In the midst of all this Big East expansion crap that is guiding my day-to-day behaviour (and not in a good way) I realized there we're just a couple of days away from our 2011 basketball preview. We're going to be previewing a player a day starting Friday with the 2 walk-ons Nick McMahon and Dallas Ouano. That will take us right up to Villanova's exhibition opener against New York Tech on November 8th.
And what do you know? Today is Big East Media Day in New York City! Due to constraints beyond my control (i.e. work) I could not attend media day even though it's a 5 minute walk from my office. But in today's world, it almost doesn't matter. Keep checking The Nova Blog Twitter feed for the most recent updates - and we'll also be writing a media day recap if there's enough material out of Jay Wright and the traveling players for it.
On to today's news roundup.
Villanova Hoping Their Freshmen Have The "Wright" Stuff
After losing seniors Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, and Antonio Pena, Villanova will have five first-year players --- all of whom figure to have a prominent role in coach Jay Wright's rotation.
Big East announces expansion plans
After weeks of behind-the-scenes talks and negotiations, the Big East Conference officially joined the conference expansion movement. Big East commissioner John Marinatto confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the conference presidents voted unanimously Monday night to expand the conference to 12 teams in football and raise the exit fee, for football only, from $5 million to $10 million.
UConn, and The Future of Big East Basketball
The Big East needs to solidify basketball league. Teams that don't play football and are year in and year out at the bottom need to be replaced with quality programs. This lineup would keep us the best BB conference I believe: Connecticut, St. John's, Rutgers, Villanova, Temple, Georgetown, Central Florida, South Florida West Virginia, Memphis, Xavier, Cincinnati, Louisville, Notre Dame, Butler, Marquette THOUGHTS?
Villanova Finishes Fall Season in Tie for Twelfth at Bank of Tennessee Invitational
Villanova (310-298-304--912;+48) finished in a tie for 12th in their final event of the fall season. The event was the Bank of Tennessee Invitational being played at the par-72, 7,147-yard Blackthorn Golf Club.
Katie Ryan Named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Senior forward Katie Ryan (Wayne, N.J.) was named to the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll in awards announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. This is the third time this season that Ryan has garnered weekly recognition and comes after she scored three goals in two games this past weekend.
Maggitti and Goelz Named to BIG EAST Honor Roll
Villanova junior Olivia Maggitti (West Chester, Pa.) and senior Megan Goelz (Yardley, Pa.) were both named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after the Wildcats went 1-1 this week, but came away with a huge upset victory over No. 20 Louisville on Saturday. Both players were instrumental in that victory.
Sheila Reid Named BIG EAST Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Senior Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ont.) was named the BIG EAST Female Cross Country Athlete of the Week in an announcement by the conference office this morning. Reid competed for the first time this season and was the individual winner at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Friday afternoon.