Connecticut News, Louisville Recruiting, Marquette News, Marquette Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Pittsburgh News, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Villanova News, Villanova Recruiting

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/8/2009)

Hope everyone likes the new design we rolled out on this Friday morning. Kind of a Friday surprise! With the articles and news coming hot and heavy, especially as we hit the summer AAU circuit, we are working on features to display more content and make it more organized for our readers…so, things will continue to change and hopefully always improve your experience when visiting NBE!

On this Friday the buzz early on was the rumors of Rick Pitino being interested in returning to the NBA. Lots of smoke around coach Pitino this offseason, but the NBA seems to be a fleeting thought in his mind from past experiences. Of course, with a potential 76ers opening, at least one Big East coach will always be tied to that one as a candidate.

Recruiting updates on a couple DeMatha Catholic juniors and another on Will Barton. Also, Marquette has an opened a scholarship as a current players is done with a medical condition. Jim Calhoun, looking healthy, gave a little state of UConn address to reporters on Thursday. And finally, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon will return to his professional basketball roots this summer coaching the USA U-19 team and the Pitt program looks for two first round picks in this June’s NBA draft.

Hyattsville (MD) is home to one of the most powerful high school programs in the country and coach Mike Jones will have a very strong team next season with class of 2010 recruits Victor Oladipo and Jerian Grant along with 2011 point guard Quinn Cook.

A couple Big East teams have been in to visit recently as Notre Dame & Marquette are Pushing for DeMatha Juniors (Washington Post) Grant and Oladipo.

Notre Dame paid a visit to see Grant while Marquette checked out both Oladipo and Grant.
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here is another recruiting update on one of the top shooting guards in the nation available in the class of 2010, Will Barton. The Indiana Hoosiers are in the Mix for 5-Star Barton according to Inside the Hall as the Lake Clifton (MD) standout downplayed the rumors he is close to committing, which many believe will be to Kentucky, in the near future.

Besides IU and UK, the articles had Barton listing Arizona, Memphis, Louisville, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee and Maryland as others he is receiving interest from.
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With the recent commitment of 7′2 Youssoupha Mbao, Marquette was pushed one over the NCAA scholarship limit of 13 for the 2009-2010 season if everyone on paper began the season next fall. It looks like the source of the scholarship to be vacated was 7-foot Canadian import Liam McMorrow as Medical Issues Stop McMorrow and his basketball career with the Golden Eagles.

McMorrow will remain enrolled at the school and continue to pursue his bachelor’s degree in broadcasting.
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Eyewitness reports from Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun’s meet and greet at the Mystic Aquarium Thursday night report the Hall of Fame coach looking fit and trim following a tumultuous final several weeks of the 2008-2009 season which ended in the Final Four in Detroit. Calhoun spent time giving an update on the status of Ater Majok, transfer rumors of current players and other general updates as he was Into the Mystic (New Haven Register) at the event.
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The offseason at Louisville could be a new script for a soap opera in the future. The last surrounding Rick Pitino and the Cards stemmed from a Yahoo! Sports report that Pitino is in the Running for the Sacramento Kinfs Job as head coach. Pitino has tried his hand twice in the NBA, with litttle success, so it came as no surprise to read Jeff Goodman at FoxSports.com reporting that according to Sources Pitino Has No Interest in Coaching the Kings. Previous experience in the NBA would make him very wary of taking over the hapless Kings.
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With the Sixers GM Ed Stefanski to Meet With coach Tony DiLeo (Philadelphia Inquirer) about his future as head coach, the media is already lining up possible replacements and the name in Philly that continues to be connected to the 76ers is Villanova head coach Jay Wright. Again, at best, Wright is an EXTREME longshot to leave the Wildcats any time soon.
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Little is known of Jamie Dixon’s playing career. The former TCU star was an NBA draft pick, but ended up playing overseason, including in New Zealand where he will take the USA U-19 team this summer for FIBA competition. The New Zealanders take a look back at a former star, who once scored 63 against Auckland, as a ‘Class Act’ Makes Mark on Coaching Court in US (Hawkes Bay Today).

The 2008-2009 season was a year of first for the Pittsburgh program as they reached a #1 ranking for the first time, reached the Elite 8 for the first time since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams, beat a #1 ranked team and also earned their first ever #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, with the NBA draft approaching and Sam Young and DeJuan Blair garnering plenty of attention from NBA teams, Dixon, Pitt Eye Two Firsts (Tribune-Democrat) in the June NBA draft.
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