Yes, as earlier noted in comments in the prior post, Brandon Lindsey committed to Pitt from da ‘Quip. Pitt beat out WVU, BC and Michigan State for his services. He is expected to play OLB at Pitt. Scout.com ranks him as a 4-star and 10th best recruit for SLB. Rivals.com puts him at 3-star and #34 at the OLB. They also put him as the 14th best prospect in Pennsylvania (the Pantherlair ranking isn’t too different at #13).

Pitt also received another linebacker commit. Tristan Roberts out of Pennridge in Perkasie, PA (Eastern side 35 miles north of Philly). Roberts is a 2-star by both services, otherwise unranked recruit with some speed at the weakside linebacker spot. Roberts was part of the group visiting Pitt this weekend along with Lindsey and Maurice Williams. I’m guessing the speed he posessed interested Pitt. His only other actual offer to this point was from Bowling Green. UConn, UNC and Rutgers had some interest but no actual offers.

Update: This article on HS football in suburban Philly notes in passing that Tristan Roberts “was a one-man wrecking crew,” for Pennridge. Of course, Roberts was also playing running back as well, so it’s hard to say which side of the ball they are referring.

I think this win is very good for Pitt if the team is fully aware that they are going to get every team’s best shot. This is the year, everyone knows who they are and wants to be the one to take them down. This is the year, they have a chance to move into UConn/Syracuse territory. The marquee Big East team everyone else is circling on the schedule to see and measure against. They got that today. If they don’t learn that lesson, then it was just a win, but not much else.
Buffalo is a good team. They did lose badly to Evansville, but also took out Temple and Miami (FL) (who has beaten GT). The Bulls have gotten into the NIT and actually won there. The Buffalo players expected to win and were disappointed with falling short.

“It’s bitter,” Idbihi said. “We had a chance to beat the No. 2 team in the country. We have a feeling that we just gave it away.”

Pitt led in the game for maybe 5 minutes. Of course, all that matters is leading at 00:00.

One thing that helped Pitt really comeback, was the fact that Buffalo took and missed so many  3s in the second half. They were only 1-11. That allowed Pitt to keep playing the deliberate style that keeps the tempo down the way they like.

Some of why Buffalo rushed shots had to do with fatigue. Their 5 starters logged 181 out of the possible 200 minutes. Pitt had the starters go only 153 minutes and 8 players had double-digit playing time.

Sorry to be late. Lots of work to do today.

Not a great showing in the first half. Down 42-35. Buffalo is hot. Really hot. The Pitt offense got off to a horrible start. Down by 11 several times. It also sounds as if the defense was quite shaky (to be kind). Mike Cook seems to be the one that kept Pitt in the game. Taking over for key shots and making some nice passes to the open man. Pitt got it within 5 with a few minutes left, then fell back.

Dick Groat sounds like he’s going to lose it about how bad the Pitt defense is playing in a 2-3 zone. Pitt got out of it shortly before the half. Didn’t seem to make that much of a difference.

Let’s see what happens in the second half.
FINAL UPDATE: Okay. 70-67 Pitt wins on a comeback.
As Dave in Orlando pointed out, Pitt has to know every team is going to come at them with the best shot.

Buffalo was a good team that really wanted it. Pitt made a slow steady comeback. Not a flurry or an extended run. Just a slow steady climb out of the hole they dug for themselves.

This is a good win, as long as Pitt realizes they just cannot take any team lightly. They have a week off to get ready for Wisconsin (oh, and take finals).

Hey folks, sorry to go dead without warning yesterday. It surprised me. The DSL went out yesterday. That was a day early. We are finally getting back into our house this weekend and the DSL was to be switched over today. Seems AT&T went a day early. Posting may be spotty this weekend. Roughly 72 hours until DirecTV arrives. Not that I’m clock watching or anything.
Thankfully, this is basketball season and Denis at Pitt Hoops is there to provide a fix as well. Don’t forget about him.

Fire away.

A good piece about Aaron Gray from Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News.

If Gray had really wanted to be in the draft, the body he wore to those workouts would have looked like — well, like the one he’s wearing now for the promising Panthers. Most players show up for pro tryouts having trained so hard they look like a combination of Lance Armstrong and The Rock. Gray looked like he had stopped for a cheeseburger at the Hard Rock Cafe.

“I wasn’t committed to going in the draft. I wasn’t committed to coming back to school,” says Gray, a 7-footer who is an old-fashioned, low-post big man. “Me, once I’m committed to doing something, I put 100 percent effort into it.”

Now, NBA scouts who were indifferent about Gray last June are raving about his conditioning, his understanding of the game and his impact on the Panthers.

“I came back for this team,” Gray says. “I didn’t come back to improve my draft status or show people I can do what they think I can’t.”

Now, Gray’s body language is telling you Pitt might be a Final Four team.

The article then breaks down some different parts of Gray’s game and conditioning that have improved. Needless to say, this is the kind of article you enjoy reading in full.

Game 75, and Pitt is favored by 27 points. Pitt is 43-31 vs. the Stage Magicians and hasn’t lost in Oakland to Duquesne since 1982. Feel the energy.

While Pitt’s program is rolling, Duquesne has enjoyed only one winning season in the past 20 and none since 1993-94. It doesn’t figure to change this year. Only two players returned from a team that endured an atrocious 3-24 season.

After opening with a pair of victories following a chaotic period that included the shooting of five players near the Dukes’ home court, Palumbo Center, it has been 2 1/2 weeks since Everhart’s team has enjoyed success.

The Duquesne team is just a wee bit on the inexperienced side.

Duquesne is the one of the youngest, dressing only two healthy players with Division I experience prior to this season.

How inexperienced is Duquesne compared to Pitt?

Panthers junior Mike Cook has started nearly as many Division I games (47) as every healthy player on the Duquesne active roster combined (51).

And as previously noted, the Dukes have no size to match Aaron Gray.

Another story on how Pitt assistant, Mike Rice, Jr. grew up rooting against Pitt as the son of the Stage Magicians’ Coach.

Some of the players from both teams remember going against each other in the AAU games of NY.

The Panthers have five players from New York: 6-foot-1 Ronald Ramon (Bronx), Levance Fields (Brooklyn), 6-2 Keith Benjamin (Mount Vernon), 6-8 Tyrell Biggs (Nanuet) and 6-9 Austin Wallace (Bronx).

The Dukes have two active players from New York: 6-6 freshman Robert Mitchell (Brooklyn) and 6-3 Stephen Wood (Queens). They also have two Brooklyn natives sitting out this season under transfer rules: 6-9 Shawn James (Northeastern) and 6-2 KoJo Mensah (Siena).

The Duquesne New Yorkers and the Pitt New Yorkers know each other from high school competition, AAU ball in the summer and age-group tournaments that attracted some of the top talent on the East Coast.

Fields, Biggs and Wallace were members of the AAU Gauchos; Wood and Mitchell were on the Metro Hawks.

That should juice the rivalry.

Not that anyone is looking past this game. Afterall, you need to take them one game at a time.

Pitt junior guard Keith Benjamin isn’t looking ahead to the highly ranked Badgers, however, because that could cause some problems.

“We look at every game as a test for us,” he said. “Every game is different, and we have to get up for every game. We don’t want to be the team that loses when we have a chance to be No. 1, so it’s great for everyone. And we’re going to keep working hard to reach that goal.”

Game time is 7:30, er 9 pm (whoops).

No matter how often you think you’ve solved the problem, they just survive and keep coming back.

Mike Kent, the strength and conditioning coach is gone, and the early favorite is one few would object and many would support — Buddy Morris.

Wannstedt is said to have a short list of strength and conditioning coach candidates with Buddy Morris, the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Buffalo, at the top of the list. Morris was the strength and conditioning coach at Pitt from 1980-90 and also from 1997-2001 and is a favorite among many key alumni, particularly many former Pitt football players.

The guy’s an interesting character.

Kevin Gorman picks up on the idea that Rhoads could be being set up for big trouble having to coach the linebackers.

Rhoads’ reprieve comes with a twist. After seven years as secondary coach, he will now be in charge of linebackers. Rhoads inherits a corps facing a major overhaul, as the Panthers lose starters Brian Bennett, H.B. Blades and Clint Session to graduation and are expected to play several freshmen next season.

Rhoads could not be reached for comment.

These will be redshirt freshmen. Guys Wannstedt recruited and has been telling us will be the foundation for the future. Think there won’t be more than a little pressure on him to make sure there are noticeable improvement? Wannstedt’s whole excuse is that the talent isn’t there. Now it is supposed to start showing and impacting.
The fact that Rhoads could not be reached for comment is typical. He had some duties changed and a member of his coaching staff was removed. Can’t get out there and make any comments. It’s not going to be nice friendly questions to him. If it isn’t lauding him or praising him, there is nothing from him.

Unbelievable. No, not that. The sad thing is, I can believe it.

University of Pittsburgh head football coach Dave Wannstedt announced changes to his assistant staff today, including the departures of two coaches and the reassignment of another.

Linebackers coach Curtis Bray and strength and conditioning coach Mike Kent will leave the Pitt staff to pursue other opportunities. Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who has coached the secondary since 2000, will change his positional focus to linebackers. Rhoads will continue to coordinate the Panthers’ defense.

“Having been a coordinator for a significant part of my career, I know the advantages of having your linebacker coach, who is involved in defending both the run and the pass, also serve as defensive coordinator,” Wannstedt said. “Having Paul make this positional switch will better serve our entire defensive unit and help us put more emphasis on our rushing defense.

“In addition to hiring a secondary coach, I anticipate we will be making additional appointments on our strength and conditioning staff. I plan on interviewing strength coach candidates this weekend and expect to have someone in place by Christmas. This will enable our off-season program to begin full-speed when our players return the first week of January.”

Oh, I take it back again. The one thing Rhoads can do well is coach the secondary. It’s how he made his reputation. It’s the one area he’s helped recruit well.

Rhoads joined the Panthers after serving the prior five seasons (1995-99) at Iowa State, where he was the secondary coach his last four years after coaching the inside linebackers in 1995. Rhoads also assisted with the Cyclones’ special teams.

Prior to Iowa State, Rhoads spent three years at Pacific (1992-94), serving as the defensive backs coach and, in his final season, coordinator of the Tigers’ pass defense. In 1993, Pacific ranked 20th nationally, allowing just 152 yards passing per game. Rhoads began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State (1991) and Utah State (1989-90), working with the secondary at both schools.

One season in his entire coaching career where he coached inside linebackers. Aside from that, it’s been in the secondary. So now, he’s going to oversee the linebackers and stay focused on the entire defense.  Stunning.

I’m really struggling with this. I’m not sure whether Bray earned the right to stay, there’s been nothing in the development of Clint Session and outside of H.B. Blades there is little else of note at the position. So it’s hard to say he should stay. It’s never easy to fire an alum — and leaving “to pursue other opportunities” is clearly a firing.

There’s this ridiculously cynical, tinfoil hat-esque conspiracy thought that I can’t help but have. 2007 is going to be a struggle — as everyone says. 2008 is the big year where Wannstedt has to show something of a major step forward with the program. He’ll have had 3 years coaching and recruiting his players. Fans will not buy anymore excuses, the schedule is going to be as favorable as you can hope. It is the year he has to achieve, because even if he gets another year or two as coach, the fans won’t be there.
Paul Rhoads is a popular figure with the administration and the athletic department and has a contract, making him one of the few assistants where Wannstedt may not be able to  just cut him loose.
Is it a stretch to think that Wannstedt is setting Rhoads up for abject failure to allow him to get rid of him after a lost/(another) step back year? Then either hire a new DC or take it over himself for 2008 and look like he figured a lot out.

Tommie Campbell will be the only returning starting LB. The secondary is going to be worse without Revis back there. Who knows what to think the D-line will look like.
Yeah, I’m not buying it either. I really look forward to seeing the linebackers playing 5-8 yards off the line of scrimmage in the patented “bend but don’t break” defense.

Nice.

The days of scrambling around Western Pennsylvania looking for a place to watch Pitt men’s basketball games are over. Starting with Duquesne on Wednesday, 22 of the Panthers’ 23 regular-season games are televised, either on CBS, Fox Sports Pittsburgh or ESPN. Only a couple of Pitt’s first eight games were on local TV. The only non-televised game the rest of the season is Florida A&M on Dec. 30.

According to the Pitt schedule, even that game is on FSN/ESPN regional.

The City Game is tomorrow. Just not hearing the buzz. What ever happened to that spirit of the 70s? You mean to tell me no one is jazzed for a contest Pitt has won 24 of the last 27 times? This is the 75th meeting. The Diamond celebration. Uh, yeah.

Duquesne is 2-4 with losses to Robert Morris and Oakland. Their tallest player is 6’9″, a senior who plays less than 12 minutes per game. Otherwise they don’t have a starter over 6’6″

Is it any wonder the only stories are peripheral ones.

Pitt Assistant Coach and former player Orlando Antigua relating to the gunshot wound to the head of the Duquesne player from the fall; and reaching out to Sam Ashalou.

Another Pitt assistant coach, Mike Rice, Jr., is the son of a former Duquesne head coach and can recall a childhood of actual meaningful City Games. Now, they are supporting Pitt.

Mike Rice Sr., who went 4-3 against Pitt and took the Dukes to a pair of NIT bids, has worked as a television analyst for the Portland Trail Blazers for the past 15 years.

“My mother and father called me last night,” Rice said Monday. “They said, ‘Take it easy on the alma mater. Take it easy on Duquesne.’ ”

All of the Rice clan are Pitt fans these days, even if mom and dad would prefer a competitive game tomorrow. When one of Rice Sr.’s former Duquesne captains, Rod Scott, recently saw his old coach walking around wearing a Pitt jacket and hat, he nearly stopped in his tracks.

That’s a loyal dad.

Pitt football had its award banquet the other night. Team honors mostly went to the players you would expect.

The various All-American or All-Big East teams are also being released (the Big East “official” All-Big East teams will be announced tomorrow).

Scout.com put H.B. Blades on their second-team All-American squad. Freshman Offensive Guard Joe Thomas was a 1st team Freshman All-American.

Thomas was named a 2nd team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News, along with teammate WR Oderick Turner. Darrelle Revis was named as a 3d team All-American team as a “utility player.” That’s what happens when no one throws his way after the first couple of games and a sub-par year as a punt returner.

Pitt is #2 in both polls. Actually receiving #1 votes.

A Buffalo sportswriter who is anticipating Pitt’s visit this weekend thinks Pitt is #1.

Full disclosure: I have been one of the 72 voters on the Associated Press basketball poll for several years. It is a task I take seriously, spending several hours during the week following scores and trends before voting on Sunday nights. But I would not do it if the polls helped determine who made the NCAA Tournament come March (poll rankings are not used by the selection committee when choosing schools).

Our weekly task got quite a bit juicier this week because I can’t stop myself from looking ahead to Saturday afternoon when No. 2 Pittsburgh, my No. 1 pick for two straight ballots, comes to Alumni Arena to meet the University at Buffalo.

We just don’t get this chance for an in-the-flesh view of a team that high in the polls very often.

…

Besides, I’m not a coach or player. I’m allowed to look ahead. I know there are plenty of people at UB already doing the same thing and there’s no way for coach Reggie Witherspoon to slow down the buildup.

You can even go on Facebook.com and find plugs for a “Reggieville” tent city that’s planning to sprout outside Alumni on Friday afternoon so students can get the best seats when the doors open the next day.

Two days before his team dismantled Niagara on Saturday night, I couldn’t resist asking Witherspoon about Pitt. He laughed at me. I deserved it, too. It’s normally a journalistic no-no to ignore the next game and ask about another one.

Not this time. Witherspoon understood.

“It’s a college campus with 30,000 people running through here on a daily basis,” Witherspoon said. “I’m reasonably sure you’re not the only one thinking about it. If you’re a student and a college basketball fan, you’re probably watching ESPN and that means you’re hearing the typical talk about who’s No. 1. So there’s going to be a lot of talk around. Our job is to not pay attention.”

Pittsburgh will be the highest-ranked team ever to visit Alumni and the highest-ranked visitor to a Big 4 school since No. 1 Massachusetts came to St. Bonaventure in 1995 and 1996.

Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News also listed Pitt as his #1 team (at the very bottom he lists his top-10).

Sorry about the quiet again. Just be happy I’m not posting the ultrasound images.

I’m sure you read the local stories on Pitt’s win over Auburn. Interesting that Coach Dixon is now stating that Sam Young’s knee is giving him trouble. As I recall he hurt it over the summer. Is it an excuse? Is it real? Considering that Dixon and Pitt haven’t hidden injuries before — though they have downplayed occasionally (Remember Julius Page’s ankle all of the ’03-’04 season?) — I don’t think it’s an excuse. I think that Pitt was hoping that it would be getting better by now. It hasn’t and it is obvious that there is something wrong.

Now for the Southern takes. Auburn feels like it missed a big chance.

“It was frustrating we didn’t win the game,” Lebo said. “We were gutty. We battled hard and did some good things out there.

“We’ve gotten better. The kids were ready to play. That’s all I can ask of them.”

Auburn was planning for this game and to go inside and use quickness.

A lot of that was because of Korvotney Barber and Josh Dollard, a pair of 6-7 inside players for the Tigers. Barber finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three blocks, while Dollard had had 14 points and 12 boards.

“Coach told us all week that (Gray) is a big body, but he’s slow,” Dollard said. “We tried to use our quickness to get around him and outwork him. That’s what we tried to do.”

It didn’t help that Auburn shot 3s a lot like how Pitt shot 3s against Robert Morris last week.

Coach Dixon was impressed by the improvement from Auburn from last year to this year.

“I’ve seen this team improve from last year to this year,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “I think about us eight years ago when we came to Pitt and had to play a lot of young guys and got better each year. Coach (Jeff) Lebo has this thing going. They’re going in that direction.”

The loss left Auburn players feeling frustrated after coming so close to a signature victory.

“It’s frustrating knowing we could have beaten the No. 2 team in the country,” Auburn forward Korvotney Barber said. “We made mistakes here and there and just couldn’t beat them.”

The question with any SEC school that seems to take athletic success as a birthright regardless of the situation is if they will give Jeff Lebo will be given enough time. This is his 3d year of a rebuilding job. Things seem to be improving, but patience is another issue. Especially with Alabama a top-10 team.

SI On Campus has a feature called “Monday Awards.” A look back at the past week in college games. One of the new features is a basketball “power poll.” For top-10 teams they give the partisan blogger for that school a chance to comment about the past week. Despite not quite getting the my name right, I got to summarize Pitt who was slotted at #2.