You look at the teams and talent in this league and you can only say wow. This could be the best conference top to bottom in the history of college basketball. Talented bigs? Luke Harangody, Hasheem Thabeet, DeJuan Blair, Earl Clark, check. Floor leaders? Levance Fields, Jonny Flynn, Dominic James, AJ Price, check. It's going to be a dogfight once conference play opens and the team who survives and excels will be the team that wins the regular season conference title. The tournament is up for grabs because all sixteen teams are in and if you get hot, you can make a run.
You must start with the top tier teams of the conference in Connecticut, Notre Dame, and Louisville. UCONN has another potent three guard lineup with AJ Price, Jerome Dyson, and McDonalds All-American Kemba Walker. Up front is Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet. They may get hit on the offensive boards, but their speed will be the difference because they can control the tempo. Add Stanley Robinson from his hiatus in December and your looking at a Final Four possibility.
Notre Dame has the inside-outside combination of Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney. Throw in Tory Jackson, Luke Zeller, and the underrated Zach Hillesland to create a smart, veteran, and talented core. The Irish were stymied by the stingy Washington State defense last March and are motivated to move past that and into the Sweet 16. This is Mike Brey's most talented team to date.
Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals also boast depth and talent. In the backcourt are veterans Andre McGee and the sweet shooting Jerry Smith. Edgar Sosa looms on the bench after a season in Pitino's doghouse. If Sosa can find his game, then the team will take off. Earl Clark and freshman Samardo Samuels will carry the load upfront. Athletic freshman big Terrance Jennings could be a darkhorse contributor off that bench as well.
Even with those talented teams, Pittsburgh (Levance Fields, DeJuan Blair, Sam Young), Syracuse (Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf, Marquette (Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, Wes Matthews, and Villanova (Scottie Reynolds, Corey Stokes, Dante Cunningham) have the talent to play big-time basketball. The talent is sublime and it will be an absolute treat to watch the conference this season.
DISCLAIMER: Every lower ranked team has the potential and talent to move up. That's West Virginia, Georgetown, Cincinnati, DePaul etc.
1. Connecticut, 2. Notre Dame, 3. Louisville, 4. Pittsburgh, 5. Marquette, 6. Syracuse, 7. Georgetown, 8. Villanova, 9. Cincinnati, 10. West Virginia, 11. Rutgers, 12. DePaul, 13. South Florida, 14. St. Johns, 15. Providence, 16. Seton Hall
Awards Section:
Player of the Year: Sam Young, F, Pittsburgh
Freshman of the Year: Samardo Samuels, F, Louisville
Most Improved Player: Chris Wright, G, Georgetown
Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
All-Big East 1st Team:
C Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
PF Earl Clark, Louisville
SF Sam Young, Pittsburgh
SG AJ Price, Connecticut
PG Jonny Flynn, Syracuse
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