Athlon's 2013-14 College Basketball Conference Snapshot: The Big East Conference 1. MARQUETTE (26-9, 14-4 Big East, NCAA Elite Eight) Key players gone: Juan Anderson, Vander Blue, Junior Cadougan, Trent Lockett Top returners: Davante Gardner, Chris Otule, Jamil Wilson New faces: Deonte Burton (freshman), JaJuan Johnson (freshman), Jameel McKay (junior college), Duane Wilson (freshman) Vander Blue’s departure hurts and likely knocks Marquette out of the preseason top 10. Gardner (11.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Jamil Wilson (9.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) still give Buzz Williams veterans to work with in 2013-14. In addition to the returners, Marquette may have a new point guard (Wilson) and two major freshmen in Johnson and Burton. http://www.athlonsports.com/college-basketball/2013-14-college-basketball-big-east-early-rankings
The Big East/AAC Interweb Separation The new Big East keeps Brand name The AAC gets the likes and followers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BIGEASTconference https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConf Twitter: @BigEastConf @BigEastChamps @BigEastMBB @BigEastWBB @American_Conf @American_FB @American_MBB @American_WBB @American_Champs Pinterest http://pinterest.com/bigeast/ http://pinterest.com/theamericanconf/ they will launch the two websites on 7/1/2013 a revised www.bigeast.org/ and www.theamerican.org/
Myke Henry switching to DePaul Former Illinois forward Myke Henry said Saturday he is transferring to DePaul. Henry, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward, averaged 3.2 points and 10.6 minutes in 35 games during his sophomore season at Illinois last year. He will sit out next season and have two years of eligibility remaining per NCAA rules.
George Blaney announces retirement George Blaney has announced an end to his 43-year coaching career, retiring after 12 seasons as an assistant at Connecticut. The 73-year-old's departure comes a season after his longtime friend Jim Calhoun stepped down as head coach.
ZagsBlog: Big East Preseason Rankings Preseason Ranking: 1. GEORGETOWN (25-7, 14-4 Big East) 2. MARQUETTE (26-9, 14-4 Big East) 3. ST. JOHN’S (17-16, 8-10 Big East) 4. XAVIER (17-14, 9-7 Atlantic 10) 5. VILLANOVA (20-14, 10-8 Big East) 6. CREIGHTON (28-8, 13-5 Missouri Valley) 7. BUTLER (27-9, 11-5 Atlantic 10) 8. PROVIDENCE (19-15, 9-9 Big East) 9. SETON HALL (15-18, 3-15 Big East) 10. DEPAUL (11-21, 2-16 Big East) Per ESPNU Top 100: 17. PG Rysheed Jordan, St. John’s 27. SG JaJuan Johnson, Marquette 39. SF Deonte Burton, Marquette 53. PG Duane Wilson, Marquette 56. SF Brandon Austin, Providence 63. SF Reggie Cameron, Georgetown 73. PF Kris Jenkins, Villanova 89. PG Brandon Randolph, Xavier 91. PG Jaren Sina, Seton Hall 92. SF Josh Hart, Villanova 94. PG Billy Garrett, Jr. DePaul http://zagsblog.com/articles/sny-bi...ngs-all-big-east-teams-top-incoming-recruits/
Master List of Big East Schools OOC In Last 5 Years... We are going to be competing to be the top conference in the country. I don't see how anyone can argue differently. Our numbers are fantastic. With the exception of DePaul, one thing these numbers seem to show is that the Big East schools don't lose a lot of games to lower conference teams... ...in contrast, the 4 ACC schools I highlighted Thursday (Georgia Tech, Wake, Virginia and Boston College) lost a combined 26 games vs teams from the weaker conferences, including double digit losses to Kennesaw State, Stetson, Holy Cross, Boston University, etc... ...in our case, however, the 10 Big East teams combined to go an amazing 307-34 vs the weakest conferences. If DePaul is removed, the other 9 Big East teams combine to go 277-24... Another thing that these numbers seem to show is that our league is going to be stacked with great teams: http://www.csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=636682
Greg Whittington has torn ACL Georgetown's Greg Whittington suffered a torn ACL in his left knee and could miss the entire 2013-14 season. The news of Whittington's injury was reported by ESPN.com on Monday night, and the severity was confirmed by a Georgetown spokesman on Tuesday afternoon. The 6-foot-8 sophomore forward suffered the injury a little more than a week ago. "Greg will return when he is 100 percent healthy," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said in a statement. "I feel for Greg because he's worked extremely hard to prepare for the coming season, on and off the court. I'm confident this is just another setback that in the end will make him even stronger. At this point, there is no specific timetable for his return." Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...eg-whittington-georgetown-hoyas-torn-left-acl
How consistent have the schools of the new Big East been in the recent past in making deep runs in the NCAA tournament? That's 9 trips to the Elite 8 in 11 years. Only 3 conferences have done better -The new ACC, the new SEC, and the Big XII with 10 apiece. (I'm using the post-expansion membership. So, Louisville, for example counts for the ACC.). Here's the list by conference: ACC - 10 years (19 total appearances) B12 - 10 years (17 total appearances) SEC - 10 years (14 total appearances) BEC - 9 years (9 total appearances) B1G - 8 years (10 total appearances) Pac - 6 years (7 total appearances) AAC - 5 years (6 total appearances)* A10 - 4 years (4 total appearances) MVC - 1 year (1 total appearance) *I did not count Memphis' 2008 run because it was vacated. http://www.csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=637266
Color Commentary: Power Ranking the New Big East Mascots The conference realignment has ushered in a new era of the Big East, in which we say goodbye to some classic rivals and hello to new competitors. Along with the changing of schools comes a changing of team mascots that we’ll be rooting against. Gone are the days of hating on an Irish stereotype or a stupid piece of fruit – instead, we’ll be clashing with new faces in Butler, Creighton, and Xavier. While the basketball games themselves might be settled on the court, I’ve taken it upon myself to settle which team in the new Big East has the best mascot. So sit tight and pop an MHL with me (that’s a Mike’s Hard Lemonade, for you amateur drinkers out there) – it’s time to power rank the new Big East Mascots. http://www.vuhoops.com/2013/6/18/4443246/color-commentary-power-ranking-the-new-big-east-mascots
Val Ackerman Is New Big East Commish Former WNBA Commissioner Val Ackerman will be the new Commissioner of the Big East Conference, according to a report by Bloomberg News. Ackerman, 53, was the head of the WNBA from 1995-2006. She also served as an NBA staff attorney and was the first female president of USA Basketball from 2005 to 2008. “She brings all of that experience with intelligence, a keen analytical ability, an intense work ethic and a winning management style,” NBA Commissioner David Stern told Bloomberg via e-mail. http://zagsblog.com/big-east/report-val-ackerman-is-new-big-east-commish/
NEW YEARS EVE MARATHON FOX Sports 1 is slated to televise over 100 Big East men’s regular-season basketball games this coming season. The non-conference schedule begins Friday, Nov. 8, the likely date of the first Johnson-Raftery assignment. The Big East Conference schedule begins with a five-game, all-teams-featured New Year’s Eve marathon on Dec. 31: St. John’s at Xavier, noon ET; Seton Hall at Providence, 2:30 p.m. ET; DePaul at Georgetown, 5 p.m. ET; Villanova at Butler, 7:30 p.m. ET; Marquette at Creighton, 10 p.m. ET. The Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament runs March 12-15, live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, the tournament’s home since 1983. It is the longest-running conference tournament played at one venue. http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebas...sketball-analyst-bill-raftery-big-east-062713
YES Network to televise ACC basketball and football games and Big East basketball games NEW YORK -- The YES Network, the most-watched regional sports network in the country the past 10 years, has reached an agreement with FOX Sports Media Group by which YES will televise live Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball and football games and Big East basketball games beginning this fall. As part of the deal, YES will televise up to 10 ACC football games and up to 23 men's ACC basketball games, as well as select women's basketball and Olympic sports. YES will also offer up to 10 Big East basketball games. Telecast schedules will be announced at a later date. All telecasts will be in HD. http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130711&content_id=53326300&oid=0
Rick Pitino upbeat on Kevin Ware Injured Louisville guard Kevin Ware could be back on the court by October. Cardinals coach Rick Pitino said Tuesday that he's encouraged by Ware's rehabilitation, which recently has included riding a stationary bicycle. Ware broke his right leg in a gruesome incident during Louisville's regional final victory over Duke and his injury became a rallying point in the Cardinals' run to their third NCAA title. "He's just riding the bike and you can almost see from the X-rays the bone healing," Pitino said. "I'd say, in another month he'll be healed and then he'll start working out a little bit." Pitino has had a good summer after winning the national championship. He's seen sophomore forward Montrezl Harrell help the U.S. men's under-19 team win a gold medal and is watching forward Luke Hancock contribute to USA Basketball at the World University Games. He's also pleased with how the Cardinals' veterans are blending with newcomers during workouts. Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...8/rick-pitino-says-kevin-ware-playing-october
St. John's hires Jim Whitesell Jim Whitesell, the associate head coach at Saint Louis University for the past two years, has been hired as an assistant coach at St. John's.
Ther Big East and TV partner FOX Sports 1 announces SUPER SATURDAY HOOPS on Feb. 1 at Madison Square Garden on the day before the Super Bowl. Marquette will face St. John's in conference action and Georgetown takes on Michigan State. http://go.mu.edu/13JfsUk
SI Conference catch-up: Big East By Andy Glockner The name and postseason tournament venue are the same, and so are some of the members, but everything else about the Big East enters a whole new world starting this season. Gone are the football-playing members of the conference in its previous behemoth form, and in their place, basketball schools Xavier, Butler and Creighton join the breakaway Catholic Seven. The league also has a new TV home, inking a deal with new ESPN challenger Fox Sports 1, which even was able to nab ESPN Big Monday mainstay Bill Raftery to help call the revised league’s games. After years of an uneasy alliance, the basketball schools indeed showed the required Onions!! to start anew. http://college-basketball.si.com/2013/07/31/conference-catch-up-big-east/
Roosevelt Jones will miss season Butler junior Roosevelt Jones suffered torn ligaments in his wrist on the team's recent trip to Australia and will miss the season, the team announced Friday. "Roosevelt suffered an injury that resulted in ligament damage to his left wrist, and he'll undergo season-ending surgery," said Butler head athletic trainer Ryan Galloy in a statement. "His prognosis is good, and he's expected to make a full recovery for next season." Read more http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...ler-roosevelt-jones-injures-wrist-miss-season
Butler's Roosevelt Jones has surgery Butler guard Roosevelt Jones had season-ending surgery on his left wrist Thursday in Indianapolis. New coach Brandon Miller said he was happy the surgery went well, and he expects Jones to make a full recovery.
Dez Wells files lawsuit against Xavier Former Xavier guard Dez Wells has filed a federal lawsuit against the school and its president, demanding an apology and damages for being wrongly dismissed from the university, ESPN has confirmed. Yahoo! Sports first reported the lawsuit on Tuesday night. Wells, who transferred and received a waiver to play at Maryland last season, was kicked out of school in 2012 following an allegation of sexual assault. No charges were filed after Wells was cleared by the grand jury, and Hamilton County (Ohio) prosecutor Joe Deters even told media that the allegation "didn't reach anything close to a standard of proof." "From the moment the nightmare began, I've been trying to get everyone to understand that I am innocent," Wells said in a statement obtained by ESPN.com. "The supposed leaders at Xavier destroyed my reputation. It needs to make this right. Xavier needs to set the record straight." A Xavier student claimed that Wells sexually assaulted her on June 7, 2012. Wells said he engaged in consensual sex. "We have read the complaint and the allegations of wrongdoing are unfounded and cannot be supported," Xavier president, Father Michael Graham, said in a statement to Yahoo! Sports. "The process used by the Xavier University Conduct Board applies to all of our students and is the standard used in American universities. After members of the Conduct Board reached their decision, the matter was considered and upheld in an appeal. The sanction for the offense was expulsion." Read more Dez Wells files lawsuit against Xavier http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...ez-wells-files-lawsuit-xavier-demands-apology #Xavier
