Double Bye Will Stay

AOL Fanhouse has the scoop that the Big East's double bye in the basketball tournament will stick around for another year:

"There were a variety of reasons and it was concluded that the timing wasn't right," Big East associate commissioner Dan Gavitt told FanHouse.

There was a lot of complaining, if you remember, from last season. Jim Boeheim was one of those vehemently against it:

"I think the double-bye is awful," the Hall of Fame coach said. "Conventional wisdom says the double-bye teams should fare better, but (two) of the four lost last year. If that doesn't say something, I don't know what does."

The coaches and ADs took to the idea of scratching the double bye format to the Presidents, but ultimately, the idea was shot down.

Funny, but Gavitt's quote above was a complete 180 from what he said earlier:

“We tend to listen to our coaches,’’ associate commissioner Dan Gavitt said. “When they want something to change, it changes. If they think a change would be a better path going into the NCAA tournament, then I’m sure we’ll look at it.’’

I don't know. I think I subscribe to Jamie Dixon's line of thinking on this:

"A double bye had nothing to do with it," Dixon said after No. 2 seed Pitt lost in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. "It's just a team that's playing well against another team that's playing very well."

I definitely understand where Boeheim is coming from and think there's something to what he's saying.  But to me, the Big East is just a tough conference. Teams with a double bye can get caught looking ahead and you just can't do that in a tournament format when some teams are looking to make a final statement to either improve their NCAA tournament seeding or in some cases, get in at all.

Plus, when you have a double bye, more of the lesser teams are weeded out by time a top four seed might play. While I do think teams without a double bye may be in more of a rhythm, I think it's still a bonus to have to play one fewer game in the tournament.

Speculating, Speculating...

Is it too early to start speculating on who might be leaving the program with the commitment of center Malcolm Gilbert? 

Of course it is.

For one thing, Gilbert, like the other recruits have only made verbal commitments and will need to sign letters of intent before anything becomes official.  For another, there's no telling if all four recruits would even qualify academically.  And for yet another, someone may really want to leave the program voluntarily, opening up another spot.

And I still haven't mentioned perhaps the most likely scenario out of all those things - what if Dante Taylor leaves early for the NBA?

But say all of the aforementioned happens and Taylor sticks around.  Then what?

Well, the two players I see in the most trouble are:

J.J. Richardson - He's probably going to see less time this season with the emergence of Talib Zanna and since Gilbert is a big man, it makes it even more likely that he could go. Mix in 2012 recruit Steven Adams and the frontcourt gets really crowded. Richardson's advantage may be that if he can beat out Gilbert as a Junior next year, he'd likely be the backup center behind Taylor (assuming Taylor stays at center...I know, that's an entirely different debate).

Cameron Wright - I know, I get it.  He hasn't even played a minute for the team yet.  But this is all about speculation and besides, who else do you see that could go instead of him?  Travon Woodall?  Please.  He played really well down the stretch last season and despite not being the best shooter, is probably the team's best true point guard. Plus, with Isaiah Epps and Woodall (who really got better as the season went on last year), ahead of him, he might be struggling to get minutes. And don't forget about incoming 2011 freshman John Johnson who will be at the point or SG.

It's crazy early, but that's how I see it. I can't pick between those two because it largely will depend on how others in their positions fare over the next season. If everyone qualifies, it will be interesting to see how Dixon deals with this situation for a second straight year. From everything I hear, Dixon hates doing this sort of thing. I'm a little puzzled that he'd do it again for a three-star, somewhat-prospect center if he didn't have a good reason for it.  Maybe he thinks Taylor is gone after this season.  Maybe he knows something we don't.  In any event, he's opened the door for a world of speculation over the next year.

Now, We Wait

So Pitt went out and picked up another commitment for 2011 in 6'11" center Malcolm Gilbert. With the commitment of Durand Johnson about a week ago, it looked like Pitt might be done recruiting. After all, they'd reached their anticipated limit of three scholarships for next year.

Not so.

For the second consecutive year, Pitt has gone over their limit and may need to boot someone from the program to balance things out. Yes, the school can 'hope' someone doesn't qualify academically next year, but as this offseason proved, you can hardly count on that.

Not that Pitt couldn't use a center.  They hadn't gotten a true center since Cassin Diggs and Gary McGhee three years ago and it was good to see them get more size. Gilbert is a three-star recruit as rated by both Scout and Rivals.  He also grades out at a 92 according to ESPN's Insider Ratings. 

He reportedly had drawn interest from ten schools including Ohio State, Wake Forest, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Notre Dame, and a few others. And at one point, there was apparently some interest from Duke and Georgetown.

The first thing you might notice is that even though he's 6'11", he's reportedly only around 215 pounds. Yikes. Yes he's young, but he'll need to add around 30 pounds to bang in the Big East.

He was set to make a decision in September and with Durand Johnson committing, you have to wonder if Pitt made him speed up his decision-making a bit. As I mentioned, the class was already full and maybe Gilbert figured it was now or never.

While he may have a sound offensive game, it sounds like it's his defense that is the key to his game:

“He’s intriguing because of his upside,” East Coach Elite coach Terrell Myers said in June. “What people don’t understand is, they see 6-11, they look at him as an offensive player. He’s not an offensive player, he’s a defensive player.

And in 2008-2009 as only a sophomore, Gilbert did his best Dikembe Mutombo impersonation:

Q. You averaged a near 12 blocked shots in high school last year. Is the art of altering a shot something you’ve always been good at?

A. Since I can remember, I’ve always been able to block shots. I just always had the hops, I guess you could say.

Holy Mark Eaton, Batman.

Other than deciding who may be gone from Pitt, the other underlying theme of this is that Pitt has to be out of the running for one of the four-star centers, Amir Williams and Desmond Hubert.  Part of me is glad to see Dixon land a center, but the other part is really hoping that Pitt had no shot at either guy.  Both apparently have more of a game than Gilbert.  My confidence is pretty strong in Dixon, though, and I'm guessing that Pitt either felt like they had not shot with either Williams or Hubert or Dixon was determined to get an answer fairly quickly.

Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens next season if all of the incoming recruits qualify.

Talib Zanna To Get Starring Role?

No one can deny that on the surface, Talib Zanna looks like he's ready to contribute this season.

First, Zanna nearly led all Pitt players in rebounding in the Greentree Summer League, averaging almost 11. He also added in about 13.5 points per game.

Then came the trip to Ireland where Zanna was again a major factor, averaging eight points and seven rebounds per game.

But it wasn't just in game action where Zanna has impressed. Jamie Dixon says the way he's practiced will likely lead to playing time this year:

In practices prior to the visit to Ireland and in the five games the Panthers played – all victories – Dixon closely monitored the performance of 6-9 redshirt freshman power forward Talib Zanna and became convinced he’ll help Pitt this season.

“I think he’s going to play minutes. I think he’s going to be good,” Dixon said. “I think Zanna is going to give us a different look with his length and his size at the 4. It gives us another option.”

Zanna might not replace Nasir Robinson this year as the starter at the 4, but if he has a good season, he might leapfrog him next year. But even if Dixon's history of playing upperclassmen shines through and Robinson continues to start, at the very least, Zanna should see his fair share of minutes. I'd like to see him play more than Robinson if he can rebound as well as he appears to be more of a scorer.

Pitt Basketball Wins Third Game In Ireland

Pitt won its third game on its Ireland trip, beating the Irish National Team for the second straight time today, 110-61.

The team was again led by freshman J.J. Moore who was 6-12 from the field, scoring 14 points. Moore, J.J. Richardson, Ashton Gibbs, Gilbert Brown, and Nasir Robinson were all in double figures in scoring. Pitt continues to rebound well - so well in fact that their 22 offensive rebounds were more than the Irish National Team's overall rebound total of 20.

Jamie Dixon again used a different starting lineup and he's apparently testing out chemistry issues.

Pitt shot 54% from the field and is averaging more than 50% through their three games thus far. The team's Big East style of play, however, landed them in a bit of foul trouble as Ireland got to the line 31 times.

Next up will be the Dart Killester Club Team on Wednesday.

Best Defensive Center

So I stumbled upon this Jamie Dixon Q&A from Scout.  There's the typical stuff in there - his thoughts on Pitt's upcoming trip to Ireland, practices, and the new version of the NCAA Tournament.  But buried near the bottom was this nugget, when asked how Gary McGhee and Dante Taylor were progressing:

“Gary, is easily the best center we’ve ever had, defensively. That’s half the game right there. That can’t be underestimated..."

Go ahead, let's hear it.  Let it all out.  Done laughing yet?  Well the fact is when you go through Pitt's roster of centers since Dixon or even Howland has been there, who was really a better defender?  I'm not the biggest McGhee supporter in the world and I think all this talk about him dominating the summer league has elevated him to a stauts that, frankly, I don't think he belongs in.  He's a fine center who has without question gotten better, but no superstar.

That said.

If you can get past the bobbles with the ball, the somewhat awkward-looking footwork, and the occasional misses from close-range, you'll find a competent and very sound defensive center.  And his ability to defend without fouling is amazing.  Consider this - he didn't foul out of a single game last year and reached four fouls only twice.  He averaged just over two fouls per game, but was physical enough to average almost two blocks a game.  How many starting centers can say that?  Plus, no other center in the Howland/Dixon era topped his 1.7 blocks per game that he achieved last season.

Here's the lineup of true starting centers in the Howland/Dixon era:

DeJuan Blair - Clearly the best of the past decade and a pretty good defender.  His rebounding ability was unbelievable, but as far as being a face up defender, I give McGhee the edge over him.  Blair's phsyical play sometimes led to foul trouble, which forced him to the bench. His shorter frame also allowed taller players to shoot over him.

Aaron Gray - I don't know if there's any other adjective to more adequately describe him than 'good.'  He was a solid Big East center, and improved greatly over his time.  But I think McGhee is a little quicker on his feet and better defensively than Gray was.

Toree Morris and Ontario Lett aren't even in the discussion.

Gary McGhee may not be Pitt's best center and may not play in the NBA as Blair and Gray currently are.  He also hasn't shown the ability to score or rebound as well as either yet.  But as a man-to-man defender, while at Pitt, he may be the best the school has seen in the past decade.

Basketball Recruiting Stuff

Chris Dokish has what many of us have been waiting for - more information on recent commit, Steven Adams out of New Zealand.  For starters, his coach thinks he's still growing:

“He’s about 6′10″, 6′11″, and about 225 or 230 pounds,” says Kenny McFadden, Adams’ coach in Wellington, as well as the Development Officer of basketball in the country. But I think he’s going to eventually be over 7′0″ feet. He’s only sixteen.”

You might ask how Jamie Dixon found him all the way in New Zealand.  Here's your answer - he played professionally with Adams' coach:

“We played professionally in New Zealand together many years ago,” says McFadden, who played for George Raveling at Washington State. “And we have been friends ever since. When Jamie was down here for the World Championships, we sat down and I told him about my players. He was interested in Rob Loe (6′11″ center) at the time, but he went to play at St. Louis. And I told him about Steve, and I told him that he was even better. He is bigger and more skilled than Rob was.”

His coach also thinks his NBA aspirations can be reached:

As for the future for Adams, McFadden doesn’t mince words. “His aspirations are to play in the NBA and I think he can. We’ve had a few others from here play in the league, like Sean Marks (9-year veteran who played at California), and he is going to be better than all of them.”

I've seen Marks play and trust me, he's no Shaq.  Still, NBA players are the best in the world and if you get there, you're quite a player.  Here's hoping he remains a relative secret, though that will be tough as he's scheduled to make his first visit to the U.S., playing in Las Vegas soon.  He's only 16, so it's a long way before his commitment to Pitt will be finalized.

Courtesy of Ray Mernagh over at the NBE Basketball Report, 2011 recruit John Johnson talks more about his commitment to Pitt:

“When I went on my visit there it was like a family,” Johnson said, “the coaches can be like father figures to me and that’s important because I don’t want to go to college just for basketball…I want to become a good man too.”

Be sure to check out the article because Mernagh's got some first-hand experience watching him play recently and gives a good report on him.

And a quick mention on Pitt's recruits this year - albeit from Wednesday of last week.  J.J. Moore scored 23 points in the most recent Greentree Summer League games.  Cameron Wright contributed ten points in his game.

Pitt Basketball In Need Of Another Staff Member

Pitt men's video coordinator Rasheen Davis is leaving the school to become an assistant at Xavier.  While he was in charge of breaking down video tape for Pitt, he'll have a larger role at Xavier:

Davis said recruiting will be his primary focus at XU. His main bases are in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, although he also has ties in Maryland, Georgia and Florida.

More ties to the area:

Davis was a point guard and later an assistant coach at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas College in New York. He served as an assistant varsity coach at national power Rice High (N.Y.) for two seasons and worked with the New York Gauchos AAU program for three years.

He has a master’s degree in guidance counseling from the College of New Rochelle (N.Y.) and for two years was a guidance counselor at Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies High School in South Bronx.

It looks like he's going to get started almost immediately:

At Xavier, Davis will be a full-time assistant and is expected to be on the road recruiting this month for the second ‘live’ period which covers July 22 – July 31.

While he didn't do any recruiting for Pitt, he'll be another presence they'll likely run into out east.  Pitt fans may remember that video coordinator was the same position that Brandin Knight held shortly after coming back to Pitt, and head coach Jamie Dixon will likely look again at a young individual interested in breaking into coaching to fill this role.  Really not all that big of a deal.

News and Notes

Dion Lewis makes the Orlando Sentinel's list of five sophomores to watch.

University of Pittsburgh employee salaries were released and as a surprise to nobody, Jamie Dixon is king. Dave Wannstedt comes in second and AD Steve Pederson was fourth.

HD replays will now be available to officials. Never understood why they didn't have them in the first place.

While not confirmed yet, Duquesne mentions that they're bigger games, including the City Game vs. Pitt will likely be played at the new Consol Arena.

And some writer from...somewhere...picks Pitt as your 2010-11 NCAA Basketball National Champion.

Dwight Miller Out

Ray Fittipaldo of the PG+ section (Note: If you are not a subscriber to this section, you have a limited number of page views to the content before you must subscribe) says that it is looking as if JJ Moore has qualified academically, meaning that Dwight Miller is looking to transfer.

With JJ Richardson playing well in spurts last year and Travon Woodall getting much better as the year went on, Dwight Miller's fate was looking worse and worse.

As Fittipaldo mentions, this has not been confirmed by Pitt yet. But assuming his information is true about Moore, I'd expect Miller would be the one to go.

He put in a lot of work with Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon and I'm sure Jamie Dixon doesn't like the way this looks. But Miller would likely have been hard pressed to get minutes anyway, so this is probably best for him.

Welcome Pat Skerry

Jamie Dixon hired an assistant coach to replace Tom Herrion - the rumored Pat Skerry from Providence has accepted an offer.

This is a good get for Pitt. Not an established former head coach (served as the head coach for a couple of years at a small school, Curry College), but someone who's been viewed as a top assistant. Some of the qualifications from his bio:

- Named as one of the top assistants in the country in 2007 by Hoop Scoop

- 2008 FoxSports.com top mid-major assistant in the country

- Helped put together a top 25 recruting class at Rhode Island in 2006

He also has a history with departed assistant Tom Herrion as he served as an assistant with him at the College of Charleston.

Skerry was in on the recruiting efforts for Providence this past season and helped land two ESPN top 100 recruits, including #54 overall Gerard Coleman.

His history on the east coast and ability to recruit well at less successful programs has me encouraged. It's nice to think he might be able to do even more at a school that's had one of the winningest programs in the country over the past decade.

I'm pretty happy with this choice.

More Basketball Thoughts on the Big Ten

On the basketball side, Jamie Dixon continues to express his thoughts about joining the Big Ten:

“I think tomorrow we’ll be in the Big East,” he said. “That’s what I believe. Do I think it will be the same for the next 100 years? Probably not. It’s probably going to change somewhat. We’re going to be in a great situation. Looking at our situation academically, the university where it stands as an AAU institution, as a highly ranked academic university, where our athletic programs are, and our commitment by our administration, I know we’re going to be in a good situation in a good conference, in a power conference, and we’re going to continue to be a power player in the NCAA.

“I can’t tell you exactly what teams will be on our schedule five years from now, but we’ll be playing some pretty good teams,” he said.

Dixon won’t be leading the campaign to leave the Big East.

“We’re in the best conference in the country for basketball, and our conference in football is getting better and better,” he said. “There’s not a lot of complaints coming from us. If there’s changes, there’s changes. We have the administration in the background to make the adjustments, and we will.”

Meanwhile, voice of the Panthers, Bill Hillgrove, weighs in:

“They should accept the invitation,” Hillgrove said. “But we don’t know where it’s coming from. Will it come from the Big Ten? Will it come from the ACC? Or will they stay in the Big East and will it survive? I hope they stay, because the Big East this past year proved itself as the best basketball conference ever. And football has proven the fact that it can survive even the escapes of the Miamis, Boston Colleges and Virginia Techs. Can they survive this next earthquake? That’s the question.”

So is he saying they should stay or go? Color me confused.

But back to Dixon. I understand Dixon's concerns and I think they're genuine. Pitt, in my opinion, would likely lose at least a little in recruiting and would need to start from scratch to develop new rivalries. Gone would be the games at MSG.

But would it be all bad?

Of course not.

The Big Ten is not the Big East in terms of basketball, but teams like Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, etc. make it a very good league. Now add Pitt and perhaps a Syracuse or Missouri to the mix and it may turn into the best league during some seasons.

Plus, Pitt is far enough east that it could have the best of both worlds to some degree. They have a long history in NYC and the east coast and could still recruit there, while also recruiting in the midwest to kids that would want to play in the Big Ten. Eventually, I think the pipelines to the east may disappear, but Pitt's history should keep them open for at least a bit. If Pitt is able to take that next step and get to a Final Four, then that can only help.

And of course, there's the money. More money doesn't just mean that football will benefit. All programs would. That means more money to pay Dixon and more to pay assistants.

Then to a much lesser degree, you've got the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which could Pitt in some great matchups against teams such as North Carolina and Duke.

I understand Dixon's concerns, but a move wouldn't be all bad for basketball.

Minor Basketball Notes

A few very random basketball pieces out there:

To start, there are a lot of preseason rankings out there. I've followed a few, but there are getting to be too many to keep up with. Chas over at Pitt Blather has a good rundown of the ones out there.

Pat Forde at ESPN.com thinks Pitt is a contender for next season and possibly the best team in the Big East:

4. Pittsburgh: The Panthers overachieved last season, winning 25 games with only a single senior playing a major role. Expect more next season from a program still trying to shatter the Elite Eight ceiling that has hovered above it in recent years. In a Big East that has lost a lot of sizzle, Pitt could be the clear preseason favorite.

Former Pitt standout Charles Smith has been advising Seton Hall's Herb Pope and says he should be able to make a full recovery from his recent health issues that helped force him out of the NBA Draft.

And Jamie Dixon apparently helped, at least somewhat, in Robert Morris' hiring of assistant coach Andrew Toole.

The Art of Scheduling

I guess you could say it all started with the beginning of the 'New' Golden Era of Pitt basketball, back in the early part of the decade. In 2001-02, the first year of this new era, Pitt went 25-4 and was disrespected with a 3-seed. They went 26-4 the next season, winning the Big East Championship, and still only ended up with a 2-seed. And by the time 2003-04 rolled around when they were 29-4 and a 3-seed, one level lower than UCONN who had six losses, something had to be done.

Enter, the scheduling change. Out with the cupcakes and in with legitimate non-conference foes, many of whom make the NCAA tournament.

It took a few years to get it exactly right, but Pitt has been reaping the benefits. Heck, in retrospect, Pitt may have been slightly overseeded this year, though I felt at the time they deserved the 3-seed. But that's what happens when you schedule the right way.

Jamie Dixon makes no secret of what his goal is each year when it comes to scheduling:

"Our ultimate goal is to attempt to get the toughest schedule in the country," Dixon says.

All you've got to do is look back at the past few years of non-conference scheduling:

2009-10: Texas, Robert Morris, and Wofford were NCAA tournament teams. Wichita State (25-10), Eastern Kentucky, Kent State, and Ohio were all good teams - several making the NIT.

2008-09: Siena, Florida State, Akron, and Robert Morris were all NCAA tournament teams and Belmont, Vermont, and Duquesne were quality teams.

2007-08: Duke was a high NCAA Tournament seed and Dayton, Duquesne, Oklahoma State, and Washington were all solid.

I've made this point before, but it's easy for a casual fan to look at some of these names and think nothing of them. But many of the smaller teams like Wofford, Siena, Vermont, et al, have been league champions and are very good. Sometimes I gripe about making the schedule TOO tough because of the league they're in. But the fact is that in some of those early years, the Big East was very good and Pitt was getting shorted on the seeding. So it's clear that they're doing things the right way.

Not Breaking the Bank

After apparently going after Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon, among others, the Oregon Ducks have finally landed a basketball coach in Dana Altman of Creighton. Dixon's name didn't land in the article, which also included a pretty good line from Altman:

The hiring ends more than a monthlong search during which several high profile names -- including Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Minnesota's Tubby Smith -- where rumored to be on Oregon's wish list. Missouri coach Mike Anderson said the Ducks approached him, but he turned down the job.

Altman joked about the process.

"You look at my wife, you look at me, I wasn't her first choice either," he said.

The contract, $1.8M per season, is a large amount, but not the potentially bank-breaking (well, at least as much as the bank could be broken in Oregon/Nike's case) amounts thrown out there during the search. I'm sure Dixon, Tubby, or Izzo would have surely been offered more.

Also in the basketball carousel is an article about recently departed Pitt women's basketball coach Yolett McCuin and her reasons for leaving the Pitt program by her hometown paper in the Bahamas.

Ancillary Stuff

Not a lot going on. Sure there was a football scrimmage Saturday, but I can only take so much Spring stuff until it feels as if sticking sharpened pencils directly into my retinas might be more entertaining.

That said, though, there are quite a few minor things out there or things indirectly related to Pitt:

- Well, well, well - looks like Rich Rod may have found yet another way to harm his former employer. As if he wasn't hated enough, now WVU is dealing with potential violations. I'm wondering if it's similar to the type of stuff he's been going through at Michigan with too much practicing. Hmm....

- Joe Pa thinks Big Ten expansion will happen:

"I think the trend is there are going to be bigger conferences. I think there are going to be 12-, 14-team conferences and maybe even 16-team conferences. Do I know what I'm talking about, who knows?

"It would appear to me that with the television situation what it is and the great impact that it has on exposure and what that exposure does to recruiting, we're naive to think ... we can sit back and see everybody else move ahead because they're going to move ahead. We better start thinking about where we're going."

I've not been commenting on the expansion stuff and that's been by design. Just too many variables and unknowns at this point and no real advantage to commenting on it every week until we get closer to something actually happening.

- Brian Bennett over at ESPN.com hints that he may be picking Pitt to win the Big East this year.

- In the wayyyyy to early Bracketology for the 2010-11 season, Joe Lunardi lists Pitt as a 3 seed. He has Georgetown as a 2-seed, highest in the Big East. I'm guessing that's dependent upon Greg Monroe coming back, though they should have a good team even without him. Along those same lines, Andy Katz loves, loves, LOVES Pitt next year. And so does Gary Parrish. I wouldn't put Pitt this high, but to each his own.

- I never got around to mentioning the whole Fred Hill/Pitt baseball thing mostly because I didn't really care all that much. But it was an interesting story nonetheless. Anyway, it appears Rutgers and Hill are at a standstill as far as him coming back to coach. Jon over at Rutgers blog Bleed Scarlet has plenty of good posts analyzing the situation as well as a possible replacement for Hill.

- Former Pitt coach and current Pitt villain Ben Howland gets some votes as one of the decade's top coaches.

- Finally, this happened several days ago, but thought it was worth a mention. Mike Rice agreed to stay at Robert Morris, despite interest from Seton Hall and Tulane. Rice handled the situation exactly how fans want. He ackonwledged interest in listening to both offers, acknowledged interviewing with both schools, and ended up staying. I believe he would have taken the Seton Hall job had he been offered it, but that's not the point. He was as honest and straight forward as could reasonably be expected throughout the process and Robert Morris should be proud of the way he handled the entire process. Jamie Dixon is in a much higher profile situation and the two situations were not the same. But maybe Jamie Dixon should take a note or two about how to handle these types of things rather than essentially playing grab ass with fans and media, and going into hiding every time his name comes up for a job.

Just sayin'.

Herrion Out

As I first saw reported by Bob Smizik's excellent blog, Pitt top assistant/Associate Head Coach Tom Herrion is reportedly leaving to take the head job at Marshall. It's not a surprise that he was looking to leave as he was a finalist for the Holy Cross job previously, and was linked to the Toledo job just a few weeks ago.

It seemed like it was only a matter of time. Herrion has been Jamie Dixon's main man and was the lead guy on the recruiting of Dante Taylor. According to Rivals, he's credited with the recruiting of Ashton Gibbs, Jermaine Dixon, Dwight Miller, and Lamar Patterson.

Marshall's AD, Mike Hamrick, is familiar with the Herrion family, and I think this is a good hire for them - even if he wasn't necessarily their first choice:

MU officials are holding a press conference at 1 p.m. at Cam Henderson Center. They are steadfastly refusing to confirm Herrion's appointment, but it was reported on the flagship radio station of the Thundering Herd radio network, WRVC in Huntington.

Further, WSAZ television reported that athletic director Mike Hamrick initially offered the job to Appalachian State coach Buzz Peterson, but the sides could not agree on a contract.

Hamrick has a history with Herrion's family, hiring his brother Bill in 1999 while at East Carolina. The older Herrion now coaches at New Hampshire.

Not sure who Dixon will get to replace him. I guess he could promote someone within then hire a lower-level guy. I've always liked the idea of having former head coaches as assistants on your staff. You get opinions of experienced guys who have been responsible for and in the situation of winning and losing games. Too many chefs in the kitchen can be a bad thing, but Dixon had a good find in Herrion.

If Dixon promotes from within, it will be interesting to see who fills the position - Pat Sandle, (who's been in the Howland/Dixon family since the days of Northern Arizona, but isn't really known as a recruiter) or former Pitt star Brandin Knight, (who's less experienced, but credited by Rivals as bringing in PG Isaiah Epps).

Jamie Dixon Brings Home Another Award

Jamie Dixon brought home a Coach of the Year award for his efforts in leading Pitt to a very good season:

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has won the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.

It's the second national coach of the year award for Dixon in as many years. He won the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year trophy last year.

I know who Jim Phelan is, but wasn't aware he had a Coach of the Year award named after him. The selection committee includes a hodge podge of analysts, coaches, and others.

It will be interesting to see how many of these he can rack up over his career.

I Lied - One More Note On Dixon

So this morning on the Vinnie and Cook show on 93.7 FM, Vinnie finally asked the tough question - DID JAMIE DIXON MEET WITH OREGON?

As expected, I figured he did and Dixon did nothing to suggest otherwise. He only answered by saying that he won't comment on that, which clearly has to suggest that he did. If he hadn't, there's no reason at this point to say he didn't. He's got a new extension and will not be leaving this year. Mix in the fact that several outlets had reported that he had met with them and it seems like a no-brainer to me. Whatever the reason...genuine interest, looking for more money from Pitt, etc., it's pretty clear to me that a meeting did take place.

Dixon then had yet another awkward moment, ending the interview early, immediately after that question by saying he was in traffic, approaching an accident, and had to pull off the road. Now, I'm not saying that's not possible. But it certainly is a bit odd considering that it occured immediately after the first tough question he received.

What this tells me is that Dixon is at least passively listening to offers and would consider leaving Pitt. I think we all basically knew that before, but these last couple of days have really confirmed it. My stance is still that it will take a 'dream job' scenario for him to leave and I expect him to be around for a while. I'm not personally irked at him, but I think he's turned off at least a few of his supporters to a small degree.

And just as I ripped the local radio shows for not asking anything tough yesterday, I really applaud the Vinnie and Cook show. They really don't back down from the tough questions and I'm quickly becoming a fan. Well done, guys.

The Last Word On Dixon Until, Well, Next Year

Personally, I'm glad this whole saga has ended. It started off with rumors I couldn't believe even a bit, then went to the 'really?' stage yesterday, and reached an end today with an extension.

I'm not going to over-dramatize this because I think enough of that's been done. Bottom line - Pitt got what it needed. Yet another assurance from Dixon that he wants to be here. But. The most ludicrous thing in the world would be to assume that he's here for the long haul. Jobs open all the time. Personally, I think there are few jobs Dixon would leave for. Dixon has turned down the allure of settling for a job to move out west a few times. That threat appears to have passed. But if a dream job ever opened up, there's always a chance he could go. But the longer he's here, I think the better his chances are of staying.

Now onto something that had me going insane on the drive home today. I caught all three of his post-conference local interviews with 93.7 the Fan, Fox Sports 970, and ESPN Radio 1250. I was appalled that no one (to my knowledge...maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong) asked the one question I think had to be asked - Did he meet with Oregon? Maybe no one bothered if he ducked the question in the press conference or maybe I just didn't hear it asked. But all of the interviewers lofted softball questions and instead of a bunch of questions about the Oregon situation or leaving Pitt in general, we got things like, 'So, coach, who's starting at the 4 next year.' Please.

One final note. Dixon blamed the canceling of his interviews that were to occur after his newsbreaking interview on the Fan on scheduling conflicts. I really like Dixon, but I think he's clearly misleading people on this. No rational person would honestly believe that the rest of his interviews would be suddenly canceled for the day because he wasn't told about them. The interviews were for local shows and I find it infinitely hard to believe that he couldn't be tracked down to do an interview that was supposed to be on his schedule. Sorry, Coach - not buying what you're selling.

That said, I'm glad he's back and think Pitt is extremely fortunate to have him.