That is what Chris Taft has become from the 2005 draft. They guy/story cited for the dangers of underclassmen going to the draft. From a puff piece on Duke’s Sheldon Williams not going pro.

Williams watched the 2005 draft with his teammates in the Duke locker room and was struck by the unpredictability of the selections. He said he is confident that he is better than some players who were chosen high in the first round, but added that the draft is risky for underclassmen.

“You can think you are lottery and end up slipping to the second round like (Pittsburgh power forward) Chris Taft did,” Williams said. “There are a lot of crazy things and nothing is guaranteed.”

This has been a common thing in stories. Of course, Taft was drafted and has been playing for the Warriors Summer League team, backing up Ike Diogu. In the 2 games played (pdf) so far, he averaged 15.5 minutes, 6.5 points (6-9 shooting) and 5.5 rebounds. He also averaged 3 turnovers (all 6 came in the second game). Reports are that he is doing what is asked of him, despite not much playing time available.

Chris Taft played really well too despite the fact that our abundance of big guys limited him to only 12 minutes. In that time, he converted two hoops inside and made 1 of 2 free throws. He grabbed four boards and was a solid defensive presence. His defensive game is more refined at this point than his offense, but today and in our practices it is clear why he had been projected as a first round pick. He has a good defensive mind and has been well coached in fundamentals that will help our team at this end of the floor.

“Well coached in the fundamentals…” He just needs to remember them.

Pitt Athletic Director Jeff Long gets the puff piece treatment today from Ron Cook.

An attempted humorous piece comparing and contrasting the Big East and the SEC.

Finally, it seems that one sportsbook in Vegas has already started putting lines out on the football games.

The Hilton has put out game lines on just about every major-college game in 2005 — right from Pittsburgh’s being favored over Notre Dame by 4 1/2 on Sept. 3 to Navy’s giving Army 8 1/2 on Dec. 3.

I expect this line to fall to pick-em status by the 1st of September. The oddsmakers are all but saying that now. Essentially giving Pitt the edge based on homefield.

Yesterday I noted that top recruit Paul Harris was getting a lot of pressure to choose Syracuse over Pitt. Looks like a fair amount of that pressure is coming from his high school and ABCD Camp teammate.

One school in particular excites Flynn more than the others.

“Syracuse is at the top of my list,” he admitted. “I like Coach Boeheim and Coach Hopkins, and I would like to play there with Paul Harris.”

Harris, his high school teammate and teammate again this week at ABCD, has long since narrowed his choices to Syracuse and Pitt. However, he has yet to pull the trigger on a decision.

“I don’t know what he’s waiting for,” Flynn said. “I would guess that he will decide sometime over the next month.”

A lot of coaches and teams don’t admit or even want to do package deals, but considering how highly ranked Harris is, it wouldn’t be a shock to have Jonathan Flynn offered by Syracuse as further enticement. Of course, the article doesn’t indicate just how close Flynn and Harris actually are — unlike the Greg Oden/Mike Conley connection sending them to Ohio St. Teammates do not necessarily mean close friends.

Another article on Aliquippa High star, and very early Pitt commit Herb Pope. In it Pope reaffirms his verbal to Pitt and also that he will play this coming year at Aliquippa despite speculation (and past history) that he will transfer to another high school. Obviously, it is far better for Pitt if Pope stays at Aliquippa and close to Pitt.

I’ll try to keep this post brief (hah!) since I am visiting the inlaws and on dial-up — meaning just doing this was excrutiatingly slow.

Coaches, indeed entire athletic departments, are prohibited under NCAA regulations from talking about recruits and even verbal commitments until they sign their National Letter of Intent. So as the basketball camps continue through the weekend, the only thing reporters have to really talk about regarding the coaches in the stands is what coaches are where and (the most likely) reason why.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon was on hand yesterday at Fairleigh Dickinson University to get a glimpse of a host of players, including Aliquippa’s Herb Pope, who already has given Dixon a verbal commitment, despite just entering his junior season of high school. On Thursday, Dixon was in Suwanee, Ga., at the adidas Superstar Camp to witness the play of swingman Gilbert Brown , from Harrisburg who plays at South Kent (Conn.) School, who recently gave Pitt a verbal commitment for the 2006-07 season.

The other reason Dixon was at the Reebok ABCD Camp at FDU was to see a couple other potential commits for the class of 2006.

As Pitt coach Jamie Dixon settled into the camp at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Friday, he followed Harris, a 6-foot-5 guard, and Davis, a 6-9 post player, and Dixon most assuredly came away satisfied, at least, that he and his staff are on the fast path to reloading.

It’s a difficult process for the Panthers, but it’s one that could be made much easier if Harris and Davis decide to cooperate.

The duo of New York state high school stars — the 225-pound Harris and the 234-pound Davis — is serving up impressive showings this week for observers of the camp.

“I call Paul Harris a mini-LeBron (James),” said Bob Gibbons, editor and publisher of All Star Sports Report, a leading print publication dedicated to high school basketball recruiting news. “He looks like he can go to Pittsburgn and play linebacker. I think he is one of the top six players in the class of 2006.”

Harris says in the story that he is getting a lot of pressure to choose Syracuse. The fact that Pitt is still a choice is encouraging, but not promising.

Mike Davis was supposed to be part of Pitt’s 2005 class but had academic issues. He says he still wants to go to Pitt, but isn’t sure the school still wants him. He hasn’t even chosen a prep school yet for the year. Wonder why Pitt might be stand-offish at this point?

Well, I don’t know when he will make up his mind, but one of the top recruits in the country, Paul Harris, would appear to have his choices narrowed down to Pitt or Syracuse. Mike DeCourcy puts him in the top 5 definitely heading to college and gets some opinions.

Not every top prospect in high school basketball will head to college as the result of the NBA’s new draft entry regulations. But some of the best probably will wear Division I uniforms.

Top talent scouts Dave Telep of Scout.com and Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com assess the elite from the class of 2006.
…
5. PAUL HARRIS

Details: 6-4, SG, Niagara Falls (N.Y.) High.
College: Syracuse and Pitt are his top choices.

Telep’s take: “I call him the nuclear weapon. You don’t exactly know what he is, but you don’t want anybody else to get their hands on him. He’s a beast, a man, maybe the best 6-4 rebounder I’ve seen.”

Coleman’s take: “The jump shot is the major concern. You get a 6-5 guy on him, he’ll destroy him on the low block. He does have the ballhandling skills. He really has to be a guy who works at 300 to 500 shots a day until he’s ready for the draft.”

He would be a huge score for Pitt. Not to mention keeping him from a conference rival.

Meanwhile Luke Winn at SI.com looks at some of the best at the ABCD Camp for the high school class of 2007.

Herb Pope, 6-8 PF, Alquippa (Pa.) H.S.
(Ranked No. 15 in Class of ’07)

Pittsburgh has the right to be salivating over the impending arrival of Pope, a local junior who committed to the Panthers back in March. “He’s going to make a huge impact in the Big East,” [Justin] Young[, a Rivals.com recruiting analyst,] said. Pope should not be labeled the next Chevy Troutman or Chris Taft; he is a highly versatile, smooth player who was one of ABCD’s top rebounders but also displayed skill at handling the ball and stepping out to shoot the 3. Besides, Pope said on Thursday, “I don’t plan on being a post forward [at Pitt] — I do everything. I figure by the time I get there, they’ll get another legit big man.” Pope looked like the kind of player the Panthers can build their future around — so they’d be wise to take his advice.

There’s probably going to be a lot of hand-holding, and fighting off plenty of other teams that will still try to pry him away, to get him to that first signing period in 2006.

Meanwhile Andy Katz at ESPN.com has plenty of juicy tidbits (Insider Subs.).

Where was New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay on the first day of the July evaluation period Wednesday? Was he in Indianapolis at the Nike camp, in New Jersey at the ABCD camp or in Atlanta at the Adidas camp? Not quite. McKay was in Oklahoma City watching former Kansas wing J.R. Giddens shoot 10 3s, hoping to lure Giddens to New Mexico.

He was obviously successful enough to get the first and possibly only visit for Giddens, who was essentially told to leave by Kansas after his role in a spring bar room brawl that left him with a severed vein in his calf from a knife wound. He required surgery and isn’t expected back playing until September at the earliest.

Giddens was scheduled to visit the Lobos Friday and Saturday, according to multiple sources. The Albuquerque Journal also quoted Giddens saying he would make the visit. McKay is treating this seriously enough that he went off the road recruiting to be with Giddens and will return on the campaign Monday. He’s hoping to lock up Giddens before he makes a visit to Tennessee next week. Arizona State is also trying to secure a visit for Giddens, who would have two seasons of eligibility once he sits out a year. UTEP, Florida, Washington and Pittsburgh have also expressed interest. McKay can’t be quoted on Giddens since he is a recruitable athlete.

So far, when these players have looked to transfer, Pitt is on the list but it hasn’t happened yet.

He’s also got a lot of interesting stuff regarding the Big East scheduling and what the super-sized Big East means for the NCAA tournament system.

Under the Big East’s television agreement, CBS has the first choice of a game but then ESPN has the right to pick the same matchup, essentially forcing a home-and-home series. Odjakjian said CBS chose West Virginia-Connecticut and West Virginia-Louisville but ESPN decided against choosing those two games and creating home-and-homes.

Odjakjian said the Big East assured the networks that the top six teams would definitely play each other at least once.

That didn’t help the league avoid missing Cincinnati-Notre Dame, Louisville-Georgetown, Syracuse-Providence and Villanova-Pittsburgh this season.

Pittsburgh and Notre Dame had been two of designated premier teams last season, but both are in a rebuilding phase. The Panthers’ home-and-home games are against Marquette, Providence and West Virginia while they miss Syracuse in addition to Villanova. Notre Dame plays home-and-home games against DePaul, Marquette and Providence and doesn’t play Cincinnati or St. John’s.

Still, not being designated a premier team doesn’t mean that team won’t compete for the title.

“Every year there is a team that comes out of nowhere and is a contender,” Odjakjian said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case again.”

Last year, BC, West Virginia and Georgetown, which narrowly missed the NCAAs, were surprise teams in the league.

Selection committee helping out Big East?
The NCAA announced late Wednesday a potential tweak to the bracketing process for the NCAA Tournament.

If the selection committee has exhausted all of its options and still can’t fit in all of the teams from one conference (i.e. the Big East) without having two of them potentially meeting before the regional finals, the committee now has the option to place them in the same region for possible second-round and Sweet 16 matchups.

The sheer size of the 16-team Big East made this possible. If the Big East puts eight or nine teams in the field, it could prove too difficult to avoid having these teams play before the Elite Eight. Now, the committee has more flexibility with the bracket.

Additionally, because of the “no-plays,” it’s possible there could be a matchup in the second round or Sweet 16 between two Big East teams that didn’t play during the season.

Pitt has the type of schedule that is right around the middle of the pack, and can only help them if they are on the bubble. Provided, of course, Pitt plays the kind of non-con schedule that helps the overall strength of schedule.

Big East Basketball blog ranks Pitt’s BE schedule at #9. Right around the middle. I would switch USF and Pitt, but otherwise it is a pretty good ranking.

Last week or so I wrote about the ESPN The Magazine article regarding Myron Rolle and the recruiting sites that follow him and other blue-chip recruits. I ended with the following thought:

A real paranoid thought. No evidence, proof or even particularly well thought out. Just kind of tossing it out. If I were Rivals or Scout, I’d be watching ESPN very closely right now. This could be an opening shot. My guess is they would love to get into the same area if there is sufficient money to be made from a subscriber base. TWWLS has not only the cross-marketing advantage, but also the ability to weaken the eventual competition with articles like this. They could then swoop in and claim the moral high road with their recruiting-team site, and with their 800-pound gorilla status in sports dominate in the field.

Apparently someone at Scout.com is seeing it that way (via mgoblog, who also links to a great article about the business of the recruiting sites).

The problem with the piece is that it is more incoherent rant than actual allegations. Lots of bitterness and sputtering. While complaining that the piece was unfair, the writer doesn’t actually go after Feldman or the actual truth in the article. Instead it pushes the idea further and further that ESPN is plotting a takeover. Screaming from the rafters that ESPN is planning to go negative on recruiting sites while pumping up their own offerings isn’t going to help.

Now, I do think Scout and Rivals have some reason to cast a wary eye towards ESPN. No question. They likely did, prior to the story. If it involves sports and making money, you know ESPN will get there sooner or later. As I said it was a paranoid thought requring some more careful observations. I said nothing about announcing that war has begun, and firing a bullet into your foot. The worst thing to do when you are feeling paranoid is to lash out blindly and just give people reason to dismiss it as the thoughts of a deranged mind.

How about someone find out something more about Scouts, Inc.

Scouts, Inc., founded by 20-year scouting veteran Gary Horton, breaks down film of every NFL game, numerous college games and individual footage of college prospects, and our experts attend NFL training camps and both NFL and college games in person. They do everything their NFL counterparts do, but instead of internalizing this information, they write it exclusively for ESPN. Scouts, Inc., is dedicated to serving the hard-core football fan with thoughtful, in-depth analysis of NFL and college players, coaches and teams.

That just tells us who the founder is. Not whether ESPN is a financial backer or owner. Before Scouts, Inc., Horton was a former NFL Scout and wrote a regular draft guide called the War Room. He supplied content to The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated. Is this just the natural growth or something else? This issue would actually be something worth investigating a little deeper. What exactly is the financial relationship between Scouts, Inc. and ESPN?

This was one of those matters where some subtlety and doing more to strengthen those alliances with other sports sites and portals would serve the interests far more than screaming.

Okay, so Pat Devlin is going to Miami (hat tip, Jamie). At the risk of coming off as bitter or something, I never got a sense that Pitt was seriously one of his top picks.

Pitt doesn’t have a lot of slots left so I think they will only take one more QB recruit. If I had to guess, I’d say they would go with Dexter Davidson, from Florida, who has also been getting help from Dan Marino. He has an official visit to Pitt scheduled for the Notre Dame game.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Joe Thomas’ verbal to Pitt.

Thomas, who will be entering his senior season at the Catholic school in Lakewood, was recruited by Pittsburgh as a guard. However, after playing right guard alongside Boone last year, Thomas said he will probably move to left tackle to help the overall structure of the Eagles’ line.

“The coaching staff at Pittsburgh was incredibly down to earth,” Thomas said. “They made me feel right at home.”

The comfort zone he developed with Panthers new head coach Dave Wannstedt and his staff is why Thomas passed on his original plan to wait until the end of his senior season before making his choice.

Among the other major-college programs pursuing him were Boston College, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Bowling Green and Miami of Ohio.

Rated by Ohio High Magazine this spring among the top 75 senior prospects in the state, Thomas said he would like to major in studio art or communications.

What encourages me about that list of other schools is that most of those schools have been doing a very good job at identifying talent on the lines.

That seems to be the gist of this article on Pitt’s announcement regarding future non-con games for the football program.

“As our program got stronger, we wanted to shift our scheduling philosophy to meet our strength,” Pitt athletic director Jeff Long said. “We’re a strong program, and we believe we’ll get stronger and should be playing stronger non-conference opponents.”
…
“We’re pleased we have some top-level Big Ten teams on our schedule.”

At the end of the article the future non-con games through 2010 are set out. It would appear that Bowling Green was pushed from 2006 to 2008. Not exactly sure what happened to the Navy game in 2006, but Navy doesn’t have Pitt on their 2006 schedule either.

Here’s the Iowa press release on the announced series.

“We’re extremely pleased to announce this series with Pittsburgh, a respected University with a strong and rich collegiate football history,” said Bowlsby. “There’s no question this is a series that will excite fans from both schools.”

Iowa’s Head Football Coach Kirk Ferentz was also pleased with the four-game series.

“I spent a great deal of my early years in Pittsburgh and still have many family members in the area,” said Ferentz. “I look forward to playing Pittsburgh and the challenge they’ll present.”

Is the glass half-full or half-empty? The headlines from the Pittsburgh dailies sum it up:

Big East lightens Pitt’s conference schedule

Panthers taken away from Big East limelight

It depends on how you look at the meaning of the schedule.

From the half-full article:

The Pitt basketball team, which is likely to be without its top three scorers from last season, appears to have received a break on its 2005-06 Big East Conference schedule.
…
It marks the third consecutive year that ESPN, CBS and the Big East have agreed on which Big East teams will play each other twice. In the past two years, Pitt was deemed a so-called “first-tier” Big East team and, thus, played home-and-home games against Connecticut, Syracuse and Notre Dame. The remaining conference teams were not required to play those teams twice.

For Pitt and other top-tier schools, the tradeoff for a difficult schedule reasulted in more national TV exposure.

Big East associate commissioner Tom Odjakjian, who assembled the schedule, said Connecticut, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia and Cincinnati were “highest on television’s interest list” for next season.

However, Odjakjian said, “ESPN will be doing a lot more of our games this year, so a team like Pitt could get just as much as exposure. Maybe (instead of) a second Pitt-UConn game, Pitt against Cincinnati will be televised.”

The actual dates and TV selections will be announced in the next month or two.

And then, the half-empty:

For the past two seasons, Pitt had to play conference powers Connecticut, Notre Dame and Syracuse in home-and-home series because Big East officials deemed the Panthers one of the league’s best teams and wanted to showcase them in national television games.

Since the Big East began arranging its schedule around television before the 2001-02 season, Pitt has played on national television 50 times, including a record 15 appearances last season. Although the Big East did not release the league’s national television schedule yesterday — it will be announced in a month or two — Pitt is not is expected to be on nearly as much this season because of the departure of Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft and the likely departure of point guard Carl Krauser, who is strongly considering a professional career in Europe.
…
It’s a trade-off for the top teams. They get the more difficult schedule in return for national exposure and the recruiting benefits that go along with it. The other teams are given a more manageable schedule, if there is such a thing in the newly configured super conference, which placed seven teams in the NCAA tournament last season: Pitt, Connecticut, Syracuse, Villanova and West Virginia from the old guard and Cincinnati and Louisville as Conference USA members.

The article also notes that Pitt’s non-conference schedule will be announced sometime in August. Pitt won’t have the excuse of the last few years that its conference schedule justifies going easy on the non-con. Instead, if it is a patsy-filled non-con once more, the excuse will be based on the rebuilding aspect.

Up in Wisconsin, the paper there, calls the Marquette schedule a “stern test.” That’s a bit of a stretch.

I’ve had a little time to digest the schedule and have some more thoughts on it (big shock). Before I get to it, a little round-up to some of the reactions of BE teams.

The Big East Basketball Blog is promising a ranking of the schedules for tomorrow.

Marquette Hoops doesn’t actually have an opinion yet. I’m sure they will soon. Marquette is a lot like Pitt this coming year, with some key losses from their team from last year, but lots of good incoming talent. They seem to have a fair and balanced conference schedule.

You know your team’s been down, and you aren’t feeling good about them when you write, “Highlights: no UConn or WVU, Louisville and Nova at home, and home-and-homes with Seton, St. John’s and South Fla.”

Blue-Gray Sky concedes that ND got a decent to light schedule. Their road games are much more difficult than the home meetings. The Big East seems to have made an effort to give them the Catholic connections for at least for the 1st year with home-and-homes with Marquette, DePaul and Providence.

As for Pitt. This is a fair schedule, especially given the turnover of the team. Not absurdly difficult, and not a cakewalk. My first reaction is to think that Pitt could easily be in the 10-6 to 6-10 record in the Big East in 2005-06, based on the schedule and it being only July.

Pitt will always have a home-and-home with WVU as they are Pitt’s natural rival. Marquette is a lot like Pitt this year, with some key losses from their team from last year, but lots of good incoming talent. I’m really surprised Providence was matched-up with Pitt for the home-and-home. That strikes me, more as just one of the only exchanges they had left. Not a natural fit or good storyline (Cinci and Huggins vs. his alma mater, WVU).

Lots of scheduling news today. How about the future non-con.

Pitt athletic director Jeff Long announced today future non-conference games with Iowa, Miami (Fla.), NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

“Our future non-conference schedules reflect our efforts to compete against some of the nation’s finest programs,” Long said. “It also reflects the importance of constructing a balanced non-conference schedule that provides quality opponents and prepares us for our Big East schedule. It is particularly exciting for our fans who will be able to see national-caliber intersectional games at Heinz Field.”

In addition to these future non-conference games, Pitt announced last November an eight-year, home-and-home deal with Notre Dame that runs from 2008-15.

Pitt and Iowa have signed a four-year, home-and-home agreement. The Panthers and Hawkeyes will meet in 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016. The Panthers will host the ’08 and ’16 games.

Iowa is one of two Big 10 teams to appear on Pitt’s future non-conference schedules. Under a previously signed agreement, the Panthers will play Michigan State in 2006 (at Pittsburgh) and 2007 (away). Pitt last played a Big 10 foe in 2000 when it shut out Penn State, 12-0.

Never miss a chance to mention that shutout. The last time Pitt played Iowa was in 1952 (Pitt won).

As for the other teams and years:

Virginia: 2006 (Heinz Field) and 2007 (Charlottesville)
NC State: 2009 (Raleigh) and 2013 (Heinz Field)
Miami: 2010 (Heinz Field)
VT: 2012 (Heniz Field) and 2013 (Blacksburg)

I rip Pitt basketball’s non-con pretty hard, and get bent when I see teams like YSU on the football team’s schedule. So it’s time to give some props to what Pitt is doing with it’s football non-con. It is scheduling some quality teams, as it should, to give itself some real credibility.

Next year Pitt’s non-con (pdf, pg. 20) will be UVA, Mich. St., Bowling Green, Toledo and @ Navy.

Well done.

Okay, I was off on my expected home-and-home pairings for Pitt. Rather than ND or UConn for the 3rd team, it is Providence? Clearly, the powers decided that Pitt would be middle of the pack at best for 2005-06 (no offense Friar fans). Here’s how it looks:

HOME GAMES (8)

Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, Syracuse, West Virginia

AWAY GAMES (8)

Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, West Virginia

TEAMS NOT ON THE SCHEDULE (2)

South Florida, Villanova

There is also a breakdown for each team (PDF).

Quick glance suggests that Villanova is looking at the most brutal conference schedule. Home-and-homes with UConn, Syracuse and Louisville. Not facing Pitt and Providence. WVU has a fairly hard schedule, but gets most of the most difficult single games at home (UConn, Louisville, Marquette and ND)

Easiest schedule is Rutgers. Home-and-home with USF, Seton Hall and St. John’s while missing UConn and WVU.

The Big East will announce the conference opponents for each team today (via Before I Get Old).

Each team will play a 16-game conference schedule, meeting 10 opponents once and three opponents twice.
…
The BIG EAST office compiles the conference schedule. Each school will announce its full schedule, when it is completed, at its discretion.

Note, that this isn’t the actual TV schedule — though it will be a good indicator with regards to some of the marquee teams that end up facing each other twice to meet the wishes of CBS and ESPN.

It will be interesting for Pitt. There is still no word yet on whether Krauser is coming back. That effects the attractiveness of Pitt for TV and the set up for the schedule. If they planned with the belief that he won’t return, then Pitt will have an (expected to be) easier schedule but less TV exposure.

Some of Pitt’s new verbal commits get nice pieces.

Greg Webster talks about his hopes to make the NFL and pursue his degree in education at Pitt.

Albeit they played for former Pitt coach Walt Harris and not Dave Wannstedt, who now coaches the Panthers, Webster is drawing inspiration from a few guys who know exactly what it’s like to wear the Woodland Hills Wolverines jersey in high school and then switch into a Pitt uniform for college football.

Dallas Cowboys running back Lousaka Polite and San Francisco 49ers defensive back Shawntae Spencer — both Woodland Hills products who went to Pitt — were concrete examples of where Webster has been, will go and hopes to be, all in one fell swoop.

“You look at Lousaka and Shawntae and they’re living a dream of playing pro ball right now,” Webster said. “They are from the same place I am from and they came from here and went to Pitt. I want to be a guy from Woodland Hills to continue that tradition [of playing in the NFL] and choosing Pitt and playing for coach Wannstedt gives me the best chance to do that.”
Then Jason Pinkston and Justin Hargrove started an impromptu Pitt rally when they announced.

Last week at the South Hills Country Club in Whitehall, a banquet room full of Baldwin football boosters who had just walked off the course after participating in the Dave Wannstedt Golf Outing settled into their seats for dinner, drinks and the customary prize-awarding sessions.

But soon after, a pep rally broke out, complete with chants of “Let’s Go Pitt,” which resonated through the normally serene club situated between Route 51 and Brownsville Road.

The response was the result of a pair of Baldwin seniors-to-be, Jason Pinkston and Justin Hargrove, stepping to the podium, ripping off their Highlanders jerseys and announcing, both audibly and with Pitt shirts now visible, that they’d selected the University of Pittsburgh.

Under 60 days to the first game.

Well, the various AAU and shoe camps are getting underway for the summer. First up, the ABCD camp sponsored by Reebok.

Everywhere you looked, there was greatness, coaches and players alike.

Florida coach Billy Donovan was seen standing near an entrance to the gymnasium, with Seton Hall’s Louis Orr, Louisville’s Rick Pitino and Bill Self of Kansas also in clear view. Later on came Thad Matta of Ohio State and Paul Hewitt of Georgia Tech, among others.

There were head coaches, assistant coaches and volunteer coaches.

And there were many, many college prospects just waiting to show what they could do.

Meanwhile, Rohrssen, the Pitt assistant who has been a recruiting machine in recent years for the Panthers, waited patiently for a chance to watch the list of Pitt recruits on hand, including Aliquippa High School star Herb Pope, who will enter next season as one of the top juniors in the country.

Pope already had given Pitt a verbal commitment near the conclusion of his sophomore season, and it only stood to reason that Rohrssen was doing his best babysitting routine, all the while being careful not to come in contact with any player.

The NCAA would have something to say about that.
…
Things are different, perhaps for the worse, where coaches are concerned. The NCAA in recent years has made changes which include prohibiting coaches from having contact with high school recruits for all but a very short period of time. Long gone are the days of attending a player’s high school game.

“This is a major evaluation time of the year,” Orr said. “You spend more time on the go now than during the rest of the year. It’s definitely not a vacation.”

The work continues this week, and the coaches will be shuttling between the Reebok event and Nike- and addidas-sponsored camps in Indianapolis and Suwanee, Ga., doing their best impersonation of a babysitter.

The whole thing is such a farce. Coaches aren’t allowed to talk to or discuss the kids or their coaches. They can, though, sit in the stands and be seen. Not sure if miming is permitted.

Herb Pope isn’t the only reason for Associate Head Coach Barry Rohrssen to be at the ABCD Camp.

Among the other campers included on Pitt’s recruiting wish list are are 6-9 Mike Davis , from Notre Dame Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y.; 6-10, 285-pound Casiem Drummond , from Bloomfield Tech in West Orange, N.J.; 6-5, 225-pound Paul Harris , from Niagara Falls (N.Y.); 6-0, 160-pound Eugene Harvey , from St. Benedict’s Prep School in Brooklyn; 6-4, 190-pound DJ Kennedy , from Schenley; 6-3, 190-pound Brian McKenzie, from Xaverian in Brooklyn; and 6-6, 220-pound Rob Thomas , from South Kent in New York.

Former Panther, now Golden State Warrior, Chris Taft will be playing in the Reebok Vegas Summer League in Las Vegas. Play begins on Friday.

Jay Bilas, gets a little defensive about his own performance on ESPN’s draft night coverage (Insider Subs.).

After reading Bill Simmons, I must have used the term “long” too much. Well, I like that term. It really is a great descriptive basketball term, and it really means something in the evaluation of a player.

I really don’t care how tall a player is — it is how tall the player plays. What difference does it make how long a guy’s neck is? Unless he blocks shots with his ears, it is much better to be “long” than tall. Guys who play long can cover more ground with their wingspans and cause more problems.

Sadly for you readers, Bill Simmons is not particularly “long” as a writer. He’ll never be a first-round pick without length, but does have upside potential. By the way, does he still live with his dad, or do they just get together to bust my chops during the draft?

Kind of sad. Here’s the problem with Bilas and “long.” It was too vague and meaningless. Of course, Bilas was also ranking the “intangibles” of prospects on a scale of 1-5. Think about it.

The term, “long” started getting tossed around a little last summer when Tayshaun Prince emerged for Detroit in the playoffs. Everyone started describing his defense and shot-blocking in terms of the length of his arms — hence “long.” In that respect it was a decent descriptor of Prince’s unique physical characteristic — his disturbingly long arms — that allowed him to keep a shooter in front of him while still making it hard to get a shock. It is a unique characteristic — that Prince utilizes effectively. Therefore, continually calling nearly every draftee “long” devalues it.

I actually think Bilas is a solid college basketball analyst and color guy. He sucked, though, on draft night.

Returning to Bilas’s strange defensiveness over his draft night performance, he now hedges on Villanueva — writing that he merely thought Toronto drafting him at #7 was “too high.” Uh, yeah. He also addresses the way he killed Chris Taft.

I like Chris Taft, the “should-be rising junior” from Pittsburgh. Taft is a fine athlete with good potential (and he’s really “long”), but he never was a first-round pick.

If Taft wanted to leave school to be a pro, irrespective of whether he would be drafted, and made his decision with his eyes open and with complete information, I support his decision. If he left because of the promise of being a first-round pick, he was misled and misinformed and took an unnecessary risk with his career.

Taft is a good prospect, but he is unskilled and immature as a player. He needs time and focused work on his game to be a productive NBA pro. That does not mean he cannot make it in the league — far from it.

The draft is not about whether a player can play in the NBA. A lot of guys are good enough to stick in the league, whether drafted or not. The draft is about whether a player will be selected to play in the NBA and whether a team will make a commitment to that player.

Taft, Matt Walsh, Anthony Roberson, Randolph Morris, Louis Williams, Monta Ellis, Amir Johnson, Andray Blatche and many others made major miscalculations in thinking they were first-round picks. All might make it anyway, but they paid a high price by throwing in early. What a mess.

Dude, you need a thicker skin.