Shooting The Big East Breeze

Frankly, I am still wondering why Sherri Coale walking out to the floor in her pink dress Monday night at Oklahoma didn’t make it to ESPN’s Top 10 plays.

I wonder how Geno and Jim like having a new boss young enough, certainly in Calhoun’s case, to be their son. You think they’ll feel compelled to ask Warde Manuel to cut the grass before asking him for a raise?

Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know when the SMU-Seton Hall women’s basketball tickets go on sale for the 2013-14 season.

Without West Virginia next season, the Big East will have 15 teams for basketball. That means two things; either the conference schedule shrinks to 14 games (one against each team) or each team will be paired with two buddies (instead of one) for home-and-away to keep it at 16. I am very good in math, as you can see. I am putting in my request right now for Notre Dame and Louisville to be partnered with UConn.

Get Temple into the Big East. Now, please.

At this point, Tennessee has my permission to hire whomever they want, when and if Coach Summitt retires. You want to hire Jeff Walz or Vivian Stringer (yes, we’ve heard her name, too) go ahead. If not, that’s cool too.

Love the panel set up by the Big East for its first “Chalk Talk” open forum on March 5. Lots of knowledge will be on the stage. But I am just warning you, as one who asks questions for a living, if you want a straight answer about anything truly interesting and informative, keep your queries simple and non-controversial. Those are the ones that get answered.

There are no great conferences in women’s basketball. There are four great teams – Baylor, UConn, Notre Dame and Stanford. Now, if two of those teams happen to be in the same conference, like Notre Dame and UConn, that might make one think it’s a great conference. But it really isn’t. It’s a coincidence. The AL East is a great conference, not the Big East.

On Feb. 25, Seton Hall and Pittsburgh, both without a win in Big East conference play as I type (0-12), play the most important game of their season at Pittsburgh. Man, you really don’t want to lose that one, do you?

The national player of the year is Elena Delle Donne. She is Pete Maravich in a ponytail.

The Big East player of the year almost certainly will be Skylar Diggins.

The Big East’s Coach of the Year will be a tie between Geno and Muffet.

I believe the Notre Dame-UConn game on Feb. 27 at the XL Center will be the most compelling game the Huskies have played in the regular season since they used to play that team from Knoxville. I can’t wait. But again, constituents, take a nap in the afternoon. The game is likely to start at 9:10 p.m.

We all know the both Asjha Jones and Swin Cash deserve to be on the 2012 Olympic team, along with Tina Charles, Miss Maya, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. But the rest of the country isn’t going to accept six of the 12 Olympians coming from UConn, even though they likely belong. As for Cappie Pondexter, she should keep in mind what she was doing in 2010 before she gets her hopes up too high.

I am going to miss watching Tiffany Hayes shoot three-pointers when she graduates. The most unique set shot I have ever seen, other than Tia Magee of Georgetown, a form that simply can’t be described.

You know who doesn’t get enough credit for being a really good coach? Kim Barnes-Arico of St. John’s.

When they said coaching at Seton Hall would be a tall order for Anne Donovan, they weren’t talking about her height.

I am hearing the eyes of Texas will soon be upon a new women’s basketball coach.