The Bender Bunch
Day Three of the Big East preview takes us down the dark alleys of the yellow brick road, where a handful of Big East teams are lurking with hopes of stealing away a conference title from the golden children at the top. With the talent to compete for a league crown, but just enough flaws to see it all blow up in their face, there’s good reason these guys might remind a fan of one certain Cardinal head case.
The Bender Bunch
These teams may have plenty of talent to win the whole thing, but they’re just crazy/flawed enough to find themselves in the bottom quarter of the league come conference tourney time.
West Virginia (26-11, 11-7 Big East): West Virginia’s surprise run to the Sweet 16 was the first time a first-year coach guided the Mountaineers past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Considering the rookie head man was Bob Huggins, that shouldn’t come as such a surprise. Getting back to the second weekend in 2009 would be.
With the emergence of sophomore super-stud Joe Alexander, who averaged 24.9ppg during the team’s stretch run in the conference, Huggins found a certified game changer on the offensive end. But Alexander’s early departure to the NBA has left a big void on the offensive end along with the graduation of PG Darris Nichols (10.7ppg, 3.2apg).
Enter Da’Sean Butler (12.9ppg, 6.2rpg). The junior big man is looking like Huggins’ next go-to guy early in the 08-09 season, putting up a Samardo Samuels-like 38 points and 11 rebounds in the team’s lone exhibition and following it with a 19-point, 6-rebound, 6-steal effort in the season opener against Elon. Along with Alex Ruoff (13.8ppg, 2.8apg), the Mountaineers appear to have the wings covered.
The issue will be finding someone to run the show in the absence of Nichols. Junior Joe Mazzulla appears to be the incumbent, but WVU fans expect a marked drop-off in the turnover department (the Mountaineers ranked 8th nationally by turning it over just 11.2 times per contest in 07-08) with the junior at the helm. The Mountaineers must also find bodies to hit the glass, where freshman Devin Ebanks and junior Wellington Smith will be needed ASAP.
Syracuse (21-14, 9-9): For head coach Jim Beoheim, a first glance at the Syracuse roster may look like a pre-paid ticket to a deep NCAA run. Four players return averaging better than 12 points per game and a fifth – junior G Andy Rautins – seems poised to join the group in posting a double digit average.
But a closer inspection reveals a team only interested in one side of the floor and with a high potential for bruised egos and me-first attitudes. Junior G Eric Devendorf has a well-earned reputation as a gunner and a turnover machine (12 this season in just two games), and his return from an ACL tear means more turnovers for a team that ranked 266th last season in coughing up the rock (15.9/game). It also means fewer shots for talented players like Paul Harris (14.5ppg, 8.2rpg) and Arinze Onuaku (12.7ppg, 8.1rpg). If the Orange hope to avoid a third straight NIT berth, they might want to learn a little D, where they ranked 283rd last season allowing 74.3ppg.
Sophomore G Jonny Flynn (15.7ppg, 5.3apg) may be the key, coming off his Big East Rookie of the Year season as one of the most promising point guards in the league. It will be up to Flynn to show maturity beyond his years and keep all his fellow Orangemen content on the offensive side of the floor while helping the team take better care of the ball and make a stop here and there during crunch time.
Georgetown (28-6, 15-3): Since John Thompson III arrived in the 04-05 season, all the Hoyas have known is winning. A strong defensive effort (#1 FG% defense in 07-08, #6 scoring D), efficient offense (18th in adjusted offensive efficiency, 6th in FG%), and team effort have become staples in leading the Hoyas to two straight Big East titles, a Sweet 16 (2006), and a Final Four (2007) in four short seasons.
But the departure of stalwarts Roy Hibbert, Jonathan Wallace, and glue guy Patrick Ewing, Jr. may reveal a crack or two in the Georgetown approach to winning basketball. Top 10 recruit Greg Monroe is already being counted on to replace Hibbert’s All-Big East performance, but the going won’t be easy in the physical Big East for a 6’10”, 250-pounder (who was actually listed at just 226 during his HS senior season). Similar expectations are being placed on sophomores Austin Freeman (9.1ppg, 3.0rpg) and Chris Wright (5.7ppg, 2.1apg) in the back-court, where Wallace was a steady four-year starter and the team’s best long-range shooter.
Senior G Jessie Sapp (9.7ppg, 4.1rpg, 3.2apg) and junior F DaJuan Summers (11.1ppg, 5.4rpg) will be the anchors of the team, leading the defensive attack and providing composure on the offensive end. But Georgetown’s ability to protect the rim and lock down opponents will ultimately prove the difference between an NIT postseason and a fourth straight NCAA bid.
Marquette (25-10, 11-7): For the Golden Eagles, the biggest replacement challenge won’t come from any statistical department or position (Ousmane Barro aside). For Marquette, a continued tradition of winning falls on the shoulders of new head coach Buzz Williams. The former Tom Crean assistant chose to stay on with the Eagles after his boss bolted for Indiana in the offseason, claiming the top spot in the program despite just one season of head coaching experience (a 14-17 effort for New Orleans in 06-07). Known as a top-flight recruiter, Williams will have to drastically improve his head coaching resume if Marquette plans to challenge for the Big East crown.
Helping him on that path will be one of the nation’s most talented back courts. Jerel McNeal (14.9ppg, 3.5apg, 2.2spg), Dominic James (12.9ppg, 4.4apg), and Wesley Matthews (11.3ppg, 4.4rpg) give the Eagles a matchup nightmare on the perimeter for most foes and three players who are all capable of going for 25+ any given night.
Lazar Hayward (12.6ppg, 6.5rpg) has looked strong in the team’s first two games of the season, going for 20.0ppg and 10.5rpg, but is ultimately an undersized big man who will be hard pressed to mix it up with the Big East’s best. That leaves MU once again thin up front, with the loss of Barro (5.5ppg, 5.5rpg) leaving the usually disappointing Dwight Burke (2.5ppg, 2.9rpg) as the only experienced option to match up on opposing centers.
Villanova (22-13, 9-9): In case you haven’t noticed a developing trend in the Bender Bunch, the Wildcats hammer home a very important point in the Big East. All the talented guards in the world are nice, but big men own the trophies. Just like their counterparts in Wisconsin, D.C., and New York, Nova boasts an over-abundance of talent on the perimeter but serious questions marks on the front line.
The team is led by junior G Scottie Reynolds (15.9ppg, 3.2apg), who single-handedly delivered the Wildcats to the Sweet Sixteen last year by putting up 57 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists during the team’s tourney run. He is joined in the back-court by “The Coreys” (80’s trademark infringement ignored), sophomore Fisher (9.1ppg, 2.7apg) and sophomore Stokes (6.4ppg, 2.4rpg), to give head coach Jay Wright several options.
Up front, senior Dante Cunningham has looked like a monster to begin the year, averaging 18.3ppg and 6.7rpg in the team’s first three contests. Cunningham is a serviceable big man for Big East battle, if a little on the smallish side (6’8”, 230), but will need help from the other forward/center spot. Antonio Pena has taken that responsibility early in the season as junior C Casiem Drummond deals with ongoing foot problems and senior F Shane Clark returns from knee surgery, and responded with a 10-point, 6-rebound average while shooting 78.6% from the field.
Tomorrow: The Griffith Group
