Well, I don’t know when he will make up his mind, but one of the top recruits in the country, Paul Harris, would appear to have his choices narrowed down to Pitt or Syracuse. Mike DeCourcy puts him in the top 5 definitely heading to college and gets some opinions.

Not every top prospect in high school basketball will head to college as the result of the NBA’s new draft entry regulations. But some of the best probably will wear Division I uniforms.

Top talent scouts Dave Telep of Scout.com and Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com assess the elite from the class of 2006.
…
5. PAUL HARRIS

Details: 6-4, SG, Niagara Falls (N.Y.) High.
College: Syracuse and Pitt are his top choices.

Telep’s take: “I call him the nuclear weapon. You don’t exactly know what he is, but you don’t want anybody else to get their hands on him. He’s a beast, a man, maybe the best 6-4 rebounder I’ve seen.”

Coleman’s take: “The jump shot is the major concern. You get a 6-5 guy on him, he’ll destroy him on the low block. He does have the ballhandling skills. He really has to be a guy who works at 300 to 500 shots a day until he’s ready for the draft.”

He would be a huge score for Pitt. Not to mention keeping him from a conference rival.

Meanwhile Luke Winn at SI.com looks at some of the best at the ABCD Camp for the high school class of 2007.

Herb Pope, 6-8 PF, Alquippa (Pa.) H.S.
(Ranked No. 15 in Class of ’07)

Pittsburgh has the right to be salivating over the impending arrival of Pope, a local junior who committed to the Panthers back in March. “He’s going to make a huge impact in the Big East,” [Justin] Young[, a Rivals.com recruiting analyst,] said. Pope should not be labeled the next Chevy Troutman or Chris Taft; he is a highly versatile, smooth player who was one of ABCD’s top rebounders but also displayed skill at handling the ball and stepping out to shoot the 3. Besides, Pope said on Thursday, “I don’t plan on being a post forward [at Pitt] — I do everything. I figure by the time I get there, they’ll get another legit big man.” Pope looked like the kind of player the Panthers can build their future around — so they’d be wise to take his advice.

There’s probably going to be a lot of hand-holding, and fighting off plenty of other teams that will still try to pry him away, to get him to that first signing period in 2006.

Meanwhile Andy Katz at ESPN.com has plenty of juicy tidbits (Insider Subs.).

Where was New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay on the first day of the July evaluation period Wednesday? Was he in Indianapolis at the Nike camp, in New Jersey at the ABCD camp or in Atlanta at the Adidas camp? Not quite. McKay was in Oklahoma City watching former Kansas wing J.R. Giddens shoot 10 3s, hoping to lure Giddens to New Mexico.

He was obviously successful enough to get the first and possibly only visit for Giddens, who was essentially told to leave by Kansas after his role in a spring bar room brawl that left him with a severed vein in his calf from a knife wound. He required surgery and isn’t expected back playing until September at the earliest.

Giddens was scheduled to visit the Lobos Friday and Saturday, according to multiple sources. The Albuquerque Journal also quoted Giddens saying he would make the visit. McKay is treating this seriously enough that he went off the road recruiting to be with Giddens and will return on the campaign Monday. He’s hoping to lock up Giddens before he makes a visit to Tennessee next week. Arizona State is also trying to secure a visit for Giddens, who would have two seasons of eligibility once he sits out a year. UTEP, Florida, Washington and Pittsburgh have also expressed interest. McKay can’t be quoted on Giddens since he is a recruitable athlete.

So far, when these players have looked to transfer, Pitt is on the list but it hasn’t happened yet.

He’s also got a lot of interesting stuff regarding the Big East scheduling and what the super-sized Big East means for the NCAA tournament system.

Under the Big East’s television agreement, CBS has the first choice of a game but then ESPN has the right to pick the same matchup, essentially forcing a home-and-home series. Odjakjian said CBS chose West Virginia-Connecticut and West Virginia-Louisville but ESPN decided against choosing those two games and creating home-and-homes.

Odjakjian said the Big East assured the networks that the top six teams would definitely play each other at least once.

That didn’t help the league avoid missing Cincinnati-Notre Dame, Louisville-Georgetown, Syracuse-Providence and Villanova-Pittsburgh this season.

Pittsburgh and Notre Dame had been two of designated premier teams last season, but both are in a rebuilding phase. The Panthers’ home-and-home games are against Marquette, Providence and West Virginia while they miss Syracuse in addition to Villanova. Notre Dame plays home-and-home games against DePaul, Marquette and Providence and doesn’t play Cincinnati or St. John’s.

Still, not being designated a premier team doesn’t mean that team won’t compete for the title.

“Every year there is a team that comes out of nowhere and is a contender,” Odjakjian said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case again.”

Last year, BC, West Virginia and Georgetown, which narrowly missed the NCAAs, were surprise teams in the league.

Selection committee helping out Big East?
The NCAA announced late Wednesday a potential tweak to the bracketing process for the NCAA Tournament.

If the selection committee has exhausted all of its options and still can’t fit in all of the teams from one conference (i.e. the Big East) without having two of them potentially meeting before the regional finals, the committee now has the option to place them in the same region for possible second-round and Sweet 16 matchups.

The sheer size of the 16-team Big East made this possible. If the Big East puts eight or nine teams in the field, it could prove too difficult to avoid having these teams play before the Elite Eight. Now, the committee has more flexibility with the bracket.

Additionally, because of the “no-plays,” it’s possible there could be a matchup in the second round or Sweet 16 between two Big East teams that didn’t play during the season.

Pitt has the type of schedule that is right around the middle of the pack, and can only help them if they are on the bubble. Provided, of course, Pitt plays the kind of non-con schedule that helps the overall strength of schedule.

Big East Basketball blog ranks Pitt’s BE schedule at #9. Right around the middle. I would switch USF and Pitt, but otherwise it is a pretty good ranking.