Freshmen Fundamentals, 2015
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference will host its second annual Freshmen Fundamentals Program, designed to help men’s basketball student-athletes in the transition from high school to college and the elite level of BIG EAST basketball, Senior Associate Commissioner for Men’s Basketball Stu Jackson announced today.
Freshmen Fundamentals will be held in New York City on Sept. 24-25. All 10 BIG EAST schools will send scholarship and walk-on freshmen, who will be selected at each institution’s discretion. Approximately 30 student-athletes are expected to attend.
“We are excited to conduct our second annual Freshmen Fundamentals Program, which is designed to help our incoming men’s basketball players deal with the many demands they will face in the classroom and as high-profile student-athletes in the BIG EAST Conference,” said Jackson. “After a successful inaugural program and hearing the positive feedback from our schools, Freshmen Fundamentals has proven to be a good supplement to the ongoing efforts at our BIG EAST institutions to assist student-athletes with strategies they can use during their college years on and off the court and later in their lives.”
The Freshmen Fundamentals schedule will include a panel comprised of former BIG EAST players, a broadcast presentation by executives from FOX Sports, the BIG EAST’s national television partner, and instruction from nationally acclaimed experts in media training and personal branding. The student-athletes will also hear from former NBA coach Mike Fratello, who will offer insights into careers in professional basketball. The program will include a visit to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in lower Manhattan and a behind-the-scenes tour of Madison Square Garden, the “World’s Most Famous Arena” and home of the BIG EAST Tournament.
The panel of former BIG EAST players will be moderated by Tarik Turner, a St. John’s standout guard who has enjoyed a successful professional career in finance. He also serves as a television analyst for BIG EAST games on FOX Sports. The players on the panel will include Darrun Hilliard of the Detroit Pistons, who played at Villanova (2011-15), Nate Lubick, who played at Georgetown (2010-14) and works in business in New York City, and Daniel Ochefu, who was a starter on the Villanova team that won the NCAA National Championship this past April.
Turner also will lead a separate discussion on life as a BIG EAST student-athlete and how to take advantage of the educational, social and career-planning opportunities offered by BIG EAST schools.
The media training session will be conducted by Dan Broden, the President of Broden Communications and a national expert on communications and presentation skills. Broden’s clients include the NBA, NASCAR, top business executives, and a variety of sports and entertainment figures. DeNita Turner, President and CEO of Image Builders, Inc., will host a panel on etiquette, personal branding and how to create a positive image in a variety of campus and social settings. She has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies, the NBA and WNBA.
Fratello compiled 667 wins over a 16-year NBA head coaching career. He earned NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1986 while directing the Atlanta Hawks. Fratello also coached the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Memphis Grizzles. Currently, Fratello works on TNT’s NBA telecasts and is an analyst for NBA-TV.
FOX Sports personnel will brief the student-athletes on the extensive national television coverage that BIG EAST men’s basketball teams receive and how best to navigate the opportunities and challenges that come with media exposure. FOX Sports has the national television rights to all BIG EAST competitions.