Throw-Down of the Year Alert: Rakeem Christmas

By:  Shane McCarthy

Wasn’t it nice to finally get one of these aircraft carrier games played this weekend?  Well, Deshawn Stephens of San Diego St. didn’t think so, because he got absolutely thrown-down on by Rakeem Christmas. 

Aboard the USS Midway, Syracuse showed how deadly they can be in transition.  About halfway through the first half, Michael Carter-Williams was handed the ball after a rebound and immediately found C.J. Fair stretching the floor.  Fair took one dribble and proceeded to toss up a perfect alley-oop to Rakeem Christmas.  Christmas converted with a powerful two-handed throw-down over Stephens.  Would saying that he ‘Rak’d the boat’ be trying too hard?  Probably, since it is an aircraft carrier and all.  But it was a big dunk.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Throw-Down of the Year Contest

By:  Shane McCarthy

Throughout the season, this blog is going to keep track of the biggest throw-downs by Big East players.  There are no rules to enter and there will definitely be no prizes awarded.  As long as I see the dunk and deem it eligible based on its quality, it gets entered in.   And since I can’t watch every minute of every game and if I somehow miss SportCenter’s Top 10 for that day (which is all dunks for the next seven months), feel free to make me aware of what you think is a throw-down nomination.

With that out of the way, it didn’t take long at all to get our first nomination of the year.  On Friday night on Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the Armed Forces Classic, UConn Sophomore DeAndre Daniels scooted along the baseline and finished with a big throw-down over two Michigan St. players.  Sorry Adreian Payne (#5) and Derrick Nix (#25), you just got thrown-down on.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Big East 2012-13 Predictions

By:  Shane McCarthy

April seems forever ago, but the wait is finally over and the season starts tonight.  But before we get to actual games, let’s make a few more predictions to add to the excitement.

Big East Regular Season Title:  Louisville

Too much depth and experience.

Big East Tournament Title:  Syracuse

After watching UConn and Louisville streak through the tournament the last two years, it will be Cuse’s turn this year.

NCAA Tournament bids:  7

Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Georgetown

And given the seemingly wide-open nature of college basketball this year, I predict two Big East teams will make the Final Four. 

Player of the Year:  Michael Carter-Williams

I think Syracuse is going to be really good this year [again], and the reason being is going to be MCW.  He will mold into an excellent point guard who not only scores and plays excellent defense, but makes everyone on the floor better.

Rookie of the Year:  Steven Adams

There is a little bit of hype surrounding the freshmen center at Pittsburgh.  The 7 foot, 240 pound New Zealander will give opposing teams fits on both ends of the floor.

Defensive Player of the Year:  Gorgui Dieng

Every year Dieng has improved little by little.  And it looked like he was improving every game last year to the point where he became one of the best centers in the country.  He will be even better this year and will be one of the best shot blockers in the country.

Coach of the Year:  Buzz Williams

Buzz is an excellent coach who tends to get more out of his players than anyone ever expects.  I’m high on Marquette this year, while others are lukewarm, and by exceeding expectations he will earn coach of the year honors. 

All-Big East First Team

G:  Michael Carter-Williams

G:  Peyton Siva

G:  Vincent Council

F:  Gorgui Dieng

F:  Otto Porter

F:  Jack Cooley 

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Rankings Recap

By:  Shane McCarthy

I've spent the last three weeks previewing all 15 teams in the conference. And I dispensed each blog post in reverse order of how I believe they stack up against each other from #15 to #1. When I started on the second post, I realized this may not be the most effective way to look at these teams. But I started with that style and was determined to stick with it.

Anyway, it is probably best to look at these teams in groupings (or tiers). To the right you can see a more appropriate way of how I view these teams. Each tier represents teams that I believe are similar to each other. And even though I ranked them a certain way, I think you could re-order these teams within each tier in any way, and I wouldn't argue with the result.

And if I had label or describe each tier, this is what I would say:

First tier – These are the teams that will compete for the regular season championship.

Second tier – These teams are talented, but not good enough to win the Big East regular season. However, they are all good enough to catch fire and win the Big East Tournament.

Third tier – A compilation of teams that will win some big games, but will likely have just as many head-scratchers.

Fourth tier – Well, this is the basement.

At the end of the day, this is just my opinion and prediction. Four months from now I will check back and likely find that I was way off. And that’s OK, because its fun watching the season play out and constantly being surprised. Enjoy the ride.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Big East Preview: #1 Louisville Cardinals

Previewing all 15 teams from #15 to #1

By:  Shane McCarthy

After a seemingly improbable run to the Final Four, how will the Cardinals fare when a repeat trip is expected?  This team should be even better than last year’s, but the Big East and NCAA Tournament is a bear.  So before they start booking their tickets for Atlanta, they must take the season one game at a time.

Who’s Back:

Gorgui Dieng –C– Junior – 32.8 Min, 9.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.1 apg

Peyton Siva –G– Senior – 31.7 Min, 9.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.6 apg

Chane Behanan –F– Soph – 26.0 Min, 9.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 0.8 apg

Russ Smith –G– Junior – 21.5 Min, 11.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.9 apg

Wayne Blackshear –G/F– Soph – 7.0 Min, 2.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.1 apg

Kevin Ware –G– Soph – 5.3 Min, 1.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.5 apg

Angel Nunez –F– Soph – 4.6 Min, 2.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.2 apg

Incoming Recruits:

Montrezl Harrell – [Power Forward] – 6 foot 7, 225

ESPN’s 90^th ranked player and 18^th ranked Power Forward

Rivals.com’s 82^nd ranked player and 20^th ranked Power Forward

Incoming Transfers:

Luke Hancock – [Guard/Forward] – 6 foot 5, 190

Luke, a transfer from George Mason who was forced to sit out the 2011-12 season, will now be an integral part of a title contender.  As a sophomore at George Mason, he averaged 10.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 4.3 apg, and led the team to a 27-7 record and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2010-11.  Coach Pitino has named him co-captain of this year’s squad (along with Peyton Siva) and is expecting big things from him.  “Luke Hancock has been great this year.”  Coach Pitino said.  “He’s our best basketball player.  He’s mentally the best player on the team and physically the best player on the team.  He’s a true basketball player in every sense of the word.”  So expect Luke to be more than just a role player for the Cards this season.  

Who’s Out:  Kyle Kuric, Chris Smith, Rakeem Buckles, Jared Swopshire 

Overview:

When you bring back this much talent from a team that went to the Final Four the previous year – expectations are naturally going to run high, and rightfully so.  If they could do it last year, they should be able to do it again.  Consistency is huge in college basketball, and that is why the Cards are the #2 ranked team in both preseason polls.

It’s fair to expect a Final Four run, and it’s also fair to expect improvements from last season.  They no doubt struggled in the middle of the season and there seemed to be a point where getting into the NCAAs was in jeopardy.  They ended up finishing 11^th in the Big East in scoring and 155^th in the country.   Much of the struggles can be attributed to sloppy play, but injuries also played a role.

Injuries cannot be predicted, but for what it’s worth – the Cards are entering the 2012-13 season healthy.   Last year they played much of the regular season without Wayne Blackshear, a highly touted recruit who was rehabbing a shoulder injury.  When he finally got on the court towards the end of conference play, he struggled.  But on the big stage against Kentucky in the Final Four he showed his potential by going for nine points and four rebounds in just 14 minutes of playing time. 

And the sloppy play from a year ago should be minimized as Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng continue to improve and the young guys have a year of experience.  I already mentioned Blackshear, but Chane Behanan is another player who improved as the season went along and who could be in line for a massive year. 

However, the erratic, sloppy and unpredictable play of Russ Smith does return.  He’s had some ridiculous (aka russdiculous) moments in his career, but his work ethic and burst he brings off the bench is uncanny.  Expect some great moments with an equal amount of head-slapping moments. 

As for the newcomers, Luke Hancock will likely have the biggest impact.  He is a transfer from George Mason who is expected to claim the starting spot that was filled by Kyle Kuric last year.  I tried to find a bad thing said about Hancock, and I failed.  Pitino and all of his former coaches have nothing but great things to say about him.  He’s intelligent, trustworthy, and athletic, has great awareness and can make the big shots.  He sounds like the ideal basketball player.   Montrezl Harrell is a highly recruited incoming freshman who will provide front court depth.

Not only does Louisville have essentially the same roster that went to the Final Four a year ago who is expected to get back there again this year, but Coach Pitino knows a little something about getting to back-to-back Final Fours.  He did it in the 90s at Kentucky.  And he knows it’s no easy task.  There are definitely those who worry that this team was too erratic and untrustworthy last year to be making such bold predictions before the season even starts.  But there are those (including myself) who believe this team never achieved their full potential last year.  They waited until the Big East Tournament to really show off their defensive prowess with their full court press, which suffocated opponents.  They do not need to play that way every game, but when they need to, they are a different team.  Expect this team to be improved offensively (especially Behanan, Blackshear and Dieng with the addition of Hancock), to go along with their stout defense, to be one of the best teams in the country and one that is a serious contender to become national champions.      

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Big East Preview: #2 Syracuse Orange

Previewing all 15 teams from #15 to #1

By:  Shane McCarthy

Even after losing four significant contributors from last year’s squad, the Orange enter the 2012-13 campaign in the preseason top 10.  Needless to say, there is a bit of optimism surrounding this year’s team.  And rightfully so - they have veteran starters, skilled [young] role players from last year primed to step up, and another talented recruiting class.  The hype is warranted for their last year in the Big East, now it’s about delivering.

Who’s Back:

C.J. Fair –F– Junior – 26.4 Min, 8.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.9 apg

Brandon Triche –G– Junior – 22.5 Min, 9.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.6 apg

James Southerland –F– Senior – 16 Min, 6.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.4 apg

Baye Keita –F– Junior – 12.3 Min, 2.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.1 apg

Rakeem Christmas –F– Soph – 11.5 Min, 2.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.2 apg

Michael Carter-Williams –G– Soph – 10.3 Min, 2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.1 apg

Trevor Cooney –G– Redshirt Freshman 

Incoming Recruits:

DaJuan Coleman - [Center] – 6 foot 9, 275

ESPN’s 14^th ranked player and 6^th ranked Center

Rivals.com’s 26^th ranked player and 5^th ranked Center

McDonald’s All-American

Jerami Grant – [Power Forward] – 6 foot 7, 190

ESPN’s 37^th ranked player and 11^th ranked Power Forward

Rivals.com’s 64^th ranked player and 15^th ranked Power Forward

Who’s Out:  Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters, Fab Melo

Overview:

I’m still disappointed that we didn’t get a Kentucky vs. Syracuse national championship last year.  Granted it would have only been a good game if Fab Melo was playing, but he is also the reason they didn’t get that far.  Damn you Fab.  That would have been a treat, as the Orange were probably the only team in the country that could actually match up with the Wildcats.

This year’s team is deep, a nine man rotation deep - very similar to last year.  That gives Boeheim the flexibility to tinker with combinations to exploit opponents and keep his guys fresh.

Brandon Triche, who has remarkably started every game of his Syracuse career, returns for his senior year.  Triche will continue to be the steady and solid player that he has been throughout his career.

C.J. Fair, James Southerland and Baye Keita also return to provide upperclassmen experience.  Fair will start and get the most playing time of the three as he has molded into a solid forward/wing player.  He isn’t the most dominating low-post player, but he picks his spots and is an excellent shooter.  Southerland is primarily a three point threat while Keita will provide front court depth.

Joining Fair in the front court will be Rakeem Christmas and freshman DaJuan Coleman.  Neither are the true center that Fab Melo was nor will they be the defensive force that he morphed into last year (earning him Big East Defensive Player of the Year recognition), but both are better all-around players than he was.  The combination of Christmas, Coleman and Fair will wear down opposing front courts and keep penetrators at bay.

Most of the buzz entering this year is over Michael Carter-Williams, and rightfully so.  MCW didn’t find the court much as a freshman, but will now take over the driver’s seat and assume the starting point guard role.  There isn’t a thing I can say about him that hasn’t been discussed all summer long: he’s long and fits into the 2-3 zone perfectly, has incredible handles, great vision, deep range, lightning quick slashing ability and can throw it down.  Pretty much – he will be the most exciting player on the court no matter who the Orange are playing.  And it seems plausible that the Orange will go as far as he takes them.

The rotation will be rounded out by Trevor Cooney, a redshirt freshman, and Jerami Grant, an incoming freshman. Cooney has been labeled as a sharpshooter, but Boeheim insists he is more than that.  While Grant is a tall, lanky forward who will factor in the front court/wing rotation.  Both these guys will likely be counted on to be more than role players, and will see extended minutes each game.

For their last year in the Big East, Boeheim has once again reloaded this team to compete for a championship.  On paper, this team looks to be very talented, Final Four worthy talented.  But of course there will be questions as this team will have a very different look from last year and will be counting on a number of young guys to contribute.  They likely won’t repeat their 17-1 conference mark from last season, but another big year looks to be on the horizon for the Orange.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Big East Preview: #3 Marquette Golden Eagles

Previewing all 15 teams from #15 to #1

By:  Shane McCarthy

It is easy to predict a down year for Marquette.  They lost the Big East Player of the Year and one of the most dynamic scoring duos in the nation that combined to score 48% of the team’s points last year.  If you are of the view that Marquette is due for a regression this year – you are mistaken.  Buzz Williams should never be doubted, and he is poised to surprise again. 

Who’s Back:

Junior Cadougan –G– Senior – 28.6 Min, 6.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 5.4 apg

Vander Blue –G– Junior – 25.7 Min, 8.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.6 apg

Jamil Wilson –F– Junior – 24.1 Min, 7.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg

Davante Gardner –F– Junior – 19.1 Min, 9.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.7 apg

Derrick Wilson –G– Soph – 8.8 Min, 0.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.7 apg

Juan Anderson –F– Soph – 4.5 Min, 0.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.2 apg

Chris Otule –C– Senior – 17.8 Min, 5.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.1 apg (returning from an ACL tear after only playing in eight games last season) 

Incoming Recruits:

Jamal Ferguson – [Small Forward/Guard] – 6 foot 4, 180

ESPN’s 61^st ranked Small Forward

Rivals.com’s 134^th ranked player and 31^st ranked Shooting Guard

Steve Taylor – [Small Forward] – 6 foot 7, 200

ESPN’s 84^th ranked player and 22^nd ranked Small Forward

Rivals.com’s 109^th ranked player and 24^th ranked Power Forward

Incoming Transfers:

Trent Lockett – [Guard] – 6 foot 5, 210

Trent, a senior transfer from Arizona State who will be eligible immediately, is an attacking guard who can potentially fill the void left by Darius Johnson-Odom.  He averaged 13.0 ppg and 5.8 rpg for the Sun Devil last season, earning him All-Pac-10 Second Team honors. 

Jake Thomas – [Guard] – 6 foot 3, 200

Jake played for St. Catherine’s, winning two WIAA Division 3 championships, before becoming a two-year starter at the University of South Dakota.  He averaged 13.4 ppg with the South Dakota Coyotes and is known for his shooting capabilities, but his ball-handling and all-around athletic ability will be on display as well.   

Who’s Out:  Jae Crowder, Darius Johnson-Odom, Todd Mayo, Jamail Jones

Overview:

It is not groundbreaking analysis to state that the loss of Crowder and DJO is a significant negative for the Golden Eagles.  They both developed into extremely talented players who scored half of Marquette’s points last year.  That’s insane.  But with their eligibility now expired, the Eagles are forced to move on without them.

The big question being asked heading into the 2012-13 season is: Who will replace that production?

That doesn’t seem to be a fair question.  Just because there weren’t other significant scorers on the team last year, doesn’t mean those same players returning can’t be the answer.  With Crowder and DJO dropping over 35 a game last year, it was the law of attrition that prevented others from filling up the stat sheet on a consistent basis.

While there is talent on this roster, there is no reason to believe or expect that two guys will step up and average ~18 ppg.  While that would be ideal, it’s not needed.  Marquette has enough skill spread throughout to keep them competitive.

It starts in the front court where Davante Gardner, Jamil Wilson and Chris Otule are all above average players.  And if more than one of them can stay healthy for the entire season, they have the potential to be a terrorizing force. Both Gardner and Otule showed t glimpses, but neither was on the court for the full year.  Both are healthy heading into the season and need to keep it that way.

Like the front court, the back court is just as talented.  Junior Cadougan, Vander Blue and Derrick Wilson may not be household names (much like the front court), but they are a lethal bunch.  And if I were to pick one returning player to have a significant jump in production, it would be Blue.  He was ESPN’s 31^st ranked player in the class of 2010 who has yet to live up to full potential.

However, it could be senior transfer from Arizona State Trent Lockett, who eventually has the biggest impact.  Earning All-Pac 10 Second Team honors is not the most glorified recognition in the country, but his size and style of play make him a good fit to assume the DJO role.  He was a great grab for Buzz Williams, and could be this team’s X-factor.

Unfortunately, Todd Mayo has been ruled academically ineligible for the year and it is suspected that he will likely leave the program.  Mayo’s brief career was a rocky one, but he was the team’s best three point threat.  With his absence, incoming recruits Jamal Ferguson and Steve Taylor will provide needed depth in the back and front court respectively.

It’s no doubt going to take some getting used to watching Marquette play without Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom.  Those are big pieces to replace, and that means everyone needs to step up and contribute.  The Golden Eagles have the roster to do that and then some.  Year after year it seems that Marquette is consistently underrated (at least until mid-February when they gain respect and become everyone’s sexy Final Four pick), and this year is no different.  I believe they surprise once again, but this year they do it with more of a collective effort. 

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac