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2009 UConn Huskies Basketball Schedule

11/04/09      vs. American International      XL Center, Hartford, Conn.      7:00 p.m.
11/08/09     vs. UMass Lowell      Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     1:00 p.m.
11/13/09     vs. William & Mary TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     7:30 p.m.

NIT Season Tip-Off
11/16/09     Hofstra vs. Yale     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     6:30 p.m.
vs. Colgate TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     9:00 p.m.
11/17/09     Colgate vs. Hofstra/Yale     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     4:30 p.m.
Hofstra or Yale TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     7:00 p.m.

NIT Season Tip-Off Semifinals
11/25/09     NIT Semifinals TV     Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.     TBA
11/27/09     NIT Finals TV     Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.     TBA
12/02/09     vs. Boston University TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     7:00 p.m.
12/06/09     vs. Harvard TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     1:00 p.m.

BIG EAST/SEC Invitational
12/09/09     vs. Kentucky TV     Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.     9:30 p.m.
12/20/09     vs. Central Florida TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     1:00 p.m.
12/22/09     vs. Maine TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     7:00 p.m.
12/27/09     vs. Iona TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     2:00 p.m.
12/30/09     at Cincinnati  TV     Fifth/Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio     7:00 p.m.

2010 UConn Huskies Basketball Schedule

01/02/10     vs. Notre Dame  TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     12:00 p.m.
01/06/10     vs. Seton Hall  TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     9:00 p.m.
01/09/10     at Georgetown  TV     Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.     12:00 p.m.
01/13/10     vs. Pittsburgh  TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     7:00 p.m.
01/17/10     at Michigan TV     Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.     4:30 p.m.
01/20/10     vs. St. John’s TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     7:00 p.m.
01/23/10     vs. Texas TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     4:00 p.m.
01/27/10     at Providence  TV     Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, R.I.     7:00 p.m.
01/30/10     vs. Marquette  TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     12:00 p.m.
02/01/10     at Louisville  TV     Freedom Hall, Louisville, Ky.     7:00 p.m.
02/06/10     vs. DePaul  TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     8:00 p.m.
02/10/10     at Syracuse  TV     Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.     7:00 p.m.
02/13/10     vs. Cincinnati  TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     12:00 p.m.
02/15/10     at Villanova TV     Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pa.     7:00 p.m.
02/20/10     at Rutgers  TV     RAC, Piscataway, N.J.     4:00 p.m.
02/22/10     vs. West Virginia TV     XL Center, Hartford, Conn.     7:00 p.m.
02/28/10     vs. Louisville  TV     Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.     2:00 p.m.
03/03/10     at Notre Dame  TV     Joyce Center, South Bend, Ind.     7:00 p.m.
03/06/10     at USF  TV     Sun Dome, Tampa, Fla.     2:00 p.m.

2010 BIG EAST Championship
03/09/10     BIG EAST First Round     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/10/10     BIG EAST Second Round     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/11/10     BIG EAST Quarterfinals     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/12/10     BIG EAST Semifinals     New York, N.Y.     TBA
03/13/10     BIG EAST Final     New York, N.Y.     TBA

Now that the dust has settled from the 2009 NBA draft and it’s almost time for football, the following is how I hold the pre-season 2009 Big East Basketball rankings. Short previews for the top 8 teams are provided with Villanova entering as the pre-season number 1. Defending regular season and tournament champion, Louisville, comes in at number 4.

2009 Big East Basketball Rankings #1-8

#1 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Villanova

The Wildcats became the team to beat in the 2009-10 season when Scottie Reynolds pulled his name from the 2009 NBA draft. Coupled with a Top 5 2009 NCAA recruiting class led by Maalik Wayns, the Wildcats enter the season as the favorite.

#2 2009 Big East Basketball Team – West Virginia

West Virginia lost Alex Ruoff, but have PG Joe Mazzulla returning to go with an outstanding 2009 recruiting class. If Mazulla has problems returning at the start of the season, it could open the way for incoming freshman Dalton Pepper to get more minutes at the 2 guard early in the season. A greatly improved Devin Ebanks is back at PF and Deniz Kilicli from Turkey is expected to start at the center position. West Virginia will be in the running for the conference championship and comes in just behind Nova at Nr 2.

#3 2009 Big East Basketball Team – UCONN

Coach Calhoun lost a lot of talent from last year, but Kemba Walker will start out the season playing PG. SG Jerome Dyson will be back and will be joined by freshman Darius Smith. Freshmen Alex Oriakhi replaces Thabeet in the paint if he can beat out senior Gavin Edwards for the spot. The Huskies won’t have the depth they did last season, but enough experienced talent returns to rank them Nr. 3.

#4 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Louisville

Rick Pitino lost a lot with T-Will and Earl Clark departing for the NBA. The Cardinals are led by Samardo Samuels who will have to play more consistently in 2009-10 for Louisville to be near the top of the Big East again. Edgar Sosa will return at the PG position for Louisville backed up by incoming freshman Peyton Siva. Reginald Delk is eligible this season after previously being at Mississippi Sate and is expected to be the favorite to play the shooting guard position. The Cardinals performance next season is going to depend on how quickly the young players can come up to speed to play quality college basketball.

#5 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Syracuse

The Orangemen lost Johnny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris to the pros which has left them coming in at Nr. 5 for the upcoming season. Scoop Jardine and Bradon Triche will be competing to take over the PG role for the 2009 season and Andy Rautins will likely become the SG. Wesley Johnson becomes eligible to play at the SF position this season after transferring from Iowa State and junior Rick Jackson will be back at the PF position. Syracuse enters the 2009-10 season with a lot of potential and we’ll just have to see how quick the team learns to work together.

#6 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Georgetown

Greg Monroe is back. He has to get more aggressive for Georgetown to have a great year. Junior Chris Wright takes over at the PG position and SG Austin Freeman will be back. The Hoyas also have freshman Hollis Thompson coming in to compete for the SF position and G-Town could make a play at the Big East championship if they click early as a team.

#7 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Cincinnati

The biggest news for Cincinnati was the signing of Lance Stephenson. If Lance is eligible to play, then I bump the Cincy up to Nr 5 in the conference. Coach Cronin also has SG Deonta Vaughn coming back who will likely move over to the PG position. Yancy Gates is back at Center for his sophomore year and Stephen Toyloy is expected to be the PF this season. Overall, 8 of the top 10 players from last season’s squad are back.

#8 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Pittsburgh

Pitt lost a lot with Levance Fields, Sam Young, DeJuan Blair, and Tyrell Biggs. Freshman Dante Taylor will be expected to fill in immediately at PF with juniors Gilbert Brown and Bradley Wanamaker battling it out for the SF position. Redshirt freshman Travon Woodall comes in as the favorite to start at the PG position for Pitt. The Panthers will be down a fair bit from last season overall, but still have talent that can pull some upsets in Big East action.

2009 Big East Basketball Rankings #9-16

#9 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Notre Dame

#10 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Seton Hall

#11 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Marquette

#12 2009 Big East Basketball Team – St. John’s

#13 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Providence

#14 2009 Big East Basketball Team –  South Florida

#15 2009 Big East Basketball Team –  Rutgers

#16 2009 Big East Basketball Team – Depaul

Nr1 Center Prospect Hasheem Thabeet

The 2009 NBA draft is probably thinnest at the center position this year. The headline center prospect is UCONN center, Hasheem Thabeet who will likely get picked in the 2009 NBA Draft lottery. B.J. Mullens is the next closest prospect to Thabeet (who is not considered a sure thing), with Augusta State’s, Garret Siler being the third ranked center for this year’s draft. Although Thabeet is far from being a complete player, team’s just aren’t going to be able to pass up his skills at blocking shots and being a game-changer. Mullens has a bit of a more of a complete game skill-set than Thabeet, but also not seen as an immediate impact player in the NBA.

Top 3 2009 NBA Mock Draft Center Prospects

#1 2009 NBA Mock Draft Center – Hasheem Thabeet – Connecticut

Hasheem Thabeet was one of the most dominant college defensive players in the Big East and all of Men’s college basketball the past three season. He’s going pro with one season of eligibility left and just 118 blocked shots short of the all-time NCAA record. As a junior, he averaged 4.5 blocks a game and demonstrated a great feel for timing his attempts. He’s considered very athletic for being over 7 feet tall and did show incredible improvement in his offensive skils the past two years. He is a bit weaker in the post than most teams would desire, but isn’t anything that he can’t work on his first year or two in the pros and is the best all-around center propsect in the 2009 NBA draft. Read the rest of this entry »