Pitt has been pursuing a top #100 basketball player who changed his mind about going to UTEP when the coach left. What made this interesting, was that Pitt didn’t actually have a scholarship on hand. Well, now they do.

Pitt sophomore basketball player Ed Turner has transferred to Central Florida Community College, opening up a scholarship for next season.
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According to Turner’s high school coach, Fajri Ansari, Turner met with coach Jamie Dixon at the conclusion of the semester and determined that it was in his best interests to transfer.

“Coach Dixon said he couldn’t promise him anything, and Ed thought it was best to move on,” Ansari said. “He’s too talented to be sitting on a bench. I coached Leonard Stokes (Cincinnati) and Julius, and he’s as talented as anybody I’ve coached. I know he initially wanted to return to Pitt, but after the meeting, it seemed like transferring was the best option.”

It didn’t help that Turner’s grades were “borderline,” suggesting that even if he did get a larger role in the 2004-05 season, there would be concerns about his eligibility.

As for the player, Alex Galindo, a forward from New Jersey, interest was shown in him by Kansas, Duke, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Boston College, Baylor, Rutgers, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Ohio State. It now appears that he has narrowed his choices between Rutgers, Kansas and Pitt. Read that again just for fun. We are competing with Kansas for a basketball recruit. Hell of a concept.