As mentioned before, John Temple has his first published book, Deadhouse. John will be signing copies of his book at in the Southside on Sunday at 2pm.

Not only will John be there, but several members of PSB will also be on hand to support his “Fire on the Mountaineer” book tour.

File This under “the sleeper must awake” category. Rutgers hired Villanova assistant Fred Hill to be the top assistant coach. Fred Hill is considered one of the best recruiters out there — especially in the NY/NJ area. He widely credited with landing Randy Foye, Mike Nardi, Allan Ray and Curtis Sumpter for ‘Nova. Before that, he was an assistant with Seton Hall under Tommy Amaker and recruited the class of Eddie Griffin, Andre Barrett and Marcus Toney-El. Naturally, Rutgers fans are happy. Could Rutgers actually start approaching competitiveness in the BE?

Yesterday I said I thought Troutman was making a mistake by not going to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT). Turns out, I’m not the only one (ESPN Insider).

I know that the NCAA insists on calling its basketball players student athletes, but let’s get real. Some of the college seniors skipping the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this week might want to take one more math class before leaving school.

Every year the biggest story in Portsmouth is about who’s not here instead of who is.
…
Others like Daniel Ewing, Eddie Basden, Will Bynum, Barry (B.J.) Elder, Luke Schenscher, Roger Powell Jr., Ellis Myles, Larry O’Bannon, Chevon Troutman, Sharrod Ford and Rawle Marshall accepted their invitations but withdrew at the last minute.

The article focuses only on how many 1st round spots are available to the seniors after declared underclassmen, high schoolers and foreign players enter the draft.

That leaves 11 spots for college seniors. A few more defections from the college ranks and it could be lower.

To review: There are 11 probable first-round slots remaining, and there are 24 seniors who for various reasons are not here to improve their draft stock. Ouch.

“Every year it astounds me how many kids listen to bad advice and don’t play here,” one NBA scout told me.

“It just doesn’t make any sense. This year especially. There are a lot of seniors who are trying to project to a new position in the pros or who are trying to distance themselves from other guys who play the same position. And they bolt. Some of the kids who skipped this year won’t even get into Chicago. They’re blowing it.”

The agents of the players say that their clients just aren’t ready to go because it was too close to the end of the season and they want to focus on getting ready for Chicago. Sounds familiar?

Then there is a column noting the “rough patch” for Pitt basketball. Smizik traces the starting point to the announcement of the Quest for Excellence funding drive.

And then, with no particular warning, the Quest For Excellence turned into Search For Disaster. The gods of misfortune have poured down adversity on the Panthers the past two months. It began almost to the day Pitt announced this new fund-raising plan, which was met with angry protests and charges of extortion from longtime season-ticket holders.

It does come off a bit like a karmic ass-biting.

The feature story for the day is another about the work in progress of teaching the offense how to run the ball.

The biggest difference has been the number of power-run formations the Panthers use as well as the frequency with which the coaches call inside running plays. Some days, the Panthers have pulled it off, others they have struggled.

Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said he believes the Panthers have the talent to become a great running team, but he knows they have a long way to go before they’ve mastered the offense.

“Learning the formations and movements is probably giving us as much trouble as the plays,” he said. “I think half the time we’re having problems out there it is because of getting lined up and getting into the right spots. I think at some point, we have to either get it or simplify. We haven’t reached that point, but [this weekend] that will be a major decision. We have to figure out how much we can really do.”

Naturally, the coach won’t say it, but it is also a question of talent. Pitt is not exactly loaded at the offensive line, and no one is totally sure about the running backs.

Along with running the football more and with more authority, there will be several other major differences in the offense. A big one is the way tight ends will be used. They will be a much bigger part of the passing game and not just in blocking.

That could become a strength, considering the talent the Panthers have at that position. In starter Erik Gill and backup Steve Buches, they have two experienced players who are both excellent receivers. Sophomore Darrell Strong has the potential to become a big-time player.

“That should be one of the stronger positions on our team,” Wannstedt said. “With Gill, Buches and Strong, I feel really good about that position. I think we have to keep Eric’s weight down a little, but he is the starter and has a real chance to become a complete tight end. He can catch, he’s smart, he can block.”

Strong, who was a receiver last season, added, “It wouldn’t have been fun to be a tight end in the old offense, but in this offense it looks like we’ll all get our chance to make plays. From that standpoint, this offense is a lot more simple and makes a lot more sense. It is more geared towards power football, but it allows playmakers at all positions to make plays. We’re going to be tough to stop once we get rolling.”

The Panthers are throwing more screen passes than in the past, are using two tight ends and even an H-back on occasion and are throwing more short passes.

Now, I have to quibble a bit right here. While their use has been inconsistent, Pitt has been strong at and utilized the tight end position for the previous few years. Kris Wilson and then Eric Gill last year, both played prominent rolls on the offense. And not just for their blocking. Harris may have been slow to use them as often as I at times have complained, but they were definitely key features of the offense.

Now, I do like the 2 TE idea, not simply as extra blockers. There is more depth at the position than before, and it makes sense to use it. Of course, Darrell Strong did hurt his knee in practice. The extent of the injury is unknown right now.

Today’s player puff piece is on redshirt freshman Dominic Williams. Williams is expected to be the starting Left Guard.

The papers had reports about the moving of the game to a high school stadium. It even made it on the AP wire reports. As first postulated on this blog, the conditions at Heinz Field were a factor.

However, the reason for the decision to scrimmage at Gateway goes beyond recruiting. The turf at Heinz Field is being repaired and might not have been ready in time for the Blue-Gold game.

The UPMC practice facility on the South Side was considered as a potential site, but there is not enough parking and no seats for spectators.

“We looked north, south, east and west,” Wannstedt said. “We started looking for facilities where we knew we could go out there and not be slopping around in the mud and so forth.”

As for future high school sites for the Blue-Gold game, the sites will have to meet some standards:

Wannstedt said there is one other key benefit to playing at local high schools — it could help the Panthers’ recruiting in the WPIAL.

“This should be good for recruiting,” Wannstedt said, “because this is another statement that reinforces the fact that we are serious about getting out into the community and about being a program for all of Western Pennsylvania.”

Wannstedt said no decisions have been made on future sites, but he will look at schools that have an artificial surface and a big enough stadium and enough parking to accommodate the Panthers’ crowd. The Blue-Gold game usually draws about 5,000 fans, which is more than some area stadiums can hold.

If Wannstedt is even half as smart on the field as he has been off of it, I feel rather optimistic about the future.