Big East coaches continually are trying to fight the perception that their league is much more than a basketball league."I guess everyone thinks we're a basketball league," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. "They're full of baloney."
Perhaps, Stewart and his fellow football coaches should stop trying to fight that image.
Especially since nearly half of the league's eight football teams feature starting quarterbacks that also played college basketball.
The best known is former Duke point guard Greg Paulus, now starting for Syracuse. Also, West Virginia senior quarterback Jarrett Brown played in 13 games two seasons ago for the Mountaineers' basketball team.
And then USF freshman QB B.J. Daniels, who will make his first start Saturday at Florida State, played in 16 games for the Bulls' basketball team last season.
Paulus said before the season his experience at Duke would help him at Syracuse.
"Having the experience and the opportunity to play for Coach K and Duke, it prepared me for everything," Paulus said.
"Playing in a lot of big games and playing in that type of atmosphere has allowed me to learn from that culture, to build on some of the things I had in high school and I'm trying to bring some of that here to Syracuse."
Paulus threw for a career-high 346 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's win against Northwestern.
Stewart said Brown benefited greatly from his time spent on the Mountaineers' basketball team.
"You know what helped him the most?" Stewart said. "When he went over to old Bobby Huggins and played basketball that really helped Jarrett mentally and got him in better shape. I think that helped him a lot. It made him tough."
When being recruited out of Tallahassee's Lincoln High School, Daniels told schools he wanted to play football and basketball. If he wouldn't be allowed to play both sports, he wasn't interested.
USF and Memphis were the schools that would allow him to play both and he chose the Bulls.
Daniels said even though he is now the starting quarterback, taking over for the injured Matt Grothe, he doesn't plan on giving up basketball just yet.
"He's a phenomenal athlete, a highly competitive kid," USF basketball coach Stan Heath said. "It's a big challenge for him (making his start at FSU). I think getting on the hardwood in front of a crowd last year, might help him understanding that experience.
"It is a rarity (to play football and basketball); you rarely see it. Both sports are so demanding. If you're not spending year round on basketball, you're not going to be at the same level as other guys. The same thing with football. To see a guy able to do both of those at this level is phenomenal, a Charlie Ward type guy."
Don't Blame This Guy
Following Louisville's 31-27 loss at Kentucky Saturday, Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe was, well, let's just say pretty fired up.
When a reporter asked Kragthorpe what he said to Trent Guy, whose fumbled punt return set up UK's winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter, he issued a warning to the media.
"I told Trent I'm going to kick his ass if he feels bad and I mean it," Kragthorpe said. " ... There was not only one play you can point to and say that was the determining factor.
"I'll just tell everybody right now that if you get on Trent Guy, don't ever come around me. Don't ever come around me if you say anything ... about Trent Guy. I'm going to read everything. I'm going to watch every TV station tonight. Don't say a word about Trent Guy because that guy's a stud and I got his back. ... I'm just telling you, don't do it."
Also during his postgame press conference, in which he repeatedly used the word "ass," he said: "Excuse my language. That's Biblical, though. 'Ass' is in the Bible."
On Monday, Kragthorpe apologized for his contentious press conference.
Apology, Part 2
Kragthorpe wasn't the only one in the Big East issuing an apology after last week's games.
Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson apologized after the public address system at Heinz Field began playing music as soon as Pitt's game with Navy ended.
Usually that's not a problem, except the Navy players were singing their alma mater. This practice is usually met with silence by opposing teams out of respect for the Navy student-athletes and future members of the armed forces.
In 2003 when USF played at Army for the first time, USF senior J.R. Reed told all of his USF's teammates and coaches at the end of the game to stand and honor the traditional singing of Army's alma mater.
"Coach (Jim Leavitt) looked confused at first, so I told him we needed to stand here and pay respect to them," Reed said.
Several fans of the Naval Academy along with servicemen and women attending the Navy-Pitt game were upset that the music drowned out Navy's alma mater, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Pederson said it was an honest mistake and the music began in anticipation of a post-game fireworks show.
"It has come to our attention that a miscommunication at the end of Saturday's game led to some confusion during the singing of Navy's alma mater," Pederson wrote in an E-mail to the Post-Gazette. "We have the utmost respect for this honored tradition and sincerely apologize for any impressions to the contrary."
By the Numbers
UConn RBs Andre Dixon (149 yards) and Jordan Todman (103 yards) each surpassed 100 yards rushing in the win at Baylor. It's the second time in three games that both players have topped the century mark in the same game. ... A week after Mike Williams' streak of 11 consecutive games with at least one touchdown catch ended, the Syracuse wide receiver set a career high with 11 receptions for 209 yards and two TDs in the win against Northwestern. ... West Virginia WR Jock Sanders ranks third nationally, averaging 9.67 receptions per game, while Pitt RB Dion Lewis (132.7 yards per game) ranks sixth in rushing. ... USF's visit to Florida State Saturday will be the first meeting between the Bulls and Seminoles. It will be the 32nd opponent that FSU coach Bobby Bowden has faced. Bowden has a 30-1 record against schools he's facing for the first time.
