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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (7/16/2008)

Hopefully you have not missed the excellent content the site has had to offer of late. Ron Bailey reported on the action from Hoop Magic Sports Academy from last weekend in his Agent Zero to Hero Recap which featured updates on Talib Zanna, Thomas Robinson, Chris Braswell, Daryl Traynham and others. We will have more on the Agent Zero event from Ron shortly as well as a look at Team USA’s U-18 point guard duo of Kemba Walker and Maalik Wayns, so stay tuned for more excellent stuff from Mr Bailey!

Jeff Borzello finished his whirlwind tour of the East Coast events over the weekend and produced an excellent three-part series of updates from the Reebok All-American Camp with reports from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on MANY of the top players and their college lists. Jeff then made it over to the Reebok Summer Classic East in New Jersey and filed a lengthy report on the exciting players he saw. Along they way Jeff also gave an update on the recruitment of Omari Lawrence, who, despite an injured shoulder, was there to cheer on his NY Panther teammates. Look for Jeff’s review of the Joe Brown Memorial Classic, hosted by the NJ Playaz, later today.

Brian Crownover was also making the rounds during the first July open recruiting period and filed a very interesting News & Notes from ‘Camp’ Week for the NBE Basketball Report. Doug Ferguson has also finished up some of his Lebron James Skills Academy camp stories of late with an update on Irish Commit Joey Brooks, a look at Noel Johnson and Daniel Orton at LJSA and his review of the Big East College Stars at LJSA where Terrence Williams, Hasheem Thabeet, Sam Young, DaJuan Summers and Jonny Flynn all worked out as college counselors.

Now, catching our breath for a moment or two…we offer up a Big East News & Notes to see what other outlets are reporting on in regards to the Big East and the recruiting of the conference teams.

As mentioned in our Big East Recruiting Report on Pittsburgh, the Panthers received a huge verbal commitment from Dante Taylor. The highly touted power forward teams with Will Barton to form a Dynamic Duo that Leads Loaded National Christian Academy (TradingMarkets.com) of Fort Washington (MD). Barton is a top recruit of the class of 2010 and the 6-foot-5 guard is reporting offers from Georgetown, Maryland and Pittsburgh.

The commitment of Taylor has also brought on a curious story of a Pitt Assistant’s Flagrant Foul (Beaver County Times) as associate head coach Tom Herrion was quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review regarding Taylor, which coaches are prohibited from discussing recruits until letters of intents are signed.

The recruiting violation is considered a secondary violation that a school would self report and handle internally to prevent from happening again, according to the Big East’s director of communications, Chuck Sullivan.

Coaches or staff members are not allowed to talk about recruits, other than to say they are being recruited, until they have signed a national letter of intent, according to NCAA rule 13.10.2.

Jeff Borzello had more on the commitment of Taylor as Pittsburgh Lands a Top 2009 Prospect to go with the already committed Lamar Patterson and Darnell Dodson.

As mentioned in previous reports, including our Agent Zero to Hero Recap from earlier today, Chris Braswell is no longer committed to Georgetown and will return to Hargrave Military Academy for another year of prep school.

Playing for Triple Threat once again on the AAU circuit, Braswell is attracting a crowd at his AAU games and that was evident at the Harley Jam Fest in Morgantown (WV) this week. The 6-foot-8, 230 lb Braswell Could be the Hoyas’ Loss and WVU’s Gain (Charleston Daily Mail) as West Virginia made it clear shortly after the announcement he was re-opening his commitment they were interested. Other schools have as well as the competition for Braswell will also include Georgetown, Pitt, Syracuse, Connecticut, Villanova, Xavier, Charlotte, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Indiana, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. WVU, Pitt and Villanova were all on hand Tuesday to watch Braswell and his teammates in Morgantown.
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Another Hargrave Prep player and Big East commit, Roscoe Davis, might be heading down a similar path as Braswell and need more time in the prep ranks. However, There’s Hope for Roscoe to still join the West Virginia program this fall according to the Charleston Gazette. There is a chance, which seems to be an improvement over what Bob Huggins was thinking just a week or so ago…
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As a nephew of former Syracuse Orange player Howard Triche, Brandon Triche, a 6-foot-3 guard from Jamesville-Dewitt High School in suburban Syracuse, has long been on the Syracuse recruiting radar. While the Orange have long been considered the leader for his services, the Recruiting Process is Still Wide Open for J-D Hoops Star (Syracuse Post-Standard) and SU is still in the mix, but Triche hopes to visit four or five schools prior to making a decision.
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AAU and the summer basketball scene certainly has come under fire at times over the years, and in several cases, rightly so, but the original premise of AAU clubs is to help kids and more often than not, they still serve that purpose, as West Virginia forward Cam Thoroughman can attest. WVU’s Thoroughman Credits AAU for His Opportunity (Times West Virginian) to become a high-major basketball player, something that might have been unlikely if he was limited to his time in Clay (OH) and not being on the circuit with the Cincinnati Royals.
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When looking ahead to the 2008-2009 Big East campaign, many questions are surrounding Big East teams, including the top contenders. Maybe the most pressing question regarding the projected top teams is on how healthy Connecticut point guard AJ Price will be for the next year. Price is on the Mend the New London Day reports and is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation of the left knee that he tore the ACL in during a 1st Round NCAA Tournament loss to San Diego.

Not even four months have passed, but Price believes he will be on the floor when practice begins for the Huskies in mid-October. Since he is already running on the tread mill adding jumping drills to his rehab, it looks like Price will be physically ready to perform.
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At Pittsburgh, the questions do not really settle around any of their returning players, other than will Mike Cook receive a 6th year of eligibility from the NCAA, but how will the newcomers come in and perform on a team with heightened expectations, especially at the opening at the two-guard. Judging by their play in the strong Pittsburgh Summer Pro-Am League, the Pitt Newcomers are Playing Well (Tribune-Review) and look to be ready to play.

One thing with the Panthers, they might not bring in the highest rated players in the country, but they bring in players willing to play a role and fit into their system, looks like they found another group that will do so and their summer play against talented opponents from West Virginia, Duquesne and Robert Morris as well as other past Big East players, is a good bit of preparation.
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While Derrick Caracter is definitely out of the plans for Louisville next season, coach Rick Pitino has left a Door Open for Caracter’s Return in 2009 (ZagsBlog.net) in a situation that seems somewhat similar to Stanley Robinson at Connecticut. If Caracter can show Pitino and the people at Louisville he is dedicated to get his academics in order and stay in shape, he could be back on the floor with the Cardinals before his college career is over…stay tuned…

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