Haven’t been home much the past week or two. Went down to Atlanta last week for the USA Volleyball Junior Olympics. Getting recruited by colleges for sports (although smaller [D-III] schools in my own personal case) is quite an experience. Today I just got back from Penn State (gasp!) for another volleyball trip. I spent enough time in Happy Valley to last me until I die. Talk about always looking for something to do, you talk about State College. No wonder they can attract 105,000 a few Saturdays every year for a football game.

Thankfully I didn’t miss anything too important, but we’re beginning to see the light at the end of the offseason tunnel. There are some points that need to be mentioned though.

Firstly, on tonight’s Sportscenter they did a segment on college football. The question: “Which team will have true freshmen making an impact?” The answer: your Pittsburgh Panthers. Most notably the fact that Pat Bostick could be our starting QB and that Dave Wannstedt feels comfortable starting a freshman in the Big East, even more so than he did starting a rookie in his NFL coaching days. Add in McCoy and a handful of others and we’re going to have a solid number of freshmen seeing action.

Wannstedt might have a player leaving him scholarship behind. Rumor has it that tight end Kyle Hubbard wants released from his scholarship and Wanny will allow it. Hubbard is a 3 star recruit from Lakewood, OH.

More football — the Washington Redskins signed H.B. Blades, their 4th 6th round pick. He’ll be set to go for training camp which begin next week. Football season is quickly approaching…

And if you want some very detailed coverage of some summer league hoops, read the comments posted by Stuart here.

Sorry about the sporadic posting. Lots of little things in the real world, including hitting the road tomorrow and more travel plans for next week. There are days when being a one-man global content provider can be a bit tricky.

You know, as bad as Pitt had been in the 90s, at least the local papers knew enough to send someone to cover the Media Days.  Cinci gets to a bowl, has their team selected by the media for 5th in the Big East this season (Pitt, 6th), has season ticket sales actually getting a noticeable bump, and they still can’t  get the local media to care to even spare the cash to send a beat writer to the event. — really pissing off new coach Brian Kelly.
Hell, the Altoona Daily Mirror actually sent a reporter to do a piece on Derek Kinder and Pitt along with a more general Big East overview.
Discussion with Pitt is muted, unless you consider getting tips on how to eat lobster from Dave Wannstedt vital news. This bit is worth chewing over (sorry).

When asked how many freshman players would be contributors for the Panthers this season, Wannstedt replied, “Seven guys will play for us right away.”

Hmm. Maybe McCoy, Jacobson,  DeCicco, Hargrove, Caragein, Jones… and who else?

It’s been a rumor all summer that Elijah Fields — for all his talent and potential — may never see the field. The Sophomore Safety has been suspended at times (and is likely still suspended) and has struggled with maturity, academics and “other.” As the Big East Media Days are in full swing, Coach Dave Wannstedt is still not talking.

“He’s got to finish out his summer,” Wannstedt said, “but he’s doing everything he’s supposed to on and off the field.”

Fields could go down as a relatively obscure “what might have been.” He could be overwhelmingly forgotten in a couple years except for a few who remember what he could do in high school and what was expected at college.

Otherwise, right now, I’m just hoping Mike Phillips is truly and actually all the way back from his horrific ankle injury of a couple years ago.

“I’ve gone through a lot of hard work with Buddy, and I’m ready to go for camp,” Phillips said. “I think I can be a leader on this team and an inspiration for my work on the field, but also off it through my work ethic. I’ve worked very hard to overcome the serious injury I had a couple years ago.

“So, I’m all the way back now. And I’m ready to contribute to the team in every area. When I first broke my ankle, I tried to motivate from the sideline, but that wasn’t the same thing. And I wasn’t 100 percent until now, and I think I can really help the team in leadership and on the field.”

Depth will still be a major concern without Fields. Yet another spot where there is a real and steep drop-off on talent.

Recapping, a taped telecast I didn’t watch. Excited yet? Nah, I’m just making note of Derek Kinder’s trip to the ESPY’s.

Kinder and former Panthers defensive back Darrelle Revis were nominated for the “best play” in sports last year for their part in Revis’ 73-yard punt return for a touchdown against West Virginia in the 11th game. Revis made the return, but Kinder threw a block that opened a hole for Revis — a devastating hit that leveled two Mountaineers players.

Kinder and Revis didn’t win the ESPY — the award went to Boise State for the “Statue of Liberty” play that scored the winning 2-point conversion against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl — but that didn’t put a damper on a trip that was exciting and eye-opening for Kinder.

“That was just a little taste of that Hollywood and professional athlete lifestyle,” said Kinder, who is on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. “Just getting that taste, I can tell you it was everything it was cracked up to be. That was so much fun, just being out there, being around all of those stars and celebrities — it really was a great experience.

“It is a motivation for me because that’s where I want to be next year — an NFL player, but I have a lot of hard work ahead of me.”

Now, maybe it’s the wonkish part of me, but who paid for the trip and does the NCAA look too closely at these things? Probably not. More of a wink and a nudge perhaps. Or yet another unfathomable rule in the NCAA that lets the school pay for it in some way. You can’t really convince me the whole Boise St. team individually had the  money for a trip and hotel stay for the event.

Really, why was Mike Tyson even allowed within 100 feet of this event? Or was he just paid to pose for pictures. The former athlete freak show portion.

Buried in the news piece about the Big East basketball schedule was something that really bothered me.

The Duke game is tentatively Pitt’s only neutral-site game, but that could change as Pitt officials are working with Duquesne to get the annual City Game moved from the Palumbo Center to Mellon Arena.

If the two sides can reach an agreement on moving the game, it would mark the first time the game was played at a neutral site since 2001. That marked the end of a run of 12 consecutive City Games that were played at Mellon Arena.

Nooooo!!!!

I absolutely hated Pitt games at the Civic Arena. Horribly removed from the action. It literally sucked the life out of basketball games there. Now Pitt wants to bring that atmosphere back even for one game? Don’t they remember how lousy it was?
I get that playing at the Palumbo Center isn’t exactly lucrative for Pitt. That the small gym is cramped and doesn’t produce much revenue for Pitt. It’s good that the school hasn’t gone Penn State and canceled the game or even demanded a 2-for-1. This is just a bad idea.
The Civic Arena creates all sorts of annoyances and inconveniences. From having to figure out the re-accommodating of season ticket holders and the resentments it would cause when the seats suck because of the bad sight lines and detached feel. To the smaller turnout by the students.

Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News observes that the overall HS talent this year is down. Not a downward spiral or a piece bemoaning diminishing fundamentals. Simply that 2008 recruits are not as good as the past couple of years or ahead.

The class of 2008 stinks.Usually, I’d try to be more elegant in making such a statement, but working hard to massage the truth seems like a waste of effort. I could be less elegant, too, you know, and not be any less accurate.

I spent the first four days of the NCAA’s summer evaluation period looking for greatness at the adidas It Takes 5ive Classic and Nike’s LeBron James Skills Academy. And I saw plenty — it’s just that all of it was contained in the junior, sophomore and freshman classes. The seniors mostly were uninspired and uninspiring.

…

All of this does not mean your team’s top 100 commitment is as worthless as a Zimbabwe dollar. The 2003 class had hidden gems such as Dominic James (No. 49) and Darren Collison (No. 96).

If you’re a fan of Connecticut looking forward to No. 36 Kemba Walker at point guard, or if you’re eager to see No. 28 Scotty Hopson play the wing for your Mississippi State Bulldogs, you’ve got cause to be excited. They’ll make your teams better. But, on the whole, their classmates won’t be changing the future of the game.

Kind of funny to see some comments below his piece, where you could see some school partisans getting really bent about this. Can’t rain on the parade of hope in recruiting classes.

It echoes a lot of what I’ve been reading. There is no clear top-tier talent in this class. Players with potential, and some with talent, but just a lot more question marks about the kids.

Finishing up with the camps from earlier this week, Ashton Gibbs kept looking better at Rbk U.

Pittsburgh bound 6-2 rising senior combo-guard Ashton Gibbs (West Orange, N.J.) exploded for 17 and 23 points in the last two sessions on Monday. Gibbs is a great mid-range shooter off the dribble, who has the quicks to get to the rim.

And Gibbs believes in defense. I have to admit, I am feeling a lot better about this verbal.

Another of Pitt’s ’08 verbal was part of the subject of a story about his relationship with his teammates and friends. Travon Woodall and Rutgers bound Mike Rosario actually live at Fordham bound Jio Fontan’s house.

The three boys first met in Rosario’s hometown of Jersey City in the sixth grade. Woodall had recently come to live with Jio and his father, George Fontan, when his own home life was less than stable. Travon and Jio grew up playing youth basketball in Paterson, but they soon became regulars at the Jersey City Boys Club, and later opted to commute from Paterson to St. Anthony.

“People (in the family) felt that if they removed themselves from friends and everything (in Paterson), they would have a better focus on developing,” Hurley said. “And certainly with the dedication they’ve shown to travel back and forth from Paterson to Jersey City for the last three years is just extraordinary, and George’s commitment to the kids is unbridled.”

A definite must read.

Another year, another Purdue player leaving for Pitt. Really, it’s once more about coming home.

When Jason Kacinko was a senior at Penn-Trafford, the four-star recruit nearly backed out of his commitment to Purdue after Pitt hired Dave Wannstedt.

“He really recruited me hard,” Kacinko said. “There was some interest on my part, but I wanted to honor my commitment to Purdue.”

After two seasons as a reserve offensive lineman for the Boilermakers, Kacinko has decided to finally play for the Panthers.

Obviously, he’ll be sitting out this season, but next year he’ll be in the mix for a job and at the very least add needed depth. Kacinko played at both guard and tackle.

I don’t see Altoona RB A.J. Alexander choosing Pitt, but it’s worth noting that he re-opened his recruitment. He bailed on Florida State. Hard not to see him going to RB deprived PSU.

Nice puffer on incoming freshman defensive lineman, Jabaal Sheard.

“There’s a real good shot for me at Pitt, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” Sheard said. “I think we have a lot of talent on defense, and I can’t wait to see how I fit in. As far as my training goes, I think I work out pretty hard. But people told me about Buddy before I got here.

“Everyone said what I should expect when I get into working out with Buddy. I guess all the guys like that are a little crazy, and as long as what he puts me through doesn’t kill me it should make me stronger. And that’s what I’m looking to do. I want to get stronger and bigger to prepare for the upcoming football season. I’m ready for the challenge.”

It’s always good when players come to school during the summer. I still think it’s borderline nuts to leave Florida and anywhere near the beach in the summer, though.

Some blog-related basketball stuff that I’m going to do at once, because in it’s own way it ties together. Or, at least I’m going to force the effin’ mess to somehow go one after the other.

Earlier in the week I mentioned that I helped put together the FanHouse way too early BlogPoll, there seems to be a case that Georgetown is being underrated by being placed at #6 by the Unsilent Majority — a welcome addition to the FanHouse, Pitt loyalist and part of the outstanding Kissing Suzy Kolber Blog. Considering the preseason poll will be revisited, there is plenty of time for revision.

What does that have to do with Pitt other than getting a plug in for my other work and another blog? Not much but it does bring up the subject of basketball and a new Pittsburgh-centric blog wonders about the ‘Burgh and basketball. Naturally, Pitt is very important to the matter.

In fact, the fan base is strong enough to honestly say that aside from Super Bowl victories and motorcycle crashes, I have likely heard as much talk show debate concerning Aaron Gray and Carl Krauser in the past five years as I have heard on any other topic. Outside of Ben Roethlisberger, I think it is safe to say that the most controversial figure in Pittsburgh this past year has been Aaron Gray. Endless sports columns and radio call-ins implored him to assert his large frame and stop missing three-foot put-backs. Similarly, Krauser appeared to be holding the team and the city hostage with his break-neck pace of play and streaky shooting – a polarizing figure, to say the least. With Sidney Crosby and David Littlefield, there is only so much room for debate on their performances. With Pitt basketball, there seems to always be a debate that the city grapples with every winter.

The discussion is more about the lack of support/passion for basketball, but with a hopeful eye to the future. Especially as high school basketball and the players seems to be improving in Western PA. I would at least posit that with Pitt basketball doing so well right now, it increases the appeal and the willingness of athletes in the area to play more. That the talent is beginning to shine 5-7 years after Pitt basketball became relevant once more reminds me of the fact that the last time there was any crop of quality HS basketball players in the ‘Burgh — like Danny Fortson — came around lag after Pitt basketball had hit a major national upswing. Correlation does not mean causation, but it’s worth considering.

That brings things to another factor that will only improve and increase the interest in basketball in Western Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am Summer League. Last year there was a bit of stuff about it and I noted it because of the role Coach Dixon played in helping to make it happen. That isn’t to diminish the job of the real guy who has put it together and has it thriving, John Giammarco. The Big East Basketball Blog has an interview with Mr. Giammarco. Read the whole article, but I’ll excerpt this.

NBE Blogger: Both Pittsburgh and West Virginia red-shirted multiple players last season, after seeing these players in your league this year or last, who should the Big East fans keep an eye on for next year?

JG: All the red-shirts have played well this summer from the action I have watched. Gilbert Brown is an exciting athlete who really gets in the air and plays above the rim.

NBE Blogger: Pittsburgh has a large incoming class of newcomers, regarded as their best new class in the Howland/Dixon tenure, who do you feel looks to be the most ‘Big East ready’ and who looks to be the someone down the road to emerge in time in typical Pitt fashion?

JG: From what I see, Gary McGhee has held his own in the league and will continue to get better and better. Brad Wannamaker looks like he can be a contributor in 2007 as well. Jamie Dixon has built such a good program at Pitt.

Pitt has put itself in a position to help build basketball back in the area and benefit directly right now. I mention this every time with the summer basketball, and I’ll keep doing it. Coach Dixon deserves a lot of credit for helping this happen. Yes it will help him right now and hopefully for a long time at Pitt, but no other coach before him at Pitt ever did it and lent his support (to the extent that the NCAA lets him).

The Big East announced the 18 game conference schedule. Every team in the conference plays each other once, and 3 home-and-homes. How do they decide those?

The conference said that the opponents a school plays twice were based on “natural interest, geography, rivalries and television contractual obligations.”

Well,  for Pitt obviously WVU is one of them. In basketball, Marquette-Pitt has been well on its way to being a “rivalry” as the games have been heated and tough in every meeting. So, naturally Marquette and Pitt only meet once. These are Pitt’s 3 home-and-homes.

Pittsburgh: Cincinnati, Villanova, West Virginia

WVU and ‘Nova make sense. But Cinci? WVU should have the home-and-home with Cinci but they end up with Providence and St. John’s as their other two? Huh? Yes, there’s things that make sense. Private, small, East Coast schools are a natural fit to play WVU.

As for the the other 12 conference games for Pitt.

• Away: UConn, Marquette, Notre Dame, St. John’s, USF, Syracuse
• Home: DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall

I’m still trying to accept playing Cinci twice.

Deep breath everyone. It may be a lousy logo replacing a lousy logo, but it is only a secondary logo. For example, that needed replacement of the 1997-era “Pittsburgh” logo and panther head in the Pete that was in the paper today. It’s not like it’s going to be with the new dino-cat. They will just have the block “PITT.” Right?

That’s because a giant tile logo that reads “Pittsburgh,” built at a cost of more than $100,000 into the main lobby floor of the Petersen Events Center, will be torn up and modified under an effort to put the “PITT” back in Pitt athletics.

Jeff Long, the school’s athletic director, yesterday confirmed the planned work this summer inside the 12,500-seat arena, which opened in 2002 and is home to the school’s basketball teams.

He said the Panther head inside the logo also will be updated to a newer, sleeker version announced last month.

Oh, wait. Crap.

It would have been fine with just the big block lettered logo. Clean, simple and uncomplicated. On the bright side, when you go into the Pete, you will at least be able to stomp on that dino-cat to get some of the frustration out of your system.

While Pitt isn’t officially commenting, the Big East has confirmed the Pitt-Duke game at Madison Square Garden.

Pitt is scheduled to play the Blue Devils on Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden in a nationally televised men’s basketball game.

“It’s happening,” Big East associate commissioner Tom Odjakjian said. “That’s been confirmed.”

Duke had a standing deal with ESPN for a game at MSG on that day. Thankfully, Pitt was able to make it work.

Non-con known now includes Duke, St. Louis, at Dayton, at Washington, Oklahoma St., Duquesne, Buffalo, Lafayette, Houston Baptist and NC A&T. With 18 Big East games, that brings the schedule to 29 games. That means maybe one more game on the non-con that we don’t know at this point. Nice.

News is really light in case you hadn’t noticed, so a little bit of how Aaron Gray doing a good job in the summer league.

Gray has impressed coaches thus far with his size, physical play and toughness.

“He has a big body and isn’t afraid to use it,” coach Scott Skiles said.

Skiles is watching league play courtside as assistant Jim Boylan runs the team.

“I think Gray’s movements can be deceptive,” Skiles said. “He can appear to be slow. But he is covering ground. He has a chance because he has legit size and he plays like a big man. He likes to use his size and rebound. He has made good decisions with the ball.”

Gray finished with 15 points and four rebounds in 23 minutes against the Heat, not that he’s impressed with anything he does in summer league anyway.

“I’m more trying to learn our system and the defensive principles,” Gray said. “I’ve felt good getting up and down the floor, and I grew up hitting people because I played football. You learn quickly it’s better to hit than get hit.”

Yes, summer league doesn’t mean much as far as the numbers. For Gray, though, playing well means being on the roster in the fall. After both summer league sessions, Gray will be heading to Las Vegas for a big man camp that is run by Pitt alum and former Pitt coach Tim Grgurich.

There’s also a great Q&A (puffer) with Gray on the Bulls.com.

Bulls.com: You were named the Big East’s most improved player in 2005.06. What allowed you to go from a guy coming off the bench to the team leader that year?

Gray: “The main thing was having more of an opportunity to play. My coaching staff always believed in me and so did my teammates, even when I wasn’t playing a lot. Chris Taft (selected with the 42nd pick of the 2005 NBA Draft) was ahead of me and I had to wait for my time. When he left to pursue the NBA, I was ready. Coach Dixon didn’t go out and recruit three other seven-footers because he was confident in me and my abilities. I knew I was able to step up into a bigger role, and going against Chris Taft and Chevy Troutman and players like that every day in practice only helped me improve my game. When my time came, I was ready.”

…

Bulls.com: After considering leaving school for the draft last year, you decided on another year at Pitt. What factored into that decision?

Gray: “In looking ahead at the rest of my life, it just wasn’t an opportunity I could pass up. Maybe I’d have been drafted higher last year and I’d be in a position to make more money, but it was more of a life decision for me. I’d have always wondered how good we could have been or how far we could have gone. We went to the Sweet Sixteen and I got to be a part of that. We had a good team with a lot of guys back and I really enjoyed college. I love the University of Pittsburgh; the people and the city treated me great. I kind of felt like I owed it to them a little bit to come back for another year.”

[Emphasis added.]

Looks like we know how Pitt will be starting the season this year. Hosting the Hispanic College Fund Classic. Last year, it was held at UConn. There’s no announcement by Pitt, but St. Louis has released their non-con schedule to give us the info.

The Majerus era begins as the Billikens open the regular season playing in the “Hispanic College Fund Classic” an exempted tournament hosted by Pittsburgh. The Billikens face North Carolina A&T on Fri., Nov. 9, and Houston Baptist, which was 22-7 and is making the transition to Division I, on Sat., Nov. 10. SLU closes out the tournament on Sun., Nov. 11, against the host Panthers, who are coming off a 29-8 record.

So, now we know three more teams Pitt will have on its non-con St. Louis (making it 3 A-10 teams played this coming season) and NC A&T and Houston Baptist as part of the cream-puff portion.

Mike DeCourcy in the Sporting News has an interesting bit about how b-ball coaches get recycled their images rehabbed a lot quicker and frequently these days because they have a better shot at good paying assistant jobs after failing in their first stint as a head coach. Unlike in the ’90s when the NCAA had some pay restrictions on assistant coaches.

Consider the case of Paul Evans, who reached the Elite Eight at Navy in 1986, won two Big East championships at Pittsburgh and made seven NCAA appearances at the two schools before the Panthers dumped him in 1994. The guy who discovered David Robinson got a few interviews, mostly from programs that wanted to pay in canned goods.

Coaches who lost jobs in the ’90s became victims of the heinous decision by NCAA members to restrict one member of each Division I staff to making $12,000 annually. Those whose salaries had been limited eventually won a lawsuit against the NCAA, but the rule effectively depressed assistant coach salaries the rest of the decade.

In other words, you either had to go back to a bottom rung as an assistant or try to work your way back-up as a coach at a small D-II or -III school. Evans was also older and less inclined to start over on the coaching ladder.

Some more from the basketball camps as Coach Dixon shuttled from Akron to Philly for the camps. On Monday he was at the Rbk U camp watching Ashton Gibbs. Not to mention Travon Woodall and Eloy Vargas. Vargas finished the camp strong.

Ashton Gibbs was also the subject of a lead story out of New Jersey.

“I think I fit in well there,” Gibbs said in between games at the elite Reebok University showcase. “They told me I would be a Ronald Ramon-type player — play the one and two, play tough defense and try to get some buckets on the offensive end. I think I can run up and down, but Pitt slows it down and they’re physical. That’s definitely my style of play.”

Like the gritty Ramon, Gibbs is a quintessential combo guard. He is neither a true point nor a pure scorer, but he can fill either roll on any given possession.

At the three-day Reebok Camp, which features 120 of the best players in the county, Gibbs ran the point in scrimmages and was one of the few guards who made an effort to set up a half-court offense.

With Pitt coach Jamie Dixon watching from the front row of bleachers, he also buried jumpers when the defense sagged.

“He’s very steady and he knows how to make his teammates better,” NJ Hoops publisher Jay Gomes said. “It’s funny because earlier in his career he was more of a ball-handler than a shooter, but he’s become a very good shooter.”

Nice.

Dealing with the present, Darnell Dodson is indeed qualified this year and is already taking summer classes at Pitt. ‘

Another incoming player this season, Bradley Wanamaker, did not qualify for the US Men’s Under-19 team.

I suppose, part of why I’m still a bit more focused on basketball is that the I’ve been putting a way too early FanHouse BlogPoll  together and posting the teams this week. Pitt came in at #18, and I had to give objectivity a shot in discussing them today.