What has made this year in recruiting so strange is not that Pitt is recruiting better or worse than the past couple of years. Or that more or less recruits are giving verbals. It’s been that so many kids have been giving early verbals this year at so many other schools. In the Big East, USF has 11 verbals, Rutgers has a whopping 18, WVU has 11 and Cinci somehow is up to 20.

That a part of some questioning about how recruiting has been going for Pitt this year. Yes, Pitt has maybe 17 spots or so to offer, so they have to be careful. But when you also factor in the verbal to Ohio State of 3 top players out of Western PA this early versus last year when the only commits this early of top players was Sweat to OSU and Yancich to PSU, it adds to the questions.

Well, Pitt added another today with WR Devin Street from Bethlehem pulling the trigger.

At 6-feet-4, 175-pounds, Street is a bona fide big-play threat who possesses sub-4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash and has run the 100 in 10.58 seconds.

Street, who plans to be a dentist, chose the Panthers after considering scholarship offers from Rutgers, Boston College, Connecticut, Temple and Akron.

“I am a competitive guy, I hate losing and I don’t lose, I never go into anything with the goal anything less than winning,” Street said. “I know nothing is going to be handed to me, but coach Wannstedt said that through hard work I can get some playing time early. I plan to work hard, as I always do because, like I said, I’m someone who does not see losing as an option.”

Street impressed at the camps. Rivals.com doesn’t have him ranked at this time, while Scouts.com has him as a 3-star.

Street becomes Pitt’s 5th commit and the 3d in the past week.

Just when it seemed the transfer stuff was over, there is the possibility of a Mizzou transfer. Keon Lawrence, a sophomore shooting guard from New Jersey seems to really want to be back east — specifically in the Big East.

“The reason why he’s leaving Missouri is he kind of wants to come home, family things and stuff,” said Lawrence’s skills trainer Mike Rodgers. “We’re going to concentrate on the Big East as far as his recruitment. We are concentrating on Villanova, Seton Hall, Rutgers and St. John’s, and moving along to looking into Providence, Pittsburgh and Marquette. We have a timetable on how we’re going to do it. I’ve had conversations with a number of Big East coaches.”

Lawrence was a 3-star recruit in the 2006 class. Rivals.com had him ranked 101st in their overall-150 and the 23d best SG. He was not among the slew of Mizzou players that ended up suspended for fighting at a club..

Lawrence slipped a bit in his sophomore year. Despite averaging more minutes, his scoring only increased slightly to 11 ppg (from 9.7) as his shooting percentages from the perimeter and the FT line fell — though, he did see a slight rise in 2PT FG%.

I just don’t see a lot of interest on either side, but it is worth taking note.