Both J.J. Moore and Tray Woodall will have surgery tomorrow.

Moore will have surgery to repair the fractured bone in his right foot, that he suffered last week.

Woodall will have surgery for a sports hernia. The injury he suffered at the end of the Duquesne game.

A sports hernia typically begins with a slow onset of aching pain in the lower abdominal region. Symptoms may include:

• Pain in the lower abdomen
• Pain in the groin
• Pain in the testicle (in males)

Typically the symptoms are exacerbated with activities such as running, cutting, and bending forward. Patients may also have increased symptoms when coughing or sneezing. Sports hernias are most common in athletes that have to maintain a bent forward position…

That was not an injury that simply healed while Woodall was out. Woodall came back and played through the pain with a mix of pain-killing medications and just being tough enough to take the pain. Far tougher than I am.

The more I read about this kind of injury the more I cannot understand anyone who doubts Woodall’s dedication to Pitt and his teammates, or just how tough he is. He was definitely not at full strength when he returned and limitations were obvious, but he still went out there for the team.

Woodall’s surgery will have him rehabbing for the next eight weeks or so.

The great thing about self-aggrandizing, big-egoed folk. When they are  letting you know how brilliant they are, they reveal other tidbits.

Hoopie AD Oliver Luck is one of those people. Someone who believes he is the smartest person in the room, and always happy to tell you why. So, now he’s talking about leaving the Big East for the Big 12. It all started with the Texas-planted story about expansion.

At least one report placed Pittsburgh on the supposed “Big 12 short list.”

West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck saw it, and thus began the Mountaineers’ road to the Big 12.

“If Pitt is on the short list, there’s no reason that West Virginia shouldn’t be on the Big 12 short list,” Luck told ESPN.com. “That’s when, to myself, I began to think, because normally, you don’t think Big 12 and Pittsburgh. You don’t think Big 12 and West Virginia. “

Especially since the ACC and SEC weren’t interested. Do go on, and confuse the timelines.

“I remember saying to myself and saying to my wife, ‘If that story was accurate, and Pitt used that as leverage to get in the ACC,’ I remember thinking, Well, this is certainly a possibility.”

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So, Pitt has a 4-star point guard coming in for the fall. I’m sure people are doing fine at tempering their expectations. Not claiming that the kid can and should be the starter immediately. Not projecting too much on him right away. Being realistic that averaging around 15-20 minutes per game would be about what is reasonable and a good sign that he will be a vital part of the team for 2012 and beyond.

Right?

Well, here’s a really good scouting report on where James Robinson is, after practicing and playing with other top players at the Nike Hoops Summit last week.

A quintessential Pitt Point Guard, James Robinson (#45 ESPN, #79 Scout, #58 Rivals) showed quite a bit of intrigue throughout the week in practice and played the role of deferential facilitator during the Hoop Summit game. A late addition to the US roster after Marcus Paige suffered a stress fracture in his left foot, Robinson was perhaps the least highly touted player on the US Junior Select Team, but impressed over the course of the practices with his leadership on the floor and overall skill level.

Presence and leadership. Check.

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