At the start of camp I mentioned that with the number of injured players from last year, it could be counted on that the local media would be doing stories on each of them coming back this year.

With that in mind, a couple of severe knee injury stories from each side of the line.

On the D-Line it was Gus Mustakas who had a torn ACL in the left knee.

“I think it will take him a little while to play at the level he was playing and get comfortable again,” Pitt defensive line coach Greg Gattuso said of Mustakas. “Everybody that has injuries of that severity has work to do to get to that level again. But he’ll be fine. He’s tough, smart and understands it. I think it’ll take a game or two.

“The nice thing is, whatever minutes he can give me in a game are bonus minutes right now. He has to get to a high level - he knows it - because of the talent level of the others.”

For the O-line it was Chris Jacobson with a torn patella tendon in the right knee.

Tony Wise, Pitt’s new offensive line coach, said Jacobson is making progress.

“He is feeling more comfortable every day,” Wise said. “As he twists and turns his body, things like that. There’s really not much hesitation.”

Both are coming back to squads with a bit more depth.

The silver lining is that with Mustakas and [Mick] Williams, Pitt has the opportunity to use a rotation to keep them fresh. That’s quite a difference from two seasons ago, when Mustakas played every snap against Rutgers, West Virginia and Connecticut. Mustakas is a strong pass rusher, but Williams is better against the run.

Not to mention that taking a medical redshirt has allowed Mustakas another year to grow into his frame, especially after being forced to play defensive end as a 17-year-old true freshman.

And.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said Jacobson could be the first reserve off the bench for Malecki or left guard C.J. Davis.

“I think (Jacobson) is going to be a solid guy,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We need him to play. If we can get him to the point where he can be the swing guard, that would be a big bonus.”

That Wannstedt is already saying how Pitt needs him for the line as a reserve is actually reassuring. It means that O-Line coach Tony Wise’s comments last week about wanting just the top-5 guys always playing is already being scaled back a bit.

Brief interruption to football posting with a few little notes about basketball.

ESPN.com got to the Big East in their offseason “shootaround.” The focus is on the Big East Tournament going to 16 teams and an extra day. I’m torn. On the one hand, how can I be against one more day of the best conference tournament in the country? Who turns down free ice cream (I mean, aside from diabetics and the lactose intolerant)?

On the other, I like the fact that it adds to the Big East regular season. No team wants to mail it in at the end. They want at least a chance to make the trip to MSG. It makes the final week or two exciting even for the bottom feeders. Plus, from a conference money-making/prestige standpoint, there is always the risk of a bad loss by a bubble team to a really bad team. Knocking them out of the NCAA Tournament — less BE teams in the NCAA means less money for the conference/schools for games played. Plus, less bragging rights about how brutal the Big East is with the conventional argument of, “See how many teams we put in the Tournament.”

Here’s the team capsule for Pitt:

It’s hard not to envision the Panthers as a top five team nationally. Overwhelmed by injuries all season, Pittsburgh rolled to an improbable Big East tournament title on the emerging stardom of Sam Young. Unassuming off the court, he was a beast on it and his decision to return to campus should have been greeted with hosannas and hallelujahs. Mix in a healthy Levance Fields, powerful DeJuan Blair and the Panthers’ trademark nasty defense, and you have to give them the slightest of edges to win the league.

Jay Bilas puts Pitt as #3 in the conference behind UConn and Louisville.

St. Benedict’s coach Dan Hurley built one of the top basketball programs in the country. College coaches are always banging on his door looking to get an in with his bluechip talent. So, is it any surprise that when Hurley has a coaches clinic, the big names come willingly to speak?

St. Benedict’s head coach Dan Hurley announced that the Garden State Coaches Clinic will take place between 9-4:30 on Sept. 26 at St. Benedict’s. The event is open to all college, high school and travel coaches and will feature Bill Self, head coach of defending national champion Kansas; Pitt coach Jamie Dixon; West Virginia coach Bob Huggins; Texas coach Rick Barnes; former NBA coach Hubie Brown; and UMass assistant Vance Wahlberg, the creator of the dribble-drive motion offense now used by Memphis head coach John Calipari.

I guarantee you that all of the coaches make their appearance gratis. Heck, some coaches would probably pay just to be able to help. Not only do they “help” Hurley’s clinic, they get out there before some 600 other assorted coaches.

Everyone is still waiting for Mike Cook’s status to be determined by the NCAA. Cook is acting cool about it.

Cook doesn’t sound nervous about the impending decision.

“Actually, I’m not even worried about playing next year,” he said. “I’m focused on getting my knee better. I want to get completely healthy first. I’m not even thinking about the redshirt.”

Cook has yet to be given clearance to play basketball again. Doctors are schedule to make that determination Aug. 25. He has been rehabbing the knee mostly through weightlifting and running.

Cook’s outlook may have to do with the apparent delays in his case. Pitt was expecting a final resolution more than a month ago, then again two weeks ago.

“I never got my hopes up,” Cook said. “I figure the longer the (NCAA) takes, the better. That means they really are thinking about it.”

It could be worse. Cook could be QB Ben Mauk at Cinci. Watching training camp, eating a lot and in complete limbo. Thanks NCAA.

Lists? You want subjective lists to spark debate? Cards Hoops Blog spent the last 3 weeks producing a list of the preseason top-75 Big East players. Sam Young was #2 and DeJuan Blair #9 in the top-10. Levance Fields came in at #19. Gilbert Brown was #59. He included Brad Wanamaker as one who just missed the cut. Noting that his performance didn’t live up to his talent level.

Here are the rest of the rankings: 15-11; 30-21; 35-31; 40-36; 45-41; 50-46; 55-51; 65-61; 70-66; 75-71.

With the sheer volume of season ending injuries, there will be no shortage of stories on players coming back from injuries and ready to take the field for drills and get that first hit out of the way for the psychological portion of knowing they are truly healthy.

Derek Kinder is first up, because he was at the Big East Media Day and what else can you ask a player who missed all of last season.

Big East media day provided an interesting view as to just how much things have changed for Kinder.

When he attended the event last year, he was clearly Pitt’s big star and media darling, the one who attracted the most attention because of how well he played as a junior.

This year, however, he sat quietly, for the most part, between Panthers stars LeSean McCoy and Scott McKillop and watched as they received most of the attention. Kinder wasn’t bothered by that, though, because he’s too focused on the season he plans on having.

“Man, I think the key to me is this — I have been counting down the days to get back on that field once the initial shock of my injury wore off,” he said. “I just want to help my team win, nothing more or less. I am so hungry just to get back after it — I feel like I want to go outside in the parking lot and play right now. And these two guys sitting here with me [McCoy and McKillop] deserve all the attention they are going to get — they are both superstars and both great teammates who work hard.”

Kinder was already one of the best on Pitt’s team at knowing the right things to say. That hasn’t changed.

So inevitably the subject turned to the matter of getting back out there..

Kinder is bracing for the one-year anniversary of his injury — as well as the first day of practice in full pads. He participated in spring drills but only in non-contact work.

While Kinder claims to be 100 percent physically, he has to overcome the apprehension athletes face upon returning from a serious injury.

“I haven’t felt contact, getting hit with pads on, in over a year-and-a-half,” Kinder said. “So when I get hit for the first time and get up and I’m all right, that’s when I know I’ll be good to go.

“I’m definitely looking forward to getting hit on that first day in pads and feeling the ground for the first time in a while.”

That must have been one sprained ankle.

“It’s definitely frustrating, especially when I come out here and watch these guys play,” [Gilbert] Brown said. “It’s tough.”

Brown sprained an ankle at the LeBron James Basketball Camp in late June and has had a difficult time coming back from the injury. He attempted to play one summer league game earlier this month and had a setback. His goal is now to be back at full strength by early September.

Over 2 months to recover from it. Wow. Whether Gilbert Brown starts at small forward or even at shooting guard is still up for some question since there is another player still working to get back from injury. Not to mention just waiting to find out if he will play this fall.

Mike Cook is still in his own limbo with the NCAA.

Cook’s rehabilitation has been going well, but it is a long and arduous process. He is spending between one and four hours a day with Pitt trainer Tony Salesi and strength coach Tim Beltz. On the weekends, he is allowed to shoot a few jumpers.

There is some hope that he will be allowed to begin playing competitive basketball by September, but he first must demonstrate that his knee is completely sound.

“I really don’t know when I’m going to start playing,” Cook said. “Right now, it’s about me getting my knee stronger. I really can’t jump off my one leg. But once I can do that, I’ll be out there playing. But I don’t know when that is.

Cook also gave advice and support to A.J. Price of UConn who is going through the same thing.

Price has had some encouragement from other players who’ve gone through ACL surgery, including Tony Allen of the Boston Celtics (set up by ex-UConn great Ray Allen) and fellow Big East brethren Mike Cook of Pittsburgh and Eric Devendorf of Syracuse.

It was Cook’s words that resonated the most with Price, if for no other reason than the two suffered their respective injuries on virtually the exact same type of move.

“He said he knew it as soon as it happened to me because it was the same move,” Price said. “When I looked at it, I said, ‘You’re exactly right.’ He said the first couple of days are the hardest, but once you get through it, the thing about the ACL is you feel improvement every single day, which is true.”

One thing that all three players have stressed to Price: The hardest thing is the mental aspect of coming back, having that trust in your knee that it’s as good as before.”

I’m just trying to imagine Jerome Lane giving Alonzo Mourning a friendly phone call of encouragement or support after an injury.

Useless information that only I might find interesting: college basketball rosters for the 2008-09 season are supposed to be updated and available to the media starting on Monday. Why? Because of the preview magazine business. They have to start work in July to get them out in September and October. That means collecting the basic information, as early as they can.

It can also mean that the never-ending Mike Cook-NCAA-Eligibility saga should get a little more media attention in the next week or two. Someone will have their curiosity piqued if Pitt gives them a roster with an asterisk or a blank spot. That is unless the NCAA finally makes a decision today.

It’s also why Austin Wallace is getting his paperwork in order for a medical hardship application.

Pitt forward Austin Wallace is going through the paperwork for a medical hardship because of a serious knee injury he suffered last December practicing before Pitt’s game against Washington. The move will free up a scholarship for Pitt, yet allow Wallace to retain a scholarship to attend the school.

It’s not a surprising move since Wallace’s injury was known to require a good two-years of recovery. kind of a surprise they waited until now. His basketball career is still at risk with a fractured left patella.

Pitt’s troubles to find an opponent for Madison Square Garden continues. Maybe Stanford?

Odjakjian said it’s unlikely Pitt would play a smaller school at the Garden, even if it’s a New York-area school. The gate wouldn’t justify such a matchup at a 19,000-seat arena.

“It’s certainly up to the Garden if a lesser opponent would be acceptable,” Odjakjian said. “If the game is not going to draw a lot of people, they aren’t going to bother.”

Which is why they wanted a team from a BCS school. Even if they weren’t particularly good. As long as there was an alumni base of some size in the area to buy tickets. I’m guessing Pitt isn’t being picky at this point.

According to this report the Memphis deal fell through for more than just timing issues.

Pittsburgh Sports Insider has been told that Pitt has been trying hard to schedule Memphis, however, Tigers head coach John Calipari wants too much in return.

The obvious implication being a road game to Memphis next year and no true home game for Pitt.

If you are in Pittsburgh, have diabetes, or want to know more about diabetes there is the Diabetes Expo at the David Lawrence Convention Center this Saturday. Oh, and the Pitt men’s and women’s basketball team will be there signing autographs.

Seriously? Again? What more info could they possibly need (Insider subs).

Pitt was supposed to hear this week from the NCAA about whether Mike Cook would receive a sixth season of eligibility. But the NCAA asked for more information, and Pitt has still not gotten a decision. Cook tore his ACL against Duke on Dec. 20.

I did check the date on Andy Katz’s blog post on this. It is for today, so it isn’t a rerun from info of last month. This is getting beyond stupid. The other problem with the continued delays is that it screws up the system if they do turn Cook down.

The NCAA system allows for appeals and requests for reconsideration. If the NCAA takes this long to make the first decision, there will be no practical chance to make an appeal and have a decision made before the school year starts. More than just making it very difficult for Pitt to set a roster, they are keeping Mike Cook’s life on hold with this. He’s in limbo with moving on to the rest of his life.

QB Bill Stull headlines this national list of players coming back from injury this fall.

“Last year, you’re standing and watching an offense that you were in, that should have you out there,” Pitt quarterback Bill Stull said by telephone. “I can’t wait. I’ve been looking forward to this season for a whole year.”

Stull started last year’s opener against Eastern Michigan before ripping up his thumb on a third-quarter handoff. He watched freshmen understudies Pat Bostick and Kevan Smith complete a 5-7 fall, disappointing even after a season-ending upset of then-No. 2 West Virginia.

But Stull, a redshirt junior, beat incumbent starter Bostick for the No. 1 job this spring, leading a platoon of Panthers back from sickbay. Receiver Derek Kinder, back from a torn ACL (the only college football initials worse than “BCS”), figures to rank as Stull’s top target. And defensive tackle Gus Mustakas has rebounded from a knee tear, too, and might start along Pitt’s front.

All that’s left for the threesome, and all the guys returning from injury, is proving their worth come September. And don’t sleep on what a guy can do after missing a chunk of last year.

It will be closely watched how well those three plus Chris Jacobson and Dan Matha. To say nothing of Pinkston and whether Mick Williams can stay healthy. Yeesh. Heck, we have to see if Coach Wannstedt’s knee can hold up this year.

You have to be kidding.

The decision on Pitt guard Mike Cook’s medical redshirt may not come this week, as has been reported.

According to a source close to the situation, the decision by the NCAA may take another month, not nearly as soon as coach Jamie Dixon told reporters earlier this week.

Exactly what other information do they need? What other factors are under consideration?

This is a decision where you balance the letter of the rule — player can’t play more than 1/3 of the season — which he hit in the Duke game where he got injured to get a medical redshirt. The spirit/mercy of the rule — not taking away the chance to play and compete in collegiate athletics because of injuries.

Complicating things is that Cook would essentially be a 6th year senior since he used a redshirt when he transferred from ECU.

Still, all of this is known. This really should be about the NCAA just making the decision already.

It’s been assumed since Mike Cook blew out his knee against Duke that he would eventually apply for a 6th year of eligibility. He has officially requested the extra year, but as of now, the chances are stacked against him. He played for two seasons at East Carolina, then used his original redshirt (per NCAA rules) because of his transfer to Pitt. Therefore this season he was a 5th year senior, and the committee rarely grants the extra year in situations like this.

“It’s really out of my hands,” he said Friday afternoon. “All I can do right now is pray. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ll just have to go to Plan B.”

It’s likely that he won’t find out until after the NCAA Tournament and not any sooner, but either way he will be honored with his parents at tomorrow’s senior day festivities. Should he get the extra year, it would be interesting to see a player be honored on senior night for two years in a row.

Before he went down, he was averaging 10.4 points and 3.5 boards in about 25 minutes per game.

His rehab is expected to last anywhere from 9-12 months.

“Right now I’m just focusing on getting my knee better and getting back to 100 percent,” Cook said. “My rehab is going real well. I’m just taking it slow and taking it day by day.”

It’s been just over two months so far. Best of luck to him, and here’s to hoping he gets healthy soon whether we see him again in a Pitt jersey or not.

Fields returns.

Fields returns.

“I’m looking forward to playing on Friday as long as the foot feels good,” Fields said last night after Pitt’s light workout at the Petersen Events Center. “Everything is going as planned.”

When asked later about how confident he was in playing, Field said: “I know I’m going to play.”

Fields returns.

Levance Fields wasn’t smiling when he said it, but everyone could tell he was content inside.

“I’m going to play,” he said. “You probably can’t tell by this face, but I’m real energetic. When Friday gets here, I will be extra excited.”

Sensing a theme?