Well, so far none of the estimated 2615 who attended Fan Fest have e-mailed me about it. It would appear that the scrimmage was entertaining.

Several Panthers stood out in the scrimmage. Junior center Aaron Gray finished with 17 points on 8-13 shooting and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. Senior John DeGroat concluded the contest with 13 points on 6-9 shooting and finished off a spectacular offensive rebound dunk. Junior Antonio Graves finished the day with 17 points and hit 3-6 3-point field goals and junior Levon Kendall scored 16 points on 7-13 shooting.

Pitt’s five newcomers also made their first public appearance on the Petersen Events Center floor. Freshman Sam Young’s athleticism was on display in the first half as he finished off three acrobatic dunks and registered 12 points. He finished the game with 18 points on 6-12 shooting. Freshman Levance Fields scored 11 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Freshman Tyrell Biggs (five points), junior Doyle Hudson (two points) and junior Mike Cook (seven points) all saw their first action at Pitt.

Sure, it’s relatively meaningless, but it has to help get you somewhat interested in the upcoming season.

Which brings me to some previews. I’ve been meaning to link these. The Big East Basketball Report Blog has been doing team previews. The Report picked Pitt 7th in the conference. Here is Pitt’s.

However, that is not to indicate that the sun is setting on the Pittsburgh program and Jamie Dixon. If you look back historically at programs that rose to power in the Big East, there is no straight shot to the top. At this time, everyone strives to be like Syracuse and Connecticut, but there have been many early NCAA exits and trips to the NIT for these programs even after raising their national reputation to the status of the nation’s best. Traditional powers have seen tough times ensue when replacing coaches. Pitt is bringing in a talented group of newcomers and have some holdovers that might be getitng overlooked a little, but have shown the ability to compete at high levels. All this with a sterling on-campus arena, the Peterson Events Center, and the Pitt program, although in a criticial stage, still has plenty of upside left, in our opinion.

Through much of last spring and into this summer, it looked like a definite rebuilding season for the Panthers with the loss of Taft, McCarroll and Troutman and the anticipated loss of PG Carl Krauser to the professional ranks. However, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon got some good news when Krauser decided to pass on professional opportunities and return to run the show for the Panthers. Krauser is a tough and physical point guard that rebounds, gets assists and can score. He comes from the playgrounds of NYC and certainly has the flair of the streets in his game and his passion for the game is obvious. Finding a balance of where the streets meet the college game is also very important, because, on occassion, Krauser can be careless with the ball and get into a habit of over-dribbling. Last year, in wins over Notre Dame and Syracuse in a 3-day span, he showed how clutch he could be with key shots. He is a player that has been through the battles in this conference and will likely lead the way again for the Panthers, his late game experience should be very valuable for a team that will likely be in many close contests, but, in the same sense, he needs to cut his turnovers significantly, or they will hurt him in those same close games!

Go and read the whole thing.

For another BE preview, Draft Express puts Pitt at #8 in the new BE.

Pittsburgh’s biggest question marks come in the frontcourt, where the presence of Chevon Troutman, and to a lesser extent Chris Taft, will be sorely missed. Two juniors that are ready to try their hand at starting are PF Levon Kendall (3.5 ppg) and C Aaron Gray (4.3 ppg). Kendall shocked the world when he shot 16-22 from the floor in Canada’s upset win over the US U-21 team this past summer, but it appears that the huge game might have been more of an aberration than a sign of a player ready for stardom. Nonetheless, Kendall is skilled enough to be a major factor for this team. Gray is a true 7-footer with a good feel for the game and nice touch on his back to the basket post moves. While neither player is a guaranteed starting caliber player, they provide the keys for Dixon in the task of rebuilding the frontcourt. Thick freshman Tyrell Biggs, junior college transfer Doyle Hudson, and Young will provide the backup minutes.

Jamie Dixon has done quite well for himself in his first years as a head coach, but Ben Howland’s influence on this program is fading further and further into the past. Last season was a step away from what this Panther program used to do best, and Dixon must find his program’s identity. Having Krauser for an extra season helps, and players like Ramon, Kendall, and Gray are talented enough to emerge. A slip back into the middle of the pack is certainly a possibility, but there is enough talent here to stay in the upper half of the conference and potentially make up for last season’s early tourney exit.

So many, many questions.

A couple player puff pieces today about learning.

Punter Adam Graessle gets a piece talking about learning to be a smarter punter, not just booming it.

“They don’t just want me to try and kick the air out of it every time,” Graessle said. “Obviously, that’s what I’d prefer — just boom it every time. I’m being asked to do some more directional kicking and I’ve also had to work on my hang time, getting the ball up in the air high enough that there isn’t a return.

“That’s the NFL mentality — a shorter kick that is high and placed is better than a long kick that is in the middle of the field and returned. I know I am becoming a better player because of it and I know that I should be quicker to adjust, but it right now is just a consistency thing.

“My best days are ahead of me. I just need to work through some things. I haven’t had the kind of season I would have liked this far, but there are still three games and I’ll get it together.”

Wannstedt said he knows that Graessle, who also kicks off, has had to adjust and has been somewhat inconsistent, but he believes Graessle is an NFL prospect.

“Adam is doing fine. I have no problem with how he’s played and what he’s done. There is always a comfort level and a period of adjustment and he just had to fight through some things,” Wannstedt said. “The thing we want to work on next is getting the ball inside the 10-yard line when we’re close to the 50. But I have no problems with how Adam has come along.”

Graessle’s punting average isn’t much different from last year. The issue is net yards after the return. Pitt is middle of the pack in punting because the punting unit allows a second worst 7.2 yards/return in the conference. Some of that, obviously is on the punt coverage, which hasn’t been much more than average.

Freshman Left Tackle John Bachman also gets a piece about getting playing time this season. It’s impressive that he was actually hesitant to let the coaches play him and burn his redshirt year by starting to give him time in the Cinci game.

“The coaches discussed how they wanted to get me in to get some experience,” Bachman said. “It was kind of up to me … well, I’m not sure how much it was up to me. I always told the coaches, if they call my number, I’m not going to say no.”

Still, before he gave Wannstedt a final answer, Bachman called his parents.

“I told them they needed to get some tickets for the away games now, too,” he said, laughing.

Mostly, Bachman wanted to get some advice from his father, David, who played football at Colgate in the late 1970s. Bachman did not want to burn his redshirt year if it meant getting minuscule playing time in the final half of the season.

“At the same time, if I get 20 or so plays a game, that’s 100 plays I wouldn’t have had,” Bachman said. “It’s a risk I’m taking. But I’m not thinking about anything negative right now. It’s all positive, all (about) how can I get better and how this can help me.”

Bachman’s dad gave his OK, and the new plan went ahead.

“Without him supporting it, I wouldn’t have felt right about it,” Bachman said. “I know the coaches are supportive, but I needed some … I mean, he’s my dad. That’s another level of trust. So, his support put me over the edge.”
…
If he needed any more proof he made the right choice by opting to play, Bachman got it by looking at his dad after the Cincinnati game.

“He had a smile that he couldn’t get off his face,” Bachman said. “He loved it, seeing me out there.”

Then there is the Paul Zeise Q&A. He warns us that there will be none next week because of the Thursday game.

Q: Why does Pitt always seem to come out flat? Who is to blame – coaches or players?

ZEISE: I don’t think a lack of emotion or intensity – or being flat – has been the problem at all. I think a lack of focus seems to be the issue – as they have made blunder after blunder in the first quarter of the past few games. And I think that the team is prepared and ready to play, so I blame the players. Coaches spent all week preparing to block Syracuse’s all-world safety in punt protection and he goes out and blocks a punt. Erik Gill catches a pass and doesn’t cover up the ball and fumbles, Tyler Palko overthrows Gill in the endzone and it is picked off – these are all mistakes made by players. Intensity, however, has not been the problem. They’ve come out and played hard, they’ve just made too many mistakes for their own good.

Q: Why was a small back like LaRod Stephens-Howling in the game down in the goal line situation on a wet field?

ZEISE: Good question and we haven’t really gotten a good answer for it. To me, it made no sense. The coaches felt with his speed teams would have to respect – and worry about – an outside run and that in itself would loosen some things up in the middle. I’d rather see them put Jennings in there and let him move the pile. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future in goal-to-go situations with the running backs because Stephens-Howling and Jennings could provide an effective one-two punch if used correctly. And I think it is safe to say Jennings’ talents dictate that he should be the tailback in the goal line offense.

Pitt can’t afford to come out flat against Louisville, and Coaches Wannstedt and Cavanaugh have to show more logic in how to best use their players.

It is this afternoon. If anyone is going, send me a report and I’ll post it. The doors open at 3:45, and there is supposed to be a live broadcast from there if you want to listen. I know most attending will be going to see the women scrimmage first, then if anyone is still hanging around the men play at 6:20.