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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (10/21/2009)

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While our Big East Media Day Coverage will be updated throughout the morning, the coaches poll results have been posted here. Yesterday, the Big East Writer’s Poll conducted by Mike Waters of the Syracuse Post-Standard was released. It is an excellent collection of conference beat writers and other Big East media followers and they tend to think a little more freely than the coaches poll…so, be sure to check out their results today, too.

Elsewhere today, the Red Storm suffer a preseason injury blow as their top player is shelved for 4-6 weeks. Jamine Peterson looks to get back into action this season for PC while a pair of freshmen point guards look to take some of the significant burden off of Sharaud Curry. Also, recruiting updates on Kyrie Irving, Devon Collier, Jayvaughn Pinkston, Cory Joseph and NERR visits South Kent to get a look at their talented squad.

Read these and more in today’s links…

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The injury bug seems to be hitting early this year and St. John’s and Anthony Mason Jr. has been infected once again. The Red Storm’s Mason Faces Another Injury (NY Post) as the fifth-year senior will miss at least the first 4-to-6 weeks of the season with a right hamstring injury.

Mason missed almost all of last season after recovering from surgery to repair a torn tendon his right foot.

“We’re disappointed for Anthony, because we know he wants to be out there,” St. John’s coach Norm Roberts said in a statement. “We have to give him time to recover so when he joins us on the court he’ll be 100 percent.”
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Because he sat out last season as a redshirt, many have probably forgotten all about Providence sophomore Jamine ‘Greedy’ Peterson. After spending much of last season being someone else, whether it was Scottie Reynolds, AJ Price, Jimmy Baron, etc in practice, Peterson is looking forward to being himself on the court and bring that rim attacking mentality back to the PC attack, but also with improvements in his perimeter game that a season as a redshirt was supposed to bring. Despite being productive as a frosh, Keno Davis say the benefits longterm in having Peterson sit out a year and become a more complete basketball player.

While Sharaud Curry is still the man at point guard for Providence this season, the overall inexperience of the team could call for him to concentrate on scoring some more. If that is the case, PC Will Look to Freshman Vincent Council and Johnny Lacy to East the Point Guard Burden Facing Curry (Providence Journal) this season.
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While the Connecticut campus is still mourning the tragic loss of football player Jasper Howard (good AP article HERE! on ‘Jazz’), Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant offers some positive thinking on the hoops recruiting front in regards to Cory Joseph. Joseph, a point guard from Findlay Prep in Nevada, made an unofficial visit to UConn in August and an official visit this past week when he took in First Night festivities, watched the first practice and got a closer look at the UConn program.

Anthony reports that Joseph has an aunt from Glastonbury (CT) and he spent time in the Hartford area as a kid, having attended a UConn game when he was 12. Joseph’s family seems comfortable with the possibility of Cory attending Connecticut.

Joseph has visited Texas, where former Findlay teammate Avery Bradley plays. And in two weeks, he will visit Minnesota, where his brother, Devoe, plays. Joseph is scheduled to visit Villanova this coming weekend.
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While Kyrie Irving had hoped to release the news of his eventual college choice via Twitter, it looks like the choice, which every source in the world has indicated being a foregone conclusion, is being reported as being made by ZagsBlog.com with Kyrie Irving to Duke. Irving is still maintaining he has yet to commit, according to his Twitter feed, but likely holding off the announcement until it comes on his terms.
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Zags also caught up with Kimani Young of New Heights to talk about the ‘big three’ college prospects in the New Heights AAU program. His chat with Kimani can be found on the media player on ZagsBlog.com and the summary can be read in the following article: Kimani Young Talks New Heights ‘Big Three’. Here are the highlights in terms of Big East info…

In regards to 6-foot-6 Bishop Loughlin forward Jayvaughn Pinkston, Young tells Zags: “I think that Villanova is probably the perfect scenario for a kid like JayVaughn and many other kids in New York City, a place where winning has been there. A great academic institution. The coaching…But his options are still open.”

Pinkston will visit St. John’s for Red Storm Tip-Off on Thursday, and then he will go to Villanova’s “hoops-mania” on Friday. Seton Hall, which could get a visit next weekend, Marquette and Tennessee are also still involved. Young mentions again the possibility of Pinkston waiting until the spring to sign.

On Devon Collier, the 6-foot-8 lefty from St. Anthony, Kimani tells Zags, “He’s been to Oregon State, he’s been to Providence, so probably both of those schools have a lead now because he’s spent the most time there.” Collier will also visit St. John’s this weekend and Seton Hall next.
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The New England Recruiting Report has a Prep Profile on South Kent School. Kelvin Jefferson’s squad features Pitt, Louisville and St. John’s target J.J. Moore who really impressed NERR while they watched the team workout. Moore is expected to choose among those three schools in the next month as they represent his three finalists. Recent Seton Hall-commit Jesse Morgan and under-recruited, but still on several Big East rosters Russell Smith round out the backcourt with Moore. Recently reclassed Danny Lawhorn, who is also receiving quite a bit of Big East interest (see article here!) provides quality backcourt depth.
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