1. Few can argue with the fact that the job that Buzz Williams has done at Marquette has been incredibly impressive. What’s perhaps the most interesting thing about how he’s gone about building the program is the unique way he’s done it. Where programs like Iowa State and Missouri have plucked large amounts of transfer players from the ever-expanding college basketball waiver wire, Marquette has found many of its best players under Williams in the junior college ranks. Rob Dauster at College Basketball Talk discussed Williams’ unique perspective and relationship with these players, including a large quote from the ever-quotable Williams in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal.  In the days leading up to the Syracuse-Marquette match-up in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, I remember Williams taking the time to tell his own personal story of how he made it to among the highest levels of coaching, and it was among the more impressive things I’ve ever heard. Many are put off by Williams’ histrionics on the sideline (and often, the court), but his incredible story of triumph and love and respect for the game more than overshadow that, for me at least.
2. One wouldn’t expect Frankfurt, Germany to be a town heavy with Connecticut fans, but a number of UConn fans serving on Ramstein Air Base, the site of Huskies’ upcoming showdown with Michigan State, prove that notion wrong. Kevin Ollie’s squad has received a warm reception at Ramstein, and seem to have done a great job of connecting with the fans serving at the base. In the Hartford Courant article, UConn fan Tony Hodges describes the impact that the game has had on those stationed at Ramstein: “It’s tremendous for the morale… It’s like being home, and it shows that people haven’t forgotten the ones who are stationed far away.”
3. It’s been a tough year for Villanova basketball, and the hits continued yesterday with the announcement that point guard Ty Johnson would be transferring at the end of the semester. Johnson backed up Maalik Wayns at the position last year and played in every game, starting nine for the Wildcats and finishing second on the team in assists. This offseason, Villanova brought in transfer guard Tony Chennault and freshman Ryan Arcidiacono, who expect to log the majority of the minutes at the point, but I’m sure that Jay Wright would have preferred to keep Johnson for the depth he would provide.
4. NJ.com‘s Brendan Prunty released his Seton Hall season preview, and did a great job of outlining all things Pirate-basketball. In the piece, Prunty took a look at three possible outcomes for this year’s team: an NCAA Tournament berth, a spot in the NIT, or a “long offseason.” Since the start of the season is now upon us, and that’s reason enough to be optimistic, let’s take a look at the keys for a Seton Hall tournament berth in March: “The other four spots on the floor overshadow the PG hole. Last year, the point guard spot was the strongest on the floor for the Pirates. Jordan Theodore was an all-league player, guiding Seton Hall to the cusp of March Madness. Well, with Theodore graduating and transfer Sterling Gibbs’ hardship waiver not being granted, Willard is forced to put (Aaron) Cosby in that role. Seton Hall’s success though will ride on the rest of the starting rotation — particularly transfers Oliver and Gene Teague and Fuquan Edwin — to pick up the slack.”
5. It’s a new basketball season and that means it is time for a new Syracuse basketball rap song.  Syracuse has a long history of official team themes, which began in 2009-10 with then assistant coach Rob Murphy’s classic track “Shut it Down”.  Murphy has since left Syracuse to become the head coach at Eastern Michigan, so the basketball team has recruited rapper and Syracuse resident World Be Free to pen this year’s theme – “We Got This”.  If ‘this’ is a repeat of the 2009-10 season, or last year’s 34-3 campaign, I think that most Orange fans will be quite pleased with the result.

Dan Lyons is a writer for Rush The Court’s Big East microsite. He also contributes to Syracuse blog Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician and Ultimate Athlete Magazine.  You can find Dan on Twitter @Dan_Lyons76.

Dan Lyons (78 Posts)

Writer at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician and Rush the Court's Big East Microsite. Syracuse '12.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2012 at 5:45 am by Dan Lyons and is filed under big east, microsites, morning 5. Tagged: aaron cosby, buzz williams, fuquan edwin, gene teague, germany, jay wright, marquette, michigan state, rob murphy, ryan arcidiacono, seton hall, sterling gibbs, syracuse, tony chennault, ty johnson, uconn, villanova. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.