Shane Murray gets a big old puff piece on his transition from high school QB/Safety to full-time Safety. Apparently it has something to do with being from Hazelwood.

Murray had heard the talk, he knew darn well that a move to safety was something that not only could happen, but more than likely something that would happen.

“I always heard that, you know, I always heard from everyone that they thought I would eventually be a safety here,” Murray said.

“Change is fine with me, it doesn’t bother me at all. I’m a guy who wants what is best for the team, and right now they need a safety and they want me to be a safety. So I’m going to go out and play there to the best of my abilities every day.”

It isn’t just his ability, though. The Pitt staff looks at Murray as the personification of what his Hazelwood roots are all about. Murray is a tough guy on the field, never shying away from contact. Watch him in a scrimmage and it becomes quickly evident that Murray is seemingly always around the action, that he is forever looking to lay a hit that will force the “oohs” from the crowd.

That penchant for mixing it up is undoubtedly the Hazelwood in him.

Uh-huh.

Meanwhile as the Big 33 game limps along trying to get enough star high school players from Pennsylvania and Ohio not to enroll early in college (Jovani Chappel) or just be interested enough to commit the time, they are taking a more proactive stance. Instead, announcing cuts of invited players for not submitting paper work or showing up for press conferences.

Baldwin’s Jason Pinkston and Beaver Falls’ Lance Jeter have been removed from the Pennsylvania Big 33 all-star football team.

Big 33 officials and Pennsylvania’s coaches made the decision on Pinkston and Jeter recently. Leigh Ann Urban, Big 33 director of operations, said the move was because of a “lack of interest” from Pinkston and Jeter.

The Big 33 game, which pits Pennsylvania against Ohio, will be June 17 in Hershey. Jeter, a receiver, and Pinkston, a lineman, were selected to Pennsylvania’s team in January.

“We have deadlines for players to return paperwork,” Urban said. “They didn’t return anything.”

Pinkston is a Pitt recruit; Jeter has not made a college decision. He might choose to play basketball in college.

Urban said neither Pinkston or Jeter showed up for a news conference to announce the Pennsylvania team. Jeter also did not attend a workout this past Sunday at Gateway High School.

“It was decided that they just didn’t seem to want to play,” Urban said.

That’ll teach ’em. These games have been slowly fading as more kids either enroll early or just decline to participate. At some point they are going to end.

Still no announcement from Tyler Smith from Hargrave. Not unexpected, since all reports said he would take his time during this signing period. If, as his coach suggested, Pitt and Iowa are the top two schools he is deciding between then a bit of shake-up at Iowa might make things more interesting.

Iowa coach Steve Alford announced in a statement released late Tuesday afternoon that assistant coach Greg Lansing and director of basketball operations Rich Walker would not have their contracts renewed when the fiscal year ends in June.

Alford also announced that sophomore guard Carlton Reed and sophomore forward Alex Thompson had been released from their scholarships and would be transferring.

That means that the Hawkeyes will have only six scholarship players returning from last season’s team that finished second in the Big Ten, won the conference tournament, and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

So Iowa will have definite playing time available. Neither was a starter. Thompson was 8th on the team in minutes played and expected to be up for a starting forward gig with all of the graduating seniors on the team.

The coaching shake-up, though, might affect Smith’s choice if either was substantially involved in his recruitment. The story indicates that at least one of the coaching vacancies will likely be filled by the former Ball St. head coach, so that won’t be much of an impact on Smith.

Bob Smizik mails-in his column on Aaron Gray and Gray considering the NBA.

Seven-footers who walk and chew gum at the same time get NBA attention. When they average a double-double (points and rebounds) in a league as competitive as the Big East, they get scrutiny. Gray led the Big East in rebounding with an average of 10.5 a game and was 20th in scoring with an average of 13.9. He was the only player in the league to average in double figures in both categories. He also was first-team all-conference.

At least one Internet site has Gray ranked in the NBA draft, which will be in June. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks Gray as the 39th-best prospect and predicts him to go late in the first or early in the second round — if he opts for the draft.

Of course, Gray is not ready to play in the NBA. His game needs to improve, he needs to get stronger and better conditioned. But being ready is not the issue. A lot of players who weren’t ready entered the draft. For some it was a wise move, for more it was not.

The whole thing is just filled with the kind of strong opinion you’d expect. By the way, Ford now has him down another spot to #40 (Insider Subs). It’s not like there is anything in there with which to really disagree or take issue. You just kind of look at the column and think, “And?…”

Stupid statements regarding the lack of good centers in the draft “this year” annoy the hell out of me. There aren’t very many good centers in the draft in any year. That’s why you shake your head years later and wonder aloud, “How the hell was Chris Mihm the #7 pick in the draft?” Michael Olowokani #1 in 1998, Kwame Brown #1, Tyson Chandler #2 and Eddy Curry #4 in 2001 all Centers. The NBA draft history is littered with centers who flopped. Hell, just look at the NBA rosters and you can name only a handful of good centers in the league.

It’s why players like Mark Blount and Eric Dampier can parlay their one good season (that just happened to be in their contract year) into ridiculous contracts.

So, Gray is listed as the 5th best Center prospect in the draft (behind O’Bryant, Hilton Armstrong, Paul Davis and Josh Boone) and is down at the 40th pick. Either the NBA draft is finally wising up, or the Centers are that bad this year that nothing is going to make them rise much.

Gray’s decision to stay (not “enter”) in the NBA draft all depends on the Orlando camp. That will do the most to determine his draft stock.

The Manhattan job is one of the plum jobs in the Northeast for up-and-coming assistants. Plus the now Seton Hall Head Coach Bobby Gonzalez, left the team loaded by most accounts for the next guy. No wonder several assistants are eager to make it known that they are interested in the job.

With the program set up to win right away, there’s no shortage of candidates lining up to replace Bobby Gonzalez at Manhattan College.

Three prominent Big East assistants highlight a growing list.

Pittsburgh’s Barry Rohrssen and Connecticut’s Tom Moore are very much in the mix right now, and Syracuse’s Mike Hopkins also might be interested. Manhattan athletic director Bob Byrnes is still collecting resumes and making introductory phone calls.

It’s unlikely he will begin conducting interviews before the end of the week.

Byrnes discussed the job with Steve Masiello this week, but the former Gonzalez assistant is not interested. He’s content staying at Louisville under Rick Pitino.

“I’m really happy where I’m at,” said Massiello, a White Plains native. “I have a great job working for the best coach in the country, and we have some really good recruits coming in. I’m not looking to change anything.”

Mike Malone isn’t likely to join the fray, either. He also has strong credentials and ties to the school after spending two years rebuilding Manhattan alongside Gonzalez. After four years on the Knicks bench, Malone jumped to Cleveland this season.
…
DePaul assistant Gary DeCesare also is looking to move up. The former longtime St. Raymond’s coach has been in touch with Manhattan officials during the week.

It’s an opportunity for any ambitious assistant.

And here’s the answer to an annoying question. What is a “jasper?”

The unique nickname of Manhattan College’s athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College’s most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served at the College in the late 19th century.

One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team’s first coach. Since Brother was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan College baseball games while also directing the team itself.

The site also claims Brother Jasper was the one behind the “7th inning stretch.” I always understood the credit went to President Taft, but both stories could be wrong.

Or not, as the case may be. As it turns out, baseball historians have located a manuscript dated 1869 — 13 years earlier than Brother Jasper’s inspired time-out — documenting what can only be described as a seventh-inning stretch. It’s a letter written by Harry Wright of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first pro baseball team. In it, he makes the following observation about the fans’ ballpark behavior: “The spectators all arise between halves of the seventh inning, extend their legs and arms and sometimes walk about. In so doing they enjoy the relief afforded by relaxation from a long posture upon hard benches.”

More useless information than expected from this post.