Louisville

Big East Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:44:33 -0500

Despite losing a ton of talent in the off-season, the Big East is still one of the country's most exciting and talented leagues.. and it features the country's dominant fantasy star: Luke Harangody. Other players to watch include newcomers like Lance Stephenson and Youphtaou Yarou and vets like Scottie Reynolds and Da'Sean Butler.

Conference Rank: 5th

10 year average: 3rd

Big East Page

All-BIG EAST Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Scottie Reynolds	Villanova	Sr
F	Devin Ebanks	West Virginia	So
F	Greg Monroe	Georgetown	So
F	Da'Sean Butler	West Virginia	Sr
F	Luke Harangody	Notre Dame	Sr
Second Team
G	Deonta Vaughn	Cincinnati	Sr
G	Dominique Jones	South Florida	Jr
G	Jerome Dyson	UCONN	Sr
F	Lazar Hayward	Marquette	Sr
F	Wesley Johnson	Syracuse	Jr

Player of the Year - Luke Harangody Freshman of the Year - Lance Stephenson
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
CHN All-Americans Luke Harangody (1st Team) Scottie Reynolds (2nd) Devin Ebanks (4th) Da'Sean Butler Greg Monroe All-Freshman Team Lance Stephenson (2nd) Mouphtaou Yarou (2nd) Dante Taylor (3rd) Alex Oriakhi Peyton Siva Hollis Thompson		Points: Luke Harangody (ND) 23.3 Rebounds: Luke Harangody (ND) 11.8 Assists: T. Jackson/ E.Harvey 4.9 Team: Syracuse 80.2

Big East Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

2	Villanova	Big East	1	NCAA
7	West Virginia	Big East	2	NCAA
17	Georgetown	Big East	3	NCAA
19	Connecticut	Big East	4	NCAA
27	Louisville	Big East	5	NCAA
40	Pittsburgh	Big East	6	NCAA
45	Seton Hall	Big East	7	NCAA
50	Cincinnati	Big East	8	NIT
60	Notre Dame	Big East	9	NIT
67	Syracuse	Big East	10	NIT
74	St. John's	Big East	11	NIT
81	Marquette	Big East	12	NIT
98	Providence	Big East	13	CBI/CIT
114	Rutgers	Big East	14	CBI/CIT
139	South Florida	Big East	15
201	DePaul	Big East	16

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Will Win the Big East?

Other Big East Content

Big East Fantasy Stats Preview

Big East: Top 25 Players

Big East: Five-Year Ranking

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Big East Basketball: Top 25 Players

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:38:22 -0500

Ranking players is more art then science. How do you compare the potential of freshmen with seniors who have already peaked? How much does physical talent come into play versus intangibles and experience? How big a role do numbers play?

In some situations, the bigger challenge is deciding what position to list a player. College basketball is filled with combo guards, wings who can play from the 2 to 4, centers who are really power forwards, and so on.

All of these questions make lists like this fun and debatable.. if you disagree with CHN's rankings, post what you think below.

BIG EAST

PG
1. Scottie Reynolds - Villanova
2. Dominique Jones - South Florida
3. Kemba Walker - UCONN
4. Tory Jackson - Pittsburgh
5. Sharaud Curry - Providence

SG
1. Mike Rosario - Rutgers
2. Jeremy Hazell - Seton Hall
3. Jerome Dyson - UCONN
4. Deonta Vaughn - Cincinnati
5. Corey Stokes - Villanova

- With so many more teams, the Big East is always harder to rank. There is no one dominant player in this group, but many experienced starters. Nova's Corey Fisher was the hardest player to leave off. One newcomer to watch is WVU's Casey Mitchell, a juco shooting guard with high expectations.

SF
1. Devin Ebanks - West Virginia
2. Wesley Johnson - Syracuse
3. Lance Stephenson - Cincinnati
4. Stanley Robinson - UCONN
5. Robert Mitchell - Seton Hall

PF
1. Da'Sean Butler - West Virginia
2. Lazar Hayward - Marquette
3. Anthony Mason Jr - St. John's
4. Herb Pope - Seton Hall
5. Dante Taylor - Pittsburgh

C
1. Luke Harangody - Notre Dame
2. Greg Monroe - Georgetown
3. Samardo Samuels - Louisville
4. Mac Koshwal - DePaul
5. Arinze Onuaku - Syracuse

- Impressive that WVU has the top SF & PF. Herb Pope has surpreme talent, but he might not even start for a deep SHU team. There are a good amount of newcomers on the list, including the likes of Johnson, Stephenson, Pope, etc. One other transfer to watch is Nova's Taylor King, who can light up the score-sheet if given ample minutes.

-- SEC Top 25 Players

-- Pac-10 Top 25 Players

-- Big Ten Top 25 Players

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Big East Basketball: 5-Year Ranking

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:05:22 -0500

BIG EAST 5-YEAR STANDINGS

CHN's annual 5-year ranking answers a simple question is in a simple manner: Who has been the best team in the Big East over the last five years?

Teams get points for league wins, making the postseason (NIT or NCAA) and winning games in the Big Dance. NIT wins are meaningless here, as are non-conference wins. Also, league tournaments wins are not taken into account. (An original trial-scoring system included points for conference tourney wins. But the flukish nature of these tourney's did more harm than hurt: ie, 2008 Georgia, 2006 Syracuse, and 2004 Maryland ended up getting too much credit despite the reality that they were mediocre to sub-par teams.)

100 total points is set up to be the equivalent of batting .300 in baseball.. anything above and beyond is all-world stuff. 50 points is mediocre and you only start to get bad below 40 points.

Pos.	Was	Team	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Wins	Gms.	Points

1	2	Louisville	14	6	12	14	16	62	84	74	Win %
			Final Four	NIT	2nd Round	Elite 8	Elite 8			31	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							105

2	4	Villanova	11	14	9	9	13	56	84	67	Win %
			Sweet 16	Elite 8	1st Round	Sweet 16	Final Four			32	Post Pts.
										99

3	1	UCONN	13	14	6	13	15	61	84	73	Win %
			2nd Round	Elite 8	X	1st Round	Final Four			24	Post Pts.
										97

4	3	Pittsburgh	10	10	12	10	15	57	84	68	Win %
			1st Round	2nd Round	Sweet 16	2nd Round	Elite 8			24	Post Pts.
										92

5	5	G'Town	8	10	13	15	7	53	84	63	Win %
			NIT	Sweet 16	Final Four	2nd Round	NIT			23	Post Pts.
										86

6	6	WVU	8	11	9	11	10	49	84	58	Win %
			Elite 8	Sweet 16	NIT	Sweet 16	1st Round			23	Post Pts.
										81

7	9	Marquette	7	10	10	11	12	50	84	60	Win %
			NIT	1st Round	1st Round	2nd Round	2nd Round			13	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							73

8	7	Syracuse	11	7	10	9	11	48	84	57	Win %
			1st Round	1st Round	NIT	NIT	Sweet 16			12	Post Pts.
										69

9	8	Notre Dame	9	6	11	14	8	48	84	57	Win %
			NIT	NIT	1st Round	2nd Round	NIT			9	Post Pts.
										66

10	10	Cincinnati	12	8	2	8	8	38	84	45	Win %
			2nd Round	NIT	X	X	X			5	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							50

11	13	Providence	4	5	8	6	10	33	84	39	Win %
			X	X	NIT	X	NIT			2	Post Pts.
										41

12	12	Seton Hall	4	9	4	7	7	31	84	37	Win %
			X	1st Round	X	X	X			2	Post Pts.
										39

13	11	DePaul	10	5	9	6	0	30	84	36	Win %
			NIT	X	NIT	X	X			2	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							38

14	15	St. John's	3	5	7	5	6	26	84	31	Win %
			X	X	X	X	X			0	Post Pts.
										31

15	14	Rutgers	2	7	3	3	2	17	84	20	Win %
			X	NIT	X	X	X			1	Post Pts.
										21

16	16	South Fla.	5	1	3	3	4	16	84	19	Win %
			X	X	X	X	X			0	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							19

Was = Last year's rankig

-Ties are broken by favoring conference winning %

Big East Thoughts

- UCONN manages to drop to 3rd despite making the Final Four. The Huskies 2004 title comes off the books, as does down years from competitors Louisville & Villanova.

- Villanova's made the Sweet Sixteen in 4 of 5 seasons. No other Big East team can claim that.

- Now that Northwestern made the NIT last year, South Florida and St. John's are virtually alone as BCS teams not to have made the postseason.

- Syracuse, surprisingly, has basically been a middle of the pack Big East team over this span.

Postseason Points

NIT = 1

NCAA 1st Round = 2

NCAA 2nd Round = 4

Sweet = 6

Elite 8 = 8

Final Four = 10

Final = 11

Champs = 12

Other 5-Year Rankings

ACC

Big 12

Big East Basketball: Fantasy Preview

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:52:24 -0400

This is the 4th of six fantasy stats projections for BCS conference starters. One of my favorite series of the year, and a helpful guide when drafting for fantasy college basketball leagues. For an idea of whether I know what I'm talking about, check out last year's Big East Stats Projection. As always, some teams were nailed better then others.. UCONN, for example was almost shockingly spot on, while Rutgers was a bit off.

Keep in mind stats are highly dependent on minutes, and freshmen are obviously the hardest to predict. I try to note places below where other starters not listed may emerge or where competition for major minutes exist. Stats are listed by ppg, rpg, and then apg.

BIG EAST: PART ONE

CINCINNATI

G Deonta Vaughn - 14, 5, 4
G Cashmere Wright - 10, 3, 5

F Lance Stephenson - 14, 6, 2
F Rashad Bishop - 8, 5, 3
F Yancy Gates - 13, 7, 1

Notes: Wright returns after missing last season from injury and should be able to put up solid assist numbers with Vaughn & Stephenson alongside.

UCONN

G Kemba Walker - 13, 4, 4
G Jerome Dyson - 15, 4, 3
F Stanley Robinson - 14, 8, 2
F Gavin Edwards - 8, 6, 1
C Alex Oriakhi - 4, 5, 0

Notes: UCONN's 3 main scorers could all approach 15 ppg. Until Ater Majok arrives (and if he's healthy), Oriakhi or Charles Okwandu will get the start. Neither of them should be terribly productive.

DEPAUL

G Jeremiah Kelly - 7, 2, 4

G Will Walker - 14, 4, 3

F Eric Wallace - 8, 4, 1

F Tony Freeland - 9, 5, 1
F Mac Koshwal - 16, 10, 2

Notes: Koshwal averaged 12 & 10 last year, but underachieved in my opinion. He could/should be even better. Eric Wallace is a transfer from Ohio State who averaged 1.8 ppg in limited duty as a freshman.

GEORGETOWN

G Chris Wright - 12, 3, 5
G Jason Clark - 8, 4, 2
F Austin Freeman - 14, 5, 3
F Holl Thompson - 10, 5, 1
F Greg Monroe - 16, 9, 3

Notes: Monroe almost nailed my 12 & 8 prediction from last year, and should take another step forward this year. Thompson is a freshman who will contribute immediately.

LOUISVILLE

G Peyton Siva - 8, 2, 4

G Edgar Sosa - 12, 2, 4
G Jerry Smith - 11, 3, 2
F Terrence Jennings - 11, 8, 1
C Samardo Samuels - 16, 8, 2

Notes: Jennings only averaged 12 mpg last year, but should see his minutes and production soar. Sosa only averaged 7 ppg last year but should get many more chances to score.

MARQUETTE

G Maurice Acker - 5, 2, 3
G Dwight Buycks - 12, 3, 3
G/F Jerome Maymon - 7, 6, 1
F Jimmy Butler - 10, 5, 1
F Lazar Hayward - 17, 10, 1

Notes: Buycks is a Juco transfer who should be the 2nd option behind returning forward Lazar Hayward. Jimmy Butler is an underrated performer who will hold his own in the starting five.

NOTRE DAME

G Tory Jackson - 13, 5, 7
G Jonathan Peoples - 7, 4, 2
G Ben Hansbrough - 10, 5, 4
F Tyrone Nash - 8, 7, 1
C Luke Harangody - 24, 11, 3

Notes: Ben Hansbrough comes over from Mississppi State and he can pass the ball well and rebound. Notre Dame's lack of depth is troubling and none of the reserves should be fantasy contributors.

PITTSBURGH

G Ashton Gibbs - 10, 2, 4
G Jermaine Dixon - 12, 4, 3

G Brad Wanamaker - 9, 5, 2
F Gilbert Brown - 10, 5, 2
F Dante Taylor - 12, 6, 1

Notes: Familiar names are gone, but Pitt has some talent. Taylor should be one of the league's top freshmen.

..Continue to Part Two (Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF, St. John's Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia)

Poll: Who Will Win the Big East?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:50:33 -0400

Louisville Basketball Preview: #27

Joel Welser — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:27:35 -0400

Overall Rank: #27

Conference Rank: #5 Big East Conference

2008-09: 31-6, 16-2

2008-09 postseason: NCAA

Coach: Rick Pitino (200-73 at Louisville, 552-197 overall)

Earl Clark and Terrence Williams were really the heart and soul of Louisville during the 2008-2009 campaign. Not only did those two led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists, but they also combined to average 3.3 steals and 2.2 blocks per contest. Coach Rick Pitino may have a lot of talent on the roster, but this team will not be the same without Clark and Williams.

Key Losses: F Earl Clark, G Andre McGee, F Terrence Williams

Key Newcomers:

Rakeem Buckles and Stephan Van Treese are both versatile forwards who will attempt to help replace Clark and Williams. Buckles is 6-8 and 215 pounds and great in transition. Like his predecessors, Buckles can make plays off the dribble and get up and down the floor in a hurry for a big man. However, the best newcomers may be in the backcourt where sharpshooter Mike Marra and Peyton Siva hope to make an impact. It is Siva who is expected to be a major contributor as a freshman. The Cardinals lack a pure point guard and Siva is the answer for the future and the present.

Backcourt:

Edgar Sosa could handle the point guard duties after dishing out 2.4 assists per game last year, but Siva should be able to bring a steady hand to the position. Meanwhile Sosa and Jerry Smith can score from the wings. Smith is the better outside shooter of the two, but Sosa is a pretty smart player who will take what the defense gives him. Those two will be seeing a lot more minutes this season and they both have to be more consistent with their scoring output. Preston Knowles was a pretty good sixth man last year and should be again this season. Most of his shots will come from beyond the arc and he connected on 43.2 percent of his attempts.

Frontcourt:

Without Clark and Williams, a lot of pressure will be put on sophomore Samardo Samuels. He was quite impressive as a freshman, averaging 11.8 pionts, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest. While he may not have to score too much more, he will need to be the defensive presence under the basket and do a better job on the glass. The only other returning forward who averaged over ten minutes per game last season was Terrence Jennings. The 6-10 sophomore was very productive when he was given the opportunity to play and if he can be just as productive while playing more minutes, the Louisville frontcourt is in good hands.

Who to Watch:

What this team needs is depth. Reginald Delk, Jared Swopshire and George Goode all averaged six minutes or less per game last year, but they will have to compete with the newcomers for important minutes off the bench. Swopshire and Goode, both 6-8 forwards, were just freshmen last year and should be able to carry a bigger load this season. If not, the Cardinals will have to rely heavily on unproven freshmen to provide depth in the frontcourt.

Final Projection:

Having a true point guard in Siva is a very good thing for Louisville, but he is a freshman who may need some time to adjust to playing in a tough conference like the Big East. If Siva lives up to his lofty expectations, the Cardinals could compete with anybody in the conference. If not, Coach Pitino will have to try and hold this young team together with the help of seniors Sosa and Smith.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Peyton Siva, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season

Edgar Sosa, Senior, Guard, 7.3 points per game

Jerry Smith, Senior, Guard, 7.8 points per game

Terrence Jennings, Sophomore, Forward, 4.2 points per game

Samardo Samuels, Sophomore, Forward, 11.8 points per game

Next Top 144 Teams
28		29		30		31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Big East Basketball: High-Low Preview

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:47:51 -0400

Everybody loves a prediction. People that claim to hate sports predictions are just jealous that no one cares what they have to say or that their predictions are never right. But sometimes when making predictions, certain teams or groups of teams are truly to close to call. On CHN or in preview mags, we do our best to slot teams into specific spots, but sometimes you just want to say honestly, teams A, B, and C are virtually the same and luck will determine how they finish. You can't say that in a Top 144 ranking, but I'm saying it here in a series of High-Low predictions. Instead of plugging teams into specific spots, I'll give a range for each team's finish and a few reasons why.

(How about the high production values with that picture?..)

BIG EAST HIGH-LOW

The amount of big-name players who left in the off-season is pretty astonishing, but don't expect the usual elites to simply fall off the table.

* my projected finish in yellow

CINCINNATI
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
The Bearcats should return to the tourney for the first time since 2005 thanks to a young roster that is extremely deep & versatile.

UCONN
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
The Huskies losses are impressive, but a core of Dyson, Robinson, and Walker isn't half-bad. UCONN's freshman class is solid, but there are some hit/miss players in there.

DEPAUL
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
DePaul can't be worse then last year and has a chance of escaping the cellar if a little luck goes their way.

GEORGETOWN
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Departures at UCONN, Louisville, Pitt and Syracuse should allow the Hoyas to bounce back after underachieving in a big way last year.

LOUISVILLE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Lose their big two, but Rick Pitino doesn't coach bad teams. Samuels needs to bring is A game every night.

MARQUETTE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Decimated by graduation, Marquette got more bad news when Junior Cadougan got injured. Still, there's enough pieces to at least win 6 or so league games.

NOTRE DAME
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Harangody & Jackson are good, transfer Hansbrough is solid, and then you have?.. Expect the Irish to hover around .500 in league play.

PITTSBURGH
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Another team decimated by player departures, Pitt will be able to piece together a solid starting 5 and hope that defense and tempo keep them competitive against the top teams.

PROVIDENCE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
The Friars turn over an entire roster, but at least the ball is in solid hands with Sharaud Curry back. If the new bigs don't pan out, things could get ugly however.

RUTGERS
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Perpetually on the verge of being good, Rutgers will be hard-pressed to win even 6 league games. 4 is a good +/- number.

SETON HALL
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Seton Hall returns 3 players who averaged 12+ ppg, and welcome two more transfers who could do the same.

SOUTH FLORIDA
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
The Bulls should have their best team since joining the Big East (which admittedly isn't saying much).

ST. JOHN'S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
St. John's returns everybody from a squad that was at least half-decent last year. Finishing in the upper-half of the league will be too much to ask however.

SYRACUSE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
The Cuse have a good front-court and a capable SG in Andy Rautins, but the PG position is the most important position in college basketball and the team's weakest link.

VILLANOVA
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Villanova is loaded in the backcourt and on the wings, but the loss of Dante Cunningham should not be underestimated up front.

WEST VIRGINIA
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Bob Huggins has a potential Big East title winner at his hands despite the graduation of sharp-shooting Alex Ruoff.

>> ACC: High-Low Preview

>> Big 12: High-Low Preview

>> Big Ten: High-Low Preview

>> Pac-10: High-Low Preview

>> SEC: High-Low Preview

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