It’s a little up in the air right now. I’m spending chunks of the evening looking at cars. Getting close to a decision and  all of that. The interesting thing has been the lack of hard-selling I’ve faced. A lot more laid-back, sof-sell approach than previous experience and expected. Maybe it’s the prevalence of the internet and information. Maybe it’s just that most of the slick, hard-selling used car salesmen are now coaching football in Arizona.

So, I am more likely than not to be late for watching the St. John’s-Pitt game tonight at 7pm on ESPN2.

If I get back with enough time to spare, I’ll pop in the liveblog stuff and we’ll give it a go at the last minute. Otherwise, this is the open thread for the night.

Is there any doubt at this point? Rick Pitino spends October through February banging away on how the Big East needs to add Memphis. Now they are coming. His other team to add was Temple. Guess who is on the verge?

It appears the board of trustees of Temple is meeting Wednesday via a conference call to decide if it wants to accept a Big East Conference invitation, if offered.

Discussions between the Big East and Temple regarding the Owls’ joining the conference, possibly for all sports, are hitting the final stages.

Assuming Temple gets an invitation and accepts it, the school has to quickly negotiate exit fees.

Hope you understand the key area: Temple is only deciding whether it will accept an invitation to join the Big East — you know if the the Big East makes them an offer.

Despite all the rumors and noise last week about Temple joining the Big East, there is still no official offer, invitation, or even known vote by the Big East on the matter. In other words, beating back the Villanova opposition.

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Guess it depends on whether you think Chris Jones is more Shooting Guard or Small Forward. Maybe he’s more of a wing guard/forward. I’m not sure, and that may be the plus. He’s versatile, and players that don’t seem to have  a pure position seem to thrive with Coach Dixon. Think Brad Wanamaker and the way Lamar Patterson is developing. That is what young Mr. Jones may be.

In case you some how missed it, or didn’t read Pitt Script or Cardiac Hill today, then the news is that Pitt added a new addition to the recruiting class.

The basics. Jones is 6-4 (maybe 6-5) and 190 pounds. Scout.com and Rivals.com have him as a 3-star recruit. ESPN.com says 2-star (Insider Subs). His best offers were from low-Atlantic 10 teams like LaSalle and Rhode Island. He has had an excellent senior year, and his high school team is undefeated in NJ.

Jones is averaging 21 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5 assists per game for Teaneck, which is 28-0 after winning its first state tournament game Monday.

“He can play all three perimeter positions,” [Teaneck head coach Jerome] Smart said, “and in high school he can play inside because of his size. He also is very low-maintenance. You don’t have to worry about him.”

After some of the issues this season, I would guess the low-maintenance aspect was an extra plus to the coaches. His fine year has had some interest popping up from Seton Hall and UConn in recent weeks as well.

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So, this is the final “Challenge” question in Volvo‘s Biggest Fan in the Big East competition. There’s still time to vote for me, before the popularity aspect closes next week.

This time the question is the equivalent of a clip show. They are asking to recap the experience. Favorite aspects, the experience itself and what not.

Not the most exciting question or topic, I know.

Overall, this has been fun. Free trip to NYC for Big East Basketball Media Day. A trip back to Pitt, College GameDay, along with hotel, tickets and some walking around money to the Louisville-Pitt game Courtesy of Volvo. Plus free use over the weekend of a very sweet Volvo S60 T6 with all the bells and whistles.

The chance to win the new car and possibly go back to NYC for the Big East Tournament also in the mix. All I had to do was whore myself out for a series of posts over the past few months — most of which related to Pitt and the Big East. Note to other corporate sponsors of Pitt, the Big East and eventually the ACC: I can live with that kind of trade. Call me.

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UPDATE (1:20): Pitt made the announcement along with a RB Coach. Details at the bottom.

No word yet from Pitt on this hardly kept secret, but Brooks Bollinger says it has has happened.

“I think it was an extremely difficult decision for me, but also a great opportunity,” Bollinger said today. “I am excited for the opportunity at Pitt. Also, it is so hard to leave Hill-Murray. It was a special place to me while I was there. They are great people and is a great place. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have been there.”

So there’s that. And it seems that Chryst really wanted Bollinger on the staff.

Reliable source told me Bollinger was offered the job by Chryst in December but turned it down. This time, Chryst upped the offer.

Take that for what it’s worth, but I really hope that isn’t true. That Chryst had to up the offer to “lure” Bollinger from a high school job he’s been doing for one year.

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It really is strange as a fan to feel like it is just playing out the string at this point. Not the team. I am sure most of them haven’t checked out on the season yet. They want to keep playing. Trying to prove that it was more about nagging injuries and bad luck that made this such a frustrating and disappointing season.

Yet, as a fan, it’s different. We know the NCAA Tournament is out. The NIT is weak consolation — and even that is guaranteed at the moment. Maybe there’s some excitement for the Big East Tournament. After all, it has been a while since Pitt even won a game at it. But these final three games. Who knows? At this point I want to see Nas and Gibbs finish with some good. I want to see more of Moore and Gilbert for the future. Maybe even a little more time for John Johnson.

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In case you didn’t hear, the NCAA members and conferences narrowly failed to override the earlier decision to allow member institutions to offer a full 4-year athletic scholarship. It doesn’t mandate such scholarships. It merely gives universities the option to offer scholarships that are not as they have been. Several schools actually did this on signing day this year. Previously, the rule was that all athletic scholarships were only for 1-year, renewable annually at the school’s discretion.

This had seemed like a no-brainer decision by the NCAA. Show at least a little more than lip-service to the concept that the kids getting athletic scholarships were students as well. There was surprising pushback. First it seemed by more of the low- and mid-majors, who seemed more concerned with the overall costs of such a guarantee.

This, despite the possible extra edge in recruiting. Bigger schools with the name recognition, history and other advantages would be in a better position to keep offering kids only 1-year scholarships in exchange for greater exposure and attention. The smaller schools could offer more of a guarantee of an education.

It’s no question that most schools would happily offer a 5-star and most 4-star recruits a full 4-year ride. But what if you are offering a 3-star kid? A MAC or Sun Belt school would happily offer him a 4-year deal, but what would/should Pitt, Florida, Ohio State, Alabama, etc. do? It would seemingly put more pressure on the coaches to more fully evaluate players before offering.

It also makes things a little tougher when a school changes coaches and the system changes. Suddenly the new coach (and AD that stuck his neck out on the hire) may have a harder time if the players don’t fit the system. You know, even thought the NLI says they committed to the school not the coach (or system). Players with a multi-year ride may not be so cooperative to be driven off the team transfer for a fresh start.

The override vote was surprisingly close (PDF). A 2/3 majority was needed for the override, but fell a few votes short. It was 125 votes not to override the multi-year scholarship option (Allow the option), 205 votes to override (revert back to the 1-year, renewable only system), 2 abstentions and 35 schools that simply didn’t vote.

Pitt did the right thing by supporting option to offer multi-year scholarships. As did Penn State. WVU — this should not be a surprise — did not.

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I’m not all the way back in the swing, but I have to say that I need to post if for no other reason but to take my mind off some of the other crap. Thanks everyone for well-wishes and some suggestions regarding the vehicle search. I’ve got some things narrowed down. A new car is completely impractical right now. Couple that with two kids under the age of ten, and I could see my annoyance levels shooting through the roof as they do what kids do over time in the back seat of cars. Wait, that came out wrong.

Reed gave you the reassuring POV on Coach Paul Chryst and his approach. I don’t totally disagree. It is something a little different, and if it works then great.

Now onto the reported coaching hire. Still no word officially on a new running back coach. Honestly, I’m not that stressed about the speed at which a position assistant is hired. It would be nice to have someone in place with more than a couple weeks before spring practices start, but the running back spot is not a source of concern.

Then there is the apparent move to fill the other open position on the coaching staff with a QB Coach. The name that is being leaked as likely is Brooks Bollinger.

I’ve been mulling it over for a couple days. Giving it a bit of thought. And I just keep coming back to the same place.

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A comment on the “Historical Recruiting Comparison” post really got me thinking about PITT’s latest Top 25 recruiting classes and how they will benefit Paul Chryst and staff this upcoming season.  To quote:

“Okay I don’t know if anybody already hit on this point, but if Chryst was such a good coach that he made a 60th ranked recruiting classes into quality Top 25 football teams, then he should have no problem turning Pitt’s circa Top 25 recruiting classes into a good football product. Obviously we all don’t think this is going to happen. This is all I could think about throughout this article Reed and I don’t need another reason to be disappointed this year.”

This is a interesting thought so I looked at the 5* and 4* recruits who Chryst & Co. will have on the team because they are literally the players who made those “circa Top 25”  classes end up ranked so highly on Scout.com.

This season we’ll have three 5* and six 4* recruits from those three Top 25 recruiting classes, 2007 (8th nationally), 2008 (25th) and 2010 (17th), still on our roster and available to play in 2012.

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We are all frustrated with how badly Pitt basketball has been this season.

Whether it is the struggles with the defense. The inability to generate offense. Leadership. A chemistry issue. Talent. Development. Injuries. Other. All of the above.

Everyone has a pet theory or explanation. A grand unified theory that explains it all.

I’m not sure if there is one. Still, I guess I’ll take a stab at something.

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Since this recruiting topic is generating many and good discussions I decided to do some basic research and lay out the two football programs, PITT and Wisconsin, side by side in recruiting and records.

I looked at Scouts.com team recruiting rankings for the last seven years, from 2012 back to 2005, and also compared those rankings to team results.

The answers may or may not surprise you but they are enlightening. (Sorry that I couldn’t make the table better – I tried for an hour)

YEAR      PITT     WISKY 

RANKING & W/L

’12        40th      62th

’11        47th      38th

W/L      6/7        11/2

’10        17th      33rd

W/L      8/5        11/2

’09        31st      51st

W/L      10/3      10/3

’08        25th      26th

W/L      9/4        7/6

’07        8th       41st

W/L      5-7        9/4

’06        11th      37th

W/L      6/6        12/1 (more…)

   Hmmm, not quite as an effective turn of phrase as the Bible’s “Jesus wept.” but it will do.

   Paul Chryst held his first post-hire formal press conference yesterday with the local media types.  It was pretty informative in some ways but, and I think we can expect this as long as Chryst is HC, there was nothing earth shattering divulged.

Some of his conversation was about issues that all PITT fans are interested in and some were insights into his personal approach into how he’ll conduct his business.  Here are some of the key points he talked about.

   In a refrain that we heard in his initial press conference he again attempted to quell the PITT fan’s post-Graham fears by reiterating that his approach to fielding his systems will be markedly different than his predecessor’s. The P-G reported him saying  “You never want the system to be the thing that prevents you from playing well,” Chryst said in a meeting with the media on Tuesday. “If you want to learn it, you can learn it absolutely in a fairly short time. I believe that, and I do believe that we can teach it.”  Meaning in essence that he’ll adapt to player’s strengths.

Chryst also said that many of the concepts he uses carry over between systems, but there will be new terminology for the players to master. “You are learning a new foreign language,” he said. “That’s our job, to teach it. It’s also our job to make sure we aren’t doing too much and that guys know what they’re doing.”

This last part we’ve heard before at this time last year and IMO was one of the reasons we faltered on offense as it was too much too soon for the players.  Let’s hope that Chryst’s philosophy in this matter is realistic and more simplified than Graham’s was.

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No the basketball season has not beaten me down so far I stopped posting. The offline world has conspired against me. Some family stuff. Kids being sick –which of course led to me getting taken down as well.

Then the topped being my car abruptly giving up the ghost. So I am trying to work quickly to replace my car without being reckless and stupid.

Hopefully I will resume consistent posting soon.

Well, USF doesn’t play well away from Florida. Pitt just isn’t playing well. Something has to give.

I’m probably going to be DVR delayed. Traveling back from visiting family. So, SilverPanther in NYC will be taking the reigns tonight.

Odd time,at 7pm  but when Pitt gets to the ACC, there are those Sunday night games.

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That game got away from Pitt in the second half. One missed basket at at time. The 17 turnovers were painful and led to 23 points. More than anything else, though, missing shot after shot was the water torture death of this game.

Pitt was down only 1 at the half. Very much a tight game, despite the turnovers. Despite Gibbs and Woodall shooting only 5-15 (12 points). The rest of the team was scoring really efficiently when given the opportunity — 5-7 for 13 points.

Unfortunately the second half had the entire team getting in on the brick-laying. Gibbs and Woodall led by managing to top their first half by going 2-12 (0-9 in the game on 3s). The rest of the team, 5-12.

As we have seen all season with this team — regardless of whether Woodall is playing or not — if the offense goes, the defense quickly follows.

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