So, hey, Steven Adams says that NBA Draft Lottery looks good.

After insisting that he would return for his sophomore season at Pitt, Steven Adams is declaring for the NBA Draft and will sign with an agent, thereby forfeiting his final three seasons of eligibility.

The 7-foot center from New Zealand announced his intentions Tuesday night in a statement released by Pitt’s athletic department. A Pitt spokesman said that Adams is out of the country.

“In discussing options with my family and Coach Dixon, I feel that it is in my best interest to declare for the NBA Draft,” Adams said. “I want to thank everyone at Pitt, including my teammates, coaching staff, the administration and the fans who have all supported me over the last year.”

I’ll never, ever begrudge a kid for turning pro. Especially when he is a potential lottery pick. Yes, he could have come back. Potentially improved and been a top-5 pick. Thus upping the potential earning potential. But he is already a top-20 pick. Likely top-14, lottery. This is a weak draft. Especially for centers.

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I’ll understand if you thought it was a no-brainer that Devin Street would return for his senior year. I know I leaned that way. That doesn’t necessarily mean, he would (*cough* Greg Lee *cough*). Street made it official yesterday.

Wide receiver Devin Street considered a jump to the NFL but decided it was best to return to Pitt for his redshirt senior season. He announced Thursday on his Twitter account that he will return to school.

“My heart is at Pitt and with my teammates,” he wrote. “I want to grow as a person and player. Therefore I‘ll be staying my senior year.”

It’s not something Pitt fans should take for granted. The offense would have been in big trouble next year if Street wasn’t coming back. As less-than-good the O-line was this past season, try to imagine it if Chris Jacobson hadn’t been given a sixth year. That’s the sort of situation the passing game could have found itself.

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I’m not saying that if Pitt had stuck to the 4-3 defense and the pro-style offense, that Pitt players would not have been shut out of the NFL Draft for the first time since 1999. I’m thinking it, but I’m not saying it.

Brandon Lindsey went from being a break-out player at the defensive end in 2010 to no-mans land with a change in defensive schemes. Playing in a hybrid linebacker/DE position that had him in no-mans land too many times.

Lucas Nix also suffered from the change in schemes with the O-line that made him look less productive. More importantly he suffered from injury that kept him out for over half the season. When you factor in the fact that Fraud Graham started questioning Nix’s toughness for not coming back from the injury as quickly as hoped, that probably raised flags for the NFL teams.

No doubt if Ray Graham had stayed healthy, he would have come out as a junior. The running back was putting up huge numbers and surely would have been a pick in the first 3 rounds.

Instead Pitt players will have to go the undrafted free agency (UFA) route to be on NFL squads. The conventional wisdom, being that it is better to be a UFA than a 7th round pick since you can pick the team and have a better chance/situation.

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This week my boss is off from work, so I am covering her stuff. Logged a 15 hour day, but the promise of sleeping in a bit today was a good carrot. This morning the wife gets me up because her car had a flat. If anyone needs me I’ll be under the table clutching some Scotch.

I’ll get to some second-hand Greentree summer league stuff a bit later. From what I’m reading, the kids look good. But at the same time, this is far different from what they’ll be doing come the fall, and the talent level is much more varied. Encouraging, but it has to be treated a lot like spring practices in football.

Not that it is that relevant, but the USA Basketball U-19 team is off to a poor start. In exhibition games against the Lithuanians U-20 and U-19 teams, the team has lost by 29 and 33 points, and allowed more than 100 points in both games. Exhibition games, yes. Disturbing nonetheless. Some might argue it’s the talent disparity. That this squad lacks the good U-19 talent, because those players didn’t play. At the same time they said similar things about the 2009 squad. Remember the head scratching over Ashton Gibbs being on the squad?

The biggest difference seems to be the coaching.

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Gary McGhee, Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown continue to travel the country for workouts to see if they can entice and NBA team to spend a draft pick on them or sign them for the summer league and perhaps beyond.

McGhee is in NYC today to workout with a group of players for the Knicks.

Brad Wanamaker was in San Antonio yesterday for his Spurs workout. A Spurs blogger considers him a longshot pick, but always possible.

Pitt’s Wanamaker is likely destined for the end of the second round, but he’s capable of playing in the NBA. He may need some time in the D-League to add to his game, but he may be an attractive player to the Spurs for many reasons. Wanamaker, who is represented by DeJuan Blair’s agent, Happy Walters, can create offense, drive and dish and while not very fast or athletic at his position, Wanamaker loves finishing at the basket. He’ll attack and finish or get fouled. Wanamaker is also used to playing unselfish basketball, which is preached at Pittsburgh.

Wanamaker also got a pleasantly puffing piece on his odds of making the NBA in the P-G last week.

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No, it isn’t likely to hear Gil Brown, Brad Wanamaker or Gary McGhee’s names called on the night of the NBA Draft. More likely is the chance for playing in the summer league and a non-guaranteed free agent deal. Followed by signing in Europe. I think we are all reasonably realistic on that issue.

That doesn’t mean that they aren’t practicing, working out for teams and doing all that they can do to merit consideration by teams. To say nothing of their representation making sure they promote them.

Wanamaker signed with IMG. They also represent DeJuan Blair.

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With the lock-out reinstated over the course of the draft, there is no free agent signings taking place. This means whether an NFL player is a free agent or if it is a kid out of college that went undrafted, there is nothing. No signings can take place. So for Dom DeCicco, Henry Hynoski, Dan Hutchins, Nate Nix and even Ricky Gary: welcome to limbo. Stay in shape. Keep working out and not have a clue about where when or how you will play football. Good luck.

Well, Pitt had five players drafted this year. As the Pitt press release notes, its the most players drafted from Pitt since 2004. By a remarkable coincidence, the 2003 season was one of Pitt football’s most disappointing seasons based on the expectations and talent until this past 2010 season. Heck, there was even a WR from Pitt taken in the first round in both drafts (please note, that is the extent of the similarities with which anyone should ever compare Baldwin to Fitzgerald).

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As the only Big East player taken in the First Round of the NFL Draft, Jon Baldwin allowed the Big East to save some face. Not much, but some. As befits the present state of the conference, it should be expected that a lot of players will be taken from here on out. The players reflect the league. Not particularly strong at the top, but solid and mediocre all around. “Big East football. ACC-esque parity with fewer calories.”

So congrats to Jon Baldwin, the third Pitt Panther drafted in the 1st round in the last 5 years. He is Pitt’s 20th 1st round pick in the last 31 years. Baldwin was home with family when the call came.

“I felt blessed,” Baldwin said of his reaction upon receiving the telephone call from Chiefs coach Todd Haley. “I have been working toward this my whole life, and now I get the opportunity.”

After speaking at length to Haley, Baldwin said he turned to his father, Jeff, for a hug.

“He said, ‘Congratulations. This is something you have worked hard for. Now, go do what you do,’ ” Baldwin said.

The first thing…

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Do Jabaal Sheard or Jon Baldwin make it into the end of the first round tonight? I have no idea. Odds are that if they don’t get picked, then the Big East gets shut out of the first round of the NFL draft.

Plenty of Pitt players could go in the later rounds over the next couple days, so there is incentive to keep watching.

Here’s your handy Pitt player checklist.

Draft starts about 8pm on ESPN or NFL Network.

Barely paid any attention to it. Between the lockout stuff, basketball season, and the fact that the NFL is starting this thing on a Thursday night. The Thursday night thing seems to really have me thrown off. The all-day Saturday couch potatoing was a personal favorite for me. Now that’s all gone.

Still, Pitt should have several players drafted this year. Whether Sheard or Baldwin crack the first round is anyone’s guess. That and where Greg Romeus, Dion Lewis and Henry Hynoski get drafted. Plus questions about whether Jason Pinkston and Dom DeCicco get snagged near the end or sign undrafted free agent deals.

Guess at least a rundown on some of the stories. I’ll skip the mock drafts that multiply and come from so many different places these days.

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I made the semi-conscious decision* not to do rundown of the way too premature top-25 predictions for college basketball until after the May 8 withdraw deadline for the NBA Draft.

Luke Winn includes Pitt in his list of teams with the biggest interest in the May 8 withdrawal date.

The Panthers can be a top-four team in the Big East if they keep junior combo guard Ashton Gibbs, who’s one of the league’s most efficient scorers. Conflicting information has been floating around about him; he reportedly told one agent he was “100 percent certain” about staying in the draft after declaring, but NBA sources seem to think that’s just posturing, and Gibbs’ father has since said that his son’s future is still TBD.

That’s a good thing for Gibbs, because leaving now would be unwise; multiple scouts I spoke with predicted he’d go undrafted in June. “Very good college player,” one scout said, “but not prepared [for the NBA] on a number of levels.” A season as Pitt’s primary scorer and playmaker off the dribble (which was more of what Brad Wanamaker did last year) could enhance Gibbs’ preparedness for the pros.

No guarantees, but it could only help if he can show more ball handling and improve his ability to drive to the basket.

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I hate the trend especially in football to control information. Usually in the Parcells/Belichek “one voice” mantra that has increasingly spilled into college football. The stated reason is that it prevents mixed messages to the media/fans and keeps the assistants focused on their jobs. The reality is it chokes off a lot of information fans crave and makes programs and franchises joyless operations creating unnecessary tensions.

That said, maybe the Gibbs family should at least conference call to coordinate what the hell the plan actually is. Really. Temple and his son Ashton Gibbs keeps putting conflicting/unclarified information out to whoever gets in touch with them. I will say, though, they have created more buzz and conversation for a borderline, possible 2d round pick than you would expect.

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Well, so much for getting back to posting by focusing on Saturday’s spring game.

There’s still almost 3 weeks for him to change his mind, but the news is leaking that Ashton Gibbs will keep his name in the NBA Draft.

…Gibbs, however, has been interviewing agents and told at least one that he was “100 percent” certain to stay in the draft, according to the source. Gibbs has been training in Atlanta this month.

So there’s that. It is still rumor and unconfirmed at this point, but still a surprise that this is even happening. More in a bit.

Last week when Pat Skerry became the guy for Towson and Khem Birch was having his Twitter moment (and panicking the easily panicked), there was some questioning why Assistant Coach Brandin Knight was planning a meeting later that week with Birch to reassure him, but not Coach Jamie Dixon.

As usual, there is a decent reason. Coach Dixon made advanced plans to be elsewhere — and was. In this case New Zealand.

Instead, University of Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon is in Wellington barking out instructions to young Kiwi hopefuls at a two-day camp at Newtown’s Southwest Stadium.

Judging by the picture at the top of the article, that includes a future Panther that Coach Dixon obviously wanted to pay a visit.

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Some more items to pass along.

If you worry/wonder/never had it cross your mind that perhaps since Birch is a Pitt commit you might be viewing his performance last night through Blue and Gold glasses, the final note at ‘Cuse blog TNIAAM on the game should be reassuring.

And as for Pitt-bound Khem Birch…yikes, you guys. One-and-done that guy…

No.

Either it was shyness, or something else, but the difference between the Khem Birch during practices and the one that showed up during the game continues to be the thing that most observers noticed.

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