The Pinnacle of College Hoops

First Team
Roy Hibbert- Georgetown
Luke Harangody- Notre Dame
Deonta Vaughn- Cincinnati
A.J. Price- Connecticut
Brian Laing- Seton Hall

Second Team
Sam Young- Pittsburgh
Donte Green- Syracuse
Jonny Flynn- Syracuse
Scottie Reynolds- Villanova
Kentrell Gransberry- South Florida

Third Team
DeJuan Blair- Pittsburgh
Joe Alexander- West Virginia
Dominic James- Marquette
Hasheem Thabeet- Connecticut
Terrence Williams- Louisville

Fourth Team
Jerel McNeal- Marquette
Jessie Sapp- Georgetown
Alex Ruoff- West Virginia
Eugene Harvey- Seton Hall
Geoff McDermott- Providence

Honorable Mentions
Paul Harris- Syracuse
Jeff Adrien- Connecticut
Draelon Burns- Depaul
Dominique Jones- South Florida
Rob Kurz- Notre Dame

All Freshmen Team
Donte Green- Syracuse
Jonny Flynn- Syracuse
DeJuan Blair- Pittsburgh
Dominique Jones- South Florida
Mac Koshwal- Depaul

All Defensive Team
Hasheem Thabeet- Connecticut
Jerel McNeal- Marquette
Roy Hibbert- Georgetown
Paul Harris- Syracuse
Terrence Williams- Louisville

Player of the Year
Luke Harangody- Notre Dame

Freshman of the Year
Donte Green- Syracuse

Defensive Player of the Year
Hasheem Thabeet- Connecticut

Most Improved Player of the Year
A.J. Price- Connecticut

#2 Pittsburgh (10-0)
Good Wins- Beat Duquesne 73-68 on the road, Beat Washington 75-74 on the road and blew out Okie State 85-68.
Bad Games- None
Team Strengths- Interior Scoring, Half Court Defense, Ball Handling, Lead Guard Play, Experience, Depth, Rebounding.
Team Weaknesses- Full Court Offense, Perimeter Shooting, Lack Size.
I really had to search for true weakness of this team.  Their really only weakness right now is their inability to play at faster tempos but even that’s not that big of a weakness of theirs.  They do lack size in terms of height though.  The tallest player in their rotation is 6′7 and they’ve struggled a little shooting from the outside but players like Cook, Fields and Ramon are proven perimeter shooters so don’t expect that trend to continue.
This is one of the best offensive Pitt teams in quite some time.  They have a true go to scorer in Sam Young, a true post scorer in Dejuan Blair and plenty of perimeter firepower in Fields, Cook and Ramon.  Even though they’re a little undersized they’re still a physical team that rebounds the ball very well and defends.  They’re not as good defensively as they have been in the past but they’re still a cut above most teams in that department.  This is a very dangerous team and in my opinion are top 10 worthy.

#3 Marquette (8-1)
Good Wins- Blew out Oklahoma State 91-61 and beat Wisconsin 81-76 on the road
Bad Games- None
Team Strengths- Guard Play, Playmaking Ability, General Defense, Athleticism, Experience.
Team Weaknesses- Interior Scoring, Perimeter Shooting, Lack Size.
Beating Wisconsin @ Wisconsin is a very impressive victory for Marquette.  This is an experienced group of players that are well coached and know how to play together.  They defend at a high level on the perimeter and have a shot blocker in the middle in Barro.  They rebound fairly well for being undersized and are able to turn teams over and get out in transition and score.  They have some of the best guards in the country with McNeal, James, Mathews, Cubillan and Acker.
The problem with this team is the same problem they’ve had since Robert Jackson graduated.  They lack interior scoring and size up front.  They just do not get any offensive production on the interior and that forces their guards to do too much offensively.  As talented as their guards are they’re not good shooters and when you can’t shoot from the outside or score from inside you’re going to have problems scoring the basketball.  Marquette will likely lose some games they shouldn’t this year because of their inconsistent offense.

#4 West Virginia (8-1)
Good Games- Barely lost to Tennessee 72-74, Beat New Mexico State 75-61, Blew out Auburn 88-59 on the road and Blrew out Duquesne 92-68
Bad Games- None
Team Strengths- Experience, Coaching, Pressure Defense, Full Court Offense, Ball Handling, Perimeter Shooting.
Team Weaknesses- Interior Scoring, Rebounding, Interior Defense.
This might be the most impressive team in the Big East right now.  They’re playing as well as any team in the conference under new head coach Bob Huggins.  However, they haven’t exactly been playing against world beaters and it’s still hard to tell just how good this team might be.  Their most impressive game this year could be their loss to Tennessee which shows that West Virgninia can play with the big boys but might not be one of the big boys.
Joe Alexander, Alex Rouff, Da’Sean Butler and Darris Nichols give WVU four players that can all score, shoot and handle the basketball which makes them a difficult offensive team to cover.  What has been most surprising about this team though is that they’re playing physical team defense.  Huggins is a coach that demands toughness but he inheritated a group of kids that were more known for their softness than their toughness.  This team still lacks size inside as well as consistent low post offensive play.  This is certainly a team worth keeping an eye on. 

#5 Villanova (8-1)
Good Games- Beat George Mason 84-76, beat LSU 68-67 and beat Temple 101-93 on the road.
Bad Games- None
Team Strengths- Guard Play, Ball Handling, Full Court Offense, Depth, Athleticism.
Team Weaknesses- Half Court Defense, Interior Offense, Inexperienced.
Jay Wright is proving to truly be one of the best young coaches in college basketball.  He’s adapting to his players strengths and weaknesses.  That’s the sign of a good coach.  What Jay Wright has are goods guards and bunch of athleticism.  Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher form one of the best back courts in the Big East and they have good depth behind them with Redding, Stokes and Grant.  This Nova team is looking to get out and run thsi year.  They  have good enough guards to play at a faster tempo while still being able to take care of the basketball.  That’s quite the luxury to have.
The problem with this Nova team right now is that they’re not very good defensively in the half court setting and that is not a good weakness to have.  In fact that’s one of the worst weaknesses a team can have in college basketball.  Villanova is not going to be able to run teams out of the gym come March nor will they be able to consistently do that against good and discplined basketball teams.  However, they don’t have enough interior production or experience to make up for this weakness of theirs.

#6 Louisville (5-3)
Good Wins- Beat Old Dominion 64-53, Beat Miami(OH) 47-44
Bad Games- None
Team Strengths- Coaching, Athleticism, Half Court Defense, Interior Scoring, Rebounding.
Team Weaknesses- Depth, Perimeter Shooting, Ball Handling, Lead Guard Play, Full Court Offense.
Louisville has had a rough start but it’s way to early to dismiss this team as a failure like some people seem to be already doing.  They still have a good amount of talent and one of the finest coaches in the game.  They can still defend at a high level, they have good athletes, can score inside and will outrebound most of the teams they play against.  Anytime you rebound, defend and score inside you’re going to be alright.
However, this team has no shooting, little creative ball handling and very little depth.  They can’t get out and run on teams because they don’t have good enough ball handling or enough bodies on the roster to keep up with teams.  When you can’t play at a fast pace that you means you’re forced to play in the half court setting but Louisville doesn’t have the playmakers or shooters right now to score effectively in the half court setting.  It’s an offensive problem that Pitino needs to figure out in order for this team to even come close to living up to their lofty preseason expectations.

#7 Connecticut (7-2)
Good Wins- None
Bad Games- None
Team Strengths- Rebounding, Half Court Defense, Athleticism.
Team Weaknesses- Perimeter Shooting, Ball Handling, Half Court Offense.
UConn has only played two good teams all year and lost both to Memphis and Gonzaga.  They won their other 7 games but they were against nobodies.  How good is UConn?  It’s hard to say.  They’re better than they were last year because it appears as though they have improved guard play with Dyson emerging as a possible go to scorer as a sophomore and A.J. Price has become a stable lead guard.  As always this UConn will be able to defend at a very high level defensively and they will outrebound most of their opponents.  They have size and athleticism.
This is still not a good offensive team though.  They don’t have shooters or reliable interior scorers and they’re not going to continue to run and gun with teams so they’ll have to find a way to score consistently in the half court setting.  It’s likely that they’ll struggle scoring the basketball much like they did last year.  Until they beat someone of importance they will continue to be ranked in the middle of my Big East rankings.

#8 Syracuse (7-3)
Good Wins- Beat St. Joes 72-69, Beat Virginia 70-78 on the road.
Bad Games- Blown out by Ohio State 65-79
Team Strengths- Lead Guard Play, Playmaking Ability, Rebounding.
Team Weaknesses- Perimeter Shooting, Ball Handling, Half Court Defense, Depth, Inexperienced.
Syracuse has played better than their ranking, however, they dropped a few spots because of the loss of Eric Devendorf for the season.  The Cuse just do not have the guard depth to make up for this loss.  Andy Rautins is out of the year and Josh Wright left the team.  They have very few options.  Without Devendorf they lose a lot of playmaking ability, scoring and perimeter shooting.  It leaves the Cuse with one perimeter shooter in Donte Greene and only two playmakers in Paul Harris and Jonny Flynn. 
Syracuse is not a good half court defense team either, they lack depth, they turn the ball over way too much, they don’t have reliable interior scoring and now they’re a poor perimeter shooting team.  They still have some very talented players in Green, Flynn and Harris but unless they find a hidden gem they’re going to be a bubble team once again this year that will likely be playing in the NIT come March.

The rest of the conference rankings…..

#1-Georgetown
#2-Louisville
#3-Marquette
#4-Syracuse
#5-Pittsburgh
#6-Connecticut
#7-Providence
#8-Villanova
#9-Notre Dame
#10-West Virginia
#11-Seton Hall
#12-St.Johns
#13-Depaul
#14-Cincinnati
#15-Rutgers
#16-South Florida

First Team Tier
(Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette)

Second Team Tier
(Syracuse, PIttsbrugh, Connecticut)

Third Team Tier
(Providence, Villanova, Notre Dame, West Virginia)

Fourth Team Tier
(Seton Hall, Cincinnati, St.Johns, Depaul)

Fifth Team Tier
(Rutgers, South Florida)

First Team All Big East
-Roy Hibbert- Georgetown
-Jeff Adrien- Connecticut
-Terrence Williams- Louisville
-Jerel McNeal- Marquette
-Dominic James- Marquette
-Scottie Reynolds- Villanova
-Eric Devendorf- Syracuse
-Eugene Harvey- Seton Hall
-Geoff McDermott- Providence
-Luke Harangody- Notre Dame

Second Team All Big East
-Paul Harris- Syracuse
-Sam Young- Pittsburgh
-Jon Wallace- Georgetown
-Edgar Sosa- Louisville
-Rob Kurz- Notre Dame
-Levance Fields- Pittsburgh
-Brian Laing- Seton Hall
-Anthony Mason Jr- St.Johns
-Alex Ruoff- West Virginia
-Hasheem Thabeet- Connecticut

Ten Honorable Mentions
-Deonta Vaughn- Cincinnati
-Jerome Dyson- Connecticut
-Mac Koshwal- Depaul
-Dajuan Summers- Georgetown
-Wesley Mathews- Marquette
-David Padgett- Louisville
-Kyle McAlarney- Notre Dame
-Sharaud Curry- Providence
-Darris Nichols- West Virginia
-Donte Green- Syracuse

All Newcomer Team
-Dejuan Blair- Pittsburgh
-Mac Koswal- Depaul
-Johny Flynn- Syracuse
-Justin Burrell- St. Johns
-Donte Green- Syracuse

All Defensive Team
-Dante Cunningham- Villanova
-Hasheem Thabeet- Connecticut
-Paul Gause- Seton Hall
-Roy Hibbert- Georgetown
-Jerel McNeal- Marquette

Player of the Year
-Roy Hibbert- Georgetown

Newcomer of the Year
-Mac Koshwal- Depaul

Defensive Player of the Year
-Roy Hibbert- Georgetown

Most Improved Player
-Sam Young-Pittsburgh/Paul Harris- Syracuse

Most Underrated
-Alex Ruoff- West Virginia
-Dante Cunningham- Villanova
-Rob Kurz- Notre Dame
-Brian Laing- Seton Hall
-Ronald Ramon- Pittsburgh

Teams that will make the NCAA Tournament
Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Providence

Projected Starting Lineups

Cincinnati(14th)
C-Adam Hrycaniak- 6′10 230 SR- Sat Out Last Season
PF-Marcus Sikes 6′8 235 SR- 9.5ppg 5.0rpg 40%FG 43%3pt
SF-John Williamson 6′6 220 SR- 13.5ppg 7.3rpg 49%FG
SG-Alvin Mitchell 6′5 200 FR- Top 125 Recruit
PG-Deonta Vaughn 6′1 200 SO- 14.5ppg 3.5apg 37%FG

Connecticut(6th)
C-Hasheem Thabeet 7′3 255 SO- 6.2ppg 6.4rpg 3.8blk 55%FG
PF-Jeff Adrien 6′6 235 JR- 13.1ppg 9.7rpg 1.4blk 50%FG
SF-Stanley Robinson 6′9 205 SO- 5.1ppg 4.4rpg 37%FG
SG-Jerome Dyson 6′3 185 SO- 13.8ppg 2.1apg 36%FG
PG-A.J. Price 6′2 190 JR- 9.4ppg 3.6apg 39%FG

Depaul(13th)
C-Wesley Green 6′9 295 SR- 3.6ppg 3.1rpg 43%FG
PF-Mac Koshwal 6′9 240 FR- Top 35 Recruit
SF-Draelon Burns 6′4 220 SR- 11.6ppg 2.4apg 42%FG
SG-Dar Tucker 6′5 195 FR- Top 50 Recruit
PG-Jabari Curry 6′4 200 JR- 3.7ppg 3.0apg 50%FG

Georgetown(1st)
C-Roy Hibbert 7′2 275 SR- 12.9ppg 6.9rpg 2.4blk 67%FG
PF-Patrick Ewing Jr 6′9 225 SR- 4.1ppg 2.1rpg 54%FG
SF-Dajuan Summers 6′8 230 SO- 9.2ppg 3.7rpg 41%FG(Hm)
SG-Jessie Sapp 6′3 210 JR- 9.1ppg 3.5apg 42%FG
PG-Jon Wallace 6′1 190 SR- 11.4ppg 3.1apg 51%FG 49%3pt

Louisville(2nd)
C-David Padgett 6′11 245 SR- 9.5ppg 5.6rpg 1.5blk 60%FG
PF-Juan Palacios 6′8 245 SR- 8.9ppg 5.5rpg 48%FG
SF-Terrence Williams 6′6 215 JR- 12.4ppg 7.0rpg 3.8apg 37%FG
SG-Jerry Smith 6′1 200 SO- 8.0ppg 48%FG 48%3pt
PG-Edgar Sosa 6′1 175 SO- 11.4ppg 2.6apg 41%FG

Marquette(3rd)
C-Ousmane Barro 6′10 235 SR- 8.1ppg 6.9rpg 60%FG
PF-Dan Fitzgerald 6′9 200 SR- 7.4ppg 3.9rpg 48%FG
SF-Wesley Mathews 6′5 200 JR- 12.6ppg 5.3rpg 44%FG
SG-Jerel McNeal 6′3 190 JR- 14.7ppg 4.8rpg 3.8apg 42%FG
PG-Dominic James 5′11 180 JR- 14.9ppg 4.9apg  38%FG

Notre Dame(9th)
C-Luke Harangody 6′8 245 SO- 11.2ppg 6.2rpg 46%FG
PF-Zach Hillesland 6′9 220 JR- 5.8ppg 4.8rpg 2.2apg
SF-Rob Kurz 6′9 230 SR- 12.6ppg 8.0rpg 50%FG 43%3pt
SG-Kyle McAlarney 6′1 200 JR- 10.3ppg 5.4apg 49%FG 46%3pt
PG-Tory Jackson 5′10 185 SO- 7.8ppg 4.3apg 42%FG

Pittsburgh(5th)
C-Dejuan Blair 6′7 245 FR- Top 50 Recruit
PF-Sam Young 6′6 215 JR- 7.2ppg 3.0rpg 46%FG
SF-Mike Cook 6′4 220 SR- 10.5ppg 50%FG 48%3pt
SG-Ronald Ramon 6′1 180 SR- 8.8ppg 2.2apg 46%FG 45%3pt
PG-Levance Fields 5′11 205 JR- 9.2ppg 4.6apg 41%FG

Providence(7th)
C-Randall Hanke 6′11 240 JR- Medical Redshirt
PF-Jonathon Kale 6′8 250 JR- 7.0ppg 4.2rpg 53%FG
SF-Geoff McDermott 6′7 235 JR- 9.5ppg 9.1rpg 5.1apg 48%FG
SG-Wayne Efejuka 6′5 200 JR- 14.1ppg 2.5apg 47%FG
PG-Sharaud Curry 5′10 165 JR- 15.3ppg 4.4apg 42%FG

Rutgers(15th)
C-Hamady N’Diaye 6′11 235 SO- 2.7ppg 2.9rpg 1.7blk 50%FG
PF-J.R. Inman 6′9 220 JR- 12.0ppg 7.3rpg 40%FG
SF-Jaron Griffin 6′7 210 JR- 8.6ppg 3.7rpg 33%FG
SG-Corey Chandler 6′2 175 FR- Top 75 Recruit
PG-Anthony Farmer 6′1 190 JR- 7.8ppg 3.1apg 32%FG

Seton Hall(11th)
C-John Garcia 6′9 265 SO- 4.4ppg 3.8rpg 1.6blk 60%FG
PF-Michael Glover 6′6 215 FR- Top 150 Recruit
SF-Brian Laing 6′5 210 SR- 16.5ppg 6.7rpg 46%FG
SG-Jamar Nutter 6′2 205 SR- 12.3ppg 1.9apg 33%FG
PG-Eugene Harvey 6′0 165 SO- 16.5ppg 4.2apg 47%FG

St.Johns(12th)
C-Justin Burrell 6′8 220 FR- Top 75 Recruit
PF-Anthony Mason Jr 6′7 200 JR- 11.9ppg 5.9rpg 41%FG
SF-D.J. Kennedy 6′5 185 FR- Top 150 Recruit
SG-Larry Wright 6′2 170 SO- 4.0ppg 37%FG 43%3pt
PG-Eugene Lawrence 6′1 205 SR- 7.2ppg 3.9rpg 5.6apg 38%FG

Syracuse(4th)
C-Arinze Onuaku 6′9 225 SO- Medical Redshirt
PF-Donte Green 6′9 205 FR- Top 15 Recruit
SF-Paul Harris 6′5 220 SO- 8.6ppg 7.1rpg 43%FG
SG-Eric Devendorf 6′4 180 JR- 14.8ppg 4.1apg 41%FG
PG-Johny Flynn 5′11 170 FR- Top 25 Recruit

Villanova(8th)
C-Dante Cunningham 6′8 225 JR- 8.7ppg 5.4rpg 51%FG
PF-Shane Clark 6′7 200 JR- 7.4ppg 4.0rpg 43%FG 38%3pt
SF-Corey Stokes 6′5 195 FR- Top 40 Recruit
SG-Corey Fisher 6′1 180 FR- Top 60 Recruit
PG-Scottie Reynolds 6′2 190 SO- 14.8ppg 4.0apg 39%FG

First Team
Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh- Senior
Dominic James, Marquette- Sophomore
Herbert Hill, Providence- Senior
Demetris Nichols, Syracuse- Senior
Russell Carter, Notre Dame- Senior

Second Team
Jeff Green, Georgetown- Junior
Curtis Sumpter, Villanova- Senior
Jerel McNeal, Marquette- Sophomore
Roy Hibbert, Georgetown- Junior
Geoff McDermott, Providence- Sophomore

Third Team
Jeff Adrien, UConn- Sophomore
Terrence Williams, Louisville- Sophomore
Sammy Mejia, Depaul- Senior
Frank Young, West Virginia- Senior
Mike Nardi, Villanova- Senior

Honorable Mention
Eugene Harvey, Seton Hall- Freshman
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova- Freshman
Sharaud Curry, Providence- Sophomore
Rob Kurz, Notre Dame- Junior
Wilson Chandler, Depaul- Sophomore

All Freshman Team
Eugene Harvey- Seton Hall
Scottie Reynolds- Villanova
Jerome Dyson- UConn
Deonta Vaughn- Cincinatti
Edgar Sosa- Louisville

Player of the Year
Aaron Gray- Pittsburgh

Freshman of the Year
Eugene Harvey- Seton Hall