The number of available scholarships Pitt has for the ’09 recruiting class just dropped by one. Huge get and a bit of a surprise as Dante Taylor made his decision much earlier than expected. In an earlier interview with Adam Zagoria (which I cited earlier today) it seemed that a choice was not going to happen anytime soon.

As for when he’ll make a college decision, Taylor and his advisors say there is no rush.

“We may just wait until the spring,” Abrams said.

Um, about that whole waiting thing.

Not so much.

The 6-foot-9 Taylor, a Greenburgh, N.Y. native now at Fort Washington (Md.) National Christian, made the commitment at the Triple S Harley Davidson Shootout at West Virginia.

He chose Pitt over West Virginia, Kansas, Memphis, Syracuse and Villanova.

“Pitt was there from the beginning when I didn’t have a big name,” Taylor, who averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds last year, told Scout.com.

Taylor played well at the NBA Top 100 Camp and was recently named one of the top performers at the LeBron James US Skills Academy.

Awesome. The Triple S Harley Davidson Shootout is in Morgantown on WVU’s campus. I really doubt the kid from NY, going to school in MD intended it, but that is a fine way to go about giving a verbal to Pitt.

As Chris Dokish noted, this is the second time in three years Pitt has a top-50 recruit in the class (and Lamar Patterson still might get in the top-50 by the end of the recruiting cycle — #58 on Rivals.com and #52 on ESPN Scouts, Inc.) plus Pitt is still in play to get Thomas Robinson and/or Dominic Cheek — both top-50 recruits.

Scout.com has him as the #6 PF in the country. Rivals.com puts him at #9 and #23 overall. ESPN Scouts, Inc. pegs him at #10 at PF and #24 nationally. So, yeah. A top-25 national recruit just verballed to Pitt.

Looks like lead credit goes to Tom Herrion, but the full coaching staff committed to bringing him in.

Herrion put the full court press on Taylor ever since, and that made an impression on Taylor, who cites Pitt’s loyalty as one of the main reasons that he chose to be a Panther.

Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon landed his biggest commitment yet in his time as the Pittsburgh head coach today Taylor pulled the trigger and committed to the Panthers. The Pitt staff had made Taylor their priority in the class of 2009 at power forward nearly a year ago and their hard work paid off as the entire Pitt staff had been seen at many of Taylor’s games this spring and summer, especially at the recent Reebok Summer Classic in New Jersey.

Taylor fits in well at Pitt as he is a strong and athletic power forward who is a tremendous rebounder and loves to play strong and physical near the rim.

Coach DIxon has been making the right calls on the hiring of assistants. Guys like Antigua, Herrion and Rice. They have identified talent early and done a great job on really staying on them. Finally allowing Dixon to help close the deal.

The winning obviously is a huge help. Showing that this is a program that will stay near the top, more exposure. Developing players that can go to the NBA.

I do look forward to the day when I get used to the idea. When it seems like nothing strange to write about this sort of thing. At the same time, this is just so strange. Except for that brief flurry in the mid-80s of top recruiting classes — shortly before I attended — this is just uncharted territory for Pitt to consistently be pulling in talent.

For the remaining spot(s) in the class of 2009, it is clear that Pitt is focused on the front court. Dante Taylor has the love from Pitt and has Pitt in his choices, but he also appears to be in no rush to decide anything.

They came to see Taylor, who averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds last season, including the 25 he gave to Tyreke Evans and American Christian. Taylor played well at the NBA Top 100 Camp and was recently named one of the top performers at the LeBron James US Skills Academy. He is ranked No. 9 among power forwards nationally by Rivals and No. 23 overall in the Class of 2009.

Taylor said he’s looking at Pittsburgh, Memphis, Kansas, UConn and Syracuse. Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon and assistants Tommy Herrion and Brandin Knight were on Taylor all day, camping out at his games.

“The five schools are all basically the same at the present time,” said Courtney Abrams, who is helping Taylor with the recruitment process.

Said Taylor: “I want to go away from home, but I don’t want to go too far. I just want to be in between.”

If geography really means something than Pitt has a good shot. He’s actually a native of Newburgh, NY, going to school in Maryland. Some family and friends in both places. Pitt somewhere relatively close to both. Somewhere, um, “in between.”

He’s in no rush, though, to make a decision. Suggesting that he might even wait until next April’s signing period rather than in November.

SlamOnline had a rundown on top performers from the Reebok camp and listed Thomas Robinson — another top target.

Thomas Robinson, 6-8 combo forward, Brewster (NH), 2009: A DC native who is headed to prep school, Robinson’s versatility–he can post up, handle the ball well for his size and hit the occasional outside J–but his motor, athleticism and toughness on the inside made him one of the top post prospects in attendance early on.

Judging by the players Pitt is pursuing, against whom they are recruiting against and that Pitt is listed as one of the top name teams pursuing these kids, I’d say Pitt is taking another step up in the eyes of recruits. The consistency of being a top-20, top of the Big East team coupled with winning the Big East Tournament this past season has a significant impact. Pitt is not just a darkhorse competing against the blue-chip programs for top players. Pitt’s name might not be the old, established blue-chip school; but it is one of the top programs in the country and recruits know it.

Down the road, 2011 seems to be a focus on guards. We know Sterling Gibbs and Tony Cherault (2010). Another guard Pitt is already showing interest in for 2011 is Tyrone Johnson. Johnson was also at the Reebok camp.

Johnson is one of the smoothest players in his class, and looks even better when he is playing with his Plainfield teammate Isaiah Epps. However, the 6-foot-2 guard was on his own this weekend, and still held his own. He showed the ability to handle the ball effectively and run an offense, and he is certainly not afraid of driving to the basket and scoring over bigger players. He plays taller than his 6-2 size, and crashes the offensive glass. He does have to work on his mid-range game, but he knocked down multiple three-pointers. He loves driving to his left despite being right-handed, and he finishes well at the rim. Johnson also draws fouls consistently. He finds the open man regularly and has good vision.

Johnson has a couple more years, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he added a couple more inches — and a lot more suitors. Other teams already pursuing him include Georgetown and Tennessee.