Who’s up for a couple things regarding the basketball team?

Lists? Here’s Jay Bilas ranking the top rebounders in college basketball.

6. DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh
Blair is barely 6-7, but he has long arms and a great attitude about rebounding. He averaged 9.1 rebounds per game and just under 4 offensive boards per game. Everybody remembers his 20 rebounds against Duke in Madison Square Garden in December, but Blair had eight other games of 13 rebounds or more.

There’s some motivation for Blair. Bilas puts ND’s Luke Harangody ahead of him (though Paul Harris and Jeff Adrien are behind Blair). Bilas doesn’t even think Blair is the best rebounder in the Big East.

Brandin Knight is shooting for the big guys in his first year as a coach on Pitt’s staff. He helped make the pitch to Dominic Cheek with Coach Dixon.

“It was good, very good,” [St. Anthony’s Coach Bob] Hurley said. “Brandin Knight from Seton Hall Prep was able to give the perspective of a kid who played at Pitt. He gave Dom information that was helpful.”

Then he decided to take a run at another top player, Lance Stephenson.

“Kansas, Memphis, USC and UCLA are the schools Lance wants to visit within the month,” Stewart told JayHawkslant.com. “Brandin Knight from Pittsburgh is really pushing hard for a visit. He’s done a great job of providing a lot of information about the school to Lance, but I just don’t know at this point if a visit to Pittsburgh will happen.”

The story also notes that Darnell Dodson will be taking a look at Memphis (grumble, mutter, stupid NCAA).

Well, the player Pitt got a verbal from in place of Dodson gets, Talib Zanna gets looked at here.

Zanna, a 6’9” 220 pound forward dropped 15.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game for McNamara, including individual season highs of 26 points and 22 rebounds. For his exploits, Talib, a native of Nigeria, was tabbed first team All-Prince Georges County (MD) and second team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC).

Expect more from the quiet, thoughtful Zanna – who also possesses a good sense of humor – as he has worked tirelessly on his game, combining both rebounding and shot blocking prowess with an already decent shooting touch. Now, it is not uncommon to see him hit 15 footers, while also employing his go-to move, a nasty, almost text book drop step over his left shoulder in which he lowers his center of gravity and explodes to the cup.

The things that keep coming out about him is his potential upside and coachability.

Pitt seems to be getting very aggressive in the Balitmore-DC area. Another target for the 2010 class is Will Barton, a 4-star to 5-star SG. An impressive player (Insider subs).

He also has a well rounded skill set as he can put the ball on the floor, pass it, or make shots with sounds mechanics. While he is said to have been a very flashy player at one point, he plays the game very efficiently now and manages to get the majority of his points within the flow of the offense. While his first step is rarely enough to allow him to blow by a set defender, he is capable of creating his own shot at virtually anytime thanks to a mid-range pull-up with a very high release.

Not surprisingly, Georgetown and Maryland are after him. As are UVa, VT, Tennessee

Now for the main course of basketball goodies, head over to the Oakland Zoo. Josh “Merlin” Verlin is working the previews for Pitt. He already banged out the freshmen previews and has half the sophomores complete. Solid work and a vital read.