With the long dry spell of verbals for Pitt football, a second round of stories on Jeff Knox. It helps that he was from the area and is now coming home — improves the storyline.

Jeff Knox might not play in the WPIAL anymore, but the former Central Catholic star’s heart never left Pittsburgh even after he transferred to Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic last year.

That’s one of the reasons the 6-foot-2 1/2, 207-pound safety made a verbal commitment to Pitt on Sunday night, picking the Panthers over the likes of Maryland, Michigan, Penn State and Wake Forest. He also had scholarship offers from Akron, Iowa, Miami (Ohio), New Mexico and Towson.

“It’s my hometown. I’m a Pittsburgh guy,” Knox said. “I knew where my heart was at, and it was in Pittsburgh. “I have a great relationship with coach (Dave) Wannstedt. I told him I wanted to be a great player. He told me he would make me into a man, not just on the field but off the field, as well.

“That’s what got me right there.”

What got him living in Maryland, was a family that recognized that just sending him to a private school locally wasn’t keeping the problems at bay. Getting kicked out of Central Catholic for disciplinary issues was the final straw for his family. They wanted him to reset.

His family still lives in Pittsburgh and he is living with the family of one of his teammates, a major factor in his decision.

“My family wanted me to get out of the neighborhood because there were a lot of bad influences and they were worried about my grades slipping, so this was a good move for me to get my academics together and whatnot,” Knox said.

As noted, the lack of much recruiting news for Pitt has people rusty. Like a beat reporter putting something in the paper that would constitute a secondary recruiting violation. Like a coach commenting on recruiting specific players  is a no-no. It’s a relatively harmless, secondary violation, but still.

Wannstedt and his staff expect several more players to commit in the next few weeks as Pitt will be playing host to its annual summer prospect camps. Included in that group are four of Knox’s DeMatha teammates (offensive linemen Shane Johnson, Arie and Cyrus Kouandjio, and safety Mike Coley) who currently hold scholarship offers from Pitt. Wannstedt said he already has begun the recruiting process on all four.

Oops.

Well, at least the local media does. The Indiana Pacers hold the 13th pick and Blair was part of a group that was in for workouts.

A columnist calls for his drafting.

The Pacers need “mean.”

Not taking-candy-from-children mean or shooting-up-a-strip-joint-parking-lot mean, but mean, a guy with a bit of an angry edge and a Machiavellian will to dominate.

Say hello to DeJuan Blair, the University of Pittsburgh forward who joined North Carolina’s Ty Lawson, UCLA’s Jrue Holiday, Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague, Michigan State’s Goran Suton and Florida State’s Toney Douglas at the Pacers’ predraft workout Monday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

If he’s still there when the Pacers select at No. 13 nine days from now — assuming, of course, they remain at No. 13 — Blair is my pick.

The beat writer for the Pacers brings up Blair as the good citizen for another reason.

Besides possibly giving the Pacers some much needed toughness in the post, Blair is also good in the community, which would be an added bonus for the blue and gold.

I hear Blair surprised some kids at a community center in his hometown of Pittsburgh when he showed up unannounced and started reading to them recently. It wouldn’t hurt the Pacers if they got another player that enjoys being a positive influence in the community.

Interesting in a Q&A, though, that he isn’t letting go of the ‘Burgh.

Q: How important is it to be a role model?

Blair: “That’s the biggest thing besides playing basketball because there are a lot of kids that look up to NBA players. I want to be one of the successful role models in the city I go to and in Pittsburgh. I want to be an entrepreneur in Pittsburgh because I won’t always be here. I always want to be able to go back and be that person that everybody looks up to.”

The one thing that leads me to wonder if the Pacers would go with Blair is that they drafted Roy Hibbert last year. Do the Pacers really want or need another young guy in the front court with still developing/limited offensive moves?

According to DraftExpress, Blair is starting to solidify as a pick in the 12-16 range.

We’re hearing that DeJuan Blair is in pretty good shape at the moment, and he continues to have very strong workouts that are easing the concerns teams have about his knee. Blair’s draft range looks pretty steady between 12 and 16, although he will work out for teams above and below those picks. Don’t be surprised to see a team like Oklahoma City or Portland try to make a move for him on draft night, as both organizations are reportedly very high on him.

Hmm. The tough thing about the 12-16 range is it makes it less likely that he will get an invite to the Draft. I can still hope.

I’m not saying the LA Times beat reporter on USC is in the early stages of stalking Coach Dixon, but first he’s parsing his Tweets for deeper meanings (and probably getting it wrong since the reference was to the USA U-19 team). Then he managed to get Coach Dixon’s number.

Pittsburgh basketball Coach Jamie Dixon answered the phone quickly, after one ring. Upon learning it was a newspaper reporter, he responded, just as quickly, “I have a recruit on the other line. Can I get your number and call you back?”

Dixon took down the number, then upon being asked “Are you interested in the USC job,” replied, ‘I’ll have to call you back.”

More than two hours later the call came … from a sports information official, who said, “This is probably not the person you expected.” He then gave the stump speech, saying: “Jamie’s personal practice is not to discuss the coaching searches of other schools, so he will respectfully decline comment.”

When he starts camping out in front of Dixon’s house, don’t say I didn’t warn people about it.

That won’t stop the speculation. USC apparently feels it has to pursue Dixon just to placate people.

The chances of him saying anything other than “No, thanks” are still small, but according to a source with knowledge of the situation, Dixon will be given the first chance to replace Tim Floyd. USC has to go through that process first, likely through back channels and then maybe directly with Dixon, before it can move ahead. Waiting to ask permission to speak with him is just a formality and rarely happens anymore. By the time permission has been granted, the coach has either accepted or told the school he’s not interested.

USC’s move toward Dixon is akin to what Kentucky did two years ago with Florida’s Billy Donovan. Even though all indications were that Donovan would remain with the Gators, the Wildcats had to go through the process of making a run at him. He was the obvious first choice. UK’s approach was a bit more public than anything USC would likely do in the coming days. But the Trojans, according to a source, have to make the effort to look at Dixon.

Multiple sources close to Dixon in and out of Pittsburgh say he won’t leave for Los Angeles. But there is nothing wrong with listening. For example, what if USC were to throw a crazy offer at Dixon, like $2 million a year for eight years? Wouldn’t he have to at least listen? Dixon’s buyout is projected to be at least $1 million, according to sources, although Pitt doesn’t release contract details on its coaches.

Dixon, like any other elite coach in his position, doesn’t have to leave for a rebuilding situation, even one that has as many recruiting advantages as USC, with its proximity to players. Dixon is from the L.A. area, but Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson isn’t fretting over the current situation because of how much Dixon is revered in Pittsburgh and the way the Panthers view him as their version of Mike Krzyzewski, a coach who can leave a legacy for years to come. The timing isn’t great for Dixon, either, with a USC roster that seems to get smaller with every passing day and a commitment to be with USA Basketball for the next month.

Personally, I think Katz is lowballing on the kind of offer USC will need to make to Dixon. 8 years, $16 million is right for length, but it will take at least $2.5 mill per. Especially considering that penalties for USC are at least 6 months to a year away. The NCAA hasn’t even presented anything or officially finished the investigation.

And as I said right away, there just is not any time for Dixon to take the job. The U-19 duties mean not starting a new job until August.

Now if Coach Dixon or his agent wanted to manipulate this out for more money from Pitt or USC — and I am stating from the outset that I don’t believe this since Coach Dixon has not shown any indication that he plays this kind of game, I’m just having a little fun — then this scenario could occur.

A “back-channel” source would make noise to USC’s people that Coach Dixon might listen a lot closer after the 2009-10 season ended. That maybe hiring an interim would be the best way to make it happen.

An interim at USC would allow for extended speculation and create more pressure on Pitt for another extension and raise to keep Dixon. Especially useful when Pitt is likely going to be doing a bit of rebuilding this season.

Of course, that would put USC in a real bind. In their best case dreams they might see how things have worked out far better than expected for Arizona by doing the year long interim route.

The difference is that, that was Arizona. They had a core group come back. They had Lute Olson back for a while and he brought in recruits (a couple of who Sean Miller was able to get back). They also were willing to spend more money than USC would probably like.

USC is in really facing a Cinci scenario for basketball. They are in chaos, a coach departing under a cloud (slightly different), the NCAA looking at the program, talent fleeing (Cinci had transfers) and recruiting lost completely. Cinci has far more tradition and support for the basketball program and they are still trying to get it back together some 4 years later.

If USC is really going to try to get Dixon first, and he makes them wait until after the U-19 games, then USC truly doesn’t care about its basketball — only appearances. They simply don’t have time to wait a month to get a new coach and staff. They need to act now to just begin the rebuilding of the program before it keeps sinking lower.

They have not even pretended to elevate an assitant to interim. Presumably because they don’t want to pay a little more for even an empty figurehead while this is all happening.

Regardless of the fertile recruiting area and spanking new facilities, USC is showing little inclination that the Athletic Department wants to do much to help and support its basketball. It merely wants to get a name to do it all. ‘

That will be another reason why Dixon won’t go. He understands and gets that support and trust of the people in the Athletic Department is vital to help the program grow and improve — and by extension Dixon’s own reputation and bank account. He has that at Pitt.

Something of a review here. With Father’s Day coming quickly a Pitt product that should be on the list. This one was sent to me a little while back, but has been simmering for the right time.

The item in question is the University of Pittsburgh Football Vault.

This is part of the series of college football vaults from Whitman Publishing. Part history, part scrapbook, and completely engrossing.

The Pitt football Vault was put together by Sam Sciullo, Jr., a Pitt alum, former member of Pitt’s sports information office and the writer of several other Pitt-related books.

From postcard reproductions of programs to a small felt pennant circa the early-60s, to the field passes. These items help make the stories and history tangible (and can be quite the attractive nuisance to small children). The copy of Jackie Sherrill’s first contract with Pitt is an amusing extra.

The history runs from the beginnings through the 2007 season and the conclusion of the 100th Backyard Brawl. This is not a stat book. You won’t get lists of all-time numbers. That’s for media guides (if Pitt will even print one this year). This is about the love of Pitt football and its history.

If you or your dad loves Pitt, this is something to get. It sells on Amazon for around $37, and nearly the same price at B&N (w. a member discount).