We’ll get back to football soon, but there was other stuff in basketball worth mentioning. Thankfully, it isn’t like I’m posting this just to try and forget about football.

Nothing like the advantage of hosting recruits for a 1-A football game. It helped finish the job and get a commit out of Indiana.

Don’t talk to Gary McGhee about basketball-crazed Indiana, his home state. The 6-foot-10, 238-pound senior center from Anderson Highland High School has turned his thoughts elsewhere after giving Pitt a verbal commitment Sunday.

In doing so, the preseason all-state big man spurned offers from Indiana’s beloved Hoosiers, as well as Big Ten Conference rival Wisconsin.

…

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon and assistant Orlando Antigua in recent weeks kept a close eye on McGhee, who attended the Pitt football team’s 38-13 victory over Virginia on Saturday night at Heinz Field.

“I was just impressed over how everybody is a family there,” McGhee said. “The players are close, the coaches are real cool. I just liked the whole day.”

McGhee said he’ll fit in at Pitt and he pointed to current star center Aaron Gray and his predecessor, Chris Taft, as examples of how big men with the Panthers can succeed.

Taft was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 2006, and Gray, who turned down a chance to enter the NBA draft after his junior year, is expected to be a high first-round pick next year.

“I’ve seen how they turned Aarron and Chris into pros,” McGhee said. “I play with intensity and aggressiveness and I love to play defense and rebound.”

Gary McGee is listed as a 3-star recruit by both Scout.com and Rivals.com. Rivals has already slotted him as a top 150 player in the country (#123). They also consider him the 11th best Center prospect and 9th best prospect out of Indiana.

Pitt is now free to focus on DeJuan Blair at Schenley.

There was also a Q&A with Levance Fields.

Q: Was your performance at the end of last season a sign of things to come?

Fields: I definitely think it is. I’m not trying to be a big-time scorer. With all of the returning guys we have, my job is to get everyone involved. If my shot is falling I’ll look to score, but my main job is to get everyone involved.

…

Q: Will this year’s team make it to the Final Four?

Fields: I would love to say yes, but I’m going to stay humble. But I will say we have all the tools to get there. If everything goes right, we definitely can get to the Final Four.

Q: Which team from the Big East do you dislike the most?

Fields: I dislike all of them. But I would have to say St. John’s. They recruited me and it was between them and Pitt. I know a lot of people will say West Virginia, Syracuse or UConn. But St. John’s beat us last year and I’m mad about that.

St. John’s has always been a big thorn in the side for Pitt. He hedges a bit on what the team can do, but there are a lot that definitely think Pitt has the chance to pull it off.

Another reason why Pittsburgh will be favored to win the Big East Conference: the addition of swingman Mike Cook to Coach Jamie Dixon’s roster.

The 6-4 Cook averaged 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists over 55 games during the 2003-05 seasons at East Carolina.

Tack on underrated (nationally) freshmen Gilbert Brown and Austin Wallace to a roster that includes the likes of Aaron Gray and Sam Young and it’s reasonable to believe that this will be the best Pitt team ever.

Pitt has another non-con game set up, it’s on the road and something of a head scratcher.

With sources confirming that Pittsburgh will play at Buffalo on Dec. 9, three Big East schools have now scheduled games in Western New York this season.

Big 4 fans may have to make a tough choice that night, as Niagara also plays host to St. John’s at the Gallagher Center. Syracuse, and Niagara Falls native Paul Harris, will meet Canisius on Nov. 25 at HSBC Arena.

UB, which hasn’t released a schedule yet, declined comment Saturday on whether Pittsburgh will be on it. But, according to multiple sources, the schools will announce as early as Monday that they have signed a contract to play a home-and-home series over the next two seasons.

The Panthers were 25-8 and advanced to the Big East title game last season. They return four starters, including Aaron Gray, a 7-foot, 275-pound center who was the Big East’s most improved player and is being touted by Pittsburgh as an all-America candidate.

Securing a home-and-home series with a Big East member is a coup for the Bulls. Pittsburgh initially wanted to play one game at either a neutral site or a larger venue such as HSBC Arena but UB insisted on playing its home game at Alumni Arena, sources said. The teams will meet next season at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh.

I’m going to chalk this up to Pitt trying to make this something of a recruiting swing in up-state NY or something.