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.