Big East Review (09-10)

All-Big East

Dominique Jones, South Florida
Junior 6-4 205 21.4p 6.1r 3.6a 0.6b 1.7s

Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia
Senior 6-7 230 17.2p 6.2r 3.1a 0.4b 1.0s

Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
Junior 6-7 205 16.5p 8.5r 2.2a 1.8b 1.7s

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Senior 6-8 245 21.8p 9.1r 1.6a 0.7b 0.5s

Greg Monroe, Georgetown
Sophomore 6-11 245 16.1p 9.6r 3.8a 1.5b 1.2s

Player of the Year: Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
An absolute revelation for Coach Boeheim's Orange, Johnson takes player of the Year honors in a conference with six legitimate All-American candidates (the five noted above plus Villanova's Scottie Reynolds who is by far the hardest player to leave off any all-conference team). Lofty expectations surrounded the arrival of the former Iowa State Cyclone, but it's hard to imagine anyone thought he would have such a large impact in just a single year. Syracuse went from being projected to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big East to a number one seed and, for a brief period of time, the nation's number one ranking.

Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
With a 7-man rotation and quite possibly just a single future NBA player on his roster, Boeheim rode his 2-3 zone to 30 wins and one of the three best regular seasons in the country. And while the addition of Wesley Johnson played a huge role in Syracuse's success, the transfer's supporting cast was pitch-perfect thanks in no small part to Coach Boeheim. Seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins and junior Rick Jackson have improved by leaps and bounds during their careers. (I'm still trying to figure out how Rautins became not just a productive player in the Big East but borderline all-conference with a knack for defense.) In his earlier days, Boeheim was considered a strong recruiter and prodigious collector of next level talent. Considering his latest Syracuse squad, it would be difficult to deny Boeheim's ability to develop that talent. And with his quirky commitment to the 2-3 zone and his balanced offensive attack, Boeheim has never been a slouch in the Xs and Os department. That being said, this was quite possibly Boeheim's most impressive coaching performance in his long, illustrious career. Is it time to start forgiving Boeheim for the Devendorf years? Bob Huggins also deserves some praise, as he probably would have taken this honor in any conference in which Boeheim wasn't in the running.

Freshman of the Year: Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
Like so many conferences this year, the Big East was thin in terms of rookie talent. For what it's worth, I'm still not convinced Born Ready helped the Bearcats more than he hurt them. In Stephenson's defense, I'm not talking about personality or maturity issues. Rather, I'm referring to his tendency to dominate the ball on the offensive end. While the jury on Stephenson as a team player is still out, I believe his individual talent is apparent. The Bearcat frosh is a bull on the offensive end and gets where he wants to be on the floor. Think of him as a more selfish and not quite as talented Tyreke Evans. That being said, I'm not sure his notorious reputation is entirely deserved.

Defensive Player of the Year: Hamady Ndiaye, Rutgers
This honor could have easily gone to Wesley Johnson for the impact he had on 'Cuse's 2-3 zone. However, Ndiaye's numbers are difficult to ignore, as the 6-11 Rutgers senior averaged 4.5 blocks per contest. He also averaged a solid 7.1 boards per game to go along with 0.4 steals. While Ndiaye's defensive prowess went largely unnoticed by the national media due to the Scarlet Knights' poor showing, RBP salutes one of the nation's most dominant shot-blockers who continued to grind in the post even as his team piled up losses.

Biggest Surprise: Syracuse
Not much was expected from Syracuse heading into the season. An exhibition loss to Division II LeMoyne back in November didn't do much to change this perception. In fact, a tourney appearance probably would have been a respectable showing after the Orange lost Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris from their successful 2008-09 campaign. While Syracuse couldn't make it past Butler in the Sweet 16 (due, in part, to senior center Arinze Onuaku's untimely leg injury), that does not erase the Orange's Big East regular season title nor its having exceeded all preseason expectations.

Biggest Disappointment: Connecticut
In what was by most accounts a down year in college basketball, UConn may have been, outside of UNC, the biggest disappointment in the country. Yes, Jim Calhoun spent part of the season dealing with health problems. But it's simply incredible that a team featuring Big East stalwarts Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson, talented sophomore Kemba Walker, the highly touted Ater Majok, McDonald's All-American Alex Oriakhi, and steady senior Gavin Edwards could not only miss the NCAA tournament but finish no better than 7-11 in conference (good for 11th place). Dyson, Robinson, and Edwards are seniors, and their production will be hard to replace. Some theoretically talented pieces remain in Storrs, but I'm not convinced. Majok's long-awaited debut was nothing less than a disappointment. He has a long way to go. Oriakhi wasn't much better. Walker is a nice player, but Calhoun curiously failed to develop any semblance of perimeter depth during the Huskies' failed 09-10 campaign.