No snark for this. Just condolences to the family:

Marshall Goldberg, one of the greatest running backs in college football history and a member of Pitt’s famed “Dream Backfield” of the 1930s, died Monday at the age of 88 in Chicago, where he made his home.

Goldberg played professional football for the Chicago Cardinals in 1939-42 and in 1946-48 and was named All-Pro six times, in a career that was interrupted while he served as a Navy Seal in World War II. His interception against the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the Cardinals’ only NFL championship in 1947. The Cardinals retired his No. 99.

During his storied career at Pitt, Goldberg gained 1,957 yards between 1936 and 1938, a school record that stood until Tony Dorsett broke it in 1974. Goldberg was a two-time All-American, third in the Heisman balloting in 1937, and runner-up for the Heisman in 1938. In 1958, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Playing under legendary coach Jock Sutherland, Goldberg led Pitt to a three-year record of 25-3-2 and national championships in 1936 and 1937.

“Marshall was a Pitt sports legend, a devoted member of the University’s Board of Trustees, and an outstanding human being,” said University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. “We feel privileged to have played a role in Marshall’s life as he was learning, growing, and building the foundation for all of the good things that followed his many contributions to Pitt athletics. We are saddened by the loss of a good friend, and our deepest sympathies are with Marshall’s family.”

He’s one of only 8 retired numbers at Pitt.

I have to admit I’m having a hard time to get into writing about the football stuff. There still feels like there is unfinished business on the basketball side. I’ll get there.

Speaking of unfinished business, the next signing period for basketball starts next Wednesday. Things are looking good from unverified reports on Pitt landing Tyler Smith.

Tyler Smith (unsigned): It looks like the small forward will probably wind up at Pittsburgh when the late signing period begins on April 12, unless Panthers assistant Barry Rohrssen lands the Seton Hall job. That would put the Pirates in the mix. UAB could join the recruiting battle if Mike Davis lands with the Blazers. Cincinnati is another possible destination.

With the exception of Lenn Robbins at the NY Post, who refuses to eliminate anyone, most have Rohrssen not getting the Seton Hall gig.

Tubby Smith, from Kentucky and others are still trying though.

Smith went to Pulaski, Tenn., yesterday to speak with Tyler Smith, a 6-foot-7 wing player considered one of the best unsigned players available. Earlier in the day, Rondo announced his intention to hire an agent and enter the NBA Draft.

Tyler Smith committed to Tennessee in 2005, then decided to attend Hargrave Military Academy after UT fired Buzz Peterson as coach. Peterson reportedly is now being considered for an assistant-coaching position at Kentucky should one become open.

Iowa Coach Steve Alford was also expected to visit with Tyler Smith.

College coaches could begin visiting with prospects after midnight on Monday night.

Pittsburgh, the perceived leader for Tyler Smith, had exhausted its limit of visits with the player in previous recruiting periods.

Pitt can only wait.

As expected the trickle of useless advanced predictions is underway. The only advantage is that it makes it more likely for Pitt to be among the pre-season polls and magazines in the fall.

This from Fox Sports:

12. Pittsburgh: Panthers guard Carl Krauser is gone, but Jamie Dixon still has plenty of quality guards at his disposal — Ronald Ramon, Levance Fields and Keith Benjamin. Seven-footer Aaron Gray may have been the most-improved big man in the country, and Pittsburgh will also bring back Sam Young and Levon Kendall — who split time at power forward this season.

The only BE team ranked higher is Louisville at #10.

This offering from Andy Katz at ESPN.com goes higher.

10. Pitt: The Panthers only lose Carl Krauser. He was a major player for the Panthers throughout the course of his career, but Pitt can take the hit of losing the veteran point guard. Big man Aaron Gray and forwards Sam Young and Levon Kendall give the Panthers one of the toughest front lines in the country. Guards Ronald Ramon, Levance Fields, Antonio Graves and Keith Benjamin should show everyone that the Panthers have the goods on the perimeter to match up with any team in the country. And you wonder why Jamie Dixon stayed?

Pitt is the highest ranked of the BE teams in Katz’s rankings. In the rest: UConn (11), Georgetown (13), Villanova (16) and Marquette (24). Louisville is just outside the top-25.

Lots of expectations for 2006-07.

Yesterday, I noted the possibility of a Big East-SEC Challenge in basketball. Andy Katz (Insider subs.) does his best to throw cold water on that.

SEC challenge: The SEC couldn’t reach an agreement with the Big 12 on a challenge. The SEC wanted a handful of teams. The Big 12 wanted all of them. So, instead, the SEC has approached the Big East. But the interest there is very tepid.

For the life of me, I don’t know why. If there is a tepid response, I would guess that emanates from some of the older, more powerful coaches (Calhoun, Boeheim and Pitino) who have no need of further exposure and attention for their programs. After all, they never have much problem getting invited to early season tournaments.

Still, the snippet doesn’t say who. If it is from the Big East powers or the school presidents or ADs it makes little sense. They should welcome the increased exposure and a chance for some of the other schools that can get lost in the shuffle of a 16 team league to get some additional games on TV.

Aaron Gray appears to be doing the right thing.

Pitt center Aaron Gray is considering the possibility of entering the NBA draft.

But he said Tuesday that he won’t hire an agent, which would afford him the option to return to school for his senior year.

“I’m just gathering information,” said Gray, who was voted the most improved player in the Big East conference this season after leading the league in rebounding and finishing finishing as the only player to average a double-double (13.9 ppg., 10.5 rpg.). “I’m talking to the right people. I’m not listening to agents or friends or stuff like that.

“The only thing I know right now is, no matter what happens, I’m not signing with an agent.”
…
Should the 7-foot, 270-pound Gray decide to enter in the draft, he is likely to follow the same course taken last year by Pitt guard Carl Krauser and West Virginia center Kevin Pittsnogle, both of whom, as juniors, attended the NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago without representation of an agent.

Both pulled their names before the mandatory deadline and returned for their final college seasons.

It is exactly what he should do. Go through the process. Get reinforcement as to what he needs to improve upon. Pull-out of the draft, and hopefully go to a “big man” camp this year to get some extra help.

Carl Krauser will be in Portsmouth, Virginia taking part in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. A Seniors-only event, as he hopes to get an invite to Chicago and get drafted by the NBA. Coach Jamie Dixon is heading down there to give him some support and help him get feedback and info as to his possibility of getting drafted. Presumably, so he can consider other options — ABA or overseas.

That was the final note of the story, which focused on “validation” of the tough defense preached by Howland and Dixon. Uh, okay.

But before the Bruins made their way through the NCAA tournament field to Monday night’s title game, there were plenty of basketball people who doubted whether such a system could produce a national championship contender. Could such a style that sacrifices offense for defense produce enough points against the most talented teams in the country? Would top recruits want to play in such a regimented and glamour-less system?

It didn’t help matters that Pitt and UCLA never advanced past the second round of the tournament in seven opportunities before this season. But Dixon denied that UCLA’s run to the title game this season reaffirmed his belief in the system he and Howland cultivated at Pitt. He said he believed all along that the system could produce results at the highest level.

“It didn’t give me any more confidence,” Dixon said yesterday after returning from the Final Four in Indianapolis. “Our record speaks for itself. As coaches, we look at the whole season rather than a two-week period.

“We’ve been competing at the highest level. If UCLA had lost to Gonzaga, had they not gotten that steal in the last minute and won that game, I wouldn’t feel any different. I think Billy Donovan had the quote of the week. Billy said you could play the whole tournament over again and you’d have four different teams in the Final Four. These games are coming down to one shot. There were so many close games.”

Dixon didn’t stay for the Championship game because he was out on the recruiting trail again. That’s what you like to read.

The way I read the article, it came off like Ray Fittipaldo has been listening to his colleague, Paul Zeise too much. I like Zeise. He’s got opinions and shares them and is doing a great job covering Pitt football. Now, here’s the “but…” His contempt for playing strong, defensive basketball:

Worst game: Just about any that involved UCLA. There might not be a tougher team to watch. Well, other than Pitt.

It colors, distorts and causes him to make glaring errors.

jimmy_g: The style of basketball Pitt plays is not that unlike UConn’s and they do quite well with the recruiting.

Paul Zeise: I disagree _- UConn this year utilized a lot of big guys this year and thus had to play a different style than Jim Calhoun like to. But The Huskies are generally a very athletic team and he likes the transition game. The Huskies usually have athletic wings that get up and down the court and while he preaches defense, he also loves to score points. His players are allowed to play, they are allowed to use their talent and skill, they aren’t stifled and put into a system that requires them to hold the ball for 30 seconds and shorten games by taking away possessions. It is a different philosophy all together.

First, the style this year was no different than Calhoun likes to run. He always runs a fast-tempo offense, trying to get out there on transition (the UConn Adjusted Tempo for 2004-2006: 71.4, 73.7, 71.5). He has held to a belief that his teams should always average around 75 possessions a game, which is why he tolerates double digit turnovers in games. If the transition game isn’t there, he has the team pull the ball out and they will set things up.

Pitt, simply hasn’t had the players to run the transition game like that. It’s starting to get there with the more athletic players Pitt has recruited, but you don’t run a system that won’t fit the players. To even think that Pitt is holding the ball for 30 seconds is ridiculous. Maybe you can accuse Georgetown of that, with their style and slow tempo (and while it is slow, they are doing anything but holding the ball), but its a gross exaggeration to accuse Pitt of that. There’s a difference between a deliberate offense that is making the extra pass, and an offense being used as defense. That Zeise doesn’t recognize that, or won’t admit that betrays his wish for the past styles of Loyola Marymount and 100+ point college games.

Not only has Associate Head Coach Barry Rohrssen been all but eliminated from the possibility of getting the job, but it looks like the opening the Seton Hall hiring creates won’t be in New York.

Multiple sources tell the Daily News that Ohio University’s Tim O’Shea is expected to be named the new coach at Seton Hall before the end of the week. An announcement could come as early as today, though Seton Hall sports information director Jeff Andriesse said there are currently no plans for a press conference.

If O’Shea is indeed the Pirates’ choice, it could prove to be a huge gamble on the part of first-year athletic director Joe Quinlan. O’Shea, who spent four years in the Big East as an assistant coach at Boston College, has been a head coach for just four seasons at lightly regarded Ohio University. O’Shea did guide the Bobcats to one NCAA Tournament and an 83-69 career mark, but he lacks the local recruiting ties of another candidate, Manhattan’s Bobby Gonzalez.

Rutgers went this same route five seasons ago when it hired a little-known coach from Kent State in Gary Waters and never made the NCAA Tournament during his tenure with the Scarlet Knights. Waters resigned at the end of this season and Rutgers hired Fred Hill Jr., who is known for his excellent recruiting ties in the New York/New Jersey area.

O’Shea is apparently the only candidate to get the coveted second interview. A NJ paper, though, still writes that it is simply down to Gonzalez or O’Shea.

Seton Hall University’s long and winding search for a men’s basketball coach is expected to come to an end today, with Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez and Ohio University head coach Tim O’Shea neck-and-neck for the position.

After interviewing five candidates over the past 11 days, athletic director Joe Quinlan is expected to make a job offer today, with an official announcement coming within 24 hours.

But even they seem to be hinting that it will be O’Shea.

Gonzalez, who also is in the mix for openings at Temple and North Carolina State, had a long and productive interview with Quinlan last Wednesday but has not heard from him since, sources say.

The long silence has fueled speculation another candidate — most notably O’Shea — has moved into contention. O’Shea, a native New Englander who made a name for himself as the lead recruiter at Boston College under Al Skinner, interviewed with Quinlan twice over Final Four weekend.
…
Pittsburgh associate head coach Barry Rohrssen interviewed last Tuesday. Rohrssen is a master recruiter of the metropolitan area and was an early favorite to land the job, but his lack of head coaching experience scared some key people in the decision-making process.

The Temple job, by most indications is Penn’s Fran Dunphy’s if he wants it. Gonzalez isn’t mentioned as a strong candidate in most stories I’ve seen on that job search. Same with the NC State job — though wouldn’t Gonzalez’s high-key attitude be quite the shift from the cerebral (read: comatose) Sendek.

A report from Athens, Ohio seems to add to the appearance of O’Shea to Seton Hall and the possible reason why.

An alleged argument between Manhattan men’s basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez and Seton Hall director of athletics Joe Quinlan, might cause a coaching shakeup here in Athens.

The New York Daily News reported yesterday that Ohio men’s basketball coach Tim O’Shea received a second interview with Quinlan. It is also rumored that O’Shea is the new favorite to fill the Pirates’ vacant head coaching position after Gonzalez and Quinlan had a falling out over Gonzalez’s picks for his new coaching staff.

That reads as if Quinlan wanted Gonzalez to keep some parts of the staff (perhaps John Dunne). If it’s O’Shea, then it means only the Fairfield Head Coaching gig would likely be the only potential job remaining for Rohrssen.