The decision by DeJuan Blair to not just turn pro, but to eliminate the chance of his return has sparked plenty of debate and discussion. Much of it on the subject of, “Why?”

Please, tell me:

Where’s the harm in keeping all of your options?

“I’m guaranteed being a first-round pick,” Blair said at his news conference.

NBA scouts tell me differently.

They say — as of this moment — that Blair should be picked in the bottom half of the first round.

But they also say — quite definitively — that there is no guarantee.

Even those who agree with the mock draft projections, find themselves questioning the decision to go irrevocable.

At the very least, I see Blair making an impact in the League in the Brandon Bass/Leon Powe fashion, an energy rebounder off the bench who’s invariably more valuable to a contender than to a Lottery team.

But listed at 6-6 or 6-7, with a game that’s strictly low-post and under the glass, Blair is a lock to get drafted lower than his talent warrants. It also doesn’t help that he’s got a history of knee surgeries, and he’s struggled to keep his weight under control in the past. Eliminating the possibility of pulling his name out of the draft before teams even get to take his true measurements and test out his knees could come back to bite Blair in the end.

Then again, I can see why going all-in is the smart play. First, there’s the risk of getting injured again if Blair goes back to college. And it’s not like he’s going to grow any taller if he stays at Pitt. If Blair measures out to be 6-6 or even 6-5, another All-American campaign and constant double-doubles won’t make him any more attractive to NBA scouts. By coming out now, Blair at least has youth and potential on his side (he turns 20 this month), and the most recent memories of him are of a relentless warrior who led a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country at one time.

With the NBA season coming to its end, the few teams that can’t make the playoffs start to focus on the draft. That means the local media there is focused on who they might pick.

The problem is that the NBA draft — like the NFL draft — is full of misinformation. What a team says versus what it does are different things.

The Indiana Pacers, for example are likely picking at the end of the lottery. Here’s what they are saying they need — and thus where the speculation goes.

“We need an athletic big who has a little bit of nastiness offensively and defensively within 10 feet of the basket,” O’Brien said before Saturday’s game against the Detroit Pistons. “That would be our top priority.”

Of course, there aren’t a lot of those kinds of players in this draft. Blake Griffin surely will go first. Then there are names like Arizona’s Jordan Hill, Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson and my early favorite, Pitt’s DeJuan Blair.

“We could try to get that player in a number of ways,” O’Brien said. “We’ve got a little bit of money to work with. There are trade possibilities. The problem is, if it’s a rookie, it’s a rookie. To ask a rookie to be that tough, nasty hombre inside, that’s a lot to ask.”

If the power forward the Pacers want isn’t available when they pick, they won’t hesitate to jump on the point guard of the future. How does Ty Lawson of North Carolina sound? Or Memphis’ Tyreke Evans?

Or how about New Jersey?

Nets team president Rod Thorn likely will dial NBA central casting this summer with a simple but awfully hard-to-fill request.

“Get me a moose.”

That will be among the Nets’ chief priorities this offseason — if not the No. 1 quest. In a perfect world, a 25-year-old Charles Oakley would walk into Thorn’s office, solving several major headaches.

“A guy who can defend, a guy who can rebound, a guy who does all the little dirty work out on the floor, sets screens,” Thorn said. “A guy like that is invaluable.”

And a guy like that answers the Nets’ glaring needs — defense and rebounding — as they move forward from a second straight lottery season.

“We need a guy who just cleans up the glass,” said Vince Carter, who sees some of that in Ryan Anderson. “We have a lot of scoring. We have a lot of shooters.”

As DraftExpress observes, “Sounds like DeJuan Blair to us. New Jersey currently is slated to draft 10th or 11th depending on tiebreakers at the moment, unless a shake-up occurs in the lottery.”

All of that means nothing at this point. It’s just chatter and speculation with more than two months before the draft. I keep coming back to what Darrelle Porter said the day before Blair made his announcement.

“I think DeJuan’s confident in his abilities and confident enough to put his name in, so he’ll probably stay in,” Porter said. “It’s hard to tell someone to come back and work on some things when he’s looking at a guaranteed contract. It’s been a goal of his for a long time.

“Now, he’s got a chance to reach his dream.”

He believes in his own abilities. He has always succeeded when people told him he couldn’t. He’s used it as fuel. As motivation. I have no doubt, he is saving every comment he reads saying he’s making a mistake or questioning the decsisions. That is just more for him to motivate.

Like everyone else, I hope it is enough.

If anyone, I mean anyone has any ties to DeJuan Blair. Print this entire article and make him read it (and maybe pass it along to LeSean McCoy).

What happens to many athletes and their money is indeed hard to believe. In this month alone Saints alltime leading rusher Deuce McAllister filed for bankruptcy protection for the Jackson, Miss., car dealership he owns; Panthers receiver Muhsin Muhammad put his mansion in Charlotte up for sale on eBay a month after news broke that his entertainment company was being sued by Wachovia Bank for overdue credit-card payments; and penniless former NFL running back Travis Henry was jailed for nonpayment of child support.

In a less public way, other athletes from the nation’s three biggest and most profitable leagues—the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball—are suffering from a financial pandemic. Although salaries have risen steadily during the last three decades, reports from a host of sources (athletes, players’ associations, agents and financial advisers) indicate that:

• By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.

• Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.

…

The Wall Street meltdown is only the latest threat to athletes’ financial health. “Athletes have a different set of challenges from, say, entertainers,” says money manager Michael Seymour, the founder of Philadelphia-based UNI Private Wealth Strategies. “There’s a far shorter peak earnings period [in sports] than in any other profession, and in many cases they lack the time and desire to understand and monitor their investments.”

It’s long, but a must read. Flat out, especially for someone like DeJuan Blair.

Look, I have no problem with Blair turning pro, and I happen to agree that he probably would not go much higher in the draft. That said, his decision-making process was unnerving.

Just how Blair came to that determination raised an eyebrow or two, including those of some Pitt officials who were present at his news conference. Blair said he based his decision not on the feedback he received from Panthers coach Jamie Dixon, who has close contacts with general managers and scouts, but by his own investigation on the Internet.

“I’m an Internet freak,” Blair said. “I go on all the draft boards. No one has me going in the second round. That’s almost a guarantee to me.”

In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Dixon mentioned how uninformed those Internet sites are when it comes to projecting players in the NBA.

“It’s way too early to talk about a number,” Dixon said. “There are too many factors, unknowns to even consider a number. As we all know, as we’ve seen in the past, they’re largely inaccurate but fun to talk about.”

…

Blair admitted that he did not give much consideration to Dixon’s advice. Blair said his decision largely was based on conversations with his family.

“I turned to my family,” Blair said. “Then my coaches came in. I was really into my family. At the end of the day, I was going to make the decision … I came to my decision that I wanted to turn pro. It’s a dream come true.”

Blair said the highest he has seen his name on a mock draft is No. 8 and the lowest was No. 22. The Post-Gazette yesterday could not find a mock draft in which Blair was projected to go higher than No. 20.

Oh, please. Oh, please. Please do not hire family to handle the money. Please make sure you make an effort to learn about where your money is going. And I repeat, read that damn Sports Illustrated article.

I get that he wants to take care of his family and the economics make it important. At the same time, he has to limit just how far he’s taking care of his family.

The marketing deal, not surprisingly, is starting with stuff locally.

Cook said Blair will maintain a residence in Pittsburgh throughout his NBA career and desires a long-term relationship with the city. Cook said Blair is close to signing a deal with a local car dealership and is discussing other local advertising opportunities.

“It’s all designed to keep his image in Pittsburgh,” Cook said.

“This is my home,” Blair said. “I’ll always be here. I’m going to try and take Pittsburgh over whenever I get done with this basketball stuff.”

If you plan to be in Pittsburgh a good deal of the time, then take advantage of it and keep taking classes. Learn as much as you can about taking care of your own money and where it is going.

And on the plus side, his immediate family will stay close to him, and hopefully keep him grounded.

Blair, who turns 20 on April 22, has the full support of his family. His parents, Greg Sr. and Shari, and an aunt, Sharene Dixon, plan to move to the city of the team that drafts him to help ease his transition.

“When he started at Pitt, I used to say, ‘You’re going the whole four years.’ He changed my mind,” Shari Blair said.

Right now, DeJuan Blair just needs to really work on his conditioning. Nothing helps a draft stock for a guy who has some conditioning questions by demonstrating a determination to be in great shape.

He admits, there is no going back.

Blair signed a marketing and advertising contract with Cook, who will help Blair hire an NBA certified agent later in the process. But by signing a marketing and advertising contract with Cook, Blair is foregoing his final two years of eligibility to turn professional.

As for finding an agent, that will come in time.

“There’s no turning back,” said Blair, who started the news conference by sending his condolences to the three City of Pittsburgh police officers killed in Saturday’s shootings in Stanton Heights.

Blair said he hasn’t signed an agent, “but I will in the next couple weeks.”

“It was more something that I wanted to do more than money and making a big transition for me and my family. It was a real big decision but I had to do what was right for me. Nobody made the decision but me.”

I am naturally more cautious, so I would have preferred that he waited on ending his eligibility. Still, if he’s all-in, then why not. Blair does not seem the type to go halfway. This will give him a chance to really work on skills and with a trainer in the coming months.

Plus, DeJuan Blair actually has charm and enthusiasm that would give him a shot at some marketing opportunities, despite not being a can’t-miss NBA prospect.

I wish him the best.

Darelle Porter called it with the comment that when Blair has his mind made up about the draft, he’s in it to stay.

The press conference for DeJuan Blair is set for 4pm to make it official. Well, actually it seems just to make a statement and take a few questions.

Blair has retained Pittsburgh attorney James Cook, meaning he will forgo his remaining two years of college eligibility.

Cook announced today his representation of Blair in the process. Blair, though, has not decided on a certified NBA agent.

Blair is considered a mid-first round pick.

“DeJuan Blair is Pittsburgh through and through, from the junior program J.O.T.S through Schenley High School to the University of Pittsburgh,” Cook said in a news release.

“We are confident that he will make the city of Pittsburgh proud and enjoy a long NBA career.”

NCAA regs are so much fun. If Atty. Cook was merely an “advisor”  or “family friend,” Blair would not be forgoing his eligibility left. In other words, since the attorney is getting paid for his services, Blair is done. That’s right hire someone to better represent your interests and handle matters relating to the NBA draft, but not an actual agent and you still end your NCAA eligibility.

Well, good luck to DeJuan Blair. You were a fantastic player at Pitt and a great representative of the program and the school.

UPDATE (2:01): A couple people have pointed out the AP article that says Blair retains his eligibility. That would indicate that Atty. Cook is presently in the “advisory” role rather than formally retained. Honestly that makes more sense, even if I don’t think Blair will be back.

I’m not sure which is true at this point.

The press conference for Coach Jamie Dixon being named the Naismith Coach of the Year had some interesting tidbits about the players.

Dixon said Fields won’t participate in the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament today through Saturday at Churchland High School because “the groin is still bothering him.”

Young declined the opportunity to participate in the showcase, opting to instead wait until the NBA pre-draft camp in late May at Tim Grover’s Attack Athletics training facility in Chicago.

“He felt that it was best that he not attend,” Dixon said. “He’s looking forward to opportunities in Chicago.”

Dixon said he’s trying to find a spot for senior forward Tyrell Biggs at the Portsmouth Invitational.

I’m a bit surprised that Young isn’t going to Portsmouth. It seems a late decision. It’s not uncommon to skip and since he seems to be a very strong contender to be taken before the end of the 1st round of the draft, the conventional advice is to not do anything to hurt the chances. Still, this seems like an abrupt move.

Seems that most of the questions at the presser was about DeJuan Blair (big shock).

The coach spent most of the rest of his time at the podium inside the Petersen Events Center talking about the draft prospects of his seniors and the decision that Blair has looming. Dixon said he had numerous meetings with Blair and his family the past few days discussing Blair’s intentions of declaring for the NBA draft, but he said Blair was not yet ready to announce his decision.

Darrelle Porter, family friend, former Pitt star, ex-Duquesne head coach and Blair’s old AAU coach is saying that Blair is in and won’t be back.

“I think DeJuan’s confident in his abilities and confident enough to put his name in, so he’ll probably stay in,” Porter said. “It’s hard to tell someone to come back and work on some things when he’s looking at a guaranteed contract. It’s been a goal of his for a long time.

“Now, he’s got a chance to reach his dream.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Dixon would end up spending most of the time at a press conference ostensibly about him receiving an award that he talked about his players. Dixon hardly has been comfortable talking himself up, most times. He often tries to put the credit at the players.

Just realized it’s after midnight.

Yeah, we all know it’s coming.

“You’ll know tomorrow,” Blair said. “That’s all I’m saying.”

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon met with Blair and his family Monday, but said today that Blair wasn’t ready to make an announcement. One source close to the Blair family, however, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Blair plans to announce his intentions at a Wednesday news conference.

The good news is that he won’t be hiring an agent.

Andy Katz at ESPN.com continues to pound the doubting angle.

A number of NBA personnel told ESPN.com they are skeptical about whether Blair can make the transition because he plays below the rim.

As much as I want him to stay, I have a hard time buying it. At the same time, it only reinforces why he has to look at going pro now. If the doubts and concerns are there and actually widespread, then coming back for another year gives them a chance to further pick him apart.

As far as Coach Jamie Dixon winning the Naismith Coach of they Year award, he deferred on taking much credit.

“It means we had a lot of good players,” Dixon said in a phone interview about the coaching award. “It’s a reflection of players individually and as a group … The players developed into better players than may thought (they) would become.”

According to ZagsBlog, Basketball Times put out its list of the top-100 coaches and assistants. Coach Dixon was ranked #12, and Tom Herrion was ranked #8 in assistants. There’s nothing on the BT website to see the whole list. It’s just a list, and seems more of a debate sparker than anything actually definitive.

Big thanks to Jonathan Givoney at DraftExpress for giving the heads-up.

DeJuan Blair will officially announce his intentions to enter the NBA draft in a press conference at Pittsburgh tomorrow, a source close to the situation tells DraftExpress. Blair will wait on officially hiring an agent for now, but is not expected to return to Pitt.

Coach Dixon is apparently helping Blair set it up.

Not exactly a shock to anyone. Still, good that he is at least keeping his options open by holding off on hiring an agent.

For the Pitt seniors, it means finding out whether they can make a profession out of playing basketball.

The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament finally gets some revelance in a number of years. The elimination of a couple other draft gatherings puts the senior-only tournament back on the map.

The rosters for the 2009 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (official site) were released today, and it appears that we’re looking at the strongest group of NCAA assembled in quite some time. Nine players currently projected to be drafted on our latest mock draft have committed to attend the tournament (scheduled next week from the 8th-11th), while we’re counting between 15-20 seniors who are strong draft candidates on the rosters as well. There are a couple of headliners as well, including Sam Young. Lee Cummard and A.J. Price, three clear-cut candidates to be the first Portsmouth players drafted since Jason Maxiell in 2006.

It’s no surprise that the PIT committee managed to bring together such a talented group of seniors—this currently stands as the one and only place for NBA draft prospects to compete in a five on five setting now that the pre-draft camp has been dramatically scaled back. The tournament is expected to draw as much attention as ever from NBA personnel this time around, for two reasons. One, due to the strength of the senior crop, and two, because of the makeup of this year’s Nike Hoop Summit crop, which doesn’t elicit the same sense as urgency as it did in the past.

Levance Fields and Alex Ruoff also will be at the PIT, as they look to get some Euro love.

Sam Young helped his draft stock in the NCAA Tourney.

Young’s excellent tournament run came to an end in a heart-breaking loss to Villanova. But over the past two weeks he has showed his ability to score from just about anywhere on the floor — he scored 32 points against Oklahoma State, 19 versus Xavier and 28 versus Villanova. He has also proven to be an excellent rebounder and his long-range shooting continues to improve.

If he was 19 years old, he’d be a lock for the lottery. However, Young turned 24 in March and teams worry about his upside. I’d expect Young to land somewhere in the second half of the first round.

Then there is DeJuan Blair. No one is exactly sure if he’s going.

DeJuan Blair is getting heavy pressure from Pitt’s coaching staff to return for another season, but is likely to announce his intentions to enter the NBA draft regardless shortly.

Or staying.

Pitt sophomore DeJuan Blair will have an interesting decision to make. He was co-Big East player of the year and created a lot of buzz this season. But there are reservations about him playing too low below the rim by NBA personnel. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he heeded the advice and returned to Pitt.

There is no reason for DeJuan Blair to at the very least not go through the NBA Draft process. As long as he does not sign with an agent, he can find out what his true situation is.

Chad Ford at ESPN.com has him listed as the 21st best player that is or could be in the draft.

Blair ended his last game at Pittsburgh on a mixed note. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and was 9-for-9 from the field. But for the second straight game he got off to a slow start and showed his limitations at creating his own offense. His lack of size and explosiveness hurts. So does his lack of conditioning. While some NBA executives think his raw talent will help him overcome his physical limitations, a few others keep dredging up the name Robert “Tractor” Traylor. Ouch. If Blair decides to declare, he’s looking at going somewhere between 10 and 20 on draft night.

And at other times, Blair draws comparisons to Wes Unseld and Paul Millsap.

I have to admit, I don’t think he’s going to be any higher in draft potential. If he stays, they will only pick his game apart even further and get more skittish about his size. From DeJuan Blair’s POV, coming back could be worse for him since the issue of Pitt’s point guard situation can definitely affect his opportunities to touch the ball — aside from off of offensive rebounds. Never underestimate how shaky PG can kill an offense that relies heavily on the frontcourt scoring.

I would have preferred a tepid “no comment” or the obvious lie of, “I’m not even thinking about that right now.” Instead, DeJuan Blair had to be too honest, too emotional, and provide too much to parse after accepting his co-Big East POY award.

“I want to stay at Pitt, just so everybody can say, ‘We loved him,'” Blair said. “It’s up in the air. It depends on this year. But I want to stay.”

Blair is a projected first-round draft pick, but he said his heart remains in the Steel City.

The 6-foot-7 sophomore center said the ceremony last week to retire Brandin Knight’s jersey got him thinking about his legacy at Pitt. Knight, a Pitt assistant coach and former All-America point guard, is one of only four Pitt players to have his number retired.

“I want my jersey to be retired like Brandin,” Blair said. “That’s an inspiration to look up and see your jersey every day. Just to stay and be loved in Pittsburgh. … I’m always going to come back. I’m always going to be here.

“We’re going to see how it goes.”

As I said when McCoy made his declarations of coming back, I’m not holding him to it. There’s nothing to hold him to.

I have no doubt he loves it at Pitt. I have no doubt he knows all about the possibilities of legacies and all those things. I also know the money is out there and that the NBA is another league heading for a major economic shake-up.

My hope is that he leaves, because he can stand up at a press conference and declare that he has accomplished everything he wanted at Pitt — including that trip to the White House.

At the very least, he will be going through the draft evaluation this year.

As for the co-Big East POY award and sharing it with Hasheem Thabeet.

Not that Blair believes it should be that way.

When asked if he was OK sharing the award, Blair said: “What do y’all think?”

His smile said the rest.

Few people seem to get how Thabeet got as many votes. All BE Commish Mike Tranghese has said is that it was one of the closest votes ever, and that five players received 1st place votes.

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players and had to submit their ballots Friday, the day before Pitt beat Connecticut for the second time this season.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon declined to reveal his ballot but said he factored in which player led the regular-season champion.

“I always try to pick a guy from the team that won it,” he said. “I had (Louisville senior Terrence) Williams up there.”

For Blair, it was probably best, that the voting had to be in early. Sam Young and Terrence Williams both came up with big games for their teams.

There’s no disputing that John DeGroat was an absolute bust with Pitt. He never showed much in the way of skill and he seemed to have little confidence. In fact, in his final year he got worse the further into the season. The bizarre turnovers at the start of games because he would double dribble or pick-up the ball with no one near him. It was painful, even if he didn’t play much beyond a few minutes per game. Even that was enough to frustrate most fans who wanted Coach Dixon to just plant him on the bench and not let him start. Mop-up duty, maybe.

Still, given what DeGroat had overcome growing up, and how well he turned out, I rooted for him.

So when he suddenly seemed to put it all together in the CBA last year, that was just something great to read. And it seems to have opened the door to other opportunities.

DeGroat’s NBA audition comes with no guarantees. He is a long shot. DeGroat could get a shot at a free-agent camp after next month’s NBA draft, or possibly showcase his game with a team in the NBA’s summer league.

DeGroat’s agent, Oliver Macklin, who played for the University of Connecticut in the early 1990s, has heard from several NBA teams about his client, including the Lakers, Clippers, Celtics, Cavaliers and Sonics.

“I think John’s chances at getting a legit look are pretty good,” Macklin says. “It’s not like he’s an average CBA player, he’s an all-star. The teams that have contacted me love his energy. John doesn’t have to go to the NBA and be a superstar. He just has to play good defense and hit some open shots.”

Adds Macklin: “I think John has a good upside. The NBA Developmental League is an option and there were 22 NBA call-ups from the D-League last year.”

That’s tremendous. Great. But DeGroat himself says something in the story that makes no sense other than to take a shot at Coach Dixon.

Looking back, DeGroat says Pitt might not have been the best fit. He played sparingly his first season, but started every regular-season game as a senior. However, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon benched a slumping DeGroat for most of the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

“I really don’t know what happened,” DeGroat says. “I’m still on speaking terms with (Dixon), he’s a good coach, but he’s not the best under pressure. But, no matter what, he gave a kid from upstate New York a Division I shot.”

What does that have to do with how badly DeGroat played? There’s a little bit of self-deception it seems from DeGroat. Trying not to take much responsibility for his bad play.

It’s painful to watch him regress over the last few weeks. I’ve never seen such happy feet from a basketball player. He starts to shuffle his feet when he gets the ball, like he is going to do some sort of hesitation dribble-drive. Unfortunately he keeps forgetting to dribble. 2 turnovers in 5 minutes. I feel bad that he is having his minutes falling faster and faster, but he is doing it to himself by being so wound-up when he touches the ball.

I mean if he was going to make excuses, the least he could have done was go with something that related to his situation. Say he was looking over his shoulder afraid of making a mistake and getting pulled. Or something like that.

I still want John DeGroat to have success. He is more than a little diminished in my eyes, though.

I admit to being surprised by this.

University of Pittsburgh junior forward Sam Young announced on Friday that he will return to Pitt for his senior season. Young, who will not declare for the NBA Draft, announced his decision two days before the NBA Draft Early Entry declaration deadline on Sunday, April 27.

“In discussing my options the last couple of weeks with Coach Dixon and my family, I feel that it is in my best interest to return to Pitt for my senior year,” Young said. “With the players we have returning to the team, we have an opportunity to accomplish something special next year. I can’t wait to get the season started.”

Not the part about Young coming back for his senior year. I’m just stunned he didn’t go to the Orlando pre-draft camp and workouts.

It was a no risk exploration to find out about his draft status for 2009 and to learn more about what they want to see from him. It’s why so many juniors who stand no chance of being drafted and clearly will return do declare for the NBA Draft. They just want to know where they stand.

That said, this is excellent news. Lots of expectations, but plenty of optimism as well.

The season just ended and I’m already looking forward to next year. Here’s some things that we might want to think and worry about during the next few months and into the 2008-09 season.

1. Will Gilbert Brown continue to show the improvement he demonstrated this year? When he started to see meaningful playing time after Cook and Fields went down, it’s safe to say we all agree that he struggled. He just couldn’t get it going on both ends of the floor. As the season went on though, he showed a great deal of maturation and improvement. Chances are he’ll be in the starting lineup next year – is he going to keep improving enough to show he belongs and deserves to be in the starting five?

2. Will Sam Young go pro? A topic that really didn’t gain legs until his great week during the Big East Tournament, but his decision could change the shape of this entire team for next year. As quickly as he rose to prominence in NYC, he blew it (like everyone else did) in the tourney loss to Michigan State. Had he led the team to an Elite Eight/Final Four and played amazingly on said mythical run, he might have been more inclined to leave early. For his own good and the good of the team, it’s best that he stay at Pitt.

3. Which freshmen will see a lot of playing time next year? The newcomers next year are Ashton Gibbs, Nasir Robinson, Travon Woodall, and Dwight Miller. The guy most likely to see the most action is Robinson, rated as one of the Rivals 150, who could challenge Brad Wanamaker for a bulk of the minutes. An excerpt from what Chas said a few months ago:

Nasir Robinson fits Pitt. A lot of reports have been saying that for a while, that the Pitt commit plays tough gritty defense. That he scraps for balls and will be a perfect fit in the way Pitt plays the game, and the Big East play. What also has become clear is that Pitt found a player who was under the radar a bit and got him before he was fully appreciated by other coaches.

4. Will Jamie Dixon get an extension? Dixon is not going to Indiana, TCU, Cal, or anywhere in the next year or two. That said, young coaches that have success get plenty of offers with plenty of cash. It might be time for Steve Pedersen to look into extending Dixon and keeping him here for hopefully the rest of his career. Pitt doesn’t need to be a stepping stone for coaches (Howland), but instead could be a place where a coach wants to spend his entire career.

5. Will there be anyone to shoot the three? No one could shoot the three pointers this year. During Ronald Ramon’s time here he was generally considered our “sharpshooter” who could make the three pointer consistently. That’s largely debatable, especially with declining numbers in his senior season. He was the guy though, because who else was there? And now that he’s graduated, who’s going to shoot all those treys? Fields’ biggest flaw has been that he isn’t a consistent jump shooter. Sam Young, if he’s around, took more threes in ‘07-‘08 but isn’t a pure shooter. After those two it’s hard to see anyone else taking a bulk of the threes.

6. Will Mike Cook get a 6^th year of eligibility? Wishful thinking…

I seem to be having some trouble with embedding it on the site, but here is a link to the video of the player introductions for Pitt from the 2008 Big East Tournament Championship. Good times.

Now the biggest issue for Pitt basketball for the 3d time in 4 years, is whether a vital junior player will go into the NBA Draft. I’ve already said I think he should at least go through the draft process. Several sites have him going late in the 1st round. Plenty don’t include him. If you want to go crazy, here’s a link to a collection of mocks (quality of evaluations vary). One of the great variables that is always unclear until late April into May is the Euro players. Until the overseas scouting reports start coming in, the 1st round remains quite fluid.

As noted, there hasn’t really been a clear indication by Young as to what he is thinking.

Young won’t have to make a decision to even enter the NBA draft until April 27. The date to withdraw is June 16.

So take a deep breath. Relax and until Young actually says something, don’t drive yourself insane.

Of course, if he comes back…

Young would join Fields and DeJuan Blair, the Panthers’ top three scorers, as returning starters. Gilbert Brown, who was forced into a bigger role with the injury to Cook and was a major part of coach Jamie Dixon’s rotation, also returns and could move into the starting lineup at the three spot to replace Keith Benjamin.

A Young return could equal a top 15 or better preseason ranking for the Panthers, who garnered top-10 predictions the year Aaron Gray returned after testing the NBA.

The top incoming freshmen are expected to be Nasir Robinson, a four-star recruit who also could compete for the starting wing position, and shooting guard Ashton Gibbs, who may fill Ronald Ramon’s role. Other newcomers will likely be guard Travon Woodall and forward Dwight Miller. Point guard Jermaine Dixon has committed to Pitt and is expected to sign in the next month, but it’s unclear if there will be a scholarship available.

In Ray Fittipaldo’s final Q&A he speculates at the possibility of moving McGhee into a more prominent role. One that would have Blair at PF and Young at SF. That does, however, squeeze Gilbert Brown unless his shooting gets a lot better over the summer. Still, it is reasonable to assume that’s a goal at some point. McGhee’s development will be vital. Obviously it would allow Pitt to go bigger with him at center. The other advantage is that the rest of the players would be able to shift back when the team needs to go smaller.

Worth noting that Nasir Robinson was named to the all-PA AAAA 1st team for the second straight year. Also making the AAAA 1st team was Deandre Kane from Schenley.

From a selfish standpoint, I definitely want Sam Young to come back for his senior season. I can argue all the good reasons for his development and game that say he should come back. Mostly consistency issues. More consistent mid-range jumper needed, attacking the rim when there’s a defender in the vicinity more frequently, defensive effort, etc.

At the very least, Young has to put himself through the NBA draft process before making a final decision. It’s the most responsible thing for him and his family. Find out what the NBA scouts actually say. See who else is coming out and get a better idea of the competition at his spot for next year’s draft.

Then there are these reasons.

Age. Young will be 23 by the time of the draft this season. The NBA likes the players younger because there’s the tantalizing prospect of “upside.” The older, more mature a player is, the less room they see for growth in his game.

Health. We sometimes forget it, because Young has been so healthy on the court this year, but he doesn’t have knees that are in great shape. He continually battles tendonitis in both of them. Often needs both to be encased in ice after games. Given how important his jumping ability is to his game, he has to consider both the risk of injury if he comes back for his final year and the question of how long he can play professionally and earn a living before his knees become too much of an issue.

Strong finish. The season may have ended with a clunk in the NCAA Tournament, but that hardly erases his tremendous performance in the Big East Tournament. Against teams with NBA talent in the front court, like Louisville and Georgetown, Young was the best player out there. He dominated on both ends. Swatting shots, hitting his own. He was a force. In the BET there were plenty of scouts there to see players like Palacios, Hibbert, and others.

Potential. Come back for a final season after getting national recognition/breakout year, all too often means that scouts and draft people spend the next season criticizing and picking apart the game.

Plenty of reasons to come back, but it isn’t nearly so clear-cut.

Pitt moved up to #8 in SI.com’s Luke Winn’s Power Rankings, with the focus on the P-G puffer on Levance Fields and the same bit I liked (do I need to revise my view?).

ESPN.com’s Power Poll puts Pitt at #6.

Pitt’s big rally — and the big Fields 3 against Duke showed skill and fortitude. Losing Mike Cook is a downer. Resolution: Get to the free-throw line more. Also, take smiling lessons from DeJuan Blair.

In a less related note, Aaron Gray has moved up in attention among NBA rookies.

This 10th spot seems to be reserved for the one-week wonders. This week it’s the Bulls’ big man out of Pitt. Given three straight games of at least 20 minutes, Gray responded by averaging 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. Of course, he came back to earth on Saturday (and Big Ben returned to the lineup), so if the pattern holds up, Gray’s stay in the rankings might be short-lived.

After Kevin Durant, the rookie pool has been a little low on impact so far. That has meant the “role player” rookies are actually doing more.

Among players who weren’t lottery picks but have started to carve out a niche in the league are Miami’s Daequan Cook, New Jersey’s Williams, Detroit’s Arron Afflalo, Boston’s Glen Davis, Utah’s Kyrylo Fesenko and Chicago’s Gray, who looks like the best bargain value of the 2007 crop.

According to Boston’s Doc Rivers, the current draft culture hurt the 7-footer out of Pittsburgh most, because teams started poking holes at his game instead of concentrating on what he could do. What he can do is establish a presence inside, gain position and bang the offensive boards.