Here’s something no one saw coming, Chris Taft looks more likely than ever to go to the NBA Draft. He has time to make his decsion — until May. Funny thing about both stories. No one is hearing anything from Taft since his “50-50” comment after the Pacific loss. The P-G story is much more critical of his game with some comments from ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla.

Many NBA scouts love his athleticism, but others are not confident he has enough of a post game to be consistently successful in the NBA.

Those discrepancies make Taft one of the most controversial prospects of the year. In various mock drafts on basketball Web sites (nbadraft.net, probasketball.com and collegehoopsnet.com), Taft is projected as a top-10 pick, but he could slide as other high school, college and international players declare.

“Could Chris Taft go in the lottery? Possibly,” Fraschilla said. “But he would be better served to stay and dominate in the Big East for a year. This season, it was one night he looked like a first-round pick and the next night it looked like he didn’t care about being out there. I was disappointed with Chris’ sophomore year. I thought he would dominate the [Big East]. I can see him going anywhere from No. 5 to 25.”
…
“Chris fits into the range of someone who could be a good pro or he could be out of the league quickly and having to learn to learn a second language. Chris could be in a situation two years from now where he’s playing in Turkey. Chris’ stock would rise if he focused on having one great college season”

I think we know the cliches, “you can’t teach size,” “potential,” and “upside.” All apply to Taft. I haven’t seen a mock draft yet that doesn’t have Taft in the top-10. How can you not go for the guaranteed cash of a 1op-10, especially with further cap and salary restrictions likely in the NBA after this draft?

Sidenote a Chevon Troutman ranges from anywhere to a late 2nd to just outside the draft board. It will be worth watching to see if Troutman can help his stock at some of the workout camps.

In other notes, an article mentions in passing that past Pitt point guard Jerry McCullough is playing in the Italian Basketball League for A.J. Milan.

From the “regrets, I’ve had a few” department, an article talking about the numerous departures from the Penn State basketball team.

Center Rob Summers, who is currently redshirting at West Virginia, left Penn State after last year’s 9-19 season because he simply couldn’t take the losing.

“Once the season was over and we went to Big Ten tournament, I thought it was time to move on,” Summers said. “Losing took its toll on me.”

But why, then, did he commit to Penn State as a high school senior when the Lions finished last in the Big Ten with a 7-21 record?

“The coaching staff and opportunity to play and not redshirt attracted me to Penn State,” Summers said. “It came down to Pitt and Penn State, but Pitt wanted me to redshirt.”

And instead he is now sitting out the year at WVU.

With the Trib. getting the scoop on everyone else yesterday, there are choices.

Option 1, just report the story without acknowledging who broke it first.

Pitt was the first school to offer a scholarship, but Johnstown coach Bob Arcurio said 15-20 Division I colleges had requested film on Corson.

Corson attended “junior days” at Michigan State and Maryland.

“After he went to Pitt, he just said he enjoyed the coaching staff so much,” Arcurio said. “And it wasn’t just the big man [Wannstedt]. He said all the coaches were down to earth.

“Big Man.” That could work.

The other, especially if you are in the business of covering recruiting, mention that the story was false, though accurate.

Greater Johnstown (Pa.) high school was planning a press conference this morning so defensive tackle/offensive lineman Scott Corson could announce his intentions to attend the University of Pittsburgh. A local newspaper ran with the story early this morning, one problem though Corson wasn’t committed.

“I was a little surprised when I heard about that,” Corson said. “I told the guy I was in the process of committing. I never committed until about 9:50 AM this morning, that’s when I called Coach Wannstedt and broke the news.”

According to Scout’s Big East/Pitt Recruiting analyst Rob Lichtenfels

Corson is a slender 280-pound lineman, if that’s possible. He has the frame that should enable him to gain an additional 20 pounds and most would not be able to tell. His size will be the determining factor as to which position he plays at the next level.

“No one ever believes me when I tell them I weigh 280 pounds,” laughed Corson. “Pitt likes me at defensive tackle, but it will depend on how big I get.”

On tape, you can see what coaches like about Corson. He has exceptional feet and balance for a big man. He moves really well, he gets to the second level very fast, he has outstanding hip and knee bend. He is still raw in many facets of the game, but he has the frame and speed that college’s love in a lineman. With one to two years in a college strength and conditioning program Corson will be a specimen.

Corson will attend Pittsburgh’s Blue Chip junior day this weekend. He will also attend the Scout.com Combine at Akron University, May 28th .

According to the article, Corson had transferred from a smaller high school to Johnstown the previous year. Sounds like a familiar discussion.

Also worth noting, a puff piece on defensive end Azzie Beagnyam coming back from a fractured ankle he suffered in the Nebraska game.