Less than a week to the NBA draft. Taft is all over the mock draft boards. How about the Sonics at #25?

He was never the caliber of prospect (hyped as a possible Top Five choice or better on some Internet mocks) as proclaimed by some this season. Hence, his stock really hasn’t “fallen” to the degree that some are speculating.

Maybe the Indiana Pacers at #17?

Team: Indiana Pacers Pick: 17 Player: Chris Taft (Pittsburgh) Pos: Forward Notes: Taft will give the Pacers some flexibility up front.

He’s being considered there because:

Indiana needs help up front. It could use a big man that can rebound and block shots. The Pacers will miss the leadership and the skills of the sharp- shooting Miller, but Jackson should be a suitable replacement.

With the 17th overall pick in the draft, the Pacers could have their eyes on Chris Taft of Pittsburgh, North Carolina’s Sean May and Wayne Simien of Kansas.

How about out of the 1st Round (Insider Subs.)?

Taft professes to have no idea what has happened.

Paging Hercule Poirot. Calling Sherlock Holmes. On a misty Tuesday morning, the New York Knicks worked out probably the two most mystifying players in the 2005 NBA Draft at their Madison Square Garden Training Center.

“I’m the most controversial player in the draft,” 6-11 Pitt power source Chris Taft flashes an inscrutable smile. “And I have no idea why.” That’s another mystery because the reasons appear quite apparent: after the end of his freshman season, the rock-like Taft was tagged as a surefire lottery selection as perhaps the nation’s most promising young big man. A year later…well, people just don’t know.

The article may very well sum up the Pitt fan’s view of Taft’s past season, and suggest why he will drive his future NBA team nuts.

As good as Taft was as a sophomore, when a kid this gifted and this big gives you just 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game (as well as less than 2 blocked shots) it’s difficult to get rid of that pesky he-should-have-been-better feeling.

It’s not the talent — he’s as quick and agile as any big guy around and then some. It’s not the build — the sculpted 260-pound Taft owns a body from God. Still, for whatever reason, this personable and well-spoken center/forward has not been consistent as a college player at Pitt and really hasn’t developed anything resembling a go-to post-move.

“What you must understand is how much I’ve improved my offense SINCE my season ended,” says Taft, joining the ever-growing number of Knicks-workout participants (Allan Anderson of Michigan State, Northwestern’s T.J. Parker, et. al.) who feel that they were somehow held back — or at least haven’t had their chance to show their real stuff — in their college system.

Which is something of a semi-mystery in itself.

“Just check with the nine teams I’ve worked out for,” stresses Taft. “My offense is coming along real well — sky hooks, jump-shots, either hand, things like that. I’ve worked on my game so much with my trainer I don’t understand how anyone could have a doubt. He’s worked me out so much and so hard, I’m prepared for any eventuality. NBA three-s, college three-s, off dribble pull-ups, pick-and-rolls, post-moves, I feel comfortable. You name it.”

And yet he never worked any further at his game at Pitt.

It’s been a few weeks since anything was heard regarding the schools former Tennessee QB Brent Schaeffer was considering. Now it appears that Pitt is no longer under any consideration.

In other news, Chandra Schaeffer, the mother of former Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer, said her son won’t decide where to transfer until the end of July.

Schaeffer has narrowed his choices to USF, Clemson, Texas A&M and North Carolina.

It was an outside shot. I’m surprised UNC is still on the list.

There is a lot of buzz that Dorin Dickerson will announce verbal commitment to either Pitt or Michigan tomorrow. The scuttlebut is that he is going to say “Pitt.” This is also what appears to be the feeling of Michigan partisans.

Dickerson goes to West Allegheny High. He’s considered one of the best players in the country. Rivals.com has him at #82 in their Rivals100. They also consider him one of the top “athletes” in the country. Dickerson, apparently had one of the best hits caught on tape this past spring.

I try not to get too caught up in recruiting stuff, especially this early. What can I say, I’m still very gun-shy from the summer of 2003 giddiness to the crushing reality of February 2004.

I know, different coach, different circumstances. Yada-yada-yada.

So why am I bringing this up, if I have all these hang-ups? Optimism and excitement.

If Pitt lands Dickerson, this is a big score for Coach Wannstedt and Pitt. It lets all the schools — Michigan, WVU, OSU and PSU — that recruit in Pitt’s backyard know that Pitt is not only serious about protecting the turf, but that things just got a bit more competitive.

There is also the domino effect. In recruiting, it always seems that once you start pulling in a top player or two, more seem to follow. In that respect, Pitt probably needs some early success to build buzz and momentum. Get the coaching staff’s foot in the door with more recruits for this year, and meet the high school coaches at other places for the future.

Of course, this is all contingent on Dickerson actually picking Pitt. Finishing 2nd in this instance does Pitt no good. Maybe some of the fans try to take the “moral” victory of being the final choice rather than Penn State or another school, but it means little beyond that.

Guess we’ll learn tomorrow.

I freely admit to going round and round on Krauser and what comes next. I have legitimate worries about what he will do to the team and program if, after a few weeks of thought decides to come back to Pitt.

Will he be controllable. Will Pitt end up with what happened in Maryland with John Gilchrist? A talented point guard who butted heads with his coach all season because he was more concerned with his own glorification and looking good to NBA scouts than helping the team win. Ultimately it cost a fairly talented team an NCAA bid in a deep ACC (2-0 vs. Duke but 0-3 against Clemson?). That managed to happen at a stable, successful program with a coach who has won a national championship and with complete job security. It can happen just about anywhere.

At the same time, Krauser is a clear talent. A scorer and a guy who can dish the ball. Not only is he the “floor general” on a young team, he is a clear leader of the team off of it. You need that. Unlike the last few years there are no other upperclassmen who can clearly step up to lead the team. Right now, about the only safe bets to see as starters are Gray, Ramon and Graves. None of whom exude presence and leadership at this time.

Without Krauser, this team will struggle. There is a good chance that a true freshman will be the starting point guard. In a conference that has coaches like Pitino, Calhoun and Boeheim, looking to exploit, pressure and trap on defense there could be some real ugliness. Experience matters.

Year 3 of the Jamie Dixon era was shaping up as a critical year for Pitt basketball. This would be Dixon’s squad. Krauser is/was the only player on the roster when Ben Howland was in charge. These are all Dixon’s recruits. It’s his team. There are no seniors (unless Krauser comes back) to help keep clubhouse order. The pressure is going to be on Dixon this year to show that he is a head coach. A coach capable of getting the assembled talent — and there is definitely talent — to play as a team, improve during the season, and move forward.

Well, maybe not back to Pitt for Krauser.

Pitt guard Carl Krauser withdrew his name from the NBA draft yesterday, but that doesn’t mean he is returning to the Panthers for his final year of eligibility.

In fact, it is very likely he won’t return to Pitt but instead will head overseas to play professionally in Europe next season, then re-enter the draft next year.

“It just wasn’t a good business decision for me to go to the NBA right now. I will decide to go back to school or go overseas in the next couple of weeks,” Krauser said.

“It will be a hard decision because I love Pitt and my teammates. However, I’d like to continue the professional level of competition that I have experienced the last couple of months. The way I see the game now is totally different. My whole mind-set is different.

“I love Pitt, but, if I go overseas, I will be able to play at the professional level.”
…
Krauser’s decision yesterday represents a dramatic change of heart. He had said many times he would not consider going overseas or to a minor league (like the National Basketball Developmental League) and that his decision was the NBA or Pitt.

He said there were a number of factors that led to this shift. After working out at the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago, it became clear he was not going to be a first-round pick. But he played well enough to attract the attention of a number of European scouts and he spoke with enough people to realize there is some good money to be made overseas.

Also, if he goes overseas and makes improvements to his game and gets experience against professional players, he believes he’ll be in a much better position to be a first-round pick next year. Plus, the crop of point guards in the draft next year will not be nearly as deep.

“I was thinking about keeping my name in the draft, but I just realized I have to look at the long term for my family,” Krauser said. “There are a ton of point guards in the draft. I’m not going to get caught up in the crossfire, I’d rather be sure that I am going to be drafted. It is better for me to wait on the NBA now.”

I’ve been saying for almost 6 months that he needed to wait a year, just because of the sheer volume of point guards.

This situation is not good for Pitt. He’s going to drag this out much longer than is healthy. Pitt won’t know if it has an open scholarship until it is just about useless. The rancor and animosity this could build in the locker room and with the coaches could be ugly, real ugly.

It is Krauser’s right and career, but there does come a point where it just reaches absurdity. Still, I’m surprised we don’t hear about more players considering this multi-track plan. There is a selfish logic to it.

I’m not sufficiently knowledgeable on the NCAA rules, but Pitt and Coach Dixon almost have to consider giving him a shorter decision deadline or pull his scholarship — if this is allowable. There might be some fallout as viewed by potential recruits for coming down like this on Krauser, but this is uncommon territory.

I said earlier that I think Krauser should go because it is what he wants. The quotes from this article are reinforcing it. If he comes back to Pitt, then it is based on getting him more exposure and showcasing himself for the NBA. He could easily implode this team.

And I thought things would get simpler after today.

Pitt QB Tyler Palko is on the early list of players to be watched for the Maxwell Award. This is the college player of the year award.

Then there is this from Matt Hayes of the Sporting News:

Please, oh giver of truth, a Heisman Trophy sleeper?

A: Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko. First-year coach Dave Wannstedt is stepping into a good situation: Pitt is loaded, and the schedule is favorable. And the fiery Palko has two key games in the first month of the season — vs. Notre Dame, at Nebraska — that could vault him all the way to second banana behind Southern California’s Matt Leinart. Because, really, unless Leinart is injured, he’ll win it again. And so will USC.

I don’t know if Palko will be up there, but I’ve got a Jackson on the field over Leinart. I just don’t see them wanting to give the Heisman to him a 2nd straight year.