Pitt’s Gibbs Talks About Big East Preseason Player of the Year Honors; UConn, Syracuse Tie for 1st Place in Poll

NEW YORK — Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs was named the 2011-12 Big East Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s head men’s basketball coaches.  It is the fifth time in league history that a Pittsburgh player has captured Big East Preseason Player of the Year honors.

Connecticut freshman center Andre Drummond was chosen Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year.  Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Gibbs is a 6-2 senior who was an All-Big East First Team selection last year.  He led the Panthers in scoring with a 16.8 average.  He was first in the league in 3-point shooting, making 49 percent, and second in free throw shooting, hitting at an 88.9-percent clip.  A native of Scotch Plains, N.J., Gibbs enters the season third on the Big East career list in 3-point shooting percentage at 45.4 percent.

Marinatto Says Big East ‘Will Emerge Stronger Than Ever’

Despite losing Syracuse, Pittsburgh and TCU in recent weeks, Big East Commissioner John Marinatto says the league will once again reinvent itself moving forward.

“When the dust settles, we will emerge stronger than ever,” Marinatto said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters.

As part of a comprehensive realignment effort, the Big East unanimously voted to double its exit fee from $5 million to $10 million for football members and move forward toward an expansion plan that allows for 12 football playing members. The increase in exit fee will be triggered as progress is made in signing new members.

Any current schools that opt to leave — UConn, Louisville and West Virginia are among those that have been mentioned — would have to pay the $10 million exit fee.

Marinatto said he envisioned a football championship game in New York City similar to the Big East basketball tournament held each year at Madison Square Garden.

Big East Invites Houston; Missouri Headed to the SEC

The giant game of musical chairs that is conference realignment is swirling at a rapid pace with significant new developments almost daily.

In the latest round of news, the Big East has invited Houston to join for all sports, according to The Houston Chronicle, and Missouri is headed to the SEC, The New York Times reported.

Big East Commissioner John Marinatto wil hold a conference call with reporters Tuesday in which he is expected to announce that the league approved raising its exit fee to $10 million from $5 million. It remains unclear to what degree Marinatto will address the addition of specific schools.