Sports Poets Society

There was plenty of mourning before last season began over the supposed demise of the “old” Big East, but by the time the conference ended its annual March marquee party at Madison Square Garden, one school could not have enjoyed the new Big East any better . Providence was one of those programs that never recovered when expansion bloated the Big East to a 16-team monster in 2005 . That lineup paraded Top 25 teams into the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on a weekly basis, and the Friars never could gain much traction. The new, streamlined, football-be-damned conference could work quite well for Ed Cooley’s Friars , however. Providence emerged as the first Big East tournament champ of the old/new league after an upset of Doug McDermott and Creighton in the title game . Scoring point guard Bryce Cotton then dropped 36 points and 8 assists on a stunned North Carolina team before the Tar Heels found a way to escape with a 79-77 second-round NCAA tournament victory. The Big East title was ...

A different, interesting situation has settled over Victory Parkway as Xavier heads into the 2014-15 season as one of only 13 teams that have advanced to the NCAA tournament 8 of the last 9 seasons . In one corner of Cintas Center stand 6 returning players off last year’s team that was picked to finish sixth in its first season in the Big East , then rocketed up the league standings to wind up tied for third . In another corner of the arena stand 6 freshmen , all of whom believe they can contribute right from the jump but who have to handle the highs and lows that come with a long season of college competition. And somewhere in the middle of both groups, say standing on the “X” at center court, is Indiana transfer Reby Abell , who was around the program every day last year but whose next basket for coach Chris Mack will be his first. Six old guys, 6 new guys and one new/old guy are ready to chase a conference crown for one of the country’s most consistent programs in an ultra...

by Mike Waters   In 2011, Steve Lavin’s first year at St. John’s , he guided the Red Storm to 21 wins and the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance in nine years . But that team was laden with seniors, players recruited by previous head coach Norm Roberts .  Lavin’s first-year success was nice, but it was temporary. And he knew it.  “We didn’t have any returning players in year two ,” Lavin said. “I’ve never experienced that before as a coach or even in my time in broadcasting. Sometimes you have two or three returning players. We had none.”  That year, Lavin put together a stellar recruiting class, his recruits were thrown into the fire, and St. John’s managed just 13 wins . The next year the win total improved to 17 , and last season the Red Storm won 20 games and made the NIT . Now, Lavin’s first recruits at St. John’s—five players out of his original class—are entering their senior year.  “They are battle-tested seniors, who have b...

Steve Wojciechowski wouldn’t leave Duke , where he spent 4 years as a player and 15 years as an assistant to Mike Krzyzewski , for just any job. When Marquette came calling shortly after Buzz Williams’ surprise departure for Virginia Tech , Wojciechowski finally found the right opportunity at the right school at the right time. He might have wanted to take one more look at the roster before he was introduced April 1 as the new head coach. After a season of underachievement in 2013-14, the Golden Eagles lost three of their top four scorers plus a valuable inside defensive presence and leader . Then nearly four months after Wojciechowski was hired, Todd Mayo (11.3 PPG), the team’s top returning scorer and best perimeter shooter, decided to quit the team and pursue an NBA career . So if you’re scoring at home, the Golden Eagles lost 71 percent of their scoring and 82 percent of their 3-point shooting . They begin the season with a roster of nine , not counting two transfers w...

Standing (l-r): 0 Leon Gilmore III, 4 Ronnie Harrell, 13 Cole Huff, 32 Toby Hegner, 41 Geoffrey Groselle, 31 Will Artino, 50 Mogboluwaga Oginni, 15 Rick Kreklow, 40 Zach Hanson. Sitting (l-r):  11 Tyler Clement, 23 James Milliken, 22 Avery Dingman, 1 Austin Chatman, 21 Isaiah Zierden, 10 Mo Watson Jr., 5 Devin Brooks, 2 Gabriel Connealy. FOUR THE AGES It was arguably one of the greatest senior classes in Creighton history.  The quartet of Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Ethan Wragge put together an impressive run in its four seasons. The 29 wins three years ago set a single-season school record . The 57 combined wins from 2011-12 and 2012-13 set a two-year record . The 84 wins over the past three seasons and 107 wins in the previous four years also are program highs.  The four players combined for 5,964 points, 2,250 rebounds and 1,062 assists.  Doug McDermott  finished with 3,150 points , fifth-best in NCAA history , a...

Wright is extremely comfortable with what he calls “a really mature group... we don’t really have to push them because they’re self-motivated.” The first seven members of Villanova’s rotation all played key roles on last year’s team, and the coach liked what he saw of his two freshmen during summer drills.  The question is whether the Wildcats can deal with heightened expectations and the knowledge that opponents will zero in on them this season.  “We know the key is for us to be able to grind like we did last year,” he said. “We’ve got everybody back basically. So we need to keep these guys fresh and then we need to get them at the latest point possible, ready for a grind, because last year the grind was from the summer all the way through.”  The team’s three oldest players — Pinkston, Hilliard and Arcidiacono  — have combined for 265 starts and have the talent, experience and wisdom to guide the younger players through any rocky patches. Still, ...

31 - G - DYLAN ENNIS  (6-2, 192 lbs, R-JR, #31, 5.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 16.2 mpg, .353 FG, .301 3PT, .786 FT, Lake Forest Academy/Brampton, Ontario).  After transferring from Rice , Ennis — the older brother of former Syracuse star Tyler Ennis  — was the most hyped newcomer on last year’s team and coach Jay Wright feared there would be too many expectations of him. Ellis missed the first four games with a broken bone in his right hand and marked his return with back-to-back 14-point games in wins over USC and Kansas in the Bahamas.  Still, the transition to Wright’s way of playing basketball was a rocky one at times.  “In the beginning, the way Dylan played pleased the crowd, but it wasn’t efficient for our team,” he said. “The second half of the year, he didn’t look good to the crowd, but he was really effective for our team, and we really improved through the year because of his play defensively .”  The emphasis on defense “took...

15 - PG - RYAN ARCIDIACONO  (6-3, 195 lbs., JR, #15, 9.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.1 spg, 31.1 mpg, .395 FG, .345 3PT, .703 FT, Neshaminy HS/Langhorne, Pa.).  After Arcidiacono enrolled as a freshman, Wright wanted him to get the full effect of the college game, so he looked past the youngster’s turnovers, shot selection and first-year mistakes as long as he remained aggressive . The result of this baptism by fire came last season when Arcidiacono, while taking fewer shots, making fewer 3-pointers and dropping from being the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer to their fourth , was as valuable as anyone on the team.  Arcidiacono was an ideal floor leader . He hit some big shots when needed , like a clutch 3-pointer in the win over then-No. 2 Kansas. He knocked down 10 free throws and handed out 11 assists against zero turnovers in an overtime win at Marquette, and scored a season-best 21 in a double-overtime thriller at Providence. Meanwhile, Arcidiacono’s ball han...