With Coach Dixon in New Zealand with the U-19 team, Pitt is a coach short on the recruiting trail for the beginning of July. That means Brandon Knight, Pat Sandle and Tom Herrion have to get to places, be seen — coaches don’t wear those sweatsuits purely for comfort — and zip elsewhere.
The Nike LeBron Camp in Akron is actually a place where coaches aren’t allowed. So Pitt had a presence down in Cinci for an Adidas sponsored tournament at the beginning of the week with Herrion. That allowed him to get up to Cleveland on Wednesday for the King City Classic — which featured participants of the Nike Camp.
Pitt associate head coach Tom Herrion is smartly and strategically sitting between both courts watching the action with Pat Sandle. With Jamie Dixon tied up this evaluation period with Team USA’s U-19 squad in New Zealand, Herrion is heading the Pitt delegation on the road. Coach Herrion was seen jotting down several notes after a nice-looking Malcolm Gilbert turnaround jumper.
Pitt commit Isiah Epps was one of the players at the LeBron Camp.
The camp’s namesake, Cleveland Cavaliers’ great Lebron James, worked out with the first group on court one in the first session of the afternoon. Camp participants Trey Zeigler, Ray McCallum Jr and Pittsburgh commit Isaiah Epps were among the few to run drills and controlled scrimmages with James.
Epps also stood out in the evening scrimmage on the first night of the LeBron Camp.
Brandin Knight was also in Reading, PA for the Hoop Group Elite Camp watching players.
Then it was out to Philly for a Reebok Camp.
Given the sheer volume of talent and coaches watching (and making sure they were seen) it is generally unclear which players coaches take a particular interest in — aside from the obvious ones. That becomes clearer in the month or so afterwards when offers are confirmed; and players start talking about narrowing their lists and stating favorites.
Oh, and WVU suspended Truck Bryant indefinitely. That means both point guards — Mazzulla and Bryant — are serving indefinite suspensions… In the summer. Ooooh. Cracking the whip down in Morgantown.
Happen to see a potential QB out there?
link to pittsburghlive.com
Hugh, I was at Greentree last week and agree with most of your assesment. I think Miller is a little bigger than you give credit for, and is much better built in the shoulders than Taylor or Zanna.
Zanna is raw but I see a real good player in another year or so … he needs some upper body strength.
Also agree that Brown is missing something – maybe agressiveness. You didn’t mention Lamar Patterson who looks like he can be a keeper. He showed some real good skills last week.
Woodall wasn’t there last week either … hope he is playing vs good competition somewhere
Also, Mcgee is getting more than a couple minutes a game this year i bet.
McGhee was there and was playing in the next game; I just didn’t stay to see it, figuring I already know what he is (and isn’t) capable of. I do agree that he’ll have to play 10-12 mins per game this year, at least against bigger teams, just so they can use his fouls.
Woodall was there, sitting on the bench, because of his sprain, I guess.
I’m most bummed about not seeing him play. Wanted to get a sense of whether they can count on him for even a few minutes in the backcourt.
I was actually standing under the hoop for most of the games, and all the guys walked by us a bunch of times, so the height guesses should be pretty accurate. I thought Miller was bigger, too (taller and more solid) — he looked bigger in warm-ups last year, but that was from seats way above the court in the Pete. Last night he was also wearing a padded undershirt under his uni that made him look a bit thicker than he is. (Only know that because he pulled off the uni right in front of us.)
Anyway, a few observations:
* Taylor looks pretty good and he’s going to have to play center. Plenty of good blocks and good finishes, and he’s a legitimate 6’9″. Unfortunately his shot from 10 feet and out is really ugly — he actually shoots with sidespin and shooting a decent percentage from the FT line will be very difficult. No idea how these kids get this far with absolutely no fundamentals. Taylor looks like he’ll be a really nice Big East player, and no risk of one and done or even two and done, which is great for Pitt. Lots of work to do in the weight room and on the face-up game before the NBA will come calling…..
*Wanamaker looked really solid. Of course this is against really crappy comp at guard (many of the guards are from Westminter, UPJ, etc), but he handled and distributed and hit some perimeter shots. He sees the floor really well. He’s not an explosive athlete, but he’s a versatile guard and a good guy to have. I really hope he can handle the ball some, so that Gibbs can get loose to shoot.
* Robinson looks good. He’s so scrappy, he’s all over the place and he’s a smart player. He’s such a tweener, but I think there are many times when he’ll contribute more than Gilbert Brown ever will. He just hustles…..
* Miller’s an enigma. He’s not as big as I’d hoped….maybe 6’7″ and not that big around. The most positive part of his game is his face-up jumper — he’s got a great release and hit a few sweet outside shots. He doesn’t like to bang and doesn’t like working to get his shot in the paint. I guess he’ll start at the 4 position, just because there aren’t many other options.
* JJ Richardson looks like a nice addition. Close to 6’7″ and built solid for a frosh — doesn’t mind banging and has some offensive tools. He’ll get better.
* Jermaine Dixon was in an air cast and Woodall didn’t play.
* Gilbert Brown didn’t impress. You can tell just by looking that he’s the best athlete on the floor, but there’s no award for that. Just not sure he’s ever going to put it together and he’s got to be the oldest player out there. The shot’s still erratic and the dribble drive doesn’t look any better. He’ll still valuable for defense and rebounding because of the speed and jumping ability, but I don’t see some breakout season coming, unfortunately.
* Zanna is raw. Legit skinny 6’8″ or 6’9″, not comfortable with the ball yet.
The league suffers from not having the WVU talent in there. Duquesne’s got some athletes and a couple of the Robert Morris kids are decent, but that’s not enough top-flight comp for the Pitt kids.