At Big East Basketball Media Day in New York, our Jason Horowitz had a chance to catch up with all the coaches in the new Big East Conference, as well as commissioner Val Ackerman. Listen to the full interviews below!
It’s a new era for college basketball, as the new ten-team Big East gets ready for play in 2013-14. The conference features 10 schools where basketball has always been the top priority: Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier. Leading the league will be commissioner Val Ackerman, the first president of the WNBA from 1996-2005 and a standout basketball star and two-time Academic All-American at Virginia.
(Listen to Big East commissioner Val Ackerman’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Butler: The Bulldogs move to the Big East for the 2013-14 season – Butler’s third conference in as many seasons. After leaving the Horizon League for a year in the A-10, change has come to Hinkle Fieldhouse again. Leading the team this year will be first-year head coach Brandon Miller. He takes over for departed head coach Brad Stevens, who is now the head man with the NBA’s Boston Celtics.
(Listen to Butler head coach Brandon Miller’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Creighton: Another Big East newcomer is Creighton, which also holds the distinction as being the school farthest west in the new Big East. But, even though they are the new kids on the block, the Jays have the attention of the other nine Big East programs. Coming off a Missouri Valley Conference championship and a trip to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, Creighton returns senior Doug McDermott – the Big East Preseason Player of the Year.
(Listen to Creighton head coach Greg McDermott’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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DePaul: Change is on the horizon for a DePaul Blue Demons team that has struggled in the Big East in recent years. The city of Chicago has approved a stadium deal that will eventually see the Demons move to a new downtown arena built a short El train ride from campus. That’ll mark a big departure for a team that has spent more than 30 years playing its home games some 15 miles from campus in suburban Rosemont, near O’Hare Airport.
(Listen to DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Georgetown: The 2012-13 season ended for the Hoyas in the most surprising fashion – an exit from the NCAA Tournament to the little-known and even less heralded Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University. 15th-seeded FGCU showed it was no fluke, however, advancing all the way to the Sweet 16. John Thompson III and Georgetown will look to put that disappointment behind them – and have preseason All-Big East guard Markel Starks leading the way.
(Listen to Georgetown head coach John Thompson III’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Marquette: After entering the 2012-13 season as outsiders in the Big East, the Golden Eagles proved everyone wrong. Coach Buzz Williams’ squad finished 14-4 in league play, and got to within a victory of advancing to the Final Four before going cold in an Elite Eight loss to then-conference rival Syracuse. Davante Gardner returns for his senior season as Marquette looks to improve on what turned out to be a great year.
(Listen to Marquette head coach Buzz Williams’ interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Providence: It’s been a decade since the Friars last danced, with Providence College last making the NCAA Tournament field in 2004, and a further ten years removed from the school’s only Big East Tournament title in 1994. Head coach Ed Cooley is looking to continue the improvement in his third year in charge, after recording a 9-9 conference mark in 2012-13. It won’t hurt that leading scorer Bryce Cotton is back for his senior year.
(Listen to Providence head coach Ed Cooley’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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St John’s: When you think Big East basketball, the first thing you might think of is Madison Square Garden, the iconic home of the conference’s annual tournament. Of course, the school that calls the venerable Manhattan building home throughout the season is the Red Storm of St. John’s University. After a decade of down years in the early 2000s, the Storm is on the horizon of bigger and better things under fourth-year head coach Steve Lavin.
(Listen to St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Seton Hall: 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of Seton Hall’s lone trip to the Final Four, in which P.J. Carlesimo’s Pirates made it all the way to overtime in a memorable championship game before falling by a single point to Michigan, 80-79. Looking to make some new history in New Jersey is fourth-year head coach Kevin Willard.
(Listen to Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Villanova: After a slow start in 2012, the Wildcats went on a roll and returned to the NCAA Tournament after a disappointing year in 2011-12. Villanova has been a fixture in the Big Dance during Jay Wright’s 13 seasons in charge – getting a bid in eight of the last nine years, and reaching the 2009 Final Four.
(Listen to Villanova head coach Jay Wright’s interview with Jason Horowitz)
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Xavier: After nearly two decades in the Atlantic 10 – and as one of that conference’s most consistent programs over the past decade – the Musketeers of Xavier move to the Big East for the 2013-14 season. While the spotlight will shine brighter on Cincinnati this season, fifth-year head coach Chris Mack looks like he’s feeling comfortable with his team’s new home. The Xavier grad even brought his 7-year-old daughter Lainee along for his Media Day rounds.
