The meme on how loaded the Big East will be in basketball for 2008 continues to worm its way around. Per Jay Bilas at ESPN (insider subs.)

It’s still too early to put together a coherent Top 25 for next year, but it is not too early to determine that the Big East will be the best league in the country.

By October, expect the backlash. At the first stumble of an expected top team in the Big East there will be the “ah-ha, see the BE isn’t that good!”

One of the stories I have always been fascinated, because of the consequences and that shows how effed up college sports can be has been the Baylor-Dennehy scandal. This was where a Baylor basketball player was shot by one of his teammates in the off-season. As the investigation was getting underway, the then coach, Dave Bliss, wanted to cover-up how he was secretly paying the way for walk-ons who had transferred — including Dennehy. That included trying to mislead investigators that Dennehy was shot because of a drug deal — despite Dennehy having no involvement in that. He even wanted the assistants to help with the cover-up. One young assistant and former Baylor player was so disturbed by this, he taped one of the conversations.

He went to see a lawyer who eventually leaked the tape, and helped blow the whole thing up. In the fallout, Abar Rouse became blackballed in D-1 because he “betrayed” his head coach. This long piece on what has happened to him is a hell of a read.

Many coaches, including Hall of Famers Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski, have said that Rouse had crossed the line. “If one of my assistants would tape every one of my conversations with me not knowing it, there’s no way he would be on my staff,” Krzyzewski told “Outside the Lines” in 2003. The rank and file has fallen in step.

Despite beating down seemingly every door and mailing out countless résumés, Rouse has had only one basketball job in the past five years, a graduate assistant position at Division II Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. In October he made the agonizing decision to quit, unable to survive on the $8,000 annual salary.

…

Assistant coaches are basketball’s Secret Service, there to step in and take a bullet when one is fired at the man in charge. Indiana’s Senderoff was sent packing long before the NCAA’s tentacles reached Sampson; Dwane Casey took the initial heat for Eddie Sutton at Kentucky in 1989. Taking the fall is an act of honor, despite the fact it usually means some sort of violation occurred.

Turning a coach in, deservedly or not, is viewed through an altogether different prism. Among coaches who pontificate about integrity and ethics — the NABC, then headed ironically enough by Sampson, called an emergency summit the fall after the Baylor scandal to discuss the very thing — there is a hypocritical silent code: Thou shalt not drop a dime on one another. Or at least get caught doing so.

And in a career in which networking is critical for job placement, those who go against the silent code are exiled, left to scrap their way back or wait in hope that someone offers a lifeboat.

Bliss, by the way, got to coach in the NBDL for a year and actually felt like he has re-habbed enough to start showing up at the Final Four once more. Read it all.

East Carolina desperately has wanted in to the Big East since the re-formatting a few years ago. They still want to find their way in. Even if just in football.

OK, but what if a deal too sweet to beat existed? Just for kicks, let’s put one on the table in the form of, say, a job application. The school should be willing to:

• Play a conference football schedule with zero compensation from the Big East so current members don’t have to give up any of their share of revenue.

• Be responsible for negotiating a television contract for home games until the league wants the school to be a part of its package.

• Not expect any of the league’s BCS revenue until earning a BCS bid of its own representing the conference.

• Come in as a football member only. Other sports would play in another league in order to not interfere with the league’s current 16-member setup for all other sports.

• Show a solid track record of putting fans in the seats at home, on the road and at bowl games — all on a trial basis for a few years.

The Big East still won’t bite. They don’t have to. As much as it makes things difficult to schedule in football,  even a provisional, part-time new member would likely upset the delicate balance with the basketball schools. Until the conference realizes it has to split, ECU has no chance.

Finally, congrats to Dick Groat and Pitt great Don Hennon on being included for induction into the WPIAL Hall of Fame. That they weren’t been inducted years ago is more of a shock than anything else.

I definitely would prefer Pitt gets in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament, but it may not be as sure a thing.

Giles also said that the Duke, UCLA and Michigan are set as three of the four hosts for the Coaches vs. Cancer. The other host will likely be either Pittsburgh or Rutgers.

The third preseason event that Giles organizes is the Legends Classic. If Pittsburgh isn’t in the Coaches vs. Cancer, look for Jamie Dixon’s team to play in the Legends.

I guess I could see them choosing Rutgers as a way of nearing certainty of having a Duke-UCLA Final.

Assistant Coaching rumors continue. This time with Orlando Antigua.

Sources with knowledge of the situation have told CBSSports.com that Calipari is considering completing his staff — now missing Derek Kellogg (new head coach at UMass) and Chuck Martin (new head coach at Marist) — by hiring from a group of candidates that is headlined by Pittsburgh assistant Orlando Antigua and Georgetown assistant David Cox.

I could see Antigua leaving. Yes, he’s a Pitt alum and is comfortable. At the same time, he has ambition to be a head coach one day. He will need to have broader experience at other schools and working for Calipari would be a big building block.

As for Cox. He’s become a fast-rising name in just a few years. He spent one year at Pitt as Director of Basketball Operations before Thompson III hired him as an assistant a couple years back.

Ashton Gibbs was a big performer at the IS8 Playoffs.

Best individual performance of the day: Guard Aston Gibbs, a Seton Hall Prep star and Pitt recruit, went off for 41 in a 105-93 loss to the powerful Gauchos, making nine straight 3s at one point.

Travon Woodall was also playing and did well.

Pitt has apparently offered NJ PG Isiah Epps.

“Tommy Herrion told me that after he saw him work out,” [Plainfield High School Head Coach Pete] Vasil said Saturday by phone. “They’re offering him a scholarship.”

The 6-2 Epps already holds offers from Maryland, Rutgers and Seton Hall, with Maryland head coach Gary Williams telling Vasil he’s targeting Epps as his guard of the future out of the Class of 2010.

Epps is apparently a rising prospect. The ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. profile (Insider subs.) puts him in the Juan Dixon mold (which would explain why Maryland is pursuing him).

Epps is lightning quick, shifty with the rock and just flat out explosive at both ends. With range on his 3-point shot and a tremendous amount of body control in the lane, Epps is a nightmare to guard. His will to win is never questioned, has ice water in his veins and has earned the nickname Mr. Big Shot.

He’s also a lefty.

There’s also a write up on an AAU Tournament in DC with some Pitt targets.

This is the final day of annoying solicitations. I’m happy to write that it looks like all costs will be covered for the next two years with a final round of contributions. A couple of the checks have already arrived.

Yesterday I wrote about no political ads for this election. One other ad-related note that you won’t see. Any of the ad-sense programs. You know, those little text ads at the bottom of posts on other sites. I’m not a big fan of them, and with the support received, I see no reason to plug those in and create more clutter.

That’s one of the things I am very happy to with this site — keeping it relatively clean, uncluttered and simple.

Thanks to the support of everyone, it gets to stay that way.

Just a couple more days of slightly annoying pledge posts.

One of the things I hate about election years are political ads when I’m watching sports. Drives me nuts. Watching sports is part of the escape from the daily crap. Partisan stuff just wears on me.

So, with everyone’s support for this site, I will get to be more picky about what I accept for blogads on this site. I’m making a promise now, that for this Presidential election there will no political ads on PittBlather.com. No pro- or anti- anything regarding the candidates (including non-Presidential) or “issue” ads. It’s going to be nasty enough, probably by September.
Essentially I’m promising a politics-free safe-haven.

Just click one of the begging buttons on the right sidebar and make sure this can be a reality.

This is day 2 of the pledge drive for PittBlather.com. For those who don’t remember why I ask for support, here’s why. When I started writing PittBlather (and its predecessor PittSportsBlather), the deal with my wife was that this would not cost anything other than time.

Keep in mind that your contributions to PittBlather.com can help to indoctrinate the next generation of Pitt fans.*

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It’s that dreaded time again. It’s been two years and now it’s time to ask for donations in support of PittBlather.com. Unlike the last time, this go-round has modest goals. I’m just looking to take care of server costs for the next couple of years along with getting some work done on the site.

I’m as uncomfortable about asking as you probably are reading this.

As usual, all the contributions during this week will be plowed directly into this site.

Some of you have already hit the begging buttons this year, so thanks once more.

If you are more comfortable directly sending a check, drop me an e-mail at pittblather-at-gmail-dot-com and I’ll give you an address.

It’s with your assistance that this kind of hard work can continue.

I’m stunned by the volume of comments regarding Cassin Diggs’ involuntary/voluntary transfer. It’s a healthy debate. As I stated the first go-round, I’m not entirely comfortable with what went down. My discomfort largely stems from the one-way situation college athletics once an athlete signs, and what strikes me as abusing that situation.

A few basic things.

A scholarship is renewable each year at the school’s discretion. The student has no say. If a student wishes to transfer and still play a sport, it is at the school’s discretion as to whether to release him, and can restrict where he goes. This is common when there is a new coaching change and a kid doesn’t feel comfortable in the new situation. Pitt benefited from such a situation when Mike Cook left East Carolina. The trade-off is that the player has to sit out a year if he transfers to another D-1 school.

Of course, if the kid isn’t released, he can still leave and enroll elsewhere. He won’t, however, be eligible for a scholarship for a year and can’t even walk-on to the team.

At the same time a new coach can decide a kid doesn’t fit what he wants and can simply not renew the scholarship of the kid even if he wants to stay, is in good academic standing and not in any trouble. Usually this only happens when there is a coaching change. At Colorado last year, Jeff Bzdelik did just that after taking over. Technically any coach could do that any time, but it would completely trash his reputation on the recruiting trail.

A National Letter of Intent is the first document a kid signs when he accepts a scholarship to a school. It is also yet another contract that is essentially a one-way street. It binds the kid to the school — as the schools are so fond of reminding everyone. A player doesn’t have to sign an NLI, but unless you are Tyreke Evans or of similar ability, most schools won’t give a scholarship unless you sign it.

The reality, though, is that a player is recruited by the coaches. They state how they want to play for the guy when they sign. They talk about the relationships built with the coaches. Then they are bound to the school.

Once you sign, you are stuck unless the agrees to release you. Indiana made oral promises (which it kept) to the basketball recruits who signed that they would be released from their NLI if Kelvin Sampson left or was fired before the 2008 season. They were boxed in since they wanted the kids to sign in the early period of November. The Sampson Cell Phone Saga broke in October.
It’s why Bob Hurley, Sr. was agitated and advocated so hard for Tyshawn Taylor’s release from Marquette. It was the only way to look out for what was still his kid.
With all of that looking at them, is it any wonder some of the top recruits milk the publicity and have the coaches pursuing them go through so many hoops? Might as well, after they sign all leverage is lost.

With all of this, I definitely tend towards coming down on the side of the players and hate to see kids used and discarded.

This brings things back to Diggs. Pitt sought and recruited him, but when they realized that his development was not going to approach what they already had he became optional. There are no indications he failed on his academic or off-the court requirements, or was at any risk of it happening. To speculate or theorize in that direction is to try and look for an excuse to justify things. If any of that was happening, it would have been released or leaked just to counter Diggs.

It really comes down to breaking down the limited statements from both sides. It’s hard to buy Coach Dixon’s statements that the decision was amicably reached since Diggs seems anything but that about transferring.

One thing that is apparent is that playing time was an issue. He wasn’t going to get it at Pitt, and did not appear to earn it by his play. From the limited action that was seen in the games he was no where close to being good enough. McGhee showed more ability and development than Diggs. Diggs, however, seemed to feel that he was going to get more playing time when he was recruited.

I doubt he was promised it, but I also think the coaches believed and allowed him to believe he would get minutes. That while he may not start, he would have been in the rotation at Center. Perhaps allowing Biggs to be moved to power forward. Really, that was the expectation many fans had going into the season.

I also think the analogy to an academic scholarship does not hold up real well for me. Perhaps its the contract aspect keeps me from buying it. In an academic scholarship there are clearer terms set out explaining what is expected of the student (which Maz noted). In an athletic scholarship, the terms are left open and vague. There is much more discretion in the agreement that gives the school and coach all the power. That makes the oral representations made to the recruited player more important. They may not be in the terms of the contract, but they are vital in explaining to the recruit what is expected and what he can expect.

The representations are made during the recruitment. While trying to get the recruit to sign with the school. I find it highly improbable that any coach would tell a recruit that if it turns out their evaluations were wrong and he isn’t good enough to compete at the level expected he will not have his scholarship renewed for the following year.

The other problem is that an academic scholarship is completely individual. An athletic scholarship, while having strong individual components also includes a team concept. Rick Pitino did not discourage Derrick Caracter from declaring that he was going to enter the NBA Draft, but when Caracter wanted to come back, Pitino said no. There was no hue and cry over that for a reason. Caracter had been a lousy teammate. He had been disciplined and suspended multiple times in his two years there. The only reason he kept getting chances was his individual ability. Ultimately his disruptions to the team and the chemistry was more detrimental than the ability he had on the court.

The team component should be a factor. Again, Diggs did nothing to indicate he was anything but a good and supportive teammate even if he saw no action. He didn’t stir things up in the season when the coaches kept suggesting he was having major hip issues — which he now disputes over how serious. He didn’t complain about his lack of playing time publicly.

Specific to Diggs, this is not as much about his limited production and not being good enough to see much more than mop-up minutes — and therefore not living up to his end of the agreement. This is about freeing up a scholarship for someone else that Coach Dixon thinks can help the team immediately.

Because college basketball is limited in the number of scholarships — as opposed to football — there is not a lot of room for error in recruiting kids. The value of each scholarship is huge. Austin Wallace is injured through next year and holding one scholarship and is not about to be cut loose (and I don’t know if the school could with his injury). Apparently Coach Dixon felt he couldn’t have another scholarship tied up by a player who wouldn’t be a contributor for next season and as a senior wouldn’t have any potential in the future.

Last night was the night to get the taxes done. Anyone know if you can just not pay the taxes owed and let the IRS simply take the money from that “economic stimulus” check? Just asking. So, I missed the always startling news of player discipline issues.

Pitt defensive back Sherod Murdock has been suspended indefinitely for disciplinary reasons. Athletic department spokesperson E.J. Borghetti said the school has no further comment on the incident, which led to his suspension.

Murdock is a 6-foot, 170-pound redshirt freshman from Tampa, Fla. He is competing for one of the reserve safety spots.

Never like to read any player getting in some trouble. The vague reason just furthers message board/comment speculation. Of course, cynicism says this isn’t particularly problematic since Murdock would only be a back-up most likely. Plus, the suspension will only cost him the Blue-Gold Spring game. Most likely he’ll be back for training camp in August.

This is more troubling.

Pitt starting left tackle Jason Pinkston is being investigated for his role in an altercation on campus over the weekend.

It’s a relatively specific issue: on-campus “altercation” (reading as: fight). Considering Pinkston has been out of spring drills as he recovers from his shoulder injury, this is not the way to help the rehab.

UPDATE: Per the Pitt News, this bit.

Pitt defensive back Sherod Murdock was involved in an incident at Sutherland Hall Saturday night, Pitt Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill confirmed.

Murdock was then suspended indefinitely from the football team yesterday for disciplinary reasons.

Pitt police responded to Sutherland at about 11 p.m. Saturday for “a disturbed, potentially violent person,” their log reported.

Hill said that Murdock’s suspension was connected to the incident, but added, “I had not said [this person and Murdock] were one in the same person.”

Um, and he didn’t say that he wasn’t. Sutherland Hall holds about 739 students and they were in lock down with this matter.

The police log said Pittsburgh medics transported the person to the hospital.

A UPMC Presbyterian operator confirmed Murdock had been in the hospital over the weekend and had been discharged. The operator would not give patient details other than name confirmation, including when the patient came to the hospital or when he was discharged.

Hill said one other member of the football team was involved in the incident, although his status on the team is not in question. The action, Hill said, is no longer under review.

Still, nebulous, but not good. No wonder EDSBS is looking to give Pitt some big points in the Fulmer Cup when this finally gets hashed out.

Some unconnected links.

A little late, but Rivals.com spring practice preview.

Pittsburgh missed playing in a bowl for the third consecutive season under Dave Wannstedt, but all signs point to 2008 being a turnaround year with recent recruiting classes coming to fruition. With other teams in the Big East in transition, Pitt could make a run at the league title. The Panthers need to settle on a new offensive line and find new starters at defensive line and in the secondary this spring.

A ranking of BE Coaches. Wannstedt comes in 6th. I understand Wanny being in the lower half based on what he’s done, but seeing Kragthorpe 4th and Leavitt 5th is ridiculous.  Kragthorpe may have a solid body of work prior to Louisville, but he can’t compare to what Leavitt has been doing. I can at least see the argument for nos. 1-3 (even if I don’t agree with the order — Edsall, Schiano, Kelly), but if body of work counts for Kragthorpe, Leavitt blows him out with how he’s built USF.

Joe Starkey writes that Pitt is embracing expectations on this team from national speculation.

“I’m kind of surprised,” says Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, whose team began spring workouts Tuesday. “You know, coming off a five-win season.”

That said, Wannstedt welcomes the pressure. The Sporting News’ Matt Hayes and SI.com’s Stewart Mandel have Pitt pegged at No. 25; ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach and CBS Sportsline’s Dennis Dodd at No. 22.

“We don’t dodge the issue,” Wannstedt said. “You meet it head on - but, really, it doesn’t have any bearing on anything. One of the early lessons you learn playing this game is that you have to prove yourself every week.”

There’s also some talk of the possible LeSean McCoy and the Heisman talk. Let’s make sure there’s an O-line first.

Finally, I mentioned that Rod Rutherford is in af2. In his debut, he threw for 4 TDs and ran for 2 more. Of course, in what had to take him back to his Pitt days the O-line let him get sacked 7 times and there was little defense as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Pioneers lost 48-41. Ah, memories.

There’s a Pitt legacy on the Wildcat’s squad.

Jason Richards of Davidson has a chance to match his father’s achievement of point-guarding a team to the Elite Eight. Tom Richards was in charge when Pitt got to the East final in 1974. His son, leading the nation in assists, kept the Wildcats’ offense viable with 20 points and five assists while All-American Stephen Curry gradually found his touch on the way to 30 points and a dismissal of No. 2 seed Georgetown.