Well, Pitt has essentially traded J.J. Moore to Rutgers for Derrick Randall.
“It felt like a new home and a new start and I need to get away and start clean.”
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Randall also considered Iona and Minnesota. He visited Pittsburgh last Thursday.
Randall, a Bronx native who played at South Kent (Conn.) and Paterson (N.J.) Catholic, averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds as a sophomore at Rutgers.
He opted to transfer in the wake of the Mike Rice scandal and could obtain a waiver to play immediately.
Randall was a 3-star center coming out of prep/high school. He’s got two years of eligibility remaining.
His minutes and numbers went down from his freshman to sophomore year.
| SEASON | TEAM | MIN | FGM-FGA | FG% | 3PM-3PA | 3P% | FTM-FTA | FT% | REB | AST | BLK | STL | PF | TO | PTS |
| 2012-13 | RUTG | 8.2 | 0.8-1.5 | .500 | 0.0-0.0 | .000 | 0.5-0.8 | .667 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.1 |
| 2011-12 | RUTG | 11.3 | 1.0-1.8 | .561 | 0.0-0.0 | .000 | 0.5-0.7 | .609 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.5 |
That was something of a surprise to see his numbers decrease, since the minutes for him were supposed to be increasing.
Prior to the season, head coach Mike Rice told the Blue Ribbon Yearbook that he was one of the most improved players on the team, and that he had a future as a big time rebounder. Then his minutes declined from his freshman year. All told, he only played double-digit minutes in 10 games.
Part of the reason he didn’t play is because he didn’t rebound. He was fine on the offensive end, but only grabbed 7.7% of the boards on the defensive end. To put that into perspective for Pitt fans, 6-0 point guard Tray Woodall’s defensive rebound % was over 10%.
But Randall has the size, and he has the athleticism.
So that potential is still there. As is the very chance of seeing minutes right away with a waiver. Obviously, Pitt could use another extra body to absorb some minutes in the frontcourt for the coming year. As it stands it is Young, Zanna and Uchebo are the only true centers and power forwards on the roster.
Run the Floor, makes a point that I can’t entirely disagree with regards to Randall. That the kid — and maybe Pitt for the future — might benefit from him not getting a waiver. Obviously he needs work and it might be more beneficial for him to not be forced into the rotation. Still, my money is on him getting a waiver and getting around 10 minutes a game.
Then there is guard Trevor Lacey. The transfer from Alabama. There was a brief flare of a rumor last week that he had committed to NC State. Lacey directly extinguished the rumor on Twitter. As it stands, he all indications are that he is deciding between Pitt and NC State.
NC State under Mark Gottfried has been fantastic at reeling in the talent. Gottfried was a hell of a recruiter when he worked for Jim Harrick at UCLA in the 90s and even at Alabama when he was the head coach (1998-2009). So, from that perspective he is hard to bet against. His ability to coach the talented players to any consistency is something entirely different.
Still no indication as to when he will make a decision. Since both Pitt and NC State have multiple scholarship openings, there is no real chance one school would run out of scholarships before the end of the summer (hopefully Lacey won’t take that long).
UPDATE: So much for waiting on Lacey. He’s now made it official with the Wolfpack. Damn.
Still two weeks until the ACC becomes official and I have a strong distaste for Gottfried. He’s beaten Pitt for Beejay Anya, Linnard Freeman and now Lacey. Of course, no one ever disputed his skill as a recruiter.
Don’t think at the same time though.
Interesting swap. LOL
as a center comeing out of high school.
and played some center for rutgers
which means he is the only player on the team who
has played center in a dev 1 college basketball game
so some time at center is better then no time at center.
uchebo only played center on a JC team i am sure
uchebo will be better but randel has done it before that counts for something and i am glad
we have him.
It’s Dixon’s style of play that is the problem. Not only is it not attractive to new recruits and transfer in… but causing players to leave the program. They are not having fun!
Hopefully Dixon will change!!
I don’t want to see the basketball program become the football program but it seems to be headed in that direction. Mediocre!
but i will wait and see how it turns out.
but if things become a shit sandwich i will be on
him more then you but we should wait and see.
will the big east style of play work in the ACC
will the ref call the game different who knows
till we get there.
Their campus is 2nd rate, Raleigh as a city can’t compare a lick to Pittsburgh. Raleigh is a minor league city that is more like a town and the Wolfpack are always an afterthought to people in North Carolina.
Pitt’s basketball arena is Top 15 in the country, ncsu plays in a hockey arena and even though Heinz Field is off campus it’s much nicer than the 50 year old craphole Carter-Finley stadium, which is also off campus.
I can see losing players to Duke & UNC, but by no means should we be losing players to ACC also ran, ACC afterthought, NCSU.
P.S. In football, NCSU has NEVER EVER BEEN to a big bowl game (Sugar, Rose, Orange or Fiesta).
Virginia has introduced the ACC and it’s ref’s to the low scoring, plodding halfcourt style with tough defense the last several seasons. Very similar to JD’s motion, wake me when it’s over offense.
As Tony Bennett(no, not the singer) brought the style that was successful at Washington State (69-33 in 3 seasons and NCAA Sweet 16) to Virginia a couple years ago.
UVa has finished in the top half of the ACC, the last 2 seasons. (tied for 4rth each year)
2011–2012: Virginia 22–10(overall) 9–7 (conf) –Tied- 4th (ACC) NCAA Second Round
2012–2013 Virginia 23–12(overall) 11–7 (conc) T–Tied- 4th ACC) NIT Quarterfinals
Surely JD & Slice can outrecruit UVA. The plodding style has already been shown to work in the ACC via our test experiment of Bennett’s Cavaliers.
chad frazier we should have taken him.
i all ways say a bird in your hand is worth 2 in the bush.
so once agein we screwed the pouch.
when you have a chance to get what you need take it.dont wait for a may be that is how you get screwed.
The Pitt – UVA hoop games should be real plodders.
First team to 50 wins. (yawn)
how the ref called the game.
EMel i did not know that abought VA thanks for the info. as far as the big east ref i dont think any move to the ACC dont forget they will now have 2 to cover allready the new AAC and the new big east
i think the acc has enough of there own ref.
And it remains to be seen how any of these transfers will work out. Especially in the first year that they play.
Seeing that the best one we ever got (a former Top 50 player, Zeigler), didn’t pan out at all.
The fact that Zeigler would have been #1 at the SG spot next year, had he stayed and still transferred out, might be one of the reason’s we’re having trouble landing some of these prospects. Something is amiss for sure.
abought that.
but i do belive fraizer was comeing here till we backed off frist we thougt it would be kane then lacey and i think we screwed our selves bye looking for the better thing and ended up with nothing just saying we could have had what we needed
but waited on a maybe not a good move but i did ask you once what is wrong.
Pitt alum Sean Miller got a contract extention.
But it wasn’t for 10 years…..haha
😉
Kiwi Steve going either #18 or #21.
Just “out” of the huge contract money.
Naturally 🙁
For sure Zeigler would have been, right at the front of the line, for big minutes.
Yet he chose to walk to play at…..wait..
TCU (the doormat of the big 12)
And Moore chose to walk to play at…..wait
Buttgers ( the doormat of the BigEast and now AAC with all kinds of problems in the AD dept.)
Maybe that thumb injury early in the season really hampered him.
I agree, that was not his role.
But the 40% from the free throw line?
After the centers finished-up, all of the announcers raved about Adams’ work-out. They think that he may move up in the draft.
Is your tounge in your cheek?
All these wins and losses of minor parts of the Pitt BBall team are simply side stories to keep everyone from seeing the obvious. Pitt will be an underdog in all but 4 ACC games this year.
I love Raliegh and worked there for 3 terrific years….but it is no Pittsburgh! Somebody is failing to “sell” something to these recruits.
And yes, Mike Gottfried is “pond scum” but he will beat Pitt twice this Fall/Winter….amd neither game will be close.
people on here will hate me
becuse if you are right i will be bitching and bitching worse then EMel and pittDan83 and baseball
put togther.
And while I really liked that kid, because of his moxie, he was no penetrating PG. Had that team had a real Top 20 like PG, it would have perhaps won the NC, although PF was a weak link as well with Biggs on that team. ONly because DeJuan was such a beast on the boards were we able to get away with such a weak link at PF.
And it is truly amazing we’ve done as well as we’ve done considering the talent at PG recruited.
While Robinson was a Top 100 prospect, the kid, at this point, doesn’t have the quickness, moves, ups, whatever you want to call it, to take it all the way to the rim and score. While he did make a few big shots, his play deteriorated somewhat as the season went along. Whether that was due to tougher competition or a freshman “hitting the wall” remains to be seen.
UVA won 11 games last year in the ACC, I still think Pitt, even with it’s shortcomings will win 10 or 11 games in the ACC.
Although that being said, we have to make The Pete the inhospitable, unwinnable place it was for visitors to play in circa…. 2001-2010.
I’m not bitching, I’m just “stirring the pot”.
🙂
lol Upone (watta a maroon)
This kid has a better skill set coming out of HS than Fitz. For Fitz never played RB in HS and while he was great, he played a static WR, basically. Meaning he never was in motion, rarely did a WR reverse from what I can remember and never returned kickoffs.
This Boyd kid, has the skill set to never have to be a…. always a static WR lined up the same one every play of the game.
You can put this kid in motion, you can lineup him up in the backfield and either pass to him out of that position or motion him out of the backfield and pass to him that way. Hoping to possibly get a mismatch with a LB on him. Apparently Boyd can also throw out of the backfield or off the WR reverse. You can almost always never have him in the same position on the field on consecutive plays.
Boyd has a lot more flexibility than Foster in where you can play him on the field. And that is why he will be a better player in college.
And dare I say….a possible Heisman Trophy winner.
Boyd sure did show his skill set in the Big 33 Classic game but a Heisman candidate he isn’t, at least not yet. And BTW, “the who is going to be better at the next level” debate between Foster and Boyd is nothing more than who can throw the BS the best at this juncture. There are waaaay too many variables that will effect each player to even guess what will become of either player into the future, although a lot of bad things would have to transpire to keep either one from making a significant impact on the game. But less we forget, didn’t we all jump up and down with excitement at Rushel Shell’s coming out party at the Vt Tech game. Hell, he was going to be a beast for us going forward. Now how did that work out?
As I always say, we’ll see.
I’ve always wanted to go to Research Triangle and have some time in mid August, but don’t want to spend all my time in a sauna
I can wish right.
When was the last time a Pitt recruit scored 5 TD’s in the Big 33 game ?
And I wasn’t one who was jumping up & down over Shell and Va Tech. For I knew Va Tech wasn’t that good. Both before and after the Pitt game.
We got screwed on Fitz not getting the Heisman (maybe Upittbaseball will agree), when that terrible QB from Choklahoma got it instead.
Perhaps Boyd will right that terrible wrong !
I didn’t say Raleigh was a craphole, I said NC State’s stadium ( Carter-Finly) was a craphole compared to Heinz Field.
@ everyone else.
As far as the weather in the Carolina’s in the summertime (outside of Asheville) it sucks, it’s usually above 90 degrees with 80-90% humidity.
I’ve lived in the Carolinas for 20 years and when we go out for a walk later in the day or evening, there is absolutely no one outside doing anything.
It’s that hot & humid. There’s even not a single sole on their decks or patios, unless they’re enclosed and air conditioned. It’s way too hot & humid to enjoy a round of golf or play tennis.
I would take the summers in Pittsburgh in a heartbeat of those in the Carolinas, outside of say again the Asheville-Hendersonville area, which is in the mountains and it’s 10 degrees or more cooler up there and way less humid. Also it’s not flat as a board like the rest of NC & SC.
foster or boyd had picked a school. i dont remmber if it was trib or post they were asking some talking heads sports people.
who was best they all picked boyd.
and that was when we were to get foster and they thought boyd was going to WVU.
just saying look it up i am to lazy to go back
and find it.
Tyler Boyd was selected the Post Gazette 2012 Player of the Year, not Mr. Alabami.
In the Big 33 game, the Pennsylvania team was wearing Pitt’s colors. Must have killed them in Creepy Valley. haha
So keep on wishing.
By the way bought a night guard, said I grind my teeth. What a rip off that $600 was for a piece of plastic. Haha
You must be stressed out if you’re grinding your teeth, probably status quo for a Northern having to constantly deal with the “good ol boys” network down South. Ha Ha.
Good Point on the Crowns. I have 4
could not play this year he must sit out a year.
so would be of no help first year in the ACC.
so even if we get him it looks as if we play 2
players short next year i dont see any one else
out there.
but i fell better now that we have another big
my be we should have taken that jc SG.