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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (8/26/2009)
August 26, 2009 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
With a Rick Pitino press conference at Louisville slated for 3 PM, I put together some Big East News & Notes quickly ahead of it. Jeff Goodman runs down some of the nation’s impact transfers for 2009-2010 and there is plenty of Big East-related tidbits among his 20 transfers that will have the biggest impact this coming season. Also, WVU has released their non-conference schedule and it is very solid.
As for recruiting, there is quite a bit of interest in 2011 Michael Carter-Williams along with the Providence Friar staff being very busy hosting some of the top prospects in New England.
Check these out in the links below…
Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com takes a look at the Top Transfers for the 2009-10 Season and their projected impact. One from the Big East heads his list, with many others in his top 20…
1. Wesley Johnson, 6-7 ½, 210, F, Jr., Syracuse: Don’t be surprised if the former Iowa State forward winds up being the team’s top player. Johnson averaged 12.4 points while playing with an injured ankle his sophomore season at Iowa State but is ideal for Jim Boeheim’s system.
4. Ben Hansbrough, 6-3, 205, G, Jr., Notre Dame: Tyler’s little brother left Mississippi State after two seasons. He averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists as a sophomore and will start immediately for the Fighting Irish.
7. Herb Pope, 6-8, 235, PF, Jr., Seton Hall: The talented, yet enigmatic big man averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 boards at New Mexico State. If he stays out of trouble, he could be one of the Big East’s top big men.
13. Taylor King, 6-7, 225, F, Soph., Villanova: The former Dookie will give the Wildcats a perimeter shooter.
17. Keon Lawrence, 6-2, 175, G, Jr., Seton Hall: He’s talented, but like his teammate, Herb Pope, Lawrence will need to learn how to be a good team guy both on and off the court.
19. Anthony Crater, 6-1, 170, PG, Soph., South Florida: He wasn’t satisfied with his playing time at Ohio State, so he up and left after one season. He should be running the show for Stan Heath this season.
20. Scott Martin, 6-8, 210, F, Soph., Notre Dame: Martin left Purdue after one season and will give the Irish a skilled forward who can score points.
There is also five former Big East players making Goodman’s list…
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West Virginia has released their non-conference slate this week and it is a challenging slate that should prepare the Mountaineers for their role of one of the Big East favorite’s this season.
“This is probably as good a non-conference schedule as we’ve played in a long time,” said Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins via the school. “We believe this is a non-conference schedule that our fans will enjoy in person and on television.”
WVU Releases a Non-conference Schedule (Charleston Gazette) that includes home games against Ohio State, Ole Miss, Duquesne, Coppin State and Loyola College, road games at Purdue and Cleveland State, The Citadel on Nov. 24 and Marshall on Jan. 20 — in Charleston and the 76 Classic, beginning with Long Beach State on Thanksgiving. The Mountaineers will then face Texas A&M or Clemson on the second day and wrap up the tournament against either Minnesota, Butler, UCLA or Portland in Anaheim (CA).
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After growing about six inches since last season, class of 2011 guard Michael Carter-Williams is now a 6-foot-4, 175-pound combo guard out of St. Andrew’s in Barrington (RI). After a stellar summer with the BABC AAU basketball club, interest has been building among ACC and Big East schools for his services.
Carter-Williams is Active in August Visiting Schools (NE Hoop News) and is expected to head to Syracuse this coming weekend. NEHoopNews.com also reports that he has visited Villanova and will try to work in a trip to Notre Dame as well.
Others involved include Pittsburgh, UMass (offer), Providence (offer), Florida State (offer), George Mason (offer), Virginia Tech (offer), Boston College, Virginia, Marquette, Temple and Clemson as Carter-Williams is a Hot Commodity (Salem News) among colleges.
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Keno Davis and Providence continue to work diligently on the recruiting trail and making New England their concentration. Recently, the Friars Entertained Top Sophomore Center (Providence Journal) Andre Drummond, a 6-foot-10 sophomore from Connecticut who will attend St. Thomas More this year.
According to the Providence Journal, another big sophomore, 6-foot-11 Kaleb Tarczewski of New Hampshire and the St. Mark’s School in Framingham (MA), visited Monday. So did Naadir Tharpe, a junior point guard from Boston who preps at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
Two St. Andrew’s School stars are on the PC radar as well. Ricky Ledo and his father visited with Davis and staff last week and the aforementioned Mike Carter-Williams is expected to be at PC on Friday.
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