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.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Women's Basketball Program Update
Even though women's basketball may not be the hottest topic out there, I'd been waiting for a story on what's transpired over the past several months. The program seemingly has been in disarray with two assistant coaches leaving and the transfer of three players, which made up the entire sophomore class.
The Post-Gazette came out with a pretty thorough piece about everything that's transpired.
We know that Jeff Williams left to become a head coach, so that's understandable. Yolett McPhee McCuin the other assistant left to become an assistant. When it was first announced, it appeared to be a lateral move at a lesser school. However, the article points out that she left for more money and a promotion from 3rd assistant to 2nd assistant. Not a huge jumpg, but at least understandable.
Regarding the three transfers:
- Pepper Wilson transferred for personal reasons
- Kate Popovec transferred for more playing time
- Sarah Ogoke transferred to be closer to home and for more playing time
At least those reasons are somewhat reasonable and don't necessarily point to a major clash with the coach.
When you look at the fact that the team hasn't lost any of its starters from last year, they have four incoming freshmen, and were able to attract a former WNBA coach, things don't seem to be as bad as perhaps they first appeared.
The Post-Gazette came out with a pretty thorough piece about everything that's transpired.
We know that Jeff Williams left to become a head coach, so that's understandable. Yolett McPhee McCuin the other assistant left to become an assistant. When it was first announced, it appeared to be a lateral move at a lesser school. However, the article points out that she left for more money and a promotion from 3rd assistant to 2nd assistant. Not a huge jumpg, but at least understandable.
Regarding the three transfers:
- Pepper Wilson transferred for personal reasons
- Kate Popovec transferred for more playing time
- Sarah Ogoke transferred to be closer to home and for more playing time
At least those reasons are somewhat reasonable and don't necessarily point to a major clash with the coach.
When you look at the fact that the team hasn't lost any of its starters from last year, they have four incoming freshmen, and were able to attract a former WNBA coach, things don't seem to be as bad as perhaps they first appeared.
Pitt Left Out
Pitt's NCAA tournament hopes ended when the bracket was revealed. Pitt was only able to win one game in the Big East tournament before being ousted.
Still, a pretty successful year for a program that hasn't typically done very well. Hopefully they can use this year as well as their new facilities to build upon.
Also, two Pitt players, Corey Brownstein and former football player Kevan Smith, made the All-Big East Tournament team.
Still, a pretty successful year for a program that hasn't typically done very well. Hopefully they can use this year as well as their new facilities to build upon.
Also, two Pitt players, Corey Brownstein and former football player Kevan Smith, made the All-Big East Tournament team.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
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.
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.
Big East Network Part II
So I first mentioned this a few weeks back. Didn't give it much thought since, other than to again ask myself WHY it couldn't happen.
But now, it appears the idea is real:
And it's easy to sit back and laugh, focusing on the Big East's inability to show quality football games. Fine. But look at the basketball games that could be showcased? And trust me, I've seen some pretty bad Big Ten matchups on their network along with the host of team features and minor sports including college baseball, which happens to be on right now.
What I like is that the conference is thinking big:
One thing I'll point out is as a sidenote to Paul Tagliabue's quote about the conference's study of a potential network needing to be 'explored quietly and in depth.' I agree with that, but I think it also needs to be done fairly quickly. Depending on what rumors you believe, the Big Ten is either on the doorstep ready to knock or at the very least, on the way over. It seems at least one Big East team could be invited and it could end up being three. The Big East has to realize that it's likely any invited team would accept, with the exception of Notre Dame. Since that invitation could come quickly, a plan needs to be assembled and distributed to the member schools even quicker.
A promise of a network likely will still not be enough for schools to stay. But if the conference can somehow make the unbelievably fast turnaround of getting a network deal secured with guaranteed payouts, that might be a start for securing the conference's future. Even if the conference lost some schools to Big East expansion, could a Big East network be enough to lure a couple of other teams away from the ACC or elsewhere?
Maybe.
But now, it appears the idea is real:
Paul Tagliabue, the former commissioner of the National Football League who is now working as a consultant for the Big East Conference, says the 16-team conference is not standing pat while discussion continues nationwide on the future of the college sports landscape.And as I also pointed out in that initial article, the Big East's reach is pretty significant:
To that end, Tagliabue is advising the Big East on its television rights. One option would be for the Big East to follow the example of the Big Ten and form its own network.
He said it was too early to say whether the Big East would go that route.
"A lot of what is being discussed has to be explored quietly and in depth," he said.
The Big East also would have a bigger reach. Seven members of the conference are located in the top 12 media markets in the country. And 12 members are located in the top 34. That covers more than a quarter of all U.S. markets, the largest coverage of any conference in the country.Look, I'm not saying this is a slam dunk. I merely brought it up because it seems foolish to me that the Big Ten is the only conference that can have its own network. I think eventually you'll see all major conferences with their own network. Just look at how sports programming has grown. ESPN started in 1979 and sat as the only round-the-clock sports channel for a while. But now, 30 years later, you've got FOUR ESPNs, ESPN360/ESPN3, Fox Sports, CBS College Sports, the Big Ten Network, and the like.
And it's easy to sit back and laugh, focusing on the Big East's inability to show quality football games. Fine. But look at the basketball games that could be showcased? And trust me, I've seen some pretty bad Big Ten matchups on their network along with the host of team features and minor sports including college baseball, which happens to be on right now.
What I like is that the conference is thinking big:
Could Big East sports alone be enough to entice cable subscribers? Maybe not. But Marinatto says the league has access to "other alliances that could drive that concept." He declined to give specifics, but when I asked him if by "alliances" he meant other college sports, pro sports or even entertainment programming, he said, "all of the above."The question is, is it too late? And while I like some of the thoughts being thrown out there in theory, it almost seems to me as if these are more pipe dreams that actual living, breathing possibilities.
"Because we're sitting where we are in the Northeast corridor, we have people from our schools who are involved in the business world who are working at the right places," he said. "Maybe that can help create some partnerships that would make us unique."
Could you envision a Big East sports and entertainment network that includes not only league games but also concerts, Broadway musicals and Major League and NBA games from cities like Philadelphia and Washington D.C.? Who knows. Marinatto said "everything is on the table."
One thing I'll point out is as a sidenote to Paul Tagliabue's quote about the conference's study of a potential network needing to be 'explored quietly and in depth.' I agree with that, but I think it also needs to be done fairly quickly. Depending on what rumors you believe, the Big Ten is either on the doorstep ready to knock or at the very least, on the way over. It seems at least one Big East team could be invited and it could end up being three. The Big East has to realize that it's likely any invited team would accept, with the exception of Notre Dame. Since that invitation could come quickly, a plan needs to be assembled and distributed to the member schools even quicker.
A promise of a network likely will still not be enough for schools to stay. But if the conference can somehow make the unbelievably fast turnaround of getting a network deal secured with guaranteed payouts, that might be a start for securing the conference's future. Even if the conference lost some schools to Big East expansion, could a Big East network be enough to lure a couple of other teams away from the ACC or elsewhere?
Maybe.
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