In light of the utterly predictable, but still frustrating, decommitment by Mustapha Heron. Coupled with the transfer of Durand Johnson. Pitt has been offering some other players. Notably some players for 2015 and 2016 in the Philadelphia area.
Friend of the site, and former contributor/liveblog moderator, Josh Verlin has been back in Philly making a name for himself with relentless work covering the local basketball scene. That makes him one of the go to sources for information on recruiting of Philly kids. You can find him at his site and on twitter.
Josh was nice enough to take time out of a busy time of the year for those that cover recruiting to answer some questions.
1. Pitt and Jamie Dixon have not seemed to recruit (or at least not had success recruiting) the Philly area in the last few years. Is it that Pitt has lacked an assistant with good ties to the area? Lack of playing any games in Philly now that they are in the ACC? Does that have to do with some residual issues with what happened when Jaylen Bond was pushed aside after Khem Birch reclassified? Has it been that the competition for Philly kids has gotten a lot tougher — Pat Chambers with his ties over at PSU, Temple moving up to the American, Villanova still doing well. Basically, what is going on from your vantage point?
Yes.
Sorry, couldn’t resist. It’s a little bit of all of the above. Pitt hasn’t been a “sexy” name for a few years now; even though the Panthers have been a fairly regular NCAA Tournament team, they haven’t been that same program that was earning No. 1 seeds and making second weekends in the 00s. And considering they don’t play Villanova anymore and the closest conference opponent is…uh…Virginia Tech? Boston College? There isn’t much of an opportunity for them to get exposure around here with the focus on the Big 10 and Big East, as well as the American Athletic Conference, dominating most of the coverage and television exposure.
The lack of staff connections to the Philadelphia area doesn’t help matters, but ultimately as an ACC school in the same state with very good facilities and a big fan base shouldn’t need a specific connection to be able to pull a kid out of the area every now and again. But they are dealing with a lot of programs who have some serious sway in the region–you mentioned Villanova, Penn State and Temple, but Syracuse, Maryland, St. John’s and other mid-to-high-major programs have been making a big presence in the Philly area, and kids know those schools. I have seen Pitt assistants at games around here sparingly over the last two years, but I’ve seen coaches from the above schools around much more often.
2. What does Pitt need to do to get some of the talent from Philly? Is there an assistant at the Big 5 they should be looking to poach if Bill Barton is encouraged to seek other opportunities?
One thing that I’ve noticed in my now four years of covering the recruiting and high school scene is that what really makes a difference is putting in the work. The teams that land the players they want, by and large, are the ones that put in the most work. I think the first thing they would need to do is make a concerted effort to recruit Philly–offer kids from the area, attend games, be seen around the local gyms and show the kids they’re a priority.
As for a Big 5 assistant that Pitt would be interested in, there are a few who have been doing very good work around town, but it would be tough to see many of them leave their current gigs for Pitt. Geoff Arnold (Saint Joseph’s), Baker Dunleavy (Villanova) and Aaron McKie (Temple) all coach at their alma maters; other like Horace Owens (La Salle) are Philly guys through-and-through. Ashley Howard (Villanova), who went from Drexel to Xavier to Villanova in a two-year span, is a Philly native who would likely only leave the Main Line if the likes of a Kentucky came calling. Dwayne Killings (Temple) might be their best shot, as he’s neither a Philly native (Amherst, Mass.) nor an alumni of the school he works at, though Killings is Fran Dunphy’s top recruiter and you can be sure they wouldn’t want to see him go.
3. What can you tell us about the kids Pitt recently offered for 2015 and 2016? Does Pitt have a reasonable shot with any of them?
Let’s start with the 2015s. Ahmad Gilbert and Malik Ellison have a few things in common: the ability to shoot the ball well and the size to do so at a high-major level. Ellison, at 6-5, is a pure off-guard, the son of former NBA center Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison, who’s also his high school coach at Life Center Academy (N.J.). He’s got a decent handle and can take it to the rack sometimes but his real strength is his long-range shot and defensive versatility. Back in March, he limited his list to Minnesota, South Carolina, Rutgers, Cal, Maryland and Temple, and while recruiting is crazy this time of year it does seem like Pitt would have some work to do to get really in the mix.
Gilbert is a little north of 6-6 and is a small forward, capable of playing inside as well as out. He’s lefthanded and crafty, not someone who’s going to blow by a defender with his dribble but someone who knows how to take a bigger forward off the bounce or post up when he’s matched up against a smaller guard; he also has a very good mid-range jumper that he likes to use coming off screens. He was committed to George Mason but de-committed with the coaching change from Paul Hewitt to Dave Paulsen, while GMU is currently still at the top of his list, he’s visiting Minnesota, South Florida and now likely Pitt who have all offered since his de-commitment. It sounds like he’ll be waiting to visit all three before making his decision, but he’s looking for an offense that will utilize his skillset; if Dixon and the staff can convince him of that, they’ll have a shot.
Now, the 2016s–Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens. The two have been best friends since they were about 10 years old, and now want to go to college together. They’re likely going to be teammates this year in high school, with Stevens declaring his intent to join Carr at Roman Catholic after playing the last two years at The Haverford School alongside Temple commit Levan Alston, but he hasn’t officially been accepted yet to the Catholic League powerhouse and alma mater of former Pitt guard Brad Wanamaker. There are already double-digit schools that have offered both Carr, a 6-3 point guard, and Stevens, a 6-6 wing, and most of those are high-majors: Indiana, Maryland, Temple, Xavier, Florida State, Pitt, Penn State and more. The two are both top-100 players in the 2016 class, and looked very impressive at the EYBL session at Boo Williams last weekend. Carr is a cerebral PG with great size and court vision and an improving scoring ability, while Stevens is a muscular, athletic force who attacks the basket and plays with one of the best motors in his class. The two want to go somewhere where they can both make an impact right away–not necessarily as starters–and where they feel comfortable.
If they do choose to go to school together–Stevens has a Villanova offer, and is close with that program–I think there are four schools that it’s going to come down to, barring a major push by one of their other suitors. Penn State and Temple are the two “local” schools that are both very well connected to the pair. Penn State has one Roman Catholic player already on the roster in rising sophomore guard Shep Garner, another Philadelphia recruit in 2015 (Mike Watkins), and the Nittany Lion staff is around quite often. Temple has Levan Alston, Stevens’ teammate for the last two years at The Haverford School, and the two are very close friends; Alston and Trey Lowe, another incoming Owl in ’15, both played with Team Final on the AAU circuit, which is the same program that Carr and Stevens currently star for. And then there’s Indiana and Maryland, who have both been recruiting the pair for over a year, though offering at different times; IU offered Stevens last year but Carr only this month, while Maryland offered Carr last summer and Stevens just this year. Does that mean Pitt doesn’t have a shot? Of course not, but they’ve got a lot of ground to make up.
4. Any other thoughts or comments?
My hands are tired. Seriously though, like I’ve said a bunch of times, it’s about putting in the work on the recruiting trail. We’ll see if Pitt really wants to make Philly a priority or if they’re just trying to generate some buzz with a lot of offers. But with so many programs already putting in a lot of effort around here and having more success on the court, it’s going to be difficult if they keep getting in late on kids.
Wow, from a couple of different articles I’ve read it sure seems like Pitt’s name isn’t packing the punch it used to.
A lot of that has to do with where Pitt’s focus has been, I’m sure, but it would be nice to be a factor on the Philly area again.
The hiring on Smoke was a little puzzling given his Michigan ties but admittedly I don’t know enough about the guy or Pitt’s situation at the time to comment too much. Hopefully he works out.
Chris Peak @PantherLair · 23h 23 hours ago
Also: Tony Butler is still a #Pitt commit – and he says that won’t change. link to rvls.co
Now, as Pitt fans, we all know that we are not sure of anything until the LOI is signed, but so far, so good
This also coincided with a decrease in talent in the assistant coaches, both in recruiting and on the floor.
We all know and he knows that without ACC capable Big men and especially guards, the future is bleak.
Jamie appears to not be able to attract elite talent in players or coaches at this point.
Heron was totally committed until he wasn’t. Different sport and coaches, one seemingly on the rise and one in free-fall, but the same school.
However, the loss of a player from a football team, not equivalent to the the loss of a 5 star from a BBall team.
Rushel Shell is the best example of that.
“Coach Durkin said he was going to come out to the school this Friday, but he wanted me to know today that I had an offer from Michigan,” he added. “He said he was tired of waiting until he could see me, so he offered me right now.”
“It was a big offer to me, because Michigan is a great school, but I’m still committed to Pittsburgh,” he continued. “I need to talk to my mom and my mentor about this, because I know this is a great opportunity and probably tough to turn down, but I love Pitt.”
—————————————-
Of course, Heron stayed committed for over a year .. but it doesn’t count until the LOI is signed
Even Taylor, a MacDonalds A-A, wasn’t highly sought. Birch was … and it caused more harm than good. And Adams came here because of JD’s ties to NZ.
Maybe Pitt has to quit putting its sights so high, and start recruiting for long term potential. Talent evaluation must again become a priority.
Somebody Bob Joe Hill is tweeting since yesterday that he is the new associate head BB coach at Pitt but I see no one talking about him?…. this is spoof account?
2. On Butler… wow, after his tweets from Sunday if the kid now decommits that is BS… at somepoint too a kid needs to stick to his words too, and I know they are kids… but then just don’t go on and on about how Pitt is it, and you are totally committed…. this kid knew Michigan was coming with something sooner or later.
And if he used Pitt to get Michigan then we didn’t want him anyway.
yeah… no pat signals… don’t know how common that is for this time of year???
The only Bobby Joe Hill that I ever heard from was from that famous Texas Western team that pulled of the biggest upsets in NCAA history by beating Adolph Rupp’s powerful KY Wildcats in ’67. Texas Western was the first all-black team to win. Trouble is that Bobby Joe Hill died a few years ago.
Somehow the stars got misaligned and Dixon did some bad recruiting and let the wrong asst. coach leave. (Slice)
Even good coaches make mistakes. Not sure he was lazy or not. We need more energy recruiting in BB. Dixon, learn from Narduzzi.
If there is one criticism of Dixon that isn’t fair, I believe it is that he’s lazy. If you follow his exploits the last year, you would know that Pitt lost heron and didn’t get Diallo NOT because they didn’t try.
Nobody followed these two mote than the Pitt coaches.
And BTW, so far what lesson is being learned from Narduzzi, recruiting wise?
I never heard anyone on this site say or intimate that Dixon was lazy! Controlling, poor game management, lousy recruiter,
Bad system yes! But lazy….no.
I am/was a Dixon fan… it does seem something may have passed him by. It is truly a NEW ERA here. He will get 1-2 yrs but if tanks the way Bernato did with Woman BB it may be less time than people expect…
2. Butler… I predict he sticks with Pitt! but we will see!
This is a program that is the annually the doormat of the Big Joke.
While Pitt was an elite program of the BigEast.
Just amazing !!!
Seems to me the NJ-area and DC-area are his top regions now. Nothing wrong with filling a roster from those areas with high-3 or low-4 recruits. But he has to get on it in a *big* way starting now.
Bobby Joe Hill, the real one died in 2002.
He was the leading scorer on UTEP’s famed national championship that beat Kentucky in mid ’60.s
(UTEP was known was Texas Western then)
Question is, why wasn’t he ‘on it’ before.
Pitt’s program has lost basically ALL the momentum it had taken 10 years to build up.
That is a really tough gig now to reverse. Plus Dixon does not sit well with AAU kingdom.
@emel, good point … really amazing when you think about it just how fast Dixon’s program has fallen apart… 2 yrs. unfortunately momentum is a tough thing to change.
hopefully with ACC cash and new administration he wisely invests in the right staff and the right strategy… fast.
Weird to hear he is not good with the AAU world.. doesn’t every decent player come out of AAU?
One of our bloggers explained the whole AAU affair.
Apparently the gist of the story is Dixon thinks (or thought) he was above all the stuff that goes on with AAU players. And this is why he hired Smoke. To try and patch that connection up.
Is Dixon and staff working Philly? Yes. Hard and consistently? Hell no.
Dixon’s project players are few and far between.
didn’t know that about Gary Williams, he had been to 8 Sweet 16’s, 2 Elite 8’s, 2 Final Four’s and won 1 National Championship.
I think we’re dicked.
One got Towson State, another one got IUP, another one got Marshall. Whoop. (might have forgot one)
again….Whoop.
Rice was more due to him being a son of a former D1 coach, imo. And he wasn’t at Pitt when Rutgers hired him.
I was sort of listing ones who went from Dixon’s staff directly someplace else.
But hey who cares !
The assistant coaches have been lazy. How can we not be in Philly, alot. Philly and DC/Baltimore are hotbeds. Surprisingly, NY is not the hotbed any more in my opinion. OSU just signed a 6’10” center from St. Edwards. Ugggh!
As far as football, it would be good to see a new recruit join the ranks shortly. The Wheeler talks have cooled off this last week. Petrishen is really putting pressure on Hamlin and Walker.
Just hang around the Catholic high schools in Metro NYC and Philly. Any budget can handle that.
I hate to say it, but the fact that Dixon is “clean” may be hurting the PITT program.
Sounds almost like Dixon’s philosophy of recruiting is/was similar to Cheesehead Paulies.
That being…. if they want to come to Pitt, fine.
But we aren’t going to go out there and sell Pitt to anyone.
We are ‘above’ selling.
It is hard to believe that the Villanova Elite 8 loss is all washed away – (positive aspects, not the negative) – the recruiting bump didn’t happen. By this report, I think we know why – lack of effort.
We do have new blood coming in with Wilson and Nix projecting to challenge for starting minutes (ikr). Mixing these two with our current “No D” team could produce 20 wins and make Jamie happy.
But not me as a Pitt fan.
Change can be good when you embrace it – bad if you fight it.
The NC ST’s, Miami’s and FL ST’s of this world have passed us by. Pitt is now heading to the bottom tier of the ACC.
Change now Jamie – for the good of Pitt, your career and your coaching legacy.
HTP!
One down year is no reason to throw JD under the bus.
He had an inexperienced team disrupted by the lose of
DJ and an unexpected regression by Newkirk. Key to
next yr is Nix. If Nix can average 10 points and 8 boards
in conference play the team will be competitive. I am a fan
of Robinson’s. Newkirk or Wilson have to be the ones who speed up the game and take the ball to the hoop.
By careful what you wish for….change isn’t always the answer.
Pitt is a great university however it’s urban campus isn’t for everyone.
If this was cyclical, then I would think we are overreacting; however, it does indeed appear that we are currently trending downward.
There is certainly talent returning and incoming for this coming season but not sure if it is enough or the right mix. But I guess the optimist will say that in basketball, it only takes 2 recruits that can make a significant impact .. if they are the right ones. I’m not specifically referring to Wilson and Nix; just saying that a reversal of the downward trend is possible in a short time.
Oh yea, he is Rozelle’s older brother.
Thinking out loud: verbal commits are a joke. Not
focusing on these kids until signed.
Wish Dokish would starting commenting once again on
Twitter.
Hoping all of You JD haters are proven wrong.
I also think that he needs to play at a faster tempo and should have done so last year. A shorter shot clock is coming and he needs to recruit to the rules. I get that he is on the outside with the AAU and manufacturer’s circuit. That can be fixed with some vigor and commitment. Our staff does not appear to have that as evidenced through the written article about our lack of visibility in the Philly market.
These are just observations. The proof is in the pudding, which is wins and losses versus the competition. The Selection Committee has been telling JD what they think of his scheduling for years and have we started to address that yet?
I think everyone is expressing concern over the trending of the program, which appears to be struggling. Unfortunately, perception often becomes reality. Want a quick comparison? The Big10 and particularly the school to our east, plays the easiest schedule in football this coming year, yet noone ever mentions that. The perception is that they have played solid schedules for years, so people and the media believe it. Has anyone looked at their cream puff schedule. They should have 1 loss after 9 games.
Perceptions are the realities the media creates and then nourishes.
Pedo State’s season last year was an utter joke, yet the media perceived it to be a success and Franklinstein was treated like a Rock Star for a 7-6 season, with their best win over a team… Pitt didn’t have to go to OT and a lotta luck to beat.
Just because they get over 100,000 zombiefied morons to attend games 7 times a year, does not make it a great or even good football program.
In fact it stinks, they have 1 outright Big Joke title in 22 years.
So does Northwestern & Illinois.
I’ve seen a couple predictions that he will have the best record of all new coaches.
He entered the ACC on the wrong foot and it has only gotten worse since then. Rather than immediately being a force, we immediately let these ACC teams come into our house and win.
Pitt immediately went to the middle of the pack.
It’s just not what Pitt and Dixon were in the Big East. For whatever reason, it just is what it is…. and what it is is a downward spiral.
It’s not getting any better now given the recruiting news… he does not reload, he keeps sinking. Once that firm trend is in place it’s just hard to recover.
Hope the ACC$$ and new administrative support gives Dixon what he needs to react and get in the right direction.
Beginning of season that seemed to be a good possibility…. now it looks like 50/50.
It just is what it is… and that’s not hat’n.
You just try to label someone to discredit him.
Very juvenile.
“Jamie Dixon really did a hell of a job from 04′-10, although not Duke or Kentucky, Pitt basketball was in the stratosphere of the college basketball world, even ranked #1 a few times and always in the top 10”.
“The past couple years it really seems like the wheels have fallen off with Pitt basketball. If we don’t make the tourney this year, it will be 3 out of 5 years.”
I’ve said both, so what am I????
A hater??
So there !
Not a reserve. (really, lol)
34 mpg
8.9 ppg
5.1 apg
3.6 rpg
1.6 tpg
.367 FG %
.833 FT %
.298 3PT %
Worst PG at Pitt since Kevin Willard.
I was being sarcastic with Dan-o. The big hater !
🙂
Barton’s job is possibly on the line if he doesn’t pull in any commits in the very near future.
I often think that while this blog is a vehicle for us fans to mouth our often uninformed opinions, there are three recent situations where we Pitt Blatherites were ahead of the curve:
1) that after the 2010-11 fiasco, SP had to go
2) PC’s hiring of Matt House as DC was a sham
3) JD’s hiring ofSmoke Williamson as recruiter whose connections are principally in Detroit and the midwest made little sense.
Now the jury is still out on 3) … but no doubt that the quality Pitt’s BB recruiting has fallen alarmingly.