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September 22, 2008

Enjoyed the Visit

Filed under: Basketball,Recruiting — Chas @ 4:05 pm

Durand Scott enjoyed his trip to Pitt.

“As of now, my top five are Pitt, Miami, Tennessee, UConn and UCLA,” Scott wrote Monday morning in a text message. He eliminated Virginia and Xavier.

He spent this past weekend at Pitt, where he joined Pitt commits Dante Taylor of National Christian and Lamar Patterson of St. Benedict’s. During the Iowa-Pitt football game, the basketball team was honored with its rings for winning the Big East Tournament.

“It went really well,” he said. “I had fun out there. I met the coaching staff. I know a couple guys out there, Travon Woodall and Ashton Gibbs and Levance Fields, so I felt very comfortable. I felt right at home.”

And no mention of the boos. It’s still a longshot. He is visiting UConn next.





Even with the visit, what are the chances the Panthers land Scott?

If they do land Scott is this a top 5 class?

Comment by The O-coordinator 09.22.08 @ 10:07 pm

what are the chances they don’t land dodson if they land scott?

what did talib zwanna or whatever his name is think of his visit?

Comment by Gary 09.23.08 @ 7:04 am

Back to football for a sec: Go down this list and you can field almost a complete team of past Pitt players ingesting interesting stuff:

link to signonsandiego.com

As my friend wisecracked, “We always had a good School of Pharmacy.”

Comment by steve 09.23.08 @ 7:40 am

We’re in the mix with a fighting chance. Even if we don’t get Scott we’re still growing into a program that blue chippers look at seriously. Of course, breaking into the Elite 8 wouldn’t hurt our ability to maintain that kind of competitiveness, too. But I digress.

Comment by Shawn 09.23.08 @ 8:32 am

My understanding is Dodson is on board regardless of Scott’s decision. They are looking at Dodson as more of a Sam Young type player. 4/3 with legit skills on the outside. He needed to fill out a bit and from what I’ve read, he has. Scott is strictly a 2 with some spot duty at the 3. His decision should not affect Scott’s decision at all.

The conundrum is for players like Nasir Robinson, Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wannamker and Jermaine Dixon. Even for those players I don’t think it is a huge deal. Scott will play most of his time at the 2 or 3. Dixon doesn’t mind a lack of height in the backcourt, therefore Scott may get half of his time at each position. Wannamaker will play the 1 and 2 primarily with some spot duty at the 3. Gilbert Brown will play the 3 almost exclusively.

The dilemma will be for Gibbs and Dixon. Neither one of those players is good enough for the coaching staff to worry about keeping them happy at the expense of landing a top-25 player.

Comment by Omar 09.23.08 @ 10:24 am

I almost forgot, Nasir is going to find a way to get on the floor. He is a scrappy player who is team first. I don’t think he’ll mind playing off the bench for a couple of years or even taking a redshirt next year.

Comment by Omar 09.23.08 @ 10:26 am

Don’t forget that Dixon is a Juco transfer so his last season of eligibility will be these kids’ Freshman year. It’s not like you have to worry about him taking up a scholarship for 3 additional years while more talented players are around him. Plus, he can also play the point, which means he won’t be in too much direct competition for minutes with most of these kids. Personally, I think he’s a decent option in the backcourt this year and next.

Comment by johnny 09.23.08 @ 10:41 am

I don’t see Dodson playing down low at all during his time there because Pitt will have many bodies at the 4 and 5. He is tall but he is skinny and he is apparently a great 3 point shot, something Pitt hasn’t had since Maile? I suspect they’ll want to keep him on the perimeter. At the 4 or 5 will be Taylor, Blair (if he stays) McGhee, Miller, Richardson, and maybe Zwanna or another big man recruit that they get. It’s awfully crowded down there.

As a result, I see Dodson strictly as a three but I could be wrong. I haven’t seen him play yet of course. That means at the 3 we’ll have Brown, Robinson, Dodson and Patterson. I can see Robinson getting screwed here. He can try to play the 2 this season and next but he apparently isn’t much of a shooter. I guess I see him as being a Jaron Brown kind of player, who was a great player, but a kind of player who, in the new Pitt system of better, more skilled athletes might not get much playing time.

At 2 we will have Wannamaker, Gibbs, Dixon, and Scott, and yes, I can see Gibbs and Wannamaker losing out here. Wannamaker is not an offensive threat at this stage of his career and even though Gibbs is apparently a very good three point shooter, his skill set seems limited as well. However, with the kind of interior players we have this year and next, Gibbs, if he can knock down the outside shot, might get a good deal of playing time.

At 1 will be Woodall, who I think is going to become very good if he improves his outside shot and ball handling. He is very smart and very quick and very athletic. Who will be his backup, Wannamaker and Gibbs, maybe even Scott?

In any event, this is a very exciting stage for Pitt.

Comment by Gary 09.23.08 @ 10:42 am

Right, I forgot about Dixon as a backup point.

Comment by Gary 09.23.08 @ 10:46 am

I wonder if Dixon will start Biggs this year out of his seniors start policy. However, I don’t see how he could because it push Young to the three.

Has anybody read anything about Blair’s development this summer? I hope he works out with Harangody in mind.

Comment by Gary 09.23.08 @ 10:50 am

Assuming the young kids can progress smoothly, imagine the line-up for 2010 if everything falls into place. Woodall, Scott, Brown, Taylor and Blair with Dodson, Patterson, Wannamaker, Miller, McGhee, Robinson, Richardson and Gibbs off the bench. That is just sick!

Comment by Omar 09.23.08 @ 10:54 am

I know. I feel like there are 4 or 5 NBA players there. Pitt has never had that kind of talent.

Comment by Gary 09.23.08 @ 10:59 am

That is, assuming that all of them stay. If DeJuan has a mosnter season, this year might be his last. I’m not tyring to be negative, I’m just sayin’ is all.

Comment by Shawn 09.23.08 @ 2:51 pm

I don’t think Jamie Dixon has a seniors start policy. I think he plays whomever will help him win. Benji didn’t start as a senior until injuries set in. He may have leaned that way in the past, but we didn’t have the same level of players coming in back in the day either. Can you imagine DeGroat even getting his 30 seconds on this years team? No way.

That being said, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Biggs start, though that’s not my preference. But the staff seems to be leaning that way…

Comment by Dunker 09.23.08 @ 4:17 pm

I am almost sure that the staff is planning to use Dodson at the 4 if he gets here. That will especially be the case if Blair goes pro. Taylor will slide over to the 5 in that scenario and Dodson would take the Sam Young look. Miller and Richardson would backup the 4 & 5 with McGhee getting all of his minutes at the 5. If Blair doesn’t go pro, then Dodson will probably see most of his minutes at the 3 with spot duty at the 4.

Comment by Omar 09.23.08 @ 4:23 pm

I am almost sure that the staff is planning to use Dodson at the 4 if he gets here. That will especially be the case if Blair goes pro. Taylor will slide over to the 5 in that scenario and Dodson would take the Sam Young role. Miller and Richardson would backup the 4 & 5 with McGhee getting all of his minutes at the 5. If Blair doesn’t go pro, then Dodson will probably see most of his minutes at the 3 with spot duty at the 4.

Comment by Omar 09.23.08 @ 4:24 pm

Hmm, that’s interesting, Omar. Did you read that somewhere?

Any word on Talib Zwana and how he liked the visit?

Did anyone see Blair in the summer league? has he lost any weight? toned up?

Comment by Gary 09.23.08 @ 5:04 pm

steve, i appreciate that link. very disturbing/disappointing stuff. as a pitt fan, i feel kind of cheated that significant portions of fralic’s and covert’s college stays were steroid-assisted.

Comment by christopher 09.23.08 @ 5:10 pm

Hey i heard Pitt visited Dominic Cheek…What if we land him too? Zwanna and Deandre Kane have Pitt #1 on their lists too….POWERHOUSE

Comment by yoyoyo 09.24.08 @ 5:37 pm

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