March 4, 2010 –
by Brendon
If you can remember back to the middle of October, you probably recall that the Big East preseason projections, courtesy of the coaches’ expectations, show only a faint resemblance to the standings on this day. Most notably, three teams — Syracuse, Marquette and Pittsburgh — have far outperformed their respective sixth-, ninth- and 12th-place projections.
It’s hard to blame the coaches for placing each team where they did. In fact, I even thought Syracuse was picked too high (not a shining moment for me). All three teams lost at least four key pieces from top-20 teams. The Orange lost its top three players in terms of minutes and usage — Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris — plus rotation big Kris Ongenaet. Pittsburgh lost its top three players in terms of minutes and usage — Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields — plus another starting forward, Tyrell Biggs. Marquette lost three of its top four players in terms of minutes and usage — Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James — plus its tallest player and sixth-highest minutes man, Dwight Burke.
There are several ways a team can rebuild from that, but these three went beyond rebuilding. Despite the personnel losses, Syracuse is the best team in the conference a year after slotting in somewhere in the fifth to seventh range. Pittsburgh has merely slipped from the league’s best team — according to efficiency margin in conference last season — to its fourth or fifth. Marquette has gone from the same fifth-to-seventh mire that the Orange found itself in last year to fourth or fifth with the Panthers. And this is in a league that is probably better top to bottom than it was last season. Read More »
Posted in Big East
|
Tagged Andy Rautins, Ashton Gibbs, Big East, Brad Wanamaker, Brandon Triche, Buzz Williams, Darius Johnson-Odom, David Cubillan, DeJuan Blair, Dominic James, Dwight Burke, Dwight Buycks, Eric Devendorf, Gary McGhee, Gilbert Brown, Jamie Dixon, Jerel McNeal, Jermaine Dixon, Jimmy Butler, Jonny Flynn, Junior Cadougan, Kris Joseph, Kris Ongenaet, Lazar Hayward, Levance Fields, Marquette, Maurice Acker, Paul Harris, Pittsburgh, Sam Young, Scoop Jardine, Syracuse, Tyrell Biggs, Wesley Johnson, Wesley Matthews
|
January 14, 2010 –
by Brendon
On consecutive early-December nights, Pittsburgh and Connecticut left Madison Square Garden disappointed. On Tuesday, Dec. 8, Pittsburgh played its worst game of the season against a poor Indiana team. The Panthers shot just 37.1 percent eFG and fell by 10 in a game that was either unwatchable or barely so.
A night later in the Big East/SEC Invitational, Connecticut recovered from a terrible start to lead Kentucky through most of the second half. John Wall took over down the stretch, though, as the still-undefeated Wildcats knocked off the Huskies, 64-61.
Five weeks later, Pittsburgh and UConn got together at the XL Center in Hartford, and Pittsburgh remained undefeated in conference, topping the Huskies, 67-57, behind 19 each from Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker. It would have taken a lot of squinting and copious amounts of alcohol to see this coming five weeks ago.
|
Poss |
PPP |
eFG |
Turn |
Reb |
FTR |
| Pittsburgh |
62 |
1.07 |
0.424 |
0.209 |
0.487 |
0.288 |
| Connecticut |
62 |
0.91 |
0.472 |
0.209 |
0.344 |
0.111 |
It’s not that we didn’t already see cracks in Connecticut in December. The primary transformation has come from Pittsburgh, so that’s on whom I’ll mostly focus. We all know how this team looks different from last year’s team. Sam Young, DeJuan Blair, Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs have all departed and with them the core of last season’s Elite Eight and No. 1-seeded team. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
|
Tagged A.J. Price, Aaron Gray, Antonio Graves, Ashton Gibbs, Ater Majok, Big East, Brad Wanamaker, Carl Krauser, Chevron Troutman, Chris Taft, Connecticut, Donnell Beverly, Duquesne, Gavin Edwards, Gilbert Brown, Hasheem Thabeet, Indiana, Jamie Dixon, Jeff Adrien, Jermaine Dixon, Jerome Dyson, Jim Calhoun, Kentucky, Levance Fields, Levon Kendall, Michigan, Mike Cook, Pittsburgh, Ron Ramon, Sam Young, Stanley Robinson, Syracuse, Texas, Tyrell Biggs, Wofford
|
October 20, 2009 –
by Brendon
College athletes are distinguished by their class, and each athlete has a finite amount of time — generally four years — to contribute to a team. Because of the rotating nature of classes, graduations and the addition of new recruits, a season becomes quite discrete.
In individual sports like pro tennis and pro golf, the short offseason makes the idea of a 2008 season or a 2009 season functionally meaningless for all but record-keepers. One could make a similar case — if not a strong one — for professional soccer where many leagues run from August into the following May and include various cup competitions and breaks during the single season.
I bring this up in anticipation of analyzing who’s back and who’s new on the college basketball landscape for the 2009-10 season. When college basketball writers are formulating their previews, they consider how good a team was last year, how much that team lost and what new additions — redshirts, transfers and recruits — might improve the team’s fortunes. I’m going to do the same thing here, only with an attempt to put a finer point on it. Read More »
Posted in National Perspective, Reviews/Previews
|
Tagged 2009-10 season preview, A.J. Price, Arizona, Arizona State, Big East, Big Ten, Chase Budinger, Craig Austrie, Craig Robinson, Dar Tucker, Dean Oliver, DeJuan Blair, DeJuan Summers, DePaul, Dwight Burke, Earl Clark, Eric Devendorf, Georgetown, Hasheem Thabeet, Illinois, Jake Kelly, James Harden, Jeff Adrien, Jodie Meeks, Jon Brockman, Jonny Flynn, Kansas, Ken Pomeroy, Levance Fields, Marcus Thornton, Marquette, Nick Calathes, Oregon State, Pac-10, Paul Harris, Pittsburgh, Poss/100, Providence, SEC, Syracuse, Tennessee, Tyrell Biggs, Washington
|
