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BY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
BIG EAST NOTEBOOK
The Big East released its preseason polls and predictions, and although there were some surprises, the coaches mostly voted according to plan.
Villanova was named the preseason conference favorite, garnering 10 first place votes and 218 total points. West Virginia was hot on their heels with 215 points, but only five first place votes. Connecticut came in third, and had one coach put them No. 1 on their ballot.
The rest of the poll showed just how drastically different the conference will look this year. Louisville was fourth, followed by Georgetown, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Notre Dame to round out the top half.
Last season's champion Pittsburgh was ninth in the poll, after losing Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields. They were followed by Seton Hall, St. John's, Marquette, Providence and South Florida.Rutgers came in at No. 15 and DePaul was last.
Not surprisingly Luke Harangody was named preseason Player of the Year, just the second player every to be named that honor more than once. His only predecessor: Patrick Ewing from 1982-84.
Lance Stephenson, the unlikely Cincinnati signee, was chosen preseason Rookie of the Year.
The preseason All-Big East First team was as follows: Harangody, Deonta Vaughn (Cincinnati), Greg Monroe (Georgetown), Lazar Haywood (Marquette), Scottie Reynolds (Villanova), and Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia.
For what is generally a frenetic day, the Big East Media Day had a somber start. Commissioner John Marinatto led off the proceedings by remarking on the death of University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard, who was slain early Sunday morning.
"I'd like to offer my condolences and support to the entire university of Connecticut as well as the Howard family in particular after the tragic death of Jasper Howard," said Marinatto. "Although all of us, the membership included, are deeply saddened by this tragic and violent loss, we also hope that the Howard family in particular can find some solace in his memory and some degree of comfort in the manner in which his classmates and his teammates have recounted his impact on their lives and the university community as a whole. Our hearts and prayers go out to all of them during this obviously very difficult time."
Not surprisingly the tragic situation left an imprint on those not only associated with Howard or the football program. Connecticut guard Kemba Walker knew Howard and was taken aback when he heard the news.
"When I first heard it I was shocked, I kind of didn't believe it," said Walker. "But I went down to practice and I went down to the training room and our trainer got a phone call about it and he told me and my heart just dropped. Because I knew him and he was a cool guy. It's just tragedy."
Walker and his teammates had always been vigilant about their safety before this weekend but it is now heightened.
"Of course, coach always told us to be careful and watch what we do and watch the people around us," Walker said. "But after the death of Jasper we [were] more worried.''
Marinatto also showed that commissioners do have a humorous, although ominous, side to them. He recalled a note former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese left for him, one he discovered on his first day in office on July 1.
"Dear John, congratulations and best wishes on your appointment as Big East commissioner. I have every confidence you'll be very competent and do a wonderful job. As the years go on however, you will undoubtedly be faced with one difficult situation or another and I want to take this opportunity to share with you a story Dave Gavitt shared with me when I succeeded him some 19 years ago. The new commissioner walked into his office for the first time and on the side of his desk, in the top drawer, he found three letters with instructions to open them one at a time, in order, when confronted with an embarrassing situation. Upon the first such crisis he opened the top envelope to find it contained a note with just one short sentence: "Blame the previous administration." Not having better option at the time, he followed the letter's advice and the tactic worked. Upon the second crisis, he again went to his desk seeking guidance. Contained in the second envelope was the instruction: "Form a Blue Ribbon Commission." Once again the strategy worked and he escaped the crisis unscathed. Several months later, confronted with the third major debacle of his administration, he ran for his desk and ripped open the last envelope. It simply stated ‘Prepare three envelopes.'"
Notes and blurbs from media day: According to Jerome Dyson, freshman Ater Majok has shin splints, but they aren't stopping him from practicing ... Kemba Walker, one of the several Big East players with a Twitter account, said that his only words of wisdom from the Connecticut administration were to be smart about what he said. No rebukes or restraints ... Syracuse lost three star players from last year's team in Eric Devendorf, Jonny Flynn, and Paul Harris. To make up for the lack of talent, coach Jim Boeheim has made practice longer and more difficult. Said Andy Rautins, "I think we're going a little bit harder to compensate for last year."... According to Rautins, Syracuse transfer Wesley Johnson has an insane 45 inch vertical ... Deonta Vaugh and Lance Stephenson, while not great friends, go back to his 8th grade when they both competed in the ABCD Camp ... Jim Boeheim is one win away from 800 career wins ... Jay Wright called Louisville's backcourt one of the most underrated in the country ... Notre Dame's current senior class is 23 wins away from having the most wins of any class in Irish history ... Keno Davis has pretty much a new team, but he's out for blood, saying he wants to score 100 points a game. They were at 78.1 ppg last year.
It may not look like it but South Florida is making some strides. The last two years they were picked last in the preseason poll. This year they are 14th. Said coach Stan Heath, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think so." ... Jerome Dyson said that the trio of himself, Kemba Walker and Stanley Robinson is top three in the country ... When asked how good Villanova can be, Antonio Pena needed just two words to sum it up: "scary good."
For more Big East, Rutgers and Seton Hall basketball news, you can find Mike Vorkunov on Twitter at @Mike_Vorkunov.
