Just starting to immerse myself in the DirecTV. Yay. Naturally I pick the week when the teams have to actually be students and take finals. Not a lot of games this week. Still, I have the DVR, have all the local Fox channels. Definitely better.

Just to pass this from the Andy Katz chat (Insider subs.).

Rusty(Long Beach, NY): How about Buffalo this weekend? That was a tough loss. Do you think that they will be better in the MAC than people anticipated? Thanks

Andy Katz: Yes. Buffalo already has a neutral court win over Miami, too. Still, that was a home game. I always believed Buffalo was going to be a tough out at home. Reggie Witherspoon helped save that program after taking over once the season already started a few years back.

…

Bob (Pittsburgh): Hey Andy, even though they’re ranked #2, the Panthers have not looked dominant. Are the expectations for this team too high or are we actually that good? Each year Panthers fans’ hopes are built up and then crushed. Will this year be any different?

Andy Katz: Please don’t get hung up on rankings. They mean NOTHING. Pitt has the talent, the toughness, the defense, and the depth to win the title.

A couple of stories I haven’t had a chance to link that are still interesting or worth noting.

Going back to Buffalo, a little bit of history regarding how Curtis Aiken got from Buffalo to the ‘Burgh.

Aiken was so sure he was attending Kansas that he called a news conference to announce a verbal commitment. But after longtime Kansas coach Tom Owens was replaced by Larry Brown, Aiken was advised to re-open his recruitment. Aiken’s grandmother raised him and was getting up in age so he wanted to stay close to home.

Aiken considered Syracuse but the Orangemen had already signed point guard Dwayne “Pearl” Washington. The best option was Pitt.

“[Washington] and I had a strong rivalry and I wanted it to continue,” said Aiken, who scored 1,200 points and handed out 378 assists. “Pitt was the best fit for me because I thought I could have the biggest impact and it turned out to be a good situation for me.”

Aiken, who is a friend and neighbor of Dixon’s, said Dixon likes local players because of their toughness and their head-in-your-chest defense.

“He respects the players that come out of Buffalo because they’re not only talented, but they’re never going to back down,” Aiken said. “They’ll get up in your face, play “D’ 94 feet. That’s the kind of kids he tries to recruit and Buffalo produces those kinds of kids. That’s why he wanted Paul Harris in the worst way.”

Since there are plenty of comments about the physical development of Antonio Graves and other Pitt players, the article from yesterday about Pitt basketball’s strength and conditioning program is worth reading.

One reason for the staying power of the undefeated, No. 2-ranked Pitt men’s basketball team is the behind-the-scenes work of members of the team’s conditioning and nutritional programs.

Pitt strength coach Tim Beltz and UPMC nutritionist Leslie Bonci provide the players with a game plan to either gain or lose weight — depending on which will enhance their play — while adding muscle mass.

“It is unique that we take weight off and change their bodies,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “We’ve had a lot of success in that area.”

The conditioning plan has helped a program that doesn’t often land high school All-Americans and top-20 recruits to become one of the nation’s most consistent teams.

While on the subject of Graves, it is interesting to recall the circumstances of how he got to Pitt (since that has been a question recently). Pitt had a commit from Walter Walters out of Detroit. He was struggling to qualify academically, and with the change in coaches, bailed in August 2003. This opened the door for Pitt to recruit a back-up point guard for Pitt. Especially with a recruiting class that had two big men in Taft and Gray and a forward in Dante Milligan.

Milligan of course eventually transferred to UMass because of lack of playing time. Where he is now playing under 15 minutes a night off the bench. Walters failed out at Cleveland State. Chris Taft left early, and after an unfortunate back injury is now out of the NBA. Quite the “where are they now?” for the class of ’03.
This late opening for a recruit timed out just right as Antonio Graves had finally qualified academically. Graves was an all-Ohio first teamer, but had his offers limited by academic issues. Teams like Rutgers and Charlotte were the only offers until he qualified. At which time, Pitt beat out Cinci and Ohio State for his services.

Since Graves signing with Pitt happened the same month PittSportsBlather began, there’s always been a bit of fondness for Graves at the Blather.

Well, it is that time of the year. The recruiting stuff picks up and the newspapers which try to keep an arms length from such sordid stuff, begin reporting on it with little else going on in college football. Story on the linebacker commits over the weekend.

Lindsey is looking forward to settling in at linebacker.

“It’s going to be an easy transition now that I only have to play one position,” Lindsey said. “I’m still learning. In the next two or three years, though, I should be one of the top players in the country. I’m quick to the ball, I get off blocks well and I have a nose for the ball.”

The 6-foot, 206-pound Roberts, who chose Pitt over Bowling Green, also played linebacker for the first time as a senior after spending his junior year at safety. Roberts, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, met Sunday morning with Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who also will coach linebackers next season.

“That’s what they kept emphasizing, that they need linebackers with speed who can recognize plays,” said Roberts, who has a 4.1 grade-point average and scored 1,390 on the SAT.

It didn’t hurt that Roberts had a Pitt connection. His father, Richard Roberts, is a first cousin of former Pitt defensive backs Tim Lewis and Louis Riddick.

It also appears that Shariff Harris, a RB out of New Jersey will make his verbal to Pitt today — must have been a good time for the recruits this past weekend. Harris is a 2- to 3-star recruit with offers from UConn and BC.

The coaching carousel has opened things up for Derek Moye, the 3-star WR out of Rochester (PA). He seemed rather set on going to BC, but with O’Brien going to NC State, things have changed. He’s not just looking at NC State now, but also PSU, Michigan State and Pitt.

Meanwhile, Kyle Hubbard out of St. Edwards in Lakewood, OH (Cleveland subub) is still firm in his verbal to Pitt.

“The biggest influence I had was Joe Thomas,” said Hubbard, referring to St. Edward’s former All-Ohio offensive lineman, who starts at guard as a true freshman for Pittsburgh. “He was in my ear all day [during the visit] – ‘Pitt, Pitt, Pitt is it.’ I went down there on my official visit and just loved it, because it’s a lot like Cleveland. The people are the same, dedicated fans and such.

“People have asked me if I go to Pitt, who am I going to root for, the Browns or the Steelers? I said I’m just going to stay neutral and go to the game.”

The 6-5, 220-pound Hubbard, who totaled nearly 60 receptions over the past two seasons, said Minnesota and Kentucky also were high on his list and North Carolina and its new coach – former Browns head man Butch Davis – are making a late pitch to get him to make a visit. But he says his commitment is to Pittsburgh. Hubbard also is a mainstay on St. Edward’s highly ranked basketball team.

Just hard to believe a Cleveland kid would consider Butch Davis.