Since this world could use a lot more good people, and the people running the Oakland Zoo seem to be those good people, I figured I could pass this along to any students (or anyone else I suppose) who perhaps want to help:

Tomorrow (April 10) we will be joining former Panther, Charles Small, for a clothing drive. We will be collecting clothes and taking them to a local homeless shelter. Also, following the clothing drive we will be going to the homeless shelter to serve dinner to the people there.

We will be collecting at the following locations:

William Pitt Union 9 – 4

Sutherland Lobby 9 – 12

Towers Lobby 9 – 12

It’s great to see student organizations, especially ones connected to our sports teams, getting involved with the community.

Just got back from a little vacation and Spring Break, and I see I’m returning to some interesting items. While I was out, I did hear that WVU hired Huggins but was too busy to give any though to it.

Well, I’m home and ready think. I never liked Huggins too much while he was at Cincy; now that he’s a Mountaineer I really don’t like him. If I had to list five hoops coaches that I strongly dislike, in no particular order, it would probably be something like this:

Calhoun
Boeheim
Huggins
Crean
Pitino

Five Big East guys, huh?

I also saw that the Pitt-Navy game was moved to a Wednesday night. Thankfully, it’s not as much of a problem for me as it is for Chas. Living 15 minutes north of Heinz Field isn’t a bad drive and I don’t have a huge problem with it. Still, I’d rather spend a Saturday afternoon watching the Panthers play rather than a Wednesday night.

So, the AAU and high school hoops showcases are in full swing already. And not just for the seniors looking to show-off one last time. The younger kids have the tournaments as well, like the “Boo Williams Invitational.” This is encouraging about early Pitt commit, Nasir Robinson.

Some marriages just work. You can’t explain why they do but they do. That can be said about Nasir Robinson. The Pittsburgh commitment doesn’t play particularly pretty, but he is sure effective. Outside of Evans, Robinson was the only other productive player for Team Final. His style of play fits in perfectly and should be a great union with the way Jamie Dixon instructs his tough, defensive-minded players. Robinson was a master of grabbing the offensive rebound and getting to the line.

Another young Philly player already has Pitt’s attention as well.

Philly area sophomore Dalton Pepper is probably a year away from making a splash at the 17 and under level. However, he is on the radar for Villanova, Virginia, Pittsburgh and Florida early on.

Have to like the new aggressiveness and pursuit of players in the Philly area.

In the opening to Zeise’s Q&A, he noted that the secondary looks to be in good shape.

The defense has been very hard to peg because so many key guys are hurt, but the secondary looks like it will be much improved (I know. Given how bad the safeties played last year, that isn’t saying much.)

Eric Thatcher is healthy and hammering people again. Mike Phillips looks like he regained his 2005 pre-injury form and Aaron Berry is a tough guy with the right mix of feistiness and finesse and he’s the kind of talented trash talker every secondary can use. He’s going to be a good — maybe a great — one.

And then there is Elijah Fields, who finally is starting to look the part. He really has come on strong and that is good news for the Panthers because I really believe he can be a big time player for this team.

The new secondary coach Chris Ball, is also enthusiastic about them.

Ball also is excited about the talent level of the younger players in the secondary, particularly cornerbacks Jovani Chappell, Aaron Berry and Aaron Smith and safety Elijah Fields. He said all four have improved should be ready to play significant roles in the fall.

“Jovani is sort of that swing player, he’s played both sides, he’s played some safety — he’s done a great job,” Ball said.

“Elijah and Aaron Berry are just very talented kids. They both are working hard, they both have a chance to do some really special things. And Aaron Smith, for a kid who has never played corner much before, has really come on. He’s a great athlete, he’s just trying to catch up with the mental aspects of the position.”

Is it too early to wonder how the safeties will do in run defense support?