...well, it took awhile, but thanks to another board, I finally found an article that at least talks about the Big East meetings this week.
It's very briefly mentioned, but here goes:
BE Meetings and Notes about Alexander and Ebanks
May 23, 2008
Alexander, Ebanks decisions not related
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia University Athletic Director Ed Pastilong returned from this week's Big East meetings with big news.
He had no news.
"All the items we discussed were important, but there wasn't anything that stood out -- and that's good," he said of the annual get-together in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. "That's good for the conference. It's a strong indication that things are solid and the future looks good."
It was five years ago, of course, when the meetings were controlled by talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference luring Miami, Boston College and Syracuse away from the Big East. Pastilong said there was no mention this time of a rumored expansion to include Memphis, East Carolina or anyone else.
"Those rumors were simply rumors," he said.
Instead, the membership reviewed the television contract and payouts and discussed success in all sports, particularly basketball and football.
"There were no so-called fires to put out," Pastilong said. "It was pleasantly uneventful. I feel good for WVU and for the conference right now."
***
DEVIN EBANKS' decision to sign with the men's basketball program in no way indicates which direction Joe Alexander might be leaning with regard to his future.
Ebanks signed Sunday and it was immediately assumed he did so because he had some inside knowledge that Alexander would skip his senior season for the NBA Draft and thus leave a void.
Assistant coach Larry Harrison recruited Ebanks and has worked closely with Alexander as he's developed. He said the two outcomes are not connected, but that Ebanks did give Alexander's options a lot of thought.
"Devin and I did talk about that quite a bit and what it came down to was it didn't matter whether Joe was here or not," Harrison said. "If Joe is here, Devin understands that with the rest of the guys we could be a really good team. With Joe gone, yes, that's going to hurt us quite a bit, but Devin can step in and still do the things we think he can do. Either way, Devin knew he could help us, but the only difference is that he might not have Joe beside him. He didn't base his decision on Joe being here or not, but I think he would definitely still be here even if he knew."
***
THE OTHER side of that, of course, is how Ebanks might influence Alexander's decision.
With Alexander and Ebanks, the Mountaineers would be highly ranked in the preseason and at least equipped for a deep postseason run. Alexander's numbers would presumably benefit from Ebanks' presence, as well. Another 6-foot-9 multitalented forward would keep defenses honest and Alexander would likely see fewer double-teams.
Conversely, perhaps defenses don't change their approach and Ebanks thrives with less attention devoted his way while Alexander's statistics and potential don't increase as he deals with extra attention for a full season.
There's also a possibility Alexander now feels he can leave the teammates he feels loyal to and know they're in a good situation with a suitable replacement now on the roster.
"Maybe this is a chance for Joe to come back and maybe he sees it now like, 'Wow, we can really win a national championship now,'" forward Wellington Smith said. "Maybe it adds more fuel to the fire for Joe. Or maybe this is just another piece to the puzzle as we try to win a national championship and a Big East championship. Either way, we're going to try to go as far as we can with whatever pieces we have."
***
The NON-CONFERENCE schedule for Coach Bob Huggins' second season should be announced next month, but some games are already official.
WVU is set to play at Mississippi and Duquesne, against Marshall in Charleston and four games in the Las Vegas Invitational. The Mountaineers will play two preliminary games at home and advance to Las Vegas win or lose for games Nov. 28-29. In Las Vegas, WVU plays Iowa and then either Kansas State or Kentucky.
Deputy Director of Athletics Mike Parsons said the team has about six games left to plan. Some may be set already, but cannot be announced until a contract is signed. One of the games could be at home against Radford, which still has one game on its contract with WVU. Parsons said it doesn't have to be played this season.
"There are a couple made-for-TV games that could be in there," Parsons said. "The one thing about Bobby's style that's different from the previous coach's style is that (Huggins is) so well-connected with other coaches that he's always got something in the air. He's always working on something here and there and he's always looking for some sort of made-for-TV game every year."
Cheers,
Neil
