Well, I was all set to start ripping on the local papers for not doing much in the way of coverage of Pitt basketball. Figured this was the result of the newspapers being lazy about a team that isn’t a pre-season top-25 like last year. Then I made the mistake of checking the PSB archives to compare things to this time of year. Well, so much for that plan.
The difference, I would say, is that I am that much more aware of all of the other blogs and coverages of teams than I was last year or even the year before. So, I notice a crapload of UConn, Syracuse, Louisville even some Rutgers b-ball coverage, and don’t even get me started on what is coming from outside the BE and the all-b-ball blogs. Then there has been nothing from the Pittsburgh dailies other than BE media day and a couple stories on the exhibition game.
Anyways, a pretty good puff piece on Carl Krauser and coming back for his final season at Pitt.
Krauser, last season’s starting point guard and de facto team captain, believed he might be playing rather than practicing in early November. Just a few months earlier, he declared for the NBA Draft, though he did not hire an agent. He attended the pre-draft camps. He rode the yellow school buses from the hotel to games. He ate fast food. He packed the equipment. He trained in front of scouts and general managers.
Then, he made the final decision. He was withdrawing his name from the draft and returning to Pitt, where last year he was the team’s leading scorer at 16.0 points per game.
“Three reasons,” Krauser said. “I wanted to get my degree, I wanted to be with my son (who turned 1 in August) and I wanted to play at Pitt again.”
…
This year’s team needs Krauser. He’ll be a calming influence on a young nucleus still unfamiliar with Dixon’s physical play, yet he’s able to match them in exuberance and creativity.“I’ll be a teacher,” Krauser said. “I’ll show them how to do things.”
Had Krauser not returned, the Panthers would have been without their top three leading scorers and 44.3 of their 73.3 points per game. Taft was NBA-bound, and bruising inside star Chevon Troutman graduated.
Had Krauser not returned, he wouldn’t get one more year to learn basketball, one more year to get his degree in legal studies, one more year to see his son virtually whenever he wants.
Now, I freely to admit having questions about how much he really wanted to come back to Pitt and get his degree. I have no doubts, though, that he wanted to be able to see his son on something approaching a regular basis. That has appeared to have been the one big thing. While I hope he does get to and stay in the NBA after this season, most of the reports on Krauser and what he is probably keenly aware of — he will likely have to go overseas to earn a living playing b-ball.
He made the decision to stay relatively near his son for another year. I’m not going to argue with that.
Frank Burlison of Scout.com/Fox Sports ranks the BE this season. He puts Pitt at #7
Frank’s spin: Coach Jamie Dixon lost the bulk of his post attack (Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft) but has an even stronger perimeter than he anticipated because guard Carl Krauser removed his name from the NBA Draft pool when it became apparent to all that he wasn’t going to be drafted as a junior. Junior forward Levon Kendall dropped 40 points on Team USA while playing for Canada in the 21-under World Championships in Argentina in the summer. Watch how productive forward Sam Young is for Dixon; he’s got a solid opportunity to be the Big East Freshman of the Year.
Postseason possibilities: The return of Krauser, the improvement of Kendall and the addition of Young helps the Panthers get their fifth consecutive NCAA tourney bid.
Pitt will likely be sweating the bubble this season.
