The last day of July. That means we reach the official end to what is usually one of the deadest months in college football. It’s a little more extended for Pitt fans since the start of practice does not begin until August 11 — with new Nike unis probably unveiled the day before at the Pitt Media Day.

Big East media days will fill the gap somewhat before that.

The big story is still that Pitt and Utah will meet. Love the gratuitous shot at ex-AD Long.

Utah fills a void left when former Pitt athletic director Jeff Long allowed Clemson out of its two-game series with the Panthers, who now have one open date remaining on their 2010 schedule.

The Panthers will open at home in 2010 against New Hampshire on Sept. 4, then visit Utah Sept. 11, play host to Miami Sept. 25 and at Notre Dame Oct. 9. In 2011, Pitt will visit Iowa and play host to Buffalo, Maine, Utah and Notre Dame in a schedule that features eight games at Heinz Field.

Nice. Remind everyone that Long let Clemson out of a home-and-home with nothing and never even got to finding a replacement.

BTW, UConn is going to Michigan for 2010 and gets the Woverines to come to the Rent in 2013. So let me get this straight. Michigan will play one game at the Rent, but in 3 “home” meetings with ND, UConn can’t get one to take place in their own frickin’ state?

Very late in acknowleding that Nate Byham is on the Mackey Watch List for best tight end. This was completely expected. Byham should be a unanimous pick on the preseason All-Big East first team as well.

Andrew Taglianetti got some love last week, and I never got to this story.

It’s that kind of effort that makes Gattuso think Taglianetti can challenge for playing time at safety, even though the Panthers have talented players there in Dom DeCicco and Elijah Fields.

“He’s got great instincts and he hits like a truck,” Gattuso said. “I don’t even think of him as an overachiever any more because he’s running 4.5s and high 4.4s (in the 40-yard dash). No one outworks him and no one outthinks him. He’s got all the tools. He’s just not 6-1 and 200 pounds.”

Taglianetti says he’s up to 186 pounds now. And there’s no questioning his toughness, because it was passed along in his genes.

At the end of the story they mention his hockey playing dad, but the bit is focused on what he does on the field. Just making plays.

Recent Pitt commit Andre Givens gets a story on his verbal from one of his locals.

Givens verbally committed to play football at the University of Pittsburgh last Friday. He made the choice after visiting Pitt and Ohio State.

“I just loved it,” Givens said of his visit to Pitt. “I’m going there pretty much for academic reasons. I want to major in criminal justice and become a detective. I saw how they handle things there. Everything is hands-on. I told coach (Dave) Wannstedt that the football team will take care of itself.”

…

Givens enjoyed his visit to Ohio State, but the Buckeyes weren’t a strong second choice.

“I liked the facilities at Ohio State, but I knew for a fact that I wasn’t going to play in the Big Ten,” Givens said. “The Big East is more my style. It’s a fast style of playing.”

Not that tOSU actually offered. Still, glad to have him.

Finally, Greg Romeus gives a quick profile on himself to Sporting News. It’s probably just a reflection of the times, and the fact that I’m always writing about college scandals. Still, what ended up jumping out at me was that his ride is a Lexus 300 GS. I don’t know his family’s background, but part of me is hoping it’s got a lot of miles on it and more than a few years.

Is a Twitter post that is deleted more credible or means something is likely to happen more than a mention on a sports radio show?

You may recall last summer that the Georgia Tech AD Dan Radackovich said that GT was nearing a deal for a home-and-home with Pitt. Pitt’s AD denied, and nothing has come of it.

This time Block U noted a tweet from Utah’s Assistant Athletics Director of Corporate Sales and Ticket Operations, Zack Lassiter (Who’s picture is a huge disappointment for someone named Zack Lassiter.) saying that Utah was close to having Pitt come to Salt Lake City in 2010.

The tweet has since been deleted, and there is no other word. It might be a case where it got leaked before the parties had finished a contract or were ready to release.

Or it could simply be way too soon and merely teams still talking and not even close to an agreement.

UPDATE (4:40): And just like that I’m smacked upside the head by the Pitt athletic department. Here’s the announcement on Utah.

Pitt and Utah have agreed to a home-and-home football series beginning with the 2010 season, University of Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson announced.

Pitt will play at Utah on Sept. 11, 2010. The Panthers will host the Utes the following season on Oct. 15, 2011.

The 2010 encounter will mark the first-ever regular-season game between the two schools.

Happy to be shown up.

Coach Dave Wannstedt has 788 followers at last count to Coach Jamie Dixon‘s 1031. This despite Wannstedt more than doubling Dixon’s output. I’m guessing the success of the U-19 team helped. I like to think they have a friendly wager going to see who will have more by the end of the year.

The basketball program — past and present — is loaded with Tweeters.

There’s Jermaine Dixon,

Brad Wanamaker,

Gilbert Brown,

Austin Wallace,

Gary McGhee (locked),

and Travon Woodall.

As for recent former Panthers, Ronald Ramon is a private guy. Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, of course. Mildly surprised that Young is actually Twittering and not locked. Sean Brown has his.

Julius Page has one for his business activity. I think this is Jaron Brown‘s.

Disappointed not to find Twitters for Aaron Gray, Ricardo Greer, and especially Carl Krauser.

I’ll try to get to football at a later point.

Little things worth noting, that do not have a real common thread.

Michigan needs an opponent to start 2010 in the refurbished Big House.

Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez said Michigan is close to signing a deal with a major-conference opponent to open the 2010 season. “We’re looking at a BCS school,” Rodriguez said. Duke, Virginia and Pitt are among the BCS schools with open dates in Week 1 next year.

I have a hard time believing ole’ Dick Rod would really want to risk scheduling Pitt to open Year 3 of his term at Michigan, with the updated stadium. Still…

Brian Bennett makes his predictions regarding Pitt. He sees Greg Romeus having a big year and going pro, Pitt beating the Irish, and a blindingly obvious prediction.

1. Bill Stull will take the most reps at quarterback: There’s a heated quarterback battle underway on the Panthers, with Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri nipping at incumbent starter Stull’s heels. Stull didn’t help himself with a poor stretch run last year and an awful Sun Bowl performance. But I think that, in the end, Dave Wannstedt will go with the experienced senior over the other two candidates, though all three will probably see the field at some point. Whether Pitt can win the Big East depends largely on how Stull (or the other two) come through.

Frankly, I think Bennett overstates how much of a competition there really will be. This is already a given to most fans. As Jones at Cat Basket has already noted that Coach Wannstedt has essentially said it is Stull’s job unless Stull blows it.

I don’t think anyone is really shocked. Disappointed? Perhaps. Frustrated? Sure. This is still Coach Wannstedt’s team. There may be a new OC, but the call is ultimately the head coach’s. Wannstedt will go with the QB he feels will make the fewest mistakes — not the one that will give Pitt the best chance to win.  And I don’t know if Bostick or Sunseri or even Kolby Gray are truly better than Stull. I am certain, though, that Wannstedt trusts Stull not to make the big mistakes more than the other QBs.

A good interview/discussion with defensive coordinator Phil Bennett on defending the spread.

Your defense at Pitt is built on undersized but fast guys. Does that help against the spread?

PB: I think obviously it helps on the pass rush against play-pass because you don’t have as long to throw it. In the spread read game, it makes the quarterback have to make a faster decision, whether it’s give, keep, throw the bubble. And I think what it also does — I keep using the word equalizer — but if you blitz this thing it’s dangerous. If you don’t hit the right blitz, there’s a chance — and you’ve seen it over and over again — the dive can go 80 straight up the field, or the pitch, or the quarterback keeper. So you’ve really got to be careful how you pressure. It makes people think twice about pinning their ears back and taking off and getting after people.

That goes back to our philosophy. We’re a speed defense. … I just believe that speed beats size. If you look at it right now, so many people are running a version of the spread that outside linebackers are what I would call a tweener safety/linebackers. You look at our guys, and Austin Ransom was a former wide receiver/safety. Greg Williams we handpicked; he was a running back. I think the days of the 6-foot-3, 235-pound plug linebackers on the edge are gone, for the time being.

I’m a firm believer in that I don’t think you recreate your defense. We had a lot of people come up and visit because they liked the way we played it this year. We’re sort of a nickel defense to begin with.

I haven’t focused much on the preseason mags, because they seem as unsure about the Big East and Pitt as I do. The NY Times clocks Pitt at #42 overall (probably placing Pitt 4th or so in the BE). Really, the only reason to mention this preview is that they wisely mention this blog as a destination.  They also point out that the issue of QB play looms large.

I realize the latest Big East Commissioner from the Providence College cabal has stressed the need to improve the Big East’s bowl tie-ins as a top priority. And I don’t disagree since that is the most immediate contract. At the same time, he dismisses the need for a 9th team in football.

Well, the football stuff and the bloated side of basketball is in need of being addressed because of the impact on the TV money.

This shows the current set-up for TV deals in the conferences.

It is no surprise that the Big East has the worst contract of any of the BCS conferences with a 6-year/$200 million arrangement with ESPN/ABC for football and basketball. The Big East wasn’t in a position of strength having just lost three football teams and being on double-secret BCS probation.

Still, it is hideous even compared to the inept work of the Pac-10:

• ABC/ESPN: Five years, $125 million for football

• Fox Sports Net: Five years, $97 million for football

• ABC/ESPN: Six years, $52.5 million for basketball

(All run through 2011-12.)

However the Big East allocates the money to football schools versus basketball only schools, it is not good for the football schools overall. Guessing that $100 mill gets a roughly 8-way split ($12.5 mill) and the other half gets a 16-way ($6.25 mill), that’s a paltry $18.75 million over the course of the 6-year deal (or $3.125 mill/year).

Even the Pac-10 clears over $5 mill per team per year with their contracts, and they are considered to have the dumbest negotiators in big-time college sports.

This only underscores one of the problems with the Big East’s basketball side. It is just too big. Too many slices of the pie. Couple that with the too small football side that can’t get even close to the same drawing power of the other major conferences, and this will be a looming catastrophe for the football programs competitively. And eventually for the basketball side as well.

BONUS UPDATE: Brian Bennett on his Big East football blog for ESPN has some more disturbing numbers on where Big East teams lie on the overall list of what D-1 programs take in for overall revenue:

Now think about this: The top Big East teams made less than half of the revenue that Texas and Ohio State generated. Ten of the 12 SEC schools, 10 of the 11 Big Ten schools, six of the 10 Pac-10 schools and half the Big 12 ranked ahead of the top Big East revenue maker.

This list isn’t all about football, of course, and some schools sponsor several sports that bring in money. But we all know that football is the rainmaker, and those that have the most cash usually find the most success. The gap between the SEC and the Big East (and possibly everybody else) only figures to widen given the SEC’s new lucrative TV deal.

39. UConn: $54.7 million

40.: WVU: $54.3 million

44. Louisville: $52.2 million

45. Rutgers: $50.2 million

54. Syracuse: $44.7 million

61. Pittsburgh: $39.7 million

66. South Florida: $34.7 million

67. Cincinnati: $33.9 million

Yeep. Here’s the full chart.

While Pitt is still yet to list the basketball schedule, things trickle from others. Kent State is on the schedule. Coming to the Pete on Saturday, December 12.

It took all weekend, but the reports of Sam Young signing with the Grizzlies have finally been confirmed. The reports surfaced as early as late-Thursday night, but took until the end of the weekend for the Grizz to confirm. No terms announced — of course — but it appears to be a $2 million deal guaranteed over three years along with around $600,000 in incentives — the first two years base pay is around $900,000 per. The Griz hold the option for the third year which suggests that if they don’t exercise the option they pay him about $200 K to leave.

The Grizzlies finished the summer league 5-0. As 3 Shades of Blue simply put it:

Sure, it doesn’t mean much (except that it can surely add fissile-quality fuel  to the debate that rages over draft picks and placement).  But darnit, all eleven of us that count ourselves as what could be termed “Grizzlies fans” are jonesin’ for something to view positively, and view summerleague positively we will.

and Sam Young was part of the good.

Sam Young playing like the experienced player that he is, and showing that he has an idea already how he’ll earn his paycheck in the NBA-knowing how to use his size on the perimeter on both ends and having enough of a nose for the ball inside to grab some rebounds.

Thabeet, to the surprise of no one who watched the Big East, was a disappointment in that fans of the pro game realize he is an even bigger project than expected for the NBA.

Gilbert Brown, is hoping to emulate the progression of Sam Young. Tantalizing, promising athletic talent in his first year of playing. A seeming step back in his second but emerging in his junior year as he gets stronger and more committed to the full game (at least that’s how the storyline is shoehorned).

Brown contends he realized he needed to be bigger long ago (“Just watching this league, not even playing in it, you got to know how physical it is,” he said.), but youth and a spot often outside the starting five may have contributed to the late start. Injuries, too, have collared Brown, who suffered through ankle and shoulder problems and missed his true freshman year with a medical redshirt.

“I feel great now. I feel like I’m in great shape,” Brown said. “My shoulder’s fine; it hasn’t hurt for a while. My ankles, well, they’ll always be my ankles.”

In addition to an increased workout regimen, Brown said he’s been focused on his shooting and ballhandling, building upon a strong second half of last year when he was a key to the Panthers’ first Elite Eight appearance of the modern NCAA Tournament era.

With his new and improved body, Brown may appear to be a Young-type player in the Panthers’ strong forward position. But with newcomers Dante Taylor, Talib Zanna and J.J. Richardson entering a frontcourt with Nasir Robinson, Dwight Miller and Gary McGhee, Brown’s better off remaining in the rotation at the swing spot. There, he’ll likely compete with Brad Wannamaker for the starting spot as Jermaine Dixon slides over to the two guard on offense.

That doesn’t mean Brown can’t play the way Young did in his two seasons as Pitt’s top scorer. Young developed a solid outside shot and drove from the perimeter inside, much like the three would do in the Panthers’ offense.

Brown’s game has seemed to follow Young’s pattern. Now, his body does, too.

Even Gilbert Brown seems unsure what to expect from his ankles (other than a sense of betrayal).

Levance Fields is getting ready to head overseas, but still has his eyes on the NBA.

That ability extends beyond the hardwood. The 22-year-old Fields, who grew up in the rough-and-tumble Brownsville Houses, has long had a penchant for turning struggles into successes. He established himself as a big-game floor general at the University of Pittsburgh, the latest in a string of metro-area guards to stand out at the Big East school.

“He’s shouldered a lot in his life,” says Pitt assistant Brandin Knight. “It’s made him mature beyond his years.”

Ask Fields why he wants to play in the NBA, and he gives a quick response: He says he wants to buy his mother Koreen Thomas a house, one far from Brownsville.

“I go home to see her all the time … she still lives there,” he says. “I go home, and I’m just a homebody, hanging out with her. I hardly go outside.”

Fields speaks quietly when he talks of his old haunt, as if reflecting on each word. Last year, the 73rd Precinct, which encompasses Brownsville and Ocean Hill, reported 31 murders, the most in the city according to the NYPD.

There’s also a nice sidebar piece looking at Travon Woodall as the next possible PG at Pitt.

Woodall, who’s 5-11, lacks Fields’ savvy and court vision, but he brings speed and athleticism. “I’m more athletic than him,” Woodall says. “I can jump. I’ve caught some (alley-)oops.”

He also picked up plenty of wisdom from Fields. While sitting on the bench, he watched Fields run the offense; by the end of the season, he was often pointing out Fields’ mistakes during timeouts.

“It was weird,” Woodall says. “I started feeling like his father, criticizing him.”

Of course the competition to start at PG will be with Ashton Gibbs, who isn’t shying from expectations with Pitt.

“I think people are definitely underestimating us,” Gibbs, a rising sophomore point guard, said last week at the Joe Brown Memorial tournament. “We’re bringing a lot back. We lost four starters but we’re bringing a lot back, a lot of reserves back. We’re the same team that went at the starters in practice last year so we know we can play against some of the best players in the country.”

And this more than a little rose-colored glasses look at Pitt players’ summer league performances.

Throughout the summer league all four true freshmen showed their ability at times and the two redshirt freshman showed signs of improvement. Because practice is such a critical factor in how the rotation comes to form, it is too early to name any certainties as starters, but there are two clear facts about this version of the Panthers: this team is extremely deep, and there are a lot of options with the personnel of the roster.

With the summer league over, one thing that is certain is that there will be some serious battles at every single spot on the floor this year. Despite all the uncertainly, Panther fans should be pleasantly optimistic about this young group.

It’s a little on the overly-gushing side, and yes it’s summer league. Still it is an encouraging read.

Mildly surprised. Maybe it’s because the last couple years it seems that every other commit to Pitt started out as a running back. Yet, Andre Givens is only the second back to commit to Pitt for the class of 2010.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Givens, a two-year starter, rushed for 1,433 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior, averaging 6.6 yards a carry, and is regarded as one of Ohio’s top running backs. Rivals.com ranks Givens as the nation’s No. 32 tailback prospect; Scout.com ranks him No. 54.

“I’m shifty. I can cut on a dime at top speed,” said Givens, who has been timed at 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash and at 10.89 seconds in the 100. “I’m getting bigger and stronger and trying to be an all-around back.”

Pitt has 16 verbal commitments for the Class of 2010. Givens is the second running back to pick Pitt, joining 6-foot-1, 200-pound T.J. Peeler of Ashburn (Va.) Broad Run. Givens, however, welcomes the challenge.

“Every school has a speed back and a big back,” Givens said. “It’s all about competition. You’re going to have it wherever you go. I’m ready to step up.”

Givens is a solid 3-star on both recruiting sites (though Scout.com seems to have him as a CB prospect despite not much of a likelihood of that). His suitors included Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville, Wisconsin and Maryland.

ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. seems to like him (Insider subs.) and despite his size uses the term durable to describe him.

Givens is a well-rounded back who grows on you the more you view his film. He is not overly flashes but is consistent, durable and constantly seems to be gaining positive yards. Has a strong, compact frame with a wide lower base, which assists his power. Shows good urgency hitting the hole out of his stance and is a guy who looks to get north right away. Runs with good vision; he can see and decisively hit the inside cutback creases or bounce it outside to avoid penetration.

Givens was recruited by new OC Frank Cignetti, who is recruiting in Ohio. Something of a change from the previous OC, who didn’t recruit an area only looked for QBs.

A major goal for Cignetti is getting production from his quarterback, which has been an inconsistent position in recent seasons. Incumbent starter Bill Stull kept his job in spring drills, but Cignetti swears the competition will continue in camp with Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri also in the mix.

Would Cignetti play two quarterbacks? He isn’t saying. But he expects big things.

“As I talked to Wannstedt and [athletic director Steve] Pederson, there was no doubt in my mind that things at Pitt are going in the right direction,” he says. “There is no doubt in my mind that Dave is going to get that 10th national championship [for Pitt]. Everything is in place for that to happen. Hey, the sky is the limit.”

It’s great that Cignetti is an active recruiter. So far, Pitt has 3 verbals from Ohio. The previous three years, Pitt had 2 from Ohio — and only one is still with the team.

As for the QB stuff, well that will be the thing everyone will be watching when training camp starts in a couple short weeks.

If I had checked some stuff online, I could have gone right to the home of Pitt’s newest verbal and said hello. Instead, I find out after leaving Lebanon that the Cedars are sending an offensive lineman to Pitt.

A senior-to-be on the offensive and defensive lines at Lebanon, [Arthur] Doakes is the latest in an increasingly long line of LHS gridiron standouts to reach the D-1 level, joining, among others, Penn State defensive tackle Jared Odrick and former teammate and soon-to-be Iowa State quarterback James Capello.

In addition, Doakes, who cannot officially sign on the dotted line with the Panthers until February, will be the first in his immediate family to attend college, something that made for an emotional moment Tuesday evening when Doakes and his mother — his father is deceased — informed Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt of his intentions.

“It means a lot to me,” Doakes said yesterday. “In my family, I’m the only one (to go to college). It’s a great chance. She (his mother) is just really happy for me.”

“He’s proud to make his mother proud,” Lebanon High head coach Gerry Yonchiuk said of Doakes. “He’s really ecstatic, but I don’t know if he understands how big a deal this is. It’s a really big deal.”

It’s just good to be getting another offensive lineman.

“It was really close between Syracuse and Pittsburgh,” said Yonchiuk, who accompanied Doakes on a Monday visit to Syracuse.

“I think it’s where he felt the most comfortable.”

Doakes confirmed his coach’s assertion.

“Pittsburgh made me feel really comfortable,” he said.

“I wanted to do this now so I could focus on this season instead of letting it go on through the football season.”

I’m not sure I could have shown my avatar at the next Big East bloggers meeting if a recruit from my high school had picked Syracuse. So, I appreciate him choosing Pitt.

Pitt jumped on him early.

Even so, the Panthers identified him as a prospect early and invited Doakes to their Blue Chip Day for a men’s basketball game against Cincinnati and to coach Dave Wannstedt’s individual skills camp in June.

“A lot of other schools wanted to wait for my senior film,” said Doakes, who also was receiving interest from Connecticut, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Virginia and West Virginia, “but I’m glad Pitt saw (potential) in me.”

The emphasis is apparently on potential (Insider subs). The stories love pointing out that despite now being a 6-6, 325 to 350 pound man-child, he didn’t start playing football until the 8th grade and only has one year as a starter. Doakes is a 3-star recruit according to Scout.com and unstarred by Rivals.com.

It may be a good thing that Pitt is in a bit of a rebuilding year. Judging by some of what players that were on the U-19 team are saying, they are going to be better for their college teams after the time.

Whether it was Terrico White at Ole Miss.

White said his main focus on the trip was defense. The USA’s coach was Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, who’s known for his defensive knowledge.

“That’s his main focus, so we really worked on good team defense,” White said.

Or Kansas’ Tyshawn Taylor who came out as the team’s leading scorer and was an all-FIBA selection.

At one point, a frustrated coach Jamie Dixon even challenged Taylor to play harder.

“We had some words because I wasn’t playing good and he was yelling at me and I was getting frustrated,” Taylor said.

Ashton Gibbs reports that Dixon worked all of the players hard.

On the court, Gibbs said many of his teammates appeared to be in awe of Dixon’s work ethic, much in the same way Gibbs appeared to be when he first came to Pitt for the 2008-09 season.

“The guys were in the dorm after practice saying, ‘No more coach Dixon,’ ” Gibbs said, with a laugh. “I absolutely knew what they were talking about. He’s a tough and competitive guy because it leads to winning. That’s what he’s all about.”

Sean Ford, the men’s national team director of USA Basketball, said he was impressed with Dixon’s coaching approach.

“Jamie said after the first practice that they were going for nothing less than a gold medal,” Ford said. “And after every practice and every timeout, for 29 days, he had them say one simple phrase: ‘Gold medal.’ “

So now Pitt has a coach getting more accolades and even a senior editor at (NBC) Universal Sports (you know, the people with the Olympic broadcast rights) is starting to talk of Coach Dixon as a future USA Olympic basketball coach.

USA Basketball should look to secure the long-term services of another coach, Jamie Dixon, after he led the U.S. U19 team to a world title earlier this week.

By beating Greece 88-80 Sunday in Auckland, New Zealand, the Americans claimed the crown for the first time since 1991. They have won the quadrennial tournament four times since it was first played in 1979 and have won medals in seven of the nine tournaments.

The team finished the 2009 tournament with a 9-0 record and a 22.2 points margin of victory average.

Dixon, the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, was named the team’s head coach on May 12. The team did not hold tryouts until mid-June and none of the players on the team that played in the regional qualifying tournament last summer were members of the world championship team.

Dixon was named the 2009 Naismith Men’s College Basketball Coach of the Year after leading the University of Pittsburgh to a 31-5 overall record and the school’s first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the East Region final.

Krzyzewski was an assistant to Chuck Daly with the 1992 USA Dream Team that won gold at the Barcelona Olympics. As a head coach in 1990 he led the Americans to a bronze medal at the 1990 world Championships and a silver medal at 1987 World University Games

He’s not done what Dixon did last week—lead a U.S. team do a world title as a head coach.

Perhaps Dixon is destined to win an Olympic gold medal as a head coach as well.

Of course, as soon as the FIBA U-19 Championships were over, Dixon was on the recruiting trail for the last couple days of the open period.

“What else would I be doing?” Dixon asked when it was suggested to him that it seems a little extreme to fly Monday from New Zealand to Atlanta and then to Pittsburgh late this afternoon to watch more games tonight in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am Summer League.

Really, what else?

And you wonder why Dixon is one of the top coaches in America?

Correct that.

One of the top coaches in the world?

Albeit, in demand for interviews.

9:40 AM (Jeff): Gold-medal winning head coach of the USA U-19 team Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh) has strolled in with phone to his ear and grabbed a bunch of score sheets. This is Dixon’s first appearance on the recruiting trail since arriving back in the US from New Zealand.

No, the U-19 gold isn’t getting a lot of publicity, but there has been a steady trickle of stories relating to it. Couple it with Pitt’s success on the court and it just adds to kids being very interested in having Pitt show interest in them.

Pitt’s accomplishments were enough to woo Cincinnati Moeller, one of the top programs in Ohio. The Crusaders have won three state championships over the past decade in the state’s largest-enrollment classification, and by coach Carl Kremer’s estimate, have produced 15 to 20 Division I players in that span.

Kremer’s squad camped at Pitt five years ago, and have attended camps at schools such as Illinois, Clemson and North Carolina State in recent years. Kremer said a return trip to Pitt was a no-brainer.

“For our kids, I think they’re always excited to go to a big-time school. And you have Pitt, who was No. 1 in the country, and they were excited about that name and the great program that [Coach] Jamie [Dixon] has here,” said Kremer, who brought four teams of players.

Getting seen by college coaches is another advantage of the team camp environment. The Pitt camp took place within what the NCAA deems a “quiet period,” meaning coaches from any other Division I school were prohibited from attending games. Although Dixon was in Colorado Springs coaching the USA men’s under-19 basketball team for the FIBA World Championships, Regan and the rest of the Pitt staff were allowed to evaluate players throughout, a fact that wasn’t lost on some of the attendees.

“We really want the Pitt coaches to look at us,” said Scott, who already owns a scholarship offer from Duquesne.

Harris quickly interjected: “We’re trying to get into college.”

At the Pitt camp, players got a kick out of mingling and playing in front of college players, some of whom they’ve only seen on television. Much like they did at an AAU tournament in April, Pitt players sat at the scorers table, keeping score and watching the newest wave of talent.

“People want to get a little more close and personal with the team,” Regan said. “I think the high school kids get a charge out of Levance Fields, for example, running the scorers table”

Levance Fields wasn’t dismal or anything in his time with Orlando’s summer league team. He just didn’t get on the court much to show what he has. At least that’s the spin from Fields’ agent.

…Fields played a total of 25 minutes in two summer league games in Orlando. He averaged 4.5 points on 4-for-11 shooting to go with five assists. Fields did not see action in a game against the Indiana Pacers and former Duquesne guard Aaron Jackson, whom he faced for four seasons in college.

“Believe me, I’m not happy about it,” [agent Keith] Glass said. “When Levance did play, he was tremendous.”

As such, Fields is moving on to play for Sparta St. Petersburg in the Russian Super League. Fields got a 4-year contract with the first two guaranteed — for money better than the NBA minimum. Along with an opt-out to play in the NBA.

DeJuan Blair has been solid and then some in the summer league for San Antonio.

DeJuan Blair recorded his second double-double of the week. Gregg Popovich on what he’s getting in Blair: “A rebounder and someone who has a high effort level all the time on the boards, and running the floor. He enjoys playing, which is probably his main gift.”

Meanwhile the Spur blog, Pounding the Rock has observed that he can be a little lazy at times on defense and has to hold his position on defense against bigger players. Solid analysis and the knickname that seems to be taking with Blair is “Blair Force One.”

Blair has also signed a contract with the Spurs for 4 years and $4 million, with $3 million guaranteed. His agent had promised that he would get Blair a guaranteed contract, despite Blair being a second-rounder. I have to admit to being impressed that he delivered. And did it quickly.

Walters said the day after Blair fell to the Spurs with the 37th pick in the second round that he might pursue a two-year contract because he was confident Blair would out-perform his first contract. But Walters said last night that the Spurs made this contract satisfying enough that they decided to sign a longer-term deal.

“He ended up with a great team and they really wanted to develop him,” Walters said. “They wanted to show a commitment to him. He’s just happy to be playing basketball and now he’s able to take care of his family.”

It’s a fair compromise for both sides. Blair has a team locked into him and he can make a nice chunk of extra money with playoff runs, and they probably get a solid discount long-term.

Sam Young doesn’t have a contract yet from the Griz, but he’s been very good. In the last game, he went for 20 points and 6 boards. He’s been a guy that teams have been realizing they whiffed by passing on him.

Perhaps the player who arguably slid the most on draft night, Sam Young, also turned in some solid minutes. He played great defense, stepped out and hit an NBA three, and finished around the rim with either hand. Of course, we also got to see the most exaggerated ball fake in the business as well. Definitely looked like a mid first round pick, not a guy picked in the mid second round.

The Griz-blog 3 Shades of Blue does note that Young does not have the greatest ball-handling skills.

Getting closer to real focus on the 2009 football team.

Big East Media Days are coming. In roughly 2 weeks, media folk will descend on Newport, Rhode Island for golfing, lobsters and clams (and yet I still have not received my invite). They will contendedly speak well of the atmosphere and setting before professing to random guesses as to the order of the top-6 teams in the conference (and toss a coin over Louisville and Syracuse for #7 and #8).

There will also be the player interviews. Unlike the past couple years, there are no clear “stars” coming into this season in the conference outside of USF’s George Selvie. This is who Pitt will be bringing:

• Greg Romeus, Junior, DE
• John Malecki,Senior, RG
• Nate Byham, Senior, TE

Romeus and Byham make sense since both are top playmakers for Pitt. Byham should be a top candidate for All-American and Mackey Award honors. Romeus is considered one of the best DEs in the conference and a potential top-player at the position in college.

Malecki is something of a surprise. Reliable. Consistent. A senior anchor on the O-line.

Yet, no sign of the senior QB. Bill Stull is glaring by his absence. Perhaps Coach Wannstedt is trying to protect Stull from being asked about the way he ended the season and prevent early talk of a QB controversy.

It won’t work. If anything, not bringing Stull will fuel the questions and theories that Stull is anything but a lock to be the starter.

A week after media days, Pitt will kick of its own media day and the start of practice. August 11 is the day, making them one of the last BE teams to start practicing.

Brian Bennett, the Big East football writer for ESPN.com, has done a great job all summer with material. I haven’t linked or given him enough credit for making the ESPN.com BE Blog a daily read. A couple weeks ago, he had an interview with Pitt Defensive Coordinator Phil Bennett.

I would think Aaron Berry also has to be one of those leaders, too, right?

PB: No question. I’ve been very fortunate in my career to have coached some great corners. His feet are as quick as Terrence Newman’s, and I don’t say that lightly. I think Aaron knows it’s time and he’s got to become more consistent. He’s worked hard this summer and he knows what he means to this team.

He had some issues this spring and was suspended for the final couple of practices. Do you think he’s got everything in order now?

PB: I do. Everybody says this, but if you’ve ever heard or watched me, you know I’m pretty tough on them. I’m demanding. I just think Aaron learned some lessons, as we all have, and I think we’re fixing to see him step up and have the type of year that we all think he’s capable of having.

I know it’s early, but do you see any incoming freshmen who might earn their way into some playing time this year?

PB: I mentioned Dan Mason, and we’ll give him a look. We’ve got a young man named Jason Hendricks that we’ll look at. But it’s just too early. I think Dave will tell you this, that hopefully our program is to a point where, no, we wouldn’t be counting on any of them to play as freshmen. But there are variables that happen, and you have to deal with them, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

The defense, as everyone know will be counted on to be a dominating force. When you start running through the questions at various positions/units the questions on defense are mostly about players stepping up this year (like Aaron Berry and the rest of the secondary). The only spot where it’s a true question mark on the defense is at linebacker.

Offense though, has questions at QB, RB, the O-line (esp. Center). Add in the unknown factors for punter and kicker and there’s a lot to wonder.

Joe Starkey did a scattershot column on Pitt, Coach Wannstedt and recruiting. Ostensibly about recruiting the 2010 class and needing to cast a wider net, he ends it with the need to win this year.

Junior quarterback Pat Bostick was a big-time recruit who has yet to fulfill his potential. Wannstedt believes Bostick and incumbent Bill Stull “have talent,” along with redshirt freshman Tino Sunseri and true freshman Kolby Gray.

Wannstedt expressed confidence in that group and said: “We’re on a few championship quarterbacks this year (recruiting-wise), and I believe we’ll get one.”

That would certainly round out the Class of 2010, but the pressing issue at Pitt is 2009.

It’s time to build on that 9-4 record and win a conference title.

It is telling that a team that lost its stud running back, has questions at QB, a new OC, and a new punter and kicker is considered a legit team to win the Big East. Is it another down year in the conference or just that no one really knows anything about the other teams?

I’m just a little tired of this.

I was out for the last couple days after my brother-in-law lost his wife after a 4-year battle with lymphoma. She lasted longer than any doctor expected, but in the end cancer wins as it usually does.

This afternoon my father calls to tell me that my grandmother has passed. She was a few months shy of her 91st year. Arguably, anyone passing at that age should not be considered a surprise. Yet with her it was. Still active and living on her own. Volunteering at the hospital, the library and putting together the Synagogue’s monthly newsletter.

When my grandfather passed earlier this year, it was a long battle that eventually took him and was something of a relief as he was no longer in the pain that had engulfed him. With my grandmother, it was a sudden heart attack that was complete and immediate.

The two had been divorced for almost 50 years, yet they both passed within six months of the other. As big an impact as my grandfather had on me, so too did my grandmother.

She loved baseball and football. As much as anyone, she taught me a good deal about football when I was young. She probably knew the game better than my grandfather, because she wasn’t focused just on the pro game. The college game was just as interesting to her. She was a fan of innovative thinking for offense. Bill Walsh was a coach she really liked, and was a fan of offenses like the spread that took advantage of the talent.

In 1999 I went to visit her around Rosh Hashanah. My parents couldn’t get back to be with her, so I went because it just didn’t seem right for her to be alone for the High Holy Days.

Selfishly, it wasn’t the easiest call since it meant skipping a road trip with friends for the Pitt-Penn State game in Happy Valley that same weekend. I didn’t mention it to her, and didn’t even mention the game. Resigning myself to maybe catching the second half. We were sitting in Shul, and around 11 am she leans whispers to me that we should leave in the next 15 minutes to get some lunch so we can be ready to watch the game by noon.

Didn’t miss a snap of that game.

He had to know it would never be easy. He’s from the area. He knows just how hard Pittsburgh can be on quarterbacks. It doesn’t matter whether it is for the Steelers, Pitt or any of the local high schools.

It didn’t help that he suffered an injury in the first game that he was starting and wiped out a full year. An injury that forced Pitt to play a never more than raw Kevan Smith and then true freshman Pat Bostick. It made the weakness of the position even more glaring from the prior years with Tyler Palko under center.

So, with Stull coming back and LeSean McCoy back there, things were expected of Stull in 2008. Maybe not great things, but consistency, a steadier hand and leadership.

Heck, Coach Wannstedt was even puffing Stull before the season started.

“Coming out of camp a year ago, I really believed Bill Stull was going to be the best kept secret in the Big East,” Wannstedt said Monday.

Of course, once things actually started playing out, Coach Wannstedt defended Stull by pointing out how little experience he had.

“…That’s a little bit of inexperience but as I’ve said many times before, he’s only making his fifth start. He’ll improve every game.”

And it seemed he did make some improvements. Getting steadier and having the confidence to throw over the middle more and improving his footwork. That was  until getting concussed in the Rutgers game. He never quite seemed the same. Pitt was winning games, but Stull was hardly looking sharp.

Whether it was lingering affects, being gun shy, or just that Stull was inconsistent and was only accented by the games that followed. By the time of the Sun Bowl, it seemed that Stull had regressed and then collapsed.

That wasn’t in the script for Stull. He expected a better performance from himself. He was set up to do so.

In the weeks leading up to the Sun Bowl, Stull’s grandfather passed. The Sun Bowl was to have been Stull’s dedication to him.

“R.I.P. G-PA” written on the towel hanging from his pants. You know that Stull wanted to have one of his best games. And if it had, or even if he did enough that Pitt won we know how it would have played in the media. It would have been the postive story/puff piece that gets people feeling misty-eyed.

Instead it was his worst. An abysmal flop of a game. No stories about his relationship with his grandfather. No stories of him coming of age as Pitt’s leader. It became a story that never happened.

Instead, questions. Ridicule and doubts. Even the gambling sites are putting all the questions of Pitt on Stull.

What do Florida’s Tim Tebow, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Pittsburgh’s Bill Stull all have in common? Those three quarterbacks all will be entering their third season as their teams’ starting quarterback in 2009.

But that’s definitely where the comparisons end.

…

Thus that brings us back to Stull.

Pittsburgh probably has the most talent in the Big East, with another seven starters returning on a very good defense. But the fate of this team rests on the senior quarterback. If the Stull who was part of four come-from-behind victories in the fourth quarter last year shows up, the Panthers have a chance to be a surprise team in the country next year – they are at 70/1 odds to win the BCS national championship at Bodog.

That’s what Bill Stull is facing coming into training camp in less than a month. He has a new OC with no loyalty to him, but the Head Coach has still said he’s still the starter.

Fair or not, sides have been taken in the debate. Every snap will be scrutinized by the fans. Evidence will be deduced from each practice as to his fitness and competence to be the starting QB.

I hope he’s ready. The pressure is on Stull. All the other QBs in the camp have nothing to lose by contrast.

Someone from the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch glances up from American Legion scores to notice that a local boy was on the U-19 team that won gold.

Dime Magazine tabs Gibbs as one of the players who broke out on the USA squad.

Pacing the Americans, Gibbs averaged 9.8 points and 2.2 assists a game during the 2009 FIBA World Championships. He only played 10.8 minutes a game (4.3 points) during his freshman year, but is a strong guard with a nice jumper which will give him plenty of playing time this season. Playing on a stacked Pittsburgh squad that just lost Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields, Gibbs will be a go-to player and leader for Coach Jamie Dixon’s young Pittsburgh squad.

And Ron Cook in the P-G has a piece on Gibbs.

“The best part for me was his defense,” Dixon said. “He was our best perimeter defense player. That was a big step for him. That’s what we’re going to need from him next season.”

The defensive improvement didn’t happen by accident, Gibbs said. “I’ve worked real hard this summer, especially on my defense and my lateral quickness. I think that improved a lot and I was able to express it at the tournament. I guarded the best guys on the other team in every game and did pretty well.”

Gibbs agrees with Dixon that his confidence will carry over into Pitt’s season.

“Definitely,” Gibbs said. “I played against some of the best players in the world in this tournament. If I can play with those guys, I know I can play with anybody in this country.”

He’s also very confident that Pitt will still make the NCAA Tournament. He definitely will be expected to be a team leader despite only being a sophomore.

Already noted by several but the Pitt QB who was there at the beginning of Johnny Majors first run at Pitt, Bill Daniels will be the head coach of a high school football team just getting started. A Moon area Catholic school that will play in the WPIAL Class A starting in 2010.

Daniels, a retired banker, comes to OLSH with an impressive football resume.

After earning all-WPIAL and all-state honors at Montour High School, Daniels was a quarterback at Pitt from 1972 to 1974. He is the last Pitt quarterback to run and pass for 100 yards in one game.

Meanwhile, Hugh Green gets another Hall of Fame credit to his resume. He gets inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame at the end of July. Right up there with the College Football HoF to be sure.