They said it

Notes and quotes from Big East media day, including dish on Donovan Clingan. Plus: Houston's ready for the Big 12, Va Tech loses a starter, NEC polls, and much more.

Author

Sean Paul
October 25, 2023

The NBA is back, which means we’re even closer to the college basketball season tipping off. It can’t start soon enough.

Let's dive into Tuesday’s news.

1. Takeaways from Big East media day

How do you motivate the reigning national champs? By voting them to finish third in conference play.

But hey, that’s just life in the Big East, which has three Top 10 teams and two more loaded with individual talent in Villanova and St. John’s. It’s gonna be a meat grinder of a year.

Last season, Marquette emerged as the regular-season and tourney champs. With four starters back, it’s not a surprise to see them atop the preseason media poll.

The Golden Eagles also have the Big East preseason POY in Tyler Kolek. The talented lefty averaged 12.9 points and 7.9 dimes in his national breakout season. He told the Field of 68 that he’s eyeing program records this season.

Truthfully, I’m just excited to see more of Kolek/Oso Ighodaro pick & rolls with a clean pocket pass leading to an emphatic slam from Oso. It’s like clockwork.

Notable quotes from media day:

  • Villanova’s Justin Moore never looked right last season. The quickness he displayed early on never recovered in his first 13 games back from his Achilles tear. Well, that’s not a surprise to coach Kyle Neptune. “He was never more than 70%. It was kind of miraculous that he ever came back. He was just itching to come back and be there for his teammates, so hats off to him.” Neptune also added “Moore looks pretty close to 100%.

  • Caution: Providence fans, look away. Ed Cooley was candid about his decision to leave for Georgetown. “Was it hard to leave? 1000%. But Georgetown is change. And change is healthy. I understand the bitterness that comes with that. I promise you I’m excited to go back there this year. But I’m not apologizing for taking care of my life. End of discussion.”

  • Though he did add “when you make the decision to leave and make the decision for your life, it’s expected for people to not be happy with it. That’s people’s own emotions and feelings. I think we all want to be liked, but I want to make sure I’m taking care of my own soul.”

  • Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman is a changed man. He’s leaving his shaggy hair and headband in the past. “The first practice after I got the buzz cut, I dunked on someone so... I haven't been wearing the headband at all lately."

  • Kim English plans to utilize Bryce Hopkins as an undersized, skilled five, occasionally this season: English said Hopkins at the five is “fun and exciting.”

  • Marquette returns three double-digit scoring starters in Kolek, Kam Jones and Oso Ighodaro, but how will the a trio of sophomores compliment them? “Those guys have really made progress,” Shaka Smart said. “Chase Ross in particular has been as improved as anyone on the team, Sean (Jones) and Ben (Gold) have really a different feel about them than they did as freshmen. We’re really gonna need them.”

  • Dan Hurley is staying cautious on pumping up Donovan Clingan’s numbers. “I don’t know if he’ll have the same numbers as a Hunter Dickinson this year, but it’s almost like what he does for the others is what makes him such an important piece.”

  • And was Clingan fat and lazy at one point? Alex Karaban got cornered on that one.

  • Why did Big East media day seem to generate more buzz than usual? One reason. "The Rick Pitino Effect," according to Xavier coach Sean Miller.

  • "I had two goals entering the summer: to make them understand what it takes to win and how hard it is, how much energy it takes," Pitino said. "The second thing was I wanted to have fun doing it. Because if it’s not fun, with 14 new players, then you can’t turn it around. We’ve had a lot of fun together.” Pitino said

  • Let it be known that Dan Hurley thinks big. “Storrs, Connecticut is the basketball capital of the world. We’ll come into a season with a chip on our shoulder, or two chips, and that’s why I think this program is as successful as it’s been. We don’t carry complacency.”

  • Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman said the league is likely to extend the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden through 2032. She also noted that the Gavitt Games are no more.

  • And while Ackerman said the league isn’t looking to expand, they do keep in touch with Gonzaga because of how the Zags would fit with the rest of the Big East.

2. Houston’s ready for the Big 12. Is the Big 12 ready for the Coogs?

In nine seasons, Kelvin Sampson’s taken Houston from American Athletic Conference also-ran to national title contender.

The stats speak for themselves, whether it’s conference dominance — 75-14 in the last five AAC seasons, won four of the last five regular-season conference crowns — or thriving in March where the Cougars are 11-4 in the last four tournaments, including a Final Four berth in 2021.

So when the Big 12 announced Houston would be part of four new teams joining the league for the 2023-24 season, many college hoops fans got wide-eyed at the thought of adding yet another elite program to the nation’s top hoops conference.

And some many have been skeptical. After all, the ACC isn’t the Big 12. And it’s going to be a tough transition, right? (snorts)

Kelvin Sampson is no stranger to the Big 12.

Before he landed at Indiana, the program that put him on the map for all the wrong reasons and sent him to NBA benches for a half-decade, Sampson spent a dozen years in the conference as the head coach of Oklahoma. He knows firsthand what Houston is getting into as they leave the American, and he knows how to win in the Big 12.

“When I got to Oklahoma, Norm Stewart was at Missouri, Eddie Sutton was at Oklahoma State. Roy Williams, Bobby Knight, Billy Gillispie,” Sampson recalled. “The difference isn’t at the top of the league. Oklahoma finished in last place [in 2023] and beat Alabama by 30.”

Sampson isn’t going to be caught off guard, and if we’ve learned anything about Houston basketball over the course of the last six years, it’s that the Cougars are never going to back down from a challenge. They’ve won six AAC regular season and tournament titles since 2018, and they’ve reached the second weekend of the past four NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four run in 2021.

“Our kids are excited about coming in to compete,” he said. “There was a pop in their steps all summer, and our kids don’t back down from anybody.”

Sampson continued: “We know that we’re going into the best basketball conference in the nation, but we want to add to it. We’re not going to be asking for selfies and autographs.”

Especially not when Houston has the talent to match Big 12 opponents.

Jamal Shead and LJ Cryer (who has plenty of Big 12 experience) might be the league’s best backcourt. J’Wan Roberts is a long, strong forward who’ll have no problem with the league’s physical play. Wings Terrance Arceneaux and Emanuel Sharp are ready for larger roles. And newcomer Damian Dunn should be just fine. In fact, he could lead the team in scoring.

Combine all that with Houston’s approach as perhaps the most physical team in college hoops — they define a “bruising frontcourt” — and yeah, I’m thinking Houston’s gonna be just fine.

Voters and metrics agree. The Coogs are 5th in the Almanac, 7th in the preseason AP poll, 6th in the coaches’ poll, and no lower than 6th from the computers.

For Sampson’s part, he sounds confident about the season. Though at Big 12 media day, he did throw out a little caution in the way of anecdote.

"We had a head-coaches' meeting a while ago," Sampson said. "It was kind of like [being] in a dog park. You've got two dogs [walking] by each other, kind of side-eyeing or a little one starts yapping at the big one and they start sizing each other up. I was kind of sizing them all up.

"It used to be that you could look at a few of those little dogs and go, 'I can get that one, I can get that one, I can get that one.' I ain't seen nobody I can get in this conference. That's the difference. They're all German shepherds, man. Where's the shih tzus? Where are the Chihuahuas at? Oh, that's a Rottweiler. Oh, my God. That's a pit bull. This is a tough dog park, man."

He’s not wrong. Every team is projected as a top 75 team on kenpom.com. Gone are the days of facing a sub-150 squad, let alone the occasional 200 or 300 team. But Houston will be ready. Other coaches know it, too.

“(The league) got better when Houston came in it,” Kansas coach Bill Self said at media day. “There’s no question, from (the standpoint of) a team that could win a national championship. I’m not saying the other three (new members) can’t, but we know Houston can. Of course everybody respects what Kelvin has been able to do over time and certainly in recent memory.”

3. Virginia Tech already dealt a loss

This isn’t news you want to see with the season just days away.

Rice was a prized recruit in 2022 and poised to make an impact as a starter for the Hokies this season. There’s plenty of speculation about why, but the why will likely emerge in soon enough. So we’ll focus on the what for the Hokies.

Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla are the known quantities. Two steady players, but those two won’t single-handedly elevate Tech to the NCAA tourney. Rice’s attributes — size, athleticism and excellent passing — would’ve been a significant boost.

Now, Virginia Tech likely will increase minutes for former top-100 recruit Tyler Nickel and sophomore returnee M.J. Collins.

Collins started 16 of 34 games last season, but struggled mightily on offense, averaging just 4.1 points on 34% shooting and 26% from deep. For Virginia Tech to go dancing again, it needs both players to emerge as consistent players.

4. One last hurrah for the NEC favorites

Just yesterday, we touched on Sacred Heart (and Merrimack) leaving the NEC for the MAAC.

Today, Sacred Heart topped the NEC preseason rankings with seven first place votes — the only NEC team to capture multiple first place votes.

That’s pretty fun, considering Sacred Heart has never made the NCAA Tournament since coming from the D-II in 1999. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Anthony Latina’s squad make those lofty expectations a reality.

The Pioneers return all-conference selections Nico Gallette and Joey Reilly. Gallette is a total matchup nightmare for opponents. At 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, his size and strength can overwhelm smaller guards and his quickness helps him score against opposing bigs.

Sacred Heart’s key to securing the conference title is simple: Be more consistent on the glass (only a 30% defensive rebound rate) and shoot the ball better from deep (333rd nationally in 3-point percentage).

It’ll be interesting to see if the NEC champ can engineer more fireworks in March, too. NEC teams typically play in Dayton — meaning they above to win a game to play themselves into the 64-team bracket — but if Fairleigh Dickinson taught us anything, it’s to never count out the 16 seed.

5. No gripes for Jerry West Award watch list

After seeing the Bob Cousy award watch list from Monday, my expectations weren’t high for the Jerry West Award watch list.

But pleasant surprises are always nice.

There isn’t much to dislike. I’m glad Florida’s breakout star Riley Kugel received some well-deserved national shine, especially since his strong freshman season went mostly unnoticed.

Maybe my only problem is deciding which FAU player is considered the shooting guard. Though, it doesn’t really matter as long as the small forward list features Alijah Martin. Both of the Owls star scorers should make preseason watch lists.

My pick for the eventual winner? Creighton’s Trey Alexander.

For a moment, Alexander looked more likely to stay in the NBA Draft than return for another college season, but luckily for us, he’s back. Alexander improved his 3-point shooting percentage from 28% as a freshman to 42% as a sophomore. It’ll be exciting to see what improvements he made this offseason.

Something to (US)see

Could the Trojans have the nation’s best backcourt in Boogie Ellis, Isaiah Collier and Bronny James (provided James can get healthy)? That’s the question John Fanta, Rob Dauster and Terrence Oglesby debated on the DTF podcast.

Links as you secretly thank the Rangers and D-Backs for ensuring you won’t watch the World Series.

Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily! If you have a news tip or feedback, email us at [email protected].