Yes, it had to be done.

Amusing and disturbing at the same time are the number of people who have taken the time to re-set the lyrics to various anime. Haunting.

Anyways, back to the main point. Pitt put out a press release on the basketball’s summer trip to Ireland.

Pitt will play six games on the tour including two contests in Cork at Neptune Stadium (July 31 and Aug. 1), two in Dublin at the Dublin City University (Aug. 3 and Aug. 4) and two in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the Odyssey Arena (Aug. 6 and Aug. 7). Pitt will face Australia’s oldest and most respected basketball club, the Melbourne Tigers, on August 6 in Belfast. The Tigers, which feature former Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf and former Utah center Luke Nevill, have claimed four Australian NBL championships including two recent titles in both 2006 and 2008. The Panthers will take on the English National Team the following day on August 7 in Belfast and the Irish National Team two times (July 31 and Aug. 3) in Dublin. Pitt will also face the Dart Kilester Basketball Club team in Dublin on August 4. Dart Kilester won the Irish national title in 2007.

In addition, Pitt has been invited to join Pittsburgh Steelers owner and United States Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney for a reception on Monday, Aug. 2. Rooney was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Ireland by President Barack Obama on March 17, 2009.

“As a lifelong Pittsburgher, it will be very special for me personally to host the Pitt Basketball team here in Dublin during its tour to Ireland,” Rooney said in a statement. “Coach Dixon, his staff and players will also visit the UPMC Children’s Hospital here in Dublin as well as spend time with the Peace Players, who have used the game of basketball as a vehicle toward achieving peace and understanding in Belfast and universally. It is an honor to represent President Obama and the American people here in Ireland. It will be such a pleasure having these fine young men from Pittsburgh and all of their traveling party be a part of all things ‘Irish.'”

The NCAA allows a team to take an out-of-the-country summer trip once every 4 years. In addition to the perk for the players, it allows the team to get some 10 team practices under the direct supervision of all the coaches. Something that otherwise is not permitted in the offseason.

And don’t think Coach Dixon isn’t looking forward to that part.

“From a basketball perspective, this is an outstanding opportunity for our team to get an early start on the season,” Dixon said. “It is also a chance for the players, coaches, support staff, administration and families to experience Ireland.”

Everyone except for Isiah Epps should make the trip.

Dante Taylor has been looking good in summer games, and wants to perform far better than he did in his first year.

The baby fat is gone, replaced by a new and improved muscular frame. His confidence is sky high, and he has learned to live with the expectations that come with being a McDonald’s All-American.

Taylor has been one of the most impressive players in the early going of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am. He had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his team’s summer league opener Monday night and followed that up with 21 points and seven rebounds Wednesday.

What does it all mean? That won’t be determined until the season starts in November, but Taylor at the very least has put himself in better position to succeed as a sophomore.

“You see Dante getting it,” senior guard Brad Wanamaker said. “He’s a hard worker. Coming in as a freshman you could see him sometimes get a little nervous. Maybe he worried too much. This summer something has been going on. Dante has been improving. He’s finishing around the basket better. He’s been in the weight room working hard.

“He’s a very different player. After that freshman year a lot of people change. You’re more mature. You know what’s going on. You know the system better. His confidence is on another level right now. He’s taking people off the dribble, rebounding. But he’s not doing too much. He’s doing what he’s capable of doing and he’s doing it well. I feel like Dante can have a great year for us.”

Starting center Gary McGhee agrees. When McGhee and Taylor went against each other in practice last season, McGhee bullied Taylor and pushed him all over the court. That has not been the case this summer.

With better conditioning, more confidence, and knowing Pitt’s system better Taylor should also get to see some time at the power forward spot. Perhaps fulfilling many fans’ hopes of being paired with McGhee at times.

That becomes a higher probability if Zanna is developing as hoped and J.J. Richardson can be counted on as a quality sub.

The exciting thing right now is the possibilities of how many looks Pitt can throw at teams in the upcoming year. Obviously Pitt will be able to go big with McGhee and Taylor.

They can also consider a small and fast team using Nasir Robinson as the primary guy inside, but surrounding him a combination of small forwards and guards from Brown, Patterson, Moore, Gibbs, Woodall, Wright and Epps. May not happen, but I do like thinking about it.

Coach Dave Wannstedt spoke yesterday. There are, apparently, expectations.

The Panthers are being billed as a Big East favorite, thanks to the return of conference offensive and defensive players of the year in tailback Dion Lewis and end Greg Romeus as well as fellow All-America candidates in receiver Jon Baldwin and left tackle Jason Pinkston. They are being counted on to lead a team that has only nine scholarship seniors — including starters Romeus, Pinkston, end Jabaal Sheard and safety Dom DeCicco — but has as much depth and talent as any since Wannstedt took over in 2005.

“We have a lot of potential,” Wannstedt said. “A year ago at this time, nobody would have been talking about Dorin Dickerson, no one would have been talking about Billy Stull breaking records and no one knew who Dion Lewis was. The encouraging thing is that who they are no one knows but there are three or four guys on our team right now that have the potential to step up and have an impact on our football team. …

“To have a good team, any year, the guys that are capable of making a difference have to step up and make a difference.”

Coach Wannstedt also went on record to state again that Todd Thomas will play WR, calling him a “playmaker” at the position. There did to be some wiggle-room, so the chance still remains that he could go to play safety/linebacker. Kind of the athletic passing downs defender that everyone envisioned Elijah Fields would fill.

Some things have not changed since the spring.

Dave Wannstedt today: “The whole interior offensive line is still, in my mind, up for grabs.”

That will remain a source of great anxiety.

Pitt has been recruiting New Jersey well the last couple of years. A lot of the credit has been going to assistant Jeff Hafley. That’s not entirely the case. O-line coach Tony Wise has also been a significant reason.

Wise handles the southern part of the state; he’s already landed commitments from Winslow Township (Atco, N.J.) athlete Bill Belton and Timber Creek Regional (Erial, N.J.) linebacker Quinton Alston for the class of 2011.

Timber Creek head coach Rob Hinson said that Wise has done an excellent job developing relationships with area coaches and players.

“Coach Wise does a fantastic job recruiting this area,” Hinson said. “He makes it his business to extend himself to you and anything that you might need from Pitt. That goes a long way when you have kids they are actively recruiting.”

According to Hinson, Wise’s reputation is well-established around South Jersey.

“Coach Wise is genuinely a great guy. The coaches down here in South Jersey all feel real comfortable talking to him.”

The Panthers are also targeting Alston’s teammate Damiere Byrd, a versatile athlete with incredible speed.

The buzz around the area is that nearby Willingboro (N.J.) standouts Kyle George and Brandon Bennett are also very high on Pitt.

I admit to being surprised to learn Wise has been doing recruiting — and doing so well for Pitt. My belief was that the ex-NFL assistant was simply an old Wannstedt buddy. And coupled with his age, made him more of a teaching/adviser type of coach on the staff.

Another reason, Pitt is hitting NJ especially hard this year. Pennsylvania is not having a great year for talent.

“For me, it’s the worst I’ve seen since I’ve been doing this,” said Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Mike Farrell, who has covered the region since 1999, of the Pa. crop. “There are some talented players for sure, don’t get me wrong, but the top-end talent is a bit down from past years and beyond the first seven or eight prospects, there is a huge drop. In years past we would almost always have at least three-stars at the bottom of the Pennsylvania top 40 but this year we hit two-stars near 30.”

However, Farrell feels that players will emerge and admits that a cautious approach is being taken towards rankings in the state this year.

“Because there are players out there we haven’t fully evaluated or really want to see more of, some of the three-star guys could jump up to four and some of the twos could become threes,” he said. “But the one thing I don’t see this year, not even close to be honest, is a five-star candidate. Even though Sharrif Floyd didn’t start off as a five-star kid in the rankings, you could see that potential based on his size, ability and rarity at his position. Right now I don’t see anyone who could make that kind of leap, but I guess you never know.”

(Hattip to On the Banks)

Here’s the Rivals.com list. I know, recruiting rankings aren’t perfect. It’s about developing the talent. Flaws, biases, etc. They do serve as rough sketches, though, and it definitely is a down year for PA talent. It is cyclical and does not mean a permanent shift.

Finally, the stat wonks of Football Outsiders have added a college section. They have a preseason top-25. Pitt comes in at #22.

2009 Record (Conference): 10-3 (5-2 Big East)
2009 Ranks: 19th F/+ | 11th FEI | 24th S&P+
2009 Offensive Ranks: 16th F/+ | 17th FEI | 20th S&P+
2009 Defensive Ranks: 28th F/+ | 26th FEI | 35th S&P+
Proj. 2010 Offensive F/+ Rank: 27th
Proj. 2010 Defensive F/+ Rank: 24th
Top 25 Opponents: 1 (home)

Two Signs for Optimism

1. The right players return. Pittsburgh fewer than a dozen starters, but most of their marquee players are among that group. Star running back Dion Lewis is a sophomore, and receiver Jon Baldwin returns as well. The defense has a pair of star ends (Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard) and safeties (Dom DeCicco, Jarred Holley), and they return their best linebacker (Max Gruder) to boot.

2. Run, run, run. While a team’s passing game can fluctuate from year to year, depending on who returns and how well a team stays out of passing downs, the running game tends to be a bit more stable. That’s a plus for the Panthers, who got 1,799 rushing yards (5.5 per carry) from Dion Lewis last season. Only two starters return on the offensive line, but they will likely start four upper-classmen, which helps. This should once again be a good running attack, and that will take pressure off of whoever wins the battle to replace quarterback Bill Stull.

Two Red Flags

1. Poor leverage. Despite their star power, the Panthers defense ranked only 46th in Standard Downs S&P+, meaning they weren’t able to leverage teams into awkward situations. Star ends can’t thrive if they can’t pin their ears back and attack the passer much. With two new starters at defensive tackle and a new middle linebacker, they could be vulnerable again in this regard.

2. New to success. While the Panthers have been good running the ball for a while now, thanks to both Lewis and his predecessor LeSean McCoy, they still haven’t been successful as a team in a while. It takes a while to prove that you can survive a lot of turnover in personnel and still thrive, and Pitt is not there yet.

Not sure about red flag #2, but #1 is a really good point. There were a lot of points last year, where the defense just couldn’t make the big stops. That really was exposed in the Cinci game. Just no way they could get that stop in the second half to end the drive and get off the field.