Andy Katz puts that good relationship with Coach Jamie Dixon to use with his blog post for today.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is protecting his investment and will accompany junior center Aaron Gray to Orlando on Wednesday for a workout currently scheduled for Thursday in front of NBA personnel.

Gray will be in town for a physical at the Orlando predraft camp, but will have the private workout instead of participating in the camp. Dixon said the schedule still isn’t set, but that this was the best-case scenario to put Gray on display. Gray had considered going through a workout in the Northeast, but couldn’t settle on a date or place.

Gray is considered by most NBA personnel to be a first-round pick. How high he could go is still unknown. In a one-on-none workout, Gray’s athleticism issue likely won’t be solved. It’s not known how drill and skill work will move him up, but NBA folks have seen these kinds of workouts from big men for years.

Well, if he is almost a 1st round lock, then it will come down to a decision of whether he wants to finish his education now and see what can happen on the court with Pitt this year or just go with the money now. Not an easy decision.

Katz also notes that ESPN, CBS and the Big East are all watching this decision carefully since it will effect the games shown and who will be the favorite in the BE this season.

Bonus Non-Con Schedule Alert: Katz’s blog also said that Pitt will be playing a neutral court game at Madison Square Garden against South Carolina on December 21. This will be the early game before Gonzaga-Duke. Pitt just completed a home-and-home with South Carolina winning both games

Well, Apparently ESPNU will be providing some coverage (via Cracked Sidewalks) of the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp from 4-7 tomorrow and Thursday, though, the program schedule says 5-8 (What? And miss “Around the Horn”?). NBA TV is also supposed have coverage.

Okay, I haven’t had a chance to even do much more than an occassional trip to the driving range since my daughter was born 4 years ago. So, I should be the last to criticize a swing. But…

^{Photo by The Times / Lucy Schaly}

That is Sean Gilbert playing his very first golf tournament.

A football player for much of his adult life, Gilbert was one of 65 or so sports personalities who played in the 14th annual Tony Dorsett/McGuire Memrial Celebrity Golf Classic. Many of the celebs who played Treesdale – half the field teed it up at Diamond Run Golf Club – were ex-gridiron behemoths like Freedom native Jimbo Covert, the ex-Pitt All-American tackle, or Pete Johnson, the former bowling-ball running back who played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

According to the story, among other things Gilbert owns a ‘Big & Tall’ men’s clothing store. Did no one mention that vertical stripes are more slimming?

Rivals.com and Scout.com have their top-100 lists for this year’s class.

They vary at more than a few places. Pitt commit Pat Bostick is #20 on Scout and #70 on Rivals. Chris Jacobson makes the list at Scout at #80 and not at all on Rivals.

Other notables, from a quick look.

Nick Sukay — #74 Scout and #94 Rivals.
Toney Clemons — #84 Scout and NR Rivals
Stefan Wisniewski — #78 Scout and NR Rivals

Take them for whatever they are worth.

The NBA Pre-Draft Camp gets underway today. In case you have forgotten, Carl Krauser is still trying to get drafted. According to this list he did receive an invite and will play in the games. Regarding Aaron Gray, you can read into this what you want, but take note:

Some well-known names currently are not on the list. These are players who are still technically on the fence as to whether they’re staying in the draft, but aren’t committing to Orlando or weren’t invited. That list includes: Pitt junior center Aaron Gray, UCLA sophomore guard Arron Afflalo, Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas, Colorado sophomore guard Richard Roby, Villanova sophomore guard Kyle Lowry and George Washington junior guard Carl Elliott.

Lowry is expected to work out in front of NBA personnel on Wednesday. Gray is scheduled to be in Orlando for the physical-only portion of the camp and could end up having a workout outside of the draft camp.

Looking at the players in the company with Gray of not receiving a formal invite, I read that to mean that they just weren’t going to waste a space for players they knew weren’t going to play in the games. That they would only be there for measurements.

Going back to Krauser. He has worked out for the Celtics and the Raptors as part of a group for each. Strangely he has worked in a trip to the Virgin Islands as part of an exhibition game.

Sun Stroke Promotions has brought well-known streetballers to St. Croix in past years to challenge V.I. basketball players in showcase games. The local players haven’t fared too well in those matchups.

The locals will try again Saturday when Sun Stroke hosts streetball entertainers and AND 1 Mixtape Tour legends at Central High School’s Ronald Charles Gymnasium. As always, the streetballers will have cooler nicknames, but the V.I. players might just have enough talent to win.

…

Former University of Pittsburgh star Carl Krauser, whose father, Mario Krauser, is a St. Croix native and still has family ties to the island, is set to come in and lead the local squad against their high-flying, hot-dogging opponents. Krauser, a 6-foot-2 guard, was a second team All-Big East selection in each of his final three years at Pitt and was named team MVP after his senior season. He is projected as a possible second-round pick in this summer’s NBA draft.

Joining Krauser on the local squad will be former University of Oklahoma center Jabari Brown of St. Thomas, and ABA Summer League stars Kwame Bonelli and Jeff Roberts. Point guard Kareem Degrasse, Karl John and Andre McIntosh highlight the team’s local contingent.

Have to admit, never read anything before about his Virgin Island ties. Not a bad way to help pay the bills in the time leading up to the draft. Wish I knew who won the game.