Basketball Prospectus’ Dan Hanner unveiled his preseason basketball rankings using a brand new methodology: “Using 10 years of historical trends, I projected the performance of every D-I player, and then projected lineups for all 345 teams.” The results are… interesting. Louisville remains the top ranked Big East school, though they’re a bit lower than most of the polls have them ranked, at #10. Syracuse is right behind the Cardinals at #11. Pittsburgh ranks surprisingly high at #19, with Marquette, Notre Dame, and Georgetown falling in behind the Panthers at #21, #22, and #27, respectively. Rutgers ranks shockingly high at #43, and Cincinnati is listed all the way down at #52. The other Big East schools rank as follows: #58 Villanova, #69 Seton Hall, #71 South Florida, #76 St. John’s, #105 DePaul, #107 Connecticut, and #122 Providence.
Seton Hallwon its first exhibition, a game against D-II Wilmington University, 113-72. Brandon Mobley led the way for the Pirates, scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Iowa transfer Kyle Smyth had a great game as well, going 4-8 from behind the arc en route to a 16-point, eight-assist, three-steal performance. Fuquan Edwin sat out due to a violation of team rules, although he is not expected to miss much more time.
Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant is expected to be one of the team’s breakout performers this year, and to do it, South Bend Tribune‘s Tom Noie believes that the guard could stand to “be more selfish.” Grant is Notre Dame’s best playmaker, as evidenced by his team-leading five assists per game, but he can also score in multiple ways, and the Irish would like to see him get to the line more because of his acumen from the stripe (81.9% FT). In the past, Grant hasn’t needed to be “the guy,” but he seems to be taking to his new leadership role: “I like having the ball in my hands being able to make plays for myself and for others,” he said. “The more I have the ball in my hands, the more I can be good.”
DePaul received its second commitment for the class of 2013 in center Forrest Robinson. Robinson is currently enrolled at South Plains Junior College after spending his first year in college at North Texas, where he averaged 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. According to Rivals, the 6’10” Robinson had offers from Arkansas, Houston, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, USC, and Utah before choosing North Texas, and most recently chose DePaul over Bradley, Mississippi State, Saint Louis, and Tennessee Tech.
Syracuse isn’t just known for Jim Boeheim and the Orange basketball program; the school also has a pretty decent men’s lacrosse program. Point guard Michael Carter-Williams and forward C.J. Fair recently took to the lacrosse field to test their skills with the 11-time national champions and the results were mixed at best. College Crosse has a full breakdown of the latest edition of the Post-Standard‘s ‘Mike & C.J. Show’ here.
And away we go, headfirst into another season heralded by our 2012-13 edition of Thirty Reasons We Love College Basketball, our annual compendium of YouTube clips from the previous season 100% guaranteed to make you wish games were starting tonight. We’ve captured here what we believe were the most compelling moments from last season, some of which will bring back the goosebumps and others of which will leave you shaking your head. Enjoy!
#12 – Where Shades of Tark the Shark Happens
We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from the 2008-09, 2009-10,2010-11, and 2011-12 seasons.
And away we go, headfirst into another season heralded by our 2012-13 edition of Thirty Reasons We Love College Basketball, our annual compendium of YouTube clips from the previous season 100% guaranteed to make you wish games were starting tonight. We’ve captured here what we believe were the most compelling moments from last season, some of which will bring back the goosebumps and others of which will leave you shaking your head. Enjoy!
#13 – Where Patriot League Power Happens
We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from the 2008-09, 2009-10,2010-11, and 2011-12 seasons.
Men’s basketball graduation rates for Division I athletes are on the rise, according to the most recent report from the NCAA. Nearly three-quarters of men’s basketball players in the last reported age cohort obtained a college degree, an increase of six percent from last year. However, not all men’s basketball programs are making the grade. Of late, the SEC’s very own national championship Kentucky program has been criticized for its lack of (apparent) commitment to the academic side of the student-athlete, but it was another SEC basketball powerhouse that limped in on the NCAA’s 2011-12 report with a staggering graduation rate of 17 percent.
The Florida Gators achieved an abysmal graduation rate in the latest report by the NCAA.
Florida coach Billy Donovan discussed a variety of topics during yesterday’s SEC Media days, but success in the classroom was not 0ne of them. Maybe it should have been. Donovan was critical of the Kentucky All-Access show aired by ESPN beginning last week, claiming that he “wouldn’t want the disruption” for his student-athletes. “I want our guys to focus on being normal college students,” the Gator coach stated. “But at the same point, maybe it’s good exposure for those guys. Maybe it’s exposure that will help them later in life. But I would be sensitive to that.”
From the moment it was first rumored, the relocation of the conference tournament to Las Vegas has created quite a buzz among Pac-12 basketball fans.Adam Butler (@pachoopsAB) of PacHoops will be here every week as he offers his unique perspective along our March to Vegas.
Bear with me a moment as I beat the dead horse that was the 2011-12 Pac-12 basketball season. I need to preface it that way as we dive into why the conference is back. Or will be sustainably back, and it all stems from the top. You see, the world works in such a way that leaders drive innovation. There’s a reason Samsung infringed on Apple. There’s a reason the spread offense is everywhere in college football. If this works for them, by all means it can work for me. When one climbs to the top – and the top is usually achieved by recreating the mold – others will follow that path. And when those at the top begin to falter, the next tier has two choices: collapse or recreate the mold again. Unfortunately, we’ve found ourselves with a group struggling with the mold and a leaderless conference. As of recently, the Pac-12 bar has been set low. Which hasn’t always been the case.
An Example of the Standard-Bearers
For years – since the mid-80’s – the Pac-12 horses were Arizona and UCLA. Stanford squeezed in to make it interesting, but between 1985 and 2008, 19 times the conference champions were Bruins or Wildcats. Meanwhile the conference as a whole was pumping out NBA talent. Take a peek at this study and you’ll find that the Pac-10 between 1988 and 2008 produced the most talented draft picks among all major conferences. They sit behind a number of mid-majors on the list but that’s indicative of the wee sample set produced from the smaller leagues and the major NBA contributions from those draftees. But, point being, the Conference of Champions while championed by the likes of Arizona and UCLA, was good. And now it isn’t. Historically bad last year, so much so that the conference champion wasn’t even invited to dance. That’s like the prom queen not getting asked to prom. The headless conference can only be as good as its best team and if their best team is an unimpressive 21-9, then yikes. But that will be it for picking on 2011-12. Because the story of the Pac-12’s crumminess began long before Washington lost to Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Throughout the preseason, the ACC microsite will release a preview for each of the 12 teams. Today’s victim: the Virginia Cavaliers.
The past season was excellent for the Virginia Cavaliers. Sure, the team only went 9-7 in the conference and exited the NCAA Tournament in a spectacular flame-out against Florida in its first game. Still, last season was a success for Tony Bennett. The team nearly ran the table in their non-conference slate except for a strange flukish loss to TCU. This impressive run included victories against Michigan, Drexel, Oregon, George Mason, and LSU. In conference play, Virginia was less consistent (though admittedly they played one of the tougher league schedules), with their two best wins coming against North Carolina State and Miami. Mike Scott‘s career year and Bennett’s pack line defensive scheme powered the Cavaliers to one of Virginia’s best seasons in the past few seasons. With Mike Scott now gone, can the Cavaliers match or better their high-water mark?
Tony Bennett Appears to Have the Cavaliers on the Upswing
Newcomers
The Cavaliers are bringing in a small army to bolster their depleted ranks. Teven Jones, Justin Miller and Taylor Barnette represent the incoming guard rotation. All three initially figured to see only back-up and spot minutes with incumbent senior point guard Jontel Evans taking up most of the time at point guard. Unfortunately for Evans, a stress fracture in his foot has the feisty defender and playmaker sidelined for the beginning part of the season. Unless Bennett elects to hand the keys to his team to senior walk-on, Doug Browman, these three freshmen will likely undergo a sudden baptism by fire.
At the wing, the freshman class brings in some potential future starters. Justin Anderson and Evan Nolte both have a nice array of skills, athleticism, and size at the small forward slot, where Virginia had only Paul Jesperson and converted shooting guards before the arrival of these two. If these guys can play defense to the coaching staff’s satisfaction, it’s likely that they will see plenty of minutes, and indeed, potentially a spot in the starting rotation.
Few programs in the country went through the adversity that St. John’s found itself facing last season. Head coach Steve Lavin underwent surgery to treat prostate cancer in October of last year, and he was only able to coach four games in early November before deciding to sit out for the rest of the season. Multiple key players left during the season for various reasons, and at times the Red Storm were only able to play with a six-man rotation of scholarship players. This year should prove to be a challenge for the Johnnies, especially after the departure of Moe Harkless following last season, but they return a solid nucleus and add a number of talented freshmen who look to continue the restoration project that is Steven Lavin’s St. John’s basketball program.
2011-12 Record: 13-19, 6-12
2011-12 Postseason: None
Steve Lavin returns to the St. John’s bench in 2012-13. Can he bring back the success of the 2010-11 campaign?
Schedule
St. John’s non-conference schedule is fairly light. The Storm open with Detroit and the ever-dangerous Ray McCallum at Carnesecca Arena before heading to Charleston, South Carolina, for the DirecTV Charleston Classic. In the opening round of the tournament the Storm take on host College of Charleston before facing either Auburn or Murray State. The field also features Big 12 power Baylor, Boston College, Colorado, and Dayton. St. John’s will also host South Carolina in Queens in the Big East/SEC Challenge. St. John’s plays one non-conference game in Madison Square Garden, against Fordham, and will play one game in Brooklyn’s new Barclays Center against St. Francis. In the Big East, the team opens at Villanova on January 2, and has home-and-homes with Rutgers, Georgetown, Notre Dame, and DePaul.
There are many terrific things about our country’s democracy. The endless amount of political attack ads during election season are highly entertaining, our election results are actually legitimate, and our president flies all around the nation in a sweet airplane named Air Force One. The very best part about American democracy, however, is perhaps our nation’s open records laws. When you screw up or have information pertinent to the public interest, we’re there to call you out via police reports, court documents, and, as Penn State knows so well, e-mails.
E-mails Show Some Interesting Information Regarding Gillispie
That brings us to Texas Tech‘s men’s basketball program. USA Today‘s open records request of the university’s emails during the Billy Gillispie scandal reveals a few tidbits of intriguing material. Unfortunately for all you sadists out there, this isn’t the Freeh Report, and there’s no evidence of wrongdoing or mass scandal on the part of the athletic department, but correspondence between university officials sheds a little light into how the situation went down. According to the article, an assistant to the chancellor of the university forwarded articles from ESPN and CBS Sports to the Board of Curators, in addition to a personal letter from the mother of a 17-year-old who alleged verbal abuse from Gillispie. The most interesting aspect of these emails, though, deals with the practice violations.
Ray Floriani is the RTC correspondent for the NEC.
Top Storylines
A Dynasty Grows In Brooklyn: It’s probably fitting that the Northeast Conference administrators chose the brand-new Barclays Center to host its annual media day. The NEC trophy has resided in this borough two straight years and LIUBrooklyn is planning on a unique ‘three-peat’. In the NEC’s 32-year history, no team has captured the title for three straight seasons. LIU Brooklyn is primed to finish the trifecta, but there will be stiff competition. Mainstays Robert Morris, Quinnipiac and Wagner will be in the hunt, and don’t forget ‘Battle of Brooklyn’ nemesis, St.Francis, just a mile away in Brooklyn Heights. The Terriers surprised last season and have enough returning talent to continue their recent success.
They’re Watching And Noticing: One of the significant aspects of the NEC’s improvement can be seen in coaching mobility. The higher-level schools are looking at and hiring mentors who prove they can X and O in this conference. Three years ago, Mike Rice went from Robert Morris to Rutgers. This past season, Duquesne chose LIU Brooklyn’s Jim Ferry, while Rhode Island, another Atlantic 10 school, obtained the services of Danny Hurley, who quickly reversed fortunes at Wagner. As one coach noted at media day, “you have a group of good, aggressive coaches here who can build and run a program.” No surprise NEC coaches are on the big boys’ short lists.
LIU Brooklyn’s Julian Boyd Returns For NEC Favorite LIU Brooklyn. (AP)
Circle the Date: Wagner faces off against Temple, Syracuse, Penn, Princeton, Hofstra and plays in the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara. However, a relatively early game of note is January 10 at LIU Brooklyn. The Seahawks have a four-game losing streak in the series and Wagner coach Bashir Mason all too well knows the the road to the NEC title will go through Brooklyn.
Reader’s Take I
Early Power Rankings (last season’s record in parentheses)
LIU Brooklyn (25-9, 16-2 NEC): The Blackbirds seemingly have it all: Experience, depth and recent success of enviable excellence. And talent. Start with returning NEC Player of the Year, Julian Boyd. The 6’7” senior forward put together a sterling season where he averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per contest, highlighted by 14 double-doubles. Jamal Olasewere, another first team All-NEC pick, returns up front as well. In the backcourt is junior Jason Brickman. Seventh nationally with 7.3 assists per outing, Brickman has drawn praise from rival coaches for his passing ability and expertise in controlling the game. Coach Jack Perri is now at the helm with Jim Ferry gone to Duquesne. The transition has been very smooth for the former LIU assistant. Winners of 34 of their last 36 conference games, the Blackbirds are NEC favorites. Read the rest of this entry »
With all the talk of NCAA investigations into eligibility and preseason injuries and whether or not the head coach is on the hot seat, it is easy to forget that this is actually a really exciting time for UCLA basketball. Aside from landing the top recruiting class in the nation and the expectations that the 2012-13 vintage of the team could be something special, the larger picture is of a program moving back into its historic arena after a dismal year on the road. The whole year will be an opportunity for Bruin fans from far and near to head back to Westwood and check out the new Pauley Pavilion and the new team. And there to greet them in the North Plaza in front of the gleaming new entrance to Pauley will be a brand new statue dedicated to the legendary but humble face of the program, John Wooden. Later today, UCLA will unveil the statue of its former head coach in a ceremony attended by members of both the Wooden family and the Pauley family.
UCLA’s Unveiling Of The Wooden Statue Today Serves As A Great Lead-Up To Next Week’s Pauley Pavilion Re-Opening
The unveiling of the statue will lead smoothly into homecoming week for the Bruins, culminating in the Bruins’ football game with Arizona next weekend. But more importantly for basketball fans, it will lead into Pauley Opening Madness next Friday evening, an event which will not only be the grand official re-opening of the facility, but will also serve as the Bruins’ unveiling of their basketball team for their fans (technically, the event will showcase all five teams that call Pauley home – the men’s and women’s basketball teams, men’s and women’s volleyball and gymnastics), with an open practice highlighted most entertainingly by a dunk contest (albeit without Shabazz Muhammad, likely the team’s best dunker), as well as several giveaways for students. Personally, I could take or leave most of these Midnight Madness and open scrimmage events, but the event coupled with a chance to take a look at the new arena and the new Wooden statue make for a draw for fans and a way to get the notoriously staid fan base excited for the upcoming season.
