Bleacher Report - Big East Basketball

Learning Continues Through Louisville's Testy Three-Day Homestand

Jonathan Lintner — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:14:51 -0500

When it comes to playing three games in three days, there’s not a better college basketball team suited for the task than one coached by Rick Pitino.

The Louisville Cardinals, riddled with scheduling conflicts on their home court in Freedom Hall, knocked off East Tennessee State on Saturday, Morgan State on Sunday, and Appalachian State Monday.

But when a three-game streak sets the season off, Pitino said even the most conditioned teams face an obstacle in winning them all.

"We want time to teach,” Pitino said Saturday. “There's nothing I can do about it. You want time to teach with all the mistakes you make, but you've got to get ready for the next opponent. That's the disappointing thing about these types of games.”

For the second year in a row, Louisville had to work around a series of non-basketball events and find a slot to squeeze in some November games. The Cardinals sandwiched three contests between a livestock exposition, a rodeo, and a pair of concerts.

At least for Pitino’s sake, this marks the last time his team will launch a season with three games in a row. The Cardinals move from Freedom Hall into a new, waterfront arena in 2010.

Pitino said he didn’t expect much learning to happen in the Cardinals’ opening home stand—that progression would come in the four days between their game Monday and the next against UNLV on Saturday. But the growth was obvious.

Pitino cited poor shot selection on Saturday, when his team shot 6-of-30 from the three-point line. They responded by shooting 44 percent on Sunday.

With better shooting, defense was sacrificed. Morgan State piled up the points in its 90-81 loss to Louisville.

So on Sunday, the Cardinals put it all together in an 80-53 dismantling of Appalachian State. Turns out three games in three days can have its benefits.

“I thought we did a terrific job tonight for the third game in three nights. What we wanted to do was improve in all three games, and we did,” Pitino said. “I was really upset the first night. Because when you spend so much time trying to figure out from a statistical thing what could help or hurt, you're 1-for-11 in taking challenge shots.

“You give the guys credit because they immediately saw what they did wrong. And, on the next night they went to the line 40-something times by driving, so you've got to give them credit for understanding where they made their mistakes.”

Going back to last week’s season opener against Arkansas, this past weekend was more proof of how far ahead this team—thought to be less talented than last year’s Cardinals—really is.

That includes important minutes from the freshman class.

Rakeem Buckles contributed eight points on Saturday. Peyton Siva added nine on Sunday, and Buckles was back Monday night with a career-high 10 rebounds.

Louisville didn’t get that kind of production last season from a freshman—outside of the exception, starting forward Samardo Samuels—until Terrence Jennings broke out after the New Year.

“I think all the freshmen are going to be terrific freshmen,” Pitino said. “This freshman class is really, really good, and they'll develop each year and get even better.”

Last weekend’s home stand was just the surprising beginning of that learning process, spurned by Pitino's conditioning standards and an unfortunate schedule of events.

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The New Favorite: Syracuse Big Men Tandem is Best in the Big East

Etan Kaplan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:03:23 -0500

As many recall from last year, there was an abundance of talented teams in the Big East. Some may have argued that nine or 10 teams deserved to make it to the dance, with eventually seven getting bids, the most of any other conference.

The upper half of the conference was extremely parable, with each team receiving its moment of fame. We saw three teams from the Big East receive No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament ( UConn, Pittsburgh, and Louisville), we saw teams like West Virginia and Syracuse advance deep into the Big East tournament, and we saw Villanova and UConn make it to the Final Four.

Even teams from the bottom half of the conference showed their full potentials with upsets of Providence over No. 1 ranked Pittsburgh late in the season, Georgetown's thrashing of UConn on at the XL center to start Big East play, and even bottom team USF's upset over No. 8 ranked Marquette.

What all of these title contending Big East teams had were star big men. The top four teams in the big east last year all had NBA Prospect big men. Pittsburgh's Dejaun Blair, Uconn's Hasheem Thabeet, Villanova's Dante Cunningham, and Lousville' Earl Clark, and Terence Williams all left to the NBA draft.

What this has left the Big East with is a group of suddenly parable teams consisting of freshman big men to replace their past years stars. Which team in the big east is without this problem? You guessed it, The Syracuse Orange. As we saw from this past weekend, Syracuse's big man tandem of Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku were too much for 12 ranked Cal and fourth-ranked UNC to handle.

Onuaku, a Senior, is averaging 13.8 pts in only 24 minutes per game while Jackson, a Junior, is averaging a career best 8.8 pts in only 22.3 minutes per game.

Both of these player's numbers are the highest of their respective college careers and there is reason to believe they will continue to go up when Big East Play begins in January because of the sudden dependence that the Big East's past top teams have put on their freshman big men.

Who do you think the Pittsburghs and the UConns and the Villanovas of last year are going to put up against Syracuse's two distinguished big men? Freshman Donte Talyor of Pittsburgh? Freshman Alex Oriakhi of Uconn? Freshman Mouphtaou Yarou of Villanova? None of these freshman have the experience, or the developed talent and size to handle Syracuse's big men in the paint.

In case one might want to argue that Luke Harangody is better than any of these two, try measuring up his guard counterparts Ben Hansbrough and Tory Jackson with Transfer superstar Wesley Johnson who is averaging 17.3 ppg so far with a 27 point performance against fourth ranked UNC Tar Heals in the 2k sports final and the two headed monster PG tandem of Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine.

Not to mention do-it-all Andy Rautins who had 11 pts, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 7 steals versus UNC in the 2k sports championship game.

The last three Big east tournament Champions, Georgetown, Louisville and Pitt were all supported by their respective star big men Roy Hibbert, Earl Clark, and Dejuan Blair. It looks like its Syracuse's big men Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson's turn this year.

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Louisville's Success Hinges on Jared Swopshire's Numbers

Jonathan Lintner — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:37:02 -0500

The question of whether the Louisville Cardinals will replace Terrence Williams’ and Earl Clark’s production is looming large.

Yet the answer is relatively small.

Sophomore forward Jared Swopshire was thrown into the starting small forward role occupied by Williams for four seasons in Louisville’s season-opening game against Arkansas.

Swopshire racked up 11 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes played against the Razorbacks. He was on a roll.

But the production didn’t last.

In the Cardinals’ 69-56 win over East Tennessee State Saturday, Swopshire saw the court for a minute more but pulled down only two rebounds.

East Tennessee presented neither a make-or-break game nor a close contest by any means for Louisville. Still, more than a year into his growth as a college athlete, Swopshire showed signs that he still may be soft.

That’s not a problem for Head Coach Rick Pitino, who defends Swopshire’s generously listed 220-pound frame.

“Sometimes softness is because you are 188 or 190 pounds, you haven’t lifted any weights,” Pitino said last Friday. “I’d rather have a guy that can shoot really well, great skills, willing to pay the price and be a little weak or not really be a real great defensive player, but be able to shoot it.

“You can have great success with those players.”

Only Swopshire didn’t produce in against the Buccaneers in any statistical category. He was 0-for-5 from the field, recording two points on 2-of-2 free-throw shooting.

The 6-8 sophomore may never develop the body of Samardo Samuels, the Cardinals’ featured big man. He may not possess the same on-court personality as Williams had.

And he certainly doesn’t have the same intangibles as Clark, taken in the first round of last summer’s NBA draft after his junior year at Louisville.

But Pitino does see Swopshire as a consistent starter filling in a 225-pound body—one who can rebound like mad.

Pitino said it hasn’t always been that way.

“He wasn’t a good rebounder until this year,” Pitino said. “The knock on Jared when I went out recruiting…great kid with great skills, but really soft.”

It’s now time for Swopshire’s skills to overlap any “soft” left in the sophomore. The Cardinals need his production this season, and they need it consistently.

Without Williams and Clark, guards Preston Knowles and Jerry Smith can dish out the assists. Guard Edgar Sosa and Samuels can tally up the points. Samuels and forward Terrence Jennings can work the boards.

And it’s Swopshire that needs to fill the holes, put in good minutes, and provide an occasional breakout performance—just as he did against Arkansas.

Because in Big East play, it’s a loss for Louisville if Swopshire doesn’t answer the bell.

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Surprise, Surprise: Louisville Strong Out of the Gate

Jonathan Lintner — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:58:08 -0500

Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals spurned an early season trend in their 96-66 win over Arkansas last Wednesday night.

They won an early season game, and they did so without a scare.

Since joining the Big East in 2005, Pitino has noticeably adjusted to the Cardinals’ strenuous conference schedule. Louisville typically disregards its preseason ranking, placing winning on the back burner in favor of instilling team chemistry and lasting stamina.

Last season, Pitino’s strategy peaked.

Louisville started the new year with three losses—to Western Kentucky, Minnesota and UNLV—then reeled off nine straight wins, won the Big East Conference Tournament and solidified itself as the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As he always does, Pitino caught some flack for the early blunders. As always, they were forgotten in January, February, and especially March.

It remains to be seen what Pitino’s approach will be this season.

Could the Big East’s expected drop in talent be more reason to push early? Could the higher profiles of non-conference opponents like Western Kentucky, UNLV, and Kentucky be a reason to make an early push?

Or was Louisville’s blowout of Arkansas simply a product of five Razorback suspensions, which left John Pelphrey’s depleted roster full of walk-ons and golfers?

The answer lies somewhere in the middle.

"This team is very good," Pitino said. "We're nowhere near our potential, and it's the best we've ever looked since I've been here in an opening game. My teams are very tough to watch the first few games of the season."

Six Cardinals scored in double figures against Arkansas—two more than last season’s opener against Morehead State. But the biggest contribution of the night came from one of the most unlikely of suspects.

Senior guard Reginald Delk, a Mississippi State transfer, racked up a game high 20 points off the bench in only 22 minutes. Delk’s previous career high was 10 points.

Louisville also got 12 points from senior Edgar Sosa and 10 from sophomore Jared Swopshire. Sosa averaged just over seven points per game last season while seeking a defensive identity. Swopshire averaged just one point.

No matter what crazy lineup Pitino threw at Arkansas, no matter what the substitution pattern was to keep the game close, Delk, Sosa and Swopshire threw it all off with—surprise, surprise—production.

However, Pitino did try his best to make Louisville’s first contest worthwhile. He started Delk and guard Preston Knowles out of the half, and the Razorbacks rallied from 14 down to make is a 48-45 game.

That didn’t last long, as by the time the next media timeout started, Louisville was up 65-48.

The Cardinals went on to blowout the Razorbacks and hold star shooter Rotnei Clarke, fresh off a 51-point performance against Alcorn State, to 16 points. That's with a roster that contains five freshman and five sophomores.

"I think it's just the result of us putting very few things in and getting better at what we put in earlier in the year," Pitino said. "We had to keep it very basic."

Pitino constantly tears his team down, claiming they can’t play defense early in the season.

The fact that he hasn’t yet mentioned the Cardinals’ inabilities may signal the underrated potential of this years squad.

And instead of leaving the early season with some noticeable scars, the Cardinals could be ready to provide Western Kentucky, UNLV, and Kentucky with some non-conference scares.

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No Tobias Harris, No Problem for Syracuse Orange

Dan Kelley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:36:27 -0500

One of the major benefits of having a hall of fame head coach like Jim Boeheim is that you’re never short on talented young hoopsters who want to come play for your school.

That’s why there’s no reason for Orange fans to sweat mega-prospect, Tobias Harris’ announcement tonight that he will play his college basketball at Tennessee rather than Syracuse.

Of course, nobody is happy about missing out on ESPN.com’s seventh ranked high school senior. That would be absurd. At the end of the day though, Harris opting for creamsicle orange just opens things up for some other elite high schooler to wear the Syracuse shade of orange.

That may not happen in the 2010 class though. The Orange already have one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, and Jim Boeheim could just tuck that scholarship away for next season’s class. Right now, four high school seniors are committed to play for Syracuse next year, three of whom are listed among ESPN.com’s top 100.

The future Orange stars already committed are third ranked shooting guard, Dion Waiters; second ranked center, Fab Melo; 12th ranked small forward C.J. Fair and 14th ranked center Baye Moussa Keita.

Fair, in particular, is one reason not to worry too much about losing Harris. The 6’7, 196 pound Fair looks like the prototypical Syracuse forward that Boeheim recruits every year. He has long arms, a lot of athleticism and the ability to step out and shoot the three-ball. He could develop into a terrific player that will make Syracuse forget all about Harris.

The rest of Syracuse's 2010 class is equally as solid.

Waiters, a 6’4 combo guard, will have an opportunity to step in and start at the two-guard spot immediately, replacing the graduating Andy Rautins. Waiters will bring a very different game to the position than Rautins does though, with the ability to drive to the basket in addition to being able to knock down a jumper. His size, strength and explosive athleticism is going to make him a very dangerous scorer for the Orange next season.

The big story that had Syracuse in the recruiting spotlight this offseason though, was the commitment of the seven-foot Brazilian center Melo.

Like Waiters, Melo will have a chance to step into a starting role immediately next year, with Syracuse losing Arinze Onuaku after this season. He’ll bring a smooth jumper and an advanced offensive repertoire for a young big man. He’ll also be an intimidating presence at the back of Syracuse’s 2-3 zone.

Coming in somewhat under-the-radar is another big man, Baye Moussa Keita of Oak Hill Academy. With Melo expected to be able to contribute immediately, Keita may find himself buried on the depth chart next year.

Keita will likely redshirt, but he could end up being a great player with time to develop. Since Melo is unlikely to be a four year player, Keita will certainly get his chance somewhere down the road.

These four high school stars make up what is already the fourth ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2010. Tobias Harris would have been a terrific addition, which may have pushed them to number one, but with or without him the Orange won’t be hurting for talent any time soon.

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Finally No. 1: West Virginia Proud...Uh Er Not?

Scott Pauley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:32:40 -0500

The West Virginia Mountaineers have finally received the credit they deserve.

Unfortunately, it’s not quite the look I was going for.

According to SI.Com —Sports Illustrated online—the fans in West Virginia have been voted No. 1, when it comes to the rudest fans at a home game.

I am not so sure that I can agree with that. What I can agree with is the fact that the student section—Mountaineer Maniacs—can get a little out of hand.

However, even the Maniacs do quite well at showing hospitality during the actual game.

I have never seen the Old Gold clad youngsters—in recent years—disrespect the visiting team nor its’ fans, during the respective, collective activities.

Allow me to refer to a recent column of mine dated Oct. 25, 2009, “UConn: Welcome to Wild, Wonderful, Well-Mannered West Virginia—The Fans.”

Now this is just a smidgen of the entire article that I wrote exclaiming my appreciation of the WVU fans—including the Mountaineer Maniacs.

" …I have never been as proud—of all of the Mountaineer fans—as I am, following the game in Morgantown on Oct. 24, 2009. The visiting UConn Huskies had just lost their star corner back, Jasper Howard, to a violent incident the prior Saturday.

"After a record-setting victory performance against Louisville, Howard was stabbed to death, following a Homecoming Dance on the UConn campus.The UConn team and fans came to Milan Puskar Stadium with more than heavy hearts—having not even laid to rest the body of their fallen teammate, friend, and brother. The Mountaineer fans, including the student section—Mountaineer Maniacs—were more than affable…"

I don’t know who was included in the voting for the SI.com. It was apparently “fans” from various schools and conferences.

I did not get asked to vote. I did not even know this poll was taking place.

Many folks may say that there is no bad publicity. I can agree to a certain extent.

However, when the publicity is negative toward the Mountaineer Faithful, it hurts.

For, I am one.

I did not play any sports for WVU so; I cannot take credit for contributing to the major success of the football team. Nor can I take credit for a trip to the “Elite Eight”.

As a matter of fact, I did not attend WVU so; I cannot take credit for helping gain the title of No. 1 party school, either—on more than one occasion.

Nevertheless, I am a Mountaineer!

We are good people. Don’t let some poll, dreamed up by CNN, influence what you think about West Virginia.

Come see us! You’ll be quite surprised! We love each other and we love you, even if you beat us.

We should be No. 1.

We’ll let you decide the category.

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Top Prospect Tobias Harris Picks Tennessee, Spurns Syracuse

Dan Kelley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:06:30 -0500

A top prospect in the class of 2010, Tobias Harris finally made his decision tonight, choosing to play his college basketball at the University of Tennessee over the likes of Syracuse, West Virginia, Louisville and Kentucky.

The 6-8, 220-pound forward made his announcement at the ESPN Zone in New York City, surrounded by a crowd of fans hoping he would choose to wear Syracuse's orange rather than Tennessee's. In fact, the Syracuse-slanted crowd booed the decision.

"I liked the family atmosphere, the campus," he said. "It was a place I could imagine going to if I wasn't playing basketball. I can talk to coach [Bruce] Pearl about anything."

He joins shooting guard, and fellow ESPN Top 100 recruit, Jordan McRae as well as shooting guard Trae Golden in Tennessee's 2010 recruiting class.

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Marquette Gets Last Minute Signing From PG Reggie Smith

Mark Strotman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:41:59 -0500

Buzz Williams and Marquette received some great news at the end of Wednesday night’s early signing period, as Illinois point guard Reggie Smith signed his letter of intent to play for the Golden Eagles. The signing came unexpectedly to most, despite Marquette’s involvement with Smith in the recruiting process.

The 6′1″ point guard seems to fit the mold exactly for what Williams is looking in a point guard. Smith’s speed sets him apart and his ability to play in transition will get him on the court sooner than later. In terms of offensive sets, Smith lives off driving to the basket to get his shots. He is still raw and has to work better at getting his teammates the ball off the dribble, but the talent is there for him to do that.

If you were on the fence on whether or not to go to Marquette Madness in 2010, Smith’s signing alone should push you over the edge. Why? Smith is one of the best dunkers in the 2010 class and has a knack to flush it home when he gets to the rim. He takes his fair share of layups, but any chance he gets to throw one down, he does.

Defensively, Smith has good size for a point guard “6′1″, 175 lbs.) and uses it very well against defenders. A high-end motor keeps him on his man and he has room to grow with the speed that he has. That energy will get him on the court and if he continues to work hard, he could be a steal.

Overall, Smith’s game is very raw and he needs to hone in his athleticism. Sometimes Smith’s athleticism gets him in trouble by playing out of control and trying to force things. As he slows down his game and becomes more of a true point guard, his natural position, his value will become even greater.

If it’s not too bold to say, Smith looks a lot like Dominic James with his athleticism and ability to drive. Like James, Smith can struggle with his outside shot at times but the talent and potential is there for him to improve on that part of his game.

Smith will play his senior year for Thornton High School in Harvey, IL. His AAU team, Mac Irvin Fire, was considered one of the best in Illinois last year with Smith and University of Illinois recruits Crandall Head and Jerome Richmond.

Looking to the 2010 back court, Smith is a great compliment to red-shirted freshman Junior Cadougan. More of a pass-first point guard, Cadougan will rotate with Smith at the point guard spot and create a great mismatch with the two different styles of play.

The signing of Smith most likely moves 2010 recruit Vander Blue to shooting guard, although his versatility will also allow him to handle the ball.

Ranked 105th according to Rivals.com and the 35th-best point guard according to Scout.com, Smith isn’t a top-tier recruit that pushes Marquette’s recruiting class into the top five for 2010.

However, another top-100 recruit that has the potential to blossom as he molds into a point guard is exactly what Williams was looking for to fill one of the two roster spots for next year. As usual, Williams and the Marquette staff semi-flew under the radar with the recruiting of Smith as many expected he was leaning towards USC.

After losing out on power forward Tarik Black, who ended up at Memphis, it was good to see Buzz and the staff pull out a third recruit before the early signing period was over.

With one scholarship remaining, expect Williams the Marquette staff to go hard after a big man to solidify their 2010 class. Rumors of a junior college forward have circulated to balance out the class and avoid having four freshman on the roster.

Buzz Williams has shown again that he is a great recruiter that can bring in top-100 talent and has done it again for 2010.

Last season it was easier for Buzz to bring in the talent that he did because he had so much playing time to offer, but now the recruits are coming in packs and giving great depth to a Marquette team that should compete for a Big East title in the next couple of years.

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Cincinnati-Toledo: The Rashad Bishop Show Leads Bearcats to 92-68 Win

Jux Berg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:01:18 -0500

Rashad Bishop's 20-point, eight-board, five-assist night led the way for sweet-stroking Cincinnati in a 92-68 rout of the Toledo Rockets at Fifth Third Arena.

The game was much easier to watch than the opener on Monday night, a butt-ugly 69-62 win over Prairie View A&M.

Freshman sensation Lance Stephenson showed glimpses of smoothness, finishing with 16 points (three dunks, two bombs) and a beautiful dish through Toledo's 2-3 zone to Bishop on the block that caused Kris Volpenhein to swiftly and immediately rewind his DVR to get another look.

Cincinnati (2-0, 0-0) shot the ball extremely well tonight, finishing 52 percent from the field, thanks to a balanced attack and unselfish play. Two-time all-Big East guard Deonta Vaughn dished out nine assists, while the team finished with 27 assists on its 37 made field goals.

Toledo (0-2, 0-0) had a couple of creamers of its own. Freshman guards Stephen Albrecht and Jake Barnett combined to knock down 15 of 26 from the field, including eight out of 13 triples.

Sophomore monster Yancy Gates laid down a nice Dr. Dre-type beat tonight. The 6'9" power forward began by nutting two 15-footers, one from the baseline and one from the top of the key. He then scored twice in the post on turnaround jumpers, one over each shoulder.

Larry Davis then found Yancy cutting down the lane in the second half for a giant two-hander plus the foul, as the big man finished with 14 points (6-of-8 FG), three swats, and four assists.

All in all, you've got to think head coach Mick Cronin is happy with the first two games, in terms of teaching opportunities for his young team. UC struggled against PV A&M in the opener, mainly because of horrendous offense. Too much passing around the perimeter and chucking like George Costanza.

Tonight, the 'Cats got the ball inside, attacked the offensive glass, and shared the ball well.

Cronin can't, however, be happy with his team's defense. Toledo shot 48 percent from the field tonight, including a ridiculous 11-of-21 from long range.

That will need to be tightened up in a hurry, as Cronin's crew is now heading into the Maui Invitational next week. UC will take on dangerous Vanderbilt on Monday (2 PST, ESPN2) to begin the Hawaiian excursion. Go 'Cats.

Box score

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Georgetown's Close Win Creates Long-Term Questions for Hoyas

Jarrett Carter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:09:51 -0500

They blew a lead, turned the ball over, and shot poorly from the perimeter. So you can call it a win over Temple for the Georgetown Hoyas , but what they picked up in the win column, they certainly lost in the confidence pool.

They’re young and talented, but there are no early indicators that the 20th-ranked Hoyas are anything more than an athletic bunch who will find wins at a premium on the nights when they can’t muscle the ball into the basket.

The keys to the John Thompson III offense, a credible post presence and timely three-point shooting, haven’t turned over the engine of the Hoyas’ potential through two games against Tulane and the Owls.

Where you would’ve expected the more seasoned Hoya unit to race out of the gates and prove detractors wrong, the Hoyas have lurched out to their perfect start. Against Tulane and Temple, physically inferior programs when paired with Georgetown, the Hoyas have averaged 15 turnovers and 18 personal fouls per contest. They’re averaging 28 percent from the three-point line.

Save for Greg Monroe’s consecutive double-doubles, there’s little room to expect a Hoya rise through the national rankings.

The Big East will be leaner this season than it has been in recent years, and an improved Hoyas team will be able to hang with Syracuse, Connecticut, and Louisville for a top spot in the conference and a national tournament berth. But it’s going to take a lot more efficiency from Austin Freeman and Chris Wright to make the Hoyas a dynamic offense that won’t need to lean on superb defense every night.

Gone are the days of Jeff Green’s versatility and Jonathan Wallace’s clutch shooting and floor leadership. These Hoyas have to find a new niche of athletic precision and skilled execution—particularly from behind the perimeter.

Or else it will be a long season of shortened expectations for the Hoyas.

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