Anyone else remember when Chevon Troutman, for no reason that made sense other than “what the hell,” would launch a 3-point shot? And the abject shock when it actually went in. I’ve always been grateful that Aaron Gray never tried that at Pitt. He’s apparently willing to take them, though, in the workouts.

”It’s something that I’m willing to do,” said Gray, who was measured at 7 feet, 2 inches in last week’s NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando, which is two inches taller than he was listed at in college.

His height is not the question. There are more pressing questions about the former Emmaus High star that the Sixers and other NBA teams which will be working out Gray over the next 19 days want to know.

Gray is more than willing to show them how much he has improved his overall skills and how much leaner, trimmer and NBA-ready he’s become since his final college basketball game in March.

His 3-point shot was a start. It wasn’t Dirk Nowitzki-type accuracy, but he shot from beyond the arc with a light touch and with confidence.

That’s just an unnerving image of Gray launching a 3. Gray still has workouts with Sacramento, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Toronto, San Antonio and Utah over the next 8 days.

As for the secret of how Gray slimmed down 20 more pounds and dropped his body fat to around 10.1%, well it involved individualized workouts at the Joe Abunassar Impact Training Program in Las Vegas. Abunassar is one of the top trainers to help kids get ready for the draft — and points to NBA players like Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince as pros with which he has worked. It also isn’t cheap. For just taking part in his summer camps it runs $750/week (PDF).

That’s why you don’t see players still in college going there during the off-season. When you are going pro, it’s a direct investment and your agent will be able to put the money up for you.

I’m working my way through the various preview guides that have been released to date: Athlon, Lindy’s, The Sporting News and Phil Steele. The one thing that jumps out at me is that they all have Pitt pegged for about the same spot in the 1-119 rankings.

• Athlon — #55
• Sporting News — #55
• Phil Steele — #56
• Lindy’s — #60

Expectations are not particularly high and there isn’t any sense that the team will go out and steal a win or two — since they have yet to do so. Essentially, the belief is Pitt will win the games they should and lose the games they should.

From the Athlon Pitt preview (p. 125)

But maybe this is precisely what the Panthers need. When expectations have been high, they’ve traditionally failed to meet them. This season there is no pressure. No preseason ranking. No nothing.

This is not good for the football program. It isn’t a big deal that the national pubs all basically shrugged and slotted Pitt in the same spot that expecting a roughly .500 record from a BCS school deserves. It’s that most Pitt fans have similar feelings.

Just a shrug. By the end of last season and through the offseason, the rumble is that 2008 is the year. The problem is that has tamped down interest in 2007 before it even happens. It makes the underlying theme to 2007, “it’s development towards next year.” Yippee.

That follows the retroactive themes to 2005 — “The adjustment from the pros;” and 2006 — “It’s Walt’s fault.”

I’m moving across town, meaning less computer/blogging time until everything is complete (hopefully soon), and it makes the drive to Heinz Field only about 10 minutes longer. I don’t think this was ever considered as part of the new house:

They’re offered by York Heating and Air Conditioning and come in a variety of NCAA teams. Seriously, they’ll put a logo on anything if it squeezes some cash out of people. Better make sure you order your Furman Paladins air conditioner before they run out.