Dennis did a nice recap from the Pittburgh papers on the game. In Chicago, it was all about DePaul coming out flat and slow.

As the night opened, it was apparent, even to DePaul, that the Blue Demons were a step slow, a pace behind.

It could be understood, given the draining two days the team endured leading up to Wednesday night’s game with No. 7 Pittsburgh. Emotional center Lorenzo Thompson’s 43-year-old father died of a heart attack Monday, and that somber mood followed DePaul to Allstate Arena.

The Demons were certain, though, as the night went on, as the nationally televised game against a ranked opponent progressed, the tempo would change, the spring in their step would return.

“Our guys are so good, so I’m thinking eventually we’re going to get into our style of play,” Blue Demons guard Draelon Burns said.

It never happened, and in the end, DePaul limped away with its first loss at home this season, a frustrating 59-49 Big East Conference defeat against the Panthers.

“All the mental mistakes we made, as lazy as we were on offense, we were still right there,” point guard Sammy Mejia said. “It only takes a couple shots to get the momentum. We tried, but we just weren’t the team we needed to be offensively. That’s the worst part, knowing that if we play the way we normally play, we’d have a chance to win. That’s what’s heartbreaking about this.”

Which, of course, is what a good team can do to DePaul. Not let them get into  their comfort. They play a tough defense, but on offense want to score quickly off of transition. They are not effective when they have to play a half-court set.

Part of that was that Pitt made them work much harder than they are used to on defense. With Pitt’s passing and ball movement, the Blue Demons were forced to work much harder and longer on defense than they liked.

“They just are not going to let you run,” coach Jerry Wainwright said. “You have to have people below to help on (Aaron) Gray.”

Hoping to contain the 7-foot Gray, DePaul started both Green and forward Marcus Heard rather than its normal guard-heavy group.

“They started a little bigger,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “We didn’t expect that. … But we can pick things up and make adjustments.”

Gray emerged from a recent scoring slump to finish with 18 points, but DePaul curtailed the Panthers’ other threats. Problem was, the Demons couldn’t carry over their half-court defense to the other end.

DePaul forced 7 first-half turnovers but scored only 8 field goals, notching their second-lowest points total (18) for a half this season.

“We fought and hung in there on the defensive end,” Wainwright said. “But what happens sometimes is we have a tendency to rest on offense.

“Everybody on the team knows I’m really possessed with our defense. What you have to get the kids to understand … is somebody’s offense is their best defense.”

What Pitt didn’t expect — and I mentioned it in game –  not double-teaming Gray.

‘They started big, and we didn’t expect that,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. ”We thought they would double-team a little more [on Gray], and they didn’t initially. But we really defended all the way through, and that was the emphasis for this game. … We did the things we wanted to do offensively and defensively.”

While being frustrated with the way DePaul played, Pitt was held up as an example.

Minutes later, sitting on the platform Mejia just exited, Panthers coach Jamie Dixon offered words of a different tone and they screamed out all the difference in the game just ended.

“It was,” he said speaking of his team, “a very efficient and solid, smart game all the way through. We just came out and did what we wanted to do from the jump offensively and defensively. It was a testament to our guys and our focus.”

Does that define how you go about your business, I asked him later in a hallway.

“Yes, yes,” he said. “And I guess never being satisfied might be thrown in there too. We were smart today, but I think we can get smarter.”

How do you get a team to play with that sense of urgency, I asked.

“It’s practice,” Dixon said. “You don’t do it in a day. You don’t do it for a play. It has to be a constant battle and when [a player’s] not ready to perform, ready to practice, you can’t allow it. A sense of urgency is not a one-day thing.”

We’ll see a lot more of that sense of urgency — there or not — this weekend against Georgetown.

All kinds of numbers after the last night’s game. Among them:

Pitt had made at least nine 3-pointers in each of its past three games, but the Panthers stayed inside the the arc against DePaul. Pitt attempted a season-low eight shots from behind the 3-point line Wednesday night, making three.

That kind of thing will happen when Aaron Gray is getting the ball more. If he gets to the hoop and makes his shots inside then we won’t need to try as many treys.

Levance Fields finished with eight points, snapping his streak of consecutive double-digit scoring games at seven. But the sophomore point guard contributed in other ways, finishing with seven assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

Basically the same thing as above. If he didn’t need to take the shots and could get it into Gray for a higher percentage shot then why not? If he only needs to take seven shots (as opposed to the 15 he took against Syracuse) and Gray is scoring then having Fields score in that 7-10 point range is fine.

Pitt, which has struggled at the free-throw line this season, made them down the stretch. The Panthers converted 9-of-10 free-throw attempts in the final 5 minutes, 24 seconds to seal the win. Pitt entered the game shooting 66.3 percent from the foul-line — 11th in the Big East.

Any time the other team gives us free points we need to convert them.

Other funs stats include:

The Big East season is only a week old, but Pitt (15-2, 3-0) and Providence remain the only unbeaten teams in league play. Providence (12-3, 2-0) plays at Louisville on Saturday. Pitt gets ready for Georgetown, Connecticut and Marquette — all at home — in a nine-day span beginning Saturday.

There were only 10,479 fans in attendance at the Allstate Arena, which seats 18,500.

Coming off of a 59-49 road victory over DePaul last night, the one thing that hits you just from looking at the final score was the defense. The Post-Gazette mantions how the defense really stepped it up as soon as we crossed the threshold into Big East games.

It was almost as if Pitt was programmed for Big East play. As soon as conference play began last week, the Panthers began playing the type of defense that has been associated with the program the past several years.

Levon Kendall says it might have taken a bit longer than usual to get everyone to play together. As with any man-to-man defense, playing as one complete unit is greatly important.

“It took awhile for us all to get on the same page,” senior forward Levon Kendall said.

“We’ve been working on the defense for a while, getting ready for the Big East. That’s usually when we try to step it up.”

Even if they aren’t on the same defensive level as teams of years past, they’ve still done something that those teams did not: hold the opponent under 50 points in consecutive games. Obviously, some of that is going to be help from the other team (missing shots, not being a very good offensive team) but there is still a good deal of credit due to the defense as well.

One player who caught the eye of viewers on the defensive side of the ball is Antonio Graves. In the three Big East games we’ve played now, he’s been assigned to cover the opposing team’s top scorer and in all three games he’s been able to keep his man to under their season average.

As always, Coach Dixon makes sure to say the right thing and gives credit to the entire unit, not just one player.

“Antonio and Keith started on him, but it’s a number of guys switching onto him throughout the game,” Dixon said. “It’s a team thing. You’re not going to guard him with one guy because he’s that good off the dribble. It comes down to a lot of guys doing things. The shots he hit at the end were tough shots. We wanted him to take all tough shots, and I can’t remember him getting an easy one.”

Darrelle Revis held a formal press conference to announce his early entry into the NFL Draft. He was a bit late for his own press conference, but he did apologize.

“I thought he changed his mind,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said, “and that’s why he’s late.”

No such luck for the Panthers, who knew before the 2006 season that it would likely be the Aliquippa junior cornerback’s last in a Pitt uniform. Revis’ junior year only confirmed their suspicions and solidified his decision.

This decision was no shock to anyone.  The shock would have been any decision to stay. I see know reason why he shouldn’t enter the draft now. He is undoubtedly a 1st or 2nd round pick.

Still, the press conference was good to at least read him say all the right things.

“My decision was a difficult one. It is difficult to say goodbye to my teammates and my coaches, but I am excited about the future and what it holds, and I hope I can make the University of Pittsburgh proud.”

…

“I have to get my degree,” Revis said. “My mom is sitting right there and she’s smiling, but she’s serious about it and I am too. That’s one of the goals I want to accomplish as well.”

You know, this was only the second game all season that Pitt’s effective field goal percentage (eFG%) was below 50%. Ken Pomeroy has has added a very useful new feature to his already invaluable site. It’s called the Game Plan. Not only does it chart key tempo-free stats from each game for easy comparison, it looks for correlations to certain stats and how a team does in a game. Something of an explanation about the Game Plan is here. Very intriguing.

It’s kind of funny to read the DePaul players such as Sammy Mejia complain that DePaul didn’t play their own pace. That they let Pitt dictate the tempo.

“We were terrible offensively,” DePaul guard Sammy Mejia said. “We weren’t moving the ball the way we usually do. We played to their pace. We just weren’t the same team we have been in the last month.”

The pace of the game was not particularly fast. Only about 62 possessions/40 minutes for each team. The funny thing about Mejia’s comments is that DePaul plays at nearly the same pace as Pitt. DePaul’s pace is 64.1 (291th) and Pitt’s is 63.7 (298th). It’s not like their pace was significantly slower.

What did happen is that Pitt’s defense kept them from running the offense the way they wanted.

I’ll be watching, and making the occasional comments like I have lately. Feel free to comment away.

7:04: Just dawned on me that the “Allstate Arena” is what used to be called the Rosemont Arena. I saw the Dead there, several times in the early 90s. God, I feel old. Dave O’Brien just pointed out that this is a 6pm local time game, so the crowd is still eating dinner. No they are not. They’re stuck in traffic.

7:09: Pitt leading 4-2 at 15:44. Missed some shots. DePaul has come out looking sloppy and not particularly sharp (to be kind). Wesley Green is a big guy. I’d like to see him take Majerus’ suggestion to take Gray off the dribble that far out — just for the comedy value.

7:20: Pitt leads 11-7 with 10:49 in the half and Benjamin going to the line. Benjamin seeing some good minutes early — and playing well. Just a thought as I watched Biggs take two jumpers including that air-balled wide open look. Early impressions of players is not always fair. Antonio Graves still seems to be taking crap for his admittedly poor play as a younger player. He has been a very, very good player for this whole season; but a lot of people can’t let go of how he played in the past and almost seem waiting for him to revert. Biggs is well on his way to having the same problem. He is not making anyone feel good about his future.

7:27: Fields not playing particularly well tonight. Not holding onto the ball. At least 2 or 3 turnovers, and lucky not to have more. Definitely nice to see Gray trying to be more aggressive. It helps that DePaul is playing more 1-on-1 and giving Gray more space than he’s had.

7:38: Thank you Graves for helping make my earlier point. That was a great move to strip Chandler, floor dive and slap the ball to Benjamin ahead for the slam.

7:44: 28-18 Pitt at the half. It is not exactly guard play tonight. Kind of ugly, but Pitt is doing okay. Have to love that the refs are letting them play. Not saying NBE called the conspiracy, but…

Benjamin has apparently responded to the positive press by playing even harder. Fields seemed a bit sloppy at least to start. Gray probably had to stifle a s**t-eating grin to see that DePaul was going 1-on-1 without anyone dropping to double team everytime he got the ball. Graves is playing solid defense and also getting rewarded on the offensive possessions.

One thing to worry about in the second half. DePaul was only 1-8 on 3s. If they start falling as can often happen from one half to the next, the whole game will change quickly. That will force Pitt to defend further out and free the inside for Chandler and Mejia to drive or just get the ball inside.

8:06: Pitt still leading, but DePaul is more determined this half to try and drag Gray further out from under the net. Graves is playing some great defense in this game. Kendall is looking a little better this game. Mike Cook really is making an effort to crash the boards for rebounds this game. Too bad he forgot to warn his teammates — there have been a couple collisions and balls knocked away from each other.

8:16: Pitt now up 40-26, 11:55 left. DePaul has remained cold behind the 3 (2-14 now). Majerus comments makes it hard to give be positive to Kendall. Way too effusive, but let’s be honest. Kendall is definitely playing a better game tonight. The kind of game I expected to see from him most of the season. Fields has settled down and playing a lot better.

8:21: Pitt calls a good time out when Benjamin was trapped in the corner (11:13) with two guys on him. Nice work by Benjamin not to pick up the pivot foot. Annoyed not to see anyone from Pitt coming near to help.

8:28: Majerus is killing me. He gets his talking points, and by God, he won’t leave the page. The Syracuse game was Ronald Ramon. Tonight it’s Kendall. Look, for the last 2 weeks, the best defender for Pitt has been Antonio Graves. Just because you have the quote from Dixon — which he made during the BE Media Day — does not make it reality at this point. Kendall is having a solid game — his best game in quite a while (and maybe his parents should make some more trips to games) — but keep it in check. Up 44-30 with 7:47 left.

8:37: 48-41 Pitt with 3:40 left. Burns has been the only guy hitting shots for DePaul. Need to go at Chandler and force him to pick up that final foul. At least eliminate another offensive threat.

8:44: Thank you Mike Cook. He went at Chandler and forced the 5th foul. Even if Chandler was having a bad night (and he was) it eliminated a major scoring threat.

8:55: Solid win for Pitt. 59-49.  I made no secret about this game making me nervous. I’ve seen DePaul when they have been on this season to worry. The Pitt defense did a great job on shutting down one of the best duos in Wilson Chandler and Sammy Mejia. Two players averaging nearly 32 points held to only 19.

Pitt played a solid game and clearly was happy to have the refs keep the whistles in their pocket. I’m not complaining. That’s the Big East.

I guess I’m conditioned or just too cynical. Can’t shake the feeling that either the 3-point shooting is going to absolutely suck tonight or Gray is going to have a miserable game.

With all this media discussion the last couple days on Gray and the outstanding guard play, I’m just expecting it. Especially all the love for the guard play and Levance Fields.

On top of that, there’s even some attention to the fact that the defense hasn’t looked half-bad, superficially.

Final thing, last year the DePaul game was just before a major gamut of major Big East games for Pitt. No change for this year.

This is a scary game for Pitt. They are the road favorite by 1.5 to 2 points. They are facing a team that has won 9 straight home games dating back to last year’s thrashing they gave Syracuse before the Big East Tournament. I’ve repeated this numerous times, but DePaul at home is a very different team. 8-0 at home, 2-6 road.

Then you look at their two best players, and further reasons to worry. Wilson Chandler at Power Forward can be a beast, when focused. He is averaging 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds, and can even shoot 3s (37%). Then there’s leading scorer, Guard Sammy Mejia — apparently he could have been a Pitt player — who at 6′ 6″ presents huge match-up problems for Pitt. He feels confident about the game.

“We match up with them well,” guard Sammy Mejia said. “It’s going to be a dogfight.”

A key to the game will be how the Blue Demons defend Pitt’s 7-foot center Aaron Gray, who averages in double figures in points and rebounds. Ordinarily, DePaul has a trio of centers to throw at a big guy like that, with coach Jerry Wainwright choosing among Lorenzo Thompson at 6-8, 290 pounds, Wesley Green, 6-9, 295 pounds, and Keith Butler, 7-1, 255 pounds.

However, Thompson’s father died Monday and it isn’t known if the senior will suit up.

Mejia is also playing the whole underdog part.

“This is a huge game for us,” Mejia said. ”We’ve always been the underdog, and we thrive in those roles. [The Panthers] have a bushel of confidence now, but we’ve won six out of seven. We want to show we belong.”

The match-up issue is something that concerns DePaul Coach Jerry Wainwright.

Wainwright could take the obvious route and steer DePaul’s defense toward bottling Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray, the Big East preseason player of the year. After all, Pittsburgh’s last four opponents limited Gray to 6.5 points per game.

And they all lost.

Alternatively, Wainwright could go small, using DePaul’s backcourt size to curtail a group of Pitt guards he calls “vastly underrated.” But that approach would free up Gray (eight double-doubles) and dangerous forward Levon Kendall (5.8 rpg).

The fix has left Wainwright misquoting Scripture (“For everything given, something else is taken away”) and gushing over the seventh-ranked Panthers, who tonight visit the Allstate Arena (6 p.m., ESPN2).

“They’re so consistent, it’s painful,” Wainwright said. “They just beat you up.”

Wainwright’s praise for Pitt makes sense. He wants the same things said about DePaul down the line.

“They’re what we want to be,” Wainwright said.

DePaul does go 9 deep in the rotation regarding double-digit minutes, so they likely won’t be facing depth issues. The issue always seems to come down to which DePaul team will Pitt face.

Fields is wary of DePaul’s athleticism and versatility, but he ponders the same question many Demons fans are asking.

“Which team are you going to get?” he said. “They have some big wins and some upsetting losses. But they’re a very talented team.”

Damned if I know, but I expect the dangerous DePaul team.

Over at Slam Magazine, one of their writers lists his top-10 which is, well, interesting. He has Pitt at #8

I’ve yet to be proven wrong about the Aaron Gray Actually Sucks Theorem. This should be a tee-shirt.

Some quality wins against Syracuse and South Florida, but I really don’t see it with this team. Uconn and Marquette should do nature’s work with them in the next couple of weeks so we can slide Butler in here some place.

I know that I really enjoy reading and listening to commentary were clueless “edginess” is substituted for thought.

Here’s an AP article on Aaron Gray’s slump.

“I think he’s happy that we’re winning, but we do need to get him more touches,” point guard Levance Fields said. “People are keying on him, and a couple of times we missed him (when he was open), but guys are making shots, making plays.”

…

Not that Pitt wants to go much longer with Gray being more of a spectator than a participant in their offense.

After the DePaul game, Pitt returns home to play Georgetown and 7-2 center Roy Hibbert and No. 24 Connecticut and 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet in a four-day span, and Gray will need to be at his best

“I don’t think he’ll get frustrated. I haven’t seen it, and I don’t think he’s forced up bad shots at all,” Dixon said. “That would be a reflection of frustration. He’s continued to pass the ball regularly. I think he’s handled it well.”

I’d like to see a little frustration. Or at least a little more push to get to the hoop. Still, the good part is that the team is playing with confidence and the knowledge that they can win games even when Gray is being contained.

Pitt plays at DePaul tomorrow night. DePaul was where Maggie Dixon made a name for herself as an assistant coach on the women’s team. She also left a lasting impression there.

Her death stunned the basketball community, particularly at DePaul. Maggie’s legacy remains everywhere at the school where she served as an assistant coach from 2001-05.

This season, Bruno’s players are wearing a patch on their jerseys displaying the names “Maggie” and “Ray,” honoring both Dixon and iconic DePaul men’s basketball coach Ray Meyer, who died March 17.

The women’s basketball office suites are now named for Maggie. Inside, a floor-to-ceiling mural displaying photographs of Maggie covers a wall in the film room.

At the center of the mural is a photo of Maggie raising a finger in triumph after Army won the Patriot League championship game. Another shot shows Maggie consulting Bruno during a DePaul game.

“I miss her every day,” Bruno said. “Every day we all hurt because as much as we are working to make certain her legacy lives on forever, it doesn’t bring her back.”

DePaul will hold a memorial for Maggie in April, on the anniversary of her passing. The school also has plans to endow a scholarship in Maggie’s name.

Doug Bruno recalls seeing Jamie and Maggie Dixon together on an interesting night in Chicago.

Bruno had offered his NLCS tickets to Maggie Dixon, his lead assistant coach. Dixon’s big brother Jamie, the men’s basketball coach at Pittsburgh, was in Chicago for a coaches’ meeting, so she took him to the game.

“She picked me up and said, ‘We’re going,’æ” Jamie recalled Monday night. “It was the playoff game, the Bartman game.”

They took the “el” to Wrigley Field and watched the painful loss. Afterward, they met Bruno at Bernie’s and the Cubby Bear.

“It was an interesting evening, to say the least, an evening that goes down in infamy in Chicago, I guess,” Jamie said. “I was a Cub fan that night.”

Bruno was feeling low until he spotted the Dixons across the room.

“Just seeing Maggie and Jamie together, with Jamie able to let his hair down, that was just a special night for me,” Bruno recalled. “To see them interacting so naturally, you forget for a moment that it’s Jamie Dixon, Pitt coach, and it’s Maggie Dixon, DePaul coach.”

You can bet the topic will come up in the ESPN2 telecast with Dave O’Brien and Rick Majerus (can’t they send Erin Andrews down from the OSU-Wisconsin game just to balance out Majerus — so to speak). The game notes (PDF)

I saw in the comments reference to it. I wanted to get to it sooner, but I was a little worn out after drink-live-blogging the BCS last night. Plus Louisville was hiring a new coach; Michael Bush leaving the Cardinals to go pro; and Matt Simms decommitting from L-ville all needed commenting. A Nelson Munz “Hah-hah!” just didn’t seem sufficient.

Anyhow, the story on Keith Benjamin is excellent. Not just for giving deserved love to the team’s sparkplug, but because of how well it demonstrates great maturity from Benjamin. There have been flashes this season — not complaining about his role; the support for Gilbert Brown — but I admit to wondering how he was really feeling.

“The more I embrace this role the better we play,” Benjamin said. “I’m starting to see my role for what it’s worth. I definitely like my role. This is a deep team. You don’t get anywhere being selfish.

“I don’t want to be that guy who drops off. If somebody in the starting five or one of the other reserves isn’t getting the job done, I want to be the guy who always gets the job done.

“I just want to do what I can when I get out there and make an impact every time I step on the court. If there is a shot to be made or a stop to get, I’ll do my best to get it while I’m out there.”

Benjamin’s shot is so much better than last year. Especially compared to last year in the non-con, when he was on the verge of playing himself out of the rotation. Seeing him grow into a man and a player almost makes me think there’s something to the whole college thing and coaches teaching life lessons or something like that.

As previously and briefly mentioned, ESPN College Basketball Gameday will be at the Petersen Events Center for their weekly show on Saturday. It’s going to be a hell of a day down at the Pete and the athletic department website came out with a little more information today.

The University of Pittsburgh will host the popular ESPN College Basketball GameDay television show at the Petersen Events Center this Saturday, Jan. 13 prior to the Pitt-Georgetown men’s basketball game.

ESPN College Basketball GameDay activities begin at 11 a.m. with the live TV show originating from the Petersen Events Center floor. Admission is free and open to the public.

Sounds like a few Pitt related things will be shown as per ESPN’s focus; make them think they care about your team when, in reality, they don’t.

Segments of the show will include a live interview with Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon, a feature on Pitt senior center Aaron Gray, a live on-court demonstration by Bilas and a preview of the day’s top college basketball games along with predictions from Davis, Bilas and Phelps.

Jay Bilas? Live on court demo? Sweeeeeeet.

Following the broadcast will be the fifth annual “Pack the Pete” for the women’s game. Starting at 9:00 later that night, the men’s team tips off against Georgetown.

Last time I went to an ESPN show at Pitt, the football team ended up getting smacked around by Notre Dame. Not sure if I should risk a hoops victory for my own enjoyment.

Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News is a bit concerned.

Defenses have been collapsing on Gray to make it difficult for the Panthers to get him the ball, so production is not as much an issue as efficiency. During that stretch, he is only 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) from the field — after he shot 64 percent over the first dozen games. Anyone who watched Gray in the Panthers’ win over Syracuse had to notice he looked more lethargic than frustrated.

Anyone expecting Coach Dixon to express any concern? Me either.

“I feel very good where he’s at,” Dixon said. “If we didn’t have the margin of the victory that we’ve had, I would be a little bit more concerned.”

The part that concerns me offensively is the misses. He doesn’t seem to be trying too hard to get at the basket. There is some  passiveness from Gray right now. Maybe it’s because Pitt is winning, and he has faith in his teammates making the shots. Maybe it’s because defenses are forcing him to expend too much energy on defense by bringing him out so far from the baskets. It does make me nervous about when he will start to turn it on.

To see H.B. Blades and Tyler Palko wearing Pitt helmets. The Under Armour Senior Bowl.

Among the Big East players who have accepted invitations to the Jan. 27 game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium are quarterback Tyler Palko and linebacker H.B. Blades of Pittsburgh, defensive back Tanard Jackson of Syracuse, and a trio of West Virginia Mountaineers — linebacker Boo McLee, wide receiver Brandon Myles and 2006 Rimington Award winner center Dan Mozes.

Previously, two members of Louisville’s Big East champs — defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, who will be the youngest player in Senior Bowl history at age 19, and running back Kolby Smith; and a pair of stars from Rutgers — running back Brian Leonard and tight end Clark Harris, were also named to the 2007 roster.

Looks like most of the BE players will be “coached” by Tampa Bay HC Jon Gruden. Can you believe the NFL managed to snag the broadcast rights to this gem?

Revis going pro is not a shock. That it has taken this long for it to leak is more surprising.

The final note that McKenzie Mathews is transferring is disappointing considering his potential at DE. I have to wonder if he’s going to go to a D-1AA school. Lots of the problems for him this year was homesickness. The Big East prevents players from transferring to another BE school on scholarship — ruling out Syracuse and even UConn. If he wants to be closer to home, maybe BC is a touch closer. Otherwise it’s dropping down a class.

UPDATE: Sure enough, after I post this, this comment from Coach Wannstedt.

“McKenzie is uncertain whether he wants to continue playing football,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said in a statement. “He has informed us that he will transfer from Pitt, perhaps to a smaller school closer to home. We wish him well in his future pursuits.”