Louisville fans hoping that shot-blocking center Gorgui Dieng would return from a wrist injury in time for the team’s December 29 showdown with Kentucky were let down today when Cardinals’ coach Rick Pitino conveyed the unlikelihood of Dieng’s return during his weekly press conference. Apparently a bone in the wrist isn’t healing quite as quickly as the team had hoped and his expected return date has been pushed back to January 2 against Providence, but don’t hold your breath for anything concrete. It would have been fun to see Dieng square off with the Wildcats’ big men Nerlens Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein but Cardinals’ fans will live with it as long as they get their center back near or at the start of conference play. Keep in mind that the Cardinals’ defense is already playing without one of the premier rim-protectors in the sport and they are still the most efficient defense in the country. That defense could become scary if Dieng can return to form quickly.
Let’s overlook the rather biased “star” distinction laid upon Marquette freshman forward Steve Taylor Jr, by his coach Buzz Williams and just recognize that Taylor has the look of a pretty good player once he gets it all figured out. The Chicago native has plenty of potential, but 10 points and six rebounds against Savannah State doesn’t make you a star, especially considering he played a grand total of 12 minutes combined in the team’s previous two games against legitimate competition (Florida and Wisconsin). Taylor is the just the latest in a long line of undersized power forwards that Marquette gets a lot of production out of and they need him to play well because the team’s bench has been less than stellar this year. If Taylor continues to progress and develop, Marquette will be a much better team down the stretch.
Sometimes in the middle of the week it can be a real struggle to find decent stories to share with you all. And sometimes, when I go hunting for stories, I come up with a treasure, as is the case with this almost month-old story about South Florida freshman Jordan Omogbehin. I remember watching highlights of one of the Bulls’ game and picking him out almost immediately thanks to his size ( he is 7’3”, 329 pounds) and his stature is the reason why the fans love him. Of course Omogbehin is still developing his game and has not played even eight minutes per game this season after redshirting last season, but none of this has stopped the fan base in Tampa Bay from embracing the behemoth every time he checks in at the scorer’s table. Maybe it isn’t the most noteworthy story, but hey, it’s less depressing than more Big East collapse news.
In the absence of really notable news stories, we bring you this interesting note about how Syracuse forward Michael Gbinije, a Duke transfer, is now the only player in the history of the sport who has played for two coaches who have won 900 games. Of course this would be a more interesting tidbit if Gbinije had actually done much playing for either coach, but the sophomore averaged less than six minutes per game in 19 games last season for Coach K before transferring to Syracuse to play for Boeheim, where he now must sit out a year. Nevertheless, the Syracuse Post-Standard did their diligence and interviewed the young Virginia native on his experience with the two coaches so we’ll do them the solid and give it a shout in this space.
Our final piece of news is yet another small tidbit of information in anticipation of tonight’s Crosstown Classic, but at least it isn’t about the brawl! This will be the first year the classic is held at a neutral site and Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin likes it because the U.S. Bank Arena will have a postseason feel, providing an advantage for both teams when March rolls around. I guess I will buy that, although in a rivalry of this magnitude it seems like there will be a postseason feel to the game no matter where it is played.
After starting the year at #14 in Big East preseason coaches poll, the USF Bulls went an astounding 12-6 in conference last year and earned a berth in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the school’s first in 20 years. The Bulls went on to defeat Cal in one of the First Four games and Temple in the Round of 64 before losing to the upstart Ohio Bobcats in the next round, but overall, last season was a year of almost unprecedented success for Bulls basketball. The school loses a few key players this year, but they’re getting much more respect this preseason with a #8 spot in the 2012-13 preseason coaches poll.
2011-12 Record: 22-14, 12-6
2011-12 Postseason: NCAA Tournament (Third Round)
How will Stan Heath’s young Bulls squad respond to increased expectations in 2012-13?
Schedule
The Bulls should be able to compile a number of wins before entering Big East play as their non-conference schedule is not the most daunting. USF opens with rival and future Big East foe UCF at home on November 10, before returning the favor with a road game in Orlando right before conference play opens in a rare non-conference home-and-home series. USF also takes on Georgia and George Mason at home and Oklahoma State on the road. In conference play, USF has home-and-home series with Villanova, Louisville, Marquette, and Connecticut.
Who’s In
USF brings in a lot of new yet experienced faces to plug in some holes this season. Senior forward Kore White should see immediate playing time in the frontcourt. The 6’8″, 241 lb. White transfers in from Florida Atlantic where he averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in just over 23 minutes per game last season. Guard Martino Brock is also eligible to play after sitting out a year following his transfer from South Alabama, where he scored 14.2 points per game two seasons ago. Sophomore Musa Abdul-Aleem comes in from Georgia Perimeter College as a junior college transfer. Both Brock and Abdul-Aleem are big (6’5″) and physical guards, which should allow them to fit in well in the rugged Big East conference. Both are expected to see a lot of playing time due to their defensive contributions.
Brian Otskey is the RTC correspondent for the Big East. You can find him on Twitter @botskey.
Reader’s Take I
Top Storylines
The Realignment Circus Continues: The latest blow to the Big East came just recently as West Virginia was accepted into the Big 12. That leaves the Big East with 13 basketball schools remaining and a handful of others (football schools) desperately trying to flee the sinking ship. Commissioner John Marinatto has said he is committed to holding Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia to the 27-month notice provision in the conference’s bylaws but one has to wonder if a financial settlement will be worked out in order to expedite the transition and move the conference into rebuilding mode. It’s going to be quite awkward if these three schools remain in the league until 2014. All of the current Big East members should eventually find a stable home in one form or another, but the days of Big East basketball as we know it will soon come to an end. Enjoy the 2011-12 season because it just might be the last year of this remarkable 16-team behemoth.
How Many Bids This Year?: After sending a record 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament last year, can the Big East reach that mark again? That seems unlikely but you never know how things will truly play out. I’d say there are ten contenders for NCAA bids and to make 11 you would need all of those teams plus one of the three New York City-area schools to have a wildly successful year and snatch a bid. The Big East is quite possibly the best conference in the land yet again but 11 NCAA teams is far-fetched. Eight or nine bids this season would seem to be much more realistic.
Can Connecticut Repeat?: The technical answer is yes but it will be extremely tough to do. There’s a reason only two teams have gone back-to-back in the last 20 years. College basketball is as deep as ever in terms of talent and quality teams, plus there’s someone missing from last year’s Connecticut team. Kemba Walker is now in the NBA and, despite Jim Calhoun’s impressive recruiting haul, there is a major leadership void to be filled. This team is stocked with talent but Walker was a one-of-a-kind leader who took complete control in Maui and parlayed that into a way of life for the rest of the season. Jeremy Lamb figures to take control but remember how young this group is. They’ll get better as the season progresses and may even win the Big East but when the chips are down in the NCAA Tournament, they won’t be able to call on Kemba and that’s why I feel they will not repeat.
Calhoun Won't Have His Mr. Everything Around This Season
Cautious Optimism at Georgetown, Villanova and West Virginia: These traditional powers lose a lot of talent and figure to be lodged in the middle of the conference. All three programs return key cogs but the departures of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Antonio Pena, Casey Mitchell, John Flowers and Joe Mazzulla leave more questions than answers. These teams all need someone to step up and become a deep shooting threat while maintaining a low post presence. Guards win in college basketball but you also have to be able to rebound and score inside occasionally. Hollis Thompson, Mouphtaou Yarou and Deniz Kilicli must become better all-around post men if their respective teams hope to make the NCAA Tournament. At 6’7”, 205 lbs., Thompson isn’t one to bang with the big guys but he’s going to have to score in the paint at times. Each team has a nice recruiting class coming in, but it’s up to the returning players to make the ultimate difference.
Although we have been mentioning that some of the recruiting buzz might start slowing down we still saw one big-time recruit commit this week and another back out of his prior commitment.
First we will go with the big commitment as Memphis picked up its first commitment of the recruiting season (shocking, right?) when local product and reality TV starAdonis Thomascommitted to play for the Tigers. Josh Pastnerutilized former Memphis star Penny Hardaway to appeal to Thomas during a video segment aired during their version of Midnight Madness. Thomas announced his decision on ESPNU, which is quite frankly less dramatic than we imagined for a player who went on ESPNU to announce his finalists.
Now for the less joyous news (if you’re a fan of the team that previously had a commitment) we will head to Texas where Rick Barneslost a commitment from highly coveted Canadian (via Findlay Prep) point guard recruit Myck Kabongo who has not provided a definitive answer as to why he has reneged on his earlier promise. As of now he says that he is still considering Texas along with Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina. There has been some talk about Austin Rivers and Kabongo wanting to team up (anybody getting visions of college poor man’s LeBron-Wade in Cameron?), but we will probably have to wait until Spring to find out as Kabongo says he is 60% certain that he’ll sign in the late period. [Ed. Note: Where do these guys come up with these percentages?]
Indiana might still be waiting on Cody Zeller to decide on where he wants to go, but they were able to pick up a commitment from Hanner Perea, a power forward in the class of 2012 that many recruiting experts consider the most explosive big man in the class. Some of you may remember Perea as being the focal point of Baylor‘s current cell phone/text message scandal, but we have a feeling you might forget that when you see how athletic he is (additional video after the jump).
[Ed. Note: Both videos–this and the one after the jump–are of Perea as a sophomore.]
Bruce Weber may have missed out on Randle and Anthony Davis, two of the top players in the state of Illinois, but he was able to get a commitment from Mike Shaw, a 6’8″ forward who many expect to improve significantly in college.
Dukelost a commitment from Tyler Adams, a 6’9″ center who the Blue Devils had been interested in to help them add depth on the inside. The decision might surprise some, but not those who have followed the process closely. As RTC interview subject Dave Telep notes the two sides had grown apart to the point that Adams attended Midnight Madness at Georgetown, which is never a good sign for a Duke commit. According to Telep, the two current leaders for Adams are Georgetown and Mississippi State.
Speaking of Mississippi State they picked up a big commitment from Rodney Hood, one of the top small forwards in this year’s class, who opted to stay in his home state instead of going to a long list of potential suitors. With Arkansas picking up an outstanding class, Georgia starting to corner the market on in-state recruits, Kentucky being Kentucky, and other schools landing several solid recruits could the SEC be turning the corner and becoming a solid conference again? Read the rest of this entry »
