Some Pitt comments regarding basketball and football were made at the golf tournament.
First, from former Pitt QB John Congemi:
“The perception is the excitement is back,” said Congemi, a broadcaster for ESPN who will work several Big East football games this fall. “This is coming from a guy who is excited that Pitt people are back at Pitt. It’s good for the Big East because it draws attention to the league.”
Wannstedt isn’t Congemi’s only reason for optimism.
“Matt Cavanaugh, the quarterback on Pitt’s 1976 national championship team, is back as offensive coordinator,” he said. “What he says, [quarterback] Tyler Palko can take it to the bank. He wouldn’t have to hesitate believing it because Cavanaugh has done it in college and the NFL.”
…
Congemi is looking for Wannstedt to take the Panthers to levels that Walt Harris couldn’t.“In my opinion, Pitt underachieved under Harris. They stayed status quo. I think Pitt has to be Top 25 this year, something like 8-3 or 9-2.”
Reasonable expectations.
Then there is the ever reasonable Digger Phelps on the Big East and Pitt.
“It will be the best conference in the country,” he said. “The new teams will bring in three NCAA bids to go with the five the league normally gets to give the Big East a lock on eight. They could get as many as 10.”
The downside to a 16-team conference is that four teams won’t be invited to the Big East tournament. “You’ll get more coaches fired that way,” he said. “It’s going to be tough on the coaches to keep winning to satisfy their fans in a league like the Big East.”
Who will be the best team in the Big East?
“With a healthy Curtis Sumpter, Villanova,” he said. “They’re the team to beat in the Big East, maybe in the country.”
What about Pitt?
“[Carl] Krauser could get them an NCAA bid. Without him, who knows?” Phelps said of the senior guard who recently pulled his name out of the NBA draft and is eligible to return to the Panthers. “He should come back to play at Pitt. Period. He needs more consistency in his game. He’s got to dominate. Pitt needs a leader on the floor. Krauser puts everything else in place.”
And just a final thing with Krauser, back at the Chicago NBA camp he had a bad day going against John Gilchrist, late of Maryland. The reports had said that Gilchrist put pressure on him on every possession. This article on Gilchrist gives just a touch more detail:
According to several scouts who attended the Chicago camp, what impressed them most was Gilchrist’s defense and competitiveness. During one game, Gilchrist hounded Carl Krauser so ferociously that the Pittsburgh guard couldn’t get his team into its halfcourt offense on three straight possessions.
Yeah, that would be having a bad game.
