It’s never over until they issue the press release.

Barry Rohrssen has been named the 22nd head coach in Manhattan Basketball history, it was announced today by Director of Athletics Bob Byrnes.

Rohrssen arrives back in his native New York after spending the last seven seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh, including the last two seasons as associate head coach under Head Coach Jamie Dixon. Over the course of the last five seasons at Pittsburgh, Rohrssen was a part of five straight 20-plus win seasons, five straight NCAA appearances, and an overall record of 133-33 (80.1%), a number which ranked the Panthers among the nation’s top-five winning percentages during that span. The team was also nearly unbeatable at home, posting a 64-6 all-time record at the four-year old Petersen Events Center (91.4%).

“Barry Rohrssen brings years of successful experience to Manhattan College,” commented Byrnes. “People associate Barry with recruiting, but he is much more than a recruiter. The University of Pittsburgh teams that Barry coaches with had the Most Improved Player in the Big East in four of his seven seasons, and I believe Barry certainly knows how to make players better. In short, Barry Rohrssen is a winner that recruits winners and develops winners.”

Good luck to Barry Rohrssen. You have earned the opportunity.

The NFL Draft is this weekend. You might have heard something about it. It’s not like ESPN is running 2 hour draft specials daily and airing them 2 or 3 times a day or anything.

Pitt’s got several players who will likely be drafted, but only one expected to definitely go in the 1st day. Charles Spencer should go somewhere in the 2nd or possibly 3rd round. The rest will likely be drafted somewhere on Day 2.

Spencer is the highest rated of the three and could go as early as the second round. He played tackle for the Panthers last season, but he is a prospect at guard and his stock has been on the rise since the season ended.

The thing that has most scouts intrigued about Spencer — besides his size (6 feet 4, 335 pounds), strength and quickness — is his potential because he’s relatively inexperienced as an offensive lineman. He played defensive line his entire career until moving to offensive guard for his junior year with the Panthers. Then just about the time he settled in at guard, he was moved again, to tackle for his senior year.

“Charles really helped himself at the Senior Bowl, he was dominant against some of the top defensive line prospects,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “He’s worked out well at every step of the way. He did well at the combine and at our pro day. We had to move him to tackle and he adapted quickly and made the most of it. He’s going to have a nice career.”

At the NFL combine, Spencer’s bench press placed among the top three offensive line prospects (225 pounds 31 times.) Lay also helped himself at the combine with an excellent 40-yard dash time (4.48 seconds) and by his performance in the defensive back drills.

Josh Lay and Junior Greg Lee will probably go sometime in the 4th or 5th rounds. Tight End Eric Gill might be a draft pick at the end of the second day, but it is just as likely that he will be a free agent signee along with kicker Josh Cummings, linebacker J.J. Horne, safety Tez Morris and RBs Ray Kirkley and Tim Murphy.

On Greg Lee, he has been projected as a second day draft pick since he declared following his disappointing season. So this article including Lee among 10 draft picks who won’t live up to the “hype” seems quite odd to me (hat tip to Frank)

4. Greg Lee, WR, Pittsburgh: After a brilliant sophomore season, Lee was pegged by many observers as the next great receiver to come out of the Panthers’ program. But he dropped an inordinate number of catchable passes last season as Pittsburgh moved to a conventional running attack. Lee is another former first-round prospect who’ll be fighting for backup duty.

Exactly what hype does a 4th or 5th round WR draft pick have to live up to? Yes, his talent and potential are something else, but it’s not like he’s being projected for a 1st or 2nd round selection. Right now, he’s being projected in the draft at about the right spot.

Catching up with the Sunday stuff from the AAU tournament, JamFest. The local Pittsburgh JOTS won over the O.J. Mayo-less D1 Greyhounds. Naturally, the concern isn’t over who won, but who looked good and the fact that plenty of top high school talent spent the weekend at Pitt.

The JamFest drew 117 teams from 23 states, the District of Columbia and Canada and dozens of college coaches to Pitt’s Petersen Events Center, Fitzgerald Field House and Trees Hall. There are already plans to return the NCAA-sanctioned AAU tournament to Pitt next April.

“We’ll definitely be back,” said Rob Kennedy, president of the New Jersey-based Hoop Group, which ran the event. “The facilities are tremendous and the location is ideal because we can draw teams from the Midwest and East. We only had a little over two months to get this together. It exceeded our expectations.”

Memphis Coach John Calipari may have more than a little snake oil salesmen in him, but he knows how to win over the media — especially the local media.

There isn’t a more approachable big-time coach in the country than Calipari, especially when this Moon native knows he’s dealing with someone who has ties to Pittsburgh. Anyhow, Coach Cal had a few interesting things to say:

On the JamFest being in Pittsburgh:

“For the coaches to come from all over the country to Pittsburgh is dear to my heart. Believe me, many people don’t know how great a city Pittsburgh is. Even I’m guilty sometimes of not realizing all that we have in Pittsburgh.

“[On Friday night] we went out on the South Side and I told the guys I was with, ‘Man, this was like mill town over here, and now it is so built up, it is amazing.’ Every time I am back, something new is popping up and it makes the city even better and better.”

On the current WPIAL and City League talent:

“In the next three years, there may be some of the best players to ever come out of this area. I can remember when Sam Clancy and Sonny Lewis and a whole crew of guys were playing in Pittsburgh. This group of kids, who are the kids getting recruited right now, is as solid as a group as there has been in quite awhile in this area.

“The people of Pittsburgh should be proud and also understand the level of talent they have playing in the area right now.”

Maybe I’m just reading a little too much in between the lines, but I can’t help but think the subtext goes something like, “Hey, Pitt, next time it looks like there might be a head coaching opening, don’t forget to give this native son a call. I need to get another raise from Memphis.”

There was also the AAU Tournament down in Houston, where O.J. Mayo went to play with the Miami AAU team (Nike sponsored over the Reebok supported JamFest). Some of the talent there has Pitt’s attention as well (not that I’m sure there were any Pitt coaches to send down there to watch them.

Luis Colon, Miami Tropics — His high school coach Shakey Rodriguez said Kansas State, UMass, UConn, Pitt and Purdue are contenders for the 6-foot-10, 260-pound center’s signature late in the game.
…
Demitri McCamey, Illinois Wolves — Big, strong and tough, the 6-foot-4 guard is a load to defend in the backcourt. With his size, he’s tough to stop on the glass, too. He said UConn, Kentucky, Illinois, Wake Forest, Pitt, Clemson, Virginia and DePaul are all interested.

Colon plays both Center and Power Forward. He’s a 3-star prospect who would appear to be something of a project. Seems to have interest from schools, but as a fallback (not actual offers yet) if higher ranked prospects don’t commit soon during this signing period.

McCamey is a point guard prospect for the class of 2007. He’s a 4-star and considered the 13th best PG out there, and #92 overall.