This crass crowd littered the floor of the arena with 2:34 remaining, their reaction to a Luke Harangody foul.

A simple scrap for a loose ball between Harangody and Cam Thoroughman turned ugly. Fans felt Harangody got too physical and out of line during the play, and they clearly weren’t shy with their reaction.  Warnings would surface, but no fan was ejected.

With the win, the fresh-faced Mountaineers closed within a half game of Providence. It’s beginning to look like a mud-wrestle for sixth place, in a Big East conference that’s got a surplus of talent.

Providence (16-10, 8-6) was cooked to the recipe of a 94-76 blood-lettering by Louisville. The Cardinals came roaring back from a one-point deficit at the intermission, and the Friars couldn’t withstand a wild second-half rally.

The WVU/ND game was projected to be the battle of the snipers, as two ballclubs who employ a brand of basketball similar to a Wild Wild West flick came out firing.  Neither team, however, was too impressive from beyond the arc (Notre Dame shot 8-for-22 while WVU went 7-for-27), but Ruoff and a trio of New York-bred freshmen outhustled, out-toughed, and eventually clamped down on the Irish and the inside-outside tandem of Harangody and Kyle McAlarney.

The once dynamic duo combined for 38 points. The Irish, however, were negated by a 6 minute, 45 second scoring drought. It underscored a second-half power outage.

Ruoff, known simply as a trigger man the past three years, proved he’s upped his full offensive package.  The senior busted out stepback jumpers, went to the hole, and had a huge putback – which cut Notre Dame’s early lead to one point – in the first half.

“He’s really worked. You have to give him tremendous credit,” said Mountaineers coach Bobby Huggins.

“He shot the ball really well today, but he hadn’t shot the ball well before. He’s found ways to score. He’s become more versatile. He’s become maybe our best defender – period.”

Freshman Kevin Jones, who hails from the rich basketball breeding grounds of Mount Vernon, N.Y. (see: Gordon, Ben) turned in a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

Jones wasn’t alone.  Devin Ebanks, the ultra-long freshman from Long Island City, N.Y., scored 11 points and ripped down nine rebounds.

Huggins, who typically doesn’t like playing freshmen, has gotten solid production out of the three-headed monster of Jones, Ebanks, and Darryl “Truck” Bryant.  Bryant, though, was a non-factor last night, as he went 0-for-7, contributing to WVU’s woeful shooting.

“I reminded them we can’t shoot so we have to rebound,” said Huggins.

“They were switching some things, which gave us some mismatches. We had some pretty good shots, but we didn’t make them. We weren’t in great position to rebound.”

The Irish, who have now lost eight of their last ten, couldn’t rebound from their second-half dry spell. They cut it to 64-59 following a 9-2 surge capped off by Harangody’s three-point play, but they couldn’t inch any closer.

Chants of “NIT” rang out across the arena in the final minute.

“A lot of teams would have given up right now, but that’s not us,” Harangody told USATODAY.Com.  “There’s a lot of basketball still to be played.”

ND came out on all cylinders, jumping out with a 10-2 burst after McAlarney’s corner trey. West Virginia stormed back, as Ruoff drained a three and then a mid-range jumper completing a personal 7-0 run and pulling WVU to within four with 8:53 to go.

Ruoff’s aforementioned putback cut ND’s lead to 37-36 but Ryan Ayers – the son of Washington Wizards assistant coach Randy Ayers – drilled a 3-pointer to bump the Irish ahead, 40-36.

Moments later, Jones’ bucket deadlocked it at 40. Da’Sean Butler got into the paint for the go-ahead bucket, sending the Mountaineers into halftime with the momentum rolling.

Butler, who erupted for 43 points in a statement win over Villanova, finished with 19 points.

Harangody, the defending Big East Player of the Year, scored a game-high 26 points and pulled down 12 boards.

Levance Fields, the Brooklyn native who’s adopted the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” from his teammates, canned two titanic three-pointers over Kemba Walker and then Craig Austrie in the final, defining three minutes.

Fields, a senior and floor general who’s operated a number of potent Pitt offenses, had been an arctic 0-for-8 up until his two clutch, late-game daggers.  Fields scored 10 crucial points in those three crucial minutes, en route to handing the nation’s top-ranked team just their second loss of the season.

The win snaps UConn’s 13-game win streak.

“I told Levance to just keep shooting and to be ready to take the big shot when we need it,” said Pitt junior Jermaine Dixon, who scored 11 points and handed out five assists in 24 minutes.  “We expect him to come through in the clutch, and he did that tonight.”

Dixon, a 6-foot-3 guard, is the younger brother of NBA player Juan Dixon.

Juan Dixon, who had a storied stay at the University of Maryland in leading the Terps to a national championship in 2002, had some advice for lil bro, who he spoke to via cell phone before the game: “Be ready.”

If anyone was ready in this ultra-physical, black-and-blue marked dog fight, it was Blair.  The 6-foot-7 widebody simply destroyed Thabeet, pounding the ball into the paint and permeating the teeth of the defense.

On mano y mano moves, Blair made the highly-touted Thabeet, who’s projected to be a top-five pick in the 2009 NBA draft, look D-league bound.

After erupting for a near triple-double and swatting nine shots in a win over Seton Hall on Saturday, Thabeet scored a meager five points and was just 1-for-5 from the floor. He registered two blocks, committed three turnovers, and was whistled for five fouls.

Thabeet picked up his fourth foul with 11:20 remaining, prompting an irate Jim Calhoun to scream his lungs out at referee Mike Kitts, whose suspect call instigated a chorus of boos.

Sam Young, he of the patented shot fake, led all scorers with 25 points. Young shot a sublime 8-for-13 from the field, and the offensive pace of Young and Blair seemed overwhelming.  They served as a two-man wrecking crew in the second half, though it was the 5-foot-9 Fields who emerged with the late-game heroics.

“We started calling him ‘Mr. Big Shot’,” said Young of his teammate.  “Even in pickup games and in practice, he’s always looking to take the last shot, the big shot. He’s always telling us, ‘I’m taking the big shot. At the end of the game, the ball’s going to be in my hands’.”

On a colossal stage in easily the biggest game in college basketball this season, Fields lived up to his nickname.

Adrien, a jacked and jacked-up 6-foot-7 forward who epitomizes the ultra-physical Big East player, feeds off his own high energy attitude. His workmanlike game (one which he’s added a shallow jumper to) and a heart that pumps lion’s blood revs up the crazy, at times crass, UConn fan base.

A Brookline, Mass., native, Adrien speaks softly but carries a big stick on the hardwood.

He poured in 18 points, 17 of which came before the midway mark of the second half, as UConn cruised to a 68-51 drubbing of Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals. Adrien also tore down seven rebounds as the Cardinals got too much from Terrence Williams (game and career-high 26 points) and too little from everybody else.

Earl Clark turned in easily his worst performance of the season, a la John Starks in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA finals. Clark shot an abysmal 2-for-16 from the floor as Louisville (17-4) suffered its first Big East loss.

Adrien’s emergence as Hasheem Thabeet’s bruising buddy down low has been an aspect paramount success. The signature shellacking of Louisville gives UConn a 21-1 record, leaving just one Big East team – Marquette – with an unblemished record in conference play. The formidable frontline seems to inject fear into opponents, keeping scorers out of the paint more often than not.

UConn’s relative balance in the scorebook and ability to seal the basket shut (Thabeet had four blocks and altered the trajectory of shot after shot) threw Louisville into a paltry 22-for-64 shooting night. It’s become a pattern with the two behemoths down low.

“We made our presence known,” said Adrien, following the Huskies’ 94-61 thrashing of Providence at the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs Saturday.

“Me, Hasheem, and Gavin (Edwards) just want to prove that we’re here, that we’re going to get some buckets regardless,” Adrien added.  ”The win gives us great momentum. We were playing a team that had been hot, you know?  Almost similar to Louisville, a team that we’re playing (Monday night).”

Adrien is almost similar to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Off the court, he’s as soft-spoken as they come.  He’s a chill, muscle-bound kid who slaps hands with an army of students on his way to the cafeteria.  On the court, he’s in-your-face, cleaning up the glass, and grappling for loose balls as if he just downed a ginseng/taurine mix drink.

He’s the kid who busted out a Superman shirt and cape during UConn’s First Night. The kid who’s registered more double-doubles than any Big East player. The kid who swipes a ball out of an opponents hands after they commit a travel. The same kid Calhoun had to pull from a game against Pittsburgh in the first half last year – for being too revved up. Yes, he’s also the kid that bops and weaves in pre-game boxing matches with the air.

The kid with adrenaline-laden veins is a lot of things. A go-to-guy isn’t really one of them. Yet with his new shallow water jumper, coupled with his penchant for putbacks and his knack for attacking the basket, Adrien has evolved into the Huskies’ leading scorer.

And UConn has become the leading team in the national polls, as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team looks to keep rolling.

The No. 2 Huskies, who have won eight straight following a listless home loss to Georgetown, will look to get the Providence monkey off their back.

The Friars have won four consecutive games at UConn, where they owned the Huskies in every aspect of last year’s 77-65 rout. The game was actually more of a shellacking than the score indicates. Doug Wiggins canned a pair of treys in garbage time to cut down a 17-point deficit. So, UConn will renew the Route 6 rivalry. Wiggins has since transferred to UMass. Tomorrow’s game will also have some extra juice.

If UConn defeats Providence, they will likely become No. 1 in the country for the first time since 2006.

The matchup comes in the aftermath of fourth-ranked Wake Forest’s thrilling, 70-68 win over North Carolina.

The game, won on forward James Johnson’s layup with eight tenths of a second to play, indicated that the ACC is almost as stacked, talent-laced, and wide open as the Big East this season.

“Between the ACC and the Big East, there must be about a dozen teams that can make the Final Four,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told the New York Daily News. “I think you’re going to be in a lot of games like this, where teams get a chance to show their grit.”

UConn showed a complete lack of grit during their lone loss of the season, a late December game Jim Calhoun dubbed a “home-serving.” The Hoyas did a solid job containing Jerome Dyson, who shot an abysmal 1-for-10. Some of Dyson’s offensive woes were self-inflicted, however, as he botched a layup and exited the game mentally.

Georgetown also limited 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet to four field goals.

“It’s better that we get this loss out of the way early,” said A.J. Price, following the lackluster loss. “We didn’t by any stretch of imagination think we were going undefeated.”

Undefeated? No.

No. 1 ranking?

If the Huskies erase the past and clamp down on a well-oiled offensive machine that features three-headed monster Weyinmi Efejuku (13.4 PPG), Marshon Brooks (13.1 PPG) and 5-foot-10 point guard Sharaud Curry (10.4 PPG, 4.5 APG), yes.

The Friars have other firepower with 6-foot-7 playmaking point forward Geoff McDermott and Jeff Xavier, a fifth-year senior shooter who is playing this season despite nagging injuries.

Randall Hanke, a veteran center and never the sharpest tool in the shed, is beginning to flower. The 7-foot beanstalk scored 12 points (6-for-7 FG) in 19 minutes during the Friars’ 100-94 defeat of No. 15 Syracuse.

Providence (14-6, 6-2) has won three of their last four since Xavier’s brother walked onto the court toward the referees in the Marquette loss.

Still, with the inside manpower of walking double-double Adrien and Thabeet, UConn looks to end Providence’s win streak and success at the Constitution state.

A Look Back: January 17, 2008

UConn was buried under a barrage of three-pointers, as Providence’s perimeter assault did the Huskies in during the second half. The Friars’ 14 treys tied for the most three-pointers allowed by UConn in a Big East game. Providence’s Dwain Williams, who dialed in from a different area code, led the long-range assault with 23 points and six trifectas. Jeff Adrien led the Huskies with 16 points and 15 boards. The Friars held Stanley “Sticks” Robinson, a double-digit scorer, to just two points on a wowing putback dunk in the first half. Jerome Dyson was off his game as well. Calhoun certainly wasn’t in good spirits during the press conference.

“I mean, did Jerome Dyson play tonight?” Calhoun quipped. “I’m not sure if he did or he didn’t.”

It’s never a rarity with nationally-ranked, hyped up to heaven-sent high school basketball prospects in the Big Apple.

We saw it five years ago at Lincoln, a traditional basketball breeding ground in Coney Island. In the island where throwbacks are in and Abercrombie is out, where pickup ball is played at all hours, top-shelf players are never in short supply.

The Sebastian Telfair saga is indicative of the hype and hyperbole that comes with the territory. The pint-sized guard was a highly-sought after item on the recruiting market back in 2004, with the eyes of the city watching. Telfair currently balls for the Minnesota Timberwolves, albeit he’s yet to evolve into the electrifying, playmaking point guard that the New York basketball culture saw back in ’04. He’s posted some resume reels this year and his game has made some strides, but he hasn’t panned out. Let’s not forget, however, he’s only 23.

During Telfair’s senior year at Lincoln, when he averaged 28 points and led the Railsplitters to the state championship, he lived his life like the star of his own movie. Fitting, because there actually was an ESPN documentary, Through The Fire, about his last hurrah at Coney Island and the pressure that splashed the shoreline.

Telfair abruptly ascended to celebrity status. His games were aired on ESPN. His name was all over the New York tabloids, his mug pictured on the front of every big sports magazine. He kicked it with Jay-Z, then a frequent visitor of the Lincoln locker room.

Telfair penned with Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals during the early signing period. The marriage never was, however, when Telfair decided he was going to play in the NBA.

There’s a buffet-line of dribble-happy, go-go New York guards that have flamed out due to the inevitable pressure that being pegged as the city’s next great one brings. (Remember God Shammgod, who was supposed to be the second coming of Michael?)

This is what makes Lance Stephenson’s story all the more interesting.

The hype machine was kick-started early for Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson, who also attends Marbury and Telfair’s alma mater in Brooklyn. Born Ready is a promising 6-foot-5, 200-pound proverbial manchild.

Stephenson went eyeball-to-eyeball with then top-ranked junior O.J. Mayo as an eighth-grader at 2005 ABCD camp at Farleigh Dickinson. It was a matchup described as Stephenson’s “defining moment.” The epic mano y mano showdown abruptly turned into one for the ages.

Stephenson forged a name for himself in the first half, ignoring Mayo’s constant trash-talk. At moments, it looked as if he was feeding off it.

He slammed home alley-oops. He worked off the dribbled and glided to the hole. He eluded defenders off the baseline, penetrated the teeth of the defense, and buried three-pointers.

“I really didn’t intend on getting into a type of battle like that, sometimes it happens,” said Mayo (who now stars for the Memphis Grizzlies) during an interview with CSTV.

Mayo, then the no. 1 ranked player in the country, eventually got the better of Stephenson, outscoring him 21-16 and rolling to a victory over Lance’s star-studded squad.

“(Mayo) was saying, ‘you can’t score. You can’t do this, you can’t do that’,” Stephenson said before a horde of reporters that day.

“I was saying, ‘listen you’re saying this to an eighth grader. I don’t care, I’m trying to play good.’”

Now Lance is New York’s vaunted senior guard, and the hype surrounding him and the railsplitters has hit towering heights.

It happens every day, like clockwork. Just like in the Ray Allen flick (He Got Game, 1998), “Where are you going next year?” Lance is asked as he traipses the halls of Lincoln.

He’s constantly reminded of the magnitude of such a decision. He’s also the subject of constant rumors. One recent rumor is that he is foregoing college at an opportunity to play professionally in Europe. It was quickly squashed during Stephenson’s interview with ESPN.

Stephenson had an online TV show about him this summer, where his every move was analyzed, dissected, and thrown back at the nifty neophyte.

“He definitely has the chance to be the best out of Coney Island,” said head coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, who coached Telfair and was an assistant during Marbury’s stay at Lincoln.

Still, Stephenson’s road to greatness has hit plenty of potholes.

He was suspended for a game last year after a fight between a teammate (which reportedly resulted in the teammate being sent to the hospital) and was charged with groping a 17-year-old girl in October.

Some say he’s got an attitude and brings baggage, others say it’s his will to win and the “attitude” comes with the territory.

Lance is more likely to go to a school like St. John’s (or a school where he can pull a one-and-done, get buckets and bolt for the league) than a school that wants to invest 2-4 years in him.

“Off the court, he (Lance) is like the nicest kid you’re going to ever meet, because he’s still just a kid,” says Lance’s cousin, known as “Bigz.”

Lincoln lost three out of four for the first time in recent memory. The Railsplitters were bludgeoned by top-tier St. Benedict’s at the Newark National Invitational Tournament. Stephenson was held to just 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting in a loss to Syracuse power Jamesville-DeWitt earlier this month.

Shortly after this, Lincoln fell 67-54 to Alambama power LeFlore at the Spalding Roundball Challenge in Springfield, Mass. Stephenson scored 24 points – 20 in the second half – in an eyeball-to-eyeball battle with DeMarcus Cousins, a top-ranked 2009 recruit. Cousins, a 6-foot-11 behemoth and soft UAB commit, went after Lance in various mano y mano battle scenes between the two highly-touted players.

The ensuing couple of weeks will be a major test of Stephenson’s fortitude, as Born Ready seeks to bounce back and continue the quest for Lincoln’s fourth consecutive PSAL championship at The Mecca of Basketball, Madison Square Garden.

Then a quick-strike 6-foot-6 quarterback, McDermott helped lead perennial power New Rochelle to back-to-back state championships.

He was a dual-threat who fired bullet passes to a talented receiving corps that was supplemented by standout running back Ray Rice, who resurrected an ailing program at Rutgers. McDermott, the 2005 Westchester Mr. Basketball winner, was actively pursued to play QB and tight end and basketball at a number of Division I schools – West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Rutgers, and Syracuse, to name a few.

After committing to Providence, where there’s no football team, he kissed all gridiron dreams goodbye.

Today, McDermott is still whipping passes. He’s still under the center of attention, making critical decisions and dictating the tempo of the game. Only his primary receivers are no longer sporting shoulder pads and helmets with “NR” emblazed on them. And Rice, who was actually a key cog in New Rochelle’s vaunted 2005 hoop team – one that put together a 26-2 mark that included a berth in the National Prep Top 20 rankings – now plays for the Baltimore Ravens.

This season, McDermott’s go-to-guys have been Marshon Brooks, who’s suddenly blossomed (averaging 14 points and shooting a sublime 56 percent from the floor) after averaging under ten minutes per game last year, Weyinmi Efejuku, Jonathon Kale, and Jeff Xavier, the latter a Pawtucket native who started his career at Manhattan but bounced following the departure of Bobby Gonzalez.

As the point forward, McDermott shoulders the burden of playmaker. The offensive show at the Dunkin’ Donuts center is orchestrated and run by “G Mac,” who’s averaging 7.7 points, 7.7 boards, and is second on the team in assists (25) and steals (15). McDermott, however, has registered a team-high 23 turnovers despite the fact that he doesn’t dominate the ball like an archetype New York point guard. At his coaches’ urging, G Mac has been more active on the glass.

“(Assistant) coach (Pat) Skerry is always yelling at me to get rebounds,” said McDermott. “First, he told me I could be the leading rebounder in the country. Now he’s toned it down to the Big East. But if I do that, I’ll probably be leading the country, anyways.”

Considering the Big East is dripping with talent this year, McDermott is probably right. He met his coaches’ wishes during back-to-back victories over Sacred Heart and Maine, where he pulled down 13 and 14 boards, respectively.

McDermott, who underwent some sort of self-revelation last year, dished more and shot less. A deft passer who’s ballooned to 6-foot-7 and a chiseled 240 pounds, G Mac emerged into one of the Big East’s leading assist men last year, doling out 4.9 per game. He averaged 5.1 during the 2006-07 campaign.

As a pure scorer in high school, is this dish-before-swish mentality out of his old nature?

“Not at all,” said McDermott. “It comes with the territory.”

Now an elder statesman, Mr. Versatility knows he must also be Mr. Clutch this season. Against blood-rival Rhode Island Dec. 6, McDermott proved he’s ready for the challenge.

The senior calmly sank two free throws with 17.9 seconds remaining. It was the final say during the tight, down-to-the-wire in-state feud in which neither team led by over seven points.

McDermott was once again at his best during a 85-71 win over Jackson State Wednesday night. He scored 13 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and handed out five assists, including Brian McKenzie’s game-tying jumper with a swift pass. He helped Providence recover from a sloppy first half.

Football player no more, McDermott is still a quarterback at heart.

Notes

• St. John’s sophomore guard Paris Horne explored some uncharted territory this past week. Horne’s game visited a new zip code when he was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll (Dec. 15). Horne, one of the Johnnies’ many young guns who Norm Roberts sees panning out and revitalizing the program – Roberts recently stated that by recruiting eight freshman last year, he created the path that St. John’s is currently on – averaged 14.5 points, handed out 3.5 dimes, and shot a sizzling 64.7 percent from the field as the Johnnies ripped off consecutive victories. They are off to their best start, 8-1, since the 1994-95 campaign.
• Bobby Gonzalez shocked the NCAA world with Seton Hall’s early season upset of USC. Now, as the Big East slate inches closer the former Manhattan coach believes the Pirates will make some waves in what’s expected to be one of the premier conferences in the NCAA. The Big East, let’s not forget, is dripping with talented and guard play will be a major determinant of fate for several teams. The man behind the Pirates’ offensive assault this season? Jeremy Hazell. The Harlem World product averaged 19.5 points and six boards during SHU’s back-to-back wins the week of Dec. 15 and is already drawing Terry Dehere comparisons. Come tournament time, he could be a problem.

Skrelja, a 6-foot-6 point guard, has gone from frustrated freshman to significant senior starter.

“As a freshman, I honestly thought this point would never come,” said Skrelja, once the callow, unsung backup to sharpshooter Damon Huffman.

“A lot of things went wrong for me that year. I think it was a combination of me struggling with the new surroundings and also being a little homesick. My passion for the game really just wasn’t there.”

Skrelja remembers being on a short chain with then-coach Glen Miller (who has since moved on to perennial Ivy power UPenn) just like he remembers averaging a meager 3.3 points and playing just 13-14 minutes a night. He remembers the freshman jitters, the intense rushes of pre-game anxiety and the lofty expectations immediately heaped on the then 17-year-old.

There were a few bright spots. The night he erupted for 19 points and 12 boards in a pulsating, signature victory over Harvard, for example. There was his Ivy League Rookie of the Week selection that followed. For the most part, however, freshman year was a struggle.

After establishing himself as a three-point rainmaker at vaunted Trinity Catholic High School (Stamford, Conn.), getting acclimated to the up-tempo, speedball brand of basketball took time.

“The game is just so much faster in college,” said Skrelja. “So, it was almost like a rude awakening for me.”

Fast forward to three years later.

A second team All-Ivy League selection who posted 8.4 points, 7.6 boards and 4.1 assists during the 2007-08 campaign, Skrelja has evolved into the face of the program. He’s a team captain now, synonymous with versatility, and the guy they want with the ball in crunch time. A big picture of Skrelja, skying to the basket with his heart speeding and eyes burning, is emblazoned on the cover of the team program.

Tremendously similar to former Holy Cross guard Torey “The Mayor” Thomas (who, like Skrelja, grew up in Westchester County and starred at Trinity Catholic), Skrelja lives out his senior year like the star of his own sitcom.

He engages in conversations with just about everyone – the hot dog man, security guard, and a 10-year-old fan – en route to his first home game of the season. The student fan base knows Skrelja like a surrogate family member. After games, a big entourage of them wait around for the rangy Albanian kid, who played for the NYC-based Gauchos on the AAU circuit.

Students in the stands sport a replica of his no. 22 jersey. Off the court, Skrelja invites people to games with the mindset of an event promoter.

He even manages to get the anti-athletic bookworms into the seats of the Pizzitola Center. He lives about 25 feet from there and never fails to put in post-practice hours there. It’s a good life.

Having undergone the metamorphosis from off guard/small forward to point forward, Skrelja is funneled into a leadership role this year. The role of point forward usually demands playmaking antics, control of the tempo, and Skrelja has subscribed to this niche.

“Being a senior, coach trusts me with the ball. My role is to basically be a facilitator. This year I’m going to be more of a scorer than in previous years. I’m still going to have to be a well-rounded player, grabbing rebounds, finding the open man, playing tough defense,” he explained.

Skrelja is averaging nine points and five boards while shooting 49 percent from the floor this season. The transition to game manager role has allowed Skrelja to refine elements of his game and add new compartments to it.

The point forward has become a presence in the running game, operating an offense that features sophomore sniper Peter Sullivan, 6-foot-8 forward Matt Mullery (14.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg), and sophomore Adrian Williams. Williams, the son of Doug Williams, the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl, has surfaced as a go-to-guy this season.

In an 80-73 win over Army, Skrelja erupted for 15 points while doling out a career-high 11 assists.

“Chris faces a lot of pressure. He has to dribble the ball and make all the right decisions,” said Brown coach Jesse Agel.

He made the right decision against Army. He whipped a pass to Matt Mullery for the go-ahead basket and sealed the deal with a pair of free throws. He had four assists down the stretch and scored on a crucial lay-in.

Skrelja’s sophomore year was marred by injuries. Skrelja suffered a stress fracture in his left foot prior to the first game of the 2006-07 campaign. It hampered him throughout the rollercoaster season.

During his junior year, Skrelja shot less and passed more, handing out assists like a frat house hands out cups of jungle juice.

He rectified a free throw shooting problem by switching his form up completely. Skrelja began shooting his freebies with one hand, bringing back a lost art mastered by guys like Don Nelson Sr. and former New York Knick Anthony Mason.

This summer, Skrelja was once again bitten by the injury bug. Two herniated discs in his back prevented him from logging any game action at all.

“You just get so frustrated,” Skrelja said. “You don’t realize how much you love the game and how much it means to you until you’re away from it.”

Following a 3-5 start, Brown will look to resuscitate itself as the Ivy League slate inches closer. If anyone is ready for the challenge, it’s Skrelja. The elder statesman underwent a self-revelation prior to the season, one that reinforced the fact that this is the last hurrah.

While Skrelja’s got no crystal ball, he’ll continue to hold himself to a high standard and leave it all on the floor.

“I’ve always set standards for myself throughout high school and college,” said Skrelja.

“I’ve always had high goals, and this year is just about reaching those goals. Being a senior, this is it for me (at Brown). The most important goal is to win an Ivy League championship. Of course, every college player’s ultimate goal is to make it to the NCAA championship.”

After coming up short of the goal the previous year, Skrelja knows the onus to steer the big Brown bus deep into the playoffs is on him.

“Representing the team, it’s definitely an honor,” he reflected. “But with that comes a lot of responsibility. I know it’s up to me to lead this year. I’m excited for the responsibility.”

Role player no more, Skrelja has serious illusions of a banner year and a berth in the big dance.

Now that’s something Skrelja couldn’t have envisioned his freshman year.

The kid from Gilbert, Az., finally got physical, played above the rim, and displayed a sense of urgency, en route to the reserve forward’s career-high 17 points in 16 minutes on 7-of-9 shooting.

“Gavin’s one of the more talented players on the team, at least athletically talented,” said Jim Calhoun, following UConn’s latest 79-49 roasting of marshmallow MEAC native Delaware State.

“He’s got a very high basketball IQ, he makes good passes… he’s got to be more physical. I’m encouraged by what he did tonight and I’m sure he is too.”

For Easy-Going Gavin, life isn’t always that easy. He has to go up against two physical specimens and behemoths in Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet every practice, is forced to take a backseat to the two larger-than-life bigs when game time rolls around, and is sometimes forced to play out of his nature (“I’m more of a finesse player,” Edwards admits) and play a physically intimidating brand of ball at the four-slot.

So, Easy-Going Gavin’s Monday night coming-out party came with much fanfare and to the delight of his teammates. Edwards established himself early, connecting on a jumper and a layup and then delivering an eye-popping block with 13:28 remaining. The son of former NFL defensive lineman Earl Edwards, who entered the game averaging a meager 3.3 points, continued his sublime showing in the second half.

He came soaring in, finishing a catch-and-run alley-oop from Kemba Walker that pumped the then insurmountable Husky lead to 71-42. He dunked home a Jerome Dyson miss that put an exclamation point on his career night and UConn’s drubbing of another smurf-sized foe.

“I think he got something out of it tonight. I know I got something out of it. Gavin has a chance, he’s got a fight on his hands. The more he fights, the deeper we can go,” explained Calhoun.

That “fight” Calhoun refers to is between 6-foot-9 swingman Stanley “Sticks” Robinson (who will soon be available) and newcomer Ater Majok, a 6-foot-10 recruit via the Sudan. Majok is undergoing the NCAA clearing process right now, but should be eligible to play soon.

On the surface, it looks like Edwards will have to wrestle for burn as the season progresses and Big East play emerges.

Following a resume-building game, however, Edwards is confident he will remain a fixture off the pine.

“Coach said during the Paradise Jam, as cliché as it is, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Still, if Edwards is to continue turning in expectations-slaying performances, as he did against undersized Delaware State, he needs to get more physical.

“It’s definitely something I’m still trying to work on a lot,” said Edwards, adding that “shooting over 6-foot-7 is definitely easier than shooting over 7-foot-3, National Defensive Player of the Year (Thabeet).”

Edwards continued, “From what I hear, Ater is a very good player. I’m taking baby steps, but I’m definitely working on it.”

Pressure?

None. Well, nothing that the mellow, muscled forward hasn’t seen before during his stay at the Big East’s NBA machine. But constructive criticism and words of encouragement are only one long distance call away.

“I get at least one call a week from my Dad on how I need to play stronger. He gives me all the old football stories. I know I have to step it up.”

Flynn Leads Hot Start For Orange

A radio reporter looked into Jonny Flynn’s eyes but received only a pithy stare in return. This was back in October, during Big East Media Day. Coaches, players, TV/Radio stations, and the New York media circus alike came peppering the conference’s key cogs with questions.

The question heaped upon Jonny Flynn however, could only elicit an empty stare from the proven point guard. The man asked if Flynn was ready to take on such a significant role as just a sophomore. If you could read Flynn’s expression, it said “Are you kidding me, or what?”

Flynn has been no joke this season. The kid who erupted for 29 points and nine dimes in his first NCAA game has been the catalyst for a ‘Cuse team looking to mute the detractors and naysayers and bounce back from two underachieving campaigns.

The 19-year-old offense operator is averaging 18.9 points and 5.3 dimes as Syracuse is off to a 7-0 start that includes marquee wins over Florida and defending national champion Kansas.

Flynn was named Big East Player of the Week, as was announced by the conference office, following his villain-slaying showings against Kansas (25 points and a key trifecta with six seconds left that lifted the game into OT) and Virginia (15 points and six assists as the Orange gutted out a 73-70 triumph).

Don’t You Dar Sleep on Him: Dar Tucker, 4-0 DePaul’s 6-foot-5 forward, is having a breakout start to the 2008-09 season. The Michigan native is averaging 20.8 points and 6.5 boards. He hung 26 points and pulled down nine boards in a 75-70 win over Indiana State on 11/29. Tucker and DePaul, one of five Big East teams without a loss, could watch their stock mount this season.

Moving Em’: With the reigning Big East Player of the Year in Luke Harangody, and the 2007 and 2008 Big East Coach of the Year in Mike Brey, the Irish have picked up where they left off. The Irish blitzed South Dakota to the tune of a 26-point blowout Dec. 3, with Ryan Ayers erupting for 35 points on 12-for-20 shooting.

Team Notes

Cincinnati Bearcats (5-1 overall)
The Bearcats suffered their first setback of the season, losing to Florida State, ending a 4-0 start. But against Coastal Carolina earlier in the week, Deonta Vaughn led the Bearcats with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range. The Bearcats hit 11 three-pointers in the game. Larry Davis added 14 points, and Anthony McClain added 11 off the bench. The Bearcats shot a solid 53 percent from the field.
Against Florida State in Las Vegas, Mike Williams had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes. Vaughn led the way once again with 16 points, but had six turnovers, and shot just 5-of-18 from the field. The Bearcats weren’t able to overcome a poor shooting night, shooting just 33 percent from the field, 47 percent from the free throw line and committing 19 turnovers.
Then against UNLV, the Bearcats rebounded with Vaughn and Yancy Gates collecting 16 points each. Gates was 7-of-10 shooting off the bench. Dion Dixon added 13 off the bench as well for the Bearcats.
So far this season, the Bearcats have held their opponents to under 40 percent shooting in each game.

DePaul Blue Demons (4-0)
The Blue Demons maintained their perfect start with two victories last week. They’re 4-0 for the first time since 2002. This week, they will travel outside of the Chicagoland area to play California, before returning to Chicago to play a “road” game against Northwestern.
Last week, Dar Tucker had a big night against Detroit, scoring 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds, had four steals and two assists. Mac Koshwal added 18 points as well.
Against Indiana State, Tucker had another big game with 26 points.

Louisville Cardinals (2-1)
The Cardinals’ postseason resume took a hit last week with a 14-point loss to Western Kentucky.
Louisville shot just 27 percent from the field for the game (15-of-56), including an abysmal 21 percent in the second half (6-of-28). The game was tied at 28 at halftime before Western Kentucky scored 40 in the second half, thanks largely to 50 percent field goal shooting, and a 15-of-18 showing at the free-throw line.
Three players were in double figures for the Cardinals. Terrence Williams led the way with 19 points, while Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels each had 11. Clark also had 11 rebounds. But only four other players scored for the Cardinals, who were outrebounded 48-36.

Marquette Golden Eagles (5-1)
The loss to Dayton could loom large at the end of the season. But the Golden Eagles get in-state rival Wisconsin, which will be a statement game for both teams.
Entering the Texas Southern game averaging 100.3 points per game, Marquette didn’t quite measure up to it, but still pulled it out.
Five players were in double figures for first-year coach Buzz Williams’ squad, led by Jerel McNeal’s 20. Lazar Hayward added 18. Texas Southern hung tight, shooting a blistering 64 percent from the field in the second half, and forced Marquette into 19 turnovers, leading to 21 points.
Against Northern Iowa, the Golden Eagles used an early 20-0 run in the first half to seize control of the game, and were never challenged afterwards in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
Wesley Matthews scored 17 points for Marquette, followed by Haywood’s 15 and McNeal’s 13. Dominic James added eight points and six assists.
Against Dayton, the Golden Eagles couldn’t match the Flyers, who are now off to a 6-0 start. Dayton got a career-high 21 points off the bench from Rob Lowery, and got a double-double from Chris Wright with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and added four assists. Marquette still got a career-high 28 points from Matthews, and 19 points from James, but that wasn’t enough.
Dayton outscored Marquette’s bench 48-5.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1)
The Irish made a deep run in the Maui Invitational before running into the nation’s No. 1 team – North Carolina.
Five players were in double figures for the Irish against the Hoosiers, led by Tory Jackson’s 21 points. Jackson was 10-of-17 from the field, had five rebounds and six assists. Also in double figures was Kyle McAlarney with 18, Luke Harangody with 14, and Ryan Ayers with 13. Luke Zeller added 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, providing the Irish a big lift.
Notre Dame shot 51 percent from the field for the game.
In a thriller against the Longhorns, Harangody proved why he is an All-American. The big man scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Irish.
Against North Carolina, the Tar Heels’ Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson were brilliant.
Hansbrough scored 34 points, and Lawson had 22 points, six rebounds and 11 assists to take the Maui Invitational championship.
Lawson was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
For the Irish, they were led by a masterful game from McAlarney, scoring a career-high 39 points and dished out six assists. He was 10-of-18 from 3-point range, breaking his own school record of nine 3-pointers in game set last season.
This was Notre Dame’s second appearance in Maui. The Irish finished sixth in 1993.

Pittsburgh Panthers (7-0)
Starting with Duquesne, the Panthers will play their next four games at home. During that span, they will play all non-conference foes (Duquesne, Vermont, UMBC and Siena).
Sam Young scored 33 points, despite not making a field goal until the 11-minute mark of the first half to lead the Panthers past Belmont, who nearly upset Duke in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
During a 12-2 run in the second half, Young scored all but two points. And during a run in the first half, he scored 13 of Pittsburgh’s 14 points in a 4½-minute span.
Against Texas Tech, Young scored 24 points, and DeJuan Blair added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers in the semifinals of the Legends Classic. Young also had eight rebounds and four assists.
Pittsburgh outscored the Red Raiders 40-14 in the paint.
In the championship against Washington State, two of the best defenses in the nation locked horns, and the game was far from pretty. Both teams shot identical 35.4 percent from the field (17-of-48).
Young continued his solid week with a 15-point, eight-rebound effort against the Cougars, who lost their first game of the season. Levance Fields added 14 for Pittsburgh.

Seton Hall Pirates (5-1)
Seton Hall overcame a strong night by Delaware’s Marc Egerson, who scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Delaware also got a double-double from Jim Ledsome – 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pirates had four players in double figures, including three starters. Jeremy Hazell had 17 points, but was only successful on 4-of-14 shots. Eugene Harvey added 14 points, and John Garcia had 13. Jordan Theodore added 13 off the bench.
Seton Hall also overcame being dominated on the boards, 40-29.
Delaware led after the first half, shooting 63 percent, but cooled off in the second half to the tune of 32 percent.

Power Rankings

1. Pitt (7-0): Too big, too strong, too many weapons. The pre-season point guard issue that surfaced did nothing to stop the defending champions, as Levance Fields is back in full force. The Panthers could have the upper hand on UConn if they can negate Hasheem Thabeet the way they did Roy Hibbert in last year’s championship game at MSG.
2. UConn (7-0): Thabeet is dominating the smaller opponents, but A.J. Price needs to get back to game-changer form.
3. Notre Dame (6-1): After nearly smoking his way out of school a few years ago, Kyle McAlarney has set the world ablaze with his three-point assault.

Jamie Dixon: King Of New York

by Zach Smart

“From now on, nothing goes down unless I’m involved. No blackjack no dope deals, no nothing. A nickel bag gets sold in the park, I want in. You guys got fat while everybody starved on the street… It’s my turn.” – Frank White (King of New York)

Frank: Come to the Plaza Hotel, I’ve got work for you. Ask for Frank White.

Jamie: Come to the Peterson Events Center, I’ve got work for you. We own a 96-10 record and .906 winning percentage there.

Like the legendary, fictional gangster Frank White, the main character in the 1990 thriller King of New York, Jamie Dixon has a penchant for getting some of New York’s toughest young guns to go to work for him. In the past, he’s bred players like Carl Krauser, a player who etched his name in New York streetball lure and made waves on the AAU circuit, playing for the Student Athletes Broncos. Last season, Dixon boasted an All-New York backcourt with Brooklyn’s Levance Fields, outside sniper Ronald Ramon (Bronx) and Keith Benjamin (Mount Vernon). All the king’s men fought for Dixon’s crown in March, turning in a titanic, Godzilla-slaying 74-65 triumph over Roy Hibbert and Georgetown in the Big East Tournament Championship game on Dixon’s home away from home: Madison Square Garden.

For the better portion of a decade, as head coach and assistant at Pitt, Dixon has sold top-flight recruits on a basketball culture, a top-of-the-line education, a New York pipeline, a chance to play before the bright, brimming Madison Square Garden in March and likely odds of a ticket to the NCAA tournament.

This season, however, Dixon’s street nemeses, Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, and Norm Roberts, amongst several others who are getting heavy in the New York recruiting game, are looking to outclass and dethrone the King of New York.

“We’re going to try to recruit the best kids in New York no matter what. We’re always going to try to,” said Roberts, who already secured 2009 guard Omari Lawrence.

For Dixon, or should I say White, the point guard dilemma may be a real test of his street credit. Fields, who had a storied career at Xaverian, the alma mater of former Pitt standout Chris Taft, is sidelined for an unknown period of time.

“We’ve got (freshman Ashton Gibbs) playing the point guard right now and we have walk-on Ryan Tiesi playing point guard for us right now.”

Freshman guard Travon Woodall, a 5-foot-11 Brooklyn-bred guard who played at St. Anthony’s across the river, is currently out with a concussion.

When asked about how the point guard situation has worked so far, Dixon responded with a Frank-like one-liner.

“They’ve got as much experience as you have, playing in our system,” he said to me. “So, it’s not ideal but nobody’s feeling sorry for us. You give it the best you can… they’re playing hard and getting better.”

The next area the ‘King of New York’ looks to be branching into is New Jersey. With an out of conference tournament appearance lined up for the Prudential Center in Newark and some Jersey recruits lined up, it looks like the King is branching out. But he will not forget where he came from; after all, Pittsburgh won six times more games in Madison Square Garden last season than St. John’s did (6 to 1).

Pittsburgh, the defending conference champions, returns their version of Earth, Wind, and Fire. Fields, DeJuan Blair, and scoring machine Sam Young, all vital cogs in last year’s offensive scheme, are back. While the Panthers will miss the three-point sniping antics of Ronald Ramon, freshmen Jermaine Dixon and Woodall could make an immediate impact in the injury-depleted backcourt. Gilbert Brown, a versatile wing, could also see some time in the backcourt given Pitt’s dearth of experienced guards.

The Panthers’ season opens up this Friday, as they host Farleigh Dickinson of the Northeast Conference at 7 P.M.

Miles From Ordinary

by Zach Smart

So, the biggest question of pre-season has already been answered for the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team.

It took Nate Miles, the controversial 6-foot-6 guard/forward, approximately a month before his name was enmeshed in controversy.

Miles, who had trouble getting enrolled at UConn, was arrested Monday night for violating the terms of a restraining order he received just 15 minutes earlier.

The 20-year-old Miles, of Toledo, Ohio, is slated to appear at Rockville Superior Court on Tuesday. According to police reports, Miles violated conditions of the restraining order by phoning the protected party (apparently a female UConn student) 15 minutes after the order was filed.

The Hartford Courant reported that Miles was arrested at 8:51 p.m. He was released after posting the surety bond of $2,500.

Miles, who had a tough upbringing and went through an Amare Stoudemire-like journey in high school (he attended five different high schools and was kicked off the basketball team at the Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C.), was the no.5-ranked player in Ohio last season.

He can play both guard positions and be utilized as a small forward. The highly-touted but controversial recruit’s style of play is most commonly compared to Tayshaun Prince and Lamar Odom, a tall versatile player who can handle the ball. Miles graduated from The Patterson School in January 2008.

After an ongoing NCAA clearinghouse and UConn admissions debacle, one that included a largely-publicized feud with coach Jim Calhoun and UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway, Miles was academically cleared in June. He began taking class and getting acclimated to the new environment during Summer Session II at Storrs.

Miles has turned heads in the Huskies’ pickup games this fall. Calhoun said Miles is “doing great” when asked how the freshman is adjusting to the rigors of the college experience and the structured environment.

Now that Stanley “Sticks” Robinson won’t be with the team until the second semester, Robinson could be an instant lynchpin in the starting lineup when he returns. He is apparently a front-runner for the starting small forward slot.