Lots of stuff to go through over the next day or two. From the NY Times:
With the Villanova and Connecticut rosters having been decimated by defections to the N.B.A., it is the Panthers and the Hoyas who look like the class of the conference. Both are returning many of the players from 2005-6 teams that were not quite good enough to steal the spotlight.
“This conference has two great teams this year, and they are Pitt and Georgetown,†Louisville Coach Rick Pitino said.
In the league’s coaches’ poll, Pitt received the top ranking with 10 first-place votes; Georgetown was close behind with four first-place votes and 212 points. Syracuse and Marquette each received one first-place vote.
A big reason Pittsburgh is expected to go far this season is the 7-foot senior center Aaron Gray, who was named preseason player of the year. Gray, who played in only 15 games as a freshman, has developed into a dominating inside presence who is skilled offensively and defensively. Gray probably would have been a first-round N.B.A. draft pick had he elected to leave Pittsburgh after last season, but he said he did not want to miss the chance to accomplish something special.
“I sat down with every teammate individually, and I told them if I come back, these are my goals,†Gray said. “I wanted to make sure they were on the same page with me. I told them, coming sixth in the Big East isn’t good enough. Getting to the Big East championship game isn’t good enough. Losing in the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament isn’t good enough. I wanted to know that everyone was willing to work hard to surpass those numbers. So far, everyone has shown me that they are.â€
Then there’s this list of top sleepers expected to emerge this season.
3. Ronald Ramon, Jr., Pittsburgh, 6-1, 180
Carl Krauser, Pitt’s longtime leader, is gone. That means we are going to find out just how underrated Ramon has been. Unlike Krauser, Ramon does a good job setting up his teammates and uses good shot selection. In his first year as a starter last season, he led the team with a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, shot 51 percent from 3-point range in league games and scored in double figures in seven of the last 10 games. Now placed in a more assertive role, Ramon’s high basketball I.Q. and versatile skills will be showcased more.
And stay healthy.
The hype is hard to avoid Moe, but I’m confident in a very tough Big East (as well as a tough OOC schedule) if they truly bought into this hype and aren’t living up to it, they will get smacked into shape pretty quickly after a few bad losses.
I love what Aaron Gray said. I love wathcing him play. His best asset in my opinion is how well he positions himself on the inside. I can’t wait for the season to start, its going to be great.
They’ll need both to step up this year, though, and I think they will. Honestly, I would have liked them to have gotten more touches last year, but there’s no sense rehashing that.
Anyway, certainly looking forward to finding out. Would very many of us say we could have expected these laurels two years ago? I actually had some real doubts, myself.
