Big East Basketball: 2010-2011 Season Preview
College Basketball has never been an easy sport to predict by any means, but now that the sport has entered the one and done era, it’s become even tougher to pick out which teams are truly worthy of elite status.
The Big East doesn’t look to have that one true standout team this season. The conference instead looks open for the taking, and there seems to be about five or six teams capable of making a legitimate run to the top.
Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Georgetown, Villanova and West Virginia all have what it takes to win the league, and there are also a few dark horses like St. John and Seton Hall lurking.
West Virginia proved to be the Big East’s top team last season, but the Mountaineers lost some key pieces and could defer the favorite role to arch rival Pittsburgh as we head into this new season.
Let’s take a look at how all 16 Big East teams are shaping up for the upcoming 2010-2011 season.
Cincinnati Bearcats
1 of 16
Head Coach Mick Cronin will have to find a way to replace his entire backcourt after the departures of four-year starting point guard Deonta Vaughn and current Indiana Pacer Lance Stephenson, who were the team’s top two scorers a year ago.
Cincinnati will have to lean on forwards Yancy Gates and Rashard Bishop to contribute in the scoring department, but it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if the team’s offensive woes carry over from last season.
The Bearcats ranked near the bottom of the Big East with just 68 points per game last year, and even though Cronin’s crew plays sound defense, they're going to need to put the ball in the basket more often if they want to improve on last year's 19-16 record.
Connecticut Huskies
2 of 16
Coach Jim Calhoun has been a lightning rod for criticism amid NCAA allegations that his staff committed major rules infractions recently.
Calhoun now has some adversity to face both on and off the court as he tries to figure out a way to return the Huskies back to the top of the Big East with just one of his four key scorers returning from a year ago.
That one player, junior point guard Kemba Walker, does happen to be one of the top players in the conference, and he has the playmaking skills and scoring prowess to carry the Huskies when times get tough.
Still, UCONN will need others to emerge, and the team will need guys like forward Alex Oriakhi to perform better on the offensive end.
DePaul Blue Demons
3 of 16
Former Clemson coach Oliver Purnell is known as a program builder, but the undertaking he’s been given as the new leader of DePaul is a steep one to say the least.
The Blue Devils are a combined 1-35 in Big East play over the last two seasons, and it doesn’t look like a big turnaround is waiting right around the corner.
This team lacks talent, and they’ve often times looked inept on offense, finishing dead last in the Big East with 61 points a game last year.
Purnell is surely up for the challenge, but it’s is definitely a daunting one that will take time and patience to overcome.
.png?w=256 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
Georgetown Hoyas
4 of 16
Don’t count out Georgetown from Big East title competition just because talented center Greg Monroe decided to leave school early to become a top ten pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
The Hoyas return their four other starters from a team that finished 23-11 last year. That includes the talented, experienced backcourt of Austin Freeman and Chris Wright, which looks to be the best in the Big East.
The two senior guards averaged a combined 32 points per game last year, but that was with Monroe manning the middle and garnering attention.
Forwards Julian Vaughn and Hollis Thompson will need to replicate Monroe's presence.
Louisville Cardinals
5 of 16
Samardo Samuels’ decision to leave Louisville early for the NBA didn't turn out to be good for either Samuels nor the Cardinals. Samuels, who led the team in points and rebounds per game last year, ultimately went undrafted and in turn left Rick Pitino’s frontcourt with a gaping hole to fill.
Pitino will turn to 6‘8" junior forward Jared Swopshire, the team’s only returning full time starter, to help ease the loss.
Swopshire will be joined by forward Terrence Jennings and new point guard Peyton Siva—two talented yet largely unproven pieces to Pitino's puzzle.
Marquette Golden Eagles
6 of 16
Marquette exceeded expectations last year in Buzz Williams’ second season as head coach. Williams guided the Golden Eagles to an 11-7 league mark and a 22-12 overall record in route to a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The team’s success had a lot to do with Lazar Hayward, who left the school as the second leading scorer in school history. Hayward will be missed but there’s enough talent returning to make another run at the tournament.
Skilled swingman Jimmy Butler, who averaged 14 points and six rebounds as a junior, will be joined by red hot three-point shooter Darius Johnson-Odom and a cast of up and coming contributors, as Marquette looks to continue their sustained success in the Big East.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7 of 16
The Luke Harangody era at Notre Dame is now officially over.
That means it’s time for coach Mike Brey to move on and a find a new identity for his team that doesn’t revolve around the former star.
The Irish did get an early chance to adapt to life without Harangody during last season when the forward was battling injuries. The team moved to a more defensive-oriented philosophy that they’ll likely try to implement again this season.
The new go to players for this team look to be a pair of seniors, Tim Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough, who combined to average 28 points a game last season.
Pittsburgh Panthers
8 of 16
We keep waiting for Pittsburgh to have that one true letdown season, yet it never seems to happen. Jamie Dixon is one of the best and most consistent head coaches in the country, and he just finished possibly doing his best work last season, leading a Panthers team picked ninth in the preseason conference rankings to a 25-9 record.
The Panthers will now play the role of the favorite as they are most people’s pick to win the conference this year.
Junior Ashton Gibbs, who led the team with 15 points a game last year, is the definite star of the show, but players like Brad Wanamaker, Dante Taylor and Gilbert Brown will also be vital to the team’s success.
Providence Friars
9 of 16
The phrase “defense wins championships” is usually more apropos to football than it is basketball. And you can certainly bet that the Providence Friars are thankful for that.
Providence was one of the worst defensive teams in college basketball last season, allowing a staggering 82 points per game.
The sad part for Friar fans?
Things probably won’t get much better this season. Coach Keno Davis has a lot of work to do, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Providence finished in the basement of the Big East this year.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
10 of 16
It looks like new head coach Mike Rice is capable of doing some pretty nice things in the future with this Rutgers program. But that doesn’t change the fact that there just isn’t a lot to work with right now.
The team’s top scorer from a year ago, Mike Rosario, transferred to Florida, and the returning players don’t look to offer much in the way of offense.
Forward Jonathan Mitchell is the only player on the team who averaged double figures last season.
Rice will have to make sure this year’s team locks it down on defense, if they hope to survive in Big East play.
Seton Hall Pirates
11 of 16
After failing to lead the Pirates to the NCAA Tournament in three tries, Bobby Gonzalez is out as head coach and Kevin Willard is in.
Willard inherits a strong group of talented players, who look to be on the cusp of making some noise in the conference if they can play together as a steady unit.
Jeremy Hazell is the offensive leader of the team and finished as the third leading scorer in the Big East last season with 20 points per game.
Hazell and Jordan Theodore make up a quality backcourt while Herb Pope and Jeff Robinson look to dominate in the frontcourt.
South Florida Bulls
12 of 16
Electric guard Dominique Jones is off to the NBA and with him could go the Bulls chances of making it back to postseason action.
Coach Stan Heath has to find a way to replace Jones’ 21 points per game—a task that won’t be easy and can’t be solved with one single player.
Heath will rely on big men Jarrid Famous and Augustus Gilchrist, who are both over 6‘10", to carry the team while the backcourt gets settled.
It’s doubtful that the Bulls will make another run at a 20 win season, but just how far they fall remains to be seen.
St. John’s Red Storm
13 of 16
Former UCLA coach Steve Lavin heads to New York to take over a St. John’s team that is one of the most experienced groups in the Big East this season.
All five starters return from a Red Storm team that went 17-16 and made it to the NIT last year.
Swingman D.J. Kennedy, who averaged 15 points and six rebounds last season, is undoubtedly the biggest impact player, but Lavin has a lot of other talent to work with.
If the coach can get some scoring out of players like Dwight Hardy, Justin Brownlee and Paris Horne—this St. John’s team might be good enough to get a tournament bid.
Syracuse Orange
14 of 16
Goodbye Wes Johnson; Hello Kris Joseph!
That has to be the mindset coach Jim Boeheim has after watching his star player, Wesley Johnson, declare early for the NBA after just one season at Syracuse.
His replacement—Kris Joseph, a 6‘7" junior forward—is one of the most talented players in the Big East, but he didn’t get a full opportunity to prove it last year as a reserve player playing in the shadows of guys like Johnson and Andy Rautins.
Joseph now joins up with fellow up and comer Scoop Jardine to give the Orange a dangerous 1-2 punch.
Villanova Wildcats
15 of 16
A loss to St. Mary’s in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament isn’t what coach Jay Wright and his No. 2-seeded Villanova team envisioned at the beginning of their tournament run.
All the Wildcats can do now though is learn from the defeat and improve.
It may be hard to improve with loss of do everything point guard Scottie Reynolds, whose been the unquestioned leader of the team for the last few seasons. But the Wildcats may have someone capable of filling Reynold’s large void in senior Corey Fisher.
Fisher has the intangibles, skills and court sense to keep Villanova in contention for a Big East Championship.
West Virginia Mountaineers
16 of 16
West Virginia is coming off one of the most successful and magical basketball seasons in the school’s history. The Mountaineers run to the Final Four had the whole state in a basketball frenzy.
Coach Bob Huggins will now have to find a way to replace the team’s heart and soul, Da’Sean Butler, who led West Virginia with 17 points per game and made clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch run of the season.
Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant are the team’s most talented returnees, but there are other players like Casey Mitchell, John Flowers and Dennis Kilicli who are capable of stepping up and being counted on.
.png?w=480 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
