Tomorrow is Junior Day at Pitt for the football program. As part of it, the high schoolers in attendance will get to see Pitt take on Providence.

This is the rough list of expected participants with a little more detail on some of the kids.

It should be interesting for the kids as Pitt will be in retro unis and honoring the basketball greats during the game.

Game notes for Providence and Pitt (PDF).

I’m not sure if Pitt has any more openings for the class of 2006, but there is one kid who is still hoping for an offer. Tyrone Lewis who plays football and basketball out in the Philly suburbs. He prefers basketball, but…

While his first love is basketball, the willowy Lewis is garnering attention from several major-college football programs.

The main suitors currently are Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Minnesota.

Lewis made a dearth of breathtaking plays as a cornerback and wide receiver. A few weeks ago, Lewis talked to Truman football coach Van Smith, who had recently been in contact with an independent college scout.

After watching film, the scout called Lewis “the best-kept secret.”

Lewis prefers basketball But if BCS schools are waving a scholarship in his face, he would jump at the opportunity. His dream is to play in either a BCS bowl or the NCAA tournament.

“In my four years here, I’ve never focused on just one sport,” Lewis said. “If a school like Pitt offered me a football scholarship, I wouldn’t play basketball, and I wouldn’t regret it.”

[Brief editing critique: “Lewis made a dearth of breathtaking plays…”??? Huh? In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”]

In basketball, the 5′ 11″ Lewis has offers from Drexel, Duquesne, Central Conn. St., Rider and Niagara. The article does claim that there is some mild interest from Ohio St. and Texas Tech.

Neither recruiting site has any football info on Lewis. There isn’t much regarding basketball either. I’m not sure how real Pitt’s interest in him is. Strange.

For whatever they are worth. Luke Winn doesn’t seem to know what to do or where to put Pitt from week to week. This week, they are down to #13.

The ESPN.com power 16 puts Pitt at the top of the 3 seeds. And apparently enough people have harassed the people at ESPN.com regarding the Pitt logo.

Can’t ding the Panthers too hard as everyone loses at Marquette these days. To all the e-mailers — I have good (non-Geico) news: Check out the spiffy “new” Pitt logo on your clubhouse page.

Nicely done.

Naturally in ESPN individual experts picks, as I’ve seen others note in the comments, Pitt is in or about the top-10 for most, except for Doug Gottlieb who completely excludes Pitt. I’m willing to believe he goofed and meant to put them at #11. He somehow put Oklahoma there, and that just makes no sense, and no one else even has them listed. An Oklahoma team that could barely eke past Iowa St. and Texas Tech.

Bob Snyder in a Big East column lists his all-conference team and other awards in advance.

Player of the year:Rudy Gay, Connecticut. Rutgers’ Quincy Douby will win the scoring crown, is seventh nationally, but the graceful Gay at times too unselfish is the league’s best athlete and most impressive physical talent.

All-conference:Hilton Armstrong, Connecticut; Josh Boone, Connecticut; Douby, Rutgers; Randy Foye, Villanova; Mike Gansey, West Virginia; Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh; Gerry McNamara, Syracuse; Steve Novak, Marquette; Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia; Chris Quinn, Notre Dame; Allan Ray, Villanova; Marcus Williams, Connecticut. Too many? You cut a guy or two.

Rookie of the year:Dominic James, Marquette. There’s no shortage of yearling talent in the Big East barn, our town’s Eric Devendorf among them. But James makes the Golden Eagles go.

Most improved player: Gray, Pittsburgh.

Coach of the year:To be decided in these few remaining games. Marquette’s Tom Crean? His Golden Eagles, among five newcomers from Conference USA, were picked 12th. They debuted beating UConn, should take 20 regular-season victories and a winning league mark to Madison Square Garden, then hear their name Selection Sunday. Veteran Big East coaches might not vote for a new guy on their block. Seton Hall’s Louie Orr? Pirates picked next to last. Need to avoid sliding off the bubble. Jay Wright? Sure, ‘Nova was picked first, but the ‘Cats never played a minute with preseason all-leaguer Curtis Sumpter.

You know, if Marquette gets 4th or 5th in the conference, I think Crean would be fine as Coach of the Year. If Orr wins, then it is a move by the other BE coaches to close ranks and try and protect one of their own — practically daring Seton Hall to fire Orr.

Major themes in the stories today.

The turnovers in the past month have picked up a bit.

The turnovers Dixon cannot live with — the ones he is trying to eliminate — are the unforced errors. Pitt players have been called for an inordinate number of traveling calls in recent games, and it has caused the Panthers’ turnovers to climb.

“Turnovers are a big thing to me,” Dixon said yesterday after practice. “We’re pretty good. Our goal is always less than 12. That’s a tough number to shoot for, but it’s a hard number to achieve.”

Turnovers have been a persistent problem for the Panthers in Big East Conference play, especially in the past five games. Pitt is averaging 14 turnovers per game in Big East play, 16 in the past six games.
…
“It’s very important,” freshman point guard Levance Fields said. “Every possession counts. We try to keep the turnovers to around 12 per game. Lately, we’ve been around 18 or 19. We’ve been getting away from it. We definitely have to keep every possession. We have to take care of the ball. We’re working at that.”

Fields said many of the turnovers can be eliminated by making smarter decisions.

“Sometimes it’s trying to make the difficult pass, trying to be fancy instead of doing the basic pass,” he said. “And sometimes it’s not being focused. Sometimes guys aren’t concentrating. It can be a good pass and the guy doesn’t catch it. We have to do a better job at it.”

Fields splits the point-guard duties with sophomore Ronald Ramon. Ramon is of the belief that the turnovers are because of free-lancing outside the confines of the offense.

“When we get away from our offense and things don’t go our way, we give away some turnovers,” he said.

The other thing the team has spent the week working on (aside from classwork) has been the defense.

Levance Fields, though, has only defense on his mind, a product of having it drilled into his head by the Pitt coaching staff. Fields realizes the importance of defense during this critical time, and that he and his teammates have been less than acceptable lately.

He insists the latter will change.

“It’s mental breakdowns. I’m letting guys get in front of me. I’m not following the rules as far as trailing shooters,” said Fields, who has often been Pitt’s first guard off the bench this season. “It’s the basics, and right now we’re trying to reinforce them.”

The defensive attitude that has garnered so much success for the Panthers in recent years is still the team’s calling card, said coach Jamie Dixon. Maybe, though, the Panthers need a quick refresher course, particularly for its guards.

And still more work with the defense.

The Panthers failed in their first attempt at win No. 21, losing Saturday at Marquette, 84-82. They have not played since then, but there has been a spirited effort this week in practices to re-establish a type of sturdy defense the team possessed earlier in the season.

“I say it every week. I’ll be the same next week and it’ll be the same the week after that,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “I try to make it a new idea, but it’s not changing. I’ll never be satisfied with (the defense).”

In preparing for Providence, I have to assume they were working at not being caught in the screens that can be expected. With Donny McGrath the primary scoring threat, you can bet Providence will be throwing lots of screens at Pitt to free him.

With this week off, the whole team is ready to play. And of course, the team wants to make a deep run this year.
“We came into this year thinking we could get 20 wins, even though a lot of people really didn’t think we could,” sophomore Keith Benjamin said. “But that’s not important to us right now. We know we could be in the NCAA tournament now, but we want a lot more wins.

“We want as many wins as we can get out of this season for this team. We’re totally coming together right now to make something special for the rest of this year. We’re a very close team and very confident in our abilities. We believe there’s a lot more for us to accomplish.”

And Coach Dixon gets a puff piece lauding the job he’s done.

Dixon deserves the credit for molding these Panthers, including mostly young and inexperienced players, into a winning unit. Along with the two seniors, Pitt uses juniors Gray, Antonio Graves and Levon Kendall, sophomores Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin, and freshmen Sam Young, Tyrell Biggs and Levance Fields in its 10-man rotation.
…
“We’ve got great kids,” Dixon said, deflecting the credit. “It’s unique, I know, to play 10 guys in the rotation. But I said from the beginning that this would be the best thing for this team, and I think it certainly has come to fruition.”

Dixon deserves credit for recognizing this. And he likely has finally stepped out of the shadow of predecessor and mentor Ben Howland. The former coach guided Pitt to consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in his final seasons, but Dixon was 31-5, earned Big East coach of the year honors and a third straight Sweet 16 advancement as a rookie head coach.

In Ray Fittipaldo’s Q&A there is the question of the kind of teams that would be a problem for Pitt.

Q: What teams would be the toughest matchups for Pitt in the Big East and NCAA tournaments? I have to think Villanova would be a nightmare for Pitt. They seem to have trouble against teams with quick guards.

Fittipaldo: Based on what I have seen this season I would say Villanova, Marquette and St. John’s would be teams Pitt would like to avoid at the Big East tournament. Pitt matches up well with just about any other team in the Big East. You’re right, Jason, Pitt does have trouble against teams with athletic guards. Dominic James of Marquette could not be handled by any of Pitt’s guards in two games this season. Villanova’s guards are just as good and more experienced, so they would be big-time trouble for the Panthers. Villanova, with most of the same players on this year’s team, handled Pitt easily in the first round of the Big East tournament last season. I haven’t seen a lot of other teams outside the Big East, but any team with a guard who can break defenders down off the dribble will be difficult for the Panthers.

It’s not the “athletic” guards. It’s the kind of guards that can take a guy off the dribble. Who can penetrate and create their own shot. Those are the players who are a challenge for Pitt. Always has been.

Ron Cook has a must read today.

Much more interesting was a question Dixon had.

“Why is it Pittsburgh people always seem to worry about people leaving Pittsburgh?”

It was the best question of the interview.

“I guess it’s our paranoia complex, our inferiority complex, whatever you want to call it,” I explained to Dixon.

We don’t always think we’re good enough. The first time someone has success here, we look for him to leave. For some reason, we don’t think we have enough to offer to keep the really good people.

In Pitt’s case, it didn’t help that a few high-profile coaches left over the years. Ben Howland left after the 2002-03 basketball season because there’s only one UCLA in the college game. Jackie Sherrill left after the 1981 football season because Texas A&M threw gobs of money at him. Johnny Majors left after the 1976 national championship football season because Tennessee was home.

I’ve commented on the Pitt paranoia with coaches from time-to-time. It has manifested in the coaching searches and the desire to find coaches with ties to the program (Wannstedt) or the city (Prosser). As if that would be the additional hook needed to keep a coach at Pitt.

I’m not terribly bothered by sniffing from other programs and teams. It happens. It is a natural part of the food chain. Whether it is a bigger school trying to grab another school’s coach or whether it is the pros making an inquiry. You have to expect it when you have success.

This paranoia thing is getting pretty sickening, especially when it comes to Pitt athletics. Maybe the place was a black hole before former athletic director Steve Pederson came to town in 1996 and changed the culture, before Heinz Field and the Petersen Events Center were built, before Howland and Dixon and Harris and Wannstedt were hired. But it’s certainly not a black hole now.

Where would Dixon go to get a better job?

Unless the Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky or Kansas jobs open, I mean?

Arizona State, to which Dixon has been linked?

Please.

At Pitt, Dixon is coaching in college basketball’s best conference. He has the strong support of chancellor Mark Nordenberg, as athletic department-friendly as any college administrator. He has wonderful fan support; Pitt has sold out its season tickets since the Petersen Events Center opened four years ago. He has a terrific home-court advantage; Pitt is 61-5 in the new building.

Nordenberg still needs to make sure he’s paying the going rate. He should bump Dixon to the same $1 million-plus salary that he offered Howland to stay. He also should pour even more of that Petersen Center revenue back into the basketball program. It would be nice, for example, if Pitt chartered flights to its away games — the way other top programs do — instead of flying commercial.

But those things are doable.

The main attraction for the Arizona State job would be the money. It’s a rebuilding job, and the recruiting area would be no better or worse. ASU is sinking a lot of money into trying to get its athletic operations near the top. Lute Olson won’t be around much longer at Arizona (he’s in his 70s isn’t he?), and that could help them in the state. What if they come at Dixon with $1.5 million or something absurd?

I can see Pitt getting something done with Dixon, and they might consider taking a page from what WVU did with Beilein and make sure the buyout isn’t cheap in the first few years.

I’ll also pose a different question. How long a contract? Dixon’s fan support seems kind of shallow. It seems more about not wanting to lose him than wanting to keep him at times. What happens if Pitt stumbles in the NCAA? Or gets off to a less than stellar start next season?

I’m very happy with Dixon. He answered a lot of questions I had about him going into the season, and based on last year. Handling/controlling Krauser; playing and integrating the new kids; using the bench; in-game adjustments and game strategy; and the development of players.

As for Coach Dixon, he might want to read this piece from Seth Davis about how Bruce Pearl turning around the Volunteers in one season just raised the expectations and pressure on every coach going to a new rebuilding job.

People forget that it doesn’t usually work like this. Most of the time it takes years to turn a program around. It’s hard enough to preach patience in today’s world, but now Pearl has justified the inflated sense of urgency. After all, if he can work this kind of magic for Tennessee, why can’t someone else do it for your favorite school?

So here’s my advice to any coach who is thinking about taking a new job: Make sure your new contract has a lucrative buyout clause. If the school wants to fire you for not turning things around fast enough (like yesterday), they’ll have to pay. If they’re not willing to give you the buyout, don’t take the job. Because for all his bluster, Pearl will be the first to tell you that there’s some luck involved in all of this, too.

But nobody wants to hear about bad luck. Nobody wants to wait ’til next year. All they have to do is make it to next month, when a new flavor comes along, bringing with it the promise of sweet success that can be devoured in an instant.

One area of luck Pitt has had has been the lack of big injuries for players. That has made a huge difference.

Three Pitt players received invitations to attend the NFL Combines (hat tip, Keith W.): Josh Lay, Charles Spencer and Greg Lee.

That means the other senior players: TE Eric Gill, K Josh Cummings, DT Thomas Smith, RB Ray Kirkley, S Tez Morris and OLB J.J. Horne, likely will be hoping for free agent signings after the second day of the draft.

Zeise, in his Q&A last week said that Spencer was doing real well in workouts. That seems to be confirmed by his mention among 20 players who can really see their stock soar at the combines (hat tip, Adam).

8. Charles Spencer, G, Pittsburgh: He played left tackle as a senior, but Spencer looked more natural and dominant at guard during the Senior Bowl. A top 3 player at his position, he will head into Round 2 with good results.

ESPN.com list (Insider subs.) him as about the 7th best at the Guard spot. Regarding Spencer, they say he has “upside” but question his durability.

Spencer is a former defensive tackle who thrived in his late transition to the offensive line. Spencer has great size, quick feet and impressive overall power. He still has room to improve in terms of his overall technique and awareness, but Spencer has all the physical tools necessary to eventually develop into an NFL starter either at OG or ROT.

On Josh Lay, who they list as 22nd amongst corners, they question his physical play and not being very helpful in run support. They see him going in the middle rounds.

Lay is a tall cover corner with surprisingly fluid hips and smooth athleticism. He has the size, instincts, athleticism and just enough speed to develop into a sub-package contributor at the cornerback position in the NFL. He also could emerge as a good fit in a cover-2 type scheme, but he must get stronger and develop his overall tackling skills. Lay is not the toughest of cornerbacks, he lacks elite speed and he has some durability issues, which will cause him to slip on draft weekend.

Eric Gill, is listed as about the 20th best TE, and expected to be a free agent signee.

Gill is a blue-collar prospect that is reliable as a safety valve in the passing game and works to stay in position as a blocker, but he doesn’t have much upside. He lacks ideal top-end speed, he doesn’t have great quickness and he needs to improve his overall strength and power. As a result, Gill does not classify as a draftable prospect but is worth considering as a priority free agent.

Josh Cummings is considered as the 12th best place kicker out there. They don’t even bother with an evaluation. Definitely a free agent signee.

No evaluations for the rest of the Pitt players.