Men's Basketball Picked 13th in BIG EAST; Preseason Awards Announced

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Men's Basketball Picked 13th in BIG EAST; Preseason Awards Announced

Courtesy: Seton Hall Athletic Communications

Release: 10/22/2008

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Seton Hall men’s basketball team is predicted to finish 13th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference. The schools are ranked in the preseason by the BIG EAST Coaches and this marks the second consecutive year that the Pirates have been tabbed 13th. Despite their ranking last year, the Pirates finished 11th and qualified for the BIG EAST Championship.

Connecticut has been tabbed as the favorite to win the 2008-09 BIG EAST regular-season title. The Huskies received nine first-place votes and a total of 214 points in the poll. The coaches did not place their own teams on their respective ballots.

Four teams received first-place votes. Those four squads – UConn, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame -- were bunched at the top of the poll. Louisville and Pitt, which had three first-place votes each, finished with 205 and 200 points, respectively. Notre Dame received one first-place vote and was fourth with 195 points.

The next four teams in the poll -- fifth place through eighth place -- also were bunched closely together. Villanova was fifth with 153 points, followed by Marquette 146), Georgetown (141) and Syracuse (139).

West Virginia was picked ninth with 121 points, while Providence edged Cincinnati for 10th place, 99 points to 91 points.

The coaches believe Rutgers will finish 12th followed by Seton Hall, St. John’s, DePaul and USF.

Preseason Coaches' Poll

School	Points
1. Connecticut (9)	214
2. Louisville (3)	205
3. Pittsburgh (3)	200
4. Notre Dame (1)	195
5. Villanova	153
6. Marquette	146
7. Georgetown	141
8. Syracuse	139
9. West Virginia	121
10. Providence	99
11. Cincinnati	91
12. Rutgers	53
13. SETONHALL	50
14. St. John’s	44
15. DePaul	43
16. USF	26

First-place votes in parentheses.

Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, the 2007-08 BIG EAST Player of the Year, has been named 2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches. Georgetown’s Greg Monroe and Louisville’s Samardo Samuels, a pair of freshman forwards, were selected BIG EAST Co-Rookies of the Year. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

A 6-8 forward, Harangody was the BIG EAST’s scoring and rebounding champion in league games last season. He averaged 23.3 points and 11.3 rebounds, statistics that were even better than his overall averages of 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds. A native of Schererville, Ind., Harangody is the first reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year to forego an immediate professional basketball career since Pittsburgh’s Brandin Knight shared Player of the Year honors with Connecticut’s Caron Butler in 2001-02 and came back to play in ’02-03.

Harangody’s teammate, Kyle McAlarney, was chosen for the 2008-09 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. A 6-0 senior guard, McAlarney averaged 15.1 points per game last season while helping the Irish to a 25-8 overall record and a 14-4 BIG EAST mark. He led all league players with 108 3-pointers and ranked second in 3-point percentage, making 44.1 percent.

Three other individual award winners from last year are Preseason All-BIG EAST selections. Sam Young, Pittsburgh’s 6-6 junior forward, was a unanimous pick. Young was last season’s BIG EAST Most Improved Player who also won the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player at The BIG EAST Championship. He averaged 18.1 points and 6.3 rebounds for the season.

Connecticut junior Hasheem Thabeet, who was the 2007-08 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, set a league record with 94 blocked shots in conference play. For the season, the 7-3 center averaged 10.5 points, 7.9 boards and 4.5 blocks.

Jonny Flynn, Syracuse’s speedy point guard, shared BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors last season with Pitt’s DeJuan Blair after averaging 15.7 points and 5.3 assists. His assist mark was third in the BIG EAST.

Cincinnati’s Deonta Vaughn is the league’s top returning scorer at guard. The 6-1 junior averaged 17.3 points last season, while garnering All-BIG EAST First Team honors.

Connecticut’s A.J. Price, the Husky senior point guard, also earned All-BIG EAST First Team recognition when he averaged 14.5 points and 5.8 assists. His assist average was second in the BIG EAST.

Forward DaJuan Summers has been a key contributor in Georgetown’s recent success. The 6-8 junior averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds last year for the Hoyas, who were the BIG EAST regular-season champions and finished with a 28-6 overall record.

Louisville’s Terrence Williams has been an all-around contributor. The 6-6 senior forward averaged 11.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists last year. The Cardinals advanced to the East Regional finals of the NCAA Championship.

Marquette senior guard Jerel McNeal added offensive prowess last year to his stellar defensive reputation. Last year, he averaged 14.9 points and 3.5 assists. two seasons ago, McNeal was the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.

Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year two years ago. Last season, the 6-2 guard averaged 15.9 points, 3.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds, while directing the Wildcats to the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals.

Georgetown’s Monroe and Louisville’s Samuels were McDonald’s All-Americans and first team Parade All-Americans as high school seniors. Monroe is a 6-10 native of Gretna, La. He attended Helen Cox H.S. Samuels is a native of Trelawny, Jamaica, who attended St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey. Samuels was named 2008 USA Today Player of the Year.