Reports are that Roy Hibbert will announce this afternoon that he is returning to Georgetown for another season (and possibly Jeff Green as well). If Hibbert returns, the Hoyas will be the strong favorites to win the Big East in 2008 (and if Green returns as well, they will be favored to win the whole thing).

Obviously, this is not great news for Pitt and the other teams in the Big East that would face Georgetown.

For Aaron Gray and every other center in the NBA draft not named Greg Oden, this is very good news. Spencer Hawes (from Washington) becomes the clear #2 Center in the draft.

Aaron Gray suddenly gets vaulted back into the discussion as being among the 3d best center prospects in the draft. His competition are a couple Euro players (Marc Gasol [Spain, and yes, Pau Gasol’s little brother] and Ante Tomic [Croatia]), the troubled Sean Williams — who managed to actually be kicked off the team for good by Al Skinner at BC — and the injury prone DeVon Hardin of Cal.

Yep, if Hibbert stays at Georgetown, Aaron Gray should send him a thank you card.

As the #1 pick of the NY Jets, of course there’s going to be lots of attention and lots of stories involving Darrelle Revis. There are the puff pieces.

So when he left Pittsburgh about 60 credits short of a degree in administrative justice, he had to promise Gilbert he would return to finish his education.

60 credits? Maybe I’m a little out of touch with the present system, but I thought it was around 120 credits to graduate? Now, even assuming he withdrew during the second semester to focus on the draft, I would think he would be further along than that.

Lots of puff pieces.

Revis, who left Pitt after his junior year, always has displayed uncommon maturity. He slept on a couch through his high school years because there were only three bedrooms in his mother’s home and he wanted his younger brother and sister to enjoy the comforts of their own room.

At his high school prom, Revis, alerted that a mentally disabled classmate didn’t have a date, escorted the girl into the prom hall so she didn’t have walk in alone in front of the entire class.

“That’s the kind of guy I am, willing to help and being a good guy,” Revis said.

Which, in my mind, prompts the question of why Sean Gilbert didn’t help out with a bigger house? It’s not like the housing market in Aliquippa was or is thriving.

On the field, Revis was receiving plenty of praise.

On the field this weekend, it was hard to tell if Revis stands out because he was the first-round pick or if he was the first-round pick because he stands out. Working at both cornerback positions — coach Eric Mangini said he’ll work some at safety but primarily will be a cornerback for the Jets — he appeared smooth and confident. Even in drills, in which many of his .campmates came across as overwhelmed and out of sorts, Revis appeared to be the tone-setter. That shouldn’t be much of a change for him. As early as his sophomore season at Pitt, .coaches there say, Revis initiated drills and led by example.

Mangini has noticed Revis as well, and not only on defense.

“Some of the edge speed that he showed in the kickoff return drill that we did and even the tackling drills, some of those plays that he’s made, you can see the change of direction and then the burst,” Mangini said. “The other thing that you notice is, he’s got a very physical way about him in terms of how he places his hands on people, which is always positive.”

Mangini also noted Revis’ approach to the mental aspects of the minicamp and praised the cornerback for asking questions.

Revis was asked about working on the special teams, and Special Teams Coach Mike Westhoff.

“He is a great coach. For his age, he has high energy,” said Revis, who will likely be hearing about that one later on.

According to the Jets site, Westhoff is 59. Of course the Jet’s website on their Revis bio suggests he won the 2006 Jim Thorpe Award for best DB. Revis was a semi-finalist. So, accuracy may be an issue.

You too can download Darrelle Revis wallpaper from the Jets. He’s still got his Pitt gear on, and the picture is from one of his returns during that nightmare 2005 game against Ohio University.

Yeah, it’s the dead period. I’m actually writing about NFL mini-camps and Pitt players.

Tyler Palko gets a nice AP piece that USA Today picks up.

Payton said Palko has handled the first few practices of rookie camp well, though his footwork and throwing need work.

“You see some intangibles with him. I think he’s a pretty good leader,” Payton said. “He’s a coach’s kid and a guy with a pretty quick release. He enjoys football. He likes being around it. So those are all things that are positives. He’s a long ways away and he’d be the first one to tell you that, but we’re anxious to work with him and we’ll see what we have.”

At least he appears to have made it through the first mini-camp without being cut. The constant concern for free agent signees. This article has a headline (…QB Palko makes an impression) and subheadline (Palko starts strong) that suggest Palko had a pretty good weekend, but doesn’t actually explain why. This article, however, simply says Palko didn’t do much one way or the other in camp. Apparently, the quiet hope is that Sean Payton can develop Palko the way he did Tony Romo.

H.B. Blades went to Washington Redskins mini-camp along with fellow late-round draft linebacker Dallas Sartz,  with whom he also roomed in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine. Defenisve Coordinator, Gregg Williams, likes Blades’ potential.

“H.B. tackles well,” Williams said. “He’s sideline to sideline. He gets his hands on the ball. There’s no reason he can’t do those things at this level as long as he can get the jump mentally. He’s a student of the game. When you have a little bit of a size disadvantage, where are you going to gain the advantage? H.B. will see how London [Fletcher] gained the advantage in a hurry. There are a lot of things that he’ll see that he can mimic and maybe improve at a faster pace.”

Finally. Clint Session gets no attention in Indy, but the Trib has a nice story on the guy drafted ahead of Palko and Blades.

Instead, he went 136th overall, the ninth outside linebacker chosen.

“You guys probably weren’t talking much about me,” he said. “It was always H.B. I’m pretty sure you said, ‘Seventh round or free agent,’ and here I am today.”

Colts president Bill Polian, the man who built the Buffalo Bills’ four Super Bowl teams, told reporters he had a “strong conviction” about Session. Polian also has a defensive coordinator, Ron Meeks, who worked on defensive staffs with Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt at the University of Miami and with the Dallas Cowboys.

The Colts don’t look at size first. They want players who can run and hit. Session does both, which is why he tied for the national lead in forced fumbles (five) last season.

There’s a joke about tackling I could make there, but it’s been beaten into the ground the last few years.

Somewhere along the line someone really missed this, and now it’s a bit embarrassing.
The Cincinnati Enquirer has a list of top donors to college athletics in the area and why. This one jumped out like a big frickin’ neon sign.

MAX AND JUDI REDLICH

Occupation: Founders of PENCO Inc. Max is retired, but plays professional poker.

Booster activity: The Redlichs, who are University of Pittsburgh graduates, have been UCATS members since 1995 and longtime Cincinnati residents. They are part of the George Smith Society and give about $20,000 per year. They have decided to leave their seven-figure estate to UC with 75 percent going to athletics and 25 percent going to the College-Conservatory of Music. Currently the value is about $4 million.

Why they do it: “Pitt never asked us,” Max said.

The Redlichs’ children took over the family business and are financially well off.

“So you sit down and you say, what are you going to do with your money when you die?” Max said. “We just evolved into this idea of planned giving. We are both big advocates of a college education.”

They’re also big basketball fans. They have second-row seats at Fifth Third Arena and have traveled to some of UC’s big games. Max even recalled playing blackjack with former UC player Ruben Patterson in Puerto Rico. They’ve also gotten to know UC President Nancy Zimpher through dinner parties and UC basketball coach Mick Cronin.

“The whole athletic department is getting to know the UCATS members better,” Max said.

“A big part of it is the people,” Judi said. “We know Mike Thomas, and these people have been so nice to meet. That’s been a big part of us doing this as far as I’m concerned.”

[Emphasis added.]

Next time. Ask. AD Jeff Long might want to consider reaching out personally on this one.

You can always bet that after the draft teams will always say they got guys they were “secretly hoping” would fall to them. The Washington Redskins were no exception, but the numbers on their roster does suggest that H.B. Blades has a better chance than most 6th round picks of staying with the team.

They only had five NFL-level linebackers entering the draft, and there are concerns about the status of two key linebackers, Marcus Washington (hip) and 2006 second-round pick Rocky McIntosh (knee), both of whom will be monitored closely. Linebackers are also usually the lifeblood of special teams, and with veterans Warrick Holdman and Jeff Posey departed, Sartz and Blades could make their first impact on those units.

“We were short on numbers at linebacker, and that’s one of the things we had highlighted,” Coach Joe Gibbs said. “We were kind of holding our breath there [in the sixth round], because there were a couple of linebackers we thought could make the team.”

Blades is excited to get to minicamp to show the Redskins that “they made a great pick.”

Blades will get a chance to learn how to stick in the NFL from another undersized LB, with London Fletcher.

Blades’ lack of height obviously doesn’t bother the Redskins, who signed 5-10 middle linebacker London Fletcher in free agency. Fletcher is 32, which should give Blades a couple of years to learn the position before he’d be called on to step in. Watching Fletcher on film, Gibbs said, helped convince the Redskins that Blades was worth grabbing.

“I might be a sixth-round pick, but you put me out there with anyone and I’m going to make plays,” Blades said.

As an Eagles fan, I really don’t want to see the Redskins win. I am rooting for Blades to succeed.

At first I wasn’t sure if this was serious or not when I saw it, but you’re seeing it right in front of your eyes.

I know this is the gift you’ve been waiting to buy for that special someone. Current bid is at $3.25. Don’t wait, this is more than likely the last chance you’ll ever have to buy this card.

For a link to the auction, click here.

Surely you’ve seen by now that Darrelle Revis was taken by the New York Jets with the #14 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Any thought of him getting to stay in Pittsburgh was wiped out when he was taken one pick ahead of the Steelers after the “J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets” traded up. Hey, at least he didn’t go to the Patriots.

ESPN Insider has a final breakdown on the selection.

Scouts take: With both of the top two corners available and the Jets’ top need a corner, they decided to pull the trigger on the day’s first trade and pick up Revis. Although Revis can take too long to change directions at times and has some problems matching up with explosive slot receivers, he is still a first-round talent. More importantly, his instincts should make him an excellent fit for head coach Eric Mangini’s defensive schemes and he is a playmaker who can make a difference.
He could also make an impact as a punt return man, which is probably one of the bigger reasons the Jets chose Revis over Leon Hall. Another reason may be Revis’ fluidity. He does a slightly better job of opening his hips when he’s forced to turn and run downfield, so he’s less likely to get beat deep when left on an island.

It’s a bit ironic that he could end up taking the starting spot from another Pitt Panther, Hank Poteat.

The next Pitt player to be taken was picked today in the 4th round. Clint Sessions was taken 37th in the round (136 overall) by the Indianapolis Colts. The only lock to be starting at LB for the Colts in MLB Gary Bracket, leaving the OLB spots open for competition. He might not get a ton of time this year but in the future he might see some playing time.

Not long ago, with the #5 pick in the 6th round (179 overall), HB Blades was taken by the Washington Redskins. On ESPN’s TV coverage and their website, they keep reminding us that Blades lacks size and bulk for his position.

One player still waiting and hoping for his name to be called is Tyler Palko. He’s left with other QB’s like Florida’s Chris Leak and Boise State’s Jared Zabransky.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin held a press conference yesterday and discussed many topics including Alan Faneca’s contract as well as the upcoming draft. Revis is nowhere near a lock to stay in Pittsburgh but the possibility is definitely there.

“He’s got a nice combination of size and speed, and he’s a young guy. You would imagine there’s a lot of football in front of him,” Tomlin said of the Aliquippa native, who declared for the draft after his junior season at Pitt. “He seems to have his head on straight and he’s a sharp young man, so he has a lot of things that are attractive about him.”

The Steelers don’t have a ton of places where they need to bring in a new player (and were probably one of the best 8-8 teams in NFL history) but positions like cornerback and linebacker might be in for some change. Look for both Revis and PSU’s Paul Posluszny to be very possible choices.

I also have a feeling Revis would love the opportunity to stay home and move to the locker room down the hall from Pitt’s.

Two years ago, the Iona Gaels were in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, they started the season 0-22 and finished out 2-28. They played mostly all freshmen, but they were still shocked by the amazing drop off from one year to the next. Enter new head coach Kevin Willard.

Kevin Willard was hired yesterday as the basketball coach at Iona, which hopes the former Rick Pitino assistant can revive a team that began the season 0-22 and finished with the worst record in the program’s 62-year history.

Willard spent the past six seasons at Louisville as an assistant and is a head coach for the first time. He succeeds Jeff Ruland, who was bought out of the final two years of his contract.

Willard is a former Pitt player (1995-97), having played for his father, Ralph Willard.

“Last year doesn’t concern me,” Willard said at a campus news conference. “I know they went through a hard time, but this is a clean slate.”

So now the older and younger Willard’s take their Pitt connection to different schools in NCAA hoops as head coaches.

(OK so that sentence didn’t completely make sense but hey, it’s only 5:00 in the morning. Cut me a little break…)

It seems like I’ve been out of the house so much the last few days that I forget how to use the computer. Thankfully it’s during a slower time in Pitt athletics, but there are still a few bits of info to be passed along.

First, it starts up in New York City back on Thursday night. I won’t even lie, I was rooting for West Virginia in the NIT Finals because it’s nice to see Big East teams do well. I wasn’t aware, however, that they decided to change the school’s name to “West Virgina“.

Continuing the theme of Pitt rivals, Penn State has a new policy at Beaver Stadium. It’s almost as bad as not wanting to play Pitt in a fair one-for-one deal. They won’t let you bring your own little seatback into the place — instead you have to pay to lease one from them. The best quote comes from Black Shoe Diaries about the policy.

Forty bucks for this?!?! I can buy one of those at McLanahan’s for $20, and I get to own the friggin thing. Is this thing going to be mounted in my seat permanently all year? Through the sun, rain, and snow as well? But I can’t bring my own dry seat that has been sitting in my vehicle all day. No, I have to sit on your soaking wet one? And pay you $40 to do so?

Back to our Panthers though in a few Pitt related notes.

We brought you info on Blue Chip day. According to PSI, a few of the big names who were in attendance were Terrelle Pryor, David Posluszny, Christian Wilson, Andrew Sweat, Jonathan Baldwin, Mike Zordich, Shayne Hale, Leon Green, Cameron Saddler, Ed Tinker and Lucas Nix.

Former Panther (kind of sounds weird saying that) Tyler Palko was selected to the Coca-Cola Community All-American team.

As this year’s honoree, Palko (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) is able to select a charitable cause to be the recipient of a $5,000 donation by the Coca-Cola Company. The donation will go to the TC House Foundation, an organization Palko helped establish to raise funds for the construction of a group home for individuals with Down Syndrome in his hometown of Imperial, Pa.

You’ve probably heard of Palko’s friend Chris McGough who has Down Syndrome, who Tyler has become a very good friend with and who has made appearences at a few Pitt football games. Congrats to Tyler Palko on this honor.

A few months back, Chas posted about the Cinci-Xavier game and who to root for. In the comments, a few people said they think Miller will coach at Pitt someday, to which I said won’t happen. I don’t want to get into that argument again, especially since his name will be in the hat for the gig at Michigan.

Various reports are linking Xavier head coach Sean Miller to the vacant head coaching position at the University of Michigan. Xavier finished this season with a 21-11 record, an A-10 Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. In two season at Xavier, Miller has a overall record of 38-23. Miller’s strength is his ability to recruit, in fact, Ohio State coach Thad Matta told the Cincinnati Post that Miller “taught me everything I know about recruiting.”

He’s also on the list compiled by Michigan Sports Center.

In all seriousness, Miller would be a great choice. As I hinted, just look at what the last Xavier coach is doing now. Imagine if that type of thing could happen to Michigan. Bring in a new coach from Xavier and quickly become an elite program. The only thing is would he want to come to the Big Ten to coach against a friend in Thad Matta. That could work for or against Michigan.

Other names include John Beilein, Lon Kruger, and Steve Lavin, among many others.

Be excited — under 14 hours to tipoff.

Okay football fixated, here’s the one post you will see today on spring practices and/or anything related to football. After that, expect nothing but basketball. Really not too much.

H.B. Blades gets a nice piece in USA Today. Focused mainly on his relationship with his late Uncle Al Blades.

Blades plays a tenacious style reminiscent of another undersized overachieving linebacker who played under current Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt when he was the Miami Dolphins head coach from 2000 to 2004. Blades is projected as an early second-day prospect similar to the Dolphins’ 1996 fifth-round choice, 5-11, 230 Zach Thomas, a six-time Pro Bowler.

“When you watch Blades on tape, you see a tough, relentless football player,” NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock says.

“The problem is he’s somewhat limited athletically. When you talk about inside linebackers, there’s a premium on guys who can play all three downs.

“He’ll have an opportunity to be a core special-teams player initially. And that will be his chance to work into linebacker reps as a between-the-tackles thumper because he’s so tough and the game really matters to him.”

Blades apparently ran the 40 at Pitt’s pro-day better than expected so that should help.

I’m starting to think of LaRod Stephens-Howling as the Antonio Graves of the football team. Underrecruited, questionable as to the impact and almost a last-minute throw-in when recruited. Yet, he keeps working harder. Keeps working to be in better shape and becoming an impact player. Looks like another hard, off-season conditioning regimen has him looking stronger then before. And last year he looked stronger and bigger then the year before.

The Panthers had to work out in shorts the first two days, per NCAA regulations, but they get a chance to see how things go when the action heats up at Tuesday afternoon’s practice. Then, they’ll be able to tell how much a vigorous offseason under new strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris has paid off.

“I just pretty much went all out,” Stephens-Howling said. “I figured that since it’s my junior year, it’s time for me to get as big as I can. So, I went all out in the weight room. Buddy’s really on us. He’s really changed the program around, so I think I really changed my mind-set.

“I know I have to work more in the weight room, to get bigger and stronger, so that’s what I’ve been doing. And I feel a lot stronger in my legs, but that’s what I needed, because I came here with little legs and a bigger body. So, I feel more powerful in my legs now.”

Stephens-Howling also noted that his conditioning has improved under Morris’ tutelage. When he returns to the huddle after a long run or pass route, he doesn’t have tired legs. This should keep him healthier during the season as well.

There should be real depth at the running back (whether there will be an O-line to block for them…) and hopefully the coaches will use that depth to wear teams down and keep them off-balance. I’m hoping that with the pro influences, they’ll jump on the present trend in the NFL to look to have more than one back all the time. Still, an issue because Wannstedt seems to treasure the idea of an every down back, even as that traditional approach is on the wane.

Down in Washington, PA there are a couple linebackers being recruited by Pitt and plenty of others.

Trinity junior Andrew Sweat will visit Gainesville, Fla. this weekend when he gets a chance to check out the University of Florida and its national championship football team.

Florida is one of several schools to offer a scholarship to Sweat, an all-state linebacker. Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Connecticut and Pitt are among the others.

Teammate and fellow linebacker Michael Yancich has offers from Connecticut, Duke, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Miami (Ohio) and Pitt.

It’s too soon for the major recruiting sites to have evaluation and star rankings up for players. Safe to observe from the offers that Sweat will is definitely the bigger star. Yancich appears to be a decent player with very good grades and SATs.

From Chris Dokish at Panther Rants, we get an update on how former CB Darelle Revis ran his 40 yard dash. I’m never been a huge fan of so much being made on fractions of a second but perhaps that’s why I’m blogging and not scouting for an NFL team.

Former Pitt cornerback Darrelle Revis may have solidified his spot in the 1st round today as he reportedly ran a sub-4.40 40 yard dash today in Pittsburgh. There is no exact official time since many different NFL personnel time him at the same time, but times ranged from 4.36 to 4.40, with most timing him at 4.38.

Obviously he did not lose any speed while waiting for weeks during the season for an opposing QB to throw the ball his way.

Congrats definitely to Aaron Gray for winning the Big East Scholar-Athlete Award. There’s a cynical side of me that thinks part of why he got it was an additional reward for deferring the NBA for another year. Not to mention, that with his expected financial windfall, he’ll probably just donate the $2000 scholarship money to the school or some other group.

The article in the P-G, though, does have an error. It states that Gray is the first Pitt player to win it. How can they forget the immortal Darren Morningstar? The winner of the award back in 1992.

As for the new Syracuse basketball unis. Not nearly as hideous as expected when they aren’t wearing the base layer. That or the Syracuse players opted for larger jerseys to minimize the contour. I posted my observations here.

Andy Lee could continue his career at Heinz Field with the Steelers.

The Steelers have signed free agent punter Andy Lee to an offer sheet, agent Eddie Edwards confirmed today.

Lee, who played collegiately at Pitt, was a sixth-round draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers in 2004. Last season he averaged 44.8 yards per punt (gross) to rank sixth in the NFC and seventh in the NFL.

First off, I’m not fully sure what an offer sheet is. Pro sports financial type terms confuse me. I can barely explain Restricted Free Agency so “offer sheet” is way out of my range. Thankfully none of that has infiltrated college athletics.

Lee’s average is fairly better than what the Steelers have seen from Chris Gardocki. Gardocki has never had a punt blocked in his career but I might be able to pull that off too if I didn’t spend time trying to actually get a good punt off. I wouldn’t mind seeing Lee compete for the job in training camp against Gardocki and Mike Barr who probably should have got the punting spot in 2006.