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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Reed had the post on Tino Sunseri pointing out the good games he’s had. The debate rages. I think I have pointed out in the past (or at least in some liveblogs) that many of us are so frustrated with Sunseri, that every mistake is magnified. It becomes a glaring problem that outweighs anything else he does. I know I have that issue. Most of last year, it was harder to acknowledge when Sunseri did things right. But the minute he made a mistake, I saw it and saw red.

The thing that Reed’s piece made me wonder, though, was how many games has Sunseri actually cost Pitt? I’m not talking simply he didn’t play well. I mean, that the lion’s share of the blame should fall on Sunseri for the outcome. For example, losing to Miami 31-3 in 2010 and Rutgers 34-10 in 2011, Sunseri was hideously bad. At the same time, you can’t say, if an average QB was out there things would have been significantly different. The O-line in both games was completely overwhelmed. And the defense didn’t hold well.

In the two years Sunseri has started, Pitt has been 14-12. Worse, in games decided by 7 points or less against 1-A teams, Pitt went 2-7 (3-7 if you include the 6-point win over 1-AA Maine last year). That’s a lot of close losses, and again, does not reflect well on Sunseri.

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There has been a ton of Tino Sunseri bashing over the last two years, some of it justified, and it has reached a fever pitch with his play in the Blue/Gold scrimmage to close the 2012 spring practices last Saturday.  We’ve been reading PITT fans on the blogs and boards pointing to Sunseri’s poor play and decision making to be the reason for between two and four losses last year.

It is hard to argue that those opinions aren’t true but in the red fog of anger towards Sunseri the exaggeration of his negative worth is way over the top.  It seems like most PITT fans can’t see very clearly when it comes to our lightening rod of a starting QB.

If we are going to bitterly complain about Sunseri then the least we can do is give credit where it is due also. I think you have to recognize that Sunseri has delivered the goods in more than one game.  Others may disagree with me on that view but here are some games where Sunseri played QB very well and got us wins because of that good play.  Lots of numbers and facts follow but they make a point.

One note when you read this.  Passing for double digit yards per attempt is excellent.  Last season only two teams had that over the course of the whole season; Baylor with Robert Griffin and Wisconsin with Russell Wilson (with Chryst as OC).

Last season against UCONN Sunseri completed 69% of his attempts for 419 yards, 10.0 ypa and two TDs.  He was our leading rusher that game with 40 yards and another TD in that 35-20 win. That’s being directly responsible for 21 points in a game where we lost our star RB Ray Graham early on and where UCONN scored 20.

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After this past basketball season I was certain that we could go through the coaching carousel without even an unserious “Jamie Dixon being targeted by X” story. Not just because Pitt had an off year, but because there were no jobs coming open that had any fit. Illinois, South Carolina and K-State were all geographically poor, not going to make a Godfather offer with money and/or not even lateral moves from Pitt. In fact Dixon’s name never even made it on most initial lists of candidates.

Then Jim Christian abruptly left TCU to take the Ohio job. With TCU entering the Big 12 and Dixon being a Horned Frog alum, the inevitable stories began. Naturally they really didn’t amount to much. Yes, TCU reached out to Dixon but nothing happened — TCU fans like to believe it was simply that they couldn’t afford Dixon’s price — and TCU hired Trent Johnson from Louisiana State.  Dixon, of course, said nothing the whole time, as has been his policy with any coaching opening.

Then came an absurd report that on the first day of the late signing day — right after meeting with Trey Zeigler and getting him to transfer to Pitt — that Dixon was down in Atlanta meeting with the LSU AD. The school refuted the report, but Dixon himself would not comment on the job. Citing his policy of not commenting on open jobs anywhere.

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It’s a bit of a basketball round-up.

First up, J.J. Moore got injured over the weekend playing pick-up basketball.

Pitt sophomore forward J.J. Moore will undergo surgery for a fractured fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot after suffering the injury in a pickup game Friday.

The injury takes three months to heal.

Moore’s injury is common among basketball players. It is the same injury that forced Levance Fields and Jermaine Dixon out of the lineup in recent seasons.

It isn’t the healing that is the concern. It is the possibility of it being a recurrent issue. It was a bit of a problem for Levance Fields. Still, while he won’t be playing in the summer league, he will be ready for the start of the practices before the season begins.

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So spring practices are in the books. Now the darkness of the spring and summer months fall. With little but speculative predictions, tidbits of recruiting news, filler, fluff and whatever else that can partially fill the void of Pitt football (insert joke here) until August.

But before that, a recap — media-wise — of the spring game. Reed did another great job of covering spring practices and recapping key things from the spring game. And thanks for all who were able to attend who left their impressions of the day.

For some other blog-writer perspectives, Anson from Cardiac Hill had a list of developments from spring practices. Pitt Script has his view, and makes a great observation.

It really hit me yesterday how much of a rebuilding job Paul Chryst has in front of him. There’s the team coming off a season that had nearly as many head coaches as wins with an incumbent quarterback that can’t seem to get the job done and no one to replace him. But there’s also the fanbase – which was never particularly large or deep – that seems deeply unsatisfied with how the past 18 months have gone.

The fanbase point is a good one.

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On Thursday I posted an article that listed some things I felt would be interesting and important to look for during the Spring Game this year.  Here they are below in bold with a snippet of text from that article following in italics.

Can Sunseri carry practice success onto the field under competition?  “I want to see if what we are seeing and hearing about Sunseri’s calm demeanor and accurate deep throws in practice can translate into completions at game speed.”  All three QBs got a nice amount of reps yesterday and each stayed with the squad they were assigned; Sunseri 1^st team, Myers 2^nd and Anderson 3^rd.

Sunseri did not play to the level which he has been over the last four weeks of practice and in truth was showing more of the same repetitive mistakes we have seen from him during past games.  He was overthrowing open receivers and had an INT returned for a TD by Tags.  His stats on the day were a mediocre 13-27 for 147 yards and one TD.  Rivals.com paints an accurate picture of how things progressed for him in this article:

Quarterback Tino Sunseri completed 13 of 27 passes for 147 yards but missed a number of throws that would have put points on the board. Twice on the first drive, Sunseri overthrew tight end Drew Carswell, once on a flag route then again on a fly where a blown coverage left him wide open. That trend continued as the afternoon wore on.

 “I think that guys were running open,” Sunseri said. “You just got to put the ball on people, understand certain route depths and just keep competing.

This quote from Sam Werner’s coverage in the P-G is pouring fuel on the fire as it is just more of the same:  “Obviously you’re disappointed you didn’t score, but there’s still positives in that,” Sunseri said. “You moved the football.”  Less silver linings and more sunny skies please, enough of the positive attitude after the fact.  He did nothing yesterday to dispel the “Practice Hero” label that’s for sure.

What will Mark Myers do when the spotlight is turned on for more than a play or two?  “Myers has struggled with the short/intermediate passing game.  I watched this happen in practice and I’ll be watching Saturday to see if that is still an albatross around his neck.  If it isn’t then new life may be breathed into the competition for the fall.”  Well, ramp up the campaign slogans again. Myers made a case yesterday that he is to be reckoned with in summer training camp.

Myers was 10-16 with 167 yards and beautiful 58 yard skinny post TD to Brandon Ifill (remember that name).  All spring Myers has been hitting on well thrown deep passes and didn’t disappoint yesterday either by hitting two of them.  His passing all around was OK and he was accurate enough overall to complete 63% of his passes but his short passing game still has a way to go.

Having a 16.7 ypc average yesterday doesn’t hurt his case either.   I don’t know if he’ll be able to sustain that level of play in August but if he can then all the better for the Panthers.  I still think it is a long shot for him to grab the starting position but it is early yet.

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You don’t know how much I wish I was heading to Pittsburgh right now.

An interment coupled with the fact that my wife’s family don’t really drink. Wheeeeee.

So, for those at the tailgates and scrimmage, please leave your thoughts and opinions on what you see.

Extra note, this quote from Andrew Taglianetti is fantastic.

Chryst, like most coaches, gathers his players around him and addresses them after every practice. He occasionally becomes loud and animated but never overstays his welcome.

“(His speeches) are a fraction of the time compared to last year,” Taglianetti said. “He keeps it short and simple. He kind of gets right to the point, which is good for us. It’s not this overextended lecture about everything that goes on in your life. That’s kind of a knock on the previous regime.”

You mean every moment in football is not a metaphor for your life?

/worldview shatters

No, he’s not trying to get out of going to Pitt. Turns out Steven Adams did not pull out of the Jordan Brand Classic and will be playing Saturday night on ESPN at 7pm down in Charlotte. Another chance to see the 6’10 to 7′-er (depending on where you get your measurements) before he comes to Pitt. He will get another matchup against the No. 1 player in the 2012 recruiting class, Kentucky-bound Nerlens Noel.

Obviously he is one of the players to watch (Insider subs):

Adams is the most physically imposing player in the game, thanks to his unique combination of strength and athleticism. He will attack the rim and score with his excellent mobility, huge hands and soft touch inside 15 feet. Defensively, he is very difficult to score over and Noel has said he is the hardest guy he’s ever tried to score on.

He’s also the subject of a feature article from ESPN.

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First off, I’m sorry to say that I will not be making it to the Blue-Gold game this year. My wife’s uncle passed away last month and the interment is being held on Saturday. Apparently no one thought to consult with me as to what weekend would be best to do this. Naturally since this is the first spring game I will miss in a few years, the weather is supposed to be close to pleasant. Temps in the mid-to-upper-60s and a less than 50% chance of any rain. Please try and track down Reed and his group in one of the Park-and-Ride lots where they are tailgating and have a beer with them.

Hopefully some of you will be heading to the Dessert Tasting for a Cause event. A charitable event put together by Torrie Cox, Kris Wilson and Lousaka Polite. Three Panthers from the Walt Harris era that stay close to Pitt. It’s impressive when you take into account that Cox and Wilson are not from Pittsburgh and don’t make their home in the ‘Burgh — and while Polite is from the area, he now lives in Florida. But they keep coming back. Staying part of Pitt’s family.  Sam Clancy, Ruben Brown and Scott McKillop will also be attending. Looks like a pretty good menu (PDF).

I don’t care if the coach is in his first year or has been there as long as Frank Beamer, every head coach will tell you that spring practice went too quick and not enough was accomplished. Isn’t that right, Coach Chryst?

“It went too fast,” Chryst said of spring drills, which will end Saturday with the Blue-Gold scrimmage at North Hills` Martorelli Stadium. “Achieve everything? Probably no, but it`s been good. I just wish we had more (time).”

Of course you do.

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Just for fun and on the day before the Spring Game I’d like to, again, throw out a few “Mic’d Up” links for you guys to watch while you are screwing around at work on a Friday afternoon.  These come off the PITT Spring Football Insider website and they are shot and recorded in 720p HD.

These are great slice of life looks at our new staff and how they go about relating to and coaching their unit’s players.  I’ll list them from latest to earliest but they are all interesting and informative.

4/12:    (3:40m)     WR Coach Bobby Engram.  You have to laugh a little at the 2:35 mark when he pulls Devin Street and tells him that he should get with Sunseri and practice the deep ball.  You just know there was a massive steam buildup about to explode from Street’s ears right then.  At the 2:48 mark Engram mentions someone named “Jules” and I can’t figure out who that is.

4/5:      (2:40m)     OC Joe Rudolph.  You can see from this clip that Rudolph like teaching the fundamentals and is a stickler for the smallest details.  Watch at the 1:08 mark when he’s running the TEs through blocking drills, then his work with the offensive lineman right afterward.

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Pitt’s 2012 basketball signing class is probably complete — with all the requisite officialness of signed documents. Trey Zeigler sent in his official transfer paperwork, and Chris Jones sent in his Letter of Intent.

The University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball program signed Chris Jones (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck H.S.) to a National Letter of Intent, head coach Jamie Dixon announced on Wednesday. In addition, Dixon also stated that Trey Zeigler (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Central Michigan) has submitted the necessary scholarship paperwork in order to enroll at Pitt. The NCAA Division I spring men’s basketball signing period began on Wednesday, April 11.

Jones and Zeigler join Steven Adams (Rotorua, New Zealand/Notre Dame Prep, Mass.) and James Robinson (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha Catholic H.S.) as Pitt’s four-member 2012 class. Not including Jones and Zeigler, Pitt’s 2012 class is considered a consensus top-15 nationally ranked unit. Pitt is ranked No. 13 by ESPNU, No. 10 by Rivals.com, No. 15 by Scout.com and No. 13 by CBSSports.com. Adams (top-10) and Robinson are both consensus top-50 ranked recruits.

I haven’t checked how the rankings look, but the only reason Pitt might move in the rankings will be due to other late signees and how they affect the movement. Transfers do not count for recruiting rankings, so Zeigler will not have an impact on the rankings.

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  The Spring Game scrimmage is right around the corner and is being played on Saturday afternoon at North Hills High School’s Martorelli’s Stadium.  There are a lot of questions unanswered, some questions answered they way we don’t necessarily want them to be and a lot of concern about our 2012 season under a new coaching staff.

  After attending a practice, reading everything I can get my hands on, watching all the interviews and having some conversations with people in the program,  here are the questions that I’m most looking forward to seeing answered out on the field Saturday.

  Can Sunseri carry practice success onto the field against competition?  We all know by now that Tino Sunseri is going to be the starting QB on Sept. 1^st unless something drastic happens.  Mark Myers didn’t rise to the challenge and Trey Anderson, while a good passer, isn’t going to overtake our incumbent QB starter.  I want to see if what we are seeing and hearing about Sunseri’s calm demeanor and accurate deep throws in practice can translate into completions at game speed.

  What will Mark Myers do when the spotlight is turned on for more than a play or two?  If Sunseri has a rep of being a practice star then can’t the opposite happen and someone who has struggled in practice play well when there is less thinking and more doing?  Myers has struggled with the short/intermediate passing game.  I watched this happen in practice and I’ll be watching Saturday to see if that is still an albatross around his neck.  If it isn’t then new life may be breathed into the competition for the fall.

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Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long sits alone in his office. It is the morning after firing football coach Bobby Petrino. He is still physically and mentally exhausted from the events. He is reviewing some paperwork.

The phone beeps.

: Yes?

Secretary: Sir, you have a phone call on Line 3.

(wearily): Carol, I said I did not want to talk to any boosters or reporters right now. I just need some quiet and the soothing peace of low-grade administrative paperwork.

Carol: I know sir, but it is Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione… your friend and old boss… And…

: It’s okay, Carol. Yeah, I’ll talk to Joe.

[Pushes a button on the phone.] Joe, good to hear from you…

Voice on the phone: Jeffy, finally! It’s not easy to get to you. That secretary of yours is a tough one to crack. She may have to go as we make the changes for Arkansas!

: Um, you aren’t Joe. Who is this?

: Todd Graham, your next football coach, the Good Lord willing! Oh, sorry about the trickeration there, Jeffy. It just took a some doing to get to speak to you.

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