1. On October 28, the Big 12 formally announced that it had accepted West Virginia into the conference. Three days later, West Virginia sued the Big East conference in hopes of entering the Big 12, which had already agreed to accept them, as early as next year. The Big East wasn’t about to let one of their premier schools leave without a fight, especially considering it would set a dangerous precedent for other defectors Syracuse and Pittsburgh, so the conference countersued, hoping to block the Mountaineers’ move until 2014. Well, West Virginia recognized that decision, and appears ready to blatantly ignore it. Over the weekend, Athletic Director Oliver Luck said he expected West Virginia to be in the Big 12 next year, and couldn’t resist kicking the conference while it was down as well. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports relayed this juicy quote in a column Monday, “We were fortunate to get out,” Luck told the Charleston Gazette. “We got out [of the Big East] when the ship was seriously going down. I mean, only the tip of the sail was showing.” Ouch Mr. Luck, that wasn’t very nice. It is hard to argue with the logic on either side here, which makes this defection all the more ugly. West Virginia wants to get out and move on so they can get a piece of that juicy TV contract the Big 12 signed with Fox. And the Big East isn’t keen on letting their best football program and a quality basketball program leave at what they feel is a moments notice, because it opens the door for more lawsuits and hasty exits. This has all the makings of a long and protracted legal battle, so strap in Mountaineer fans, it could get bumpy.
2. In related news, CBS Sports reported last night that the Big East’s courtship of Brigham Young University has come to an end. OK, you may not think this is as juicy as Ashton and Demi but we do!  The main point of contention leading to the break-up appears to be, yep, you guessed it…money!  BYU signed a lucrative eight-year television contract last year with ESPN to broadcast home games and it appears control of these rights is where the impasse lies. While The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting the Big East – BYU relationship may ultimately prove stalled, CBS Sports is taking a firmer position saying that the conference is done with BYU and exploring its next option, which is to add San Diego State as a football-only member.  The Aztecs would ostensibly be part of a plan to join fellow new football-only members Boise State, Air Force, and Navy along with soon-to-be-announced full members: Houston, Southern Methodist, and Central Florida. This would result in a 12 football and 16 basketball member Big East once all the Mayflower vans got done doing their thing. While the projected alignment arguably would create a better football conference than exists today, it would certainly result in a regression basketball-wise. To that end there have been some vocal proponents (see Rick Pitino) of adding two more all-sport, but basketball-centric members such as Temple and Memphis.
3. After last week’s discouraging home loss to Long Beach State, Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon was glad to have six days off to rest his weary team and, according to him, “get the younger guys going”. The loss to the 49ers caused the Panthers to tumble all the way to #16 in the most recent AP poll heading into last night’s game against La Salle and the Panthers, while displaying a much improved defensive effort, got all they could handle from a tough Explorer team who took Villanova to overtime last week, and squeaked out a 73-69 win at the Peterson Events Center. While star senior guard, and preseason Big East Player of the Year selection, Ashton Gibbs struggled through a poor shooting night (3 of 15), it was one of the youngsters who keyed the defensive effort for Dixon’s squad. Freshman Khem Birch had an active 13 minutes, tallying four points, six rebounds, and three blocks.  Birch spent some time at the center spot last night, and drew praise from his coach, “He was more effective there,” Dixon said. “He was playing both (forward and center) and we’ve got to get him more comfortable playing there.” Junior guard Travon Woodall logged a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists to pace the 3-1 Panthers. The 5’11” guard also registered three blocks, including a huge one down the stretch to preserve the victory.
   
4. Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun held sophomore forward Roscoe Smith out of a preseason game for missing a “team commitment” and it looked like the sophomore role player might cede his playing time to talented freshman DeAndre McDaniels. The problem, according to Calhoun and teammates is that Smith tends to sulk in the face of adversity when he should be doubling his effort. Currently his averages (6 PPG and 3 RPG) are similar to last year’s numbers and that’s not great. Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier and Alex Oriakhi are going to carry UConn all season, but the team needs a healthy, energetic, and upbeat Smith — whether it is in the starting lineup or coming off the bench — once they play fiercer competition. The linked article notes that Smith was better on both ends of the court against Coppin State, but Coppin State isn’t a Big East-caliber team, and that same pep will need to carryover to the conference schedule if the Huskies hope to repeat.
5. As noted here yesterday courtesy of future Friar Ricky Ledo, Providence has been on the prowl for some front court help.  We thought he meant for next year but as it turns out coach Ed Cooley may (and may is the operative word here) be getting a big for the second semester as 6’10” Daquan Brown announced via his Facebook page on Tuesday that he will be transferring to Providence.  While it is not known yet if Brown will be able to play right away, the need for more immediate help is likely due to the fact the Friars have been playing with just eight scholarship players as red-shirt sophomore Kadeem Batts, perhaps their best big man, is serving an indefinite suspension for an unspecified violation of team rules and freshman guard Kiwi Gardner is out pending appeal of an NCAA academic eligibility ruling concerning his prep school curriculum.  Brown, a New York native, is currently enrolled at Fresno State and on their basketball roster however he has yet to play there due to what appears to be his own indefinite team suspension. Out of Brooklyn’s Lincoln High School Brown appeared headed for Oklahoma State until academic issues redirected him to Barstow Community College (CA) where he averaged 12 points and ten rebounds per game. Brown visited Providence this past weekend and was in attendance for the Friars’ victory over Florida A&M.

Allegations that Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine molested two former ball boys have been in the news cycle for nearly a week now. Just enough time for interested media outlets to scour the country asking anyone and everyone who has connections to the Syracuse basketball program what they thought about Fine and his alleged misdeeds.

Fine Remains at the Center of This Controversy

The Syracuse Post-Standard – as it should be – is all over this story and has been since ESPN broke the news last week. Anyone interested in the latest news surrounding the allegations would be wise to check out their myriad of related content, especially the explanation from Executive Editor Michael Connor about why the paper never published the story in 2003 when alleged victim Bobby Davis first approached them. But they obviously aren’t the only well-connected publication, and many others have published stories including the thoughts of former players and experts – almost all of whom have come out in support of Fine.

We decided it would be worthwhile to cull together as many of these opinions as possible in one post and present them all. This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive list of the opinions, but it was an exhaustive search. All editorial content from us is meant to provide context and not opinion. Also please keep in mind these quotes were not meant to be presented as one stream of consciousness, they are a combined version of the opinions offered to the media outlets reporting on them.

Bernie Fine

In a statement publicly released on Nov. 18.

Simply put, these allegations are patently false in every aspect. The fact is these allegations have been thoroughly investigated multiple times. When evaluating the veracity of these accusations, please keep in mind that credible media outlets were approached in the past to publicize these false allegations and declined to do so. I fully cooperated with all past inquires.

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1. The Big East announced its first men’s basketball weekly awards on Monday.  Seton Hall forward Herb Pope took home Player of the Week honors as he led the Pirates to a 3-1 start averaging a double-double for the week (22.5 PPG, 11,5 RPG).  Pope recorded double-doubles in three of the four games, missing by just one rebound in that contest, an 80-73 loss to Northwestern in which Pope scored 32 points.  Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant earned the Rookie of the Week award after averaging 14 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists in four Fighting Irish wins.  Grant, a sophomore, sat out last year thus preserving his rookie status.  Honor Roll recipients consisted of: Connecticut guard Shabazz Napier (18.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 6.5 APG) who messed around and got a triple-double in a win over Coppin State; Providence guard Bryce Cotton (22.0 PPG, 60% 3PT) who recorded successive career highs in each of Providence’s three victories on the week; Marquette Darius Johnson-Odom (20 PPG, 2.8 REB, 4.2 APG) highlighted by a 24-point, six-assist effort against Norfolk State; Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall (19.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 8.0 APG) including 25 points, six rebounds and 10 assists versus Albany; and Villanova guard Dominic Cheek (22.0 PPG, 6 RPG) who scored eight overtime points in a win over city rival La Salle.
2. South Florida big man Augustus Gilchrist injured his shoulder in the first half of Sunday’s 53-49 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament loss to Penn State, and could sideline Gilchrist for Wednesday’s game against Georgia Southern.  According to the Tampa Tribune‘s Adam Adkins, per his Twitter account, Bulls coach Stan Heath declared his senior leader questionable for the contest.  Coming into the Penn State game, in which he played just 13 minutes, Gilchrist was averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game. Lady luck was not on South Florida’s side at Mohegan Sun as in addition to Gilchrist’s injury, the Bulls took their first two losses of the season over the weekend, the other being a 68-66 overtime setback to Old Dominion after starting the year with three straight wins.  Georgia Southern will bring a 1-2 record to Tampa on Wednesday after dropping a pair of nine-point losses to Valparaiso and Wake Forest followed by an 84-61 triumph over NAIA Webber International.  Should Gilchrist miss Wednesday’s game, fans will look toward South Florida’s next contest on Saturday at home against Florida Atlantic.
3. Notre Dame senior forward Tim Abromaitis made his season debut last night and led the team in points and rebounds with 22  and eight, respectively. Unfortunately for the fifth-year senior, the rest of his team shot just better than 30 percent from the field and Missouri ran away with a 87-58 win, the worst loss for the Irish since 1999. Mike Brey’s team (4-1) easily won their first four games against overmatched foes, but they wilted in their first real test of the season. Brey called it “a rude awakening” for his young team. The return of Abromaitis really only proved that, while he will be excellent individually this season, there is a lot of unproven talent around him, and point guard Eric Atkins was proof last night. The sophomore also made his return after missing the last two games because of illness, but his return — eight points, three turnovers, just one assist — didn’t go quite as smoothly. They are going to need him to do his best to replace some of the production Ben Hansbrough left behind.
4. The Louisville basketball program is finally getting to put out beneficial injury news for once. Well, kind of. The Cardinals are saying that point guard Peyton Siva will miss tonight’s game against Arkansas State but should be ready to play Friday when the Cardinals host Ohio. But there’s also more sort-of good news for Rick Pitino as the team hopes to get forward Rakeem Buckles back to practice in the next week. Buckles hasn’t been able to do much physical activity since anterior cruciate ligament surgery last February, and the team isn’t desperate to even think about playing him until he is ready, but this is a step in the right direction.
5. Providence recruit and native Ricky Ledo may want to stay in his South Kent (CT) dorm for Thanksgiving as opposed to coming home to Rhode Island where future head coach Ed Cooley may be waiting on his door step to discuss Ledo’s recent video-taped interview with Five Star Basketball, in which Ledo volunteered the names of recruits the Friars are after.  While the players he mentioned (Chris Obekpa, JaKarr Sampson and Nerlens Noel) are well publicized and documented Friar targets, Ledo has to understand that the NCAA acts and works in mysterious ways so he does not want to do anything that could be construed as an infraction.  We are sure Cooley will very diplomatically ensure that this understanding is reached in short order.  Cooley keeps a treadmill he calls the “Focus Machine” on the sideline at practice. He may personally deliver Ledo a dose of focus very soon and give him an opportunity to work off that turkey and stuffing.  Do not hold your breath waiting for new Ricky Ledo interviews any time in the near future, Friar fans.

The Blue Hose – Who Dey?

Cincinnati center Yancy Gates, after the No. 20 Bearcats were upset by Presbyterian 56-54 on Saturday.

“You just take it as a learning experience. Probably some guys think we’re better than we are. Hopefully it will humble us as a team.”

(Associated Press)

It’s All About The Benjamins

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim speculating to the Syracuse Post-Standard on why Bobby Davis would be telling his story of alleged abuse now.

“Here’s why,” he said. “The Penn State thing came out and the kid behind this is trying to get money. He’s tried before. And now he’s trying again. If he gets this, he’s going to sue the university and Bernie. What do you think is going to happen at Penn State? You know how much money is going to be involved in civil suits? I’d say about $50 million. That’s what this is about. Money.”

The PITTS, Yins’All! Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon on Wednesday’s upset loss to Long Beach State.  Surprisingly Snoop Dogg could not be reached for comment but fo’ shizzle he was happy. So Much Drama in the LBC   “We knew when we scheduled Long Beach State that they were very good and we wanted to play an experienced team. We knew how good they were. I anticipated us being a much better team at this time and obviously we are not where I would like us to be.” Guys who are supposed to be back on the shot aren’t doing that when they are supposed to be, but the same guys aren’t doing it in practice either. It’s a new thing for a couple of guys. We got beat every which way and when you get beat like we did it is execution or could be construed as effort.”

I Scream, You Scream…But Not Like She Screams!

St. John’s missed like 452 free throws in the waning minutes of their 58-57 loss (yes they could have won by 451) to Billy Kennedy’s Texas A&M Aggies.  If you have problems waking up in the morning we suggest using this video as your snooze alarm.

Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) 11/18/11 6:37 PM I’m not kidding when I say this. Billy Kennedy’s daughter, Anna Cate, should get the game ball. She was the difference-maker in this one.

If you count getting arrested for throwing eggs at cars, in high school I got my name in the paper once

Providence 2012 signee & cover boy Kris Dunn.

1. The biggest basketball-related story in the conference is still the allegations that Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine molested two former ball boys, but we would prefer to cover the reactions in more depth in a post to run later this morning. That said, it is worth noting that recruiting has already been affected as highly regarded Class of 2014 prospect and New York native, Isaiah Whitehead, dropped the Orange from his list of schools. It’s worth pointing out that Whitehead won’t be matriculating anytime soon, so plans could change based on how the story develops, but in reading the quote from Whitehead’s mother, she didn’t exactly leave the door wide open. Whitehead’s high school coach later told ESPN New York that Whitehead’s mother was confused and thought the allegations were about head coach Jim Boeheim. Regardless of the truth, the rumors and accompanying misinformation are indicative of the fact that Boeheim will have his work cut out for him on the recruiting trail as these allegations continue to swirl.
2. It was a rough weekend in their home gym for Steve Lavin and St. John’s. Hosting the 2K Sports Classic, the Johnnies held Arizona to 41% from the floor but turned the ball over 17 times in an 81-72 loss to the Wildcats in the semifinal. Then, in the third-place game against Texas A&M, Lavin’s young club went just 22-38 from the free-throw line including two missed by Nurideen Lindsey with 2.3 seconds left that made the difference in a 58-57 loss. But the low point was undoubtedly having Anna Cate Kennedy — daughter of Aggies’ new coach Billy Kennedy — receiving her fair share of credit for the win for her ear-splitting screams during St. John’s free-throw attempts. The story is old by now so not much else needs to be said, but it can never be fun when the media only half-jokingly claims you were beaten by a seven-year-old girl.
3. While some Big East teams have struggled against lesser opponents in the early going, Marquette has not been one of them. The Golden Eagles scored their third 30-point win last night, a 96-66 win over Mississippi in the Paradise Jam semifinals, to improve to 4-0 on the season. The hometown Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quotes head coach Buzz Williams in saying “we have struggled defensively.” I am not sure what numbers he is looking at, because the Golden Eagles currently rank No. 22 in defensive efficiency, but since they are No. 6 in offensive efficiency, I guess defense is the “problem.” The real issue will be deciding on a starting point guard, where Vander Blue and Junior Cadougan are battling for the majority of the minutes.
4. As if the country needed any more proof about the ability of Connecticut sophomore Jeremy Lamb, the All-American candidate sprained his ankle in Saturday’s practice and still scored 25 points in 37 minutes against an overmatched Coppin State team. Coppin State is not very good, but Lamb was apparently touch-and-go for the game even as he arrived at the arena. There are still some doubters who think UConn can’t repeat without star guard Kemba Walker. Those people need to start watching Lamb because as good as he was last year, he is going to be a different player this year.
5. There was lots of high praise for the Cincinnati Bearcats heading into the season. Letting an underwhelming Presbyterian team rally for a 56-54 win after being down 15 points with less than eight minutes to play is the kind of dud to make that praise look foolish. CBS Sports columnist Gary Parrish gave the loss his “loss to hide from” this weekend and deservedly so. Mick Cronin‘s team better hope they don’t end up on the bubble when February rolls around, because that kind of embarrassing loss, even early in the season, won’t look great in the eyes of the tournament committee.

In college basketball they say the coaches are the stars.  Thank goodness for that because when No. 8 Louisville (2-0) takes on reigning two-time national runner-up Butler (1-1) on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse the marquee value on the rosters will not possess the sizzle it might have had a year, or even a couple of days, ago.  While many may need to rifle through programs and online game trackers to identify players, the head coaches certainly require no introduction in a game that will prove an ample test of their considerable skills.  And let’s face it, as we scour through a November slate that includes several undercard match-ups leading up to the Big East’s main events, we need something to sink our teeth into!

Pitino Will be Working Hard Against Butler

Rick Pitino is faced with the challenge of heading into a tough road venue with a team that has been besieged by injury. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish certainly are not coming through that door, and where is Greg Kite when you need him anyway?  With junior leader and point guard Peyton Siva doubtful for the game following the recent long term losses of backcourt mates Wayne Blackshear, out six-to-eight weeks due to shoulder surgery, and Mike Marra, gone for the season with an ACL tear, the Cardinals are especially thin right now, particularly at the point.  While Pitino said Siva’s injury could impact his availability beyond Saturday, he also left the door open for a cameo appearance should the game situation dictate.

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We were going to start this morning’s post with a throwaway news piece about the newly published Jim Boeheim book and probably wish Boeheim a half-hearted happy 67th birthday. Then ESPN‘s Outside The Lines dropped a bombshell on Boeheim and the entire Syracuse University basketball program by reporting that longtime Orange assistant coach Bernie Fine was being investigated by Syracuse police for allegedly molesting two former team ball boys for more than a decade.

Bernie Fine is a Longtime SU Assistant and Close Boeheim Friend (credit: SU)

Syracuse isn’t taking any chances in light of what’s happened in State College the last few weeks. The school announced Fine has already been placed on administrative leave and just about everyone from the university has issued a statement expressing how seriously they take the charges. The immediate rush was to compare these allegations to the recent scandal still going on at Penn State. But there appear to be several very distinct differences those following the story should consider before they rush to judgment.

First — as Yahoo! columnist Dan Wetzel pointed out on Twitter — the police opening an investigation into an alleged incident is much different from a grand jury bringing criminal charges against someone in a presentment. The grand jury had eyewitness accounts and evidence from official police investigations rising to the level of confessions of inappropriate touching by Jerry Sandusky. The Syracuse police are basing their investigation of Fine from the testimony of the alleged victims — Bobby Davis and his stepbrother Mike Lang — and a previous investigation into the same crime in 2005 that Syracuse Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Kevin Quinn said, “included a number of interviews with people the complainant said would support his claims. All of those identified by the complainant denied any knowledge of wrongful conduct by the associate coach. The associate coach also vehemently denied the allegations.”

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They may sit atop the overall Big East standings at 3-0 on the season, but anyone who watched St. John’s play in those three games knows that those wins were a little bit more difficult to come by than coach Steve Lavin probably hoped. The old adage that “a win is a win” doesn’t seem to hold water when you are talking about five-point wins over Lehigh and second-half comeback wins against William & Mary. Fortunately for Red Storm fans eager to see what their team is truly made of, tonight’s game against  No. 15 Arizona at Madison Square Garden should be an excellent barometer of just how good Lavin’s young team really is.

Steve Lavin Will Have Plenty Of Teaching Moments This Season With Such A Young Team.

In many respects, the Wildcats and Red Storm are similar teams. Both are led by hotshot recruiters trying to return the program they captain back to greatness. Both are oozing with young, inexperienced talent and potential. And both teams haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire with their play thus far this season. While St. John’s has played the 280th-strongest schedule through three games according to KenPom.com, Arizona has managed an eight-point win, a nine-point win, and a ten-point win against Duquesne, Valparaiso, and Ball State respectively — at least they’re improving, I guess.

What does this all mean? Well it means that we should have a very exciting and very interesting game on our hands tonight. It will be the first marquee matchup for a Big East team this season and it will give viewers an excellent idea of the direction this team is headed this season. Of course here on the Big East microsite, Arizona and their season is not our concern. We are looking at how St. John’s will be able to win this game, and it will essentially come down to four important factors.

1. St. John’s has to get off to a quick start and stay fresh

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Tucked away, within the second-to-last sentence of the preview of his team in this week’s Sports Illustrated,  Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs flashed a little bit of braggadaccio. “We’re good enough to win a national title,” the 6’2” senior told SI‘s Rebecca Shore when she asked about the collection of talent on the Panthers’ roster. And although it’s still very early, after last night’s 86-76 loss to a veteran Long Beach State team, that bold claim looks quite a bit bolder. Of course, when Gibbs gave that quote, the season hadn’t even started yet and coach Jamie Dixon is looking to him for leadership this season, so what else is he supposed to say? But he isn’t the only knowledgeable source who set high expectations for Pittsburgh this year. Many experts readily picked Pittsburgh to finish near the top of the Big East alongside Connecticut and Syracuse. Some even picked them to win the conference title.

If last night was any indication, Jamie Dixon will need to do a lot of coaching this season.

And why not? The team lost three excellent veterans in Brad Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown, and Gary McGhee. But they also returned a solid nucleus of Gibbs, Travon Woodall, Nasir Robinson, and Dante Taylor, and a highly rated recruiting class that included consensus top-10 recruit Khem Birch. They also had one of the most consistent and proven coaches in the country steering the ship. But after watching the 49ers thoroughly outplay the Panthers on their home court, it may be time for expectations to be reset.

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Cincinnati’s Yancy Gates is the most important player on the Big East team with the largest increase in expectations entering the 2011-12 season. Gates is a preseason All-Big East Second Team selection, but in reality there is virtually no ceiling for his personal accolades this year. A postseason all-Big East First Team selection is within reach, as is the potential for Big East Player of the Year consideration when all is said and done.

Head coach Mick Cronin‘s Bearcats are coming off a 26-9 overall record last year, including a sixth-place, eleven-win Big East campaign, capped by Cincinnati’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in Cronin’s tenure.  An appearance that ended with a third round loss to eventual champion Connecticut. The breakout season, along with the return of the team’s top four scorers from a year ago, has garnered a national ranking (No. 20 in the latest Associated Press poll), and an upper echelon fifth-place Big East prediction, while fans and national pundits alike are looking for more overall.

Gates Has Potential To Reach Great Heights

Now a senior, Gates represents the total package. The personification of power and physicality, yet, despite some stormy patches in his career, nimble enough to dance between rain drops. The 6’9″, 260-pound (it’s the new 285) forward is wide-bodied and broad-shouldered to the point his uniform number seems like 3444 as opposed to 34. (Can you imagine veteran Big East referee Tim Higgins calling a foul on Gates and signing 3-4-4-4 to the scorer’s table?) Gates also possesses perimeter skills — which he loves to show off — that are impressive for a player of his size. But to gain the consistency that has eluded him for most of his collegiate career, Gates has to resist the urge to complicate matters when the game can come so simply and easily for him. Read the rest of this entry »