2010-2011 BEast Preview (Slideshow)

[Skatastrophy]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/372244-big-east-guide-2010-11-edition

Spoilers...
DJO recognized for having an awesome name
Blue called out as an outstanding freshman
Butler is our go-to-guy and 2nd team all BEast
MU called out as 9th in the power rankings... great to hear that we get to play with a chip on our shoulder next year again

[PGsHeroes32]

Greg Monroe will be back so Gtown will be one the top dogs. Seton Hall isnt losing all of those guys and Cincy wont be that good. That article sucked

[Skatastrophy]

Georgetown was supposed to be a "top dog" every year for the past few years.  Somehow GTIII has found a way to make his team stink relative to the amount of talent they have year after year (besides their nice run in the BEast tourney out of nowhere). 

[PGsHeroes32]

I hear what you are saying, and Gtown was very inconsistent this year but with Monroe back............that lineup is flat out scary. There wont be a single starting lineup except maybe Purdue that could come close to matching that next year



problem is, the starting lineup was all they had last year.

[Golden Avalanche]

I hear what you are saying, and Gtown was very inconsistent this year but with Monroe back............that lineup is flat out scary. There wont be a single starting lineup except maybe Purdue that could come close to matching that next year



problem is, the starting lineup was all they had last year.

Well, let's hope they have one of the best backcourts as well.

[PGsHeroes32]

Chris Wright and Austin Freeman are not a bad start

[Hayward19]

Greg Monroe will be back so Gtown will be one the top dogs. Seton Hall isnt losing all of those guys and Cincy wont be that good. That article sucked

Monroe is gone so I don't know what you're talking about.  He's on all mock drafts.  Hazell, Pope, and Robinson all declared.  And Cincy returns just about everybody and Lance Stephenson will have a huge  year.

[willie warrior]

Two No Way Comments:
1. No way DJO finishes out of top 3 teams. he will make at least second team.
2. No way we are 9th in Power Poll. I see  us no lower than 6th.
These people do not look any further west than Louisville.

[Hayward19]

Two No Way Comments:
1. No way DJO finishes out of top 3 teams. he will make at least second team.
2. No way we are 9th in Power Poll. I see  us no lower than 6th.
These people do not look any further west than Louisville.

1. DJO is very talented.  He was definitely up there, but not quite in the all big east crew.  Who are you thinking I should move him ahead of from my original All BE teams?

2. The Eagles have no height.  Butler will be their center, and then they don't really have anyone else who can play the post.  They have talent but their extreme lack of height will hurt them.  The Big East is too deep for the Golden Eagles to stay up there.  Who should I have put them over?

[Les Nessman]

I do realize that the slide for the power rankings shows two Syracuse players mid-step, but those steps sure do look like they walk funny.

[Golden Avalanche]

1. DJO is very talented.  He was definitely up there, but not quite in the all big east crew.  Who are you thinking I should move him ahead of from my original All BE teams?

2. The Eagles have no height.  Butler will be their center, and then they don't really have anyone else who can play the post.  They have talent but their extreme lack of height will hurt them.  The Big East is too deep for the Golden Eagles to stay up there.  Who should I have put them over?

I agree Odom has some work to do to get into those teams, namely, stop throwing the fucking ball to opponents on every third drive to the hole.

As to height, MU will get back 6'10'' Otule next year as well as 7'2'' Mbao and a new 6'9'' recruit so there are possibilities. Not saying they'll have an inside game but there are possibilities.

Finally, pundits have been saying the Big East is too deep for MU to stay at the top for five years (especially with no inside game). I sense two patterns have been created: 1) MU stays at the top of the conference, and, 2) pundits are often wrong.

[willie warrior]

1. DJO is very talented.  He was definitely up there, but not quite in the all big east crew.  Who are you thinking I should move him ahead of from my original All BE teams?

2. The Eagles have no height.  Butler will be their center, and then they don't really have anyone else who can play the post.  They have talent but their extreme lack of height will hurt them.  The Big East is too deep for the Golden Eagles to stay up there.  Who should I have put them over?

Since you asked, here are some names that could be dropped to leave roon for DJO: Antonio Pena; Tim Abromatis; and Brad Wannamaker. As far as teams to drop below MU, try: Cincy; St. Johns; and UConn.

[NersEllenson]

1. DJO is very talented.  He was definitely up there, but not quite in the all big east crew.  Who are you thinking I should move him ahead of from my original All BE teams?

2. The Eagles have no height.  Butler will be their center, and then they don't really have anyone else who can play the post.  They have talent but their extreme lack of height will hurt them.  The Big East is too deep for the Golden Eagles to stay up there.  Who should I have put them over?

Considering MU has never finished worse than 5th in the Big East, in its 5 years in the BE - regardless of team composition - you should automatically put MU in the Top 5 in the Big East.  Especially when you consider:  They will be much bigger, and deeper this upcoming season than they were the last..much, much bigger and deeper.  JUCO player of the year Crowder 6'6, 235lbs, Jamail Jones (see his recent appearances on ESPN's Top 10 plays on back to back days), also 6'6".  Replacing Mo Acker 5'8 and David Cubiallan 5'10 with Junior Cadougan 6'1 and Vander Blue/DJ Newbill 6'3 and 6' 4 respectively.  Add in Chris Otule, 6'11"...and we are much bigger than last year.  Top 15 rated recruiting class.

[PGsHeroes32]

Hayward19.........Monroe has said that he will be back, so thats what I am talking about. He was a lottery pick last year and stayed. Gt3 said Greg could change his mind but right now hes staying.


As for seton hall, just because those 3 guys declared doesnt mean they cant come back. They wont get drafted and they will be back


Do you know how the draft works?

[Hayward19]

Ya but hazell will get picked and pope will probably also be taken;  Robinson might not but he also might be picked.  And please tell me where the fact that Monroe is staying came from.  And to Willie Warrior, Abromitas will have a huge year without Harangody, Pena is improving and might be the best Center in the Conference due to graduation and early leaves, and Brad Wanamaker fills up the box score.  In regards to teams, Cincy didn't lose much and they're getting two good bigs for next year.  They have to many big men for Marquette to handle and Lance Stephenson will emerge as a star.  St. Johns returns all except one rotation player in Anthony Mason Jr, and they had a solid team last year, so they will only get better.  Uconn still has a great team despite the losses of Dyson and Robinson; Kemba Walker is an amazing point guard, they have plenty down low (Oriakhi, Majok, Okwandu), and Roscoe Smith is the most talented freshman coming into the BE.

[bilsu]

I fully expect for DJO to take a major step forward next year. This year he seemed to only have one good half. He will be first team all Big East. Why Otule might help the team if he is healthy, he seems to be the second coming of Kinsella, who could never stay healthly long enough to be a factor at MU. Even if Otule's healthy he will play only when we need him on defense. MU's team will genreally have 5 players on the floor that can shoot the three and take the ball inside. They will be interchangable on offense. They will be devasting on offense and weak on defense. When they are hitting their threes they will be unbeatable. When they are not they will be an average team.

[willie warrior]

Ya but hazell will get picked and pope will probably also be taken;  Robinson might not but he also might be picked.  And please tell me where the fact that Monroe is staying came from.  And to Willie Warrior, Abromitas will have a huge year without Harangody, Pena is improving and might be the best Center in the Conference due to graduation and early leaves, and Brad Wanamaker fills up the box score.  In regards to teams, Cincy didn't lose much and they're getting two good bigs for next year.  They have to many big men for Marquette to handle and Lance Stephenson will emerge as a star.  St. Johns returns all except one rotation player in Anthony Mason Jr, and they had a solid team last year, so they will only get better.  Uconn still has a great team despite the losses of Dyson and Robinson; Kemba Walker is an amazing point guard, they have plenty down low (Oriakhi, Majok, Okwandu), and Roscoe Smith is the most talented freshman coming into the BE.

I do not agree. Just because harandonkey has left does not mean Abromatis will have a bigger year than DJO. What about hayward leaving opening up more opportunities for DJO? It boils down to  who is better--DJO or the ND guy.
And I gues we will have to wait a year to see if MU is 9th or better in the Beast.

[MUBurrow]

I do agree that this still isn't a team you can project very highly right now.  In terms of size, it hardly makes sense to predict a big improvement when the players coming back have played a combined 30 or so meaningful minutes.  Beyond that, the backcourt will be totally revamped. 
Projecting ahead, it remains to be seen what Jimmy's game will look like next year. Having your 4 or 5 (Lazar) be able to shoot the 3 did two things.  One, it obviously stretched the defense, but equally important, it drew big men out of the lane and allowed Jimmy to score and create despite his lack of size.  If you plug Otule or Yous or anyone else in at the 5, sure you gain size, but you neutralize Jimmy's ability to score near the basket.  Those guys will necessarily bring more and bigger bodies to the basket, and it will be harder for Jimmy to get those and-1 plays, etc.  Combining that with Jimmy's hesitance to shoot from outside, you can't just pencil Jimmy in for a better and higher volume scoring season while simultaneously counting on minutes from the oft injured bigs.

[mug644]

Replacing Mo Acker 5'8 and David Cubiallan 5'10 with Junior Cadougan 6'1 and Vander Blue/DJ Newbill 6'3 and 6' 4 respectively. 

The assumption that Cadougan, Blue and Newbill will adequately replace Acker and Cubillan is questionable at best. Yes, they are all bigger and probably are better skilled and have higher ceilings. But, recall that Acker and Cubillan were seniors. In fact, they were almost the textbook example of how seniors offer things to a team that freshmen and sophomores just cannot. Here's hoping that the skills that Cadougan, Blue and Newbill bring to the floor will at least compensate for the experience that Acker and Cubillan gave us this part year. I'm hopeful but not necessarily confident.

[jesmu84]

I agree Odom has some work to do to get into those teams, namely, stop throwing the fracking ball to opponents on every third drive to the hole.

As to height, MU will get back 6'10'' Otule next year as well as 7'2'' Mbao and a new 6'9'' recruit so there are possibilities. Not saying they'll have an inside game but there are possibilities.

Finally, pundits have been saying the Big East is too deep for MU to stay at the top for five years (especially with no inside game). I sense two patterns have been created: 1) MU stays at the top of the conference, and, 2) pundits are often wrong.

maybe i'm having a total brain-fart here, but who is this recruit??

[NersEllenson]

maybe i'm having a total brain-fart here, but who is this recruit??

Stay tuned until April 14th, singing day.  Rumor is that MU is going to sign a highly regarded big man.  Nobody has released the name of the player, but if you believe in where there is smoke, there is fire - then this will happen.

[PGsHeroes32]

Hayward 19, it came from Greg Monroes mouth himself that he was staying saying he still has work to do and wants to help THIS team not an NBA one. And non of seton halls guys are going anywhere. Especially Hazell

[NCMUFan]

It appears the report highly favors height.  While height is good, it has been shown through Villanova and Marquette that one can win without being overly tall.  I think Buzz values passing, ball handling and quickness highly.  While a big man can have those skills, many don't.

[jesmu84]

Stay tuned until April 14th, singing day.  Rumor is that MU is going to sign a highly regarded big man.  Nobody has released the name of the player, but if you believe in where there is smoke, there is fire - then this will happen.

no one can say the name, but we know his height? what's the point of staying quiet at this point?

[Hayward19]

All we can do is just wait and see; they have potential, but so do so many BE teams.  And their height, which has been their achilles over the past couple of years, will be more evident this year.  Otule is not proven and Mbao is immobile.  And regarding that big guy, are you talking about Maurice Walker?  B/c he is probably going to Minnesota.