After I got over my initial self-righteous annoyance at seeing Luke Winn rank Pitt 8th behind Wisconsin and G-town, no less, I had to admit the write-up made me laugh.
One of the weirdest moments of the summer was center Aaron Gray‘s noon-hour workout for NBA scouts during the pre-draft camp in Orlando. A crowd of nearly 60 scouts showed up to see a legit 7-footer who was a force in the Big East last season … and the crowd dwindled to less than 20 by the time it was over. It was a boring, 45-minute session, and there was no free lunch served, but it was a little awkward to watch. Every time a scout hit the door, though, I imagined a Pitt cheering section erupting with chants of “One More Year” and “Big East Champs.”
Well… yeah.
Gary Parrish at Sportsline poses questions for various teams, and in a roundabout way responds to Seth Davis’ question about Pitt.
15. Can Mike Cook be the go-to scorer Pittsburgh needs? There will come a time when Pitt has to throw the ball to the wing, isolate a guy and let him try to get a bucket to win a game. If Jamie Dixon is fortunate, Cook will develop into that guy for the Panthers. Prior to transferring from East Carolina, he scored 15.0 points per game and always showed the ability to get into the lane and create shots. If that attribute transferred with Cook to the Big East, Pittsburgh will be a legit Final Four contender.
I guess I don’t worry overmuch about that, since I also have confidence in Ramon taking the shot and even Fields. I also like the idea of Sam Young driving to the hoop. I just think this whole “you need that one key guy to get the rock” is a tad overrated.
On the positive, this ESPN Chat with Aaron Gray (hat tip to Matt).
Ryan Jefferson Hills, PA: Whats up Aaron. How does transfer Mike Cook fit into the lineup? I am guessing he may start at the 3 or be the first guy off the bench?
Aaron Gray: He’s the man. I love playing with Mike Cook. He’s a fierce competitor and understands the game. As far as who plays and how much they play, that’s the difficult decision that Coach Dixon will have to make. I have confidence that he’ll make all the good decisions.
Paul (San Diego): Aaron, how are you going to avoid falling into the trap of listening to the hype and looking ahead to the NBA vice focusing on the season ahead?
Aaron Gray: Two things. No. 1, I understand there’s a lot of things I need to improve upon. By no means do I think I’m as good as I’m going to be. The second thing, just in coming back, my main goal is winning. I’m not interested in if a game improves my stock or not. Just in winning.
Will, Pitt: Being on Pitt’s campus I’ve seen the basketball team out in the public a lot as a TEAM. Do you think the commemoratory of this year?s team is the best since you’ve been here? Over the past few years there’s been discussion over the lack of chemistry. How has that changed?
Aaron Gray: I think by far this is the best year we’ve had for team chemistry. We’re like a family. When we’re on the court, we push each other. We’re so competitive that sometimes practices end in fights. But when we leave the court, we’re a family. It’s always hard to find just one of us on campus. When we’re out, there’s at least two of us or three or eight of us.
Stacy (Pitt Alum!): Who will step up to replace Krauser this year?
Aaron Gray: There’s so many things that Krauser did. Team leader, toughness. He seemed to always put us over the edge when facing adversity. But this year we have so much talent and experience that hopefully we can pick it up just fine, without too much of a dropoff.
Looking forward to November and the opening tip.
