Let’s say for arguments sake that Pitt does not use that scholarship before the end of the summer. That means Pitt still has only one to offer for 2010. While Tom Herrion and Brandin Knight are out recruiting and being a presence on the circuit, Coach Jamie Dixon has some other things to do.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop said he has turned down the head coaching job of the World Championship for Young Men’s team this summer in New Zealand. McKillop coached the team during the qualifying event last summer. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who serves as the chair of the junior national teams, said that a replacement for McKillop hasn’t been determined yet. The assistants on the team are still slated to be Pitt’s Jamie Dixon and Southern Illinois’ Chris Lowery, and Dixon could end up being the choice as the head coach. UCLA’s Ben Howland was queried about his interest, but he declined because he didn’t want to miss the first seven days of the July evaluation period.

The name that may be more familiar is as the FIBA Under-21 (U-21) World Championship.

Nothing like more events that raise Coach Dixon’s and Pitt’s profile nationally. That only helps with recruiting — and hopefully that will get Coach Dixon more involved in the U-17 USA team.

Okay Eagles and 49ers fans, the Pitt store in its wisdom, has previously marked down the price of Pitt jerseys with the #25 and #40.  So you can grab that college jersey for LeSean McCoy and Scott McKillop (I refuse to link to the gold jerseys). Heck, for McCoy, you can grab on sale youth, infant and toddler jerseys.

There’s no #34 jerseys available for Cardinals fans who like the underdog.

LaRod Stephens-Howling was choked with emotion on Sunday as he spoke to Arizona reporters.

“It’s been a dream all my life,” Stephens-Howling, who is 5 feet 6, said of playing in the NFL. “I’ve been told so many times that I couldn’t do it because of my size. I can’t wait to come in and do whatever I can for the team.”

The Cardinals were intrigued by Stephens-Howling’s special-teams ability, both as a kick returner and in coverage.

Heck, count me among those who sees Chris Wells from Ohio State as injury-prone, so Stephens-Howling might get some opportunities.

They are thrilled in Johnstown about this.

Tony Penna, the athletic director at Johnstown High, was thrilled when he saw the news on television.

“I feel like a little kid,”?Penna said.?“He’s Johnstown’s boy. He belongs to the town. He’s just such a great kid.?I’ve always told people he’s the greatest human being I’ve ever met. He’s deserving of everything that he’s gotten.”

It wasn’t just Stephens-Howling’s athletic exploits that made him such a star at his alma mater.

“The school will be electrified (today). He’s its best diplomat,”?Penna said. “He was such a great example as an athlete at Johnstown. The academic people loved him. The athletic people loved him.?The administration loved him.

“He was the total package.?Besides his ability, he was a better man,”?Penna said.

It’s a common refrain when Stephens-Howling’s name comes up with those who know him.

And LSH returned the affection.

Stephens-Howling has talked at length about how proud he is that his signing with Pitt helped open the door for other local athletes to get noticed.

It worked, as a number of Johnstown-area players ended up with scholarships and almost a half-dozen local players ended up at Pitt.

“It’s just great to see that people are respecting the area,”?Stephens-Howling said. “It’s great for them to see that people here can play football.”

As always, Stephens-Howling was quick to point out that he’s thankful for the support he gets from the people in his hometown.

“I ?really appreciate everything that Johnstown has done,”?he said. “They never let me down. Even when?I was on the back burner at Pitt, they always supported me.”

Another fellow 7th rounder went to Chicago.

He likes Derek Kinder from Pitt. The coaching staff really liked him and he got a strong endorsement from Dave Wannstedt.

And yet, Chicago still drafted him. It might be in no small part because of realizing that Kinder was coming back from a brutal injury.

Kinder has his 2007 season come to an end before it began after his suffered a season-ending knee injury. He made a pre-draft visit to Halas Hall and ran in the 4.4s at his Pro Day.

The Bears people are actually talking up the pick at that point.

The wide receiver’s stock no doubt was affected by a right ACL tear, an injury that caused Kinder to miss the entire 2007 season. The Bears still did their homework, regardless, bringing Kinder in for a visit. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner picked the brain of ex-Bears coach Dave Wannstedt, now Pittsburgh’s head coach.

“Our coaches really liked him,” said general manager Jerry Angelo. “Ron talked to Dave Wannstedt quite a bit. Dave really said tremendous things about him. Knows our system, obviously. That played a part into it.”

The Bears view the 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound Kinder as a big, physical receiver capable of competing for playing time. After a 57-catch, 847-yard season in ’06, Kinder was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.

“I was hoping if I was fortunate enough to get drafted that it would have been Chicago,” Kinder said.

Way to say the right thing. If Kinder hadn’t been drafted, he was probably going to sign as a free agent with Dallas.