The AC in our house went last night. It’s a balmy 84 in the house at the moment. I’d be doing this in just my boxers but the kids have been traumatized enough by my parenting to this point.

In case you have ever forgotten that as much as the Big East is a basketball conference, the ACC is still a basketball first conference. The ACC Sports Journal has been bothered by the overall mediocrity (or worse) of the ACC since they expanded. Yes, the conference can claim 3 national titles (2 for UNC, 1 for Duke) since expansion but the overall depth of the conference has been rather meh.

Even with back-to-back national champions, the ACC’s NCAA tournament winning percentage has fallen to 59.67 percent; the Big East is now essentially even with the ACC in that category, with a 59.34 winning percentage during that time span. The ACC’s average seed has dropped to 5.21, while the Big East’s has risen to 4.6. And the two leagues have gotten teams into the tournament at an identical 46-percent rate.

Furthermore, just three ACC teams have advanced to the Final Four over the last five years, while four Big East teams have turned the trick. True, the ACC holds a 2-0 edge in national championships. But consider this: Only seven ACC teams – and only one (2006 Boston College) not named North Carolina or Duke – have made it as far as the Sweet 16 over the last four seasons. A whopping 16 Big East teams have advanced that far.

In fact, if you take UNC and Duke out of the mix, the ACC’s post-expansion tournament record is an unsightly 12-18. That’s Atlantic 10 or Mountain West territory.

Interestingly, they do not put the blame on the newcomers.

Instead, the first thing that stands out is the difference in overall quality of coaching.

Top to bottom, however, it’s just not up to the Big East’s lofty standards – or its own usual standard of excellence. The depth of elite coaches heading up Big East programs is unparalleled at the moment. Hall of Famers Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, and Rick Pitino grace the conference’s sidelines, as does Bob Huggins, who currently ranks seventh all-time in Division I victories. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, Villanova’s Jay Wright, and Georgetown’s John Thompson III have unequivocally emerged as top-flight young coaches, guiding their respective schools to a combined 18 NCAA appearances, two Final Fours, and two more Elite Eights over the last decade.

As they point out, after Roy Williams, Gary Williams and Mike Krzyzewski there is a significant drop-off in coaching chops. Both in terms of accomplishments and reputations.

The other two items they point to is that the tougher, stronger players in the Big East has become much more successful. Then there is always non-con scheduling. It’s an interesting read from another conference perspective.

Speaking of successful coaches in the Big East, WVU’s Bob Huggins promoted his assistant Larry Harrison to associate head coach. Harrison had been with Huggins in Cinci for most of the 90s.

Why am I bringing this up? Well Harrison is also a Pitt grad. He played at Pitt from 1974 to 1978 (he also has a masters in education from USF). The plan is in place. Now all that is left is for Huggins to have another heart attack.

Forward Desmond Hubert is in no hurry to decide on his school, but it still seems that Pitt and ‘Nova are the most likely destinations.

“I feel really comfortable with those two schools, with the coaching staff, especially at Pitt and Villanova,” Hubert said.

Hubert and Playaz teammate Myles Davis may also choose a school together. Both have interest in Davis as well.

“Me and him have also talked about going to school together and those are two of the schools that are recruiting us,” Hubert said.

Now while Pitt had recruited Davis in the past, they seemed to have backed off the guard. So that will have to be watched. The other interesting tidbit (if you read it that way) from the story might be that Pitt could be looking at a fallback position from Hubert with one of his AAU teammates, Derrick Randall. Also a 6-9 forward presently leaning towards Rutgers.

“I’m probably going to be making my decision in August deciding where I’m going to be committing to and then sign in the [fall].”

Randall is also considering Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh (if they offer), Marquette, St. John’s and Seton Hall, but Rutgers clearly has the edge.

No offer from Pitt, but he’s considering. That seems to suggest a fair amount of interest.

Sports gambling site, Covers.com thinks well of Pitt for the upcoming season.

Pittsburgh Panthers (+2,500)
Pitt bids farewell to only two seniors, one of which being team leader Jermaine Dixon. However, he was plagued by injury last season, leaving a young Panthers squad to grow up fast. That process has Pitt running among the favorites to win the Big East in 2011. Coach Jamie Dixon returns leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown and forward Nasir Robinson. There is also plenty of potential off the bench for Pittsburgh, and depth plays a big role during the grueling Big East schedule. The Panthers overachieved in a rebuilding year in 2010 and will surpass that this upcoming NCAA season.

Of course, first Pitt has to take a trip to Ireland.

Richardson said the extra practice gives the Panthers an edge as fall approaches.

“Not many teams get the chance to have an organized practice during the summertime,” he said. “This is helping us get closer. Last year, we were all still getting used to each other because we were young. This year, with us in the summer league and going over to Ireland, we’re going to be real good.”

Brown added that the practices are particularly helpful in incorporating the new players into the program.

Freshmen J.J. Moore and Cameron Wright enrolled at Pitt for the summer and are participating in the Pittsburgh Pro-Am League with current and local athletes from Pitt, Robert Morris and Duquesne, as well as Division II and Division III schools.

Brown said that the league, as well as the 10 summer practices, benefits the new players.

“[It gets] our freshmen used to our system and really gives a feel for how we play,” Brown said. “I think it’s huge. Just being able to see what they’re capable of doing and what we’re good at gives us an advantage.”

I am feeling cautiously optimistic about Brown heading into this year. He doesn’t necessarily need to be the team leader, but it he is the most experienced player on the squad as a redshirt senior. So players will naturally look towards him to help set the tone.  His maturity really came into question after the last couple of years. Statements about getting the freshmen into the system are nothing but positive.