Rutgers

Before getting into the team and player of the week honors in the metropolitan area, it's time to acknowledge area players who picked up some praise in their respective leagues.

Atlantic 10: Fordham freshman guard Jio Fontan was named Rookie of the Week after two exemplary games for the Rams. Fontan averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 assists in the two games, which included a career-high twenty-two in a 69-66 loss to Fairfield.

20 Random Rants, Thoughts, and Observations from the Week in College Basketball by CollegeHoops.net Editor Shawn Siegel:

1 - Everyone knows the Big East is loaded. This is most unfortunate for Rutgers who will have a hard time winning more than a game or two in league play. The Knights have already lost to Lehigh, Binghamton, and St. Bonaventure (2 of those coming at home.) When they go on the road to face UNC in 2 weeks, the score could potentially be 100-0.

Rob Carpentier's "Seven Day Stretch" is a whirlwind tour around every corner of college basketball nation:

Seven Day Savior (Team): Gonzaga

This past week marked the beginning of conference play for metropolitan area schools in the Metro Atlantic and Northeast conferences. While Army, Fordham and St. John's were out picking up non-conference wins tonight, a Garden State rivalry took center stage in the NEC with FDU visiting Monmouth. The Hawks, thanks to an efficient half-court offense and confusing matchup zone, controlled the game for the first twenty-eight minutes or so with a lead as large as fifteen points.

We're just about finished with the first month of the season in the metropolitan area, and it's become quite obvious who the best team in the area is right now. Seton Hall has gotten off to a 6-1 start, which includes a pair of gutty comebacks in Puerto Rico to finish third in that in-season tournament. Jeremy Hazell has shown himself to be one of the most explosive scorers in the Big East; what has come in his sophomore campaign (23.3 ppg; tops in the Big East) is a level of consistency that wasn't always present last season.

Raphielle Johnson's Metro preview & weekly Metro rankings & updates are a staple of fans in NYC's tri-state region. To get things going, here is Raphielle's 23 team NYC Metro preseason ranking and all-Metro teams. Individual team previews will up shortly!

 

Preseason Metro Ranking

The 2008-09 Big East season should bring as much excitement as any.  Commonly regarded as the toughest conference in college basketball, it has the potential to put 9+ teams into the NCAA tournament come March.

 

At the backbone of a great team comes a great coach, and the Big East has plenty of great coaches.  But which coaches are the best?  Let's just say that a well-padded résumé is not enough to give a coach top honors in this conference.

 

Big East Player Grades