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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (10/20/2009)

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Big East media day takes place tomorrow in New York City. NBE will be in attendence and you can count on updates throughout the day from the media gathering with coaches and players of Big East teams. Earlier today, Jerry Carino of Hoops haven posted his preseason Big East thoughts as the conference is just about Ready to Rumble with another season ahead. ZagsBlog.com did the same with his Preseason Big East Awards last week. NBE will continue their countdown of our Big East teams, from 16-1 later this week and towards the end you will also have our preseason awards, power poll and more, so keep an eye out for those fun items in the future.

The news and notes in the links today seem a little tame following the busy weekend. More on SU transfer Wesley Johnson, an article on Tyrone Nash at ND, the PC fans are seeing their excitement grow as the season nears and West Virginia has some explaining to do to the NCAA after the weekend pleas from students in an attempt to woe a recruit to become a Mountaineer. In recruiting, a brief update on dante Thomas can be found…

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There are several impact transfers itching to suit up in the Big East this season, actually, the number of transfers that will play large roles this season may be unprecedented for the Big East. While we will be profiling our projected impact transfers in the coming days, one player that will certainly be at the top of our list is Wesley Johnson at Syracuse. Being 6-foot-7, long and athletic, with an inside-out game makes Johnson the proto-typical forward in Jim Boeheim’s system and thus, there are High Expectations for SU Transfer Johnson (Auburn Citizen) this season.

“Wesley shoots it well, he obviously gets up and down the court, he jumps and he’s a good rebounder,” Boeheimtold the Citizen. “He’s a (6-7) guys that can run the court, shoot the basketball and rebound – all good qualities.”

“Wow, how’d we get him?” Antonio Jardine told the Citizen with a grin when asked of his first impression seeing Johnson last year in practice. “How’d we pull that off?”

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The compliance office at West Virginia is putting in a little extra work this week as they are reviewing the possibility secondary NCAA violations were committed Friday at Mountaineer Madness. In an effort to show Dayton (OH) class of 2010 recruit Adreian Payne the love, T-Shirts and Signs Lead to WVU Inquiry (Daily Mail) as the WVU students went all out in showering Payne with affection in an effort to woo him to become a Mountaineer.
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Toughness, rebounding and defense is synonomous with the Big East, but not so much with the Notre Dame program under Mike Brey. The Irish prefer a more open game and rely on offense, specifically shooting from the perimeter, in being successful. One player that coach Brey is likely to call on this season for more in the paint will be junior Tyrone Nash as Hitting the Boards will be Nash’s Priority (South Bend Tribune) as he looks to help out Luke Harangody upfront.
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Even though Providence is almost universally predicted to finish among the bottom four in the 16-team Big East conference this season, there is definitely an uptick in interest regarding the program under Keno Davis. Take for example last Friday night, as a crowd packed Providence College’s Alumni Hall last Friday night for Late Night Madness and forced security guards to lock the doors shut 90 minutes before midnight. With nine players who did not play any games at the 1-A level on the roster last season, the unknown seems to be creating a buzz. While the PC recruiting for the future under Davis is going well, this season also has hope as PC Fans’ Enthusiasm Grow as Season gets Closer (Providence Journal).
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According to CapitolHoops.com, the top three schools in the recruiting race for 6-foot-3 Ballou guard Dante Thomas include San Jose St , Hawaii and Rutgers. Thomas, who impressed many this summer with God’s Glory on the AAU circuit, was the MVP of the recent More than Basketball fall league.
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