DeCourcy slams Marquette; media updates

The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy is at it again.

In case you missed it yesterday DeCourcy called out Marquette as a burden on the Big East while the conference looks to re-invent itself as a stronger BCS member. In the article DeCourcy argues that the Big East made a mistake by adding Marquette and DePaul in 2005 because their membership complicates the league's current expansion pursuits. Further he presumes that the conference's legacy members "must be regretting" the 2005 expansion.

Really? I disagree and wonder why Marquette is the Big East's burden rather than Providence, Seton Hall or DePaul (which he also calls out in the article to a lesser degree). Marquette's unquestioned commitment to the hoops program and competitive athletics across the board is the standard by which these other universities are compared. DeCourcy is assigning a perverse value to conference longevity. That should never be the a driver for evaluating a program's relative contribution and value to its league. Further, it remains unclear whether basketball-only schools, legacy or not, negatively impact the conference's current effort to double-down on football.

DeCourcy defended himself this morning on The Doug and Mike Show on 1250 WSSP-Milwaukee. Check it out here. Nice job by Doug Russell to land this interesting interview.

The MUScoop community is all over this one. What kind of backhanded snipes will DeCourcy make in two years when we win the Big East Championship? Yeah, we went there!

And now for additional updates on Marquette hoops from around the Interwebs:

• Bob Wolfley churns out a memorable piece on Maurice Lucas in the Journal-Sentinel, detailing Luke's decision to forgo his senior season at Marquette for the ABA.
• Jeff Goodman previews the Big East and picks MU as the league's 5th best team. Vander Blue is his rookie of the year.
• Kyle Franko from Pressbox previews MU's season including a best and worst-case scenario.
  
• The Marquette Tribune evaluates the 2010-2011 Warriors in their annual basketball preview. The main landing page is here -- look for links to the various articles below.
• Marquette is recruiting a German big man who is prepping in Delafield, Wisconsin. Milwaukee has excellent German cuisine, big fella. Here's a bit more on Martin Breunig.
• MU graduate Dominic James was named the player of the week in the Bulgarian league.
• MU graduate David Cubillan led his team to the pro title in Venezuela, scoring 17 in the deciding game.
• Can you speak Italian? If so, here's Travis Diener.

Quick media update

With the Kansas State scrimmages on tap this weekend -- not open to the public mind you, which stinks since it'd be outstanding to see how MU tries to match up with the ridiculously talented Michael Beasley -- here are a few articles to check out:

• Todd Rosiak reports that MU received a scare last week when freshman power forward was injured in practice. Turns out the 6'7" frosh was forced to miss just four practices and will play today against the Wildcats.
• The always solid Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News ranks MU #14 in his pre-season poll. In the article, DeCourcy notes that TC will rely heavily on Ousmane Barro to patrol the middle.
• Big East Basketball report slots the 'Cuse in at #4 in the league. The guess here is that MU will come in at #3 any day now.
• Regarding Tyshawn Taylor, it makes sense to watch Canadian PG Devoe Joseph's situation. Joseph, a 6'2" point guard, is considering Virginia Tech, KU, Vandy and Minnesota. Should Joseph decide on either KU or Virginia Tech, two programs after Tyshawn Taylor, perhaps Taylor looks harder at another suitor.

MU news and notes

Let's start with Dominic James. The always insightful Mike DeCourcy offers fresh perspective on James' draft status in his latest blog -- and makes a strong case for DJ to stick around for at least another year:

Worrying about draft position -- and relying on draft websites to dictate what that position might be -- is a huge mistake for a young prospect. It's the same silliness being pitched at Marquette's Dominic James now, that if he doesn't enter the draft this year there'll be lots of talented point guards in the next draft to make him less coveted. It's ridiculous.

James' sophomore season was below what he's capable of producing. Given his extraordinary athleticism and skills, there is no reason to believe he would not be a more valuable prospect if he were to return and perform to his standards. Being the first point guard last year did not get Rajon Rondo off the board until the 21st pick. A dearth of point guard talent is not going to make James desirable; improved performance is.

I somewhat get DeCourcy's point on Rondo - - but if the goal was to be a first round pick and secure that guaranteed contract, its hard to argue with Rondo's decision. And for what its worth, at UK Rondo struggled to shoot the ball far more than James ever has, though the Celtics rookie had other advantages to his game (ie: he's 6'1 and was a near-lockdown defender collegiately).

In other news, Todd Rosiak wraps up his updates on the incoming 2007 freshman class with a look at Trevor Mbakwe. I can't wait to see what this kid can do on the floor this fall.

CollegeHoops.net takes a very early look at best teams for 2008, and slots MU in at #12.