A writer from Scouts, Inc. for ESPN.com ranks the Big East basketball classes and Pitt is sixth.
Every now and then when I see these stories, it really gets me to thinking. To be honest, I don't know what amazes me more. Pitt's inability to consistently land higher-rated recruits or their ability to get the most out of the ones they do get.
One argument I'm sick of is the one that says Pitt won't get these types of players until they get to a Final Four. Please. Rutgers landed All-American Mike Rosario didn't they? Through Huggy Bear, Kansas State lured Michael Beasley. Marquette is 2nd on this list and even Providence (yes, THAT Providence) managed to land two ESPNU Top 100 players and ranks ahead of Pitt.
Now it's not as if Pitt has gotten chopped liver. Over the past four years, ESPN has ranked them in the top 25 three times. But they've had no top 15 classes and only one McDonald's All-American in the past ten years.
How much do these rankings mean? In reality, not all that much. DeJuan Blair was ranked somewhere around 50th, but was one of the best players in college basketball as a sophomore. Devin Ebanks of West Virginia was rated below Truck Bryant and Kevin Jones, but is the only one leaving early for the NBA. But for Pitt to not be able to land more top ranked players is kind of a head scratcher to me. Look at the factors:
1. They've put together nearly a solid decade of winning basketball with several Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite 8. Not among the best of the best, but certainly in that next tier. Record-wise, Pitt has been one of the nation's best.
2. Pitt has great facilities and plays in a new building.
3. The Oakland Zoo provides one of the best atmospheres in all of college basketball.
4. Pitt regularly plays on national TV.
5. It's also a very solid academic school.
When I see teams that have not even had a sniff of Pitt's recent success recruiting higher ranked players, I've got to admit I just don't get it. And I'm not so sure the argument of Pitt not allowing star players to 'showcase' themselves applies. To the contrary, I think Pitt would be a school a top recruit could look to and see himself leading an already good team to a championship.
Part of it is due to location - I get that. Great players staying close to home. But what this should really tell you how much of a factor relationships can play into recruiting.
All Pitt can really do is keep plugging away and the more they develop a reputation for sending players the NBA, the better things should get. Pitt has sent four players to the NBA in the past five seasons (DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, Aaron Gray, and Chris Taft) and Brandin Knight had a sniff appearing in one game in 2004-05 with the Rockets. If Gil Brown ever gets this consistency thing down, perhaps he'll get a look and you've got to think Dante Taylor can get there.
Pitt has had a lot of success, which is why their lack of top recruits is all the more puzzling.
Showing posts with label Chris Taft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Taft. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A Meaningful Scrimmage?
Normally, I'd say scrimmages are meaningless. But the blue-gold basketball game held yesterday might actually have some importance for Pitt, at least in terms of getting a feel for how players perform against real competition. Sure, they're getting plenty of that in practice, but to be on the court with actual fans in attendance had to be at least a little different.
Personally, I'd like to see March Madness back as it was briefly here in the late 90s. If top programs like North Carolina and Kentucky can do it, then we should be as well. Period.
I digress.
On this night, anyway, newcomer Chase Adams looked like the star, scoring 21 and was surprisingly accurate from 3-point range - at least for someone who was touted as a defensive player. Despite the output, though, he still sees himself as being a defense-first type of guy, which is good for Pitt:
In Adams, Pitt may have a real leader after the mass exodus of talent:
Not even wanting to lose in an exhibition game? A game that was so much of an exhibition that some players changed teams in the middle of the game? Sick - I like it.
Make no mistake - I don't think Pitt will be a run and gun offense. They never have been in this recent run of success and without Blair/Fields/Young, may need to be more of a defensive team than ever in order to compete. But with Adams, Gibbs, Wanamaker, Dixon, and Woodall, this team could put up more three-pointers than normal and look to score more outside than they have in the past.
One revelation that came out of the game was that Dante Taylor will play center. Call me crazy, but I think there's virtually no chance he leaves after this year for the NBA. He'd have to have a heck of a year to be considered a lock for a first-round pick. True, Pitt will need to rely heavily on underclassmen this year, but with so many guys getting minutes this year, I think he will have a hard time putting up the type of dominant numbers he would need to in order to be considered for a top pick.
No, I don't base this on the fact that he struggled in this game and had only seven shots. Just keep this in mind - Pitt has always had a tough time letting any one guy take over. Sam Young was really the only person in recent memory who could...and he had to wait until he was a junior. Streaky Carl Krauser and Chris Taft couldn't despite having maybe the most overall talent on their respective teams. A seven-foot Aaron Gray couldn't even average 15.0 ppg despite being several inches taller than many of his opponents guarding him.
Not to say that Pitt SHOULD let one player dominate on offense...and truth be told, Young may have been the closest they've had as a go-to-guy, so you can't fault the coaches in my opinion. But it will be extremely difficult for a true freshman to come in and put up the type of numbers at Pitt to warrant being a lock for a first-round pick. Pitt hasn't had a 20 point scorer and no underclassman has been able to score 16.0 ppg in this recent run of greatness. If Taylor is unable to put up dominant numbers on a team with perceivably no real stars, then I think NBA GMs would have a hard time justifying him as a first-round lock. Yes he's young and yes the potential is there, but I don't know if that's enough, seeing he wasn't a consensus top 10 or even top 15 incoming freshman nationally.
Back to the game - Ray Fittipaldo of the PG who had a live blog running for the game, has a good look at some of the stats showing just how much Pitt's departures will be missed.
The official box score shows plenty of guys had good nights including Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs totaling 36 points. I'm extremely curious to see how the rotation will end up.
And this is a little old, but Gilbert Brown is still apparently on schedule to come back at his earliest possible return date, December 20th.
Personally, I'd like to see March Madness back as it was briefly here in the late 90s. If top programs like North Carolina and Kentucky can do it, then we should be as well. Period.
I digress.
On this night, anyway, newcomer Chase Adams looked like the star, scoring 21 and was surprisingly accurate from 3-point range - at least for someone who was touted as a defensive player. Despite the output, though, he still sees himself as being a defense-first type of guy, which is good for Pitt:
"I definitely view myself more as a defensive player, but as of late I've been shooting pretty well," Adams said. "I've been more comfortable shooting the ball, and coach has been telling me when I have the open shot to take the open shot. I've been trying to establish myself as an offensive player as well."
In Adams, Pitt may have a real leader after the mass exodus of talent:
Long before he transferred to Pitt from a 938-student college in Louisiana, Chase Adams played for one of the top high school teams in the nation.
His Mount Saint Joseph (Md.) team had won a state-record 38 games in a row but lost to traditional power DeMatha (Md.) in the final game of the season.
The team finished ranked No. 8 in the USA Today, but Adams was inconsolable.
"He doesn't like to lose," Mount Saint Joseph coach Pat Clatchey said. "After the game, he was just like after any other time we lost. He wasn't happy."
Said Adams, "I've got a strong competitive nature, and it makes me want to win at all costs. I didn't have any intentions of losing tonight."
Not even wanting to lose in an exhibition game? A game that was so much of an exhibition that some players changed teams in the middle of the game? Sick - I like it.
Make no mistake - I don't think Pitt will be a run and gun offense. They never have been in this recent run of success and without Blair/Fields/Young, may need to be more of a defensive team than ever in order to compete. But with Adams, Gibbs, Wanamaker, Dixon, and Woodall, this team could put up more three-pointers than normal and look to score more outside than they have in the past.
One revelation that came out of the game was that Dante Taylor will play center. Call me crazy, but I think there's virtually no chance he leaves after this year for the NBA. He'd have to have a heck of a year to be considered a lock for a first-round pick. True, Pitt will need to rely heavily on underclassmen this year, but with so many guys getting minutes this year, I think he will have a hard time putting up the type of dominant numbers he would need to in order to be considered for a top pick.
No, I don't base this on the fact that he struggled in this game and had only seven shots. Just keep this in mind - Pitt has always had a tough time letting any one guy take over. Sam Young was really the only person in recent memory who could...and he had to wait until he was a junior. Streaky Carl Krauser and Chris Taft couldn't despite having maybe the most overall talent on their respective teams. A seven-foot Aaron Gray couldn't even average 15.0 ppg despite being several inches taller than many of his opponents guarding him.
Not to say that Pitt SHOULD let one player dominate on offense...and truth be told, Young may have been the closest they've had as a go-to-guy, so you can't fault the coaches in my opinion. But it will be extremely difficult for a true freshman to come in and put up the type of numbers at Pitt to warrant being a lock for a first-round pick. Pitt hasn't had a 20 point scorer and no underclassman has been able to score 16.0 ppg in this recent run of greatness. If Taylor is unable to put up dominant numbers on a team with perceivably no real stars, then I think NBA GMs would have a hard time justifying him as a first-round lock. Yes he's young and yes the potential is there, but I don't know if that's enough, seeing he wasn't a consensus top 10 or even top 15 incoming freshman nationally.
Back to the game - Ray Fittipaldo of the PG who had a live blog running for the game, has a good look at some of the stats showing just how much Pitt's departures will be missed.
The official box score shows plenty of guys had good nights including Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs totaling 36 points. I'm extremely curious to see how the rotation will end up.
And this is a little old, but Gilbert Brown is still apparently on schedule to come back at his earliest possible return date, December 20th.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Barrel 'O Links
Lots of non-Louisville game stuff to mention that happened over the past week or so:
Some ESPN encyclopedia fails to rank Pitt's basketball program in the top ten in the 2000s. Now I'm not going to debate the top 25 of all-time list (in which UCLA isn't even #1, Duke is somehow 47 spots above UCONN and Pitt ranks 60th behind powerhouses such as Nebraska and Iowa State), which is nonsense in itself. And I'm certainly not going to debate teams that have won chapmionships this decade that are in the top ten - UNC, Michigan State, Duke, UCONN, Kansas and Florida. But I WILL say that over the past nine years, Pitt matches up very favorably against the other teams ranked that have not won titles - Kentucky, Illinois, Arizona, and Texas. The latter three all made at least one Final Four, but if that's the measuring stick, then how does UCLA (who made at least two if my memory serves me correct) get left out?
*Stepping off of my soapbox*
Pitt somehow is still managing to land QB recruits - the latest is a fairly low-rated one - Mark Myers out of Cleveland. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Next year, Pitt will have five QBs (Bostick, Sunseri, Gray, Gonzalez, and Myers) who all have at least two years of eligibility. Bostick will have two and the other four will have at least three. I'm thinking someone is in for a position change...shhhh, don't tell them that.
Joe Starkey of the Trib has an excellent article on Chris Taft and his life after injury. Glad to hear he's doing well. It's hard to fault his logic for coming out early, but there's no way he was ready.
Bill Stull's performance of 242 yards passing with 3 TDs nets him Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Jamie Dixon deals with yet another loss of a family memberand also holds the first-ever Basketball Fan-Fest and Maggie Dixon Heart Health Fair.
With so many one-loss teams, a 4-1 start isn't enough to get Pitt more than a few votes in each poll.
More spin about how the new Bowl Game at Yankee Stadium is a real coup for the Big East. Sure it is.
Some ESPN encyclopedia fails to rank Pitt's basketball program in the top ten in the 2000s. Now I'm not going to debate the top 25 of all-time list (in which UCLA isn't even #1, Duke is somehow 47 spots above UCONN and Pitt ranks 60th behind powerhouses such as Nebraska and Iowa State), which is nonsense in itself. And I'm certainly not going to debate teams that have won chapmionships this decade that are in the top ten - UNC, Michigan State, Duke, UCONN, Kansas and Florida. But I WILL say that over the past nine years, Pitt matches up very favorably against the other teams ranked that have not won titles - Kentucky, Illinois, Arizona, and Texas. The latter three all made at least one Final Four, but if that's the measuring stick, then how does UCLA (who made at least two if my memory serves me correct) get left out?
*Stepping off of my soapbox*
Pitt somehow is still managing to land QB recruits - the latest is a fairly low-rated one - Mark Myers out of Cleveland. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Next year, Pitt will have five QBs (Bostick, Sunseri, Gray, Gonzalez, and Myers) who all have at least two years of eligibility. Bostick will have two and the other four will have at least three. I'm thinking someone is in for a position change...shhhh, don't tell them that.
Joe Starkey of the Trib has an excellent article on Chris Taft and his life after injury. Glad to hear he's doing well. It's hard to fault his logic for coming out early, but there's no way he was ready.
Bill Stull's performance of 242 yards passing with 3 TDs nets him Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Jamie Dixon deals with yet another loss of a family memberand also holds the first-ever Basketball Fan-Fest and Maggie Dixon Heart Health Fair.
With so many one-loss teams, a 4-1 start isn't enough to get Pitt more than a few votes in each poll.
More spin about how the new Bowl Game at Yankee Stadium is a real coup for the Big East. Sure it is.
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