Well, it’s been underway for a few days. A couple of practices. And, well, not much else to actually say that seems particularly groundbreaking.

The quarterbacks know they are in competition, but it is nothing personal.

“Competition’s healthy everywhere you go,” Sunseri said. “This, in particular, at our position, Pat knows it better than anybody. We’re also helping each other, so it’s more like a friendly competition.”

Sunseri said the position has gotten easier for him and that spending last season interacting and preparing with Stull was a major part of that.

Bostick, meanwhile, said the redshirt year allowed him to experience some things he should have when he was a freshman, when he was eventually thrust into the starting job after Stull broke his thumb.

“I got to sit back, prepare myself and get myself into the best physical condition as I can and see how Bill succeeded,” Bostick said. “It was huge being a part of that for me, and just getting back into it is awesome.”

But of course everything is pad-free and essentially non-contact right now. It’s getting the kids to do the basics and fundamentals.

Again, a lot of this was fiction because they weren’t in pads and the contact was minimal, but at least they got out there and the journey towards putting together a working depth chart is complete.

One other tidbit – Todd Thomas is coming in May and when he does, even though he was a big-time defensive player in prep school, Wannstedt said he is going to be a receiver. “He is too good at catching the ball and too good of an athlete and playmaker not to use him on offense,” Wannstedt said.

I would say, if the past is any indication, put that in pencil rather than ink. Until Thomas is actually in the practices, playing and getting chances where he fits on the future depth charts is up in the air. Plus, issues of injuries and the depth on the other side factor into it.

Then there’s the always more important issue of the O-line and depth chart.

The first-team offensive line Thursday had one minor surprise: Greg Gaskins was at right guard ahead of Ryan Turnley, but Wannstedt said the competition for that job will be ongoing and will involve a number of players.

“As far as guys like Gaskins and Turnley [and several other linemen], all those guys are interchangeable,” Wannstedt said. “What we are trying to do now is evaluate them once we get the pads on and then determine who are the six or seven best guys. It is tough to evaluate linemen when we are out here without pads on, though.”

And while there are a lot of players not practicing due to injuries and ailments:

Two of Pitt’s top receivers — Mike Shanahan (recovering from mono) and Devin Street (infection) — did not practice Thursday. Wannstedt expects Street to return to practice Saturday while Shanahan will remain day to day.  … A number of members of the secondary are out with various injuries: Safeties Jason Hendricks (shoulder), Dom DeCicco (toe) and Andrew Taglianetti (knee) are out for the spring, and corner Ricky Gary (undisclosed) is week to week.

Cam Saddler is trying to work his way into the depth chart at WR.

“The last couple days, we’ve gotten Cam the ball, and he’s been very productive. Cam’s time is now.”

Saddler was primarily a kick returner last year, averaging 25.3 yards on 25 returns and also catching three passes for 41 yards and a score.

That’s a long way from Dickerson’s 2009 stats, which included 529 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns.

But the explosiveness Saddler showcased at Gateway High School is still evident, even despite his injuries the past two years.

“It’s the best feeling in the world, just being able to show that I can make plays,” Saddler said. “Showing I’m capable of getting touches in games is real important.”

At 5-7, Saddler is one of the smallest guys out there. It’s great that he is running pain free and feels better than ever. The issue is the target he presents. I’ll be curious to read how Sunseri or Bostick are able to get him the ball when they get to more physical practices.

Early practice stories are essentially like getting some broth to start a meal. Very unsubstantial, but it gets you ready for more.

I think I’ll spare myself (and possibly the rest of you) any big media recap of the actual game. Suffice to say, Coach Dixon put things succinctly.

But when it was over, Dixon contrasted the moods of the two teams. “They’re happy and we’re suffering,” he said. “It’s going to sting, it’s going to hurt.”

It was pointed out that Kevin Gorman and Bob Smizik see part of the problem in Pitt not having enough offensive firepower come the NCAA Tournament. Be it a take-over “man” in crunch time, or simply a need to recruit more players who are shooters even at the expense of defense.

My first thought is that both are essentially ignoring the fact that the Pitt team of the past two years has been much more of an offensive-minded team with good, but hardly transcendent defense. Who was Sam Young but an offensive force when he asserted? Who was Levance Fields, but the general who would get those last clutch shots when needed? Who was DeJuan Blair, but the force on the glass that would clean up everything and get easy putbacks on offensive rebounds? The defense was better than average, but it was Pitt’s offensive efficiency and ability to outscore teams that had them winning games the last two years.

This team was made up of the role players who had to expand their role, and young players still learning. They had to go with their strengths, which was much more emphasis on defense. The job of any coach is to win the games, and win with the talent on hand.

Looking at it a little closer, Gorman seems to be talking about some dominating two-guard or wing forward that can drive and shoot threes to be that man. Even if the defensive prowess/effort isn’t there. Or, if you want to be a little clearer — a more consistent Gilbert Brown. I mean, doesn’t Brown fit that description? When Brown is on his good days, he is exactly that. Didn’t he actually do that abruptly and unexpectedly (and yes, a little too late) at the end of Xavier? Isn’t that what Pitt may have coming in J.J. Moore? Can we agree that Dante Taylor still has big potential to be a very potent offensive force?

As for Smizik’s contention that Pitt needs 3-point specialists who can come off the bench cold and drill 3s. Um, okay. Yeah, that would be nice. Tell me a team that wouldn’t mind that. But maybe it’s because I’ve watched a bombing of 3s philosophy absolutely fail in the Big East (and most other places) — Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, etc. — that it seems a bit silly. The only teams in the Big East that shoot a lot of 3s and have any success — Louisville and Syracuse. They play a completely different style than Pitt, and still they rely on having an inside presence and ability to go to the basket when the shots don’t go down.

My feeling is that that the writers are ignoring or confusing things, and really want to see Pitt play more of an up-tempo style. That’s not going to happen.

Final note. Just for fun, imagine if Pitt did change philosophies. Then imagine what would happen when Pitt hit a patch where they lost several games in a stretch because the defense was not there? Then there would be bemoaning the loss of identity for Pitt. How they are failing on the basics and fundamentals.

It’s the kind of cold, wet, rainy March in Cleveland that plain sucks. Way too much symbolism on the day after a loss.

For only one team does basketball season end as a complete good thing. For everyone else, pain. Or frustration. Or anger. That time is now for Pitt.

If you want to think Pitt choked. If you want to think that Pitt had no business losing that game, I doubt anything will convince you otherwise. Not the stats. Not the Vegas line. Not all things going into this game that screamed toss-up.

The Curse of Kelvin Sampson continues for another year (in my mind). Former Indiana recruit, Jordan Crawford, and Indiana transfer, Terrell Holloway, combined for 40 points (13-22), 9 rebounds and 4 assists. I am so sick of seeing his former assemblage of talents get dispersed then come back to bit Pitt on the ass. (And on that note, please let Devin Ebanks turn pro early.)

A 71-68 loss. Coming back more than once from double-digit deficits. It wasn’t enough. That one stretch in the first half when things went all Xavier’s way. Every ball for them found the bottom of the net, every drive and shot by Pitt wouldn’t fall, or a turnover to make it another empty possession.

This Pitt team didn’t quit. They played hard, aggressive and well throughout the second half. Strong surges and the kind of play that we have enjoyed all season. Frustratingly, like in the second loss to Notre Dame or that loss at Seton Hall, things never quite all the way there. Xavier had just enough to answer and survive.

Pitt got chances at the end. As Gil Brown spent the first half and most of the second half being fitted for goat horns for yet another on-and-off game performances. He suddenly found his stroke in the waning minutes to help Pitt comeback (5-5 including 3-3 on 3s). Xavier missed some key free throws. But this time the game-tying three would not fall from Wanamaker or Gibbs. Not like it did against WVU. Not like it did versus Louisville. No game-winning shot like Providence.

Instead we find ourselves pondering the missed chances. If Jermaine Dixon had not had a horrible night. If three more free throws would have gone down. If Gary McGhee wasn’t as ineffective, as he was assertive the previous game. If Ashton Gibbs could have made a couple shots in the second half. If Gilbert Brown could have gotten on track sooner. If some of Wanamaker’s drives to the hoop had gone in, instead of rimming out. If a couple calls had been made that went Pitt’s way. If anyone other than Wanamaker and Gibbs could have shown any offense in the first half. If the defense could have gotten a couple stops. (If someone could have taken a crowbar to Jordan Crawford’s shin.)

Nope. A tight tough loss to a team that had a strong troika in Love, Holloway and Crawford that combined to get 54 of the 71 points and 17 of the 31 rebounds to drive the Musketeers. You have to tip your cap to the way each controlled their aspect of the game and dominated their spot. Love inside, was strong and unyielding. Holloway — especially in the second half — controlled things for Xavier and directed the team to explot its one-on-one strengths.

Then there was Crawford who is making the opening weekend of the NCAA a declaration of his presence as a big time player. Not Joe Crawford’s little brother. Not the guy who got a dunk on LeBron James. A star talent that Xavier hopes to have for one more year.

The ride ended too soon — again. More was wanted. It felt like there should have been more. There’s no satisfying ending.

Then again, it never ends. Only two players leave this team. The group will work to get better. We know that they are upset and frustrated. That they want to put this behind them and not let this happen again.

The expectations return quickly. The optimism is already there. Improvement from the players throughout the season. New blood and talent on the bench and coming soon. A coach that demands strong, unselfish play — and knows how to coax it out of a team.

Next season can’t get here soon enough.

I have no clue about this game. I keep saying it, but it is true. The teams are evenly matched. I think both sides like the way they match-up with each other. I hate to say it, but I think this game comes down to which team just gets a couple more bounces and rolls. Or I could be working myself up, because I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment if I become too optimistic.

The tip-time is set for 4:50 PM ET. Looking at the way the GT-OSU game is going, I have trouble believing the actual time will be much before 5 PM.

As usual, if you need to break this out of the liveblog, Click Here.

The Xavier-Pitt game is roughly scheduled to start at 4:50 PM ET. It follows the GT-OSU game that starts at 2:20 PM in Milwaukee. Regionally, it will be Xavier-Pitt, Texas A&M-Purdue or Cal-Duke for the later games. Gonzaga-Syracuse is the early game.

Plan accordingly.

Plenty of capsule previews before any NCAA Tournament. This one stuck with me heading into the weekend.

The Panthers are all about ball movement, working the ball around to get short jumpers, layups and trips to the line. More than 2/3 of their made shots come off of a pass, and when they get out of that approach is when they have trouble. They don’t shoot well for a tournament team, getting by on second chances and foul shots. Defensively, they play as if to beat their own offense: protect the glass, don’t foul, stay in position. Strangely, five of their eight losses came against teams that missed the dance. Oakland doesn’t present a problem; Xavier does in a second-round matchup that will play like a Sweet 16 game and be decided in the last minute.

The Xavier Coach, Chris Mack, got into a rather silly pissing match with a Minneapolis columnist. Both sides look rather foolish. Mack because the columnist always can get the last word (or pixel) in. The columnist because he comes off as a self-promoting asshat.

The story for Xavier, in case you missed it, was Jordan Crawford.

On the national stage, Crawford once again became a known commodity. When he arrived at Indiana, he entered as a high-profile recruit expected to help lift the program back to prominence. After transferring to Xavier following Kelvin Sampson’s demise, he watched from the sidelines for a year. After dunking on LeBron James in a summer camp, his two days of fame faded into a season toiling off the national radar in the Atlantic 10.

After Friday’s show, his show is not going anywhere. Well, except almost certainly to the NBA. But that is a story for another day.

Well, maybe sooner if the sophomore keeps it up.

The media play-up is that this is a rematch of last year. But at least one Xavier player put it in perspective.

Xavier has a few new faces, too — and a new head coach, Mack, who took over when Sean Miller left for Arizona.

“We’re two completely different teams,” Xavier’s Jamel McLean said. “It’s not a rivalry game between us. But we do know in the back of our minds that this was the team that knocked us out last year. We’re not going to try and make it bigger than it is.”

Primary starters from last year, Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson are gone as well.

Xavier needed Crawford to go off, because they got nothing inside from their senior center Jason Love. He’s slightly undersized, but has been a solid inside guy. Should be another good match-up for Gary McGhee. Love — obviously — expects a physical game.

Q: What’s the plan for hanging with their physicality?
JL: We’ve just got to do what we’ve been doing the last eight or nine games of the season. We’ve been rebounding so much better. Jamel McLean for instance, with 14 rebounds (Friday), he’s been rebounding the hell out of the ball toward the tail end of the season. Kenny Frease, (Friday), he stepped up for us. We’re physical, too. We’re not scared to bang other guys.

Q: What sticks out from playing them last year?
JL: Just that they’re the most physical team maybe in the country. They take a lot of pride in that. You have to match it. If not, they’ll punch you in the mouth, and you’re going to end up with a loss.

If you are wondering (and you probably are not), yes someone outside of Pittsburgh has noticed Gilbert Brown’s on-and-off game. I wish otherwise, but I believe Pitt needs him to somehow break the pattern for a win on Sunday.

Enjoy the moment, before moving on.

Most impressive, perhaps, was his team’s balance. Pittsburgh had six players score in double digits. The Panthers didn’t create or maintain their large lead through explosive flurries or individual brilliance. Instead, Pittsburgh slowly, methodically, and completely ground the Golden Grizzlies down.

“I liked the balanced scoring,” Jamie Dixon said. “Once we were able to get going, we could find some guys for open shots, and things started rolling.”

Defensively, the Panthers chose not to double-team Oakland center Keith Benson, who played all 40 minutes and scored 28 points. The upshot was that Oakland’s shooters didn’t get open looks outside, and it paid off — Pitt held Oakland to 4-of-21 shooting from three, and no matter what Benson did, it wasn’t enough to keep up with Pitt’s balance on the offensive end. Note to the rest of the NCAA tournament: This is how No. 3 seeds are supposed to win.

I noticed there was an undercurrent among Pitt fans. A developing big man possibly going to the NBA. Facing a Pitt big man. Shades of Patrick O’Bryant and Bradley going at Aaron Gray. Of course, unlike Bradley, Oakland didn’t have a guard that was strong, crafty and hot.

Don’t ignore that Gary McGhee did a great job on Benson.

Consider that Benson played all 40 minutes and scored 16 of his points – five in a span of 5:10 in the first half and 11 over 4:35 in the second – during stretches where McGhee was replaced by Dante Taylor and J.J. Richardson.

What was impressive, was the way McGhee used his strength, and played smart. He made sure to get position and keep Benson further from the basket. Forcing either tough shots or passing out. Benson could not go through McGhee and didn’t have good angles on shots when he tried to go around him. Great job by the coaches, but an even better job by McGhee on executing it.

Still, Benson has done very well in developing at Oakland and aside from increasing his strength it his hard to say the Summit League will challenge his game any further. So, he has to decide about the NBA.

Pitt, like so many teams in the first couple days of the NCAA Tourney started out slow.

For the first 10 minutes of its NCAA first-round game Friday against Oakland at the Bradley Center, Pitt had the look of a team that hadn’t played in more than a week. There were turnovers, ragged offense and some less-than-stellar defense that led one to believe that the Panthers might be in for a long tussle against the Golden Grizzlies of the Summit League.

But in the final 30 minutes of what turned into an 89-66 runaway victory for third-seeded Pitt, the Panthers looked like a team that made the most of their practice time after the early exit in the quarterfinals from the Big East Conference tournament.

The one thing that I was seeing that was good in that poor start, was that Pitt had energy. They were moving the ball. They were making attempts to penetrate. On defense, they were going after it. A lot more board crashing. It just was that the shots weren’t going. Rattling around. Not falling.

“We were getting to the basket, but we were missing some layups, forcing some shots and I thought we should have been dumping them off and dropping them off as their big guys rotated over,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “That’s what we did as the half progressed.”

The Panthers missed their first six shots Friday, which meant that going back to halftime of their Big East Conference quarterfinal ejection at the hands of Notre Dame, they were 6 for 26 from the floor when Gilbert Brown hit for three of his 17 points with 5:51 elapsed in the half. Even with that, Pitt would get all of one field goal in the first 7:52.

“We looked nervous out there; I was nervous — I know that,” said junior guard Brad Wanamaker, whose jumper with 6:59 left in the half gave Pitt the lead it never relinquished and ended a near nine-minute stretch that Oakland found itself on top. “Patience was a big key for us.”

The demarcation as far as most are concerned, came with blood.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe said senior Derick Nelson’s absence with a head injury was key in Pitt’s 89-66 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, but so was the 10-minute delay as trainers worked on him. Oakland led, 14-10, at the time of the stoppage.

“I really thought it was going our way,” Kampe said. “I thought the 10 minutes that we stood there really hurt us. There was pressure on them (Pitt). They were missing some shots. They were struggling. I think there were some things in their mind there, and everything was going our way, and then there was that pause.”

Nelson was injured after catching an inadvertent elbow to the left temple from center Gary McGhee in the first half. Nelson, who scored 36 points in the Summit League title game, missed the final 10 minutes of the first half, and Pitt scored 29 of the next 37 points to take the lead for good. Nelson returned in the second half after getting a handful of stitches, but he was ineffective from the field, going 0 for 7 with one point and five turnovers.

There was nothing dirty about it. Nasty looking, but there was no intent or anyone even claiming that McGhee was out of control.

Moment is over. On to Xavier — again.

Take it away, Luke:

The first round is completed, and the lone survivor of yesterday’s top 3 is leader George Lesko, who has BYU over Murray State to go to the final four.

Today’s second place trailing by 5 with Ohio State as a national champion is Samuel Friedman. Other distinguishable marks in his bracket include a final four of Ohio State, Syracuse, West Virginia, and baylor, with the Hoopies advancing over Baylor. Mr. Friedman also has Texas over Kentucky, and Cornell to the Elite 8.

3rd place is Michael Meadows, who believes Kentucky will be cutting down the nets with a win over Georgetown(haha!!).

I am in 155th place, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

Pulling up the rear is Kevin Corcoran. Man, I don’t even know where to start with your bracket. Texas to the elite 8, and Utah State, Richmond to the Sweet 16.

On a side note, it looks like we have a large contingency with WVU winning it all.

Here’s to you: Todd Gack, Rob Wittig, Kevin Gagliardi, Jacob Meyer, Josh Mohl, Peter Biggs, and Samuel Friedman(has them runner ups).

Devin Ebanks. Scottie effin’ Reynolds. Tom Crean at Indiana. They all are connected by one evil thread.

Kelvin Sampson. The disgraced coach of Indiana and before that, Oklahoma has been an indirect but substantial thorn in the side of Pitt for several years. It looks to be that way until Ebanks goes pro.

He bails on Oklahoma for Indiana after NCAA trouble. That move reopened Scottie Reynolds who had committed to the Sooners. After Sampson left, Reynolds ends up at Villanova and we all know what went down last year in Boston.

He can’t stop making his excessive recruiting ph0ne calls — including to one DeJuan Blair — and everything implodes in Indiana. A outstanding recruiting glass runs away, including Devin Ebanks to West Virginia to make things that much better for Bob Huggins and the Hoopies.

That set things up for the new coach. Tom Crean can’t resist and brings his guard-heavy approach. This produces immediate recruiting success in Maurice Creek and Crean naturally beats Pitt at MSG this past year.

Now Pitt heads into a Sunday game with Xavier. A team with not only an ex-Indiana recruit in Terrell Holloway, but a transfer from Indiana after Sampson left in Jordan Crawford.

So if you have a system to disperse the negativity of the Sampson stink, do it. I’m going with giving blood. They can take the normal pint, but I’ll offer an extra if it will help.

Whatever it takes.

A feature on Gibbs in USA Today on how he has been one of the go-to guys for Pitt. For some reason it seems a surprise to reporters that Pitt wants to make a deep run. What? You think they were going to play a “happy to be here” card?

The game is scheduled for roughly 2:45. We will see if it goes that way.

If you need to break it out from the blog Click Here.

You don’t think Coach Dixon and the rest of the staff wasn’t banging that point home all day yesterday? You don’t think that was on the recorded message each kid got on their wake-up all in their hotel room?

Safe to say that while Georgetown ostensibly took some pressure off Pitt as the potentially biggest disappointment if they lose, a whole mess of pressure was added to Pitt and the other Big East teams. An absolutely disastrous day for the conference when even the lone win felt like a loss. It was ACC-esque.

That was a wild day, and it seems likely that no matter what happens today will seem like a letdown nationally compared to Thursday. My god, even Lehigh made Kansas nervous for a while in the first half.

Three of the #3 seeds played. While only one was upset, New Mexico and Baylor had tough games (Baylor tied with under 3 minutes left). There are no gimmees.

So, beware Keith Benson, another late-blooming center. Oakland actually expected to be here. Their plan is to attack Pitt the way they have played all season.

I don’t think Pitt is looking past Oakland or more than one game at a time.

After Gibbs only took four shots in the loss to Notre Dame, he is going to look for his shot a little more. Meanwhile, Oakland plans to stick one guy on Gibbs like glue.

[Johnathon] Jones, who has fared well covering some top guards this season, will be counted on to stay with Pitt sophomore Ashton Gibbs, the Big East’s Most Improved Player.

“I’ll say this, and (Gibbs) will score 30,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said, “but we’ve got a guy I think can guard him.”

He’s a small pesky guard (5-11), so that will be an interesting match-up.

Gotta say, the story on Oakland coach Greg Kampe makes him seem like a good guy.

Lots to do to clear the 12 hours or so of Tourney watching, so that’s it. Liveblog this afternoon.

Courtesy of Luke, here’s how the Pitt Blather Bracket is looking:

After a day one filled with upsets(putting me in 131st), we now advance to day 2 of the tournament.

Leading us into day 2 is George Lesko, with an interesting bracket. Mr. Lesko has Xavier over PITT(BOO!!!!!!), and BYU over Murray State in the Elite 8, to join other selected upsets such as Old Dominion over Baylor, St. Mary’s over Villanova, and Missouri to the Elite 8.

In 2nd place is Renato Miguel

In 3rd place in Brandon Murray, who seems to have an opposite bracket. He has Murray st., OK State, and Xavier in the Sweet 16.

All of them have Kansas winning it all.

It’s a standard thing. The NCAA Tournament gets everyone’s attention. So every local paper suddenly remembers that a local product is playing somewhere and if lucky for an NCAA Tournament team.

In Indiana, the local paper tracks down Gary McGhee.

“The whole Big East has tough big men,” said McGhee. “I played against Pittman and Monroe. And going against DeJuan (last year), it was a battle every day to keep him off the boards; it made me tougher and prepared me for this year.

When asked for a favorite game this season, McGhee pointed to the Panthers’ triple-overtime victory over West Virginia on Feb. 12.

“We were down six with 34 seconds (in regulation) and we tied it,” said McGhee. “Then we hit our free throws to win it.”
…
While McGhee’s basketball goals are short-term, his overall goal for his time at Pittsburgh remains on target.

“I’ve got to get my degree, I promised my mom and dad that I would,” said McGhee, who majors in communications. “I just want to keep working hard and see where it takes me.”

How do you not root for him when he says exactly the right thing?

Dante Taylor may have left home to go to high school, but he isn’t forgotten.

It has been a learning season, especially for someone who had preferred facing the basket at power forward. He has made the most of practicing against 6-10 center Gary McGhee and 6-7 forward J.J. Richardson.

“Coach has got us getting better; he’s got me getting better,” Taylor said. “Going against Gary and J.J. and all the big guys is helping me get more physical. This first year was an opportunity for me to watch a lot of things on the bench.”

Taylor hasn’t lost sight of his roots. A young group from the community center came down to MSG for a Pittsburgh-St. John’s game a few weeks ago. Afterward, Taylor came out onto the bus to talk to the kids.

We’ve all been wishing for more, frustrated, disappointed, and/or wanting Taylor to have done a lot more this first season. Nothing he has said or done, though, has me thinking he won’t be working hard and getting better.

In Lancaster, PA they check in with redshirting freshman Lamar Patterson.

“It’s not that bad (to sit and watch),” he said Wednesday. “I’m still having fun.”

He sees the big picture, after all. And the way he looks at it, redshirting can only benefit him in the long run.

“I feel I’m ahead of the game,” he said. “I got experience, and I’m coming back (next year) as a freshman. I’ll be ahead of every other freshman. I’ll be fine.”

He is already up to speed with his teammates in one regard — he has his own Twitter account, LPatterson21. He regularly takes questions from others, like how he settled on No. 21 as his uniform number (it was the same one he had at McCaskey, so he stuck with it), who else recruited him (Arizona State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami and Marquette — but as he wrote, “I didn’t even give other schools a chance. Pitt is where I wanted to be at.”)

Patterson is likely to stay in Pittsburgh for the summer like most of the team usually does. It also comes out at the end that Pitt might take a sanctioned overseas trip. Teams are allowed every so often to do this. They play some exhibitions and get a chance to play and practice together under coaches supervision — usually a prohibition.

If so, I would consider that to indicate Coach Dixon is really optimistic about the potential of the team for next season.

Two days before, it was Pitt’s pro-day. Not looking for a lot of draft picks from Pitt outside of tight end.

Dickerson, an All-Big East selection last season, posted a 4.4-second clocking in the 40-yard dash and ran near-flawless routes Tuesday during pro timing day at Pitt to enhance his NFL Draft stock.

Dickerson, who totaled 49 catches and 10 touchdowns in helping the Panthers record their first 10-win season since 1981, figures to be an early-round draft pick next month, according to several draft analysts, who compare him to Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark.

Already, the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals have seemingly committed to adding Dickerson to their draft boards.

“I’ve been talking to almost everybody (in the NFL),” said Dickerson, who became the first Pitt tight end to be named first team All-America (Football Writers Association of America) since Mike Ditka in 1960. “So, it’s been hard trying to get a feel for which team will pick me up, but everyone has some interest.

“My interviews went well and we got along well. They (Cardinals and Patriots) use the tight end in a versatile way, so we’ll see what happens. I did everything they expected me to do at the NFL Combine, and I turned some heads.”

27 teams had reps on hand. Nate Byham is also looking forward to his opportunity in the NFL.

The other players like Adam Gunn and Bill Stull just want to make sure the scouts take note of them so they can at least get an invite to sign as a free agent after the draft. They hold no illusions that they will be drafted.

Today starts spring practice. Already we know that there will be some more competition at the center spot.

The “big” news of the day (which should tell you what a slow news day it was) is that Jack Lippert, a redshirt freshman defensive tackle from the Harrisburg Area (Central Dauphin), has been moved to center and will compete, at least according to Dave Wannstedt, for that starting position. This is a good development because, as we’ve discussed, center is a trouble spot in terms of a lack of depth, and by moving Lippert to center it means Greg Gaskins, who is the third best tackle on the roster, can stay at tackle. At least for now. Wannstedt said he likes Lipperts athleticism and his quickness and at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, he has good size for a center.

If he can play it great. It is a somewhat surprising position move, since Lippert was one of the bigger gets from the 2009 recruiting class. Of course, DT is a position of depth, so it is not a bad choice for Lippert.

It really wouldn’t feel like spring (or even summer training camp) without concerns about the O-line.

Pitt also will try to replace two starting guards along the offensive line as well as two NFL-caliber tight ends.

In all, there are 11 starting positions that need to be filled, but Wannstedt said that is the nature of spring football as it is a time to reload and get ready for the fall.

“We [had] a big group of seniors so there’s a lot of opportunity for younger players, and most of these guys see this as an opportunity to get in there and an opportunity to play,” Wannstedt said. “Offensive line is the biggest concern. [Offensive line coach] Tony Wise has a challenging job trying to figure out not just the starters but the depth.

I mean, as much as I look forward to the season where I have no worries about the O-line other than fear of injuries — I’m not sure I won’t default to worrying about it from habit.

Then there is the guy putting it all together for the offense, OC Frank Cignetti who spoke positively about both QBs.

Sunseri was Stull’s backup last year and has long been a fan favorite.

“First of all, I like his mental makeup,” Cignetti said of Sunseri. “He’s competitive, he’s tough, he’s functionally intelligent, he expects to win. He’s a very good passer who can make all the throws. He can throw the ball deep, he can throw the intermediate route. And I like his mobility — not only can he play within the pocket, but he has good movement outside the pocket.”

Bostick has won big games in his career already (at West Virginia in ’07, at Notre Dame in ’08) and spent last year honing his game while redshirting.

“He has made tremendous strides,” Cignetti said. “When you talk about functional intelligence, he’s got it. Pat can think and react as fast as anybody, and that’s why probably why, in practice when I’ve been around, he completes so many balls. He’s a decisive decision-maker and he has tremendous leadership skills and the respect of all his peers.”

I also like what Cignetti said about making sure that Baldwin is not forgotten (if that’s possible) or wasted.

“It’s my job and my responsibility to make sure Jon gets his touches,” Cignetti said. “He’s legitimately as good a playmaker as there is in the country. We’re looking forward to increasing his production.”

Should be quite the information overload in the next week or two.

Just to make sure that everyone who wants to play, has signed up for the PittBlather Bracket game. Luke is running things, and if you need to know what the prize is, how to play and where to play, go here.

There is a new writer on the blog. Merlin — a regular on the liveblogs and in the comments will be posting at some point. Merlin is in Philly,  doing grad work at Temple. I don’t hold it against him and neither should you.

It’s probably a good thing, but Pitt is getting no buzz in the West region. What little mention there is, suggests Pitt will have a hard time making it to the Sweet 16 — let alone any further.

I get that. Syracuse and K-State are the top two teams in the region. Syracuse, especially, tends to dominate media attention.

Then there is the fact that a Pitt-Xavier rematch would be a toss-up. The two teams are so close statistically. It means that about half the punditry doesn’t even need to consider Pitt after the first weekend.

I am hoping that this is good for Pitt. The expectations are low. They have a very respectable seed, but not pressure. They get to keep playing with that same “no body believes in us” mentality that seemed to serve them well to start the Big East portion of the schedule. Or, at least that is what I am telling myself.