The Pittsburgh Summer Pro-Am kicks off tonight.
There are seven teams. Only one lacks any Pitt players — past or present. Five of the other squads has at least one key Pitt player who will be scrutinized or have hopes projected on them.
Joseph Uchebo is on one squad, and given the way he looked afraid to run in the limited time last year, I have a great deal of curiosity as to how he will look.
Chris Jones and Jamel Artis are teamed up on another. Jones was hampered by a hand injury. If he is healthy, he could play significant time in the role that Lamar Patterson had. I am hoping Jamel Artis is working more on his inside game, not just looking to shoot from outside.
Josh Newkirk and Derrick Randall (yes, he is still at Pitt) are on another squad.
Sheldon Jeter will have to fight for his playing time when the big boys are in town. He’s on the alumni team with John DeGroat, Chevy Troutman and even Lance Jeter. Incoming freshman Cameron Johnson is also on the squad — which is probably safer for him from a physical standpoint. That will be a brutally physical team.
On an off thread note, one of our few defensive recruits for 2015 so far in this class, Kraig Howe, gives his insights on why he picked Pitt to play his college ball in the link below. It was very interesting listening to his comments regarding the coaching staff, especially our new strength coach. Many have dissed on Ross Kolodziej because of his lack of formal education and/or certifications, suggesting that he is unqualified for the position. Howe apparently liked what Ross was feeding him during his Pitt visits however and it seemed to be a reason for him committing to Pitt.
In light of the fact that the Pitt Iron Works is about to double in size and become a state of the art facility, it all sounds good for the program to me. Personally I think that Kolodziej’s “practical” training and experience in his years in the NFL trumps any lack of formal education that his detractors use as a basis for their ridicule. I appreciate the fact that the players like the guy and that they will work hard for him to reach their full potential.
The more I learn about the way HCPC is putting this program back together, the more I like his methodology. Slow and steady wins the race often times over the long haul and personally, I think that Chryst has dedicated himself to this University for the long haul. Hail to Pitt.
I am looking forward to Boubacar Aw’s report on the games tonight. Interested in what guys stand out. Interested in Uchebo, Randall, Jones and Jeter in particular.
Hate the Pittsburgh papers and their lack of coverage. Makes it worse that they write articles worshiping Franklin and they have not played a game. Does he still use co-eds in the recruiting process?
From the last thread, how many more kids got abused because those men were more interested in their careers than doing the right thing, including Corbett? PSU Fans complain about the NCAA, but when will justice really be served to those that looked the other way?
Jamie later pointed out that he has a team goal of a 3.0 GPA, and that the biggest motivator is peer pressure among the teammates, putting the pressure on any one of the players that may be keeping the cumlative GPA down. Based on the fact that Pitt BB did very well academically this past season, it appears to be effective
i saw that too. and agree that it was pretty over aggressive for a round table format.
in a nutshell, they were talking about how coaches aren’t allowed to talk to or interact with professors (or as izzo kept saying, “profs”) at the university. izzo was saying it was because there is no trust between the academic side and the athletic side. jamie said that he disagreed and that at pitt there is a lot of trust between the sides via the provost and academic adviser. it was kinda funny because izzo went off and came off like a fool. the way he got aggressive almost over the topic kinda reinforce to me how coaches shouldn’t be trusted with academics a la joe pa.
The O’Bannon trial will totally reshape college athletics. The colleges have been using the athletes as money makers. The colleges better change as to where the money goes.
Yay, Nay??
Didn’t see the show, but I’m sure Calipari and Huckleberry Hound weren’t on it.
ESPN likes to pretend it’s into real journalism while they are the ones that have helped create this giant money machine for the colleges further corrupting them and of course made billions for themselves.
Chris Peak @PantherLair @emptynetters Pitt writers and Pens writers should form a support group, er, club. Call it Coaching Hires And Odd Searches. CHAOS for short
It appears that the Penguins are in the middle what Steve P pulled back in 2010 … firing a coach with no set plan to replace him. Now, they are even getting rejected by minor league coaches. And to think, the Pens are regarded as one the of the best franchises with talented players … go figure!
The Pens lost in a 7 game series to the NHL runner-up this year, and lost in conference finals last year … but apparently thought they could do better, yet with no replacement plan.
This is like a war … it’s much easier to start than to end. Likewise, you can easily fire someone, but you also have to replace him.
Who after they get fired for various shady things they do in college ,they hire on ESPN for big bucks, like Bruce Pearl the last couple years.
Now he’s back coaching at Auburn. Great place for him !
As for ‘the’ coaches. Some of them have ‘brands’ like some of the various basketball programs.
And ESPN is going to protect those ‘brands’.
As they say, money corrupts everything and that goes all the way down to even AAU.
Guess it’s a prerequisite that the Charlatan’s pic appears on EVERY article concerning PITT.
6/23/2014 – 2014 PG Alex Robinson (6-1, 175, 4*) | Overall Rank: 56 | Position Rank: 13 committed to Texas A&M. – Per Scout
6/23/2014 – 2014 PF Josh Martin (6-8, 220, 3*) | Position Rank: 39 has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/23/2014 – 2014 PF Bonzie Colson, Jr. (6-7, 220, 3.3*) | Overall Rank: 153 | Position Rank: 36 has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/23/2014 – 2014 SG Detrick Mostella (6-3, 175, 4*) | Overall Rank: 84 | Position Rank: 37 has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/23/2014 – 2014 SG Elijah Stewart (6-5, 180, 4*) | Overall Rank: 64 | Position Rank: 12 has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/23/2014 – 2014 SG Isaiah Whitehead (6-4, 205, 5*) | Overall Rank: 15 | Position Rank: 3 has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/23/2014 – 2015 PF Dererk Pardon (6-8, 215, 3*) has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/22/2014 – JUCO PF Justin Jamison (6-9, 260, 2*) has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/22/2014 – 2014 SG Christian Wilson (6-2, 180, 2*) has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
6/22/2014 – 2014 PG Robert Cartwright (6-3, 168, 4*) | Overall Rank: 71 | Position Rank: 18 has trimmed his list, and removed Pittsburgh from consideration. – Per Scout
Or they didn’t like JD’s interview over the weekend. 🙂
Hope is alright as well.
Just heard on the radio, which is a national radio network the Pedo State news today.
The gist of their quick report was there was a 3 year lag in the investigation of PedoGate.
So this is how the Byline was titled on the Pedo-Gazette:
“Sandusky report finds no sign of politics in handling of investigation”.
MSN’s byline (MSN of course isn’t invested in nor employs Pedo State ppl in high positions)
“Official report into Sandusky case finds ‘inexplicable delays'”.
3 years is a long time, and Sandusky got his claws upon a few more kids while they dawdled. And of course the dawdling of the investigation just by chance allowed JoePedo to reach 400 wins.
You don’t think do you…….
Corbett, a Republican, has struggled with poor approval ratings and is seen as a highly vulnerable incumbent.
Penn State’s former president, former athletic director and former vice president face charges including endangering the welfare of children, obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy.
As for ESPN, I must agree with Emel. ESPN protects their brands. UNC hoops is one of their brands.
I wonder if the cheating went on at say South Florida or say, Minnesota? Would ESPN have a stake in this scandal for the protection of Bulls football? Gopher football??
You know, in this age, when the vast majority of players jump at the chance to go pro, take a look at both the 05 and especially 09 Tarheel teams and just how many players decided to stay. It just didn’t make any sense. But when classes and grades wee made easy, and God knows how many other perks they were getting (probably by the boosters), it starts to make some sense
•The brand new Montour facility is GORGEOUS, state of the art. It even has a snack bar, run by the dance team. If it only had a bar, it would be perfect. The other Intermediate gym is the old Montour High School gym, I believe. The two gyms are close enough that it is easy to walk between them.
•Coaches Dixon and Knight were in attendance. Kevin Gorman, from the Trib, was there and interviewed Dixon and Michael Young. Both Maverick and Ron Rowan were there too.
•In the first game, Derrick Randall dominated the first half. He looked strong, active and grabbed a bunch of boards. He even looked quick as he scored going to the hoop. Certainly having walk on, Aron Nwanko, guarding him didn’t hurt. I can tell why Jamie is looking the other way on his DUI, drug charges. As of right now, Randall is the best option at center.
•I wish the news on Uchebo were better. While better than last season, he still looks hobbled. He wasn’t wearing a brace or a sleeve on his knee. But he has no lift or strength in his legs, he doesn’t get off the ground. He lost the opening tip to Sheldon Jeter. He had a pretty clear opportunity to block one of Jeter’s shots and never even got off the floor. He had a pretty easy opportunity for a dunk and layed it off the glass.
•Michael Young looked skinny, but healthy. I had heard somewhere that he lost 15lbs. It certainly looks like he did. He played well, but mostly from the perimeter. He acted as if he were allergic to the paint. He shot, and made, a bunch of outside shots. He did have a few dunks, all of cuts or drives to the hoop. He never posted up or looked to attack the boards.
•Jamel Artis is going to be tough to keep out of the starting lineup. He looked quick, aggressive and strong. He’s a talented player.
•Nolan Kressler, the kid who went to Cornell and transfered to Vandy after reportedly considering Pitt, is a much better basketball player than Chris Jones, period. He has a smooth, quick, pure jump shot. He has a nice handle and can get to the hole. He certainly would have been a nice addition to Pitt’s team. His shooting alone would made him valuable. Jones looks to be healthy and strong. But he just isn’t quite there as a hooper. He missed some easy shots, he doesn’t quite get the basket quick enough. He is not a viable Patterson replacement, nowhere near the game.
•Sheldon Jeter is long, atheltic and he has a nice jumper (although he was slightly off tonight), not text book but effective. He is not a threat to beat out a healthy Durand Johnson, but will help Pitt this season. D. Johnson was there, he looked good. No noticeable limp. He hit a bunch of jumpers from out of bounds on the baseline. Jumper looked good. Encouraging to see him look so good only a few months removed from Surgery.
•Cameron Johnson stole the show tonight. He is a legit 6’7” and plays like a guard, with a good handle and good quickness. He scored 20 in the first half of his game. He knocked down a bunch of threes, made a bunch of buckets on the break. Even though he looks like he’s 12 years old, he looked like he belonged. Pitt may have found a diamond in the rough, especially if he grows another inch or two and adds some muscle to he frame, which absolutely looks possible. He probably won’t help this year, but he oozes potential. On the flip side, Ryan Luther looked a little over-matched athletically.
I’ll probably go back wednesday. Still looking for a bar close by……..
Note that one reason Young may have been on the perimeter too much last night was that his point guard, James Robinson, was in New Jersey attending a Nike Camp for point guards.
There is reason to watch just about every game.