New Big East raise recruiting bar
The expanded conference has done well on the recruiting trail, and not just with this year's seniors. Many top high school juniors are considering signing on, too.
01:00 AM EDT on Friday, May 13, 2005
BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer
It seems the coaching staffs in the new, larger Big East aren't waiting to crank up their recruiting efforts.
Thanks to the addition of five new schools, the Big East's 16 basketball schools will collectively welcome a bonanza of incoming talent in the fall. Combine some of the premier recruits in the nation with returning stars such as UConn's Josh Boone and Marcus Williams, Villanova's Curtis Sumpter and Randy Foye, Syracuse's Gerry McNamara and Louisville's Taquan Dean, and it's understandable why coaches are staying very busy on the recruiting trail these days.
"It's a challenge overall, but you have to answer that with recruiting and bringing your level up," said PC's Tim Welsh, who signed four recruits for next year. "The selling point is you'll play against the best players in the country every night."
Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese isn't surprised that the league has done well on the recruiting trail, and not just with this year's senior class. Several of the best high school juniors are thinking about signing with the Big East, too.
"I don't immerse myself in recruiting. That's the coach's job," Tranghese said. "But I do see excitement about the league. The new teams have said it has had a significant impact for them. I thought it would."
The expected bump in incoming talent wasn't expected for a year or two as the traditional Big East teams and new members Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida mixed together. However, Bob Huggins has brought in big-time talent at Cincinnati for years now, and Louisville became a national player the day it hired Rick Pitino. How long it takes for the conference's cache to help South Florida is another matter.
Several scouting services rate next year's newcomers at Louisville and Cincinnati among the best in the country. Louisville, in fact, owns the top class in the nation, according to HoopScoop, and Pitino isn't slowing down. He recently hired Steve Masiello, an assistant at Manhattan, to his staff. Not surprisingly, the Cardinals secured a commitment yesterday from Edgar Sosa, one of the top high school junior guards in New York City.
Another network, Scout.com, has six Big East schools among its top 25 recruiting classes: Louisville, third; UConn, 10th; Marquette, 13th; Notre Dame, 15th; Cincinnati, 18th, and Syracuse, 25th. The best of the best include UConn center Andrew Bynum, Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf, Notre Dame center Luke Zeller and Louisville forward Amir Johnson. Interestingly, Big East schools haven't chased many of the half-dozen high school stars who are weighing jumps to the NBA.
Welsh said the league's profile has helped him on the recruiting trail ever since he took over at PC in 1998. But he's noticed an increased push of late because of the expansion.
"It's helped us, absolutely. The kids all knew it when we brought it up," Welsh said. "It works both ways. DePaul has been recruiting (in the East) for a couple years now. Louisville is going into New York, for sure. On the flip side, we can go to Ohio and Chicago more than we have. Those kids will identify more with the Big East."
Next week, Welsh, Pitino, Huggins and every other head basketball and football coach in the expanded Big East will come together for the first time at the conference's annual spring meetings in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Tranghese said the league is implementing a "rebranding project" that focuses attention on the 16-team group. It'll include a new logo and advertising campaign.
"We've been good. We're not going from where we are now to a level significantly higher. That would be in the stratosphere," Tranghese said. "But we want to historically be one of the best basketball conferences in the country every year, and I think we have the tools to do that."
|