Get a big recruit, get some local press coverage. Both papers have stories on Dante Taylor’s verbal. One of the big memes is that Taylor has an excellent chance at being selected this year as a McDonald’s All-American. Something that Pitt has never had many in the history.

Taylor is considered Pitt’s top recruit in at least two decades. He was rated the No. 23 player in the country by Rivals.com in their most recent rankings, and that was before an outstanding summer season with his AAU team. He could be a top 15 recruit by the fall and is in contention to become a McDonald’s All-American.

Pitt has not had a McDonald’s All-American since Brian Shorter and Bobby Martin in 1987.

Taylor chose Pitt over Kansas and Memphis, the two teams that competed for the national championship in April, as well as Connecticut, Syracuse and Villanova.

“I decided on Pitt because I felt like it was a good fit for me,” Taylor said. “I like the way they push the ball. They have some great guards. I like the way they use their [forwards and centers].”

Taylor said he has known since early in the spring that he would be attending Pitt, but said he used the summer to make sure his choice was the right one. Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion recruited Taylor, who said Pitt’s early interest was rewarded.

The only other McD AA’s that went to Pitt were Charles Smith and Jerome Lane.

Yes, the rule is that you can’t win the present NCAA Tourney without one — Maryland being the lone exception. I think we’re all familiar with that.

The other article is a little worrisome insofar as secondary NCAA violations are concerned. Coaches are not permitted to talk about players until after they sign a NLI. Yet the article is interspersed with quotes about Taylor from Assistant Coach Tom Herrion.

Added Herrion: “He’s a versatile, big forward who plays with a high motor. And he’s five times better a kid than he is a player. He’s a tremendous young man.”

One of the few criticisms of the Pitt basketball program under Dixon has been the inability to land the truly elite recruit.

Now, Taylor’s commitment signals that Dixon — and the Pitt basketball program — can attract the elite players and, perhaps, recruit on the same level as the national powers that routinely reload with McDonald’s All-Americans.

“This speaks volumes,” Herrion said.

It’s not a major rules violation, but it is a bit sloppy. Herrion should know better.