Well, that was easy. Pitt beat Slippery Rock 100-42. DeGroat, Gray, Krauser, Graves and Young all scored double digits. None played more than 19 minutes. Levance Fields played 23 minutes and dished out 9 assists to go with 8 rebounds and 5 points.

I’m not sure how much you can judge based on playing a Div. II opponent that went 7-20 last year and lost all 5 starters from the team.

Well, that was easy. Pitt beat Slippery Rock 100-42. DeGroat, Gray, Krauser, Graves and Young all scored double digits. None played more than 19 minutes. Levance Fields played 23 minutes and dished out 9 assists to go with 8 rebounds and 5 points.

I’m not sure how much you can judge based on playing a Div. II opponent that went 7-20 last year and lost all 5 starters from the team.

Now, as a blogger, I know it is supposed to be a birthright to bash the MSM — reflexively, instinctively. If anything, writing about college sports has exacerbated that tendency with respect to national coverage because it becomes so obvious that they have limited knowledge of teams once they get past the AP top-25. Actually, they generally don’t know that much of those teams, but they know where things are supposed to sort.

This syndicated BE preview is that sort of example. In it, Pitt is ranked #8. Well within the normal range of predictions for this season, and in and of itself not unspectacular.

PITTSBURGH: Entering his third season with the Panthers, head coach Jamie Dixon has been to the NCAA Tournament twice and has an incredible record of 51-14 with Pittsburgh. Losing Chris Taft and Chevon Troutman, who combined for 28.3 points and 15.5 rebounds per game in 2004-05, means more of the load in the Steel City is going to be dumped on senior guard Carl Krauser and his 6-2 frame. Last year Krauser was the top scorer for the Panthers with 16 ppg, added almost five rebounds per contest and was also the most consistent passer with just under six assists each time he hit the hardwood. As one of only two seniors on the roster, the other being John DeGroat (4.8 apg), Krauser can’t exist as the only reliable force for the Panthers, which means Dixon has to find suitable playmates for the young man. In all likelihood, Pitt is going to run with a three-guard offense as much as possible, taking advantage of its speed and trying to get away with limited height. Joining Krauser in the backcourt will be Antonio Graves (7.8 ppg) who has shown the ability to knock down the three (46.2 percent), while sophomore Ronald Ramon (6.8 ppg) will get more chances to boost his perimeter accuracy from 33.6 percent. As the tallest player on the team, Aaron Gray won’t be able to hide his seven foot frame from the rest of the Big East, but will need to use it better inside.

Now, what is noticeable is no mention of any of the prospective freshman talent that could help. In fact, if you read the entire BE preview, there are only 3 freshmen mentioned for the entire 16 team BE (and 2 of the 3 come from Oak Hill Academy). Kind of suggesting not particularly deep work on the preview. Of course the writer spreads himself a little thin, and anyone who is willing to slurp Phil Collins shouldn’t be trusted.

I really wanted to get to this before the game was actually underway, but Pitt is kicking off the exhibition (sorry, calling it preseason gives these games too much legitimacy) season. The interesting thing about the game, are the expirements in this game.

Moving the 3-point line 1 foot behind the current line to 20 feet, 9 inches.

Widening the free-throw lane by 1 foot on each side.

Placing a restricted area arc, which is to be 3 feet from the center of the basket ring.

This is part of the internationalization of the game.

The article also notes that a top recruit, Small Forward Tyler Smith, came to Pitt for a visit yesterday. Not sure if he will still be there for the exhibition.

I really wanted to get to this before the game was actually underway, but Pitt is kicking off the exhibition (sorry, calling it preseason gives these games too much legitimacy) season. The interesting thing about the game, are the expirements in this game.

Moving the 3-point line 1 foot behind the current line to 20 feet, 9 inches.

Widening the free-throw lane by 1 foot on each side.

Placing a restricted area arc, which is to be 3 feet from the center of the basket ring.

This is part of the internationalization of the game.

The article also notes that a top recruit, Small Forward Tyler Smith, came to Pitt for a visit yesterday. Not sure if he will still be there for the exhibition.

From an interview with Pitt great Tony Dorsett:

Your alma mater, Pittsburgh, is going through tough times. Do you see the Panthers improving?

I hope for nothing but the best. I spoke with [Pitt coach] Dave [Wannstedt] right before the Notre Dame game. He told me he had a concern about the defensive line being a little undersized. It showed that evening when they played Notre Dame. If we give Dave a chance to recruit his own players — he’s a Pittsburgh guy and knows what it’s about, and he knows Miami — I think he’d do well recruiting in Western Pennsylvania., Ohio, West Virginia, and down South. He’ll be able to recruit some players. He’s been in the pros, so he knows what the game is all about. He could have some influence. It’s like when I came out. If you want to be a part of something new, Pitt is the place to go. I think he’ll get it done if we give him time to get the players in there.

As both Pitt and UConn played mid-week, they have extra time off. This means filling the gaps in the normal cycle for stories. Add in the recent passing of Rosa Parks, and there is a story about Bobby Grier.

A month before the game, Georgia Gov. Marvin Griffin asked Georgia Tech to boycott the game unless Grier was banned from playing. A group of students at Georgia Tech, and people across the nation rallied against the idea. And Grier’s teammates voted to play only if Grier played.

The game was on. But Grier still had to deal with discrimination in New Orleans.

“I stayed at a hotel in the black area of town and my teammates were at the team hotel,” he said.

Grier said he wasn’t thinking about his place in history when Pitt took the field. He was proud, he said, because the Panthers had earned a bowl bid.

“All I was thinking about was playing the game and my responsibilities,” Grier said. “It wasn’t like today, where there are like 25 bowl games. Back then there were five or six. And if you got into one of them, it was a huge accomplishment. That’s how I felt.”

Georgia Tech won 7-0, the only touchdown set up by an interference call against Grier. To this day, he insists he committed no infraction.

“The ball was three to four feet over my head,” he said. “I was on the ground where the receiver had pushed me down. And the official threw the flag.

“Who knows, maybe the ref saw something else.”

You mean other than skin color?

Grier’s story tends to get overlooked in the annals of desegregation. In college football, far more is made of Bear Bryant taking the USC running back into his team’s locker room after a loss and announcing that, “this is what a football player looks like.”

That may have heralded the end of segregation of college football in the South, but Grier was a trailblazer for everywhere else in the country.