Movin' Out

One day after Mike Rosario made headlines transferring to Florida, Greg Monroe becomes latest player to leave Big East, bolting Georgetown for the NBA draft. (Photo courtesy of ESPN)

Immediately following Duke's national championship win over Butler, fans of the Big East Conference sized up the prospects of all 16 schools for the 2010-11 season, and Georgetown was one of the more popular choices at the top of what is arguably the best conference in the nation. With guards Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark coming back to join center Greg Monroe, all eyes would soon be fixated upon the Hoyas going into November.

Now, you can cross one name off that list, as Monroe announced Saturday that he would forgo his two remaining seasons at Georgetown to sign with an agent and enter June's NBA draft. Monroe, who is widely projected to be selected within the top ten, had previously said he would stay in school following the Hoyas' shocking loss to Ohio University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the allure of playing professionally and the contract that comes with it proved to be too much for Monroe to pass up.

Monroe's departure does not take Georgetown off the list of strong Big East teams next year, but it does make the conference wide open as far as who could potentially cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden next March in the Big East tournament. The New Orleans native is also not the only high-profile Big East player who will be playing elsewhere as former Rutgers guard Mike Rosario officially announced his intent to transfer to the University of Florida. Rosario will sit out the upcoming season before becoming eligible to play for Billy Donovan starting in the 2011-12 season. He will have two years of eligibility with the Gators.