For Georgetown, the preseason accolades continue to pour in. With the Big East’s 16 teams gathered at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, the Hoyas were picked by league coaches to finish second in the conference, and juniors Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green were unanimously selected to the preseason all-Big East team.
Elsewhere, both Hibbert and Green were named among the top 50 candidates for the Wooden Award, which is presented annually to the national player of the year.
Georgetown received four of the 16 first-place votes in the coaches’ poll and 212 points overall, good enough for a second-place finish behind Pittsburgh (25-8 last season). The Panthers were chosen by 10 Big East coaches to be the league’s top team, accumulating seven more points than the Hoyas. Syracuse (one first-place vote), Marquette (one first-place vote) and Connecticut round out the top five.
The Panthers can thank senior center Aaron Gray for their top ranking. Gray, just a year removed from being the league’s most improved player, was awarded a much more significant honor Wednesday: preseason player of the year. Last season, the 7-foot tall athlete averaged 13.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest and led the Big East with 17 double-doubles. In a Feb. 5 loss to the Hoyas, Gray scored 15 points – all in the first half – and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Pittsburgh also returns junior guard Ronald Ramon (8 points per game), sophomore forward Sam Young (7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds) and fifth-year senior Levon Kendall (7 points, 5.4 boards). No. 12 seed Bradley eliminated the Panthers in the second round of last year’s tournament.
Rick Pitino’s Louisville squad checks in at No. 6, and Villanova, a No. 1 seed in last year’s NCAA tournament, was picked seventh. DePaul, which finished 15th in 2005-06, St. John’s and Providence were also in the top 10. Eight Big East teams competed in the 2006 NCAA tournament.
The University of South Florida, in its second year in the league, was chosen to once again finish last. A year ago, the Bulls’ only Big East victory came against Georgetown.
Gray is joined by Green and Hibbert as unanimous choices to the preseason all-Big East squad. Marquette sophomore guard Dominic James was the only other unanimous selection. DePaul is the only team other than Georgetown to have two representatives on the squad: sophomore forward Wilson Chandler and senior guard Sammy ejia. Syracuse forward Paul Harris was named the Big East’s preseason rookie of the year.
With J.J. Redick (2006), Tim Duncan (1997), and Michael Jordan (1984) among its past winners, the Wooden Award is the most prestigious award in college basketball. Green and Hibbert are among the 50 players that the National Preseason Selection Committee considers early frontrunners for the award. Defending national champion Florida boasts three of the 50 in Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Joakim Noah, and the Hoyas are one of eight teams with two selections.
Women’s Basketball
The Georgetown women’s basketball team was chosen by Big East coaches to finish 13th,of 16 teams exactly where the Hoyas finished last season. Georgetown completed 2005-06 with a 10-17 (3-13 Big East) record, finishing one game behind 12th-place West Virginia for the final spot in the Big East tournament.
Connecticut, with 11 first-place votes, beat out Rutgers (5 first-place tallies) for the No. 1 position.
The Hoyas do not have anyone on the preseason all-Big East team.