Then there is the Big East releasing the Conference schedule match-ups. Not the when. Just who and where.

For Pitt, well given the pure unknown quantity of the team, the schedule seems challenging enough.

Home opponents at the Petersen Events Center will include DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and West Virginia.

The Panthers’ 2009-10 road opponents include Cincinnati, Connecticut, Marquette, Notre Dame, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse and West Virginia.

Pitt’s three repeat opponents are St. John’s, Seton Hall and West Virginia.

Notice a theme with the repeat opponents?

Sure WV is there. Rival and all. But St. John’s and Seton Hall? It’s a double-double dose of Western PA kids against Pitt. D.J. Kennedy gets two cracks as does Herb Pope.

I like to believe these storylines aren’t pre-planned when they set the schedule, but that just seems like quite the double coincidence.

Just eyeballing it, I really don’t know what to expect. I see Villanova and WVU as the top teams in the conference. The next tier is probably UConn, Louisville and Georgetown. Then a big wide-open middle that could include Pitt, Cinci, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Syracuse, and maybe Notre Dame.

After that it’s Providence and Marquette with USF, Rutgers and DePaul at the barrell’s bottom.

I could honestly see Pitt as anywhere from 12-6 in the conference to 6-12.

About early starts for home football games this year? Pitt has 7 home games. 4 in the conference. No times for any of them have been confirmed, but it looks like up to 3 conference home games could be noon starts.

The Big East announced the 2009 Big East Game of the Week schedule. These are games that get the noon start. Well, they sort of announced it. ESPN gets first dibs on most of the games, so we won’t actually know for sure until a couple weeks before each game. That said, three of Pitt’s home conference games are potential BE Games of the Week.

Sat., Oct. 10 *    Connecticut at Pittsburgh or West Virginia at Syracuse

Sat., Oct. 24 * Louisville at Cincinnati or Connecticut at West Virginia or USF at Pittsburgh

Sat., Nov. 7 * Connecticut at Cincinnati or Louisville at West Virginia or Syracuse at Pittsburgh

I guess the good news is that Pitt is under consideration for plenty of ESPN network appearances if they do well enough in the non-con.

Of course, it is looking like those of us going to the games may be slaves to the early start to feed the bitch goddess of TV revenue.

A slight exaggeration for the new Big East Commish. After all, he’s only been on the job for a couple days now. That said, could you plan the info dumps a little better?

This is July 2. Half the country is starting their July 4 holiday weekend tomorrow. That means today is a getaway day. People traveling. Trying to pack. Organize. Run errands. Generally, just not working or in a position to sit down and get information.

So, naturally the Big East chooses today to release not just the conference opponent list for men’s basketball, but also more times for the football games.

Here’s the deal with days like this. It’s when you dump the bad news. Not the good and interesting stuff.

As posted a couple weeks ago, Pitt now has the press release confirming playing Indiana at MSG on December 8 in the Jimmy V Classic. The game, of course, will be on ESPN and is the main event at 9pm. The undercard is Georgetown-Butler (which may very well be the game that actually features ranked teams).

No word yet on purchasing tickets through Pitt.

Down in New Zealand, the USA U-19 team had no trouble blowing Iran right out of the place with a 106-55 win. Coach Jamie Dixon made sure everyone played, and all but one player had double digit minutes (PDF).

Ashton Gibbs had a nice game. He played 20 minutes (tied for most on the team). He shot 4-6 (2-2 on 3s) for 10 points. He grabbed 2 rebounds and 2 steals. He had 4 assists (tied for the most) and 1 turnover.

Yes, it was only Iran and the USA should blow them out, but still a good start.

With Coach Jamie Dixon along with Ashton Gibbs down in New Zealand for the U-19 games, the theme is apparently a rerun.

Let’s call them the Junior Redeem Team. The USA Under-19s, much like Kobe Bryant and co at last year’s Olympics, say they’re in New Zealand for the world championships on a mission to restore some honour for the home of hoops.

Somehow, I don’t think it’s quite the same thing, but hey if it works for motivation.

Team USA, coached by former New Zealand NBL star Jamie Dixon, haven’t won the world under-19 title since 1991 - and where they come from that’s simply not good enough. So the gold medal is their singular focus at this Auckland event which tips off on Thursday and runs through until July 12.

“We have a good group,” said Dixon who was a standout guard for Hawkes Bay in the NBL in 1989-90. “All of our guys have played one year of college so far, so they have some experience playing at the college level. I think we’re really coming together.

“It’s a very unselfish group, we shoot the ball well, and again, I think they’re taking pride in it. We know we haven’t won this tournament since 1991 and so we’ve made that a goal for us. We understand what we’re up against.”

Dixon said the fact that the USA had been denied for so long at these championships made this a “special” tournament for his players.

“When you haven’t won something in 20 years or so, then that means it’s special. Our guys understand that this is something we haven’t done in a while, so we have a goal set.

“This is a tough tournament,” added Dixon, who is now head coach of the University of Pittsburgh. “You’ve got the best teams in the world, the best players. This is important to other teams, and they’ve been together longer than we have.”

New Zealand is not exactly hopeful for their team called — and (with all apologies to Dave Barry) I swear I am not making this up — the Junior Tall Blacks. The name is apparently rugby related.

Not sure on what airline the team flew to get there, but if they did take Air New Zealand I hope they did not get this crew.

I find myself pondering the question that if Sam Young had gone pro after his junior year and been drafted in the same spot he was this year, everyone would have said he made a mistake by going pro early. That he fell for some mocks and pundits that had him listed late in the first round (like he was last year).

There would have been talk about how he needed another year to refine his game further. Show he could consistently hit from the perimeter. That if he came back and led Pitt to a great season, then his stock would have risen.  Of course he did all that, and then got slammed for being a 24-year old senior.

If DeJuan Blair had stayed another year or even all four and was still subsequently drafted in the second. There would be the observation of how he was listed in the teens of the mock drafts this year and should have gone when he was hotter and had less wear on his knees. That surely he would have gone higher because teams and scouts would have had less chance to pick apart his game.

Ultimately, no matter how many whispers there are in the ear. It is still the person’s decision. I hope DeJuan Blair still takes advantage of Pitt’s policies and at some point in the future finishes his education.

Even though Sam Young was taken one spot ahead of DeJuan Blair, there is not a lot of ink about him. Part of that stems from his being a senior so there is no “should he have stayed or gone” debate. Also, his slide out of the first round was really not as precipitous. He was holding steady in the twenties, so a slide to the early second round is not nearly as vast.

Also, since Sam went into a brief seclusion away from family and Pittsburgh, there was no media to really sit with him.

The other reason stems from the team that drafted him. They had the 2nd pick of the draft so that’s where the attention goes. Finally, it is Memphis. A wasteland of a franchise so there just isn’t going to be a lot on a bad team’s second round pick.

(more…)

T.J. Clemmings may or may not have committed to Pitt last week. The confusion continues.

“I just told them I liked them but no commitment,” the 6-6, 263-pound Clemmings said by phone.

“I’m going to take my other visits first and if Pitt is supposed to be where it is, then I’ll be there.”

Clemmings said he plans to take his five officials in the fall, including possibly visiting Florida and Ohio State.

Okay, that seems to be rather clear. It’s right from Clemmings as opposed to from his HS coach like last time.

Or is it?

The story of Paterson (NJ) Paterson Catholic defensive end T.J. Clemmings’s commitment to Pitt continued Monday when Clemmings was quoted online as saying that he did not commit to Pitt. But PantherLair.com spoke to Clemmings’ head coach, and he told a different story.

Unfortunately after that teaser and a headline that says he Clemmings is a Pitt commit, the story goes behind a paywall.

O000-kay. So now we have the coach who said he wasn’t committed maybe saying he’s committed (depending on what the story actually says), but the player is quoted as saying he’s uncommitted.

Right now, I don’t really care. It’s only the end of June. It’s not like teams interested in him aren’t still recruiting him. It’s nice to have him in the checked box of commits, but none of it is binding.

Still, it is a bit ridiculous.

Well, to be fair, Coach Wannstedt did say commits were a-comin’. We just didn’t know they would flood in one weekend.

There were a couple commits this the weekend. Now as the weekend is just about over and four more join the fold.

Brandon Sacco, 6-foot-3, 250 pounds and Bryan Murphy, 6-2, 230, are teammates at Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco High School. They made their pledges only 90 minutes after Clairton wide receiver Kevin Weatherspoon said he will attend Pitt.

Sacco, an offensive lineman, chose Pitt over Big East rival Rutgers. Murphy, who was recruited as a defensive end, had offers from several schools, including Boston College, Colorado, Louisville, Maryland and Michigan State.

Weatherspoon had 57 receptions for 1,470 yards and 20 touchdowns while helping to lead Clairton to the WPIAL Class A championship and the PIAA title game. He is a member of the Tribune-Review Terrific 25.

Also, T.J. Peeler of Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Va., committed to Pitt. Peeler, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound running back, had offers from West Virginia and North Carolina State. He missed three games with an injury last season, but rushed for 1,145 yards and 18 touchdowns on 129 carries with an 8.9 yard average.

Pitt had 7-on-7 camps this weekend that Coach Wannstedt termed a success.

(more…)

The Holy Cross job search has been expected to be completed by the beginning of July. That means that by Wednesday, Pitt could be looking for a new assistant coach. Herrion is one of the last two standing in the Crusdader coach search.

Holy Cross athletic director Regan has said that he wants someone with head coaching experience and that would clearly favor Herrion – who grew up in nearby Oxford and won an average of 20 games per season over his four-year career at the College of Charleston.

However, [Notre Dame associate head coach] Kearney, according to numerous sources, has the support of former Crusaders coach Ralph Willard, has the Notre Dame pedigree and his father also played at the school for one season before being called into military duty.

Kearney is supposed to interview again on Monday, and Herrion on Tuesday.

Hope Coach Dixon has a short list of possibilities and can get them to fly to New Zealand for the interview. Otherwise, it could just be Brandin Knight on the recruiting trail for the first half of July.

It’s a safe bet that with a 4-man recruiting class that is one of Pitt’s best in 20+ years, and 2 players that redshirted last year, that Pitt will be playing a lot of freshmen.

• Travon Woodall (redshirt freshman guard)
• Dwight Miller (redshirt freshman forward/center)
• Dante Taylor (freshman forward/center)
• Talib Zanna (freshman forward/center)
• J.J. Richardson (freshman forward)
• Lamar Patterson (freshman forward/guard)

Whether they start or are in the bench rotation, the freshmen will see a lot of action. Pitt has 6 freshmen (redshirt and true) and 6 other scholarship players:

• Jermaine Dixon (senior guard),
• Gilbert Brown (redshirts junior guard/forward),
• Gary McGhee (junior center),
• Brad Wanamaker (junior guard),
• Ashton Gibbs (sophomore guard) and
• Nasir Robinson (sophomore forward).

No matter how you slice it, this is a young and inexperienced team heading for the 2009-10 season.

I mean, good lord, this is inexperienced and young. Until I just put it down on the computer, I don’t think it truly hit me. This Pitt team is going to take some lumps.

Jermaine Dixon is the senior, but this is only his second year with Pitt. Brown will be in his 4th season, but he has had no luck staying healthy for a season which has limited his minutes and tantalized with his athletic potential. Gary McGhee, you just somehow hope the big lug can get to serviceable and not averge a foul every other minute. Gary Wanamaker has shown big improvement from his freshman to sophomore year, but seemed to wear down late in the season. Ashton Gibbs hopefully will get a lot out of extra coaching and high competition in the U-19 games — not to mention maybe realizing the team will need him to be one of the leaders. Hopefully Nasir Robinson will have a jump like Wanamaker did from freshman to sophomore year.

So, summer league takes on even more importance for building chemistry and getting the players ready for this year.

“We have to come in and be ready to play,” said Taylor, Pitt’s highest-rated recruit of the Dixon era. “That’s not asking too much. We all knew what we were coming into. We all knew who was leaving. Now we just have to prove what we have to do on the court.”

Taylor, a 6-foot-9 forward/center, is Pitt’s first McDonald’s All-American since Brian Shorter and Bobby Martin in 1987. He is a candidate to step into the starting center position that DeJuan Blair vacated when he decided to turn professional after his sophomore season.

At 6-9, Taylor is not the ideal size to play center in the Big East, but he and Zanna are the tallest players on the roster after 6-10 junior Gary McGhee, who is the only Panther with experience in the frontcourt.

“I think my best position will be [power forward],” Taylor said. “But right now we’re in the weight room, so by the beginning of the season I’ll put on a little weight and get stronger, so I’ll probably play [center].”

Taylor’s reputation took a small hit when he was cut from the USA Basketball under-19 team that Dixon is coaching this summer. Taylor admitted he was out of shape for the tryout but said that was the result of being inactive for two weeks while he tended to his sick mother.

Taylor, who labored through summer league games last week, said he is now focused on getting in shape for the start of the season.

In a way, the challenge of getting this team ready for the upcoming year makes Coach Dixon’s decision to take the U-19 responsibilities something of a gamble. Under most seasons, that would be spreading a coach thin. This level of inexperience makes it a real challenge. Of course, with NCAA rules prohibiting much work with the players in the offseason, it isn’t that bad. Still, while this team may have the most potential in a year or two of any team under Coach Dixon, there is no questioning that it is also his most inexperienced.

Then there is that still available scholarship. Everything says Pitt is just holding it for the 2010 recruiting class, rather than just tossing it to another player that may not be talented enough.

But what if he is. And he is a likely one-and-done? Cue the return of Lance Stephenson rumors.

Lance Stephenson is currently on a visit to the University of Cincinnati, a program that up until this point has not been involved in his recruiting process.

“He got here yesterday [Friday],” said a player on the team. “We just got through playing open gym. [He played] with the whole team and a couple old players.”

…

Memphis and Arizona may still be involved, but no visits have been set, as far as we know.

Other potential schools in the mix include Missouri, Pittsburgh and UNC-Charlotte, according to a source.

Stephenson briefly expresed an interest in Pitt but neither side seemed serious.

Stephenson is a McDonald’s All-American guard. The most talented kid not signed. He’s also got a boatload of baggage and question marks. Some writers have referred to him as a potential “cancer” and “coach-killer.”

My feeling has been that he would not work for Pitt. For Pitt’s system and the culture that has been established at Pitt. Stephenson is a pure one-and-done player. He would have declared for the draft if he could have. It is where he wants to be. College is a way-station for him.

And yet, I find that I can rationalize/talk myself into it. It would only be for one year… Coach Dixon is in a position now, where he can come down on the kid if he can’t play nice with others… Pitt is in a good shape with its APR so the program could stand the hit when Stephenson never even finishes his second semester… The NCAA investigation that comes with Stephenson is for stuff before he gets to school, and if he never gets to suit up it is not a big deal…

Nahh. This would still be a mistake and just ugly.