Looking ahead, looking (Big) East

The Northwest Herald (a suburban Chicago rag) delivers a 'state-of-the-defectors' analysis today. MU, DePaul, Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida are all " playing in two conferences this season, one trained eye on the top of the C-USA standings but one curious eye taking notice of what is going on in the Big East." I have my doubts about this from the perspective of the coaches in each of these programs -- winning in C-USA is hard enough. However, from a fan's perspective, this rings true. Throughout the current campaign, one can't help but look ahead to what will become the greatest basketball conference in history on July 1, 2005. Just how will MU fare in the expanded Big East? We'll find out soon enough.

MU fans are familiar with Tom Crean's preparation for next year's eastern migration (recapped in this article yet again), but it appears that Huggins has the best perspective on what the move means to this year's squad, "We're going to do what we always do. We're going to recruit the best student-athletes we can to come to school here. We're going to field the best team we can possibly field. When conference play starts next January, we'll have scouted everybody. We'll be ready. I'm not going to waste my time or my assistants' time and cheat our kids."