BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE -- The Big East has released its scheduling grid for the 2009 season, with Providence College facing off against Cincinnati, Rutgers and Villanova in home-and-home games.

PC's games at the fully renovated Dunkin' Donuts Center include Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. John's, Syracuse and Villanova. The Friars will play Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida, Villanova and West Virginia on the road.

The Friars will host Brown on Dec. 3, Rhode Island on Saturday, December 6 and Bryant University on Dec. 22. PC's only non-conference road game (thus far) comes Dec. 20 at Boston College.

How did the Friars fare in the Big East scheduling? PC fans have learned that there are no easy games in the 16-team monster conference, including road games to the supposed 'weak sisters.' The Friars finished 6-12 in the conference in 2008 and have yet to post a winning record since the Big East expanded three years ago.

Connecticut (road game), Louisville (road game), Notre Dame (home) and Georgetown (road) seem to be the league teams that will see most of the preseason hype. Both Cincinnati and Rutgers, two repeat foes for PC, are expected to be much improved thanks to strong recruiting classes.

Here are all the schedule partners for the 16 Big East schools.

CINCINNATI
Home - Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, West Virginia
Away - DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John's, USF, Syracuse, Villanova

CONNECTICUT
Home - Georgetown, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse, Villanova
Away - Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Seton Hall, West Virginia

DE PAUL
Home - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Seton Hall, USF, Villanova
Away - Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, USF, Syracuse, West Virginia

GEORGETOWN
Home - Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, Syracuse, West Virginia
Away - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Marquette, Notre Dame, St. John's, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse, Villanova

LOUISVILLE
Home - Connecticut, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, USF, West Virginia
Away - Cincinnati, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John's, USF, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia

MARQUETTE
Home - Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Away - DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, USF, Villanova

NOTRE DAME
Home - Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, USF, Villanova
Away - Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John's, Syracuse, West Virginia

PITTSBURGH
Home - Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, St. John's, USF, Syracuse, West Virginia
Away - Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Villanova, West Virginia

PROVIDENCE
Home - Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. John's, Syracuse, Villanova
Away - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF, Villanova, West Virginia

RUTGERS
Home - DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse, West Virginia
Away - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Villanova

ST. JOHN'S
Home - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse
Away - Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, West Virginia

SETON HALL
Home - Connecticut, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, USF, Villanova, West Virginia
Away - Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John's, Syracuse

SOUTH FLORIDA
Home - Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Providence, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Away - Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, West Virginia

SYRACUSE
Home - Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Villanova, West Virginia
Away - Connecticut, Georgetown, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, USF, Villanova

VILLANOVA
Home - Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Syracuse
Away - Connecticut, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse, West Virginia

WEST VIRGINIA
Home - Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John's, USF, Villanova
Away - Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse

The Atlantic 10 today announced its scheduling pattern for men's basketball for next season and it contains some surprises for the University of Rhode Island.

The Rams will play several of the top contenders at home. Dayton, Xavier and Massachusetts, all of whom figure to be among the conference's best, all will visit the Ryan Center. That is something of a surprise, at least in Xavier's case, since URI also hosted the Musketeers last season.

"This is an exciting and challenging home A-10 schedule," said Rhody head coach Jim Baron. "Our fans will be able to enjoy some of the best that the conference has to offer this season at the Ryan Center."

Obviously, the schedule is not merely a reversal of last season. The conference went to a new scheduling pattern last year and some, including this corner, assumed the schedule would merely be flipped in the second season. That is not the case. The Xavier situation stands out. The Rams will get to host the league's best program two years in a row without having to visit the Cintas Center.

Among other changes, URI has new "partners," that is, teams it will meet twice. Like last season, the Rams will play UMass home and home. That is part of the conference's effort to have natural rivals meet twice.

Last season, URI met George Washington and Dayton twice. The new partners this year, along with UMass, are Fordham and Temple.

It all makes it difficult to figure out where conference officials expect URI to finish. The new scheduling pattern makes an effort to group teams and have schools play within those groups, strong against strong, weak against weak. It is tough to decide how the conference sees URI since Temple is the reigning A-10 tournament champion, UMass was strong last season and figures to be strong again, while Fordham struggled last season and loses much of its team.

Dates will be announced later. Here is URI's slate for A-10 play:

HOME: Dayton, Fordham, La Salle, Massachusetts, St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Temple, Xavier.

AWAY: Charlotte, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, Massachusetts, Richmond, Saint Joseph's, Temple.

TJ Sorrentine Named Assistant Basketball Coach At Brown

Providence, Rhode Island - TJ Sorrentine, a Pawtucket, Rhode Island native and the leader of the Vermont basketball team that upset Syracuse in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Championship, has been named an assistant basketball coach at Brown in an announcement made by Bears' head coach Jesse Agel.
Sorrentine will be reunited with Agel, who guided him as an associate head coach at Vermont and recruited Sorrentine to the Catamounts' basketball program.
"I've known TJ as a great player, a tremendous competitor and a leader that players gravitate towards and hoped to emulate," said Agel. "Now Brown basketball will be able to utilize all of TJ's championship attributes to help us achieve the successes he has attained."
A 2005 graduate of Vermont with a B.A. in sociology, Sorrentine was a two-year captain, America East Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, a three-time First Team All-conference player and an Honorable Mention All-American. He was also named to the America East Academic Honor Roll in 2002 and 2003.
"It's always been a dream of mine to coach, and having an opportunity to coach at Brown and in my home state is a dream come true," said Sorrentine. I've been coming to the Pizzitola Sports Center for the last 10 years, so it's a home away from home. Coach Agel and I have a great relationship and I've always respected him as a coach and person. This is a tremendous opportunity to learn from him as a coach."
The point guard led Vermont to two NCAA Tournament appearances, in 2004 and 2005, and hit the game winning three-point basket that crushed the Syracuse Orangemen in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the DCU Center in Worcester.
Sorrentine played professionally from 2005-2008, playing with Kk Krka in Slovenia, FC Porto in Portugal, Branca Nouvo Trappani in Italy, and the Florida Flame of the NBA Developmental League. He also played in the NBA Summer League with the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks.
He also has extensive camp experience, and was a special guest speaker at the New England Top 90 Invitational, while working as a clinician at the Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp, the University of Vermont Basketball Camp, the University of Pennsylvania Basketball Camp, and the University of Rhode Island Basketball Camp.
Sorrentine's roots run deep through Rhode Island where he was a standout at St. Raphael's Academy in Pawtucket, earning All-State honors, while playing for his father, Thomas. He was the Rhode Island Player of the Year (USA Today, Gatorade) in 2000 after leading St. Ray's to back-to-back state titles.

Providence - TJ Sorrentine, a Pawtucket, Rhode Island native and the leader of the Vermont basketball team that upset Syracuse in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Championship, has been named an assistant basketball coach at Brown in an announcement made by Bears' head coach Jesse Agel.

Sorrentine will be reunited with Agel, who guided him as an associate head coach at Vermont and recruited Sorrentine to the Catamounts' basketball program.

"I've known TJ as a great player, a tremendous competitor and a leader that players gravitate towards and hoped to emulate," said Agel. "Now Brown basketball will be able to utilize all of TJ's championship attributes to help us achieve the successes he has attained."

A 2005 graduate of Vermont with a B.A. in sociology, Sorrentine was a two-year captain, America East Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, a three-time First Team All-conference player and an Honorable Mention All-American. He was also named to the America East Academic Honor Roll in 2002 and 2003.

"It's always been a dream of mine to coach, and having an opportunity to coach at Brown and in my home state is a dream come true," said Sorrentine. I've been coming to the Pizzitola Sports Center for the last 10 years, so it's a home away from home. Coach Agel and I have a great relationship and I've always respected him as a coach and person. This is a tremendous opportunity to learn from him as a coach."

The point guard led Vermont to two NCAA Tournament appearances, in 2004 and 2005, and hit the game winning three-point basket that crushed the Syracuse Orangemen in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Sorrentine played professionally from 2005-2008, playing with Kk Krka in Slovenia, FC Porto in Portugal, Branca Nouvo Trappani in Italy, and the Florida Flame of the NBA Developmental League. He also played in the NBA Summer League with the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks.

He also has extensive camp experience, and was a special guest speaker at the New England Top 90 Invitational, while working as a clinician at the Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp, the University of Vermont Basketball Camp, the University of Pennsylvania Basketball Camp, and the University of Rhode Island Basketball Camp.

Sorrentine's roots run deep through Rhode Island where he was a standout at St. Raphael's Academy in Pawtucket, earning All-State honors, while playing for his father, Thomas. He was the Rhode Island Player of the Year (USA Today, Gatorade) in 2000 after leading St. Ray's to back-to-back state titles. He was also guided by Steve MacDonald, WHJJ Sportscaster, in his early years, playing CYO basketball.

The URI basketball team has player movement involving former, current and future players.

The most noteworthy, for the present, is that Will Daniels has signed to play for the Chicago Bulls. He will head to Florida this week to play for the Bulls from July 7 to 11 in the 2008 Orlando Pro Summer League.

In addition to the Bulls, the event features players from the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets and Seattle SuperSonics. Three of the top four picks from the 2008 NBA Draft are expected to participate: Derrick Rose (Chicago), Michael Beasley (Miami) and Russell Westbrook (Seattle).

Daniels was not selected in last week's draft. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.5 rebounds for URI, and became the first URI player since Tyson Wheeler (1996-97, 1997-98) -- and just the third URI player ever -- to earn First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in consecutive seasons.

Orlando Pro Summer League games will begin at 3 p.m. from July 7 to 10, and at 11 a.m. on July 11. A live video webcast of every game will be available on orlandomagic.com. Box scores, game recaps and cumulative statistics from the event will also be made available by visiting www.orlandomagic.com.

Rhody coach Jim Baron reports that Hakim McCullar, a little-used 6-7 freshman forward on this past season's team, has decided to transfer. He has visited Toledo and Delaware.

Meanwhile, three of the five players the Rams have signed for next year -- 6-9 forward Orion Outerbridge, 5-8 guard Stevie Mejia and 6-4 guard Jamal Wilson -- all are on campus, attending summer classes and getting acclimated to the school.

They are the three players expected to be most ready to help the Rams, who also have seven returning players. All three are expected to contend for playing time immediately.

The two other signees for this year, 6-8 forward Ryan Brooks and 6-4 guard Rand Dezouvre, apparently have not been cleared to play for next year. Their status is uncertain.

Duquesne hadn't had a winning season since 1993-94 before it went 17-13 last season, only two seasons after the Dukes were 3-24 under former coach Danny Nee. Everhart's first Dukes team went 10-19 in 2006-07, despite having five players shot following an on-campus party two months before the season began.

Everhart also has dramatically upgraded the Dukes' recruiting, signing players who were recruited not only by other Atlantic 10 Conference programs but also Big East Conference schools.

Recent signees include B.J. Monteiro, the Connecticut high school player of the year; Aleksandar Milovic, a highly sought European swingman; and Rodrigo Peggau, a promising power forward. The Dukes also signed Melquan Bolding, a 6-foot-4 prep school swingman who initially committed to Louisville.

"I'm fortunate to be part of a program here at Duquesne that has been given a strong commitment for excellence by the administration," Everhart said. "We have a commitment that allows us to compete at the highest level of the Atlantic 10."

Duquesne president Charles J. Dougherty and athletic director Greg Amodio both praised Everhart for his strong work ethic and for revitalizing a long-dormant program.

Before Everhart arrived, Duquesne had records of 3-24, 8-22, 9-21, 9-20, 5-23 during a run of eight consecutive bad seasons from 1998-99 through 2005-06.

Duquesne, once one of the East's top basketball schools, hasn't been to a postseason tournament since going to the NIT in 1994 and hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1977.
Everhart, formerly the coach at McNeese State and Northeastern, virtually rebuilt Duquesne's roster from scratch following the 2005-06 season, with 10 new players recruited and two others transferring. Everhart was forced to reshape his roster again this spring after junior center Shawn James and junior guard Kojo Mensah declared for the NBA draft.

James and Mensah, unhappy with their playing time last season, sued the school this week, alleging it did not provide adequate security at the on-campus party in September 2006. Both were shot following the party, James in the foot and Mensah in the left arm.

Now that Everhart has reshaped the roster again following a second upheaval in three years, he is looking to build a stable program that is regularly in the mix for deep runs in the Atlantic 10 tournament and also plays regularly in postseason tournaments.

"Being close to home means a lot to me and my family," said Everhart, from nearby Fairmont, W.Va.

Here's a link to the Bryant news release announcing O'Shea's hiring.

Xavier, who went to St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, led the Friars in scoring last season. He will leave Rhode Island on Sunday for training camp, then continue to Athens, Greece, where his team will face New Zealand on July 15. Cape Verde will attempt to become one of 12 teams competing in Greece to receive an Olympics invitation.

Bryant is moving from the Northeast 10 to Division I beginning this September.

PROVIDENCE - Jesse Agel, Brown University's new head basketball coach, spent the last 19 years as an assistant at the University of Vermont and at Brown. When did he think he was ready for the top job?

"After my first day of practice 20 years ago," he said yesterday, after being introduced as Craig Robinson's successor.

Agel, 46, worked with Robinson the last two years and last season helped coach the Bears to a 19-10 record, the most victories in a season in Brown basketball history, an 11-3 record, a second-place finish behind Cornell in the Ivy League and a berth in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

For 17 years prior to Brown, Agel was an assistant at Vermont. He was associate head coach under Tom Brennan for the last eight and shared credit for the Catamounts' title runs in 2003, 2004 and 2005, as well as their stunning first-round upset of Syracuse in the 2005 NCAA Tournament at Worcester. T.J. Sorrentine of Pawtucket and Taylor Coppenrath, America East rookies and players of the year, were the heroes of those teams.

Click here to continue reading.

Agel was Robinson's assistant for two years. Before coming to Brown, the 46-year-old was an assistant at Vermont for 17 years.

Agel says his goal is to win Ivy League championships, which the school hasn't done in more than 20 years.

Brown won a school-record 19 games last season, finishing second in the Ivy League and earning a bid to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

To see live streaming video of the announcement, go to http://brownbears.com and click on the audio/video link.

He will join his former boss, Bill Bayno, with whom he worked at UNLV in 2000 and the start of the 2001 season.

Good informed his team by conference call Thursday and then spoke with each player individually. He said that from a financial standpoint Bayno’s offer was too good to pass up.

“Now my wife doesn’t have to work. She lived with me in the dorms at MCI and she’s driven the van,” he said after calls to his players. “I leave here reluctantly. It was a very tough decision. I’m leaving a great situation for one that’s a little better for me.”

Good’s departure leaves Jim Baron of the University of Rhode Island as the only returning Division I coach for 2008-2009. Providence College fired Tim Welsh and hired Keno Davis of Drake. Craig Robinson left Brown for Oregon State, and Brown is nearing the end of its search.

Bill Smith, director of athletics, will launch his search next week after he meets with President Ronald K. Machtley. The search comes at a critical time because Bryant is moving up to Division I in the fall and the Bulldogs already have contracts to play at Iowa, Connecticut, Boston College, Maryland and Providence College, two factors that should make the job attractive. Smith said he will take his time.

“It’s more important that we get an excellent coach, a coach with the same qualities as Max,” he said.

Bayno contacted Good about the time of the Final Four after receiving permission from Smith, and Good finally visited the campus last week.

“The campus and the weather blew me away, although I’m not a weather guy,” he said. He will start his new job on Aug. 1 and expects to spend most of his time coaching defense and fast-break offense and scouting opponents, his responsibilities under Bayno at UNLV. Loyola Marymount plays in the West Coast Conference, home of Gonzaga and San Diego, among others.

Known for his high energy level, raspy voice, sense of humor and locker room language with his players, Good, 67, has been a popular figure on the New England basketball scene for years.

He compiled a 131-86 record in his seven seasons at Bryant and posted six consecutive winning seasons. He also logged 10 years at Maine Central Institute (MCI), where he was 275-30, won 79 consecutive games over three seasons, had three undefeated seasons and won five New England prep school championships. Eighty-seven of his players played Division I basketball in college, and nine reached the NBA.

Good left MCI for UNLV in 1999 and took over the Runnin’ Rebels in December of 2000 after Bayno was fired in the wake of recruiting violations that resulted in a post-season ban for the 2001 season and four years probation. Bayno was never directly accused of any transgression in the case that involved Lamar Odom, and the NCAA ultimately cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Good led UNLV to a 13-9 record in 2001, visited Bryant that April and eventually signed a contract after turning down offers from three big-time schools to be an assistant coach.

“I can’t be grateful enough to Ron and Dan Gavitt for giving me the opportunity. My wife and I were well-received. I’m still melancholic and saddened by leaving here. I love Bryant,” Good said. Gavitt was the athletics director who hired him.

Good’s players were as successful in class as they were on the court. “I’m very proud that we graduated 24 of the 25 players we recruited, with the high academic constraints we have here,” he said.

--MIKE SZOSTAK

McGlade had served as the associate commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1999. Bruno resigned in December.

McGlade has spent nearly 30 years in college athletics as a competitor, coach and administrator. A former basketball player at North Carolina before going on to coach at Georgia Tech, she was the tournament director for the 1993 women's Final Four. She was a member of the women's tournament selection committee from 1995-2000 and joined the ACC in 1997.

ESPN Insiders can read the story here.

J.J. Santa Cruz, Williams' AAU coach, called Long Beach State's announcement a "miscommunication." Williams, said Santa Cruz, "wants to go to Oregon State to help them turn it around." Katz reported that Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said he would release Williams from their agreement, allowing him to attend Oregon State.

Williams and Robinson got to know each other this year, when Williams played at Providence College and Robinson coached at Brown.