Opening Day Picks: 11/11-11/13

My picks for this weekend's games (winner in bold):

11/11
Hartford vs. Sacred Heart
Northeastern at Boston University
Suffolk at New Hampshire
Rhode Island at George Mason
Elon at Massachusetts
Columbia at UConn
Johnson & Wales at Brown
MIT at Harvard
Dartmouth at Rutgers
Yale vs. CCSU
Fairfield vs. Quinnipiac
Bryant at San Diego State
Holy Cross at Charleston


11/12
Fairleigh Dickinson at Providence
Hartford at Penn State
Vermont at South Florida
Bryant vs. UC-Davis

11/13
Boston University at Texas
Bryant vs. Southern Utah

New England BB Preseason Power Rankings

1. UConn

• Even in a national power ranking, this team could arguably be in contention for the top spot. DeAndre Daniels and Andre Drummond form one of Calhoun’s best incoming classes in recent memory and returning stars Alex Oriakhi, Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier will keep the team from starting anew in the post-Kemba era.

2. Harvard

• Tommy Amaker’s done a lot right since taking over as head coach of the Crimson, and his recent recruiting successes seem to indicate that this team will be a force in the Ivy for years to come.  For now however, they seem to be fully capable of being the second best team in New England after the Huskies and are primed to make an NCAA appearance for the first time in their history.  Everyone who played major minutes is back including stud PG Brandyn Curry and fellow backcourt members Oliver McNally and Christian Webster, both capable scorers.  

3. Fairfield

• Even with coach Cooley now stalking the sidelines at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, this team still returns with a great chance to end the season in the NCAA tournament.  Now-eligible transfer Rakim Sanders is one of the best SFs in the country and ought to be a great asset in new coach Sydney Johnson’s Princeton offense. Derek Needham should be able to lead the team at the point while Ryan Olander continues to be one of the MAAC’s best big men.  

4. Boston University

• Despite being without John Holland and Jake O’Brien, the Terriers still return one of the best players in the America East conference in D.J. Irving.  The incredibly fast PG with be the key to the Terriers’ success this season, as well as the continued development of Dominic Morris in the post.  If Patrick Hazel can supplement Irving with defense and Darryl Partin can provide additional offense, the Terriers may have a chance to dance again.  

5. Providence

• Even after Kiwi Gardner was declared ineligible, the Friars still have some decent pieces in place for the upcoming season.  Vincent Council should be a solid leader at PG who ought to be able to guide some of the younger pieces of the roster in becoming more effective as the years wears onward.  Overall though, the team will need to wait for success until their future heralded recruits show up in the next couple of seasons.

6. Boston College

• Three upperclassmen are all that Steve Donahue returns in his second year at the helm for BC but he brings in a class with some decent players in it.  The highest scorer among those two returnees had 4.1 ppg last year.  The freshmen and newcomers should allow them to be at least somewhat competitive out of conference but they will falter in ACC play.

7. Vermont

• The loss of Evan Fjeld will be difficult but the cupboard is never bare in Burlington.  Brendan Bald (AE Defensive POY last year) and Brian Voelkel (defending AE ROY) will lead the team to at least near he top of the AE with strong defense and scoring ability from players like the flashy Sandro Carissimo as the Cats return 4 starters.

8. Rhode Island

• This is a team that has suffered big off-season losses that will hamper them in an always tough A-10.  Auburn and Virginia transfers Andre Malone and Billy Baron will be big additions in the middle of the year at the point and shooting guard positions, but depth in the frontcourt will pose a problem unless freshman Jonathan Holton can make a big impact right away.  By the time the talented transfers show up, will it be too late to pull it all together?

9. Northeastern

• Rebuilding in the post-Chaisson Allen era will be tough.  Still, most of their roster returns this year and Joel Smith should see an increase in production, especially as a deep threat.  Jonathan Lee should also join him among the team’s leaders.  Given the frontcourt weakness of the team, they will go as far as those two can lead them.

10. Yale

• In an Ivy League that seems fairly wide open beyond Harvard, Yale could be a serious player.  Greg Mangano is one of the Ivy’s best players in recent memory and will make this team competitive along with his P.I.C.  Jeremiah Kreisberg.  Together the two combine to form the conference’s best frontcourt, complemented by a steady if unspectacular combo at guard, the combination of which make this a team to watch for sure.

11. Quinnipiac

• The Bobcats should continue to be a consistent performer in the NEC despite the losses of two leaders in Justin Rutty and Deontay Twyman.  James Johnson will look to step up in Rutty’s absence and could become much more productive.  PG Dave Johnson will also need to step up in a big way and run the offense effectively for the team to be a contender in the NEC

12. Central Connecticut State

• Ken Horton is perhaps the most talented mid-major player in New England, and in the NEC he is the sort of player who could really lift his team to the next level.  The team was intermittently very successful last year and certainly belongs in the conference’s upper echelon this year.  If the supporting cast can step up to his level, including guard Bobby Ptacek, watch out for this team.

13. Maine

• This team started great in conference play last year before fading in dramatic fashion down the stretch.  Returning Gerald McLemore is one of the best returning scorers in the league and if he can provide leadership that elevates the rest of his team it could be a good year in Orono.

14. New Hampshire

• After suffering through a more than fair number of injuries as a team last year, the Wildcats will have Ferg Myrick and Alvin Abreu back and healthy to start the season.  Returning those two players and a tenacious defense could boost this team into the top half of the America East Conference.

15. Holy Cross

• Milan Brown returns for a second season as coach to a team that could finally make some strides back toward the top of the Patriot League.  R.J. Evans, Devin Brown and Mike Cavataio are all strong players at the core of this team, but will they be enough for the Crusaders to make real strides this year?

16. Massachusetts

• Although quite a bit of the rotation returns, those players simply were not good last year.  Hofstra transfer Chaz Williams might be able to contribute strongly at the point and help the Minutemen run more this year, but not enough to make the team competitive in the A-10 just yet.

17. Brown

• Jesse Agel Brings back the conference’s best freshman from last year but the top of the Ivy League is very strong.  This team is movg in the right direction but may not be moving up very quickly this year.  

18. Bryant

• This program will continue to improve this year but still has a way to go.  Freshman Ben Altit of the Israeli national team is an intriguing addition to a squad that includes returning strong scorers Frankie Dobbs and Alex Francis.  They will make a bigger leap next year in all likelihood.  

19. Dartmouth

• The Green will be hard-pressed to improve on their one-win conference campaign of last year, despite an intriguing freshman class.

20.  Sacred Heart

• Expect more of the same from the Pioneers this year.  Shane Gibson can score, but interior depth will be an Achilles’ Heel for the team.

Schedules and Freshmen: Big East

UConn: Schedule

Big Games: 12/8 vs. Harvard, 2/11 @ Syracuse, 2/25 vs. Syracuse, 3/3 vs. Pittsburgh

UConn has virtually no challenge games in their non-con schedule so winning against Harvard at home (and at the Battle 4 Atlantis against the Crimson or FSU) is a must to get a good NCAA tournament seeding.  If the Huskies start slow in conference like last year’s team, winning three late season games against Syracuse and Pittsburgh are a must for finishing at the top of the heap in the Big East for the first time since 2006.

Freshmen: Obviously the headliner is almost-certain lottery pick and late commit Andre Drummond whose size and skill is certainly far above-average, perhaps even far above that.  He immediately upon his commitment catapulted UConn back into the national title discussion and could be a star for them this year in the post alongside Alex Oriakhi.  He is not, however, the only talented freshmen arriving in Storrs this fall.  SF DeAndre Daniels ought to also be able to make an impact with his speed and scoring ability right away.  PG Ryan Boatright ought to slide right into a backup position behind returning Shabazz Napier, and his excellent ball-handling makes him a backup that almost any school would be thrilled to have.

Providence: Schedule

Big Games: 11/14 @ Fairfield, 12/27 @ St. John’s, 1/7 vs. Seton Hall, 2/11 vs. So. Florida

For a Providence team trying to wait out the year until Ricardo Ledo and Kris Dunn show up as part of 2012’s #6 class (ESPN), these games can give some indication of the promise in their current roster.  Fairfield will be a solid team in the MAAC (built by PC’s new coach) and a win on the road there would be a great one for the Friars to secure.  In order to set themselves apart from the rest of the conference’s bottom teams, PC will need to pick up wins against their fellows in that part of the conference.  winning early in conference against St. John’s and promising Seton Hall would go a long way, especially if they can also beat USF as the season moves into its later stages.  

Freshmen: SF LaDontae Henton may struggle with the athletic abilities of his new conference opponents, but does have the potential to be effective on the glass or running the floor. Athletic PF Brice Kofane will give the Friars some much needed size off the bench right away. If and when he becomes eligible, PG Kiwi Gardner will be very useful off the bench, although his lack of size may hamper him against bigger lineups.

Exhibitionists: Pre-Season Recap

Here’s a slightly late round-up of the exhibition games that have happened so far for New England’s college hoops teams in the last couple weeks as we lead up to the exciting start of a new season.

Big East
UConn: 11/2 vs. Amer. International (W 78-35), 11/6 vs. C.W. Post (W 91-61)
Providence: 10/25 vs. Assumption (W 64-51), 11/5 vs. UMass-Lowell (W 76-75)

ACC
Boston College: 11/5 vs. Amer. International (W 70-66)

America East
Vermont: 10/25 vs. St. Michael’s (W 64-31), 11/5 vs. Concordia (W 69-56)
Maine: 10/25 vs. Fisher (W 91-45), 11/5 vs. Ottawa (W 79-56)

Atlantic-10
Rhode Island: 11/4 vs. RI College (W 79-63), 11/7 vs. Ryerson (W 97-66)

MAAC
Fairfield: 11/4 vs. Bridgeport (W 97-70)

Patriot
Holy Cross: 11/5 vs. Assumption (W 84-52)

Who knows how much these games really will tell us about the quality of each team moving forward but in any case, they’re a fun way to kick of the season, see new freshmen in action and get warmed up for when the real season begins.  If I’m UConn, I’m feeling good, especially if Ryan Boatright’s gonna be suiting up sooner rather than later while BC should be feeling a little nervous after barely escaping AIC.  Same goes for PC after the scare against Lowell.  Holy Cross looks good too especially if you compare their game against Assumption to Providence’s.

NCAA Approves Cost-of-Attendance Stipends

For many of New England's smaller basketball schools, a potentially huge decision was made by the NCAA last week. The governing body of college athletics approved giving Division I athletes additional funds beyond their athletics scholarships to reflect the true cost-of-attendance at college for athletes (books, etc.) The real rub of this, as far as schools in this neck of the woods go, is that conferences will decide themselves whether or not to allow schools to give that money to their student-athletes. The problem comes when this gives students an incentive to go to the so-called major conferences as opposed to conferences like the NEC or AE. UConn and BC surely won't have any problem with this as the ACC and Big East will definitely approve, being composed of big universities with major programs. Even UMass and URI in the A-10 and Northeastern in the CAA are in prominent enough conferences that they will likely be able to be the beneficiaries of this policy. Even Fairfield and the MAAC might bite at this new rule. But for schools in the AE, NEC, and Patriot League, this rule could separate them even further from bigger conferences in terms of competitiveness. I'm pretty sure a school like BU would choose to add the stipends in order to remain competitive, but would the rest of the league have the resources or desire to do so? Tenuous times to be sure for many of the region's smaller schools.

AE: Expansionocalypse Theories?

Although many see the AE as being somewhat below the major tides of realignment that are sweeping through the FBS conferences, a couple recent stories have intrigued me in terms of mentioning how this conference could be impacted once the major dominoes begin to fall. The New York Times reported in the last couple of weeks that the CAA had reached out to several schools, including Charlotte, Richmond, GW and Boston University. I think at this point that it’s a no-brainer move for BU if they are invited. Don’t get me wrong, I love the cross-sport rivalries with UVM, Maine and UNH that come over from Hockey East, but BU will never become a mid-major basketball contender in the AE. It would be a waste after Coach Chambers’ hard work before leaving to go to Penn State if BU again turned down the CAA. And on a side note, I’d personally love a home-and-home in conference against Northeastern every year. Could be a great rivalry as it is on the hockey side. On the other hand Sporting Vermont has a somewhat melancholy article in response discussing Vermont’s lacking prospects for joining another conference despite being the AE’s best hoops program in recent years by some distance. Personally wherever BU goes I wouldn’t mind seeing UVM follow given how great that rivalry was during my time at the school the last 4 years but I suspect it will not happen once one of the schools moves on.

Another interesting (albeit speculative) article showed up on the UnrankedAE blog recently regarding how a football realignment could change the conference in all sports. Although the UNH football fan in me would not like to see them leave a very strong CAA football conference, the fact is that once URI and UMass leave for the NEC and the MAC respectively, Maine and the Wildcats are basically on an island alone as far as being near their conference mates. Delaware and Towson would become the team’s closest trips and travel budgets would expand. Forming a new AE football conference, if Albany and Stony Brook could be enticed would be tempting for the sake of saving travel costs. If the conference seemed to be a competitive improvement over the NEC (Albany and SBU both have also had success recently and Maine is perhaps the best team in the CAA this year), then other teams could be perhaps enticed to join. To get to a minimum of 6 all-sport members in order for the AE to sponsor football, the ideas from URAE that I liked the best personally were bringing in CCSU (fits profile of an NE state school) and Bryant or Fordham (having the NYC school intrigues me if they’d be willing to leave the A-10, which I’d doubt) Even Sacred Heart or Wagner would be intriguing filler options for all sports. URI might even be a possibility as a football-only school once the conference filled out its roster. Obviously this football part is all fun speculation at this point but very interesting to discuss nonetheless.

BC: DeFilippo Shows His True Colors and Donahue Signs 2012 PG

Well, I realize I am a little late to the party getting my two cents in on this, but obviously the big CBB story over the weekend was an article in the Boston Globe where BC AD Gene DeFilippo revealed that BC was (according to him) the influence which caused Pittsburgh to join Syracuse in the ACC rather than UConn. "We didn't want them in," DeFilippo stated, "It was a matter of turf. We wanted to be the New England team."

In the interest of full disclosure I'll state that I am by nature prejudiced against BC for two reasons:

1. I grew up in Storrs, CT as a fervent UConn fan who hated BC before they left the Big East and even more after they left
2. I just graduated from BU, and was a big fan of the Terriers hockey team, major rivals to BC on the ice

These two reasons only serve to amplify my dislike for BC in this particular moment. I'll come out and say it that until now, I had absolutely no interest in UConn joining the ACC. The Big East (excepting the C-USA stowaways) has a much more Northeastern USA feel to it than the ACC does. UConn is joined by many local schools such as Providence, St. John's, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse and even Villanova. UConn even has great history with further afield schools like Pittsburgh, WVU, Notre Dame and Georgetown. If I had my way, the Big East would still be the pre-2005 schools minus Miami and Va. Tech. Maybe with UMass now that they're a 1A school and Temple (The Big East in my mind is best centered around NYC, Philly and Boston).

But if the Big East is going to mean playing East Carolina, Air Force, Houston, SMU and Central Florida, among perhaps other geographically disparate schools, I no longer want UConn to be a part of it and if joining the ACC is necessary to continued relevance then so be it. UConn, BC, Pitt, 'Cuse, Maryland, UVa. and VTech in an ACC North would definitely be an idea I could get behind (if divisions were adopted in basketball) but I would miss playing the basketball only schools from the BE. It is a jaded basketball fan in me that accepts UConn leaving behind the Big East for the ACC, but in these desperate times I further hate BC for their AD's inferiority complex (no championships in hoops or BCS bids) putting the Huskies' future in jeopardy.

On a lighter note, Steve Donahue got BC's first 2012 commit by signing PG Joe Rahon from Torrey Pines, CA. He is the fifth signing from what is turning out to be an unexpected pipeline state for the Eagles' second year coach. Rahon selected BC over several Power 6 schools on the west coast (USC, WSU) and mid-major powers such as SDSU and St. Mary's. He should eventually develop into a solid drive-and-kick point guard with the right size to play either guard position.