No it isn’t particularly original, but it had to be done.

Wow, the issue of Dante Taylor has become a raging point of debate.

Let’s stipulate that we don’t actually know anything for certain. And by that I mean, what is really going on in Taylor’s head. How things are going in practice. Whether he can really handle playing power forward better in the Big East. All of that. We do not actually know. We observe, we speculate. we perceive, we believe.

Let’s put aside the issue of being a McDonald’s All-American. It’s a very high honor for high schoolers, and yes it indicative of the talent and expected success the kid will have in the college level. It is not a guarantee, or a clincher that the player is a future NBA-talent.

We can agree that Taylor was considered a consensus top-30 player under the RSCI (Recruiting Service Consensus Index) nationally coming out of high school.

Using the RSCI here, in order of rank were the top PF and C’s:

• Derrick Favors –Georgia Tech
• DeMarcous Cousins — Kentucky
• John Henson — UNC
• Renardo Sidney — Mississippi St.*
• Keith (Tiny) Gallon — Oklahoma
• Mouphtaou Yarou — Villanova
• Dante Taylor — Pitt
• Ryan Kelly — Duke
• Wally Judge — Kansas State
• Alex Oriakhi– UConn
• Mason Plumlee — Duke
• Daniel Orton — Kentucky
• Milton Jennings — Clemson
• Thomas Robinson — Kansas

(*Sidney has yet to play for MSU because of eligibility issues)

I think we can all agree that Favors and Cousins are both one-and-done. They are and should be the only ones on this list aside from perhaps Sidney. After that, well it is a little more interesting.

Henson (McDonald’s All-American)is averaging under 11 min/game and until last night’s VT game had played 10 min or less for 5 straight games.

Yarou was out with Hepatitis, so measuring him might be iffy. He’s playing 13 minutes averaging a 3 and 3.

Duke’s two 6-10 freshmen, Kelly and Plumlee (both McDonalds All-American)  are combining for 6.5 pts and 4.8 rebounds in a combined average of under 23 min/game.

Thomas Robinson, who Pitt was also after as an either/or with Taylor, is down to 8.8 min/game and has played 8 minutes total in the last three (admittedly on a loaded Kansas team)  with a 3-and-3 average.

Daniel Orton is playing 13 min/game and a 3.5-and-3.6 guy for Kentucky.

Wally Judge (McDonald’s All-American) at K-State is similar to this list. 12 min, 3.6 pts, 3 boards per game.

Milton Jennings was Clemson’s biggest recruit ever — yes another McDonald’s All-American. Guess what? 11.5 min, 3.5 pts, 2.6 rebounds per game as a 6-9 forward.

The only two players (aside from Favors and Cousins) having significant impact this year are Tiny Gallon for Oklahoma (24 min, 10.6 pts, 8.4 rbds) and Alex Oriakhi for UConn (27 min., 5.4 pts and 7.8 rbds). Both were also McD’s. Neither of whom will likely see their teams in the NCAA at this point.

I pointed out in December, an article from Luke Winn about what to legitimately expect from the “elite” freshmen.

Turns out, Taylor is not doing much too different from a lot of others.

Pitt signed more kids out of Ohio than at any time since the Walt Harris era — at least by my faulty memory.

St. Ignatius teammates TE Brendan Carozzoni and QB Mark Myers signed together on Wednesday.

Playing at the same college never crossed either player’s mind until Carozzoni mentioned his friend to the Panthers’ coaching staff.

“I told them about Mark, then they saw him at their summer camp and they liked him a lot,” said Carozzoni, who resides in Rocky River. “So I guess I’m kind of his agent.”

Myers estimated he hooked up with Carozzoni for “about 4-5 touchdown passes” during their careers as Wildcats but said they don’t have a specific goal at the next level.

“I just want to throw as many TD passes as possible to him while we’re at Pitt,” said Myers.

They plan on maintaining their bond and being able to privately display Browns gear by being roommates.

Carozzoni will have competition in time at the TE spot from another NE Ohio signee, Dan Schneider, who was named AP All-Ohio 1st team.

One of the more significant aspects of his visit to Pittsburgh was a lunch meeting with senior tight end Nate Byham. Byham came into Pitt as one of the top tight end prospects in the country, was named to the All-Big East Team and was able to give valuable insight to life as a Panther.

“It was good to hear from a player,” Schneider said. “Sometimes coaches say things that might not turn out being true, but players will always tell you how things really are.”

While Schneider loved the fit of Pitt right away, he took time to look at a lot of schools.

“It’s been a great process and I feel very fortunate,” said Schneider, who expects to play tight end. “I knew at the beginning of August. It was kind of a perfect storm. I knew it came together after visiting.”

Schneider and his parents, Kevin and Mary Kay, said they spent the summer visiting numerous schools, including Ohio State, Michigan, West Virginia, Illinois, Florida State, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. Even after orally committing to Pittsburgh, there were still some feelers.

“Some Big Ten coaches called and wondered if he would reconsider,” said Kevin Schneider. “I told him once he committed, you don’t look back. You could see the tension leave.”

Finally, WR Andre Givens out of Hubbard liked what Pitt had to offer rather than the ITT School of Criminal Justice.

Givens looked at academics as much as football when making his choice. He wants to study criminal justice.

“I want to be a detective, and they have a lot of hands-on programs with that,” Givens said. “What amazed me the most was that some of the Pitt players are in the secret service now.”

Hopefully none were on the security detail for a White House dinner.