Looks like we have to wait a little longer


Jackson

League wants to see who's back
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

Kevin Pittsnogle, Carl Krauser and Torin Francis could have an effect on the entire television schedule for the Big East.

How? According to Tom Odjakjian, the Big East associate commissioner, the league won't finalize its television schedule until it knows whether these three players are staying in the NBA draft.

Odjakjian told ESPN.com prior to this week's Big East meetings in Florida that the league is waiting to determine how good West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame figure to be before pushing for select television games.

And television dictates the 16-game league schedule for the inaugural 16-team 2005-06 season. Each Big East team will play 13 of the other 15 teams and will play three of those teams twice. Any team that is missed next season will definitely be on the schedule for 2006-07. Home and road sites won't be determined until the opponents are set.

The Mountaineers should still be in the running for a top-five league finish without Pittsnogle, but they clearly won't be as effective inside considering they're also losing D'or Fischer and Tyrone Sally. Pittsnogle is one of the toughest center matchups because of his ability to make 3s. The Mountaineers already have a big-time non-conference game at UCLA, slated for CBS.

Pittsburgh clearly needs Krauser back to be considered an elite Big East team next season. The Panthers already are losing Chris Taft and Chevy Troutman inside.

Notre Dame probably has the most to lose. The Irish are losing their point guard, Chris Thomas, and if Francis stays in the draft, their top two forwards  Francis and Dennis Latimore  also would be gone. Latimore chose not to use his fifth year of eligibility (he transferred from Arizona).

The Big East has done this in the past. Odjakjian said the league waited to see if Ryan Gomes was going to return a year ago to Providence when weighing television games for the Friars.

There is still no set schedule for the league. Odjakjian said the opponents, dates and times probably won't be done until late June  after the June 21 withdrawal date for the NBA draft.