I mean, it would have been nice, but nothing has been accomplished yet.
A planned story was scrapped after Tuesday’s 81-73 upset loss at Providence. The magazine planned to do a lengthy story on the Panthers for early March and, according to Pitt media relations director Greg Hotchkiss, there was a “95 percent” chance it was going on the cover.
Pitt basketball has made regional covers of SI, but never the national release.
Not that there isn’t an excellent story on Sam Young to read. Sure there’s the usual stuff about his poetry, gymnastics and work ethic. Yet, this really fleshes things out a lot more including a quite a bit more insight into his generally loner stance.
Upon receiving his poetry assignment, Young doesn’t roll up his sleeves per se, but he locks in all the same. After spending nearly an hour staring at his computer screen, he has mustered just a few lines of verse, but they offer a window into how he views both the promise and perils of unfinished success:
Having yet to meet our potential, I love my team’s current credential
Not any team can do it; we fought in the fire to finally get to it
Pitt is on a mission and it’s no mystery, we only halfway done and already made history
We’re giving the university faith and gave hope to this town, it ain’t no way we can let them down…
Yet, it is off the court where Young continues to make his biggest strides. These days he lets his playful side show more readily for his teammates, who still crack up when he does back-flips during practice or in his hotel room. He has even become something of a media darling. During a preseason photo shoot, Young picked up a sombrero and struck a goofy pose, and he hounded Greg Hotchkiss, Pittsburgh’s sports information director, for weeks until Hotchkiss got him a copy of the photo.
Even at a program that has long been defined by the hardscrabble ethos of the Steel City, Young has carved out a unique and lasting legacy. “We’re always going to use him as an example as a guy who improved and did it by working,” Dixon says. “Even today, I’ll ask the guys, who works the hardest in our drills? Who’s our best perimeter scorer? It’s always the same answer. It’s Sam.”
It’s well worth reading the whole thing.
unc 3:1
pittsburgh 4:1
uconn 6:1
okla. 8:1
next closest lousiville 12:1.
This morning on ESPN, the panel of H Davis, D Phelps and J Bilas were give the following 4 bubble teams to make a case for thwich should be in or out:
Providence, Cincy, Maryland & Michigan
Davis & Phelps agreed on the 2 in and 2 out while Bilas disagreed with them — what 2 teams did Bilas think should be left out?
You’re right!!
Instead, he’s a quiet guy who lets his actions on the court speak for him. Not necessarily bad, but definitely unusual.
The odds are interesting right now. There’s been quite a swing since I looked last. Much less delta between UNC and the rest of the pack. It definitely brings up a question I’ve been discussing with my buddies for weeks…….why is Louisville not getting any national respect? They’re in the driver’s seat to win the BE regular season and they just don’t get anywhere near the appreciation that Pitt and Uconn do. Strange, to say the least. Sure, they lost to ND and laid an egg against UConn. We all know that. I still think they’re getting WAY less respect than they should and they’re clearly the most tempting bet on the board.
That they’ve maintained their poise 25 times this year counts a lot, at least for me.
What concerns me more is the refs’ maturity….
