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.