You know, I can’t believe the whole week has passed without mentioning once my gratitude to Syracuse once more for the coaching change that coincided with Pitt’s. When Coach Wannstedt was putting together his coaching staff, there were two hires that I felt were unqualified homeruns. Greg Gattuso was one. The Duquesne head football coach was perfect for the local ties, experience and coaching skill.

The other was stealing Dave Walker from Syracuse to be the running backs coach. Walker is a ‘Cuse alum, and had been churning out excellent backs for the Orange for years. The job he has done at Pitt has been just as good. We can talk about Coach Wannstedt’s love of a running game and the talent at the spot, but if you don’t have the right coach teaching and developing them then you are staring at a lot of underachievement at the spot.

Another good thing about the G-Rob error. Clueless recruiting. Despite Dion Lewis hailing from upstate NY and going to a school in New Jersey. And despite not getting any top talent, they still completely missed on Lewis.

Lewis, who enrolled early at Pittsburgh last January, was asked this week if he was recruited by Syracuse. He said no.

Syracuse, facing a tremendous challenge in stopping Lewis is using suspended RB Antwon Bailey as Lewis in practice.

When I was at the Pitt game against USF, I was in the middle of a Tweet update when one of my buddies asked if that was Tony Siragusa somewhere above us. I didn’t get a chance to see, but I guess it probably was. According to Greg Romeus, he did speak to the team as well. They showed him their (tape) ball. They apparently did not ask him when he’s bringing Man Caves to Pittsburgh (or perhaps Cleveland).

Syracuse blog, Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician exchanged Q&A with Eye of a Panther. Good stuff, as usual from both.

After one of the worst weeks for Syracuse Athletics, according to Orange coach Doug Marrone the football team had one of their best practices in quite some time. So they have that going for them.

A few more things regarding the basketball team.

The season-opener is next Friday against Wofford. It will start late, but if you have tickets go early.

The start time has been moved to 8:10 from 7 pm, but the athletic department wants people in their seats by 7:45 for a banner raising ceremony in honor of Pitt’s Elite Eight appearance.

While it was Pitt’s second Elite Eight showing in its history, it was the first time Pitt has made it past the first three rounds of NCAA Tournament games.

Chris Dokish had a short Q&A earlier this week on Pitt b-ball recruiting and the team this coming year.

Q: Is there reason to worry about the team struggling against Slippery Rock?

A: It makes me laugh how so many fans were raving for months about the job that Jamie Dixon will do with this team, then after one preseason game they are already talking about NIT. There will be growing pains with this team. They will surprise with huge wins and they will surprise with a few bad losses. But as the season progresses, they fully expect to find a few pretty good players develop along the way and battle for an NCAA spot.

There is no question that Pitt will find itself in the now unfamiliar spot of being a bubble team come February. Going from wondering about seeding to wondering whether the RPI is good enough, enough quality wins, comparing to other teams’ resumes will take a little adjusting.

Here’s a piece on Travon Woodall and how he should be the team’s point guard, despite growing pains.

Woodall has a decent enough shooting touch, and plays above average defense. To usurp the other two guards, Travon must bring his own special skills to the table.

What are those skills?

In limited action for Pitt, Woodall has revealed startling quickness. The aspiring PG scurries around the court like a pinball.

The transition from foul line to foul line should be Scottie Reynolds fast. With Gilbert Brown, Nasir Robinson, and Brad Wannamaker out on the wings, Pitt has the potential to be more uptempo. Woodall introduces that element to a traditionally halfcourt team.

Speed kills. The hope of coaches is that the speed kills opponents. Some speedy guards commit frequent turnovers. With Woodall’s jets he still efficiently distributes the ball.

The issue is doing it while maintaining a low turnover ratio. Coach Dixon is practically Wannstedtian when it comes to the issue of turnovers. But early comments from the first scrimmage is that Woodall seems the most comfortable to get the ball low and inside. Something vital for Pitt. Even in this more guard oriented roster.

If you missed the stories about the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) getting the NCAA to pass some significant (if somewhat selfserving) recruiting reforms, well hopefully I can detail it more in a week or two. Here’s the cliffs notes of what passed.

• Banning package deals to try and get a player.

• Banning purchase of  “recruiting service and info” that happen to be run by the AAU coaches or hanger-ons of prospective players.

• Banning payments to AAU teams and nonprofits related to summer teams.

• No hiring outsiders to work the coaches summer camps.

The punishment (which might still get watered down) is potentially strict. Coach Dixon had a role in shaping the new rules through the NABC.

Head or assistant coaches could be suspended from participation from regular-season games as well as the NCAA tournament, and the penalties would follow him to subsequent jobs.

Also, basketball players caught in the web could be rendered permanently ineligible at a school found guilty of one of these infractions.

“These are potential career-killers,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “I’m not saying that it’s too strong, but I just expressed that the punishment to a person’s career will be much greater than the single game we’re talking about.”

Which these days might be the only way to get the attention.

I expected Pitt to be ranked in the preseason somewhere in the 7-11 range. There’s just such a bunching in the Big East in the middle. After the projected top-2 teams of Villanova and WVU, you really can make a case for (but mainly against) the next 8 or 9 teams in what order.

Nine seems to be the popular place to put Pitt. The rationale is a common one and it makes sense.

Jamie Dixon has never won fewer than 20 games, never missed the NCAA tournament in six years as a head coach. But this should be his most challenging season considering Sam Young (19.2 ppg), DeJuan Blair (15.7 ppg), Levance Fields (10.7 ppg and 7.5 apg) and Tyrell Biggs (6.4 ppg) are no longer around to dominate the Big East. Meantime, Jermaine Dixon is recovering from foot surgery. So, at the moment, the Panthers are without all five starters from last season’s 31-win team, and even the greatness of freshman Dante Taylor — the McDonald’s All-American scored 27 points in Pitt’s first exhibition — won’t be enough to ensure a smooth transition.

I get it, but I have to admit. Seeing Pitt anywhere lower than 9 is bothersome. Coach Jamie Dixon is seeing this as good motivation.

Dixon knows what’s being said, and he’s pushing it right back at his players. The stars may be gone, but Dixon is certain this team has depth, developing players and a mindset for playing defense.

“This team can be as good as any team we’ve had,” Dixon said. “I know what everyone’s writing, because you look at it on paper. But we play games on the court. Where we are now isn’t where we’re going to be. That is our belief and our driving motivation.”

He’s been on record as expecting this team to overachieve — at least based on what is being predicted. Why are teams like ND and Syracuse getting pushed ahead of Pitt despite achieving less recently and losing almost as much? Well, ND has a likely All-American in Harangody so talent always gets a little more love. As for Syracuse, well most of that is the love always given to Boeheim in the media and more willing to buy his sales pitch about his team.

Jermaine Dixon is right there with the underdog/disrespect perspective.

“Everyone can’t be picked high,” Jermaine Dixon said. “When you lose four starters and 60 percent of your points, they are going to pick us low.”

“But Pittsburgh has always been the underdog,” he added.

When Dixon gets healthy, I expect a lot from him this season. He seems especially motivated and he is still stung by the way Pitt lost and his role in it.

Big brother Juan of the Washington Wizards was calling to offer his condolences after Villanova beat Pitt to advance to the Final Four.

“He told me, ‘don’t worry about it, it was a good game, you guys fought, you played well, don’t let it get you down,'” Dixon recalled. “Then he told me, ‘You know you messed up.'”

Jermaine, of course, did not need to be reminded. He had just lived through one of the most excruciating experiences that a college athlete could endure. Dixon made not one, but two, critical mistakes that turned the game in Villanova’s favor.

I like that he doesn’t shy away from his mistakes. Instead trying to improve from that spot. Not obsess and go grim over it, or simply laugh it off. It’s there and he knows it.

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