The Big East site now has the press release for basketball media day. With the exception of a quote from BE Commish Mike Tranghese, it is essentially the same one I posted yesterday.

And to fix something, that I corrected but it turns out the correction was wrong, and the original information was right, so hopefully there will be no further confusion about it.

The internet broadcast of Big East Media Day will be shown on both BigEast.org and CSTV.com. A minor thing, but it keeps shifting or something.

If there is a good blogger for the opposition, I’ll try and talk to him. There was a dry patch for a few games, but it’s back. Say hello to Matt from Syracuse :: 44 :: Orange. Matt and I have been exchanging some e-mails. He posted my responses to some of my questions, and now here’s the first round of answers from Matt.

How are ‘Cuse fans taking this season? It seems that the transition to a
West Coast Offense (was it from a pro-set style?) has been more painful than expected, and point totals seem to be dropping. Is it simply trouble with the transition, more an issue of the talent just not being there at the moment, the wrong talent for the system, something else or some combination of all?

It’s not very surprising that this season has taken a nasty toll on Syracuse supporters across the nation. After the loss to Connecticut, a suicide watch probably would have been appropriate. Following the loss to Rutgers, however, most ardent followers of the football team have simply turned toward utter resignation and misplaced hopefulness for next season. Syracuse nation has suffered through some frustrating seasons the last few years (read: only needed to beat Temple last season to assure a BCS bid), and the product that Coach Robinson has put on the field has merely been more of the same.

With regards to the transition of offensive philosophy, the team has actually moved from George DeLeone’s multiple option attack to the West Coast Offense. While the WCO was expected to highlight Syracuse’s ability to attack with the run and generate more balance through a sophisticated passing attack, neither has come to fruition. As you mentioned, point totals are down (dramatically), yards per play are down (dramatically), and there doesn’t seem to be any cohesion in offensive methodology. For all the faults that DeLeone brought to the field offensively, he at least had a plan, and he stuck to it. Coach Pariani (the new offensive coordinator from the Denver Broncos) seems to be more enamored with simply calling plays rather than having an ultimate goal he is striving for. This scatterbrain approach to offense, I believe, is ultimately what is killing drives and putting Syracuse’s point production in the pisser.

In terms of the talent being the primary reason for the offense’s woes, I’m not exactly sure. Syracuse is loaded in the backfield and should have no trouble running the football, yet Coach Pariani cannot find a way to break Rhodes/Brinkley/Jones/Washington free. And considering that Walsh always maintained that the ability to run the ball was paramount in the WCO, Syracuse shouldn’t be fighting through a lot of these troubles.

From a quaterback and receiver standpoint, there is a lot to be desired. Perry Patterson has no accuracy and is immune to delivering the ball with any touch. He is the anti-Palko. Patterson loves to hold onto to the ball for about 4 seconds and a quick release may just be his kryptonite. The receiving corps is downright terrible. There is some young talent there (Bruce Williams and Lavar Lobdell (injured for the season)), but the upper class guys in Tim Lane and Rice Moss just cannot get open to save their lives. Once they learn how to beat their man and fine space, I think the offense may begin to click a little bit, but right now, they’re just running routes.

What is freaky weird is the play of the offensive line. The DeLeone attack put much more of a burden on the offensive line in terms of blocking assignments and philosophy. The WCO is tremendously more accesible from a blocking standpoint, and yet, this line has been just atrocious. The transition here should have benefited the offense, rather than turning it into an automatic sack machine. Is it the talent here? I would have to think so.

So, I guess the short of the long is that this team is plagued with a combination of your aforementioned reasons for the offense’s woes. The talent should be able to fit into this system, but they haven’t yet. The transition from the multiple option look to the WCO, I think, may be overblown a bit and the troubles resulting from the transition are probably more attributable to the offensive coordinator unsure of what he wants to do.

How has that affected the feelings toward Coach Robinson, the assistants and even the new AD? I imagine there has to be some frustration and resentment (we sure had it going on with Pitt after a September to forget).

For the most part, people are still on the Coach Robinson bandwagon. He’s still working through his honeymoon period and generally, people are more in favor of giving him slack than tying the noose around his neck. Should Robinson tank it during the recruiting period, then I think Robinson will start to feel some fire and there may be an opportunity to part ways before the traditional four-year grace period has expired.

As I alluded to earlier, I think a lot of the resentment toward the coaching staff has been directed toward the Offensive Coordinator – Brian Pariani. The offense seems to have little to no direction, and it doesn’t make more than a mild literate to realize that this team has produce a whole lot of nothing in terms of offense this season. As a guy that has only coached the tight ends in Denver, Pariani has a lot to prove that he can step up to the plate and call an effective game. He has yet to do so this season.

The one thing that has really cooked my cookie is that people are still hopelessly in love with Major Applewhite (QB coach). Perry Patterson and Joe Fields have been downright terrible this season and have shown no improvement since game one. I think a lot of the blame for the lack of progression needs to fall on Applewhite’s shoulders, and yet the media and fans have yet to demand results from the young assistant. It’s simply mind-boggling.

Speaking of the AD (Dr. Darryl Gross), an interesting storyline has blossomed this week with Gross’ comments regarding the state of the football program. To paraphrase the good doctor, the football team’s woes is directly attributable to the team’s lack of talent, and that expectations of victory need to be tempered because of this. Suprisingly, people are up in arms about this comment and would like Gross to apologize to the players.

Personally, I’d rather have an AD that’s a straight talker. If he thinks that this team is untalented, that’s a strong charge to the coaching staff to right the ship. I have no problem with an AD that calls out the athletes under his supervision to perform; these are young adults, they can handle some criticism. Reality is a bitter pill sometimes, and I like an AD that serves it straight rather than muddled.

What were the expectations going into the season? (As I recall, ‘Cuse was predicted for somewhere in the middle of the pack.) Did the fans think higher or lower?

You’ve hit the nail on the head – middle of the pack.

I expected a 6-5 season with upsets over Virginia and Notre Dame (as an aside, man, was I wrong about ND this season). I really thought that even though this team was changing direction, a 6-5 season was reasonable considering the strength of the Big East this year.

It’s important to note that before the disaster that was the 2002 season where Syracuse went 4-8, the Orange had maintained a winning record for something like 15 consecutive seasons. So, even when SU is retooling, there is a latent belief that this university should, at a minimum, be at or above the .500 mark.

Matt and I should have at least one more set of exchanges posted between tonight and Friday.

Assorted Pitt and Big East basketball stuff that has been accumulating over the last few days.

First, the Big East Media Day on Wednesday, October 26. A slight correction. The internet feed will only be on the Big East site, not on CSTV.com.

When Trevor Ferguson decided at the last minute not to enroll at Pitt over his personal issues, I wrote the following:

This is a little selfish but all I ask is that he doesn’t end up going to South Florida. If he blossoms as a player, I don’t want to see him in the Big East where he can hurt Pitt.

Well, it looks like USF was trying, but Big East is trying to block.

Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who attended Saturday’s football game at Pittsburgh, wants to end transfers of football and basketball players from one Big East school to another. Such moves are only allowed in rare instances, but Tranghese will ask the conference’s presidents to stop all such transfers at their annual meeting next month. USF men’s basketball coach Robert McCullum said he has one reservation about such a move. He’d like an exception made for players who are willing to pay their way after transferring, pointing to Wisconsin’s Sharif Chambliss, who played at Wisconsin last season as a senior walk-on after transferring from Big Ten rival Penn State.

The Bulls could have pitched such a move to Oldsmar’s Trevor Ferguson, who signed with Pittsburgh this spring but left school after summer classes and could wind up at Florida.

Good.

Freshman Forward Sam Young gets a puff piece.

The Pitt coaching staff describes Young as “a gritty scorer and rebounder who competes hard, has a great understanding of the game and fits perfectly into the system.”

“It’s very clear and very evident being around him that he’s willing to pay the price,” Dixon said. “To me, that’s all you can really ask of a kid.”

Young, who chose Pitt over Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgetown and George Washington, has been working to improve his skills in recent years.

“His ball-handling, his passing,” Dixon said. “He’s a hard worker.”

As Pitt continues its daily practice routine, which began in earnest Friday at Petersen Events Center, Young can see a chemistry forming with the team.
…
He was voted one of the top 10 outstanding players at the Las Vegas Showcase during the summer of 2004 and was ranked as high as 39th by a national recruiting service coming out of high school.

“Sam is strong and, yet, explosive,” said Dixon, who is in his third season as head coach and seventh year overall at Pitt. “He’s going to be a very good player. When you count Mike (Cook), all five of our new guys are going to be very good players. They can be great players. This is the best group to come in since I’ve been here.”

As far as potential goes, this is probably the best recruiting class Pitt has had since the early tenure of Paul Evans.

As basketball season gets closer, ESPN.com has the team previews from Blue Ribbon Yearbook. From Pitt’s (Insider Subs.), they seem to like Coach Dixon and do make a decent point.

If there is one thing Pitt coach Jamie Dixon and his staff have proven to be over the last few years, it’s adaptable.

Two years ago, the Panthers had a balanced squad that won 31 games. Last year, the team was frontcourt-heavy. This time, the focus is on the backcourt. We know the school has had its Panther nickname for decades, but it may be time to think about calling the hoop club the Chameleons.

“We’ve changed every year,” Dixon said. “For the past couple years, we have been losing three [key] players a year. We’re talking about significant contributors. We’ve had to change according to our personnel’s talents and strengths.”

There can be no denying Pitt’s interior superiority in ’04-’05. Thanks to bruising forward Chevon Troutman and big Chris Taft, the Panthers shot 47.1 percent from the field and enjoyed a plus-8.5 margin on the backboards. Pitt made it to the free-throw line a whopping 175 times more than its opposition and generally locked down the paint. Sure, guard Carl Krauser was the leading scorer and offensive catalyst, but whenever anybody talked about Pitt, the conversation began with the big fellas.

That’s about to change. Troutman and Taft are gone. So is 6-10 Mark McCarroll. And though a promising crop of newcomers and some holdovers with plenty of potential will be around to populate the frontcourt, the Panthers will be known — at least at first — for their guards.

“It’s certainly different than last year,” Dixon said. “It shows how things change. We were so young on the perimeter, especially the wings, last year. This year, we have experience on the perimeter, and while we’re real excited about our inside guys, they haven’t played a lot of minutes.”

This is a big year for Dixon and the Panthers. The coach’s two-year record of 51-14 represents the fastest start in school history. But this season’s team will be heavily populated with players recruited by him, not former Pitt boss Ben Howland.

The challenge is to make sure Pittsburgh doesn’t lose the lofty spot it inhabited in the Big East from 2001-2005, when its lowest win total was 20 (last year), and it was always a contender for the league championship. Some may point to last year’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Pacific as evidence that things are falling off somewhat at Pittsburgh and that it’s vital for the Panthers to re-establish themselves quickly, or risk losing ground in the Big East and nationally. Dixon understands the frustration of fans and shares their concern about the way ’04-’05 finished.

“It was a good year overall, but any time you lose in the tournament, it is a disappointment,” he said. “We have lost in a lot of different rounds in the last few years, and any team that gets to that point always feels it can go farther.”
…
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: B+
BENCH/DEPTH: B+
FRONTCOURT: B-
INTANGIBLES: B+

Even though the Panthers’ focus will shift this season, they are still well suited for life in the first division of the Big East. Given the league’s tremendous reputation, that should be enough for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Krauser is a superior catalyst who should average about 20 a game. If he can keep the turnovers in check, Pitt will prosper, and he’ll impress the professional community. He’s flanked by a pair of solid wings in Ramon and Graves, and the influx of new talent will guarantee the kind of depth that will allow Dixon to pressure however he wants. The frontcourt appears depleted, but the combination of Kendall and Hudson is a good start. If the others can play solid supporting roles, the Panthers will be fine, especially because the big people don’t have to carry the majority of the load.

This is truly Dixon’s team now, and he’ll be challenged to find a spot among the league’s better clubs. If he can do it this year, with a guard-oriented club, after last season’s frontcourt-dominated squad, he’ll have proved himself more than worthy of praise. He’ll be praised for his flexibility and engender confidence among the Pitt community that he can prevail, no matter what direction his program goes.

There are some interesting points about Dixon. I’ve not fairly considered how flexible he’s been with the emphasis of the team. I think they may have overstated things a little. In Dixon’s first year, despite the balance, by the end of that season with Troutman and Taft’s emergence, the emphasis shifted inside more. Still, it’s an interesting consideration.

I still believe that for Dixon’s tenure at Pitt, this is a big year. Developing the talent and showing progress during the season are areas that he has not really shown anything yet.

These articles came via the now invaluable Big East Basketball Blog.
An interesting piece about how the Big East and ACC are dominating the recruiting wars at the moment. The biggest loser from a basketball sense of the realignments, may actually be the SEC.

It will take years to judge the winners and losers of the expansion, but if the current trend holds, the ACC and Big East are set to engage in a heated scrap for the college basketball throne.

Just three weeks before the November signing period, Big East and ACC schools have combined for 39 commitments from players ranked in the national top 100. That’s a staggering amount of talent to be split between just two conferences.

Big East programs claim 20 of those commitments, including 12 from the top 50. Recruiting juggernauts Louisville and Connecticut have garnered their typical hefty share of elite players, but Georgetown, St. John’s and Syracuse also hold at least one pledge from a top-50 prospect. Within the top 100, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Marquette and DePaul all have landed at least one player.

Of its 19 commitments from the top 100, ACC schools lay claim to 10 of the country’s top 50 seniors. North Carolina has secured half that number itself, but Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Florida State also have made their mark in the top 50. Not to be excluded, Maryland, Miami and Virginia hold top-100 pledges as well.

Those are impressive numbers, but they tell only one part of the story. The Big East now has 16 basketball members while the ACC has 12, so a per-school average might reveal that the ACC has enjoyed a better overall year.

Regardless, it’s clear that Big East and ACC programs have bolstered themselves at the expense of the competition.

The entire Eastern Seaboard is a rough place these days.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal is preparing for Marquette’s first season in the Big East. They have brief previews of all the teams:

Outlook: The Panthers have registered four consecutive 20-victory seasons and four consecutive NCAA tournament bids. That streak could prove challenging to continue this season despite the return of Krauser, the senior leader at the point. Post play, a strong suit last year, will be a weakness, at least early on.

They also consider the potential of new rivalries.

MU’s final repeat opponent is Pittsburgh. And considering some of the ties the two teams have, it is a series that appears to hold potential.

First and most obvious are the similarities between the teams. Both teams are led by young, energetic coaches (Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon is in his third season) who stress ball control and hard-nosed defense. Point guards are central to their success, and each team has a player to watch at that spot this season: MU freshman Dominic James and Pittsburgh senior Carl Krauser.

There is also some recent history between the programs. The Golden Eagles knocked off the Panthers, 77-74, in an NCAA regional semifinal game on March 27, 2003, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. That victory left MU just a victory away from returning to the Final Four for the first time since 1977.

“I think rivalries don’t just happen anymore. They’ve got to be created on the floor,” said Crean, who spent the 1995 season as an assistant at Pittsburgh, where he also met his wife, Joani. “I think a couple coaches could get together and manipulate the situation but that would be short-lived. I think what happens on the floor creates the rivalry: a buzzer-beater, a double-overtime game, a couple games down to the wire.”

No offense to the fine guys over at Cracked Sidewalks, but I don’t see much of a future rivalry with Marquette. The home-and-home this season is based more on expected parity between the two teams this year. (Next year, there is a good chance that Pitt and Marquette won’t play twice.) Not to create a rivalry. There is no natural basis between the two. Pitt and Marquette have a total of 4 games played against each other (2-2). Not withstanding that painful loss in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, there isn’t exactly a history.

Former Pitt player Hank Poteat has been re-signed (again) by the New England Patriots. The MASH unit that is New England, just put another safety on injured reserve.

Reports of the end of Eric Gill’s legal issues may have been premature.

A detective said Wednesday that he intends to refile a drunken-driving charge against a University of Pittsburgh football player allegedly involved in a crash in Fayette County in July.

Washington Township Detective Thomas O’Barto said a scheduling conflict prevented him from appearing last week at a preliminary hearing for Erik J. Gill, 23, of Rostraver Township.

When he plans to refile is not clear.

This really bothers me.

But now that the running backs are starting to get healthy, the coaching staff is looking for one player to step up and assume the role as full-time starter.

“It’s never been my preference [to have a rotation],” coach Dave Wannstedt said. “In Miami, it was Lamar Smith and Ricky Williams. I’ve always been kind of a one-back guy. But you need two or three of them if you’re going to run the ball, and we’re going to run the ball. I think the backs prefer [not to have a rotation], too. It’s tough to get going. I can remember many, many games and Emmitt Smith averaging about 2 1/2 yards a carry the first half. And then the game was over and he averaged 5 yards a carry. For the great one it usually takes some time to get going.”

It’s not readily apparent if Wannstedt has a great one in his stable now, but it appears freshman LaRod Stephens-Howling is going to get every opportunity to earn the No. 1 position this week against Syracuse.
…
Offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh, as well as Wannstedt, prefers one back and admitted it has been tough to juggle his players.

“It probably takes your rhythm away at times,” Cavanaugh said of a running back rotation. “If you’re rotating guys because they’re not doing well that’s one thing, but when you’re forced to do it because of injury that’s another thing. Our backs are starting to get healthy. If we can find one who’s hot they’ll be on the field.”

I’m very high right now on both Jennings and Stephens-Howling. I absolutely love the idea of throwing them both out there in the running game. Two very different backs who can keep a defense having to continually change the way they react.

Obviously every running back wants to be the starter and take the majority of the hand-offs. Maybe there’s also a good case to be made for one back in keeping it easier for the offensive line. It reads to me, though, that Coaches Wannstedt and Cavanaugh are doing it because they like to do it that way and that makes them comfortable. Not because it is the best thing to do.

Syracuse Coach Greg Robinson is a defensive mind, but his run defense is struggling. Giving up around 4 yards/carry and nearly 170 yards per game. Their overall defense, though, has been outstanding — despite being blown out the last two games. That was more a function of a horrible offense keeping the defense out on the field so much with short drives and turnovers. They lost to Rutgers last week, 31-9 but only gave up 306 yards of total offense.

Their secondary would appear to be their strength, led by their Senior Safety.

Wannstedt heaped praise on Syracuse free safety Anthony Smith, calling him “very instinctive.”

Said the coach: “I have not seen a safety that’s been more productive than him on film all year long. The guy does everything. He makes tackles, causes fumbles, gets interceptions, blocks punts. He’s a heckuva football player.”

Smith, a senior, leads the Orange in interceptions (4) and fumble recoveries (2) and is tied for third in tackles (33).

Add in the weather conditions expected for Saturday — wet and chilly — expect Pitt to be running the ball a lot on Saturday.

At the game last week, Defensive End Vernon Botts made a bunch of great stops and it seemed to be the first time we had seen him on the field. Apparently it was, he was filling in for the injured Charles Sallet and earned more time.

“It felt like I finally contributed in a way that I’d like to every week,” he said. “Hopefully, I can keep that up.”

Botts, a redshirt junior, made four tackles (three solo), including one for minus-10 yards that helped extinguish a potential scoring drive. He got extensive playing time after starter Charles Sallet suffered a knee injury in the second quarter.

Botts showed very good speed and solid tackling. It was part of an improvement, overall for the defense.

The unit is starting to read plays as they develop, enabling action to be taken.

On two pivotal plays last week against South Florida, cornerback Josh Lay and defensive end Vernon Botts showed how far Pitt’s defense has come since the start of the season.

In the third quarter, Lay made his first interception of the season, which set up the Panthers’ final touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, Botts stopped a reverse for a 10-yard loss, which helped push USF out of field-goal range.

Both Botts and Lay were able to sniff out the plays before the ball was even snapped. That is the kind of read-and-react playmaking that defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads has been waiting to see.

Tyler Palko’s better play has gotten noticed, from ESPN.com’s Bruce Feldman’s blog (Insider Subs.)

Pitt is starting to finally come on and QB Tyler Palko is beginning to look like the player he was last season. What happened?

“I think they finally took the leash off him,” says one Big East defensive coach. “They were just way too conservative with him. Walt (Harris) let him do his thing. Now they finally are getting back to that.”

That free-wheeling style is probably not something the Pitt coaches had been hoping to go with, but seems like a good idea they realized that that’s the m.o. that fits their best player. Too bad they waited so long to grasp that.

Aside from the mad scrambling to get back into the game in New Jersey, I haven’t seen much to indicate “they took the leash off him.”

Coach Wannstedt attributes it to him being comfortable in the new schemes, finally. That is also what Palko said after the USF win. That’s more what I’m seeing.

Nothing major to report, just some things and names to keep in mind. Rivals.com sees Pitt trying to add some “diamond-in-the-rough” type players. Not the big 5-star studs, but some solid, older 3-stars who might be able to help right away (especially on the line).

Two big prospects are heading to Pittsburgh this weekend for official visits including three-star New York prep school tackle Jason Diehl and Pennsylvania junior college tackle Jeff Otah.

While the offensive line being a big need for the Panthers, prep prospects like Diehl could potentially make a big impact. However, there is stiff competition for the prospect. He holds offers from Michigan State, Ole Miss, and one from Miami (Fla.).

The competition is also big for JUCO prospect Otah. He holds offer from many including West Virginia, Michigan State, and Maryland along with Pittsburgh.

Another wide receiver appears to now in the crosshairs for the Panthers. Florida three-star receiver Darrell Davis recently set up a December trip to Pittsburgh.

After the Syracuse game, Pitt hits their bye week and likely the coaches hit the recruiting road.

Kevin Gorman at the Trib, has some notes about mostly high school juniors who have caught Pitt’s (and others) eye.

Thomas Jefferson juniors Dom DeCicco and Chris Drager opened eyes in the 2004 WPIAL Class AAA championship game, when DeCicco had two interceptions and Drager two sacks against West Mifflin.

After watching tape of their play against Gateway, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt called TJ coach Bill Cherpak on Monday to show interest in the dynamic duo. DeCicco is a 6-3, 195-pound safety prospect. Drager is a 6-4, 235-pound tight end-defensive end.

Names to watch.

UPDATE: Posted and realized I forgot this additional item.

Pitt recruit, RB Kevin Collier has a younger brother Averin.

In fact, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt has been so impressed with what he has seen and heard about Averin that Wannstedt offered the sophomore a scholarship Tuesday night.

“We were just talking about football and life and the next thing you know I hear, ‘You know, you have an offer here at Pitt, right?’ I was at a loss for words,” Averin said about his speakerphone conversation with Wannstedt and Pitt assistant David Walker, the former Irondequoit High star and longtime Syracuse University assistant who was key in Kevin’s recruitment.

Wannstedt was serious.

He had spoken on Monday with C-C football coach Paul Dick about Averin, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound middle linebacker and wide receiver who is also a dangerous kick returner.

The article also notes that Kevin Collier and his high school coach are still getting calls from other schools (naturally) including USC and South Carolina.