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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (11/12/2009)

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The early signing period is well under way in college basketball and we will have much more on the fall classes of Big East teams in the coming days. Right now, the season is also upon us as Syracuse moved to 2-0 last night and the majority of Big East teams are preparing for season openers this weekend. We try and make the rounds of the non-recruiting news around the league today as well as update some of the latest in the Keon Lawrence story and potential Mouphtau Yarou ‘age-gate’.

Elsewhere, Cincinnati is in action tonight with an exhibition game, Pitt hopes their youngsters keep them in the mix. One national basketball writer picks WVU to be the class of the Big East. Jamal Coombs-McDaniel is happy to get the clearance from the NCAA to be on the court and he might be playing an unexpected position when Jim Calhoun calls his name to come off the bench on Friday. Also, time for building at Rutgers should have passed, but the job remains. Also, stories from PC as they prepare to open with three games this weekend and Georgetown will hope Greg Monroe shoulders much of the team’s improvement while steady Scottie Reynolds will drive the shop at ‘Nova.

Read all these and more in the links below…
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It is safe to say that Syracuse got the message from coach Jim Boehiem to improve their defense in the wake of their exhibition loss to LeMoyne. It is also safe to say the loss to LeMoyne has been placed well into the rear-view mirror as Robert Morris is No Match for Syracuse (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) in the Dome last night. The Orange move to 2-0 on the season with their 100-60 win over RMU.

In their opening wins against Robert Morris and Albany (Monday), SU has forced 60 turnovers and held opponents to just 51.5 points a game as the Orange Zone Defense is Creating Havoc (Syracuse Post-Standard) on their early season opponents.

While Albany and RMU are definitely low-major programs, both are well coached teams that some expected to test the Orange early on. That was not the case in either game and on Wednesday SU got their offense cranking very early, thanks in a large part to Andy Rautins, who rebounded from an 0-fer fromt he field in the opener and an ankle injury to light up the zone scoreboard from beyond the arc, connecting on seven of 10 three-pointers, and scoring 22 points in 20 minutes. There was question if Rautins would even play after attending Tuesday’s practice in a walking boot, but Rautins Led Syracuse to Victory Despite Injured Ankle (Post-Standard) as Jim Boehiem earned career witn #801.

For the second consecutive game, five Orange players reached double figures in scoring with Wes Johnson scoring 15 and Arinze Onuaku made seven of eight field goal attempts in scoring 14. Freshman point guard Brandon Triche had 12 points and 7 assists as SU shot 58% from the field in the contest.

Next up for the Orange is a trip to Madison Square Garden for a Coaches versus Cancer semifinal match-up with 13th ranked Cal. North Carolina and Ohio State represent the other side of the bracket in a very anticipated gathering of top teams early this season.

You can check the action live…below is a link to great seats available at MSG for next week’s action:

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Tickets - Semifinals (Syracuse vs. Cal; North Carolina vs. Ohio State) November 19 2009

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The situation of Seton Hall guard Keon Lawrence continues to be a hot topic with internet reporters and other media outlets as Police are Processing Lawrence’s Blood Test (ZagsBlog.com) as evidence in the two-car accident Lawrence caused while driving the wrong way on the Garden State Parkway early Monday morning. Lawrence sat out last season after transferring from Missouri and the news is also being talked about in Columbia (MO) where Steve Walentik writes that the ‘Latest News on Keon Lawrence Makes Me Sad’ (Columbia Tribune).

At CBS Sports, Gary Parish weighs in On His Clash With Bobby Gonzalez over his questioning the character of some of the Pirate players in his recent Big East preview, where he picked Seton Hall to finish 10th. Apparently, the SHU coach and Parish have discussed the topic and Gonzo has also discussed the topic with local media members while defending his players. After the Lawrence incident, which, according to Jerry Carino in his Lawrence Update at mycentraljersey.com, sources close to the program have said Lawrence has had multiple disciplinary issues that have been handled internally over the past year, including being suspended for the team’s recent exhibition game against Fordham, don’t expect a retraction or an apology from Parish.

The case and investigation continues on…and, for the Pirates, Friday night’s opener with St. Peter’s College probably can’t get here soon enough so they can move on and get to playing basketball. For one Pirate player, this season means a lot as Eugene Harvey Looks to End Seton Hall Career a Winner (NewJerseyNewsroom.com).
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In preparation for Monday night’s regular-season opener against Prairie View A&M, Cincinnati will host top-rated Division II school Bellarmine tonight at Fifth Third Arena. The Preseason Finale Poses Test for Bearcats (Cincinnati Enquirer) and Mick Cronin will use substitution patterns similar to a regular season contest.

Also, the Enquirer notes that UC is expected to sign 6-foot-8 forward Justin Jackson from Jacksonville, Fla., to a letter-of-intent during the signing period that began on Wednesday.
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Mike DeCourcy of the SportingNews.com is Forecasting the Big East today and in his opinion it will be West Virginia finishing up on top.
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Scottie Reynolds is back for Villanova and looks to play a key role once again and help the Wildcats return to the Final Four in 2010. Villanova is Already Leaning on Reynolds (DelCo Times) with their younger players learning the ropes from the savvy veteran in preparation of Friday’s season opener.

One player ‘Nova is definitely hoping to lean on more and more as the season progresses is freshman Mouphtau Yarou. However, the Villanova Recruit’s Age is in Question (Philly Inquirer) after a player named Mouphtaou Monra Yarou was listed on the roster of Renaissance BBC in the 2007 FIBA Africa Cup listing his age as 23 and his hometown as Matitingou. Yarou is from a town in west Africa called Natitingou and his age according to the Villanova is 19. The Wildcats plan to play Yarou in their opener Friday as he has been cleared by the NCAA previously, but they have aknowledged they will look into the matter a little more in the meantime.
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While ‘Nova has a senior leading the way, Georgetown is relying on a promising youngster to make improvements this season and hopefully help the Hoyas back into the NCAA Tournament in 2009-2010. The Hoyas’ Season Rests on Monroe’s Shoulders (Washington Times) as the mega-talented sophomore big man bypassed a potential spot in last year’s NBA Draft lottery to return to school this season.
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The trend of college basketball is seeing the game move smaller. More and more small forwards are being asked to play the ‘4′ position and teams are unafraid to but four guards on the floor at the same time. Connecticut has been a team usually with a traditional line-up, but depth, at least early in the season, upfront is a concern for coach Jim Calhoun and freshman Jamal Coombs-McDaniel has been Asked to Help at Power Forward (Hartford Courant) when he makes his debut in Friday’s opener. For Coombs-McDaniel, the opportunity to just play anywhere is exciting to him after sitting out the two UConn exhibition games waiting for his clearance from the NCAA eligibility center.
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In Mike DeCourcy’s Big East forecase linked above he mentions Pittsburgh as a team that will somehow blend together their young and inexperienced players into a team that remains relevent in the conference. The Young Panthers are Eager to Take Bigger Roles (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) and their ability to thrive in those roles will be necessary for DeCourcy’s forecast to be accurate.
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Its almost a completely new look team for Keno davis at Providence. Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal has a quick preview of the team in his PC Basketball at a Glance as fans have Lots to Learn about Friar Squad (Pawtucket Times). There is the potential to learn alot about the Friars this weekend as they will be playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday as part of the World Vision Classic at the Dunk. Davis is Hoping Patience and Hard Work Pays Off (Providence Journal) for his young and inexperienced Friars when the season gets under way.
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Entering the fourth season of a coaching tenure usually does not bring out the ‘hoping to build’ somethign stories prior to the season as the expectation is usually for the building to be mostly complete by this time. However, after winning just eight games in three years of conference play, things just haven’t gone well for Rutgers under Fre Hill. Still, Hill is Hoping to Build something at RU (NorthJersey.com) and he better hope the project gets on the fast track soon!