Georgetown Recruiting, Marquette Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/5/2007)

December 5, 2007

We recap last night’s action where Seton Hall and Notre Dame came up with victories and Providence lost in their in-state rivalry game.

The first edition of the Big East/SEC Challenge gets underway tonight and tomorrow with a pair of games. The challenge lacks the marquee match-ups of some of the other made-for-TV and RPI formats, but there are a few interesting games. Syracuse leaves NYS in December tonight…stop the presses! Pittsburgh hits the road, sort of, actually, travels down Forbes Avenue to the Duquesne campus for their annual City Game. This one should be tougher than many previous encounters. South Florida has a road game with Richmond and the Rutgers freshmen have another learning opportunity tonight when they host Lafayette.

Also, there are a couple of recruiting updates on the juniors from Montrose Christian and a Newark junior guard, among other items.

You can read these stories and more, by clicking READ MORE below!

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Kansas State had all the hype, but it was Luke Harangody inside and Kyle McAlarney outside leading Notre Dame to a much needed victory. Harangody got the Irish started and McAlarney brought them home in the 68-59 win in the Jimmy V Classic.

It was a Triumphant Return Home for McAlarney (StatenIslandLive.com) as the junior guard scored the last nine points for the Irish to turn a 59-57 lead into the 68-59 final, making the big plays the Irish needed down the stretch. There was no Blarney for McAlarney (South Bend Tribune) in his triumphant return to NYC.

Michael Beasley justified the hype early on, keeping Kansas State in the game with 15 points in the first half. However, he was matched step by step offensively by Luke Harangody who got the Irish out of the gates with 13 points in the first 10 minutes. Both players finished the night with 19 points, Harangody added 14 rebounds and Beasley finished with 13 as Irish Beat Up K-State (Kansascity.com) and Notre Dame Extinguishes Wildcats’ (kansas.com) late rally with the finishing flurry by McAlarney, who ended up with 18 points for the game.

The win was key for the Irish (6-2) who have now won four straight after losing back to back games in the Virgin Islans to Baylor and Georgia Tech. The game with Kansas State was the last against a quality opponent in the out of conference portion of their schedule. The Irish also do not play a true road game out of conference, so getting a quality win was much needed.
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Still playing without injured Sharaud Curry, Providence College ran out of answers last night against a tough Rhode Island squad on the road. Rhody Routs Visiting Friars (Providence Journal), 77-60, as PC struggled all night offensively. The Friars shot just 30% from the field, missed 20 of their 26 FT attempts and turned the ball over 19 times an a losing effort. With Curry out, their next two players in line, Geoff McDermott and Weyinmi Efejuku, combined to shoot just 2-18 from the field.

There is not much time for PC to put this one behind them and forget that URI Spanked PC (Sun Chronicle) as the Friars will meet South Carolina in the inaguaral SEC/Big East challenge on Thursday night on a neutral court in Philadelphia.
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Bobby Gonzalez insists his team ’stops the bleeding’ after a loss. last night, his Pirates did just that as Seton Hall Gets its ‘Must-Win (Star-Ledger), an 85-75 decision over St. Peter’s that follows up their first loss of the season at St. Mary’s (CA) over the weekend.

John Garcia posted a double-double (20 pts, 15 rebounds) and senior Brian Laing scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half as Laing, Garcia Lead Seton Hall Past St. Peters (Courier News) at the Prudential Center.
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The Big East/SEC Challenge kicks off tonight with a pair of games on the schedule in Birmingham (AL). Georgetown meets Alabama in the opener and West Virginia meets Auburn in the nightcap.

Georgetown’s 7′2 Roy Hibbert Presents Tide With Sizable Problem (AL.com) as Hibbert and Richard Hendrix is Marquee Matchup (Press-Register) as the SEC’s leading scorer (21.8 PPG) and rebounder (12.8) looks to see how he measures up against the Hoyas big man.

For Georgetown senior guard Jonathan Wallace it will be a homecoming for the Harvest (AL) native. Wallace will make his NCAA-leading 108th straight start and is the co-captain of a team coming off a Final Four appearance. He’s just 60 points shy of becoming the 39th 1000-point scorer in Georgetown history. And he needs just nine 3-pointers to become the most prolific 3-point shooter in school history, yet Wallace Makes Unheralded Return (Washington Times) due to Ronald Steele taking a medical redshirt and missing the season. Steele was the big recruit out of Alabama in the same class as Wallace and overshadowed Wallace throughout high school. However, Wallace’s career in college has gone Above & Beyond (Washington Post) all expectations and he looks to add another feather in his cap this evening in his home state.

The Big East May Have Big Edge (AP story) in early challenge match-ups. Tomorrow night the challenge concludes for this season with the South Carolina-Providence game as well as LSU and Villanova in Philly.

After a season opening loss at Tulane, Auburn has won their last four and will get Quan Powell back tonight. Powell Returns for Streaking Tigers (Huntsville Times) after being suspended for the first five games of the season for violating team rules.

Prowell, a 6′8, 215-pound senior, averaged 12 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season.

Although the game is not being played on the Auburn campus, West Virginia can expect not to be greeted very warmly down south as the game will be played in Auburn’s home state of Alabama and the pro-SEC crowd will definitely be in force with Alabama playing in the earlier matchup. West Virginia Gets First Taste of Hostile Crowd Tonight (Charleston Gazette) and gives Bob Huggins a chance to see how his players react out of their comfort zones.
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Another intriguing match-up takes place tonight as Syracuse has a rare Date Outside the Dome (Richmond Times Dispatch) in December as the Orange travel to Virginia. The Cavs Host a Talented Young Syracuse Squad (DailyProgress.com) and will work at Slashing the SU Zone (Daily Press).

Syracuse will have to step-up their defense and find the shooters against Virginia who likes to fire away from beyond the arc. The SU Defense Draws Tough Assignment (Syracuse Post-Standard) on the road against UVA. The game was certainly scheduled in response to the Orange being snubbed last year on Selection Sunday, despite a 10-6 record in the Big East, which included a late season win over Georgetown. Last year, losing on a netral floor to Oklahoma State and at home to Drexel and Wichita State proved costly. This season, they have lost to Ohio State on a neutral court, UMass at home and a loss on the road to Virginia puts the pressure back on the Orange again. A win here, coupled with their win over Washington on a neutral floor will get people breathing easier heading into the Big East with such a young team.
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Is Duquesne really a program on the rise? How good is this ‘new-look’ Pittsburgh squad? Intrigue Surrounds This Year’s City Game (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) in Pittsurgh as the Panthers are set to meet the Dukes in the AJ Palumbo Center on the Duquesne campus tonight.

Pitt also gets a look at Shawn James for the first time. The transfer from Northeastern averaged an NCAA-leading 6.53 blocks in 2005-2006 and is blocking shots at a 5.3/game clip this season with Duquesne. Despite Pitt’s tallest starter being just 6′7 freshman DeJuan Blair, the Panthers Successful Game Plan Wont Change (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) with the presence of James.
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Fred Hill’s future at Rutgers will hinge largely on his freshmen group of guards. Justin Sofman, Earl Pettis, Mike Coburn and Corey Chandler have been showing steady signs of improvement and as Rutgers’ Freshmen are Growing Up (Courier News), so should the Rutgers program. Tonight, the host a solid Patriot League team in Lafayette and the next lesson in the growth of the young Knights should begin. The Courier News offers a Lafayette/Rutgers Scouting Report for tonight’s match-up.
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Adam Zagoria checked out the action at the Jimmy V Classic last night and filled up his notepad. Here is his Jimmy V Notebook from Zagsblog.
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In Montrose Christian’s Sky; Three Stars Perfectly Aligned (Washington Post) and leading the way. Isaiah Armwood, Tristan Spurlock and Terrell Vinson are names college fans in the Big East need to be familiar with as the trio of juniors will be recruited heavily by schools in the conference. John Thompson III, Jay Wright and others have already been in the gym to personally watch the trio work out this season. Spurlock, listed at 6′7 and 220 pounds, is regarded as a better shooter. Armwood, at 6′8 and 195, is considered more athletic and a better shot blocker. Vinson (6′7, 195) is considered by Montrose Coach Stu Vetter to be one of the smartest players he’s ever had. Vinson averaged 12 points per game last season, Spurlock 9.8 and Armwood 5.7. File these names away for the future…
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Here is a link to an Audio Interview With Sherrod Wright (Varsity Insider), the next high-major prospect from powerful Mount Vernon High School. Wright mentions that he is hearing from nearly everyone in the Big East, especially Marquette and Georgetown.
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Here is a New Jersey guard that is still a bit under the radar to most fans, but not to college coaches. Justin Young of Rivals.com takes the opportunity for readers to Meet Justin Crosgile (Yahoo! Sports), a 5′11 guard from DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. Last month Crosgile was named co-MVP of the recent Eddie Griffin Challenge. Marquette, Xavier, West Virginia, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Michigan, Rutgers and St. John’s are also involved in one way or another and St. Joseph’s, Penn State and Houston have offered the 2009 prospect.
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Van Coleman’s latest Chat at CSTV.com offered some Big East Recruiting tidbits, we have them highlighted below:

Rusty M D: Does Md still lead for Ater Majok? Who are the top juniors that the terps have a realistic chance to get?

Van Coleman: As far as Majok is concerned, they are in the hunt. I don’t know if they lead anymore. Until he takes some Spring visits, we won’t know where his recruiting stands. He’s still looking at Baylor, UConn, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, St. John’s and West Virginia, and possibly DePaul and Kansas as well, with recent interest from Miami.

At this point, Maryland has had the only visit, but he is planning on taking others. He is now at the heat of Virginia, doing a little tour around the Mid-Atlantic states. As for the other juniors, Maryland is in mortal combat with Georgetown for a number of D.C.-area kids. Isaiah Armwood, Tristan Spurlock, Donte Taylor and Terrell Vincent, a very talented group of forwards, granted a lot of other national schools are still interested in those kids, but there is a very good chance they will stay close to home. They are also in good shape with Greg Echenique, a 6′9″ PF from St. Benedicts in Newark, N.J., they also like in the same spot, Andrew Fitzgerald, a 6′9′, 245-pounder from Owings Mills, Md. Those are some of the early players they seem to be in good shape with. National recruiting hasn’t really gotten going at this point, but they are one of the schools that Daniel Orton, 6′9″, mentions.
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