Ray Balter

NBE POST-SEASON ALL-BIG EAST TEAMS & AWARDS

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The regular season is complete and the Big East Tournament tips off Tuesday so be sure to visit our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the full tournament schedule and the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions.

Throughout the day the majority of NBE writers and contributors contemplated, debated and discussed our post-season awards for the Big East conference. Its been another great season with 16 teams battling it out for 18 games each through the 71 days of Big East action from December 26th through this past Saturday. After much deliberation…here are the NBE Big East 2009-2010 season awards:

NBE Big East Player of the Year: Scottie Reynolds, Villanova

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NJ IN THE BIG EAST: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

A look at the past, present and hope for the future of Rutgers and Seton Hall

by Raymond Balter

The Big East began as a league in the fall of 1979 with just seven teams, and Seton Hall was one of them. The opportunity for the Pirates to be a part of the league at its inception was made possible by a man named Fred Gruninger. He was the Rutgers AD at the time, having taken over in 1973, which happened to be the same year that Tom Young became the Scarlet Knights head basketball coach.

Young is by far the most successful head coach in Rutgers history. He was the first coach to take RU to the NCAA tournament, guiding them there four out of the six times they’ve ever gone. His most successful season (and the most successful season in the program’s history) was in 1975-76, when he led Rutgers to an undefeated regular season and its one and only trip to the Final Four.

Thus, it was only natural that when the Big East was formed, Rutgers was one of the original schools asked to join. However, the league in the beginning was basketball-only, and Gruninger wanted RU in a conference that played football. So after Rutgers declined, the opportunity to represent New Jersey in the new league was extended to Seton Hall. What this decision did to Rutgers basketball is roughly akin to what the Black Plague did to Europe in the 14th century.

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NBE BIG EAST MEDIA NOTES, PART III

by Raymond Balter

Key roles for Jordan Theodore, Mike Davis at SHU

As it stands right now, Seton Hall will enter this season thinner than Head Coach Bobby Gonzalez would like. Still, the Pirates skipper feels that his team can expect some reinforcement and improvement at two key areas that should make them a stronger team this year. He spoke about that at length to NBE Report at last Wednesday’s Big East Media Day.

Freshman point guard Jordan Theodore’s commitment to Seton Hall did not bring with it the fanfare that, two years ago, accompanied the arrival of his predecessor, incumbent starter Eugene Harvey. Still, Bobby Gonzalez feels that the addition of Theodore, along with the return of a healthy Paul Gause, can have an impact that’s just as significant – indeed, one that Harvey himself will be the primary beneficiary of.

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NBE BIG EAST MEDIA DAY NOTES, PART II

Rutgers Moving Up

Fred Hill enters his third year as head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, a program that since its arrival in the Big East in 1995 has never finished above .500 in conference play. After listening to him speak at last Wednesday’s Big East Media Day, he’s clearly confident that he has the program headed in the right direction, but still cautions that it’s going to take time to turn Rutgers into a consistent winner in a league that may almost be too big and strong for its own good.

It hasn’t been an easy first two years for Hill at RU. Rutgers has gone 21-39 and twice failed to qualify for the league’s post-season tournament. They’re guaranteed to make it this year, but even if the rule hadn’t been changed, optimism would still abound around the program. That’s because Hill has lived up to his reputation as a strong recruiter, enabling the Scarlet Knights to enter this campaign with more talent and depth than in previous years – even if much of it is still quite young.

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