December 2009

LETTING GO OF LANCE

by RAY MERNAGH

I think all of us understand that letting go of something precious is always painful. People pass on, relationships end and habits change. All these things are difficult to go through but often in the end they end up teaching us the most. Perhaps the toughest thing to let go of is a child. I can only imagine as I’ve not yet been blessed enough to be a father, but the majority of my five siblings have children so I’ve seen it play out up close. Seen kids screw up big time even as they don’t understand that’s what they’re doing. I’ve seen them prosper then fall back into failure and listened to the pain in the voice of their parents as they vent about it. Parents vent because at a certain point, usually when kids leave the house to live at school, they realize they have no control.

And at this point, like all parents who are scared, they worry…and vent to their brother or their friends. I can think of 20 kids that would be absolutely amazed at how much I know about their less-than-stellar moments just because their folks — friends of mine — called to bend my ear. All of those kids were special in their own way when they left home. Special to the people that matter — their parents. None of them grew up in a housing project and had been covered by the national media since they were 14 years old because they happened to be special at basketball.

Read more

ALEX MURPHY COLLECTING OFFERS, ISAIAH SYKES HAS LEADER

BY JEFF BORZELLO

Alex Murphy has a lot of things going for him. The 2012 prospect is the younger brother of Florida freshman, Erik, and has been on the nation’s radar for a couple of years already. He is a versatile forward who is still growing into his skill set, and is a top-three player in a loaded New England class.

As a result, it’s no surprise that he has more than a dozen offers at this point, and even more interest coming his way from national powers.

Read more

BIG EAST MID-SEASON AWARDS

by CHRIS DOKISH

With Big East conference play beginning this week and New Year’s Eve upon us, Chris Dokish breaks down the Big East on what he has seen to date in the first month and a half of the season. His awards are based on what has happened to date this season in the Big East. Conference play will likely shake things up and separate the contenders from the pretenders, but for today, this is how things have looked so far through one man’s eyes…

10 PLAYERS COMPETING FOR 1ST TEAM HONORS:

Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia- The leading scorer for the Mountaineers is having another great season with 16.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, 50.2% from the field and 79.2% from the line.

Jerome Dyson, UConn- No.3 scorer in the league with 19.8 ppg, 9th in the league with 4.7 apg, and his normal shut down defense. In his 11 games, he has gone over 20 points six times and has had 5 or more assists five times.

Read more

ANATOMY OF A GUT PUNCH LOSS

by RAY MERNAGH

Great game plan — Check.

Players physically and mentally capable of executing said plan while in hostile arena — Check.

Icing the game at the free throw line — EEEHNT!

Marquette executed their butts off last night for about 39 minutes or so, then they missed critical free throws down the stretch that allowed a Devin Ebanks rumble through traffic dunk and a Da’Sean Butler game-winner. It all resulted in a backbreaking one-point loss to West Virginia. Even Bob Huggins said he “almost” felt bad for Buzz Williams and his kids, admitting afterward that his team has no chance to win if Marquette hits their late free throws.

The good news for Marquette: If they stay healthy and continue to execute they have a chance to finish in the upper-tier of the Big East.

The bad news: They let a golden opportunity slip right off their finger tips.

Now comes the true test for a group of Golden Eagles that attack the rim off the bounce with a ferocity suited for Rucker Park. Darius Johnson-Odom and Dwight Buycks are fearless. Mo Acker, at 5-6, came up with an offensive rebound because he just wanted it more than anyone else and Lazar Hayward is going to have a huge season. But, can they put this behind them and get on with trudging through the tricky maze that is the Big East or will the loss stay with them, lingering like a bad cold? I thought Ebanks hitting the 45-footer at the halftime buzzer was huge. But not as huge, obviously, as those free throws. Hayward said all the right things afterward about his teammates that missed, but you have to think he wanted to be on that line himself.

We’ve already had some great games to start the Big East season.

Not sure any will top the one played in West Virginia last night though.

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

COLEMAN TO VISIT LOUISVILLE, RHOOMES WITH BIG EAST OFFERS, HEWITT WAITING ON OFFERS

by JEFF BORZELLO

One of the more difficult recruitments to read this year has been that of Justin Coleman.

The 6-foot-5 swingman from Virginia was relatively unknown until he excelled at the NBA Players Association Camp in June and leaped onto everyone’s radar. Since then, there has been little news about his recruitment, and many say it is due to academic troubles.

As a result, most expect Coleman to end up at prep school or junior college next season. He is not throwing in the towel just yet, however. He transferred to Huntington Prep in West Virginia this season and plans on visiting a Big East school in the near future.

On Tuesday, Coleman told NBE Basketball Report in a text message that he will be taking a trip to Louisville this weekend.

“Yes,” Coleman confirmed.

The Cardinals recently received a verbal commitment from 2011 swingman Wayne Blackshear.
——————

Rhoomes holds four offers, will reclassify

A fast-rising big man in the New York area, Ryan Rhoomes came onto the scene after a strong summer performance at several events, including the Reebok U All-American Camp.

Not surprisingly, Rhoomes’ school list has grown considerably since July.

Currently, he has offers from St. John’s, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati, with interest from Pittsburgh, Marquette and Iowa State.

“I had two home meetings with St. John’s and Virginia Tech,” Rhoomes said. “And West Virginia came to my school.”

Furthermore, Rhoomes told NBE Basketball Report that he plans on reclassifying to the class of 2011.

“[I need] to develop more,” said Rhoomes, who will attend South Kent (Conn.) next season.

With his college decision pushed back for another year, Rhoomes does not have a timetable for when he will pick a school.

“I want to [choose a school this year],” he said. “But I don’t really know what I want in a school yet.”
——————

Hewitt awaiting influx of offers

As the number of available 2010 point guards diminishes, one player who expects his recruitment to pick up is Jelani Hewitt.

The 6-foot-3 Florida native is an explosive scorer who can fill it up in a hurry. His offensive ability has led to plenty of interest from a variety of schools.

“My recruiting is going to increase a lot as the season goes on and as my team keeps winning,” Hewitt told the NBE Basketball Report on Tuesday.

Right now, he has offers from James Madison and Nebraska, but he says that more are on the way.

“Schools like Georgia, Fresno State, UCLA and Alabama are about to offer,” Hewitt said.

He added that he has no visits planned, but will make a decision in the spring.

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

==============================================
It might be three months away, but our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. With all the excitement recently at Madison Square Garden, Big East Tournament tickets could make a great holiday gift for any Big East fan on your shopping list. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to any Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online
=================================================

HOOP SKILLS AROUND THE BIG EAST (12/29/2009)

by RAY MERNAGH

DePaul struggles more than any team I’ve seen in a long time to get good shots in their offense. Everything is either a contested three-pointer or a crazy shot off the drive that registers a 9 or a 10 on the degree of difficulty scale. Looking over at their bench and seeing David Booth, Tracy Webster and Tom Kleinschmidt made me think if those guys were all in their primes right now and playing DePaul would be pretty darn good. But they aren’t and DePaul is terrible. Jerry Wainwright is a funny, funny man. He has a future in TV or stand up comedy if he wants it. Having said that, his hiring as the head coach at DePaul has been an unmitigated disaster from Jump Street. It just hasn’t worked out for a number of reasons. More importantly there’s no sign that it ever will. Time to cut ties and start over again. I had to leave a minute or two into the second half because I had an allergic reaction and thought my throat was closing. As I got to my car and stuck my Epi-Pen into my thigh I immediately felt a release and my throat relaxed. It felt good that I wouldn’t have to drive down the hill to the hospital. Maybe it was a reaction to DePaul‘s offense?…………Ashton Gibbs continues to be Pitt’s best offensive player. Pittsburgh goes to Syracuse on Saturday for their first real test of the Big East season. My buddy Joe said last night that “every Big East win Pitt gets is like a block of gold” and I couldn’t agree more. If Pitt can get to 9 or 10 league wins it will be in good shape for a NCAA bid. If this Pitt team can get to the NCAA’s they should immediately start building a statue of Jamie Dixon and the players outside the Pete because what they will have accomplished will be worthy of a monument…………Da’Sean Butler is the smartest and best player on West Virginia‘s team while Devin Ebanks is the most capable of otherworldly plays due to his talent/athleticism. Kevin Jones is sort of a combination/hybrid of each. “Butler’s does everything his coach wants him to without any problem,” an NBA scout recently told me, “he’s a great basketball player. Ebanks is a physical freak, the stuff he’s doing like that little step-back fade off the dribble you mentioned is stuff most kids aren’t capable of at this level.”……………Cincinnati is a fascinating team to watch right, can’t wait for their game against UConn tomorrow night. Here’s what’s running through Mick Cronin’s dome right now in my humble opinion: I have a Ferrari in Lance (Stephenson), a Lincoln Town Car in Deonta (Vaughn) and a Mack Truck in Yancy (Gates). Obviously, in the long run, the Ferrari is the best option but…when’s the right time to turn it loose? My guess is that it’s already started to happen — judging by the end-game situation at Xavier. Stephenson has made the right play a majority of the time, shared the ball and tried to fit in as just another piece…but he’s not just another piece and everyone — including Cronin — knows that. Stephenson is an NBA player skill wise and Vaughn is a D-League or European guy. Cronin has to give Lance the steering wheel eventually but he knows once he does it’s real difficult to take it back. But it’s their best chance to win. And as long as Stephenson continues to share the ball it shouldn’t be a problem. One of the keys will be how they create a role for Vaughn without him being the on-the-ball-guy at crunch time that he’s grown accustomed to being. It will actually help Vaughn’s game if he’s ready to exploit situations in the proper way. If he receives the ball on the wing off a kick and a defender is running at him will he shot-fake, attack the rim and make a play either by finishing or finding a teammate for an easy layup?…………….Two teams have chances to get huge wins (read NCAA resume-building) tonight. Marquette will have the toughest time for two reasons — One, they have to go to WVU and two, they beat the shinola out of the Mountaineers last year in Milwaukee (75-53) and Huggins has no doubt been harping on that. Seton Hall welcomes Wesley Johnson and the Orange of Syracuse to the Brick City (Newark) where 10,000 plus will be waiting. Another opportunity for the Hall to get off the schneid…………….A couple of interesting notes before I go regarding upcoming games and starting with the three league games tomorrow night — UConn has yet to lose to Cincinnati in Big East play, ditto Louisville to South Florida and Notre Dame to Providence………….I almost forgot how terrible Georgetown‘s season was last year until looking at their Thursday night match-up with St. John’s and realizing the Hoyas lost both contests to Norm Roberts’ crew in the 2008-09 campaign.

Today’s Around the Big East is brought to you by…

HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT LOOK-BACK: CITY OF PALMS

BY PAT STEVENS — The top holiday tournament in terms of drawing the best field of teams from across the country has traditionally been the City of Palms in Fort Myers, Fla.

Current Big East standouts Lance Stephenson (Cincinnati/Lincoln, N.Y.) Maalik Wayns (Villanova/Roman Catholic, Pa.), Greg Monroe (Georgetown/Helen Cox, La.), Samardo Samuels (Louisville/St. Benedict, N.J.) and Taylor King (Villanova/Mater Dei, Calif.) all played in the event in recent years.

City of Palms alums that were recent Big East standouts and are now current pros include DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh/Schenley, Pa.), Jonny Flynn (Syracuse/Niagara Falls, N.Y.), Paul Harris (Syracuse/Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and Demetris Nichols (Syracuse/St. Andrew’s, R.I.).

Read more

NBE BIG EAST POWER POLL (12/28/2009)

Happy Holidays to all NBE readers, Big East and college basketball fans!!

My, my how time flies, it is our last weekly power poll of 2009 and Big East play is upon us. Once again our Big East writers and contributors came together and cast their votes for the Big East power poll. Below are the results from this week’s voting. With a full week ahead of Big East action, things will certainly get very interesting quickly…

1) Syracuse (8), 158 points.
2) West Virginia (2), 150 points.
3) Villanova, 140 points.
4) Connecticut, 128 points.
5) Georgetown, 123 points.
6) Seton Hall, 100 points.
7) St. John’s, 90 points.
8} Cincinnati, 82 points.
9) Pittsburgh, 80 points.
10) Louisville, 73 points.
11) Notre Dame, 68 points.
12) Marquette, 57 points.
13) South Florida, 46 points.
14) Rutgers, 31 points.
15) Providence, 24 points.
16) DePaul, 10 points.

While Jeremy Hazell of Seton Hall and Chris Wright of Georgetown were both recognized by voters for their big individual performances this week, Devin Ebanks of West Virginia earned NBE’s Big East Player of the Week honors. Ebanks averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds and 5.5 assists in wins over No. 15 Ole Miss and Seton Hall.

Brandon Triche’s 27-point, 4-rebound, 4-assist performance in a 92-60 Syracuse win over Oakland last week led to the Orange frosh picking up nine of the 10 nominations for NBE’s Big East Freshman of the Week.

Also just wanted to take a moment to wish all of our readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

HUGGS SMARTER THAN AVERAGE BEAR

by RAY MERNAGH

So many coaches wouldn’t even consider it.

Many would definitely abandon it after getting away with it despite high turnovers from one of the key players in its first attempt (a win over Mississippi).

Instead, Bob Huggins almost certainly spent the days between the Ole Miss game and Saturday’s Big East opener with Seton Hall impressing upon Devin Ebanks the importance of taking care of the ball. The result of all that persuasion was a stat line from his sophomore that’s just flat-out stupid/terrifying: 22 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists and 0 turnovers in 45 minutes of the West Virginia 90-84 overtime win at Seton Hall.

Read more

KAMARI MURPHY MOVES TO LINCOLN, BIG EAST INTEREST GROWS

2011 forward prospect moves from CHSAA to PSAL power in NYC

One of the more intriguing prospects in the class of 2011 in the basketball hotbed of New York City is Lincoln forward Kamari Murphy. The 6-foot-8, 197-pound Murphy has recently made some news with his transfer from Bishop Ford High School of the CHSAA to PSAL power Lincoln to play for coach Dwayne ‘Tiny’ Morton, the four-time defending PSAL champion.

“Competition of play was weak (at Bishop Ford) and I felt like in order to get ready for the next level, I have to play better talent to better myself,” Murphy said of the reasons for his move to Lincoln.

Read more

JARELLE REISCHEL FIELDING BIG EAST INTEREST

2011 forward improving game, seeing college interest

While most of the attention Saturday night in the Seton Hall Prep-Point Pleasant Beach high school basketball contest was focused on Prep guard Sterling Gibbs, one of the nation’s top guards in the class, another 2011 prospect is also getting some attention from some big name schools as well. Point Pleasant Beach’s 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward Jarelle Reischel is a name to remember this spring and summer as college coaches will be certain to evaluate when the time comes.

While Gibbs definitely stole the show Saturday, scoring 38 points in SHP’s 77-58 win, Reischel scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Point Pleasant Beach, who dropped their first game of the season after opening with two wins.

Reischel has only been in the United States just over a year, coming from his native Germany, and making his game more ‘American’ has been an adjust for him and is one of the areas he told NBE earlier this week he has improved in.

“Georgetown, Penn State, Maryland, St. John’s, Providence, Kansas [and] Temple,” replied Reischel when asked by NBE what schools were actively recruiting him, noting that he is wide open to any and all schools in the process.

Late this summer at the Summer Primetime Shootout Reischel showed he can definitely make shots, but he also had stretches where he struggled to put the ball in the cup. A very good athlete, the German import has some shake ‘n bake to his game, a little pizzazz if you will, with a nasty crossover that he used effectively when driving to the cup, though he is not overly flashy. He was tough to defend, as he showed he was capable of beating his defender off the dribble, or pull-up and shoot a jumper beyond the arc. Reischel rebounded the ball very well, especially on the offense end, for a player his size.

At this point in his recruitment Reischel is still feeling out the process, but has an idea on what he is looking for in a school and program, outside of the comfort zone and relationship with the coaches and players.

“I want to find a team that will make me achieve my goals as a individual and as a team,” said Reischel.

NBE will be sure to check in with Jarelle Reischel again this season as well as this spring on the AAU and camp circuit.

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

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/27/2009)

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

The Big East regular season got off to quite a start Saturday afternoon as Seton Hall and West Virginia hooked up for a nationally televised affair. The game certainly was memorable and exciting and featured a huge individual performance from Jeremy Hazell and a miracle comeback by SHU to force overtime, but in the end, WVU showed why they are a legit national contender this year.

On Sunday three Big East teams are hosts in their final pre-conference tune-ups. Also, Louisville picks up a big commitment and UConn is one team taking a look at a 2011 big forward from the West Coast. Also, see what former SHU great Dan Callandrillo is up to these days.

Also, it might be three months away, but our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. With all the excitement recently at Madison Square Garden, Big East Tournament tickets could make a great holiday gift for any Big East fan on your shopping list. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to any Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online

Read on below for all of today’s News & Notes…

Read more

BIG 2011 COMMITMENT FOR PITINO, LOUISVILLE

Rick Pitino and staff pick-up holiday present with Blackshear commitment

by RAY MERNAGH

We, and a lot of other people, have said that Wayne Blackshear has been Louisville‘s to lose for a long time. Well, the Morgan Park (Chicago) star made Rick Pitino a big winner when he gave the legendary coach a verbal commitment for Christmas according to Jody Demling. Blackshear is in the 2011 class (currently a Junior) and a guard with incredible size at 6-5. He’s a top-15 player nationally. Pitino now has four players committed in the 2011 class.
 
Blackshear has said for over a year now that he is a package deal with his running buddy Mike Shaw. It will be interesting to see if that turns out to be true and Shaw becomes a Cardinal as well. Blackshear is the second top-20 guy in the 2011 class for the Cards. Big Michael Chandler from Lawrence North is also considered to be in that elite category.
 
“We felt good about Louisville early on but it’s a process,” Blackshear’s father, Kevin Thomas, told Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal. “We talked about it as a family and just felt like it was the right time. Wayne is very excited to get to Louisville.

“Coach Pitino is a legend and that speaks for itself. The system is great and it’s the Big East.”

 
This commitment quiets any talk about Louisville losing its recruiting edge due to all the controversy surrounding the program lately. Now look for Pitino to turn up the heat on Marquis Teague, a 2011 point guard that the Cards — and everyone else — have long coveted. Like Blackshear, Teague has long been considered a Louisville lean, but Kentucky is also infused — along with several others — in the battle for the best point guard in the 2011 class.

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

THANK YOU READERS

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Here at NBE we wanted to thank you, the readers, for coming here on a daily basis and making our efforts worthwhile. I think it’s safe to say that we all love basketball. In the coming days, weeks and months we will be ratcheting up our content with the start of the Big East season and coverage of every High School/Prep event we can get to that involves players with college potential.

Once again, thank you so much and please have a safe and joyous day!

NBE Partners

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/23/2009)

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

It is a busy couple days on the court in the Big East with eight teams in action (going 7-1) on Tuesday night and five more games today, including an off noon tip-off in the Georgetown/Harvard match-up (Harvard Leads 14-13 with 13:32 left in 1st half).

On the court, DePaul continues to struggle with another bad loss. Off the court, Georgetown is losing a player due to transfer and Louisville will be without an expected starter for at least one game because of suspension. Pitt got another piece to their puzzle back Tuesday night and, just a reminder, Big East Conference action gets underway this Sataurday!

Also, it might be three months away, but our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. With all the excitement recently at Madison Square Garden, Big East Tournament tickets could make a great holiday gift for any Big East fan on your shopping list. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to any Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online

Read on below for all of today’s News & Notes…

Read more

Georgetown Junior Nikita Mescheriakov to Transfer

Report courtest of GUHOYAS.com

WASHINGTON – Georgetown University Head Men’s Basketball Coach John Thompson III announced on Tuesday morning that junior Nikita Mescheriakov (Minsk, Belarus/St. John’s Prospect Hall [Md.]) will transfer to another institution at the conclusion of the semester.

“Nikita expressed the interest to transfer to a school where he knows he will get more playing time than he feels he will get here,” Thompson said. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors and appreciate his hard work.”

Mescheriakov appeared in seven games this season, averaging 0.9 points and 0.3 rebounds.

A 6-7 forward, Mescheriakov appeared in 23 games during the 2008-09 season, starting the final nine games. He averaged 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, scoring a career-high 11 points in a win at Villanova.

In 30 career games, he averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds, connecting on 33.3 percent of his shots.
——————————————–

Mescheriakov becomes the seventh Georgetown player to transfer in the last five years joining Omar Wattad, Vernon Macklin, Jeremiah Rivers, Octavius Spann, Marc Egerson and Josh Thornton. The latest departure leaves the Hoyas with just nine scholarship players on their 2009-2010 roster with just over a week until the open conference play on New Year’s Eve aganst St. John’s.

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

SAME OLD STORM?

by RAY MERNAGH

This is the year!

They’re back!

Red Storm Ready To Re-Assert Their NYC Dominance!

I made those headlines up, but the truth is many just like them appeared in the New York area newspapers just yesterday morning after…wait for it…wait for it…a hard-fought St. John’s win over Hofstra in the opening round of the Holiday Festival. Norm Roberts even found time in the post-game to lament that the four losses were never played when his team was healthy and then followed up with we’re not making excuses (um, that’s exactly what you just did Coach).

Read more

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/22/2009)

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

The Big East and the Ivy league went head-to-head last night in a pair of games and it took a Providence rally against Yale for the Big East to earn a split of the two games as a short-handed St. John’s team fell to Cornell in the Holiday Festival final at Madison Square Garden.

Tonight, eight games are on the schedule involving Big East teams. With seven of the games at home and only DePaul on the road, all against lesser-conference foes, on paper it looks like a bunch of mismatches. However, we will be watcing Pitt/Ohio and Rutgers/St. Peter’s as games that could pose surprising tests for the Big East squads involved. We try to preview each game below…

Also, it might be three months away, but our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. With all the excitement recently at Madison Square Garden, Big East Tournament tickets could make a great holiday gift for any Big East fan on your shopping list. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to any Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online

Read on below for all of today’s News & Notes…

Read more

NBE BIG EAST POWER POLL (12/21/2009)

Happy Holidays to all of our loyal NBE Basketball Report readers! Here is to a happy and prosperous New Year to all of you and your loved ones!!

The holidays also means that Big East conference play is right around the corner. This year we will be ringing in the New Year with a full slate of Big East games that get under way this coming weekend. But first, there is some movement on the Big East power poll as Syracuse solidifies their hold on the #1 spot, claiming 75% of this week’s 1st place votes. Georgetown’s first loss of the season knocks them down a few slots as does Seton Hall’s first loss of the year.

With conference play ahead, we will get a better look at who is a pretender and who is a contender this season. For now, with several of our contributors doing their last minute holiday shopping, here is how the eight participants in this week’s poll voted (1st place votes in parenthesis):

1) Syracuse (6): 125 points.
2) West Virginia (2): 119 points.
3) Villanova: 114 points.
4) Connecticut: 103 points.
5) Georgetown: 94 points.
6) St. John’s: 77 points.
7) Cincinnati: 76 points.
8} Seton Hall: 74 points.
9) Notre Dame: 60 points.
10) Pittsburgh: 58 points.
11) Louisville: 52 points.
12) Marquette: 50 points.
13) South Florida: 37 points.
14) Rutgers: 21 points.
15) Providence: 17 points.
16: DePaul: 11 points.

NBE Big East Player of the Week: Dominique Jones, South Florida
NBE Freshman of the Week: Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati

This week’s voters:

NBE Blogger
Matt Whitfield
Nathan Wollack
Alex Schwartz
Dough Ferguson
Raphielle Johnson
Chris Dokish
Ron Bailey

===================================================

It might be three months away, but our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. With all the excitement recently at Madison Square Garden, Big East Tournament tickets could make a great holiday gift for any Big East fan on your shopping list. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to any Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online
===================================================

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

MY HOOPS BUDDY COCO

by RAY MERNAGH

I still remember the look on my buddy Doug’s face when I answered the door that summer morning.

His glasses couldn’t hide the tears trying to escape the corner of his eyes as he tried to tell me what was wrong, “I lost my best friend this morning.”

I remember thinking two things inside my nine-year-old brain — where did he go and, wait a minute, I thought I was your best friend. My look made him explain it in what he thought were clearer terms, only he failed to grasp how focused I was on A) the bacon in my mouth B) getting back to the family room to the three pieces I left on my plate and C) watching the rest of the Wimbledon Final between Bjorn Borg and whoever he was beating that year. You see, Breakfast at Wimbledon wasn’t just a TV promotion in my family’s home on Cypress Street, we literally had breakfast while watching the championship every July.

“My best friend died,” he said.

Nothing but more bacon crunching.

“Boots died Ray, he got hit by a car.”

Read more

Next Page »