2003-04 Big East Notebook
October 15, 2003 11:55 AM | General
By John Antonik
October 17, 2003
West Virginia's Joe Herber was one of several Big East player to compete in world basketball tournaments last summer
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Blue Ribbon Tabs UConn
Blue Ribbon Magazine, considered one of the most respected college basketball preview publications, has picked Connecticut as its preseason favorite to win the national title. Blue Ribbon also ranked Syracuse 11th, Notre Dame 17th and Pitt 20th.
Calhoun Likes His Team
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun told the Hartford Courant that his starting lineup heading into practice will be Taliek Brown, Gordon, Denham Brown, either Armstrong or Marcus White, and Okafor.
”The guys playing against them, though, could be a heckuva basketball team,” Calhoun said. “That's good. That's one of the things [that] can help us. They will have less time to look around them and will have to pay attention to their own business because they are going to have to be playing for some playing time.”
Big East Leads Wooden List Candidates
The Big East has 11 players among those listed on the Wooden Pre-season All-America Team, comprised of 50 players from across the country.
Conference players on the Preseason Wooden List include: Andre Barrett (Seton Hall), Torin Francis and Chris Thomas (Notre Dame), Gerry McNamara and Hakim Warrick (Syracuse), Omeka Okafor and Ben Gordon (Connecticut), Juluis Page (Pittsburgh), Darius Rice (Miami) and Craig Smith (Boston College).
Providence Journal Friar Insider Big East Recruiting Rankings
The Friar Insider considers Connecticut’s recruiting class of Josh Boone, Ryan Thompson, Charlie Villanueva and Marcus Williams the best in the Big East, edging out Syracuse, Villanova and Pittsburgh.
According to the Providence Journal, Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun “remains a witch on the recruiting trails.” UConn landed the best available player in 6-foot-10 Villanueva, a forward from Blairstown, N.J.
“Even if Villanueva is one and done, he is by far the most anticipated rookie to ender the league this year,” wrote the Journal.
Syracuse landed four top 100 recruits, Villanova nabbed two and Pitt got one of the country’s best big men in 6-foot-10 Chris Taft of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Five Wildcats Suspended
Five Villanova players were suspended for at least three games by the NCAA for their part in making unauthorized telephone calls with a school access code.
Junior forward Marcus Austin and senior forward Andreas Bloch were suspended for eight games, while senior guard Derrick Snowden, sophomore forwards Curtis Sumpter and Chris Charles, will sit out the first three games.
Two Hoyas Transfer
Starting Georgetown guard Tony Bethel transferred to North Carolina State and backup guard Drew Hall transferred to College of Charleston. Bethel started all 34 games for the Hoyas last year, averaging 10.8 points and 3.6 assists per game. Hall played in all 34 games and averaged 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Also, 6-foot-8 forward Brandon Bowman announced he was leaving school in mid July before changing his mind. Bowman averaged 7.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last year as a freshman.
Only six of 14 players on last year’s Georgetown roster remain on the team.
BC Banged Up and Inexperienced
Boston College forward Craig Smith will be sidelined two to four weeks with a knee injury, the school announced Oct. 1. Smith tore the meniscus in his right knee in a pickup game and had arthroscopic surgery on Friday, Oct. 3. As a freshman Smith earned second team all-Big East honors after averaging 19.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Prior to that, 7-foot center Nate Doornekamp had surgery in September to repair a fracture in his left foot and is expected to miss up to two months.
This comes following the school’s announcement that senior guard Ryan Sidney did not return to school for his senior season for personal reasons.
The Eagles are still reeling from 6-foot-8 freshman Dan Coleman’s decision to rescind his commitment and go back to Minnesota. Coleman signed with Boston College and attended summer school before having second thoughts. BC was able to land 6-foot-6 forward Jared Dudley of San Diego in his place. Dudley was considered the nation’s top unsigned player.
Tough Out-of-Conference Schedules
While some Big East schools have been criticized for playing weak non-conference schedules, several others are playing challenging slates this year.
Notre Dame has non-league games against Marquette, Indiana, DePaul, Kentucky and UCLA; Providence is facing Alabama, Illinois, Virginia and Texas; St. John’s has games against Marquette, Duke, Georgia Tech and UCLA; Seton Hall is playing Purdue, Louisville and Ohio State; and Villanova is playing Temple, Kansas, Memphis and St. Joseph’s.
Tech’s Thompkins Not Returning
Dimari Thompkins, a 6-foot-9 junior forward from Lakeland, Fla., has decided not to return to the team, Virginia Tech announced in August. Thompkins appeared in all 29 games for the Hokies and averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Also, the school announced that 6-foot-7 guard Carlos Dixon could miss up to two months after having surgery in August to his left foot. Dixon, a senior from Salisbury, N.C., suffered a re-fracture of the fifth metatarsal of the left foot during the summer. He injured the same foot in a game against Miami on Feb. 11, 2003.
Summer Fun
Three Big East players were among the 12 players selected to the 2003 USA Pan American Games Team. Ben Gordon and Omeka Okafor for Connecticut were chosen along with Andre Barrett of Seton Hall. The 2003 Pan American Games were played Aug. 2-6 in the Dominican Republic. In July, West Virginia’s Kevin Pittsnogle helped the USA Junior National Team to a 7-1 record at the FIBA Junior World Championships in Greece. Also, West Virginia’s Joe Herber was a member of the German National Team at the World University Games held in Korea in late August.
Dixon/Greenberg New to Big East
Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon and Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg are the new head coaches in the Big East for 2003-04. Dixon was the associate head coach of the Panthers for the last four years, helping them turn in an 89-40 record during that period. Greenberg was lured away from South Florida after seven successful seasons there.
Top Returners
The Big East has several returning players who led the conference in key statistical categories last year. Connecticut’s Omeka Okafor was the Big East’s top rebounder (11.2), Syracuse’s Gerry McNamara led the conference in free throw percentage (90.9), BC’s Craig Smith led the league in field goal percentage (60.3), Notre Dame’s Chris Thomas led the conference in assists (6.94) and Connecticut’s Ben Gordon led the league in three-point field goal percentage (41.9).
West Virginia’s Drew Schifino is the top returning scorer in the Big East, averaging 20.1 points per game. He ranked fifth among conference scorers last season.
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