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June 5, 2009

Young Up, Blair Down

Filed under: Basketball,Draft,NBA — Chas @ 1:46 pm

Like stocks, so too are the status of Sam Young and DeJuan Blair.

DeJuan Blair seemed to be barging his way into the lottery, possibly a top-ten pick. That seems in question with leaked medical stuff (insider subs).

However, the news became much grimmer for Blair when the results of the medical testing came back. Multiple NBA teams are saying Blair’s knees have been red-flagged.

Blair tore both of his ACLs in high school, and the preliminary word from the physicals is that his knees aren’t in great shape.

How bad they are depends on who you talk to, but the range wasn’t good. I heard everything from “devastating” to “troubling.”

Blair’s agent, Happy Walters, doesn’t feel words like “devastating” are accurate in describing the report he saw.

“From what I saw, it’s not that bad,” Walters told Insider. “People tend to get overexcited about this. Some teams will make a big ado about it and draft him anyway. It’s all a game. Some teams want him to slide.”

“He had ACL problems in high school. Everyone knew that. He’s never missed a game in college from his knees. It hasn’t affected his play at all. We’ll look further into it. We’ll check it out and have other specialists look at it, too. But it’s something you can’t do anything about. We’re not hiding anything.”

Whether the concern ends up being a small or large factor in Blair’s draft stock, it’s a shame when you consider the momentum he has had since the season ended. With so few bigs in the draft, he was looking at a potential late lottery pick. That now seems less likely.

Now Blair did miss a game against Belmont last November because of swelling in the right knee. There was nothing wrong according to X-rays and an MRI. By all accounts, he could have played and felt no pain. It’s just that there was no reason to risk Blair in that game.

Of course, it could very well be that the GMs and scouts leaking stuff to Ford are just trying to drive down Blair’s draft value as another account is less hyper.

MRI’s in Chicago revealed some minor concerns about his knees as Blair had both ACL’s repaired in high school. The irony of the concerns is Blair has not had a single knee related issue since the surgery in high school, did not miss a single game or practice at Pitt and has had no soreness or knee related issues. That won’t stop some teams from passing on Blair, or using the chance of future knee issues – which is almost silly considering how common knee tears are these days – as a reason to pass on Blair. One league source commented that if teams were just now hearing about Blair’s ACL’s they apparently did not do their homework on him…

Very true. There has been no secret about his past surgeries. In fact, it was a rather compelling reason for Blair to go pro now. You just never know.

Sam Young, though, has seen his value increase with group workouts where he has shone.

Several league sources say Sam Young was by far the most impressive player coming out of the Oakland and Minnesota group workouts, if any one player seems to have generated positive buzz from the workouts it was Young although several players did well, Young is the name most mention as the best player they saw.

Here are the comments from the Phoenix Suns Senior VP of Basketball Ops, David Griffin on Young.

“Sam played incredibly well. Sam helped himself, showing himself more capable of getting to the rim than you might have expected in that setting. And he did it repeatedly. He made jumpshots from every range and moved well laterally. Sam’s a bit older, so he has a maturity level you wouldn’t expect to find in the younger players. In terms of making a statement, Sam did that. He had a severe injury in Toronto during the workout campaign, where he jumped into the Vertec measuring apparatus and got a screw lodged under his bicep. They removed the screw, and we’re not even 10 days past that and he’s dominating the workout. He’s a very tough kid.”

I’m not saying it was a good thing to have the freak accident in Toronto, but it sure isn’t looking like a negative. People seem genuinely impressed with how he dealt with it and has not let it stop him.





Honest question…how on earth does this blog manage to ignore recruiting like it’s the plague? The recent PSU commitments of MD and TR, coupled with the fact that PSU has gone 100% for the 6 recruits that both they and Pitt wanted seems to elicit…nothing?

9 out of every 10 posts is about basketball. It’s June. The only analogy I can make is that of a little kid covering his ears, screaming “la la la la la la” at the top of his lungs so that he can ignore what’s happening.

This is real. This is happening. And with merely one or two exceptions in the comments…no one cares, or everyone just expects it to be fine. Meh, I don’t get it.

Comment by PSU 06.05.09 @ 2:43 pm

PSU–Are you trying to gloat or start a fight? The topic has been beaten to death in the recruiting concerns blog below as well as on the other two pitt chat boards. There isn’t anything left to say. People have moved on.

Comment by pitt1972 06.05.09 @ 2:58 pm

PSU its kind of like this, Pitt is a better basketball school than football school right now so more posts will naturally be about hoops. I would bet that more PSU posts are about football than a sad NIT team. If not, that would just point out how sad your hoops team is that the NIT is such “big” news to talk about. Also, this is kind of a complete dead period, those topics have already been posted how much can there be to say.

Comment by Yinzer 06.05.09 @ 4:31 pm

Yinzer

I disagree. Its kind of like pitt1972 said above…we DID talk about it. The simple fact is, PSU is upset because we’re not acting like the sky is falling. Yeah, we lost some recruits we definitely thought we had — maybe even should have had — but c’est la vie. We’ll go to war with who we’ve got. Right now, the way the program has performed, we understand recruiting setbacks. The kids we DO get need to perform better. (And be coached better.) We’ve recruited quite well, given the struggles on game day.

Comment by maz. 06.05.09 @ 5:16 pm

Pitt is a basketball school whether you like it or not. The basketball team plays games in front of sold out audiences and performs at a high level. The football team, not so much. The football team has routinely won recruiting battles over the past several years, however it really hasn’t translated to much on the field. The basketball team, on the other hand, has lost its share of recruiting battles and still performs at a high level.

The recent results in the win loss column have made it this way. Plus it is much easier to get fans attention when you don’t have to compete with the super bowl champs for eyeballs.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Pitt football, but the basketball team is, and should be the priority.

Comment by omar 06.05.09 @ 5:39 pm

I’m happy that things look encouraging for Young. From what I understand, nobody on the team worked harder (or as hard) thru his four years. He probably could have left last year and played in the NBA or certainly in Europe, but he stayed, had more great college experiences to last a lifetime, and (from what I understand) got his degree. My guess is that his maturity had a lot to do with it.

Blair? He is the subject of different opinions that make this board interesting to read.

Comment by BigGuy 06.05.09 @ 5:41 pm

Maz,
I did mention that the topics had been posted and there isn’t much more to say about it. So I also agreed with Pitt 1972. I don’t agree that it is and should be a priority necessarily, or that Pitt is necessarily a basketball school. I think it could be both actually. My point was simply that people like to talk about things that are going well and not about things that aren’t, just human nature. Not meant to offend anyone or put priority anywhere. Just a point.

Comment by Yinzer 06.05.09 @ 6:42 pm

another PSU fan who “doesn’t care about Pitt anymore” even to the extent that he complains about the subjects of the blogs on the Pitt site …. such apathy!

Comment by w bill 06.05.09 @ 8:14 pm

Our own administration (aka Nordenberg) made the clear choice that Pitt is a basketball school. They did that by deciding against a dedicated football stadium (or dome) on or near campus in favor of a basketball-only arena, and by choosing to stay with the Big East (and it was a CHOICE to not fight back or get us into another conference).

It’s increasingly clear that the football program is 2nd place. The stadium, the inaction to force the Big East to address the lack of another school. I think the apathy in the football program is a result of the individuals (from DW down) that the administration was only paying lip service. DW is paid fairly well, but it is window dressing to appease the football fans in the alumni base until they die off and the New Generation of Pitt basketball fans take over. Then we’ll drop out of football like Georgetown, Providence and all the other hoops schools our administration takes it up the a*s from.

If you like that decision, call his office and thank him. If you don’t, bombard his office with complaints and withhold donations.

Comment by geeman2001 06.05.09 @ 11:02 pm

By the way, meant to post that I think the Sam Young accounts are great to hear. He got far too little credit for the great seasons the past two years in favor of Blair. Blair was a fun player and certainly filled a valuable niche but Young, along with Fields, were the heart and soul. Obviously I wish the best for both of them but this story is playing out much like I thought it would. I only hope DeJuan ends up with some money at all when it’s said and done.

Comment by geeman2001 06.05.09 @ 11:04 pm

Pitt has made immense improvement in academics and athletically since Chancelor Nordenberg has been in charge. This CANNOT be disputed. Period.

Comment by Omar 06.06.09 @ 2:03 am

Penn State? Who the fuck are they?

WVU’s our rival, I really don’t care about Penn State.

Comment by Jimbo Covert's My Dad 06.06.09 @ 3:48 am

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’ (re: academics)

link to pittsburghpanthers.com

Comment by BigGuy 06.06.09 @ 11:53 am

If I were a PSU fan, I would be far more concerned with who OSU and Michigan are recruiting than who Pitt is recruiting. You don’t play Pitt (cause JoePa is afraid he might actually have a chance to lose a non-con game). You play in the Big 11. OSU is making a habbit of plucking the best PA talent right out from under PSU, and yet I all I hear from the PSU fans is how they out recruit Pitt. Michigan is bringing in Top 10 classes. Rembmer, its you PSU fans that have annointed PSU as a national “elite” program. It is also you PSU fans who go on and on about how awesome the Big 11 is an how pathetic the Big East is in football. So fans from a FB Powerhouse in an elite conference jaw on endlessly about their success in out recruiting a mediocre FB program that plays in a second rate conference (by your definition). Meanwhile, back in your own conference, you are being out recruited by the only two teams that matter in that conference (OSU and Michigan) The only analogy I can make is that of a little kid covering his ears, screaming “la la la la la la” at the top of his lungs so that he can ignore what’s happening!

Comment by HbgFrank 06.06.09 @ 2:57 pm

Hey guys, any update on Fields and what his plans for the future are???

Comment by Foursnow 06.06.09 @ 6:11 pm

You try to start a conversation civilly, and it turns into this kinda nonsense. Okay…..

“You don’t play Pitt (cause JoePa is afraid he might actually have a chance to lose a non-con game).”

Oregon State (choose whichever half of the double entendre you’d like), ‘Bama, NU, UM, UVA, RU.

“Meanwhile, back in your own conference, you are being out recruited by the only two teams that matter in that conference (OSU and Michigan)”

Huh?

link to pennstate.scout.com
link to pennstate.scout.com
link to pennstate.scout.com

All I’m trying to say is it just seems like Pitters are resigned to continuing mediocrity. Boggles my mind is all.

Comment by PSU 06.06.09 @ 10:01 pm

If all our women looked like farm animals (ala St Pen) we would spend our idle time searching blogs incesently for controversy also…

Comment by Dan 72 06.06.09 @ 10:37 pm

I love how Staters go trolling for fights on Pitt blogs. Where were these guys when the team won 5 games for over a decade? That’s right, sulking.

I want to talk sports, not argue with idiots.

Comment by Pauly P 06.07.09 @ 7:49 pm

There’s not much to do over there. You can only twiddle so many fingers before primeval anger comes out and starts clubbing your neighbors. Ethnocentric football fans hate the summer because their stench is unbearable.

Yeah, we lose to Bowling Green but we don’t cow tip.

Comment by Panthoor 06.07.09 @ 9:52 pm

Wow PSU, that’s a nice try…selecting data that makes your point while ignoring data that refutes your point. From the very site you sent us to: Over the past five (2005 to 2009 classes)years, OSU has out recruited PSU 4 out of five years; Michigan has out recruited PSU 3 of the past 5 years. Over that same span, OSU highest rated class was No. 1, Michigans No. 2, and PSU No. 6. OSU’s lowest class was No. 16, Michigans No. 14 and PSU No. 41! In this case, the perception is the reality, the Big 11 is all about OSU and Michigan. PSU is nothing but a speed bump (just look at the record between PSU vs Mich and OSU!) on the way to the big Mich vs. OSU game each year. Now if ND would join the Big 11…now your talking because the PSU vs. ND game has real intensity to it. For now, go get on the MSU blog because they are your main football rival…I know, I know, it does not interest you….nor anyone else!

Comment by HbgFrank 06.08.09 @ 1:10 pm

As far as Pitt football recruiting goes, the coaching staff has brought in some pretty highly regarded classes the last 4-5 years and been unable to make that translate into any real success on the field. While it’d be nice to continue to bring in highly sought-after players, I don’t think it makes sense to panic right now, given the program’s recent history. Odds are we can sustain our mediocrity with our without the services of Mr. Ricketts and Mr. Deiffenbach.

Comment by Jeff 06.08.09 @ 6:25 pm

In Wanny’sdefense, his defensive recruits are doing well, and by all indications, we have every right to expect a top caliber defense this year.

Wanny brought in Bennett as DC because of his major college experience in coordinating defense. We can only hope that Cignetti can make strides on the offensive end … and that Wanny allows him.

Comment by w bill 06.09.09 @ 8:23 am

Those are high hopes, w bill.

Comment by Carmen 06.09.09 @ 9:50 am

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