I was away with my son on his first Boy Scout camping trip this past weekend. End of April, you figure at worst a little damp. Did it rain the first night and all morning? You bet. Did the temperature start plummeting after the rains stopped so that it was mid-30s by the evening and right around 30 by the morning. Of course. How the boy or I aren’t sick (yet), is a mystery. On the plus side, the new cot I got saved my back so I’m not trying to type while hanging from an inversion table.

Being away meant not watching the draft, but more importantly not being able to comment on yet another new commit for the men’s basketball team.

In the last week or so, it seemed like a fait accompli that point guard Xavier Johnson would decide to come to Pitt. Still, it was relief when he did make the decision. He will most likely slide right into a starting spot at point guard.

Johnson, 6’1” 175, had been committed to Nebraska since September, but he backed out of that commitment after Kenya Hunter left the Huskers’ program. Tennessee, South Carolina and Ole Miss were involved in his “second recruitment,” but ultimately Capel and the new Pitt staff won out.

With Johnson and McGowens, Capel has now replenished the guard position on Pitt’s roster. In addition to Kingsby leaving the recruiting class, freshman guards Marcus Carr and Parker Stewart both left the program this offseason; as such, the roster Capel inherited had one true guard in freshman Kham Davis and one guard/forward in Jared Wilson-Frame.

Other programs like Georgetown, NC State, Washington and Georgia Tech were pursuing him.

Suddenly Pitt, while not necessarily having depth in the backcourt, is not completely wrecked. Pitt still has several open scholarships. Presumably at least one (more likely two) will be for a grad transfer.

Then there is still the decision to be made by Malik Ellison. I really don’t know what the kid and his family are waiting to do. There is likely no way that he can transfer without sitting out a year — once more. Plus he would lose a year of eligibility. It’s not unprecedented, but it seems like a really bad choice.

With the NCAA putting off (once more) any major changes to transfer rules, he’s kind of stuck.

By all accounts he was the best player on Pitt’s roster last year. McGowens might give him competition for that title this year, but there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be a featured starter for Pitt.

Then again, the kid did start his college career at St. John’s so bad ideas seems to be within the scope of possibilities.

As for the other undecided kid, Kene Chukwuka, no one seems to have any idea what is going on or what he is thinking — other then the thought that he got some really bad advice. It’s not like he is in demand elsewhere. Oddly, as annoying as it seems to Pitt fans and to some extent the coaching staff, it probably helps Pitt with recruits. with all the other available scholarships, Capel can afford to leave his spot open this long . It makes Capel look like the good guy who is giving a very conflicted kid plenty of time and space to make his decision. He’s not forced the issue. He hasn’t revoked the scholarship.