Cincinnati News, Connecticut News, Louisville News, Notre Dame News, Pittsburgh News, Providence News, Rutgers News, St. John's News, Syracuse News

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (10/26/2009)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****

With regular season games starting within two weeks, the exhibition season started last night with Syracuse hitting the Carrier Dome floor to take on Cal State-Los Angeles. The Orange saw a freshman newcomer light it up in the 97-54 victory. Also, Providence, Louisville and Cincinnati, where their heralded forsh Lance Stephenson made his public debut, held intrasquad scrimmages for fans to get an early look at their teams.

Also stories today on Notre Dame’s quest to replace Scott Martin, PC’s Brian McKenzie looking for a bounce-back season, Pitt’s Jermaine Dixon trying to put the memory of their heartbreaking loss to ‘Nova in the Elite 8 behind him and how a pair of Rutgers sophomores try to lead the Scarlet Knights out of the conference’s lower half.

Also, Gary Parrish mentions a couple Big East coaches who are on the hot seat this seasona and speculates on a couple possible replacements for one Big East program that are interesting, to say the least.

Read these and more below in today’s Big East News & Notes…

——————-

We are just 10 days past Midnight Madness and the official start of college basketball practice, yet we also find ourselves just two weeks from the start of the 2009-2010 season as Syracuse will tip off their season at the Carrier Dome against Albany on November 9th. Last night, the Orange Has an Easy Tune-up (Syracuse Post-Standard) with a 97-54 exhibition win over Cal State Los Angeles. Freshman James Southerland Scored 19 in his Syracuse Debut, leading SU, as he connected on all seven of his field goal attemtps, which included five three-pointers, off the bench in 14 minutes of action.

One of the biggest questions entering the 2009-2010 season for Syracuse is Who Will Take Jonny Flynn’s Spot for the Orange (Syracuse Post-Standard) this season. True freshman Brandon Triche and redshirt sophomore Antonio ‘Scoop’ Jardine are the candidates and last night Triche Starts and Jardine Shines in Exhibition Win (Post-Standard).

Jardine scored 10 points and handed out 11 assists in 18 minutes while Triche scored 8 while being credited with three assists in 21 minutes. Neither player was charged with a turnover. Junior Rick Jackson also posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds while senior Arinze Onuaku was in mid-season form, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds while posting an 0-2 from the foul line.
———————————————————————————

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a neat feature each week, a Mick Cronin Diary (Oct 25) where the Bearcat coach gives his thoughts on his team. After one week of practice, Cronin is pleased with his veterans leading by example as the younger players learn the ropes of the college game.

One of the new guys that Cincinnati will be leaning on this season is freshman Lance Stephenson. In his first public appearance as a Bearcat, Stephenson Was Impressive in UC Scrimmage (Cincinnati Enquirer) prior to the football team taking on Louisville on Saturday. Stephenson scored 22 points in 25 minutes to lead the Red team to a 50-43 victory over the Black team.

Acording to the Enquirer, playing on the Red team with Stephenson were Cashmere Wright, Deonta Vaughn, Yancy Gates and Anthony McClain.
——————————————————————————–

Peyton Siva spent time in the hospital on Saturday following a collision in practice. On Sunday, Siva is Sharp in UL Scrimmage One Day After Freightening Collision in Practice (Courier-Journal). Siva’s 21-point, seven-assist outing helped lead the White team to a 93-89 win over the Red team in a spirited Louisville intrasquad scrimmage at Freedom Hall Sunday.

Samardo Samuels chipped in 20 points and 13 rebounds. Mike Marra and Reginald Delk rounded out double-figure scoring with 14 and 10 points. For the White, Preston Knowles scored 21 points — including five three-pointers — and dished eight assists while Rakeem Buckles (17 points, 10 rebounds, five steals) and Kyle Kuric (18 points, nine rebounds) were also productive.
——————————————————————————–

Another team giving their fans a sneak peak of their squad over the weekend was Providence as the Friars took part in the annual Mal Brown Scrimmage (Providence Journal) Saturday afternoon. Marshon Brooks scored 18 points to lead the Black team to a 43-32 win over the Silver team. In a game that lacked many offensive highlights, frosh Duke Mondy scored 11 to lead the Silver team. Jamine Peterson and Sharaud curry were held out of the event because of (very) minor injuries.

Senior Brian McKenzie hit two of five field goal attempts on Saturday and finished with four points. After a tough season in 2008-2009, A Fresh Start for McKenzie and the Friars (Providence Journal) is something they are all looking forward to in 2009-2010.

The Sun Chronicle also has an article on PC frosh Johnny Lacy as the Friars Start Tuning Up for the season.
———————————————————————————-

When Greg Echenique and Mike Rosaro committed to Rutgers it was looked upon as a sign that Fred Hill Jr. was ready to leave a resurgence for the Scarlet Knights’ basketball program. However, after a disastrous 2008-2009 season, which they went 2-16 in the Big East, the goodwill built with the strong recruiting seems to be waning quickly. The RU Sophomores are Hoping for the Resurgence (SNY.tv) and are optimistic about the team’s chances in 2009-2010, which is likely a critical season for coach Hill.
——————————————————————————–

One of the toughest things in college basketball is to come into a conference like the Big East from the JUCO ranks and be a consistent performer. The step-up in competition is tremendous. However, last season, Pittsburgh senior Jermaine Dixon was able to do just that and become a key cog on Pitt’s team that reached the Elite 8 last season. As the only returning starter this year from the 2008-2009 team, Dixon will become a leader, but in the meantime, the Pain of NCAA Loss Still Nags at Pitt’s Dixon (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) as he anxiously awaits a chance to move forward.
——————————————————————————-

Notre Dame is still working through the process of replacing injured Purdue transfer Scott Martin who was lost for the season with a knee injury in preseason workouts. Tim Abromaitis and Carelton Scott, who bring a different style of basketball to the forward position, are candidates as coach Mike Brey tries to discover Who’s Moving Forward (South Bend Tribune) for the Irish.
——————————————————————————

DePaul has yet to play their first game of the season and CBSSports.com’s Gary Parrish is speculating that Oregon State’s Craig Robinson or Florida International’s Isiah Thomas are Possible Replacements that Await Great Chicago Fire at DePaul. However, when you go 0-18 in the league the year before and are universally expected to finish 16th in a 16-team league again, this speculation is expected. While the local recruiting scene has yielded little for the Blue Demons, there is still a deep pool of talent and the names mentioned by Parrish will certainly excite many local fans.

St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts is also mentioned in the article as a coach on a hotseat. With a roster loaded with juniors, his situation could be very similar to that at PC a couple seasons agi with Tim Welsh. Roberts must win soon or the talent behind the junior class on his roster is very thin, which could erode what patience is left with the fan base and boosters. Tough situation, as coach Roberts is one of the truly good guys in the sport.
————————

Attention Big East and college basketball fans! Please follow the link below and vote in the Capital One Mascot Challenge! You can vote once a day, every day. Do not forget to write-in for your school’s mascot as well! Your participation will help support NBE Sports!

THANK YOU!

Be Sociable, Share!

•