Seeing as how the blather about football, coaching, and searches shall no doubt march on for at least this next week, I though it would be nice to take a break from all of that fear & loathing and take a look a what Pitt’s been doing right in its sporting endeavors.

While we’ve come to take Chevy Troutman as fixture ’round these parts, some Penn Staters view him as the one that got away. Or, rather, one of many that got away.

Specifically, David Jones of the Patriot-News sees Chevy’s recruiting trip during Coach Dunn’s tenure as emblematic of a program that has been less than adequate in its recruiting. To wit:

Hardly a warm welcome for a hot prospect, no?

Essentially, Jones points to this as a way of defending current coach Ed DeChellis from the slings and arrows of criticism launched at him after another slow start (Penn State Men’s BB is currently 5-4.). He asserts that his predecessor’s incompetence is a thing of the past.

“DeChellis and assistants Kurt Kanaskie, James Johnson and Hilliary Scott might fail to lure to PSU the players necessary to win at the major-conference level. After all, it’s yet to be proven that anyone can consistently do it. But it won’t be for lack of effort and organization.

Talk to recruitniks around the Northeast and Midwest as much as I do and you hear stories. You no longer hear stories like the Troutman debacle in connection with PSU.”

Jones then wraps up his point by reminding everyone that PSU still has four scholarships left to give. He then finishes the column by naming two recruits that they Nits are chasing. (Do you really need me to read between the lines for you at this point?)

Spin, you say? Certainly. But Pitt fans should read this article for more than some (immensely gratifying) schadenfreude. It should also serve as a reminder of how lucky we are, especially after a disastrously handled coaching search, to be in such a strong position when it comes to hoops recruiting. Thanksgiving may be past, but a little gratitude is still in order, I think.