Connecticut Recruiting, Georgetown Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (8/12/2009)

The news shocked many around college basketball when it hit the wires last night, but the stories and rumors had been whispered about for months of the affair between Rick Pitino and Karen Sypher. Now that the affair has been confirmed in police reports, the whole scene reminds the NBE Blogger of an episode from a HBO original series…

Anyway…several notes from the recruiting trails as updates on Kyrie Irving, Sterling Gibbs, Rakeem Christmas and the UConn class of 2010 recruiting efforts are profiled in the links below. Also, it is official, Pitt has added a college veteran to their point guard mix for the 2009-2010 season…interesting…

Fans may also want to check out NBE’s Class of 2011 Intro: LaQuinton Ross and our report on Big East Targets at Summer Primetime Shootout for some additional recruiting notes you might have missed yesterday.

By the end of the day tomorrow we will also have some updates from the Hoop Group’s Elite Camp at Rutgers, going on right now, as well as a recruiting update on three high-major prospects from the Miller School and a second Big East program Mt. Rushmore profile. So, be on the look out for more…

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The news out of Louisville last night that head coach Rick Pitino admitted to having a sexual encounter with a woman in a Louisville restaurant in 2003 and paid $3,000 for her to get an abortion has sent shock waves through college basketball. Throughout the last few months, much of that story had been circulating the internet message boards and the timing of Pitino’s son Richard leaving the UL staff to work for old family friend Billy Donovan at Florida and the hiring of long-time friend Ralph Williard as an assistant at Louisville implied additional information could be forthcoming with this story. The Louisville Courier-Journal also reported today that Pitino’s Contract Contains a Morality Clause which could put his position as head coach of the Cards in jeopardy.

NBE chief columnist Ray Mernagh also weighed in on the Pitino topic in his latest Belly of the BE-ast.

Here is the full Louisville Courier-Journal article from yesterday that details the (sordid) affair: Pitino Told Polics He Had Consensual Sex with Sypher.

I can’t help but think of a Sopranos episode where Artie tosses the keys to Tony and asks him to lock up Vesuvios when he is finished after Artie and the employees head home for the night. Christopher, who was Tony’s driver, is left laying down in the back while the boss has his encounter with his goomah in the restaurant. When he is finished, he hops in the Escalade with the goomah and Christopher is left to fend for himself. Not long after, another member of the crew marries the goomah…only on TV, well, maybe not…
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While on the golf course recently, Jim Calhoun updated reporters on the Connecticut recruiting progress, which is about to pick up steam with several visits on the horizon. While the Hall of Fame coach is forbidden by NCAA rules to name individual recruits, he let the Hartford Courant’s Mike Anthony know that several visits are lined up and gave the feeling, in the article Calhoun on UConn Recruiting, that the Huskies are close to landing a commitment or two for 2010.

The Huskies are said to be expecting an official visit this coming weekend from Jeremy Lamb, among the nation’s top-rated shooting guards. Lamb is from Norcoss, Georgia.

Also, Rod Odom, a 6-foot-8 forward from the Middlesex School in Concord, Mass., had to postpone a visit to Storrs last week and is expected to be on campus this week.

The Huskies are also in the running for, among others, James Johnson, a center from San Diego; Brandon Knight, a point guard from Ft. Lauderdale; Kyrie Irving, a point guard from St. Patrick in New Jersey (more on him below); Phil Pressey, a point guard from the Episcopal School in Dallas; C.J. Leslie, a power forward from Word Of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C.; Alex Kirk, a center from Los Alamos, New Mexico; Luke Cothron, a power forward from Flora MacDonald Academy in Red Springs, N.C.

Also, NBE has learned that Josh Selby is expected to make a visit to the UConn campus on Thursday.
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Villanova has made the first cut in the recruiting process for talented 2011 PF Rakeem Christmas, who forms a devastating forward combination witth another top Wildcat prospect in the class of 2011 Michael Gilchrist on the AAU trail with Team Final. ‘Nova is in the Running for Top Recruit (Philadelphia Inquirer) along with Georgetown, Florida, Texas, Indiana, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Baylor. The 6-foot-9, 220-pounder averaged nearly 11 points a game as a sophomore at North Catholic in Philly last season and will attend Academy of the New Church this season.
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Seton Hall Prep junior guard Sterling Gibbs took an unofficial visit to Seton Hall on Tuesday with his family, as reported by Adam Zagoria. Gibbs Visits Seton Hall (ZagsBlog.com) and previously told Zags that he also plans to take unofficial visits this summer to Oklahoma, Indiana, Villanova, Kentucky and Duke.

Villanova was once the leader for Gibbs, a 2011 prospect, but it looks like the field has caught up to ‘Nova, who has yet to extend a scholarship offer. Gibbs’ father, Temple Gibbs, indicated to ZagsBlog there is no timetable for a decision.
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Kyrie Irving remains a hot target for several top programs in the Big East, and nationally. ZagsBlog.com reports that Irving Will Visit Duke and Indiana as two of his five official visits and will decide among Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Virginia, Texas A&M and Seton Hall for the other three, as the plan is currently for him to take all five official visits.
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It is official, Chase Adams is headed to Pittsburgh as the Veteran Point Guard Transfers to Pitt (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Adams was the Summit League’s defensive player of the year last season and also averaged 14.6 points a game while shooting 40% from three-point range. The Baltimore (MD) native, who played high school basketball four Mount St. Joseph will be eligible imeediately at Pitt since Centenary is on probation and moving their program to Division III. Adams will have one year of eligibility and will be in the point guard mix next season for the Panthers with sophomore Ashton Gibbs and redshirt freshman Travon Woodall as the Panthers look to replace three-year starter Levance Fields, who graduated after helping the Panthers reach the Elite Eight last season in the NCAA Tournament.
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