I have yet to convince the wife that I should be allowed to take a Wednesday afternoon to drive to Pittsburgh. Sit in a crowded gym and watch exhibition basketball, then come back that night. For some reason she still does not see the value of me spending almost $50 on gas and tolls for this while she’s stuck with the kids.

The next best thing has been following the tweets of Pitt writers, fans and bloggers who are at Greentree. Always entertaining and definitely gets one ready for the following season.

The complaint — and really it has been the complaint since the summer league started — is that Greentree is just too damn small. It seats only 400, and with free admission the place is packed.  The issue is that the same NCAA rules that prevent the coaches of Pitt, WVU, Duquesne and Robert Morris from organizing, paying for, or running the summer league also prohibit use of the school facilities. This means the Pete or Palumbo are not options. And you know the Con won’t do it for free.

So I guess this is the question. Is there a better option in the future? It has to be someplace that is easy enough for players from the various programs to reach. It has to be safe. And probably most important: it has to be free.

The pro-am league is a shoestring operation that works from donations and small sponsorships of the teams. Greentree is letting the summer league play for free, and it’s in a location that works.

Okay over to the fun stuff. Lots of links to follow.

Even before the NBA lockout became official there was lots of speculation that some former Pitt players would be showing up to play in the summer league in an effort to stay in shape, and because they come back to Pittsburgh so frequently.

Last week was the first actual siting as DeJuan Blair showed and played. His victim: Khem Birch.

Pitt’s prized freshman Khem Birch, who sports a wiry, 6-8 frame, called Blair the strongest opponent he has faced.

Birch was reminded of that every time Blair posted him up or threw an elbow or two his way.

“I was scared to go up for rebounds because he kept on putting up his elbows and stuff,” said Birch. “He’s just so big.”

It’s that type of competition that the dozens of current and former college players will use to better their careers, including one with NBA aspirations such as Birch.

“To go up against him, I was like, ‘This is what I have to do to be in the NBA,’ ” Birch said. “I’m nowhere near his physicality. It makes me want to get in the weight room, so I can get that kind of physicality.”

Odds are, Birch is going to find a lot of bodies going against him that will remind him of the need to get stronger. But, yeah, Blair’s might be the gold-standard. Spurs fans are happy that Blair is staying active.

Another body, Birch can expect to go against in practice — much like they have in the summer league: Dante Taylor. He’s looking better physically and feels ready to make the jump.

The junior center at Pitt has dropped 15 pounds from his 6-foot-9 frame, trimming down to a muscular 236 to prepare for his first season as a starter.

“It’s my time to step up,” Taylor said. “I’ve been here three years. It’s time for me to elevate my game.”

Taylor arrived at Pitt two summers ago as a five-star recruit, but like most 19-year-old freshmen he needed to get bigger and stronger.

“When Dante got on campus he couldn’t bench 185 (pounds),” Pitt strength and conditioning coordinator Tim Beltz said. “We had to take off a lot of weight. Now we’re trying to build him back up.”

Taylor is the latest Pitt center to make a big physical leap between his sophomore and junior seasons, following eventual second-round draft pick Aaron Gray and two-year starter Gary McGhee. Taylor will try to match their statistical increases as well.

The weight loss, forged during five-day-a-week workouts since the NCAA second-round loss to Butler, has eased the burden on Taylor’s aching knees. Nagging tendinitis hobbled him during the second half of his sophomore season.

I’m very optimistic about Taylor this year. I think he will respond to the challenges of both being one of the older players and being pushed by Zanna, Birch and Gilbert for playing time. It’s going to be a crowded, but high potential frontcourt. Malcolm Gilbert will have a chance, even as a freshman, because he’s a natural center and plays defense.

On the first night of the summer league, Gilbert went up against Zanna inside, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“It felt good,” Gilbert said. “The pace is definitely quicker than high school so I’m adjusting and getting used to it.”

He finished with three points and five rebounds on Wednesday, struggling offensively but performing well on the defensive end.

Gilbert said head coach Jamie Dixon’s history of developing players drew him to the Pitt program.

“Even after the NBA or if players don’t make it there, it sets them up for life and things like that,” he said. “There’s always options. I like how Jamie Dixon takes care of his players, like [assistant coach] Brandin [Knight] for example.”

As much as I like numbers and advanced stats, I put no stock in the summer league numbers. The intensity, style and structure of the games really make it and apples-to-oranges situation. It is simply not something that will tell us much beyond the tantalizing potential.

Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon was in attendance (just observing) and commented that these types of summer leagues are usually guard-dominated and Johnson did not disappoint. He slashed and dashed to the hoop, sank midrange and three-point jumpers, and ran the floor like a poised pro rather than an incoming true freshman.

I love the summer league. I think it is a vital part of keeping Pitt’s basketball program strong and growing.

“It’s important because I keep playing and I’m not just sitting around the house,” he [Dante Taylor] said. “I think it’s beneficial for everybody to able to come in and still play college caliber games.

He said the summer league games are particularly valuable for the incoming freshmen.

“[They] see how it is in college, how the game is and how the pace is,” he said. “They start to learn, especially if they are playing with or against people from their own team. It helps them build chemistry.”

So far the guy that has created the most buzz in the Summer League has been freshman John Johnson. He has been sharp in his shooting, and attacking the basket as well. When he committed to Pitt as a HS junior, he was a rising player, but he slipped in most rankings in his senior year. Add in concerns and rumors that he might not qualify academically, and he became the least discussed of the recruits — except in terms of most likely to redshirt.

As Johnson adjusts to the campus, he’ll find his place on Pitt’s team as well. While he acknowledged that he has plenty to work on before the season begins, he knows he’ll bring energy to the Panthers.

He said he decided to bring that energy to Pitt mainly because of how head coach Jamie Dixon interacted with his players.

“When I first came up here, I met Coach Dixon,” he said. “On the court, he’s a coach. He disciplines. Off the court, he still disciplines but he’s more of a father figure.

“I grew up without a father and I wanted to come to a place where I would have a father figure and somebody to look up to.”

Johnson is getting the attention, but it seems more likely that Cashmere CameronWright and Isiah Epps will have first shot at trying to get places in the backcourt rotation. After redshirting they are as you expect, eager.

When asked if that redshirt season was difficult on him, Wright’s only reply was an emphatic, “Yes. Without a doubt.”

How did he get through it?

“God.”

Epps echoed the sentiment that sitting out a season wasn’t easy. This year, however, the backcourt duo is ready to take the floor.

With a top-15 recruiting class joining the Panthers, Epps and Wright have been somewhat overlooked. But both said they’re ready to make an impact with the team this season.

Epps said that he used his redshirt year as an opportunity to learn.

“It’s difficult, but during my redshirt year I learned a lot from Jamie Dixon,” he said. “I learned how to play the game a little bit more.”

Most importantly, he said that he became a smarter point guard. He focused less on scoring and more on getting inside the paint and dishing to his teammates.

“I just want to get other people to score and worry about scoring less,” Epps said.

Seeing guys like Epps and Wright play in the summer league wouled actually be the most interesting thing to me. They’ve had the year in the system. They’ve been going at guys like Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and Gil Brown. Getting a little stronger and learning more defense. And with them expected to be an important part of the backcourt, there should be a lot more curiosity about them.

Then there is J.J. Moore and a fascinating interview that part of me wants to pick apart, and the other part takes a deep breath and tries to look at it through the eyes of a very confident, talented young player.

Moore is one of the team’s most naturally gifted players and has the ability to become the team’s secondary scorer behind Gibbs. Now it’s up to him to earn the opportunity.

“I think I’m very capable of being that guy,” Moore said. “I see myself being good for the team. I can come off the bench if [Dixon] wants me to. I’ll start if he wants me to. It’s up to Jamie. I’m going to work hard in practice. I’m going to play harder. I’ve been getting in the gym every day at 6 in the morning. I’m just ready and mentally prepared for whatever he wants me to do.”

…

Moore received the bulk of the playing time as the top reserve at small forward behind Brown, averaging more than 10 minutes per game. But when Big East play got underway, Moore was supplanted in the rotation by Lamar Patterson, who was the top reserve behind Brown for the remainder of the season.

“I knew that was going to happen because of the way his rotation is,” Moore said. “He doesn’t play freshmen. I heard about that. I knew that was going to happen sooner or later.”

I cringed then sighed at that quote. Taken completely out of the story, it sounds like a player that doesn’t yet get it. No denying it isn’t the easiest thing for a freshman to crack the rotation — but that tends to be true for most places unless that player is so much more superior to the more experienced, stronger and older players.

Anyone who watched Moore in games last year was tantalized by the offensive talent and quick hands on defense. At the same time, there was quite a glare from his eagerness to shoot, try and go one-on-five when attacking the rim, burned too easily on defense and so many little mistakes. In general — just being a freshman. To Moore’s credit, he does seem to get it at least a bit.

Patterson and Moore are different players. While Moore is athletic and has a nice outside shooting touch, Patterson is considered to be a much better passer, rebounder and a solid defender.

They will be competing against each other for the starting spot in the fall, but both figure to be major contributors.

“I think I have a fair shot [at the starting job],” Moore said. “Me and Lamar are always going at it in practice. Coach is always looking at Lamar more over me because Lamar looks to dish the ball, he creates space and kicks out to other players. Coach is looking for Lamar more, but I’m just working hard. Whatever he gives me, it is what it is.”

Moore said Dixon wants his defensive effort to increase this summer. If Moore is willing to become a better on-ball defender, it could mean winning the starting job and earning more minutes. And that could mean a more explosive offensive attack for the Panthers.

“He definitely told me to work on my defense,” Moore said. “That was a big factor in me not playing last year. Pitt is known for defense. He said work on defense and my ball handling and my passing more, too.”

The battle for playing time with Patterson and Moore should be very interesting. Patterson by most accounts has lost some of the fat, while adding muscle. That could make him more of a Brad Wanamaker-esque player — if his perimeter shot ever develops. Moore, though, is much more Gilbert Brown like. The two could play together in time, like Wanamaker and Brown did.