Aaron Gray is a huge loss. Levon Kendall’s leadership will be missed. Antonio Graves provided consistency in the backcourt. All three are gone, and only Mike Cook and Levance Fields return as starters. Ronald Ramon didn’t start but should be considered a starter with the quality PT he had last season.

Frontcourt – Sam Young (7.2ppg, 3.0rpg) is the leading returner up front. Young showed flashes of brilliance in limited action last year. He should step in to Kendall’s PF position. Young may provide more points than Kendall, but he is nowhere near the pinpoint passer and team leader. Tyrell Biggs (3.2ppg, 1.8rpg) has the biggest shoes to fill. This is where Pitt will be way short of last year. Gray was a bull and great rebounder. The Panthers will be hard pressed to find his replacement. Backing up Young and Biggs are three freshmen. DeJuan Blair will push Young at PF while Gary McGee and Austin Wallace will compete for the starting center position. Junior Cassin Diggs will also see time in the middle. GRADE – C+

Backcourt – The backcourt for the Panthers is in extremely good shape. Although Graves will be missed, leading returning scorer Mike Cook (10.5ppg, 3.4rpg) is solid at the SF position. He needs to shoot more from outside than he did last year. Lavance Fields (9.2ppg, 4.6apg) is at the point. Fields is a gritty, gutsy player whom Pitt fans hope can put his legal problems behind him. Ronald Ramon (8.8ppg, 1.8rpg) can play either guard position. A deadly outside shooter, he was not a starter last year but had quality minutes at crucial times. Keith Benjamin (3.3ppg, 1.5rpg) and frosh Darnell Dodson and Bradley Wanamaker will provide depth here. GRADE – B+

Depth – The Panthers don’t have the experience on the bench that they had last year. Benjamin is the only backup with real BE experience under his belt. Diggs joins from the JUCO ranks. The rest are all talented but only freshmen. GRADE – C-

Outlook – The Panthers have a good backcourt and not much up front. The bench won’t help all that much early in the season. But they do have an excellent coach in Jamie Dixon who will get the most from his troops. If Fields can stay out of trouble they will have a chance to compete with the top 5 in the conference. If not, they will be in the lower middle of the pack. GRADE – C+

Categories: Coach O, Commentary, Contributors, Pittsburgh
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ND lost the heart of its offense when Falls and Carter graduated. They will not shoot it like they did last year. And they might benefit from the lack of reliance on the long bomb. McAlarney is back and that will help in the backcourt. But ND will find it hard to match last year’s record.

Frontcourt – The good news here is that Luke Harangody is back. The bad news is that he tore ligaments in his thumb and will miss the first 4 weeks of the season. Harangody (11.2ppg, 6.2rpg) was a bear last year. He was the perfect compliment to Rob Kurz (12.6ppg, 8.0rpg). Kurz can take it inside or shoot from the perimeter. Luke Zeller (3.8ppg, 2.2rpg) was once a starter, but after Harangody arrived he now provides excellent depth down low. The only problem with that is that Zeller likes the 20 footer more than the banging in the post. Freshmen Carleton Scott and Tim Abromatis will look for minutes. GRADE – B+

Backcourt – The good news is Kyle McAlarney is back. The bad news is that his point guard position has been taken by Tory Jackson (7.8ppg, 4.3apg). Jackson is a slasher and did a great job stepping in midseason last year. McAlarney will move to the SG position. He has the range and ability (10.3ppg, 5.4apg) to play either guard slot. Zach Hilleland (5.8ppg, 4.8rpg) will take over at SF. Hillesland is a whirlwind on the floor but many times plays out of control. Jonathan Peoples (1.8ppg, 0.7apg) got some PT in the Big East and NCAA’s but he will be a bit player. Look for Ryan Ayers (2.9ppg, 1.4rpg) to push for time at the SG or SF positions. He was the Irish best shooter down the stretch last year. Frosh Tyrone Nash and Ty Proffitt will watch for the most part. GRADE – B-

Depth – Zeller and Ayers are quality players off the bench. After that there is very little. This bench is better than some but ND is not especially deep this year. GRADE – C

Outlook -The Irish look like they have the makings of a pretty good squad this year. Haragody’s injury is a big question. There is no way they can replace Falls and Carter. Mike Brey is going to have to change the style they played last year. The 3 point shooters just are not there. GRADE – B-

Categories: Coach O, Commentary, Contributors, Notre Dame
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Nova will not have Curtis Sumpter this year. They will not have Mike Nardi and Will Sheridan. These are big losses. But they will have Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham back. After those two they wil have to roll the dice.

Frontcourt – Dante Cunningham is the returner up front. Cunningham (8.7ppg,5.4rpg) is a good start. Casiem Drummond (1.7ppg, 1.9rpg) will probably man the center position. Behind them only Frank Tchuisi (0.4ppg, 0.2rpg) has experience. Antonio Pena and Andrew Ott both redshirted last year. It will be a tall order for this frontcourt to compete against the better big men in the league. GRADE – C-

Backcourt – Scottie Reynolds (14.8ppg, 4.0apg) was brilliant at times. He also played out of control way too much. He has the tools to be the leader on this team. The question is… will he let his teammates play too? Shane Clark will move into the SF position. Clark (7.4ppg, 4.0rpg) can play small forward or shooting guard. He will fit in quite nicely. Reggie Redding (2.8ppg, 2.4rpg) will be the SG. Dwayne Anderson (3.5ppg, 1.9rpg) will lend experience at the guard position off the bench. Freshmen Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes are both highly regarded and may earn serious playing time. Malcolm Grant (FR) will back up Reynolds at the point. GRADE – B+

Depth – Anderson is the only man off the bench with real experience. The freshmen will see playing time almost immediately. If Drummond or Cunningham get hurt or into foul trouble,  Nova will be in big trouble. GRADE – D+

Outlook – It will be interesting to see if Reynolds matured from last year. He can dominate a game like no other player in the league. He can also cost the Wildcats games if he tries to do it all himself. The supporting cast for Nova will be just that…… supporting. GRADE - C+

Categories: Coach O, Commentary, Contributors, Villanova
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PC returns four starters from last year and Randall Hanke who started in 2005-6 but missed last year. Replacing 1st team All BigEast performer Herbert Hill at center will be difficult but the Friars should be very competitive this season.

Frontcourt – Hill was the main man for PC last year and he will be missed. Jonathan Kale (7.0ppg, 4.2rpg) returns at PF and Hanke (13.0ppg, 5.0rpg in 2005-6) will man the center position. Hanke will not give PC the tenacity that Hill did, but he is a more than capable replacement. Ray Hall (2.5ppg, 1.9rpg) will back up Hanke and Freshman Jamine Peterson will spell Kale. GRADE – C+

Backcourt – Geoff McDermott can play either PF or SF. His 9.5ppg and 9.1 rpg allows him to get down with the big boys and he is a tremendous passer for a big man. Weyinmi Efejuku (14.1ppg, 4.3rpg) has shown the ability to take over games. Along with McDermott, he supplies adequate points from outside and is a real slasher. Point guard Sharaud Curry (1.5ppg, 4.4apg) has a tendency to turn the ball  over at crucial times but is a better than average PG. Dwain Williams (7.5ppg, 1.7apg) can back up at either guard position and is a scorer off the bench. Brian McKenzie (3.7ppg, 1.8rpg) provides depth outside. Jeff Xavier, a transfer from Manhattan averaged 16.6 points a game two years ago and set a Manhattan record for three pointers. Freshmen Marshon Brooks and Alex Kellogg don’t figure to see much time this season. GRADE – B+

Depth – The Friars have depth at almost every position. Williams, Burch and McKenzie in the backcourt and Hall down low. GRADE – B

Outlook – Tim Welsh has a lot to work with this year. Explosiveness with McDermott and Efejuku, and good depth. If there is a weakness it might be rustiness down low with Hanke not playing for two years. PC should finish in the top half of the conference and with consistency might move up to challenge for a bye at the tourney in March. GRADE – B

Categories: Coach O, Commentary, Contributors, Providence
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Bob Huggins is in, Frank Young is out. Huggins brings a hard-nosed winning attitude to Morgantown replacing John Beilein. Frank Young, a 1st team All BigEast player and the top 3-point shooter in the league is gone. But four starters return and the Mountaineers should be strong once again.

Frontcourt – Replacing Young will be hard but Joe Alexander (10.3ppg, 4.3rpg) returns at PF. The only problem here is that he steps out to the 3 point arc more than most power forwards. Jamie Smalligan (5.4ppg, 3.2rpg) was a backup last year and should move into the starting center position. He too has a penchant for shooting the 3. As usual, WVU will have a hard time rebounding with the top BE teams but they will also be pulling the oppositions big men out to the three point line. Wellington Smith (2.3ppg, 0.9rpg) will back up the big men down low. Freshmen John Flowers (6-7) and Cam Thoroughman (6-7) will also serve as backups. GRADE – B-

Backcourt – The backcourt will be led by point guard Darris Nichols (10.9ppg, 4.6apg), D’Sean Butler (10.1ppg, 3.5rpg), and Alex Ruoff (10.3, 5.3apg). All three can shoot it and both Ruoff and Nichols are great passers. Joe Mazzula (3.0ppg,1.0apg) has a lot of experience and can back up both SG and PG. Devan Bawinkle (1.8ppg, 0.4rpg) is also available up top. Freshmen Will Thomas and Johnnie West will have time to learn the WVU system. GRADE – A-

Depth – Mazzula, Bawinkel, and Smith provide experience behind the starting five. Five freshman provide numbers. Huggins will hope that Young can be replaced with the numbers he can throw at opponents. GRADE – B

Outlook – Although the roster looks impresive, the fact that WVU may again be a one-shot- and-out team because of a rebounding disadvantage may hamper their attempt to run with the top teams. Huggins has always had a very physical team. This does not look like it. But their strength, especially in the backcourt will keep the Mountaineers in the top half of the BE standings. GRADE – B

Categories: Coach O, Commentary, Contributors, West Virginia
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