high school did it all while Guibunda, an import from Mozambique, played high school ball in Connecticut where he averaged 21 points, 15 boards and nine blocks last year. Even though there are some promising prospects making their way through the system, the fact remains that there are only two seniors on the roster for the Hoyas this season and one of them (RaMell Ross) appeared in just one game for four minutes last season.
ST. JOHN'S: Where does one begin when talking about the Red Storm? By December of last year the coach was canned and then it was just a short time later that suspensions began to rain down on the program due to issues with conduct. The team, which is now under the watchful eye of head coach Norm Roberts, has just five returning players from a disastrous 6-21 campaign in 2003-04. St. John's won only once in 16 tries against the rest of the Big East, that lone victory coming against Georgetown. Junior guard Daryll Hill is the only player on this year's squad that has started more than 10 games for the Storm, so in terms of experience, the team is bare this season. Hill averaged 14.8 ppg during the entire season and dialed it up a notch to 18.3 ppg in Big East action, but without anyone else to take the burden of being the go-to-guy, Hill is going to get burned out rather quickly. Sophomore forward Lamont Hamilton showed some scoring punch here and there (6.4 ppg in Big East) but having just five assists against 27 turnovers in 19 games showed that he is still far from being ready to handle the speed of the college game. The five newcomers that are now part of the St. John's squad all came from the state of New York, except for Cedric Jackson who makes the trek from New Jersey.
