It’s out there. In a week and a half, deposed Cinci coach Bob Huggins will see his “contract” with Cinci end. At that time, Huggins will be plotting his return to the college coaching ranks. Not necessarily in terms of angling for certain jobs — though he says he has been contacted by more than 5 schools already about the possibility. No, more disturbing, recruiting kids to join him.

McAlister asked Huggins if he had been doing any recruiting or had asked recruits to follow him to his next stop, wherever that might be.

“I haven’t discussed it with them, Huggins said. “In the next month or so, I probably will.”

Once he is free from the confines of his contract with UC, Huggins is not bound by any NCAA rules regarding contact with prospective players until or unless he is hired as a coach at another NCAA school.

McAlister asked him if he plans to increase recruiting efforts in December. Huggins said he would, adding that conventional recruiting rules would not apply to him.

“Pick them up, take them home from practice, feed them dinner,” Huggins said jokingly of what he would be allowed to do in recruiting.

After the interview with McAlister, however, Huggins said that doesn’t mean he’s going to put on a full-court press in recruiting such high-profile players as O.J. Mayo, the North College Hill junior who is the top-rated player nationally in the class of 2007.

Huggins said he hasn’t spoken with Mayo since Mayo made a campus visit to UC while Huggins was still coaching there.

Huggins said the likelihood of him getting commitments from several recruits while he doesn’t have a job is small.

“I don’t need to stockpile a bunch of guys to get a job,” Huggins said. “That ain’t me.”

Not to get the job, no. But to be able to jump in and win right away. Also the article reports that he called top recruit, now a Xavier signed commit Adrion Graves, at least once in November urging him not to sign. Instead wait until Huggins was hired next season and sign with him. Graves had intended to sign with Cinci and Huggins until the firing.

Just to point out the continued stupidity of the Cinci administration, by the way, the Huggins settlement back in August may lead to their VP for Legal Affairs suspended from the bar — once she is actually admitted.

In July, Monica Rimai became vice president for legal affairs and general counsel at the University of Cincinnati. But today, she’s simply known as “special assistant to the president.”

The distinction?

Rimai’s not licensed to practice law in Ohio. At least not yet.

UC spokesman Greg Hand said Rimai, formerly the chief legal counsel at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is working to obtain her license through the Ohio Supreme Court. The process could take months, Hand said, as it did for Rimai’s predecessor, James Wesner, who retired this summer after 16 years as general counsel.

In the meantime, Rimai, who makes $167,000 a year, hasn’t been functioning as attorney for UC but has focused on the other aspects of her job, including risk management and licensing, Hand said. The legal work has gone to six licensed lawyers on staff as well as the outside firms with which UC contracts.

Rimai’s status and what she has done since coming to UC has stirred debate, especially this summer, when she negotiated on behalf of the university in its efforts to terminate the contract of men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins.

In letters to Huggins’ attorney this summer, Rimai called UC her “client,” referenced Ohio case law and signed off as “Monica Rimai, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel.”

Rimai, who did not return a call seeking comment, was acting as a negotiator, not a lawyer, Hand said.

Brilliant. That will be fun for her and the university to spin to the bar association. Another Cinci attorney who had worked for Huggins’ attorney in the past blogged on her activities and how it violated the ethics code.

It may seem like a technical violation — a lawyer not certified to practice in one state while actually certified in another — but bar associations take that very seriously. Not just for the ethics, but mainly because they like to maintain their controls and keep as many other lawyers out.

Anyways, what does this have to do with Pitt? How about potential Pitt recruit Herb Pope? Greg Doyel at Sportsline handicaps Pope and others who Huggins could be targeting.

Herb Pope: Pope, a 6-9 forward from the class of 2007, is a top-10 recruit and a likely McDonald’s All-American. When Huggins was at Cincinnati, Pope had the Bearcats among his favorite schools before committing in March to Pittsburgh. Five months later Pope backed off that commitment, and a source close to Pope says he is monitoring Huggins’ future. The connection is Pope’s AAU coach, J.O. Stright, founder of the Pittsburgh J.O.T.S. and one of Huggins’ closest friends. How close? When Huggins suffered a massive heart attack in September 2002, he called Stright. Stright called the paramedics. Odds of following Huggins: 75 percent.

The odds of Pope going to dinner at Stright’s one night and Huggins being there: near certainty.

Stright, for those who don’t know, goes back a long way with Huggins. Not sure when it started, but the relationship paid dividends starting back in 1991 when the two conspired with John Calipari on who would get what players off Stright’s AAU squad. Huggins wanted and got Fortson.

Stright was also the AAU coach who encouraged Pope to consider transferring to Arlington Country Day Prep School over this past summer.

Now as I said when he first announced, and again over the summer, I do not put a lot of stock on a verbal this early. It’s just too soon and too much is swirling around this kid. Do I want potentially the top player in the 2007 class coming to Pitt? Sure. Do I think it will happen, I have my doubts at this point. Regardless of being Freshman Safety Tommie Campbell’s cousin, this kid has a lot of other voices whispering in his ear.

It’s out there. In a week and a half, deposed Cinci coach Bob Huggins will see his “contract” with Cinci end. At that time, Huggins will be plotting his return to the college coaching ranks. Not necessarily in terms of angling for certain jobs — though he says he has been contacted by more than 5 schools already about the possibility. No, more disturbing, recruiting kids to join him.

McAlister asked Huggins if he had been doing any recruiting or had asked recruits to follow him to his next stop, wherever that might be.

“I haven’t discussed it with them, Huggins said. “In the next month or so, I probably will.”

Once he is free from the confines of his contract with UC, Huggins is not bound by any NCAA rules regarding contact with prospective players until or unless he is hired as a coach at another NCAA school.

McAlister asked him if he plans to increase recruiting efforts in December. Huggins said he would, adding that conventional recruiting rules would not apply to him.

“Pick them up, take them home from practice, feed them dinner,” Huggins said jokingly of what he would be allowed to do in recruiting.

After the interview with McAlister, however, Huggins said that doesn’t mean he’s going to put on a full-court press in recruiting such high-profile players as O.J. Mayo, the North College Hill junior who is the top-rated player nationally in the class of 2007.

Huggins said he hasn’t spoken with Mayo since Mayo made a campus visit to UC while Huggins was still coaching there.

Huggins said the likelihood of him getting commitments from several recruits while he doesn’t have a job is small.

“I don’t need to stockpile a bunch of guys to get a job,” Huggins said. “That ain’t me.”

Not to get the job, no. But to be able to jump in and win right away. Also the article reports that he called top recruit, now a Xavier signed commit Adrion Graves, at least once in November urging him not to sign. Instead wait until Huggins was hired next season and sign with him. Graves had intended to sign with Cinci and Huggins until the firing.

Just to point out the continued stupidity of the Cinci administration, by the way, the Huggins settlement back in August may lead to their VP for Legal Affairs suspended from the bar — once she is actually admitted.

In July, Monica Rimai became vice president for legal affairs and general counsel at the University of Cincinnati. But today, she’s simply known as “special assistant to the president.”

The distinction?

Rimai’s not licensed to practice law in Ohio. At least not yet.

UC spokesman Greg Hand said Rimai, formerly the chief legal counsel at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is working to obtain her license through the Ohio Supreme Court. The process could take months, Hand said, as it did for Rimai’s predecessor, James Wesner, who retired this summer after 16 years as general counsel.

In the meantime, Rimai, who makes $167,000 a year, hasn’t been functioning as attorney for UC but has focused on the other aspects of her job, including risk management and licensing, Hand said. The legal work has gone to six licensed lawyers on staff as well as the outside firms with which UC contracts.

Rimai’s status and what she has done since coming to UC has stirred debate, especially this summer, when she negotiated on behalf of the university in its efforts to terminate the contract of men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins.

In letters to Huggins’ attorney this summer, Rimai called UC her “client,” referenced Ohio case law and signed off as “Monica Rimai, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel.”

Rimai, who did not return a call seeking comment, was acting as a negotiator, not a lawyer, Hand said.

Brilliant. That will be fun for her and the university to spin to the bar association. Another Cinci attorney who had worked for Huggins’ attorney in the past blogged on her activities and how it violated the ethics code.

It may seem like a technical violation — a lawyer not certified to practice in one state while actually certified in another — but bar associations take that very seriously. Not just for the ethics, but mainly because they like to maintain their controls and keep as many other lawyers out.

Anyways, what does this have to do with Pitt? How about potential Pitt recruit Herb Pope? Greg Doyel at Sportsline handicaps Pope and others who Huggins could be targeting.

Herb Pope: Pope, a 6-9 forward from the class of 2007, is a top-10 recruit and a likely McDonald’s All-American. When Huggins was at Cincinnati, Pope had the Bearcats among his favorite schools before committing in March to Pittsburgh. Five months later Pope backed off that commitment, and a source close to Pope says he is monitoring Huggins’ future. The connection is Pope’s AAU coach, J.O. Stright, founder of the Pittsburgh J.O.T.S. and one of Huggins’ closest friends. How close? When Huggins suffered a massive heart attack in September 2002, he called Stright. Stright called the paramedics. Odds of following Huggins: 75 percent.

The odds of Pope going to dinner at Stright’s one night and Huggins being there: near certainty.

Stright, for those who don’t know, goes back a long way with Huggins. Not sure when it started, but the relationship paid dividends starting back in 1991 when the two conspired with John Calipari on who would get what players off Stright’s AAU squad. Huggins wanted and got Fortson.

Stright was also the AAU coach who encouraged Pope to consider transferring to Arlington Country Day Prep School over this past summer.

Now as I said when he first announced, and again over the summer, I do not put a lot of stock on a verbal this early. It’s just too soon and too much is swirling around this kid. Do I want potentially the top player in the 2007 class coming to Pitt? Sure. Do I think it will happen, I have my doubts at this point. Regardless of being Freshman Safety Tommie Campbell’s cousin, this kid has a lot of other voices whispering in his ear.

Some things I’ve not gotten to in the last few days regarding basketball.

An AP Capsule summary of Pitt.

Expectations: After averaging 27 victories while making four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the Panthers are in transition from the Troutman-Taft-Julius Page-Jaron Brown-Krauser era to that featuring the talent recruited by Dixon during his first two years on the job. Krauser is the link between the two eras, returning at age 24 after being told he wasn’t ready for the NBA. A slightly improved but still relatively soft early season schedule should let all the new players get accustomed to major college basketball before the Big East schedule begins in January. Then it gets tough in an already good conference that has added Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati, plus DePaul and South Florida.

[Emphasis added.]

As I have said, this is a better non-con than in past years. The biggest drags on the schedule actually come playing the schools closest to Pitt — Robert Morris, Duquesne and Penn State.

Seth Davis at SI.com, who has dogged Pitt for a few years on the non-con whacks at Pitt again for the schedule.

PITT Nine of first 11 nonconference games are at home, including the only tough test (Dec. 31 against Wisconsin).

Every team schedules an overwhelming majority of the non-cons at home. Pitt is no exception, and it is also necessary to help pay for the Pete. To spin it positively, it can be pointed out that Pitt plays 2 Big 11 teams, 2 SEC teams, an A-10 team and a mid-major who made the tournament last year. It just happens, though, that except for Wisconsin, none of these foes are expected to be particularly good this year.

Dick Weiss of the NY Daily News talks about the new Big East and adds the following at the end.

None of the coaches thinks the Big East will last in its current configuration after the next five years, with a possible split between the football and non-football schools and Notre Dame in the works.

But this is a special time for the league.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Pitt has to pursue a two-track plan for the long-term. Work on creating a stable conference in the East/Midwest that won’t be in danger of getting tossed out of the BCS. At the same time, quietly work on/angle for membership in the Big 11. The latter includes effective lobbying of the PA legislature to make sure that Penn State will fully, completely, unequivocally and vocally support Pitt for membership when the Big 11 expands.

The early signing period for b-ball recruits yielded two.

The University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball program signed two student-athletes–forward Gilbert Brown (Harrisburg, Pa./South Kent Prep, Conn.) and center Austin Wallace (Bronx, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) — to a National Letter of Intent, Head Coach Jamie Dixon announced Friday. The NCAA Division I fall signing period began on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

“We are extremely excited about both Gilbert and Austin,” Dixon said. “Both are quality young men from winning programs. They are both very good athletes as well as solid students.”

Both are considered very good talents, with Wallace expected to be more of a project (as is common for Centers).

There was one miss. Pitt was unable to lure a recruit from Mississippi.

On Monday, Heidelberg High forward Andre Stephens signed with USM, becoming the Golden Eagles’ third signee of the early period.

“It’s huge,” Eustachy said. “We have the best player in Mississippi; that’s what we think he is.”

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Stephens averaged 18 points, 16 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots for the Oilers during the 2004-05 season.
…
Stephens was ranked the nation’s 133rd-best prospect by HoopScoop magazine and showed well at Adidas and NBA Players All-Star camps.

USM signed Stephens despite late interest shown by Texas, Kansas and Southern California.He joins preseason juco All-America Gjio Bain, a 6-11 center from Northeastern Community College in Norfolk, Neb., and 5-11 point guard Dewayne Green of Mt. San Jacinto (Calif.) Community College.

Bain turned down Pittsburgh to sign with USM.

Damn.

Some things I’ve not gotten to in the last few days regarding basketball.

An AP Capsule summary of Pitt.

Expectations: After averaging 27 victories while making four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the Panthers are in transition from the Troutman-Taft-Julius Page-Jaron Brown-Krauser era to that featuring the talent recruited by Dixon during his first two years on the job. Krauser is the link between the two eras, returning at age 24 after being told he wasn’t ready for the NBA. A slightly improved but still relatively soft early season schedule should let all the new players get accustomed to major college basketball before the Big East schedule begins in January. Then it gets tough in an already good conference that has added Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati, plus DePaul and South Florida.

[Emphasis added.]

As I have said, this is a better non-con than in past years. The biggest drags on the schedule actually come playing the schools closest to Pitt — Robert Morris, Duquesne and Penn State.

Seth Davis at SI.com, who has dogged Pitt for a few years on the non-con whacks at Pitt again for the schedule.

PITT Nine of first 11 nonconference games are at home, including the only tough test (Dec. 31 against Wisconsin).

Every team schedules an overwhelming majority of the non-cons at home. Pitt is no exception, and it is also necessary to help pay for the Pete. To spin it positively, it can be pointed out that Pitt plays 2 Big 11 teams, 2 SEC teams, an A-10 team and a mid-major who made the tournament last year. It just happens, though, that except for Wisconsin, none of these foes are expected to be particularly good this year.

Dick Weiss of the NY Daily News talks about the new Big East and adds the following at the end.

None of the coaches thinks the Big East will last in its current configuration after the next five years, with a possible split between the football and non-football schools and Notre Dame in the works.

But this is a special time for the league.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Pitt has to pursue a two-track plan for the long-term. Work on creating a stable conference in the East/Midwest that won’t be in danger of getting tossed out of the BCS. At the same time, quietly work on/angle for membership in the Big 11. The latter includes effective lobbying of the PA legislature to make sure that Penn State will fully, completely, unequivocally and vocally support Pitt for membership when the Big 11 expands.

The early signing period for b-ball recruits yielded two.

The University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball program signed two student-athletes–forward Gilbert Brown (Harrisburg, Pa./South Kent Prep, Conn.) and center Austin Wallace (Bronx, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) — to a National Letter of Intent, Head Coach Jamie Dixon announced Friday. The NCAA Division I fall signing period began on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

“We are extremely excited about both Gilbert and Austin,” Dixon said. “Both are quality young men from winning programs. They are both very good athletes as well as solid students.”

Both are considered very good talents, with Wallace expected to be more of a project (as is common for Centers).

There was one miss. Pitt was unable to lure a recruit from Mississippi.

On Monday, Heidelberg High forward Andre Stephens signed with USM, becoming the Golden Eagles’ third signee of the early period.

“It’s huge,” Eustachy said. “We have the best player in Mississippi; that’s what we think he is.”

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Stephens averaged 18 points, 16 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots for the Oilers during the 2004-05 season.
…
Stephens was ranked the nation’s 133rd-best prospect by HoopScoop magazine and showed well at Adidas and NBA Players All-Star camps.

USM signed Stephens despite late interest shown by Texas, Kansas and Southern California.He joins preseason juco All-America Gjio Bain, a 6-11 center from Northeastern Community College in Norfolk, Neb., and 5-11 point guard Dewayne Green of Mt. San Jacinto (Calif.) Community College.

Bain turned down Pittsburgh to sign with USM.

Damn.

Coach Wannstedt and the rest of the coaching staff were out on the recruiting trail this week, and a lot of them still are.

Wannstedt spent the past three days recruiting and he said he is always energized by that part of the job because of the positive feedback he gets everywhere he goes.

“It has been fantastic,” said Wannstedt yesterday after the Panthers began practices for their Thanksgiving game against West Virginia. “I was local today and I was in Florida yesterday and the day before and the reception has been outstanding. We’re going to hold on to a great class … with the verbal commitments and we’re going to add probably another four or five, which I believe, are big-time guys before it is all said and done.”

Wannstedt along with coordinators Matt Cavanaugh and Paul Rhoads were the only three coaches at practice because the rest of the staff was still on the road and won’t be back until today.

Since the coaches can’t talk about recruits, and even verbal commits until they sign, he can’t say who he was seeing, but others can.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is heading out on the road to visit several high schools of Florida prospects that the Panthers are recruiting in the coming days… The Panthers are in on several Florida prospects including Thaddeus Lewis and Darrell Davis…

Last week, it was noted that Jovani Chappel, a cornerback from Ohio who had given a soft verbal to Purdue visited Pitt during the UConn game. Apparently he liked the trip.

“Coach Wannstedt is a great guy and he told me I could join the team in January and compete for playing time,” Chappel said. “I need to sit down with my family and make a decision. I should know where I’m going by the end of the month.”

Other schools have continued their pursuit, but it appears this one will be a two-team race between the Panthers and the Boilermakers.

The emphasis on the corner to replace Josh Lay seems to be on speed over size. Chappel is 5′ 8″ and another top commit for Pitt, Ricky Gary, is also 5’8″.

Well, it looks like WVU Center Dan Mozes will be fine to play next Thursday. He sprained his knee during the Cinci game, but he is expected to be in full contact practice by the weekend. Part of why WVU has had such a great running game this season has been Mozes, who is a likely all-Big East player this season, on the line.

There are some issues of depth. Back-up tailback Jason Gwaltney, who hurt his knee a month or so ago in the Rutgers game is definitely out. A mix of slow rehab and slow classroom performances. Until he was hurt he had played in 6 games, picking up 186 yards on 45 carries (4.1 yds/carry). Pitt can expect freshman back Steve Slaton to come at them frequently.

While the Tight End position isn’t exactly much of a weapon for WVU, they hope to have their starter Josh Bailey back. Bailey has an ankle injury. The two players that started after Bailey are both out with injuries of their own, so they are now pretty far down on the depth chart for that position.

Pitt is actually in pretty good shape from an injury perspective. Defensive Tackle Thomas Smith is not practicing much because of his toe injury, but is expected to see significant playing time. He has been doing a lot of tutoring to Freshman Rashaad Duncan.

Clint Session is fully healed from his knee injury that has slowed him all season, and will get the start at SAM Linebacker.