They are coming. Whether Paul Chryst is announced officially tomorrow or Friday. So brace yourself for them.

The tweets and radio reports have been a steady drumbeat all evening. The Trib and Jery DiPaola late in the day went with Chryst as emerging as the top choice. Paul Zeise at the P-G seemed to be first on the confirmation.

The Trib story stressed that certain boosters were won over to Chryst, and Sports by Brooks tweeted a specific name:

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Well, as the day already starts getting late, and not even the hint of a late day press conference. I think it is safe to say that Pitt will not be announcing the next head coach for at least another day. I do expect that Pitt will have the announcement no later than Friday? Why? Cynical timing.

They definitely want it done before Christmas. They also want to be able to do the standard press conference and then have the new coach show up at the Wagner-Pitt basketball game on Friday night on ESPNU. Speak to the fans. Maybe get a few minutes on the national broadcast. Pitt has done it before — both Graham and Wannstedt showed up at the next basketball game. It’s standard for most schools, and I think Pitt could really use it.

But all reports are that it isn’t going to be today. From FootballScoop.com (h/t Scott):

Sources tell us Mario Cristobal is meeting with Pitt officials today…and plans to meet with FIU administration after (possibly not until tomorrow). We’ll keep you posted.

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In happier news, Pitt had no problem with St. Francis. This is not exactly a shock. The Flash aren’t exactly a mid-major threat. The only questions coming into the game were the amount of minutes for the players and the size of the win.

Pitt built a lead of as high as 31 before finally ending up with a 71-47 win.

Ashton Gibbs continues to see his shooting percentage suffer with point guard duties piled on top. On the bright side, he only played 27 minutes in the game as opposed to the 38-39 he had been playing. So, that’s nice. Nas only played 25 minutes. Basically, the starters got rest in this game.

J.J. Moore stood out in this game. He tied Gibbs for the most minutes played. He had 15 points including a monster jam and a lot of shots that were right around the basket — rather than pulling up for jumpers.

Dixon was pleased with most aspects of the game, including reserve forward J.J. Moore getting 15 points. Moore came off the bench in place of Lamar Patterson, who ended up with 11.

“He’s been playing hard, and he’s working hard,” Dixon said of Moore. “Lamar was banged up on the one play and wanted out, and Lamar has probably been one of our most steady guys.

“J.J. is going to be a really good player. At some point, they will be playing a lot together in the future.”

Moore said he thought even before the opening tip it might be his night.

“I felt fired up on the layup line,” he said.

I think my favorite moment for Moore came late in the game, when he got whistled for a foul. It was a dumb, late foul — and he knew it. And in was coming Patterson at the horn. Moore started walking back to the Pitt bench when he realized Patterson was subbing in for another player. Coach Dixon was leaving him in the game. He spun back to the court on his heel and the camera caught him with a big, big smile on his face. Those little moments when a player realizes his coach is giving him more freedom — and responsibility.

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So much of this backlash (not all, but it sure gets tossed out there a lot) against the possibility of Mario Cristobal being named head coach at Pitt seems driven by the fact that reports say he is legitimately weighing the options of moving up the coaching ladder and money versus moving his family,  leaving his hometown, a job he is doing well and has solid relationships with his bosses. I’m not sure how this is considered a negative other than some of the usual provincialism that people in Pittsburgh display at time over anyone who doesn’t profess absolute love for the ‘Burgh and fully embraces it.

As has been pointed out in the comments, a lot of this seems to be driven by the fact that FraudGraham bolted. And part of the spin — the spin — was that he and his family never felt comfortable to not liking Pittsburgh. How dare they insult the ‘Burgh!

This is spin people. This is the absolute bullshit that a piece of excrement put out there to rationalize his actions. To hide behind “what’s best for his family” to chase the money. Stop buying into it. You are looking like idiots.

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