Pittsburgh

 

Like civilizations, all great basketball programs eventually fall.. replaced by an upstart newcomer. In this week's Rise & Fall series, we'll take a look at which BCS programs are rising, falling, or merely treading water. Up today, the:

 

BIG EAST

 

Memphis (1)

Texas (2)

Stanford (3)

Pitt (4)

Other (MSU, Marquette, Miami, etc)

Pittsburgh

Big East

by Joel Welser

 

Last NCAA Appearance:  2007, Sweet Sixteen loss to UCLA

Coach: Jamie Dixon (5-4 in 4 NCAA appearances)

 

The names on CHN’s monthly All-Big East lists have been turning over like a drunken point guard running the fast break. The only return member from the All-November team is Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, who had another Haran-good-y month.

Guard – A.J. Price – Connecticut – JR
14.6ppg, 6.0apg, 4.1rpg
Best game – Jan 8th – St. John’s – 25 points, seven assists, four boards

The Top Performers at Primetime Shootout in Philadelphia

Samardo Samuels (St. Benedict’s, NJ) #7 Class of 2008 (Louisville)
27 points and 17 rebounds

Samardo has completely dominated this season so far earning MVP awards at each tournament his team has attended. He is a very strong post player with the ability to step out and hit the mid-range jumper but does most of his damage down low. He is going to be an impact player next year in college he combines size with agility and does a great job on the boards.

This past weekend I spent a couple of days at Villanova University covering two high school showcases promoted by Primetime Shootout and Scholastic Play by Play. On Friday night the Primetime Shootout featured three nationally ranked teams in St. Benedict’s (NJ) # 3, Chester (PA) # 6 and American Christian (PA) # 3 in the prep poll. This event also included Jeannette (PA) who has the # 1 football recruit in the country Terrelle Pryor.

Three Stars of The Day

 

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances.  Either way, its our way of showing the love:

 

Games of the Night

 

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

 

With the New Year brings clarity. Not only has the excruciating bowl season come to an end, allowing us to focus solely on college hoops, with the occasional Patriots hatefest NFL football game mixed in here or there, but with the start of ’08 comes conference play for the BCS leagues. This means no more North Floridas or Sacramento States or Prairie View A & Ms on the schedule. No, this means we will be treated to a bevy of decent matchups on a nightly basis, providing a meaningful way to discern between squads, rather than wild guessing, or even

Out of with the old, in with the new – none of the Big East All-December team members made the All-November team.

 

Guard – Draelon Burns – DePaul – SR