Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
With the “new” Big East Conference starting next season, a lot of things are going to change. Some of the old conference’s rivalries are going to be gone due to financial reasons, new programs will be joining the mix and a new history is going to need to be written for the new league.
It will carry the same moniker, but no one will actually consider it the Big East Conference as we knew it.
Maybe that is a good thing. Starting anew is sometimes better than trying to regurgitate the past while hoping to live up to or get past certain things that have held it down. No matter how you feel about this version of the Big East, it is safe to assume basketball fans will enjoy it and programs, as well players, might like a fresh start.
Villanova Wildcats forward, JayVaughn Pinkston, should be one of the guys looking forward to a new beginning. Pinkston is an extremely talented player who got in some off-the-court trouble. That does not make him a bad person, but possibly just a bad decision-maker. He is just a kid after all. It could have just been a kid making a childlike mistake.
Jay Wright will clearly be looking to Pinkston to expand on his game and be one of the keys for potential Wildcats success next season. However, if Wright is relying on him to be their main man in charge, then Pinkston needs to step up on and off the court. A team’s leader cannot be perceived as a guy who may miss a few games because of off-the-court issues.
Pinkston’s legal woes are all pretty much behind him. He still has some counselling he has to attend and if he takes advantage of those meetings, maybe he can come out of them a better player — and more importantly — a better person.
Nova is going to need Pinkston to mature as much as Pinkston is going to need the program to be his clutch. Here’s to rooting for happy endings for all involved.
Joe is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JosephNardone
