PREVIEWS for 2020 Big East Season

[Xuperman]

More of the same.

https://www.app.com/story/sports/colleg ... 571505002/

More lofty expectations for UConn. Everyone seems to think that the transition to the BEast will be an easy one despite losing there top scorer along with their top assist man. I think it will take some time to adjust and expect them to struggle, especially if the early conference slate is not favorable.

X and MU flying under the radar IMO.

Every supposed expert on college basketball always writes the same crap about defense for us. Never mind the past two years we were actually decent at it and wojos first year we actually rated well in Defense. But they've latched onto the 16,17,18 seasons and figure "MU doesn't play defense under Wojo"

Yeah with DJ running with McEwen, and if John can be more disciplined, look out! Garcia is the ace in the hole IMO.

[Jet915]

Jeff Goodman
@GoodmanHoops
The Big East and Big Ten are two conferences that have discussed using a bubble for basketball this season, per sources. However, it’s just one of multiple options that has been discussed.

[gtmoBlue]

Hey fellas and ladies...

It's me, lil ol' gtmo. I'm back. Been workin' my heinie off tallying data, reviewing articles and recruiting info, visiting sites and fan boards, etc. In general getting data and info
for my 13th annual "Ridiculously Predictable, (not so) Preposterous, Preseason Prognostications - 2020/21 Edition", on August 15th. Even went so far as to include a Preseason Composite standings
based on the June/July data from Rothstein, Goodman, Lunardi, Sports Illustrated, and Busting Brackets.


For the 13th edition of my predictions there will be a handful of surprises, although no surprise for 1st and 11th, and yes...I am a Creighton Homer. So only six days left til August, 15, 2020.
Will post on Bluenotes at 12.00 noon, as per tradition. www.bluenotes2.com

Luv ya,
gtmo

[Xuperman]

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php ... on-preview

Just curious if anyone here agrees with Rothstein selecting the soph Bouknight over the senior Scruggs? One would think that the jump to the Big East will present some considerable challenges, no?

[GumbyDamnit!]

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php/rothstein-files/big-east-preseason-preview

Just curious if anyone here agrees with Rothstein selecting the soph Bouknight over the senior Scruggs? One would think that the jump to the Big East will present some considerable challenges, no?

So there is certainly a bit of subjectivity at play. But there have been numerous occasions in which players take a big step forward from Frosh to Soph years. Just look at Paul Scruggs himself as a Frosh and a Soph. The speed of the game slows down; players know the systems better; certain players become more of an Alpha, etc. Just look at recent history: Marcus Z, Saddiq Bey, Myles P., Paul Reed, David Duke, etc. This year you look at Bouknight, Moore, Robinson-Earl, (maybe even Tandy or Freemantle, among others) that if they take similar leaps, all could potentially be 1st Team BE.

One could argue that--although a really good player who can get stronger or more aggressive now that Naji is no longer on the team--Paul Scruggs kind of is what he is. He's a pretty good shooter, he's a pretty good defender, he's a pretty good all around player in just about all facets. And I say "pretty good" as "in the mix for All-league, pretty good." Now Bouknight, and JRE and Moore (IMO) and perhaps Tandy all seem to have higher ceilings. So it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Paul S. have slightly better stats than last year AND for KyKy to be right there with him.

So, not far-fetched but these guys will obviously have to prove that they can take that next step. I was impressed by what I saw from Bouk last year, but he was a frosh and a bit inconsistent (as all Frosh are). If he can be the unquestioned go-to guy on the UConn team then they'll probably finish top half. If he is can't fill that role, I think Storrs might have to lower expectations.

[Xuperman]

Obviously Gumby, everything posted here or anywhere for that matter, has to be considered in the context of IF WE PLAY.

That said, any 2nd year Bouknight achievement, with out factoring in the jump to the BE is foolish. Would you really take Bouk over Moore?...not me. I'M thinking Bouk has to stand in line behind Scruggs, Moore, McEwen, Ballock, Thompson, and even Carton or Aiken.

I'M calling BS....Rothstein seems to be WAY OFF Here.

[GumbyDamnit!]

Obviously Gumby, everything posted here or anywhere for that matter, has to be considered in the context of IF WE PLAY.

That said, any 2nd year Bouknight achievement, with out factoring in the jump to the BE is foolish. Would you really take Bouk over Moore?...not me. I'M thinking Bouk has to stand in line behind Scruggs, Moore, McEwen, Ballock, Thompson, and even Carton or Aiken.

I'M calling BS....Rothstein seems to be WAY OFF Here.

I hear what you are saying, and I think you're right that the Huskies will have to adjust to being prepared for every single game, unlike the AAC. Regarding Bouknight I think a lot of people see how he closed out his season. 17.2 PPG over the final 13 games. For a Frosh that's pretty impressive. Bad competition you say...perhaps in some cases. Though against Net Top 100 teams he averaged 14.7 PPG last year. He had some clunkers (0 vs. IU and 5 vs. Nova) but also had some really nice games too (19 vs X, 23 vs. Cinn.).

Unless Nova goes undefeated there is no chance there'd be 3 players on the 1st team. Each of the guys you mentioned could certainly make an All-league team ahead of him. But again I'm thinking it's a best player on a team expected to finish near the top kind of thing. And Rothstein only picked 5 anyway... The BE picks 6 for each team. So I'm thinking that other spot would go to maybe Scruggs, or David Duke or Carton, or maybe Thompson or Charlie Moore or someone we're not thinking about. I wouldn't sweat it. Bouknight definitely has the ability to be a very good player in this league IMO. We'll see if he can back up the hype.

[Wizard of Westroads]

Demons come in at 92 in the College Sports Madness top 144, and 11th in the BE. Interesting that the Hoyas haven't shown up and the count is up to 79.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18670

I think Moore becomes more efficient, Weems makes a jump and a couple of transfers work out, pushing the Demons into the 8-9 range. They were close last year.

[Hall2012]

Demons come in at 92 in the College Sports Madness top 144, and 11th in the BE. Interesting that the Hoyas haven't shown up and the count is up to 79.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18670

I think Moore becomes more efficient, Weems makes a jump and a couple of transfers work out, pushing the Demons into the 8-9 range. They were close last year.

Well there you go - #78.

[gtmoBlue]

Hey guys.

Bluenotes is upgrading: the site, themes, features, donations, new writers, etc.
Check it out.

Coming in September: 7 part Covid-NCAA series of articles.

https://bluenotes2.com/2020/08/31/bluen ... te-update/