Archive for the ‘Blog Entries’ Category

To be a senior major college basketball player in the 21st century is something of an insult in and of itself. The best and most talented players tend to use the college campus as a 12- or 18-month stepping stone to seven-figure checks and liberal traveling interpretations. The argument that senior stars are the keys to conference champions and long tournament runs is no longer cogent in this era, but that does not mitigate the importance of veteran performers in successful teams.

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I had a strong reaction to something I learned recently, and I figured, hey, I’ve got this space in which to publish my thoughts - might as well use it. The topic that struck a nerve for me was the recent spate of hardship transfers or hardship petitions from players who have been able to or are attempting to waive their red-shirt years and play immediately after changing schools.

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Debilitating injuries damaged the seasons of Big East teams at an alarming rate last season. While some teams — Pittsburgh, for instance — was able to recover from two traumatic injuries, others — like Syracuse and Providence — saw their journey toward achieving preseason goals sidetracked. From Andy Rautins last summer to A.J. Price in the NCAA Tournament, Big East teams just couldn’t avoid getting bit by injuries.

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Part of the problem of few players graduating or declaring for the NBA Draft — as we saw in the Big East this summer — is that fewer minutes open up for players biding their time. Add to that an influx of talented freshmen and a lot of those rising sophomores and juniors who were anticipating an increase in run this winter become disillusioned. That perfect storm has led to an exceptionally high number of transfers from Big East schools this season, and not all of the transfers are end-of-the-bench players.

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Sorry for the long absence, friends, but BigEastCast will be back next week and will continue once each week until the start of the season. Please check back for future posts and updates.

Thanks!

With 19 of the top 25 scorers, 14 of the top 20 rebounders and 11 of the top 15 distributors back in the Big East this season, the conference returns the most talent of any league in the country. In three years as a super-league, the Big East has secured 23 NCAA Tournament bids, but just one Final Four appearance and no team that has played on college basketball’s biggest night on the first Monday of April. The primary goal of Big East basketball this season is to make an impact deep into March, because the league has been a huge hit in almost every other fashion.

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It’s been a while since I filled this space. Since then, I’ve married and moved, and I’ve finally settled to the point where I can again attend to my Visions. I hope I didn’t leave you in a lurch and that you’re glad I’m back.

There’s a lot to cover, and I’m not going to do it all in one day. There are coaching changes, transfers, early-entrants and recruiting headlines to deal with over the coming weeks. We also have to do a little post-mortem for what happened at the end of March and begin to look ahead to next season.

That’s a lot to do, but I think we’re up for the challenge. Come here for the detailed analysis and opinion, and go to NBE Basketball Report for day-to-day news and notes. He’s on top of the daily doings in the Big East — and especially the recruiting scene. Between this space and his, you shouldn’t need to go to anyone else — including Andy Katz (and, of course, you should never read Seth Davis) — for some Big East love.

Today, we’re going to discuss the two coaching changes in the Big East. I’m not going to take the hackneyed stance that sees each team’s coaching search as evidence that the Big East is too brutal to attract top candidates. That’s been done, and it’s only partly true. We’ll get to that aspect of the situation, but there’s more than just that one storyline.

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