A bunch of things to get out of the browser tabs.
Starting with the actual incoming kids. Another write-up from the Reebok All-American Game last weekend. Dante Taylor was viewed as the most impressive player in the national game.
Taylor finished with 26 points and 9 rebounds en route to being named a game MVP for the second game, playing with Team Finish. The big man consistently showed the ability to play on the blocks and from the wing, run the break and start it with outlet passes. Additionally, his rebounding and defense were outstanding, and the kid really never stopped hustling. He was clearly the best player on the court. After the game, Taylor said he doesn’t view himself as a true post player, but he should be a big help to Jamie Dixon in replacing DeJuan Blair.
The thing with Taylor coming in this fall, will be managing expectations of fans. There’s been a lot of good stuff written about him.
As for Talib Zanna, who played in the local game.
The stand out star of the preview game, Zanna finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Yes, that’s right – Pittsburgh has drawn the top player in each game. Zanna looks to have the ability to complete a nice four year career for the Panthers and maybe play high level European ball. Zanna made his living around the basket, grabbing rebounds, getting put backs, and scoring in the post. He should compliment Taylor nicely.
As for the future, one of the big targets for the 2011 recruiting class is a shooting guard named Mike Taylor.
The 6-foot-3 sophomore shooting guard out of Brooklyn Boys & Girls is a star on the rise and picked up a slew of major offers after an open gym Friday at his school.
“Jamie Dixon absolutely loved him and told me to tell Mike he has an offer [from Pitt],” Boys & Girls assistant Elmer Anderson said. “Maryland, Indiana, Villanova, St. John’s and Providence also offered.” Rutgers has also offered, Anderson said.
“And at one point he hit nine straight 3’s from deep all over the place,” he added.
“Twenty-three Division 1 schools were in attendance, including UNLV, Rhode Island, UMBC, Stonybrook and New Hampshire. Mike will certainly be one of the most highly recruited players in New York City the next two years,” Anderson said.
You can’t put a real leader out there for a sophomore, but it is promising that Coach Dixon and Pitt keep getting mentioned with Taylor’s future.
“I can’t remember them all,” he admits. “It’s crazy.”
Life is good these days for the 6-foot-3 Taylor, Boys & Girls’ sophomore guard. Of the 30 major Division I schools who attended the Kangaroos’ recent open gyms, most of the coaches were there to watch Taylor’s sweet jump shot, including Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon.
He is a dying breed – a pure shooter. Where others may goof around by dunking the ball in between breaks, Taylor, who Boys & Girls coach Ruth Lovelace has said is already the most recruited player in her tenure, steps behind the 3-point line. During water breaks, he practices his follow through. When teammates want to organize a game of pick-up, he makes sure to get up a certain amount of jumpers beforehand.
“Shooting remains basketball’s EZ Pass, and there are few really good shooters left in the game, especially good shooters coming from New York City,” talent evaluator Tom Konchalski said. “He’s a throwback.”
The evaluations look very promising.
A superb scoring, combo guard that has the always attacking mentality that big time New York guards have. He can score in a variety of ways. Michael is a great 3 point shooter that has a extremely quick release and has great elevation on his jumper that allows him to get a shot off even with a hand in his face. He shoots it off the dribble or coming off screens. He is a shooter that you can run sets for. Michael is a pressure defender that is tough and plays very hard.
It will be a battle to get this kid.
Of course, that is for 2011. There is still a scholarship that could be used now. Would Pitt take a transfer from Florida? Even if it was yet another forward? Allan Chaney is looking for a new home.
The 6-foot-8, 231-pound Chaney arrived in Gainesville highly touted after averaging 26 points and 15 rebounds as the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year his senior season [in Connecticut]. He expected to play facing the basket at small forward and power forward, but he said Donovan played him mostly inside and Chaney felt the coaching staff never focused on his ball-handling skills or outside shooting.
“They talked about all the good things I can do, but they never used me that way,” Chaney said.
…
Thus far, Providence and Virginia Tech “are my two top schools, off the top of my head,” Allan said. At Providence, he said he can see himself playing a similar role as versatile forward Geoff McDermott. He also likes Virginia Tech’s style of play and has a good friend there in guard Malcolm Delaney.
Arthur Chaney said he’s also spoken with Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon and Ohio State’s Thad Matta. Miami, Penn State, Temple, Indiana and Rhode Island have also called. Arthur Chaney said the only major conference to not have a school show interest is the SEC, of which Florida is a member.
“We’re stressing to programs that he prefers to play face to the basket,” said New London coach Craig Parker, who speaks with Chaney regularly. “And if they don’t plan on using him that way, then that’s not the one for him.”
Chaney was a top-100, 4-star recruit. Chaney fancies himself as more of a wing forward, and apparently has some good range with his shot. At 6-8, he would be a tough match-up defensively, but needs some work at that end.
Chaney has decent, but not great athleticism and explosion. If he plays on the perimeter in college, he will have to increase his foot speed and lateral quickness. He has a habit of playing to the level of his competition, which can be good against high-level players, but bad when he opposes players that are not of a comparable skill level.
His energy and motor need work. It seems like something of a longshot that he would come to Pitt. As much as he says he’s willing to play some inside, he does not have the enthusiasm to do that. Reads a bit like Tyrell Biggs, and that never quite worked out well.
Finally, make sure you read through the reviews in Part 1 and Part 2 of players from the Pittsburgh Jam Fest. Isiaha Epps (Pitt verbal for 2010) along with other possible Pitt targets for 2010 and 11 include Tom Droney, Ronald Roberts, Kyrie Irving and Trey Ziegler.
Looks like a noon game against Youngstown and a night game against Navy.
Best of luck to him in SF (just wish it could have been Pit!)
At least he landed in a cool city. Hope he sticks in the NFL.
In Steelers news, who the hell is Frank Summers? Why aren’t they addressing their needs along the o-line at all? CJ Davis in the Black and Gold, perhaps?
Derek Kinder goes to the Bears in the 7th round as well.
Best of luck to both.
I believe that the South Side facility wasn’t up and running until 2000. The Steelers drafted Hank Poteat in the 3rd round in 2000, a couple of months before Pitt moved into the facilities.
I like the pick of the Moon Township native at center, and hopefully Estermeyer sticks around for awhile.
Looks like CJ Davis signed with Carolina. Hopefully he sends his regards to Jeff Otah.
Shady will get a $1.5 million signing bonus and a 4 year contract at minimum NFL salary. He will have to wait 4 years to sign a new contract with presumably a new signing bonus. In the interim, he will have to demonstrate that he is one of the league’s premier running backs. Please note that running backs usually have a short NFL life.
With no good QB prospects, Shady is called upon by our dumber-than-rocks head coach to run 35-40 times a game, leading at some point to a serious knee injury that prematurely ends his year, if not his career.
Or, with no good QB prospects (and no real evidence from what I’ve seen of an offensive line that is going to be measurably better than this year’s crop), defenses key even more on Shady, leading him to have a subpar year and falling into the third round or further in the 2010 draft.
Maybe his family did have a strong say and wanted “the millions.” As much of a factor had to be the risks involved in returning, due in large part to a terrible head coach, whose favorite past time seems to be seeing how many players he can get to switch positions from year to year. And spare me the “great-recruiter” comments or “9-4” record this year. Other coaches have done far more with the same, if not less, talent that Wannstedt has had, and the Big East is, on the whole, a shitty conference. In many other conferences, Pitt would have been lucky to have been .500.
From what I can tell, Shady is a good kid who weighed a number of factors and made a tough decision. Any and all criticism should be reserved for the terrible personnel and coaching decisions that put him in this situation to begin with.
Good luck, Shady.
NFL player personnel guys don’t care about whether you gained 1000 yds or 2000 yds; they care about your size and speed and potential to play THEIR game, which is very different than college football.
And citing a Kiper comment as a reason he should have stayed is crazy. Kiper is a bizarre draft savant, who’s been able to parlay a super memory for stats and names and absolutely no football knowledge into a cottage industry for himself. NFL folks think of him as a buffoon — a made-for-TV blowhard.
Shady left and ended up in a good situation. It worked out about as well as it could have for him.
While Shady’s initial contract might be 4 years @ $1.5 million per year, you can guarantee that if he’s the starting running back in two years the Eagles will sign him to a much more lucrative extension. NFL contracts are never really guaranteed–if a player performs below his contract he’ll be cut, and if he plays high above it, he’ll either get a significant raise or hold out for one (especially if that player’s agent is Drew Rosenhaus). If Shady does have a good NFL career you can bet that this current contract will not see it’s four full years.
The upside? A higher selection; an extra million or two in the bank; a year closer to a degree.