There’s no disputing that John DeGroat was an absolute bust with Pitt. He never showed much in the way of skill and he seemed to have little confidence. In fact, in his final year he got worse the further into the season. The bizarre turnovers at the start of games because he would double dribble or pick-up the ball with no one near him. It was painful, even if he didn’t play much beyond a few minutes per game. Even that was enough to frustrate most fans who wanted Coach Dixon to just plant him on the bench and not let him start. Mop-up duty, maybe.

Still, given what DeGroat had overcome growing up, and how well he turned out, I rooted for him.

So when he suddenly seemed to put it all together in the CBA last year, that was just something great to read. And it seems to have opened the door to other opportunities.

DeGroat’s NBA audition comes with no guarantees. He is a long shot. DeGroat could get a shot at a free-agent camp after next month’s NBA draft, or possibly showcase his game with a team in the NBA’s summer league.

DeGroat’s agent, Oliver Macklin, who played for the University of Connecticut in the early 1990s, has heard from several NBA teams about his client, including the Lakers, Clippers, Celtics, Cavaliers and Sonics.

“I think John’s chances at getting a legit look are pretty good,” Macklin says. “It’s not like he’s an average CBA player, he’s an all-star. The teams that have contacted me love his energy. John doesn’t have to go to the NBA and be a superstar. He just has to play good defense and hit some open shots.”

Adds Macklin: “I think John has a good upside. The NBA Developmental League is an option and there were 22 NBA call-ups from the D-League last year.”

That’s tremendous. Great. But DeGroat himself says something in the story that makes no sense other than to take a shot at Coach Dixon.

Looking back, DeGroat says Pitt might not have been the best fit. He played sparingly his first season, but started every regular-season game as a senior. However, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon benched a slumping DeGroat for most of the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

“I really don’t know what happened,” DeGroat says. “I’m still on speaking terms with (Dixon), he’s a good coach, but he’s not the best under pressure. But, no matter what, he gave a kid from upstate New York a Division I shot.”

What does that have to do with how badly DeGroat played? There’s a little bit of self-deception it seems from DeGroat. Trying not to take much responsibility for his bad play.

It’s painful to watch him regress over the last few weeks. I’ve never seen such happy feet from a basketball player. He starts to shuffle his feet when he gets the ball, like he is going to do some sort of hesitation dribble-drive. Unfortunately he keeps forgetting to dribble. 2 turnovers in 5 minutes. I feel bad that he is having his minutes falling faster and faster, but he is doing it to himself by being so wound-up when he touches the ball.

I mean if he was going to make excuses, the least he could have done was go with something that related to his situation. Say he was looking over his shoulder afraid of making a mistake and getting pulled. Or something like that.

I still want John DeGroat to have success. He is more than a little diminished in my eyes, though.

Mike McGlynn is ready to play for the Eagles, including having signed a 4-year contract. It’s very likely that McGlynn will continue for a while to be an offensive lineman playing at multiple spots. One day it may be guard.

McGlynn, a right tackle for much of his collegiate career, says Eagles offensive line coach Juan Castillo has told him he’ll likely play guard or center in the NFL. With two-time Pro Bowler Shawn Andrews on the Eagles’ right side, McGlynn likely will have to be a left guard if he hopes to start.

The next day he’s at center, snapping the ball to Kevin Kolb.

He is getting the positive press.

McGlynn knows what he’s up against, and also knows by now how much more time he’ll need to put in to gain the complete trust of meticulous offensive line coach Juan Castillo.

So each day during this Eagles’ organized team activity for rookies and first-year players, he just tries to soak up as much as he can from Castillo, who is the perpetual motion machine that has driven the line even before Reid arrived.

“So far it’s going good,” McGlynn said. “My goal is to play, but I just want to pick everything up right now, take one thing at a time, pick everything up, the offense, the techniques, then try to earn a spot on the team.”

And he’s got his cliches down. Good sign.

One of Pitt’s incoming freshmen, taiback Chris Burns didn’t play in the Big 33 game, but will be playing in the PFSCA East-West All-Star game this Saturday.

Going from Class AA football to big-time Division I is quite a leap, though. New Wilmington might be just an hour from Pittsburgh, but, for most high school athletes, it might as well be a world away.

‘‘It’s probably going to be quite a change for me. All the guys are just as fast, just as strong,’’ Burns said. ‘‘I’m just going to work on the little things, do what got me here and ask questions, keep working hard and ask God for strength in the hard times.

‘‘I think if you can play football, you can play football. It doesn’t matter what class you come from.’’

Burns will have to play behind LeSean McCoy at Pitt. Burns grew up an Ohio State fan, but neither that, nor having to wait his turn to carry the ball, could keep him from joining the Panthers.

‘‘I picked them is because they’re an up-and-coming program. I think they’re on the rise to being one of the big contenders in college football in years to come. We’ve had great recruiting classes these past few years, and the coaches really know what they’re doing,’’ Burns said. ‘‘Things kind of fell into place there.’’

One of Burns’ future teammates at Pitt is Bishop McCort tight end and current West player Mike Cruz. The pair went head to head in the PIAA playoffs this year; Burns ran for 233 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-24 Greyhound win.

Gateway (and the West) Coach Terry Smith believes Burns will be fine in the transition to D-1. It’s not a rush. He is a virtual lock to redshirt this season. A depth chart with McCoy, Stephens-Howling and then Harris and Collier jockeying for the 3d and 4th spot.

This same weekend, some of the incoming freshmen will be moving into their dorms.

Big 33 teammate and Central Catholic graduate Andrew Taglianetti was to move into his dorm at Pitt this weekend. Certainly a standout on offense and defense throughout his high school career, perhaps the most special part of the Post-Gazette’s WPIAL Class AAAA player of the year is special teams.

“I have yet to see a kid dominate three sides of the football in high school as much as he did,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said.

Name the special teams unit — kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt return coverage, field goal blocking … Taglianetti was on it for Central Catholic. And he found ways to standout amongst standouts on special teams for the Pennsylvania team at the Big 33.

Taglianetti blocked a first-quarter Ohio field goal attempt.

“I take a lot of pride in special teams,” Taglianetti said. “I think it’s a huge asset that can change the game. It’s something I can consistently do well in. The coaches put me in the position to make plays, use my speed and athleticism. I just do whatever I can to come through for the team.”