Really late, but all will be clear sooner.
Power rankings. All keep Pitt at the top.
Luke Winn at SI.com — and love for DeJuan Blair this week.
ESPN.com — and guess who still won’t put Pitt at #1. It’s not that Gottlieb hates Pitt. I doubt he does. His whole schtick, though, is to be “controversial” and “outside the box.” A Skip Bayless without the perma-tan.
Another Tom Herrion piece, this time from Charleston, SC. A sort of, don’t look back in anger story.
“When I was younger, so much was about how fast and how quickly I could become a head coach. I’m tremendously grateful to the College of Charleston for giving me the opportunity,” said Herrion, who worked as a TV analyst for one season before joining Dixon’s staff.
“But having been a head coach and done a reasonably good job, I have a different perspective now. I know I’m at a great place and I think you value different things after you’ve had different experiences.”
So don’t feel too sorry for Herrion. He makes more money now than he did in Charleston when he and his family lived in the showcase I’On neighborhood in Mount Pleasant.
Herrion generally is lauded as Pitt’s top recruiter and helped sign an incoming class rated among the nation’s best.
He also knows the top assistant at a top program likely will get calls about head coach openings.
“If the right situation arose, I would listen,” Herrion said. “But it would take quite an offer. I am very aware of how fortunate I am to be in the situation I’m in.”
…
Sort of like Larry Shyatt, the former Clemson head coach who has been part of two national championship teams as a Florida assistant and remains in Gainesville.
“Funny you should mention that,” Herrion said. “Larry and I talked on the phone just this week.”
That. Well, that would be awesome for Pitt and Dixon if Herrion took that kind of role for the long-term.
Warning. Warning. Jay Bilas likes Pitt over Louisville.
The Cardinals struggle to shoot from the perimeter against grinding defenses, and Pitt can grind it out with the best of them. The Panthers are just as deep as Louisville and are more physical. Unless the Cards hit shots, Pittsburgh will get a win in Freedom Hall. The difference can be Levance Fields and his ability to handle pressure and DeJuan Blair and his ability to dominate on the glass. Blair has the length and offensive-rebounding capability to really bother freshman Samardo Samuels.
The Winner: I like Pittsburgh to win on the road.
Erp.
Meanwhile Mike Cook is giving life in the NBDL a shot as he gets back to full strength.
After failing to make the BayHawks in large part due to being out of shape and recovering from a severe knee injury, Cook has since returned to the team slimmer in size, but very heavy in determination.
“I really wanted to prove to everybody that I was a better player,” said Cook, who is from Philadelphia. “I didn’t have to prove it to myself. I thought I had to prove it to everybody else. That really pushed me.”
Although Cook isn’t starting for the BayHawks, as he did at the University of Pittsburgh, the fact that he’s even playing right now makes those who have been with him through this trying process very proud.
“Having seen the pain he was in initially and the fact that he is playing basketball a year later almost brings tears to my eyes to see that,” Pitt trainer Tony Salesi said.
Good luck to Mike Cook.
