четверг, 20 сентября 2012 г.

WANT THE REAL AWARDS? HERE'S WHAT INSIDERS SAY.(Sports) - The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)

Byline: Mike Waters and Kim Baxter Staff writers

The Big East Conference handed out its postseason awards Tuesday night, including player of the year, coach of the year and rookie of the year. Yawn.

Wasn't Carmelo Anthony's rookie-of-the-year award a shocker?

The Big East's awards are like the part of the iceberg that's above water. There's a whole lot more underneath, and that's where we wanted to go - behind the scenes, into the locker rooms and the coaches' meetings.

In the fourth annual Big East poll, The Post-Standard asked an assistant coach or a player from every Big East team - and did it anonymously to get honest answers - to find out what the insiders think. We got responses from 12 of the 14 schools, so everyone has plausible deniability if the final votes offend anyone.

Here is what we found, with selected comments attached from the respondents:

Best dunker: Hakim Warrick, Syracuse. 'He took off from a long ways away against us.'

Most overachieving team: Seton Hall. The Pirates just edged out West Virginia.

Most overachieving player: Drew Schifino, West Virginia. The only player who received more than one vote.

Worst underachieving team: Georgetown.

Worst underachieving player: Jerome Coleman, Rutgers. 'Just look at his percentages.'

Best screener: Donatas Zavackas and Chevy Troutman, Pittsburgh.

Biggest homecourt advantage: Syracuse.

Worst road-trip: Virginia Tech. 'You can't get there from here.'

Toughest fans: Pittsburgh. The Panthers' fans beat out Providence, which had won this award three straight years.

Most apathetic fans: Miami. 'The new arena hasn't helped.'

Best official: John Cahill. 'He never gets emotionally involved in the game no matter how much you're yelling at him.'

Worst official: John Clougherty.

Next year's surprise teams: Seton Hall and Providence.

Next year's surprise player: D'or Fischer, West Virginia. 'He'll give them an inside presence.'

Best garbage player: Andre Sweet, Seton Hall. 'He's the reason why they're winning.'

Assistant coach on the rise: Mike Hopkins, Syracuse, and Anthony Solomon, Notre Dame. Both received three votes.

Best trash-talker: Ryan Sidney, Boston College. 'The Julius Hodge of the Big East.'

Best crossover move: Chris Thomas, Notre Dame.

Biggest whiner (player): Ryan Sidney. 'Is Troy Murphy still in the league? Can I still vote for him?'

Biggest whiner (coach): Craig Esherick, Georgetown. 'His Mike Sweetney rant blows everyone else away.'

Most predictable team: Syracuse.

Player most likely to get a referee's call: Troy Bell, Boston College. 'He fakes getting fouled on threes and still gets the call.'

Best-dressed coach: Jay Wright, Villanova.

Worst-dressed coach (a.k.a. The Gale Catlett Leather Coat Memorial): Mike Brey, Notre Dame. 'The lack of neckware is getting stale.'

Funniest moment: Seton Hall goes 6-on-5 against Georgetown.

Most athletic player: Hakim Warrick, Syracuse.

Least athletic player: Terry Taylor, Virginia Tech. 'He's heavy, but he's effective.'

Best jump shot: Matt Carroll, Notre Dame.

Dirtiest player: James Jones, Miami, and Donatas Zavackas, Pittsburgh. The only players to receive more than one vote.

Strongest player: Mike Sweetney, Georgetown.

If you could add any player in the league to your team: Mike Sweetney, Georgetown.

Best passer: Andre Barrett, Seton Hall.

Road story of the year: Pittsburgh's bus got stuck in the snow on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The Pitt players had to get out and push.

Best player introductions: Notre Dame.

Best home locker room: Rutgers. 'It's state of the art.'

Road story of the year - Part II: The Miami bus broke down in Morgantown and the team had to walk 200 yards up a hill to the hotel.

Best visiting locker room: Georgetown. 'I guess the NBA takes care of the visitors.'

Worst visiting locker room: St. John's (Alumni Hall). 'It's so small. It's one little bathroom.'

Best player stuck in the wrong system: Darius Rice, Miami. 'He's good enough to win. If he were somewhere else, he'd be winning.'

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Stephen D. Cannerelli/Staff photographer

BEST SHOOTER: Notre Dame's Matt Carroll, with apologies to UConn's Ben Gordon, who edged out Carroll in 3-point shooting percentage (41.2 percent to 41.0). Color

Stephen D. Cannerelli/Staff photographer

STRONGEST: Georgetown's Mike Sweetney, a 260-pound load with skills. Color

Stephen D. Cannerelli/Staff photographer

BEST SCREENER: Pitt sets the best picks, with Chevy Troutman (above) and teammate Donatas Zavackas. Color