"My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That's not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk." —Al McGuire

Monday, May 16, 2005

A Look Around the Big East

A quick look at recent happenings around the Big East Conference:

  • At Marquette, Travis Diener will work out for MU grad Lawrence Frank and the New Jersey Nets. Meanwhile, point guard Rob Hanley blew out his knee, and center Mike Kinsella's feet remain a problem. At least promising recruit Jonathan Mitchell offers a positive take on his recent visit.
  • Cincinnati has decided not to renew the contract of successful yet controversial head coach Bob Huggins. Huggins has two more years left on his contract. Time for a beer, Bob.
  • Per the guys at the Pitt Sports Blather, the Big East Conference is having trouble maintaining its BCS bowl tie-ins.
  • Georgetown is losing two players via the well-worn transfer route. Freshman Cornelio Guibunda and sophomore Ray Reed. Reed played in 31 of 32 games last season for the Hoyas.
  • The rebuilding continues at St. Johns. Head coach Norm Roberts secured a verbal commitment from Qa-rraan Calhoun, one of the top PFs from the class of 2007. Calhoun hails from Raritan, NJ.
  • Seton Hall is enduring a rough off-season, with three players leaving the program. Sophomore Jamar Nutter is the latest to walk the plank, joining JR Morris and Justin Cerasoli. Cerasoli was a high school teammate of Dameon Mason's.
  • Jim Boeheim signed a contract extension at Syracuse.
  • UConn recruit Andrew Bynum will test the NBA waters in the coming weeks, but will not hire an agent.
  • Dennis Latimore ended his disappointing run at Notre Dame one year early.
  • Wilson Chandler will honor his commitment and enroll at DePaul this fall.
  • Louisville could lose three players. Louisville's top recruit, Amir Johnson, will go to the NBA if he does not meet NCAA eligibility requirements. Lorenzo Wade is already gone -- he transferred to the University of Washington. Meanwhile, incoming big man Clarence Holloway will go to a prep school if he fails to make the grade.

That's enough for one near-roundup of the expanded Big East!

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