Big East 07-08

[NavinRJohnson]

I am guessing UL enters the season as the favorites, with MU directly behind with Georgetown and perhaps even Uconn in the discussion. Not sure what they have coming in, but oustide of UL and MU, most others appear to be losing a lot of key pieces (GU  - Hibbert and Green; Pitt - Gray, Kendall and Graves; ND - Carter and Falls; Syracuse - Nichols, Roberts, and Watkins; Villanova - Nardi, Sumpter and Sheridan).

[Big Papi]

What about Providence?  I think Hill is the only senior on that team.

[NavinRJohnson]

What about Providence?  I think Hill is the only senior on that team.

I looked at that, but then again they were somewhat disappointing with Hill. Not sure how good they'll be without him.

[NYWarrior]

don't forget about WVU........Beilein has everybody back sans Young.  WVU will be very, very good

[WarriorHal]

Hibbert and Green are juniors, so G'town could return all five starters. They also signed the top two high school players in the DC area, one of which is Austin Freeman of DeMatha, a legit All-American. Without early departures, G'town looks like the BE favorite for next season.

[Harrison]

You have to think Green is gone.  Hibbert probably as well.  If by chance they both come back they will be the #1 team in the country with UNC and Kansas depending on how many of their guys go. 

Ul will be very good as will WVU, Pitt will still be very good they lose Gray and Kendall but Biggs and Young will be Ok and they will still have Ramon and Filds for a very good backcourt. 
Bottom line is this was a regrouping year for the BE.  Best conference in the country next year.

[NavinRJohnson]

Hibbert and Green are juniors, so G'town could return all five starters.

Of course they could. If they did come back, they are the odds on favorites and its not close, but I would call that extremely unlikely as both will probably be Top 10 picks.

[Nukem2]

I suspect either or both of Green and Hibbert will go to the NBA.  Green probably for sure.  If Hibbert stays, G-Town will still be favored.

[AlumKCof93]

In the Chicago Tribune today, Sam Smith projects the draft.  In it, he has Green as the 10th pick and Hibbert at #14.  G-town is scary good if both come back.

For those interested, DJ is not projected in the first round and not one of the 6 hopefuls for the first round should they perform well in the pre-draft workouts.

[NavinRJohnson]

I think Green at 10 would be an absolute steal. I  think he is one of those guys that will be a better pro than college player, and he is a damn good college player.

[herboturbo]

What about Providence?  I think Hill is the only senior on that team.

I looked at that, but then again they were somewhat disappointing with Hill. Not sure how good they'll be without him.

But doesn't Providence get Hanke back next season??  That should make the Hill loss hurt a little less. 

With no early entries next season I would but the top 9 at:

1. Georgetown
2. Marquette
3. Louisville
4. Pittsburg
5. Syracuse
6. Providence
7. UConn
8a. West Virginia
8b. Notre Dame
8c. Villanova
9. Depaul

12. St. Johns
13. Rutgers
14. Seton Hall
15. South Florida
16. Cincinnati

Any one of those bottom four could bump out the Johnnies for that last spot in the BE tourney.

[NYWarrior]

8a. West Virginia

You are severely underestimating WVU.  They will return 9 of their top 10 players from a team that won 24 games and went 9-7 in conference play.  Not sure how they'll be worse next year (this year they finished in a tie for 6th place)

[UPitt89]

8a. West Virginia

You are severely underestimating WVU.  They will return 9 of their top 10 players from a team that won 24 games and went 9-7 in conference play.  Not sure how they'll be worse next year (this year they finished in a tie for 6th place)

The reason WVU won't be as good as you think next year is because Beilein will be coaching in Ann Arbor or maybe even Lexington.

Without Beilein, they are an average group of players.  They only overachieve because of him.

[NYWarrior]

The reason WVU won't be as good as you think next year is because Beilein will be coaching in Ann Arbor or maybe even Lexington.

with a $2M buyout, he's not going anywhere.

UK will want a guy with proven recruiting chops -- that's not Beilein.  Jay Wright or Gillispie to Lexington.

If Tubby walks away from UK, he could land up at Michigan anyway.  UM wont pay a $2M buyout to get a basketball coach -- its a football school and Lloyd Carr's salary won't be exceeded for hoops

[herboturbo]

WV is losing thier best player in Young and have nobody to replace him.  He's one of the few players on the team that do more than shoot and run backdoor cuts.  Plus those teams I listed from 1-9 could still all finish 8-8 or above next season

[NYWarrior]

WV is losing thier best player in Young and have nobody to replace him.  He's one of the few players on the team that do more than shoot and run backdoor cuts.  Plus those teams I listed from 1-9 could still all finish 8-8 or above next season

I dunno. Joe Alexander averaged more rebounds and had more assists than Young depsite playing fewer minutes per game.  Nichols and Smalligan were better deep shooters than Young as well.  He's very replaceable given the makeup of their roster.

If anything, his departure leaves more room for Alexander and Da'Sean Bulter to shine -- and these guys are much better athletes than Young.

[NavinRJohnson]

Not sure why you'd put MU ahead of Louisville when they finished 2 games ahead of us this year and will lose nobody but Brandon Jenkins (addition by subtraction) to graduation...err...ummm…maybe exhausted eligibility is a better way to put it. Probably not safe to assume graduation. This is Louisville we are talking about.

[NYWarrior]

Not sure why you'd put MU ahead of Louisville when they finished 2 games ahead of us this year and will lose nobody but Brandon Jenkins (addition by subtraction) to graduation...err...ummm…maybe exhausted eligibility is a better way to put it. Probably not safe to assume graduation. This is Louisville we are talking about.

I think alot of it depends on the schedules though.....sure Ville was 2 games up on MU this past year, but they played one of the easiest schedules in conference play while MU played the 2nd toughest. 

With a balanced schedule next year (so to speak -- the mirror games are still key to who will win the league), if James returns there's no reason to think Ville will be any better than MU.  Both teams would return just about their entire roster -- and both have good young talent to develop and new talent coming in.

[DoubleMU0609]

Speaking of schedules, does anyone have the specifics of how the schedule is going to work next year and who our H-H games are with?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

What about Providence?  I think Hill is the only senior on that team.

I looked at that, but then again they were somewhat disappointing with Hill. Not sure how good they'll be without him.

But doesn't Providence get Hanke back next season??  That should make the Hill loss hurt a little less. 

With no early entries next season I would but the top 9 at:

1. Georgetown
2. Marquette
3. Louisville
4. Pittsburg
5. Syracuse
6. Providence
7. UConn
8a. West Virginia
8b. Notre Dame
8c. Villanova
9. Depaul

12. St. Johns
13. Rutgers
14. Seton Hall
15. South Florida
16. Cincinnati

Any one of those bottom four could bump out the Johnnies for that last spot in the BE tourney.

I think the Big East is going to be a killer next year. The top 3 teams could all be in the top 10 in the nation and the next 6 could all be in the top 25.

It's going to be tough... but it will be fun because every Saturday is going to be a "big game".

I think MU is going to be better than some people here are predicting. I think the current group will continue to improve at a pretty good rate and I think we add some servicable bigs and one who could get some decent minutes (Mbawke will probably back up the 4-5 postion and get around 15-20min per game).

I also think Burke might be the biggest suprise next year. I think he made some nice strides this season compared to last. He has some good size and decent athletic ability... just needs more refinement in his game which usually comes with experience and off-season work-outs. I think he could see 15-20 min a game.

[NavinRJohnson]

Speaking of schedules, does anyone have the specifics of how the schedule is going to work next year and who our H-H games are with?

I have to assume that Pittsburgh is a safe bet again. If MU and UL are truly looked upon as two of the favorites in the conference, I'd be willing to bet they would be another. There's two made for TV games right there, just as Pitt and Georgetown were this year. After that, maybe ND or DePaul, or maybe even Georgetown for the reasons above..

[herboturbo]

Not sure why you'd put MU ahead of Louisville when they finished 2 games ahead of us this year and will lose nobody but Brandon Jenkins (addition by subtraction) to graduation...err...ummm…maybe exhausted eligibility is a better way to put it. Probably not safe to assume graduation. This is Louisville we are talking about.

I think alot of it depends on the schedules though.....sure Ville was 2 games up on MU this past year, but they played one of the easiest schedules in conference play while MU played the 2nd toughest. 

With a balanced schedule next year (so to speak -- the mirror games are still key to who will win the league), if James returns there's no reason to think Ville will be any better than MU.  Both teams would return just about their entire roster -- and both have good young talent to develop and new talent coming in.

Thanks NYW for answering the question exactly how I would have. 

I also would have added that we were a desperation 3 from beating them twice this year as well. 

As for the 3 mirror games I think those schedules came out in June last year but If I had to wager a guess we would keep Pitt and then take on one of the traditional rivals again next year (Depaul or ND) - as for the third I have no idea.  At the very least next year we are getting Georgetown at home, so that's a plus. 

[herboturbo]

WV is losing thier best player in Young and have nobody to replace him.  He's one of the few players on the team that do more than shoot and run backdoor cuts.  Plus those teams I listed from 1-9 could still all finish 8-8 or above next season

I dunno. Joe Alexander averaged more rebounds and had more assists than Young depsite playing fewer minutes per game.  Nichols and Smalligan were better deep shooters than Young as well.  He's very replaceable given the makeup of their roster.

If anything, his departure leaves more room for Alexander and Da'Sean Bulter to shine -- and these guys are much better athletes than Young.

NYW -

I don't think they're going to be worse next year, but I don't think they're going to be much better either, probably another 9-7 year in conference, maybe even falling to 8-8.  Alexander and Nichols will lead them next year, but they may not be the shooting team they have been in the past. Ruoff, Butler, and Alexander aren't good 3pt shooters - especially Alexander.  They're gonna have to hope that they can get better and Smalligan can keep up the good shooting he showed this year on the whole. 

[NYWarrior]

I don't think they're going to be worse next year, but I don't think they're going to be much better either, probably another 9-7 year in conference, maybe even falling to 8-8.  Alexander and Nichols will lead them next year, but they may not be the shooting team they have been in the past. Ruoff, Butler, and Alexander aren't good 3pt shooters - especially Alexander.  They're gonna have to hope that they can get better and Smalligan can keep up the good shooting he showed this year on the whole. 

perhaps......but I dont think anybody figured WVU would win 22 regular-season games and go 9-7 in the Big East this year either.  Look at it this way -- if Beilein found a way to replace Gansey, Herber, Pittsnoggle, Beilein and Collins (that's 5 of his top 6 scorers -- including the school's top three 3pointer shooters of all-time) and still win - - I think he'll do fine replacing only Frank Young.

BTW, Young only shot 31% from deep as a junior on that team -- roughly what Alexander shot this year.

Beilein finds a way.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I don't think they're going to be worse next year, but I don't think they're going to be much better either, probably another 9-7 year in conference, maybe even falling to 8-8.  Alexander and Nichols will lead them next year, but they may not be the shooting team they have been in the past. Ruoff, Butler, and Alexander aren't good 3pt shooters - especially Alexander.  They're gonna have to hope that they can get better and Smalligan can keep up the good shooting he showed this year on the whole. 

perhaps......but I dont think anybody figured WVU would win 22 regular-season games and go 9-7 in the Big East this year either.  Look at it this way -- if Beilein found a way to replace Gansey, Herber, Pittsnoggle, Beilein and Collins (that's 5 of his top 6 scorers -- including the school's top three 3pointer shooters of all-time) and still win - - I think he'll do fine replacing only Frank Young.

BTW, Young only shot 31% from deep as a junior on that team -- roughly what Alexander shot this year.

Beilein finds a way.

agreed on Beilein, NYW, you beat me to it.  The guy recruits for his system probably better than any other coach.