The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

The lengthy, prolific career of Kevin Noreen

June 29, 2010 by Mike Casazza

Mr. Basketball in Minnesota could sign with WVU today — and perhaps as soon as today — and obtain a scholarship and give the Mountaineers a 6-foot-10 body to fill the remaining vacancy.

Noreen is a pretty interesting player: state records for career points and rebounds and nearly assists, too; six years on varsity; 13 inches taller today then he was six years ago. And, of course, he’d previously signed a NLI at Boston College.

Then the Eagles fired Al Skinner and Noreen was granted a release from his signed letter, though with conditions.

“It’s been wild,” Sherman said. “We’ve had calls from North Carolina, UCLA, Texas, Oklahoma and Indiana. Indiana and Texas were both up visiting after Kevin (was released).”

Sherman said Noreen wanted to play in the Big East or the ACC “because that’s been the proving ground for good players,” but he had to leave the ACC behind after discovering how difficult it might be to get a waiver  to stay within the conference.

“His talk with North Carolina was encouraging, but it was brief,” Sherman said. “He just decided he didn’t want to wait around all summer for a decision. And when you get a call from a school like West Virginia, you have to pay attention.”

Continue reading…

Ricky Williams is quite high on Pat White

June 28, 2010 by Mike Casazza

Maybe No. 5 vanquishes the sophomore slump?

Two things that stood out to Ricky Williams from Dolphins practices: With Mike Nolan as coordinator, “the defense is a lot more aggressive, and that makes the offense work harder.” Also, “Pat White, no question, is our most improved player. He’s a quarterback now.”

Chris Henry had brain trauma

by Mike Casazza

A noon press conference at the Health Sciences Center today revealed the former WVU and Cincinnati Bengals receiver had bain damage. Henry is believed to be the first NFL active player to die with trauma-induced condition known as C.T.E.

More upon my return from said press conference.

The Big East schedule: From blank slate to 18-games

by Mike Casazza

I figured there was an expensive and complex computer involved — and there is — but constructing the Big East’s basketball schedule is a task that begins on the ground level. Someone has to tell the computer what to do, right?

Turns out that shortly after the end of the season the conference asks itself as well as the coaches to predict the upcoming season — and figure that’s pretty difficult and inexact given roster turnover with the draft and transfers/deparutres as well as incoming players … and politics. 

It’s still sensible and tangible and therefore useful as a starting point for scheduling puposes. The results are gathered and then sorted for the computer’s consumption.

Continue reading…

Emeritus Eddie takes up new digs

by Mike Casazza

The “transition” still officially three days away, Ed Pastilong is packed up and has removed himself from his longtime office in the Coliseum. Oliver Luck is in town for a brief stretch, beginning today, and will have Pastilong’s office for his use until he retreats to Houston for soccer stadium matters.

Pastilong, meanwhile, will move it on over to the Puskar Center and bunk with Garrett Ford.

The Moundsville native and former high school and small college coach calls the AD transition “one old quarterback handing off to another,” and expects the move to be seamless.

“When I started here 35 years ago, I’d come to work here in the Coliseum in the mornings for Dr. (Leland) Byrd (the AD),” said Pastilong, a grandfather of four. “I was responsible for tutors, eligibility, and did a little fundraising. Then in the afternoons, I’d go over to the old stadium and work (for Coach Frank Cignetti) as recruiting coordinator.

“It is going to seem strange not to come here, but if Oliver calls, at least I’ll know how to get over here.”

Two interesting little revelations from Ed in this: One, he wouldn’t be surprised if the Big East added a ninth football team “probably sooner than later.” Two, the swimming and diving program needs a new facility.

Friday Feedback

June 25, 2010 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which … ah, screw it.

overtheSEC said:

Da’Sean’s knee may not be healed yet, but he just leapt over Ebanks. Wow.

This angers me. Oh, it’s funny. It’s appropriate. There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just disappointed I never thought of it.

Late in the first round last night there were a few teams with picks who’d worked Ebanks out and generated some sort of a buzz suggesting they might select him. You figured he’d go 24, 26, something like that, if he was in fact a first-round talent — and, quite clearly, there were questions if he was.

“He’s a very good rebounder,” ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas said. “He’s got long arms. He’s a versatile defender. He’s not a shooter. He’s not a scorer. He’s not a guy who’s going to put the ball on the deck and get in the lane and get fouled. He’s kind of a motion offense player where he’s a cutter. He’s not a jump-shooter. He does make his free throws. He’s got some potential as a player, but he’s not an offensive player.”

Obviously, Ebanks wasn’t selected in the first round and once we got to pick No. 29 I asked if people might be interested in a bet. Who goes first? Butler or Ebanks? No one would take it.

Butler went first at No. 42 to the Miami Heat and Ebanks went a pick later. Initially, it seems like it can work for both. Ultimately, who knows?

Begin with Ebanks. Say what you will about his decision to go early, but he was picked by the two-time defending champions who didn’t have a first-round pick … which means Ebanks carries a little more weight. He’ll be around professionals and great influences. He’ll be on a winning team. He’ll get a chance to settle and grow. He even had a Trevor Ariza label applied to him and the Lakers never quite replaced the Ariza element after he went to Houston in free agency. Then again, it’s not like they missed it too much, either. I’m having a hard time finding a negative, to be quite honest, but I can stretch.

Whether or not Phil Jackson returns will be interesting with regard to Ebanks’s future – his familiarity and success with a motion offense translates to the triangle — and I do wonder if he can hang around on a bench for three, four, five nights in a row and then come in when the team needs him. He’s always played, but the Lakers aren’t going to need him right away. But again, it’s a good spot so he can have the right people show him the right way.

Butler’s position is a little more interesting. In recent years Miami has drafted and signed players who didn’t have elite talent, but had good skills and reputations — Mario Chalmers — and allowed them to grow into good players. Miami wasn’t one of the five NBA cities he traveled to last week, but we were led to believe it was one of the eight to 10 teams he met with in Chicago. The Heat traded out of the first round — another “first pick means more” possibility — and, it would reason, would like to make their pick stick.

Miami is going to be very active in free agency and it’s conceivable only one or two people on the end-of-the-season roster will be back. Perhaps they want to draft a guy they think can be had for cheap and contribute? It’s hard to sign a dozen free agents.

Conversely, it’s possible the Heat want to make as few commitments as possible to be as financially flexible as possible. As a second-round pick, Butler’s contract isn’t guaranteed and doesn’t count against Miami’s salary cap number, which is important because they want to have about $49 million free to go after three maximum salary free agents. The Heat can stash Butler for a year, allow his knee to recover, maybe even reintroduce him through the D-League, and it can work out for both. Or they can just never sign him. That’s true, too.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be a hound, not a bull dog.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

What does this say about Ebanks’ perceived value when a guy on the same team described as not a good athlete who blew out his knee in his last game goes above him…….half full answer is what it says about Butler.

Ebanks’ problems at the beginning of last year, coupled with his disappearing at times, during the season cost him……another solid year with improvements on the offensive end would have put him in the first round.

Fair point. It’s strange how two players in very different pre-draft situations were evaluated so closely and then picked so close together. I had two NBA teams call me to ask about Ebanks and the questions were predominantly about character and behavioral issues — by the way, I chose not to participate — and I know another person who was contacted by two other NBA teams for the same reasons. I never heard from anyone about Butler nor did I hear about such a thing.

Continue reading…

Richard Katz’s three-point plan to get Da’Sean drafted

June 24, 2010 by Mike Casazza

Initially, it didn’t seem like a very big deal to me when Da’Sean Butler happened to be in Chicago for the NBA’s pre-draft camp last month. This, after all, is where people who might get drafted might want to go. It was later brought to my attention that it was kind of unusual and that unusualness was articulated even more more clearly by Bob Huggins Tuesday afternoon.

“Da’Sean wasn’t invited,” West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins said of his former star who may very well be picked in tonight’s NBA Draft.

Sounds like that one graduation party I went to my senior year of high school. But I guess that is pretty neat. Perhaps it deserves a little more attention. Huggins, after all, called it “ingenious” what agent Richard Katz and Butler conspired to do from that point forward with “random” meetings with NBA people in a hotel lobby and meetings with teams that produced generally favorable reviews.

Butler visited five NBA teams last week – the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trailblazers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Katz and Huggins are not only certain Butler will be drafted, but they’re cautiously hopeful it happens in the first round.

“I think he made great strides (in Chicago) with regard to his confidence,” Katz said. “He was obviously questioning himself and whether he could play, whether he could get back, whether people really liked him.

“He was really down for a time. But that was tremendous move forward for him. He regained his confidence and regained the bounce in his step, which was obviously very big for him in this process.”

Big East basketball opponents announced

by Mike Casazza

(Update: Good stuff, courtesy Jack Bogaczyk, coming in tomorrow’s paper about how the schedule is put together — a pretty neat process is involved — as well as the names of all of WVU’s non-conference opponents. The Sunshine State! Gorgeous!) 

For West Virginia, it looks like this:

WEST VIRGINIA

Home            Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, USF

Away            Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Villanova

Hard to say where this puts WVU in the Big East’s preseason estimation. Pitt is a lock for a home-and-home, Louisville is annually competitive and, more importantly, good for TV, but DePaul is … well, it’s DePaul. That said, I’m obviously siked for the trip.

I’m going to guess the preliminary opinion of the membership is a wide range of teams could compete for the top four/five/six spots next season. What’s interesting to me is two of the home games are against teams WVU has historically had a hard time with on the road — Notre Dame and Connecticut — while two more — Seton Hall and St. John’s — are teams against which WVU has in recent years had some scares away from home. In that regard, it’s not bad for the Mountaineers.

Someone get Beatty on a plane to Florida ASAP

by Mike Casazza

There he’ll find a little running back named Brandon White who wears No. 7 because such things are in his blood.

Evaluating and projecting Big East TV deal

June 23, 2010 by Mike Casazza

The Big East is nowhere near a new televsion deal with the one in place running through the 2012-13 basketball season and the 2013 football season.

It’s still topical, though. The ACC (almost stunningly) more than doubled its annual television income with its new deal. The reconfigured Pac-10 expects to go from about $5 million per school per year to $14 million. The SEC needn’t worry about TV revenue, but has about $18.6 million per school per year and the Big Tewhatever has about $1 million more than that to disperse.

The Big East? Well, it’s behind. The numbers have been bandied about, but there have been some inaccuracies reported, mostly because of the way the football/basketball and the basketball only schools split the money. For the record …

Here’s the Big East TV picture right now:

The conference has a six-year, $80 million football deal with ESPN ($13.33 million per year, divided by eight football members – and a deal that was done in August 2006, as the conference was still trying to find its legs after losing Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College).

The Big East has a six-year, $138 million hoops deal with ESPN and a six-season, $54 million deal with CBS (those are divided by 16 schools). Each Big East football school gets, on average, $3.67 million a year. The other eight (hoops) schools receive $2 million apiece.

So, the Big East is only getting about $45.3 million annually in TV revenue now – or about $1 million more than the current Pac-10, deal, which is about to soar.

If the recent conference agreements can be used as a guide, there’s no reason the Big East shouldn’t get into the $95 million-$100 million range annually in 2014 and beyond.