Basketball Schools Leaving Big East
It's official.
The seven non-football members of the Big East conference have voted to go their own way. The presidents of Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, Marquette and DePaul released a joint statement, saying:
Earlier today we voted unanimously to pursue an orderly evolution to a foundation of basketball schools that honors the history and tradition on which the Big East was established. Under the current context of conference realignment, we believe pursuing a new basketball framework that builds on this tradition of excellence and competition is the best way forward.
We are grateful to our Commissioner, Michael Aresco, for his exceptional leadership of the Big East Conference. We have been honored to be associated with the outstanding group of institutions that have made up the Big East. While we pursue this opportunity for our institutions, we believe the efforts of the past two years have established the foundation for an enduring national football conference.
We look forward to building this new foundation with an emphasis on elite competition and a commitment to the development of our students engaged in intercollegiate athletics. That is where we will now spend our energy as we move forward.
League commissioner Michael Aresco issued a formal response, saying:
The basketball institutions have notified us that they plan to withdraw from the BIG EAST Conference. The membership recognizes their contributions over the long distinguished history of the BIG EAST. The 13 members of the Conference are confident and united regarding our collective future. We have a strong Conference with respected national universities, and are working together to forge the future. We have a variety of options, and are looking forward with great partnership, collegiality and optimism.
According to league bylaws, the seven will depart the league in June of 2015 - which means two more impossibly awkward seasons of "Big East" hoops.
That settles it, right?
Not hardly.
Still to be determined - what will the new basketball-only league look like? What will happen to the schools left behind in this mass exodus - Connecticut, Cincinnati and South Florida? Which group of schools will get to keep the Big East name, and all-important NCAA Tournament revenue?
St. John's University president Fr. Donald Harrington will hold a press conference later today which MAY shed some light on those issues.
Referee Attempts to Block Free-Throw Attempt
During the fourth quarter of last night's Nets/Raptors game, referee Courtney Kirkland attempted to block a Kris Humphries free-throw attempt.
Yes, you read that correctly.
There's something you don't see every day, huh?
Apparently Kirkland gave Humphries the ball without realizing that there were players waiting to enter the game... the Dikembe Mutombo impression was his way of stopping Hump from shooting so the sub could check in before the shot.
If only he had some sort of signaling device designed to get the attention of basketball players... a whistle, perhaps? Wait, what?
Big East to Dissolve?
Another major shakeup could hit the Big East conference in the next few days. It is even possible that the once-mighty basketball power could be dissolved.
The seven non-football schools in the conference - DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova - are "close to a consensus" on what they'll do next. The plummeting value of the league's television contract is a big factor. According to one report, the Big East is being offered about $60-80 million per year in current negotiations. Last year, they turned down an offer from ESPN that would have paid three times as much.
Dissolving the league entirely may be an option. The conference may be dissolved if a two-thirds majority of member schools votes to do so, and after the recent departures of Rutgers (to the Big Ten), Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville (to the ACC) the seven non-football schools represent 70 percent of the membership at this point.
Earlier reports suggested that Temple - a football-only member - could become the key vote to prevent the basketball schools from getting that two-thirds majority, but ESPN sources indicate that the Owls do not have the right to participate in a conference dissolution vote.
The presidents of the remaining football schools - Connecticut, Cincinnati and South Florida - are reportedly lobbying the basketball schools to keep the league intact... Sort of remarkable, given the fact, just weeks ago, they lobbied just as hard to grab a spot in the ACC.
What happens if the seven non-football schools do split off? Atlantic 10 officials have been dropping hints they'd be happy to give the ex-Big East hoops schools a home. That makes sense on some levels; the A-10 is largely comprised of Catholic and private schools in the Northeast and upper Midwest; institutions like Xavier, Dayton and St. Louis have a great deal in common with, say, Seton Hall and Providence, and the additions of recent Final Four schools Butler and VCU gives the A-10 a bit more juice as a basketball power. But adding seven schools to the A-10 would give that league 21 members, which may be a bit awkward.
Much may hinge on whether or not the basketball schools are able to hang on to the conference name and relationship with Madison Square Garden. That could enable the league to return to its roots as a highly-competitive basketball conference comprised primarily of Catholic schools in major markets.
Basketball Stars to Participate in 12-12-12 Concert
Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Bon Jovi might be the headliners at tonight's 12.12.12 Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden, but the NBA will be supplying some star power to the show as well.
A large group of current and former New York Knicks will be in attendance, including Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd and basketball hall-of-famers Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Earl Monroe.
Kobe Bryant of the Lakers is also slated to participate; his Lakers play the Knicks at MSG on Thursday.
The concert and associated telethon will raise funds for the Robin Hood Relief Fund. The show will be available at movie theaters, on television or via the Web; check 121212concert.org for broadcast details and to make a donation.
Kobe Bryant Scores 30,000th Point
Kobe Bryant reached the 30,000-point mark in career scoring during last night's win over the Hornets. He's just the fifth player in league history to hit that lofty plateau and - at 34 years of age - the youngest.
(Of course, the fact that he entered the league right out of high school certainly helped. He has already appeared in more games than either of the next two players in the all-time scoring list - Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.)
Does Kobe have a chance to catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - the NBA's all-time scoring leader? My back-of envelope math says, "yes" - but only if he wants to. He'd need to maintain his current pace for about four more seasons after this one, and he has hinted that he'll consider retirement when his current contract expires in 2014.
The New Orleans... Pelicans?
The New Orleans Hornets will change their name to the Pelicans, Yahoo! Sports is reporting. The change could take effect in time for the 2013-14 season.
The team has been known as the Hornets since 1988, when the then-Charlotte Hornets joined the NBA as an expansion club. Tom Benson bought the team from the league last April and has been considering a change ever since. "Pelicans" has some local significance; the brown pelican is the state bird of Louisiana.
Benson also owns the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
Benson's wife Gayle has already revealed that she would like to see new uniforms using a navy, red and gold color scheme.
For what it's worth, I like the idea. If I had my way, teams would always change names when they change cities, and they'd use names with local significance as often as possible. Ideally, New Orleans' NBA team would call itself "the Jazz" - but that name moved to Utah along with Louisiana's original NBA team.
Ben Gordon's 10,000th Point
Charlotte Bobcats sixth man Ben Gordon became the sixth University of Connecticut player to reach the 10,000-point mark in the NBA.
And as a bonus... can you name the only other school that has as many ten-thousand point scorers in the last quarter century?
The answer may surprise you.
LeBron James Named SI's Sportsman of the Year
LeBron James has been named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine. SI's Chris Stone made the announcement on CNN this morning.
The honor caps a very good year for King James. He won his first NBA title, was named league MVP for the third time in four years, and helped lead Team USA to an Olympic gold medal - his second - in London last summer.
He also seems to be re-claiming the popularity that he lost when he left Cleveland for Miami in 2010. According to sales figures released by the NBA recently, James' jersey is the top seller.
James' Miami Heat are 12-3 through their first 15 games of the 2012-13 season; that's the best record in the East and tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for tops in the league.
Meet Mike D'Antoni
- He'll be reunited with Steve Nash. That's a big deal... in their four years together in Phoenix, Nash won two MVP awards, D'Antoni was named NBA Coach of the Year, and the Suns reached the West Finals twice.
- Kobe Bryant is a D'Antoni fan - and has been since he was a kid, growing up in Italy (where his dad was playing professionally) and D'Antoni was the star point guard for Olimpia Milano.
- He also has experience with Bryant - and Dwight Howard - having worked with both as part of Mike Krzyzewski's USA Basketball coaching staff.
Holiday Gifts for Basketball Fans
As of about eight and one-half hours from now, it will be December. Black Friday is over. The lines at your local Wal Mart no longer resemble the Rajon Rondo/Kris Humphries kerfluffle* under the basket at TD Bank Garden.
It is time. Time for shopping.
Should you need some gift ideas for the basketball fans on your list, look no further. Knicks fans would love either of Alan Hahn's new books about the orange-and-blue. Players of any skill level can use shooting gear from Point 3 or a nice new set of kicks. And for the nostalgic, Hoosiers has been re-released on Blu-Ray - because who doesn't want to see Dennis Hopper in high-definition?
* Sorry, I grew up watching the Knicks and Bulls and Heat and Pistons. I can't bring myself to call that mess a fight.