The Big East Conference Annual Media Day starts today in New York City. It is a two-day event where coaches and players talk about expectations for the upcoming season, lessons from the past and dreams for the future. In sum, every coach will compliment every other team and talk about how great and competitive the league is. Nothing special, except for the predictions. This is where it gets interesting. Last year the coaches weren't too far off actual finishes, other than the fact they failed to predict the final ranking of all 16 teams.
Below are the predicted rankings, actual finishes, and how far off the coaches' were in their predictions.
| Ranking | Predicted | Actual | Spots Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | Louisville | +2 |
| 2 | Louisville | Pittsburgh | -1 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh | Connecticut | -1 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | Villanova | +6 |
| 5 | Villanova | Marquette | -1 |
| 6 | Marquette | Syracuse | -1 |
| 7 | Georgetown | West Virginia | +5 |
| 8 | Syracuse | Providence | -2 |
| 9 | West Virginia | Cincinnati | -2 |
| 10 | Providence | Notre Dame | -2 |
| 11 | Cincinnati | Seton Hall | -2 |
| 12 | Rutgers | Georgetown | +3 |
| 13 | Seton Hall | St. John's | -2 |
| 14 | St. John's | South Florida | -1 |
| 15 | DePaul | Rutgers | +1 |
| 16 | South Florida | DePaul | -2 |
The coaches also pick the best players in the conference. The only surprise from last year was the complete dismissal of DeJuan Blair, who was Big East Rookie of the Year in 2007-08 but not selected to the Preseason Big East Team in 2008-09. He ended up winning Player of the Year along with Hasheem Thabeet. Conversely, coaches thought too highly of DaJuan Summers, as he was selected to the Preseason All-Big East but did not even receive Honorable Mention honors at the end of last season. The coaches did pick Greg Monroe as Preseason Co-Rookie of the Year and he ended up going home with the award at the end of the year, and not having to share it either.
I predict Monroe nabs preseason honors this year in a much weaker conference. Georgetown will also be picked to finish 4th in the conference, behind Nova, UConn and WVU. This is what I said five months ago, I still stick by it.
Let the games begin.
Good talk.