Septmeber 30, 2007

DEPAUL BLUE DEMON ESSENTIALS:

Official Website of the DePaul Blue Demons

Official 2007-2008 DePaul DePaul Roster & Bios

Meet Coach Jerry Wainwrigth

Allstate Arena

2007-2008 DePaul Blue Demon Schedule

OVERVIEW:

When Dave Leitao left DePaul for Virginia and the ACC, Jerry Wainwright embraced the call to return to his roots as suburban Berwyn native Jerry Wainwright returned to Chicago and became DePaul’s 11th head men’s basketball coach on April 28, 2005. With the acceptance of the position, Wainwright was in charge of bringing DePaul basketball into a new era as a member of the Big East Conference.

The transition has not been the easiest to make. In their first campaign, the Blue Demons were not one of the 12 teams to qualify for the Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden following the 2005-2006 campaign. Despite that disappointment, a solid returning core had several pundits pointing towards the Blue Demons as a dark horse in the conference race last season. Despite improving to 9-7 in conference play last season, you never got the sense that DePaul was able to put things together to be able to make that charge.

Over the last two seasons, consistency has been a major stumbling issue for the Blue Demons. On one night, DePaul can look like world beaters and has beaten ranked opponents in surprising fashion in both 2005 (Wake Forest) and 2006 (Kansas) only to turnaround and lose to Old Dominion by 44 (in 2005) and a short time later to weak UAB team (in 2006). The lack of consistency knew no bounds as it spread from their point guard play to their post players and even their stars like Sammy Mejia and Wilson Chandler could disappear at any time for long periods.

To read the rest of our 2007-2008 DePaul Preview, please visit our DePaul Team Page.

Thanks for visiting.

September 29, 2007

CINCINNATI BEARCAT ESSENTIALS:

Official Website of the Cincinnati Bearcats

Official 2007-2008 Cincinnati Roster & Bios

Meet Coach Mick Cronin

Fifth Third Arena

2007-2008 Cincinnati Bearcats Schedule

OVERVIEW:

Mick Cronin enters his second season as head coach of his hometown Cincinnati Bearcats, the school he graduated from in 1997 and where he launched his coaching career under Bob Huggins as an assistant coach. For the second consecutive year it will take some time learning about his club as they will have eight new faces on the floor, but they still return a very high percentage of their scoring and rebounding from last year’s club.

Cronin is a high-energy coach on the sidelines that spent time learning his craft under both Huggins and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. Regarded as one of the nation’s top young recruiters, Cronin showed he could run a program successfully by compiling a 69-24 record during his three seasons as head coach at Murray State, directing the Racers to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances as one of the nation’s youngest coaches. Now Cronin must show he can rebuild a program in the ultra-competitive and mammoth Big East.

To read the rest of our 2007-2008 Cincinnati Preview, please visit our Cincinnati Team Page.

Thank you for visiting!

Septmeber 30, 2007

DEPAUL BLUE DEMON ESSENTIALS:

Official Website of the DePaul Blue Demons

Official 2007-2008 DePaul DePaul Roster & Bios

Meet Coach Jerry Wainwrigth

Allstate Arena

2007-2008 DePaul Blue Demon Schedule

OVERVIEW:

When Dave Leitao left DePaul for Virginia and the ACC, Jerry Wainwright embraced the call to return to his roots as suburban Berwyn native Jerry Wainwright returned to Chicago and became DePaul’s 11th head men’s basketball coach on April 28, 2005. With the acceptance of the position, Wainwright was in charge of bringing DePaul basketball into a new era as a member of the Big East Conference.

The transition has not been the easiest to make. In their first campaign, the Blue Demons were not one of the 12 teams to qualify for the Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden following the 2005-2006 campaign. Despite that disappointment, a solid returning core had several pundits pointing towards the Blue Demons as a dark horse in the conference race last season. Despite improving to 9-7 in conference play last season, you never got the sense that DePaul was able to put things together to be able to make that charge.

Over the last two seasons, consistency has been a major stumbling issue for the Blue Demons. On one night, DePaul can look like world beaters and has beaten ranked opponents in surprising fashion in both 2005 (Wake Forest) and 2006 (Kansas) only to turnaround and lose to Old Dominion by 44 (in 2005) and a short time later to weak UAB team (in 2006). The lack of consistency knew no bounds as it spread from their point guard play to their post players and even their stars like Sammy Mejia and Wilson Chandler could disappear at any time for long periods.

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Now, DePaul heads into their third season in the Big East with a highly regarded recruiting class. These talented newcomers are going to be under the microscope out of the gates as the Blue Demons must replace 57% of their scoring and 59% of their rebounding from last season. They have been hit the hardest from the perspective of loss of production through graduation and Chandler’s decision to enter the NBA Draft.

2006-2007 SEASON:

The disappointment started quickly for DePaul last season as the Blue Demons got out of the gate losing their first two by double digits to in-state rivals Bradley and Northwestern. Things began looking dimmer when the Blue Demons dropped two of three in the Maui Invitational (Kentucky and Purdue) and returned home for a date with nationally ranked Kansas. True to their form of not knowing what to expect from them, the Blue Demons rebounded from a 17-point 1st half performance to stun Kansas. The up and down nature continued into the Big East as they opened with an anemic performance in a loss at St. John’s only to bounce right back and surprise Villanova on their campus. Later, they lose three straight barely breaking 50-pts each game and then a 3-game win streak with impressive showings against Notre Dame and Marquette. Can anyone figure these guys out?

The Blue Demons won five of their last six conference games (and six of their last to salvage their season with a 9-7 conference mark and earn a trip to the NIT. Of course, they took advantage of their softer late season schedule with two wins over USF and a win over Cincinnati, but at least some consistency had developed. Although inconsistent at times, Sammy Mejia and Wilson Chandler were the constant performers for the Blue Demons throughout the season. However, when Draelon Burns established himself as a legit third option offensively, the Blue Demons became a better club. In those last eight games, Burns averaged over 15 PPG, well above his 11.6 season average. Will Burns keep up that production this season as a possible go-to scorer?

THE BACKCOURT:

The biggest thorn in the side of the Blue Demons since their entrance into the Big East has been finding someone, anyone to take the reigns as the program’s point guard. Two years ago, it looked like a safe bet that Cliff Clinkscales could assume the role. Clinkscales complete inability to be a threat offensively and his wide open style of play never has meshed with Wainwright’s intricate system. Last season, it was hoped that Will Walker would assume the reigns of the offense once the highly touted freshman got his feet wet in the Big East. Again, inconsistent play never allowed that to happen. Both seasons, Jabari Currie was forced to handle the majority of the time at the point and the offense ran through Sammy Mejia. Last year the trio of Currie, Walker and Clinkscales averaged 37 minutes a game and 8.4 PPG and 6.2 assists against 3.6 turnovers a game. Not horrible numbers, unless you factor in their 30% 3-pt shooting number, but the point guard by committee seemed to prevent anyone on the team from finding a rhythm for any prolonged period of time. This season, another player adds to the mix as Munster (IN) native Mike Bizoukas joins the mix. Bizoukas IS a true point guard who excels in the role as a savvy distributor and coach on the floor. The best situation for the Blue Demons is for the sophomore Walker to mature into the player getting the bulk of the time with Bizoukas logging minutes as his back-up with Clinkscales as a change of pace. Having Currie work into the mix at the off-guard with Burns and in a three-guard look might be a source of improvement this team needs to help with their consistency.

Towards the end of last season DePaul found the missing third offensive option to complement Chandler and Mejia in Burns. This year, Burns will be asked to be much more than a third option, and until their touted incoming class gets their feet under them, the junior guard might be the #1 option. That is a role I am not comfortable with for Burns. He will need both wing players, senior Karron Clarke and freshman Dar Tucker, to be consistent threats to score the basketball. Both players are elite-level athletes, unfortunately for Clarke, not a 5th-year senior, he has yet to augment that supreme athletic ability with a skill level to excel in the Big East. The 6’6 NYC native averaged just 6.6 PPG last season, a significant drop from the 10.0 he averaged the previous season. Tucker is one to watch this season, he has the strength and athletic ability to make an impact right away as one of the most physical wing players in the conference. As he improves his perimeter skills, he becomes more dangerous and an elite player in this conference. How quickly will he do this? DePaul fans will hope it is MUCH quicker than Clarke has in his three season on the floor since transferring from Miami.

Another freshman, Mario Stula, rounds out the DePaul backcourt. An exceptional shooter that hails from Croatia, the 6’7 Stula is still adapting to the American game and the physical demands of it. Shooting is an area the Blue Demons are very suspect with, so he fills a definite need on the club, however, it might not be of much of an impact this season.

THE FRONTCOURT:

The only returning member of the Blue Demons frontcourt that received any meaningful time last season is senior Wesley Green. At times, Green shows some enormous potential from his 6’9, 300 lb frame. Other times, he looks out of shape and dis-interested. Injuries have also seemed to slow Green down just as he begins to realize some of his potential. So, again, now as a senior, what will you get from Green? In reality, nobody knows as every year it seems to be about 10-15 minutes a game with 3-5 PPG and a handful of rebounds. Some games of 14 pts and a few of none.

Joining Green in the frontcourt are two recruits that will be asked to do a lot in their first action at the Division 1-A level. Freshman Nyal ‘Mac’ Koshwal and JUCO transfer Matija Poscic could find themselves as the starting combination from the get-to. Koshwal is not your average freshman as he will be celebrating his 21st birthday around the time DePaul opens their season with Creighton. Powerfully built and with the athletic ability to get up and down the floor, Koshwal has the maturity to understand the importance of positioning when battling for post position on both ends of the floor. Poscic also brings size and maturity after averaging 10.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game as a sophomore and 9.7 points and 7.9 rebounds as a freshman at Highland CC (IL). Another native of Croatia, Poscic brings a game that might resemble that of Wilson Chandler’s and could step in and be nearly as productive for the Blue Demons. However, having Koshwal producing as expected will help Poscic’s production more than anything.

Rounding out the frontcourt are two more members of Depaul’s ‘United Nations’ in African imports Thijin Moses and Kene Obi. Moses is still a rail-thin forward (6’8 and 175 lbs) who obviously needs to add strength in order to utilize his versatile skills. Obi is 7’2 and 260 lbs and needs to improve his conditioning and skill level, but a prospect that size is always worth taking a chance on.

2007-2008 PREDICTION:

The two major questions that need to be answered before you can expect DePaul to move up the ladder this year in the standings are: Who will assume the role of point guard and will the talented newcomers excel in the Big East from day one? Those are tough questions to answer because you can never full get a grip in the preseason on how these things will play out until the real action starts. Big men always seem to take longer to adjust to the new level of competition and DePaul’s season might hinge on Koshwal and Poscic being able to not just hold their own, but establish themselves in the post as top players in this conference. Over time, I see this team improving quite a bit, but they will need to be ready early in the Big East season as they start off with a three game stretch in five days, all at home, against Villanova, Providence and Georgetown which will tell us a lot about the Blue Demons. I expect them to be on the bubble for the Big East Tournament throughout the season, getting off to a good start with those three home games could make or break their chances.

BIG EAST PREDICTION: 6-12

September 29, 2007

CINCINNATI BEARCAT ESSENTIALS:

Official Website of the Cincinnati Bearcats

Official 2007-2008 Cincinnati Roster & Bios

Meet Coach Mick Cronin

Fifth Third Arena

2007-2008 Cincinnati Bearcats Schedule

OVERVIEW:

Mick Cronin enters his second season as head coach of his hometown Cincinnati Bearcats, the school he graduated from in 1997 and where he launched his coaching career under Bob Huggins as an assistant coach. For the second consecutive year it will take some time learning about his club as they will have eight new faces on the floor, but they still return a very high percentage of their scoring and rebounding from last year’s club.

Cronin is a high-energy coach on the sidelines that spent time learning his craft under both Huggins and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. Regarded as one of the nation’s top young recruiters, Cronin showed he could run a program successfully by compiling a 69-24 record during his three seasons as head coach at Murray State, directing the Racers to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances as one of the nation’s youngest coaches. Now Cronin must show he can rebuild a program in the ultra-competitive and mammoth Big East.

Read the rest of our 2007-2008 Cincinnati Preview…Click ‘Read Rest of Article’ Below!!!

2006-2007 SEASON:

With six new faces hitting the floor for new coach Mick Cronin, including five junior college transfers, among their eight scholarship players, the Bearcats found it tough going last season. Finishing with an 11-19 record, that included home losses to Woffard and UAB as well as a neutral floor loss to Ohio at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, it was a tough initiation for Cronin as a high-major coach. Being completely destroyed (88-55) at the hands of Memphis on national TV and finding themselves down, again on national TV, 42-14 at the half against Ohio State, certainly illustrated the challenges that the Bearcats faced. They went into the season deprived of depth and size and those shortcomings were exposed often, even before conference play began.

There were some highlights last season, again, mostly coming prior to conference play, with wins over Temple, Xavier and North Carolina State in December. However, it was more of the same once conference play started as they lost at home to Rutgers, 54-42 and then followed that off with a 15-pt loss on the road at South Florida.

In their six conference games against NCAA opponents, UC lost all six, being outscored by an average of 72-58. With four of those six contests being on their home floor, it only illustrates how much distance was between them and the teams challenging near the top of the conference. Cincinnati became VERY close to going 0-16 as both wins (WVU, SHU) came in overtime. However, the Bearcats did not help themselves either by letting possible wins slip by at Syracuse and Providence. The PC loss was especially frustrating as the Bearcats blew an 8-pt lead with 1:41 remaining in the contest.

The Bearcats do have some impressive returning numbers as Deonta Vaughn averaged 14.8 PPG in conference play last season. The freshman guard evoked memories of past Bearcat star and fan favorite Steve Logan with his build and ability to score points. John Williamson was an athletic forward who contributed 12.5 PPG and nearly 7 rebounds in conference play and before his season was slowed by injury, Marvin Gentry showed the ability to score as well, putting up 32 in their win over West Virginia and 22 in a loss to Louisville.

However, the Bearcats will be best remembered as a group who could not shoot straight, hitting just 39% from the floor and 32% from beyond the arc in conference play. This is a problem that could continue into 2007-2008, although, there is more depth and scoring ability up and down the roster.

THE BACKCOURT:

As mentioned, sophomore Deonta Vaughn returns as one of the exciting young players in the Big East conference. As a freshman, Vaughn averaged 14.5 PPG which included a 33-pt outburst against Wofford and 25 points in their win over NC St and 24 in the win over Xavier, making him an early fan favorite. Vaughn had his struggled, too, going 8-34 in a four-game stretch in which he tried to shoot his way out of in a loss to USF, going 7-22 from the floor and 3-16 from the arc. From there on, Vaughn became a high volume shooter and spent a good portion of his time on the floor with the ball in his hands.

Providing support in the backcourt is a pair of returning JUCO transfers, now in their senior seasons. Much was expected from Jamual Warren, a tough and mature point guard that had bounced around the prep and JUCO ranks before landing in the Big East with UC. The Bearcats tried to fit Warren into the point guard role, but it was not which much success as Warren is not a true playmaker as a lead guard, he is more of a scorer. His assist to turnover ratio did improve during conference play, but for the Bearcats to gain some consistency, someone needs to assume the role of distributor first and scorer second. Marvin Gentry also returns as a senior and post-season surgery should return the 6’3 wing to full health. After a slow start last season, Gentry showed the ability to put up some points in the open floor and the Bearcats definitely need some offense. Cronin was recruiting Gentry to Murray State and continued to recruit him when he landed at UC.

Larry Davis is an incoming freshman that fits the mold of a Bearcat recruit with athleticism and the ability to play both ends of the floor. The Houston (TX) native will push for early playing time in the backcourt and should emerge throughout the season as a valuable part of their future.

On the wings UC adds a pair of exciting athletes in Rashad Bishop from Newark (NJ) and Alvin Mitchell from Ft. Lauderdale (FL). Both players are exciting athletes in the 6’5 range that excel at getting to the basket and scoring points. Once they learn to complement their exciting athletic ability with experience and the nuances of the team game, they both have the potential to thrive in Cronin’s system.

THE FRONTCOURT:

The area that caused Cincinnati to be the league’s punching bag last season was their thin frontcourt. Using John Williamson and Marcus Sikes as their ‘post’ players gave most opposing big men free reign inside against the Bearcats. The frontcourt gets immediate help with Texas-transfer Mike Williams and Polish JUCO Adam Hrycaniuk becoming eligible. Williams was a McDonalds All-American out of Wilcox Central HS in Camden (AL) before signing a LOI with Texas. The powerful 6’7, 240 lb forward is built for the Big East, but needs to play with that power mentality consistently. As a sophomore at Texas, Williams averaged 2.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.6 minutes of playing time following a solid freshman campaign of 3.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.0 minutes of action. He will be asked to possibly carry the load at power forward for the Bearcats this season, moving John Williamson to his more natural position on the wing.

Hryanciuk was ruled ineligible by the NCAA last season for participation in leagues in Europe prior to enrolling at Cincinnati. At 6’10 and 230 lbs he adds the needed size in the post that UC desperately could have used last season. As a JUCO sophomore, Hryanciuk averaged 11.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks at Trinity Valley Community College. As a freshman he played at Barton Community College.

Along with Williamson, Marcus Sikes is the other returning player in the frontcourt. Sikes played one season at Georgia as a freshman and one season of JUCO ball at Jan Jacinto where he averaged 13.1 points per game as a sophomore and was the third-leading junior college rebounder in the state of California with his 11.3 average. Last season in the Big East, the 6’8 Sikes found a liking to playing around the 3-pt arc and he went 31-69 from the arc (45%). To illustrate how much time he spent at the arc, the 230 lb forward attempted just 34 free throws (19 made) and averaged only 4.4 rebounds a contest in conference play.

In an attempt to add Big East-level size and talent to the frontcourt, Cronin hit a recruiting coup with the addition of 6’11 Anthony McClain from National Christian Academy. McClain, a New Jersey native, has great upside and potential with his ability to get up and down the floor for a player his size. McClain is likely to see significant time as a freshman and that was a main consideration in his selection of the Bearcats in the recruiting process. He still needs to develop offensively and gain strength to battle underneath in the Big East, but he represents the hope of the UC future. Also coming on board this season are freshmen Kenny Belton and Darnell Wilks. Belton is a physical inside player that is ready, physically, for the Big East, but needs time to develop the skills to produce consistently. Wilks is ultra long and thin and arrives at UC a year ahead of schedule. A redshirt season is not out of the question and could help him add strength and weight to his frame.

2007-2008 PREDICTION:

It is pretty much the same story for the Bearcats as last season with up to eight newcomers trying to work their way into the mix. This is a MAJOR step-up in competition for many of them, however, they do have the benefit of five players returning that accounted for the vast majority of their production last season. Unfortunately, all that production managed was two conference wins, but their biggest weakness of front court depth is improved greatly through recruiting with the addition of McClain and the eligibility of Williams and Hrycaniuk. Their deeper frontcourt gives them the edge over the other teams ranked below them, but they will still need to find someone to consistently distribute the ball as well as finding some improved perimeter shooting, however, those issues can be said for other teams as well. Once the newcomers begin to adjust to the competition, look for UC to give some teams fits towards the end of the season, but there is still a long ways to go.

BIG EAST PREDICTION: 5-13

September 28, 2007

There is some good news and some bad news out of Georgetown. The good news is they finally extend the contract of their head coach, John Thompson III. The bad news is that a highly touted freshman suffered a broken foot and will miss the early part of the season.

Another former Big East star makes good by giving back to the community. All too often we hear about what is bad, not what is good, when it comes to the athletes.

There are also more recruiting updates on Greg Monroe, Quintrell Thomas, Kevin Jones, Tyreke Evans, Mookie Jones and Bobby Capobianco. Also, closer looks at the recent decisions of Devin Hill, Sylven Landesberg, Eloy Vargas and Olek Czyz. Dian Waiters continues to dazzle all on-lookers, despite being just 15.

We will continue our 2007-2008 team previews this weekend with a look at our projected #13 and #12 of the 16-team Big East.

You can read these stories and more, by clicking READ MORE below!

Click on ‘Read More’ below to view the rest of the article.

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com has a few Big East-related nuggets on his College Hoops Blog: Good ‘N Plenty from the last couple days. The biggest note is that Greg Monroe, expects to narrow his list later this week. Look for Duke, Georgetown, LSU and probably Kansas to make the cut.

As with anyone who has seen him work out this fall at South Kent, Goodman believes that Syracuse-commit Dion Waters has a chance to be special. Goodman beleives that the 6′2, 190-pound Waters, is a young version of Indiana freshman Eric “E.J. Gordon and he is a cousin of current Orangeman freshman guard Antonio “Scoop” Jardine.
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After visiting Maryland and Rutgers recently, Quintrell Thomas will take a trip to the midwest as the East Coast Standout visits Kansas this Weekend (Lawrence Journal-World). The 6′8, 225 lb power forward averaged about nine points and seven rebounds as a junior for 30-2 St. Patrick of Elizabeth (NJ) last season. Thomas has a final four of KU, Maryland, Rutgers and Nevada-Las Vegas. The plan is to visit UNLV next weekend and then finalize a decision with those close to him soon after.

Early indications from Thomas was that he wanted to get away from New Jersey, but not too far away. However, Rutgers has firmly placed themselves into the mix for his services.
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Adam Zagoria is busy again at zagsblog and has a couple Quintrell Thomas Notes of his own as well as a review of Rutgers visit with Kevin Jones.

As for Thomas, Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley is a West Orange, NJ native and he has been working hard to recruit Thomas and St. Anthony senior guard Tyshawn Taylor. Kansas has several potential frontline openings that could mean early playing time for Thomas. With Maryland, they are still recruiting Terrence Jennings, who recently de-committed, as well as Ralph Sampson III and 7′0, 225-pound center Assane Sene from South Kent. Sene was a popular player earlier this week as numerous schools came to watch Sene work out on Tuesday, including Maryland, Virginia, UConn, Pitt, North Carolina and Fairfield.

Rutgers head coach Fred Hill and assistants Darren Savino and Craig Carter made the visit to Mount Vernon, NY, on Tuesday to try to land yet another standout player from that high school, 6′7 forward Kevin Jones. Last season, the Scarlet Knight’s landed Moutn Vernon point guard Mike Coburn and RU was the first school to offer Jones a scholarship, a fact that sticks clearly into the mid of Jones and his family. Rutgers is in the mix with several players from the Class of 2008, including Mookie Jones of Peekskill (N.Y.) High, who will will make an official visit to campus Oct. 18. Both Kevin and Mookie played AAU basketball with the Westchester Hawks program and have expressed a desire to play together (but, if any fans should be wearly of a package deal coming to fruition it is likely those of Rutgers). Several schools are still in the mix for Kevin Jones and the plan looks to be to take official visits to far-away places such as Ohio State, which they did last weekend, and Indiana, which comes up Oct. 12, (same weekend Lincoln star Lance Stephenson). UMass could also get an official, as well as one other unnamed school.

In our Pittsburgh Recruiting and Team Update by Chris Dokish, posted yesterday, it was indicated that Kevin had ‘quietly snuck into Pittsburgh for an official visit’. That was a mis-interpretation of the information that Pitt hopes to quietly sneak into the mix as the school to get the unnamed official.

Kevin has or will take unofficials to the local schools, Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s.
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Seton Hall is Still in the Mix for Tyreke Evans (zagsblog), but it appears that other schools would be the favorites at this point, especially Louisville, Memphis, Villanova and UConn. Evans will look to make a decision in the coming weeks and Louisville has long been considered the favorite because of Rick Pitino’s long-time involvement with Evans, and because ‘Reke is tight with St. Benedict’s big man and UL commit Samardo Samuels.
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Adam Zagoria also caught up with Sylven Landesberg on his College Decision (zagsblog) to attend Virginia over St. John’s and Georgia Tech. Landesberg stayed up past midnight Tuesday meeting with his parents, Steve and Ingrid, as well as his AAU coach, Gary Charles and settled on his decision Wednesday morning. Landesberg, a 6-6, 200-pound shooting guard from Holy Cross High in Queens averaged 25.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season. Landesberg and Holy Cross coach Paul Gilvary both emphasized that the recent incident on the St. John’s campus in which a man with a rifle was arrested had nothing to do with his decision to turn down that school.
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A couple Big East schools looking for a 2009 physical rebounder who can score around the basket have identified 6′8, 220-pound power forward Bobby Capobianco, from Loveland (Ohio) High School, as just that type of player. Capobianco to visit favorites(Yahoo! Sports) this fall including Marquette and West Virginia.
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Van Coleman of CSTV.com reports on the Trio of Top 60 Commitments from yesterday that all went against the favor of the Big East as Eloy Vargas, Olek Czyz and Sylven Landesbery all decided to attend schools in other conferences despite being priority recruits from Big East members such as Louisville, Pittsburgh and St. John’s.
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With Devin Hill Big East Bound, the New England Recruiting Reports takes a look at the 6’9” forward who has starred for St. Luke’s School in Connecticut as well as the New York Gauchos AAU team and has recently verbally committed to DePaul.
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It took a little (ok, a lot) longer than many believed it should, but it finally got done as Georgetown Extends John Thompson III’s Contract (Sports Network). Thompson III to a six-year contract extension on Thursday, a deal that could (we all know how worthless these ‘contracts’ can be)keep the mentor on the bench through 2013 as the Hoyas Reward Thompson III (Washington Times) for bringing the program back to national prominence in a hurry.

There is a little bad news around Georgetown, however, as Freshman Chris Wright Breaks His Foot in a Pick-up Game (Official GU CSTV Site) and will miss the “early part of the season,” according to Thompson III.
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Sometimes there are good things to report on professional athletes. Earlier this week, links and stories on how Carmelo Anthony returned to Syracyse to help break the ground on a new practice facility that bears his name were available online, today it is Emeka Okafor giving back to the Hartford (CT) community as Okafor Centers His Attention on Kids (New Haven Register). It was announced that he will contribute $250,000 to UConn’s Neag School of Education to support the Husky Sport Program, ayouth mentoring program in Hartford’s North End.
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