Q&A for 7/7

By Chris Dokish
doke88@yahoo.com

Q: Chris, just out of curiosity, what percentage of your answers are from your contacts and what percentage are your own thoughts?

A: At least 95% come straight from contacts and for the 5% that doesn't, I make a point to say that it is my own opinion.

Q: How much does the Pitt staff take from the Greentree Summer League as far as the performances of the players?

A: Absolutely nothing. They don't even know that much about what goes on there, as far as how their players are performing. Especially this year when the Pitt players are the only high major players in the league. The league was simply designed to give the players a single place to get together and play in the off season. It's good to get in shape before the season and for the younger guys to get used to playing in front of more demanding fans. But it's great for the fans and I understand that one Pitt website actually had fans get together and sponsor a team. That's the kind of thing that the program needs as it helps in the grassroots movement to help turn Pittsburgh into a basketball city. It takes time but eventually kids may grow up wanting to play college basketball in the area as much as they want to play college football. And of course it's a great thing for the fans. I've been there a few times each year and I already stopped in already this year when I was in the city. It's a good thing to have. Just don't try to make too much out of the performances.

Q: Is it safe to say that Ashton Gibbs will be the starting PG this year?

READ REST OF THE ARTICLE...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


A: Not at all. Preseason practices haven't even started this season and the staff makes no judgments until then obviously. There is nobody guaranteed a starting spot at this time of year, this season especially. The staff still prefers that Woodall ends up being the starter and it's pretty important that he is. Simply put, he is the only true PG on the roster this season. Yes, Gibbs is a good player, but he isn't a true PG. From the emails I get I know Pitt fans want to convince themselves that he is, but he isn't. Woodall is much faster, much quicker, a much better penetrator, and much better defensively. His type of skills, if honed, is much better for Pitt. Look what happened at WVU and Cincinnati last year when they lost their PGs. They had SGs playing PG and it hurt them both.

If Gibbs was the starter, it would have the same effect as when Ronald Ramon took over for Levance Fields two years ago. Is Ramon a good player? Yes. Can Ramon start at PG for short periods of time? Yes. But can you win big with Ramon at PG full-time? No. Again, especially this season when things are so up in the air. Just like what will likely happen with Gibbs, Ramon's lack of PG skills were exposed against highly talented teams or highly talented PGs. Not to mention that if Gibbs is the starting PG, then that moves others out of their more ideal position, including Gibbs, who would be ideal as somebody who plays a lot of minutes backing up both guard spots. Bottom line, Gibbs could do well for the majority of the schedule, but if Pitt wants to have a really big season, it would be ideal if Woodall wins the job. And the staff thinks he definitely can. But they won't just hand it to him. If he doesn't win it fair and square, then they will take their chances with Gibbs.

Q: Is there a chance that Jermaine Dixon or Brad Wanamaker will start at PG this year?

A: Not unless there is some kind of serious injury and/or Woodall or Gibbs flops in a big way. I was told Dixon is third in line should something unforeseen happen. Despite the opinions of some fans, Wanamaker is not considered a serious contender at PG and he never was.

Q: How many scholarships does Pitt have for 2010, what position or positions are they looking at, and is there a commitment imminent?

A: They have one opening, but are looking at two different positions- "a true center" and "a big shooting guard". Whether they get both of those or just one, I don't know and I don't want to start that whole "is somebody going to leave?" thing all over again. Let's just say that as a rule the staff will never turn down an excellent player no matter how many openings they have.

Finding a true center will be hard, as it often is. And the staff is discouraged by the lack of talented true centers in the East this year. But if there is a sleeper out there, I'm sure they will find him. As for the big SG, I have had people tell me that I shouldn't be surprised if Will Barton eventually ended up at somewhere other than Memphis, but I doubt Pitt would be his choice if he did change. And Doron Lamb is a long shot, too.

One player they would like is 6'5" Trey Zeigler of Mount Pleasant (MI) HS. Jamie Dixon obviously has an in with Trey's father, Ernie, who coached with Dixon under Ben Howland at Pitt. He's a big-time player and since his father is the head coach at Central Michigan, he may pass on playing for him. But Pitt thinks Zeigler could wait for a long time before committing and if that's the case, they may find somebody else first.

As for how close they are to a commitment, they aren't close and never have been close this recruiting season. However, I would think with the AAU season in high gear, they will make a strong move on somebody sooner rather than later.

Q: Can the coaching staff be blamed for not having a center to replace DeJuan Blair?

A: Not really. They never thought in a million years that Blair would be gone after his sophomore season. Hell, they even thought it was less than a 50% chance up until the season was over this year.

Q: Will Gary McGhee start at center this season?

A: I have no idea, but I would be surprised if he got significant minutes this season. The three players who will play center this season are McGhee, Dante Taylor, and J.J. Richardson. McGhee is the only true center of the bunch, but Taylor is much more talented, and Richardson is a high energy tough guy with good athleticism. And that's not a typo. Richardson will primarily be a center this season. I get a lot of emails saying he will be at PF, and he will play there, but the plan is to have him play a a lot, and perhaps primarily, at center. As with Taylor, Pitt thinks it's easier to start off as a center because the PF position at Pitt is asked to do a ton. But they will try to see if either Taylor or Richardson has the ability to also play the four sometimes. If they can, that would be very beneficial.

Q: Could Nasir Robinson start at PF this year?

A: No, while he may play some four, they want him mostly at the three. And why not? His body, style, positives, and even negatives are exactly the same as Jaron Brown, another pretty good three from the past.

Q: Will Gilbert Brown play at the four and did he play at the four last year?

A: This is a pretty specific question to be asked by three different people, so I assume this was discussed publicly somewhere. So for that reason, I made a special point to ask. I was told he will not play at the four this season and if he was at the four at all last season it was because of a DQ at the end of a game.

Q: What are the five things that Pitt needs to happen this season to win 25 games?

A: Good question.

1. Woodall needs to legitimately win the PG job and perform well.

2. Taylor needs to be a Rookie of the Year contender in the league.

3. Gibbs needs to be an excellent three point shooter, especially in the clutch.

4. Brown needs to live up to his potential.

5. Wanamaker needs to improve even more.

Q: With him not playing well in the summer league, is the staff worried that Taylor will live up to his potential?

A: Of course not. The poor kid hasn't even had one college practice yet and you are already questioning him because of how well he plays in a pickup league? This is something that not only Pitt fans, but all college fans need to understand. And that's that a freshman progresses more in his first year of preseason practices than he did in his entire career up until that point. The Taylor you see in November will not be the Taylor you see now.

Q: Do you think Taylor will be as good of a freshman as DeJuan Blair was?

A: That's highly unlikely for any freshman. I picked Blair to win Rookie of the Year and the reason was not only because of his talent, but also because of the kind of talent he was. In other words, his game was mostly brute strength and that translates right away. That's why I always said that Richardson would make an impact as a freshman, unlike many fans who thought he was destined to redshirt. Now, J.J. is no Blair, but he is a strong kid with a lot of energy, plus he does the little things. In other words, he also is the kind of player that will have an easier time transitioning. Both of their games are not based on skill, but rather aggressiveness. Taylor is a tough kid, but he's not just going to carve out space like Blair did. He's going to have to use his skill set more and with that comes a few bumps in the road early on.

Q: Do you think DeJuan Blair made a mistake by leaving Pitt early?

A: No, I don't. His way to get money in life is to play basketball. He will probably do that in the NBA, but worse case scenario, he can always go to Europe and make millions. Plus, with his knees, you never know how long he can play. One more year at Pitt meant one less year making money before his knees gave out.

Q: I was at the summer league and Lamar Patterson impressed me. You nailed that one. He shot well, too. Do you think he could be a good three point shooter in college?

A: Well, like I've said before, Tom Herrion thinks he can be a "lights out shooter"- his words. With Gibbs, Patterson, and Epps in the future, the Panthers may have three excellent shooters at the one, two, and three. There have been some reports that Epps is not a great shooter, but those are flat out wrong. In fact, Pitt thinks it's his best trait. The kid can fill it up so don't worry about him. But, back to Patterson, like I said before, he will be a better player at Pitt than Darnell Dodson would have been at Pitt. Whether or not he would be better than Dodson at Kentucky, or anywhere else, I don't know, but that doesn't matter because he's at Pitt.

Q: Is Dwight Miller going to start this season?

A: Well, with Taylor and Richardson playing primarily at the five, and Robinson playing primarily at the three, that leaves Miller to grab the spot at the four. But like I said, nothing is written in stone, and in fact, nothing is even written on paper. It's way too early to know who will start. I can only tell you where the staff prefers to have everybody. But Miller has an excellent shot if he plays well in the preseason. If he doesn't, then you could see Richardson there or you could see Taylor there if McGhee surprises and can handle the center position. And there is always Talib Zanna, but he is still raw, so that would take a helluva preseason from him.

Q: Can you run down each position and tell us who the contenders are?

A: I can do that, but remember that nothing is settled until the official practices start. I can only tell you what positions the staff wants the players, but I can't foresee if those players seize those positions.

PG- Woodall earning the job would be ideal, but Gibbs could win it over him. Dixon is the emergency option. Wanamaker is not considered a PG by the staff.

SG- Dixon is obviously the favorite to start here. If Gibbs doesn't start at the point, he will backup here, as well as the point. Wanamaker will also get major minutes here, especially if Woodall doesn't pan out.

SF- Brown is probably the favorite here, though Wanamaker could figure in there, too. Robinson should see his minutes increase. Patterson will have to have an excellent preseason to get significant minutes this year, but he has a bright future.

PF- It's Miller's job to lose, but Taylor and Richardson should see minutes there, too. If they can't handle it, Robinson could see some time there. Zanna will have to have a big preseason to see time.

C- Taylor will probably get most of the minutes unless McGhee makes huge strides. Richardson will also see time here, especially if McGhee doesn't progress.

Read more!

Dante Taylor apparently growing by the day

By Chris Dokish

Even though his game is ideally suited for the power forward position, Dante Taylor may end up as the starting center this season for the Panthers, and he definitely now has the size for the position. I was told by the Pitt staff today that at the U.S. tryouts Taylor checked in at 6'8 1/2" and 251 pounds. If that wasn't impressive enough, he also had a 7'1" wingspan.


Added note: Apparently there has been some confusion as to whether that 251 pounds is good or bad regarding Taylor's conditioning, especially since there was a recent internet report from Draft Express that Taylor did not perform well at the U.S. tryouts. So let me clarify. The ideal weight for Taylor is around 245 so the 251 pounds was not a huge difference. However, Taylor was in poor condition at the tryouts and it showed in his play. To be blunt, it cost him a spot on the team. But the staff is not worried. For players at Taylor's level, there is virtually no offseason and sometimes they don't work as hard as they should to stay in shape twelve months out of the year. That's what happened to Taylor and it cost him. The Pitt staff does not expect it to be an ongoing problem, and certainly don't see him as a Chris Taft-like bad apple, as was mentioned in the Draft Express article. In fact, the staff notes that Taylor has previously kept himself well-conditioned. As one person at Pitt told me, at least it will temporarily quiet the talk of how quickly Taylor will bolt for the NBA.

Read more!

Pitt Football under Dave Wannstedt

By Chris Dokish

Comparing the conference records among all Big East schools in the four seasons that Dave Wannstedt has been Pitt's head coach.

West Virginia 22-6
Rutgers 17-11
Cincinnati 16-12
Louisville 15-13
South Florida 14-14
Pittsburgh 14-14
UConn 11-17
Syracuse 3-25

Pitt's Big East record in Walt Harris's final four seasons at Pitt: 18-9


Record against out of conference BCS programs:

West Virginia 10-2
Louisville 9-3
South Florida 5-5
Rutgers 4-4
UConn 4-5
Pittsburgh 3-6
Cincinnati 1-5
Syracuse 1-10


Total record against all BCS programs, Big East and non-conference, over the last four seasons:

West Virginia 32-8
Louisville 24-16
Rutgers 21-15
South Florida 19-19
Cincinnati 17-17
Pittsburgh 17-20
UConn 15-22
Syracuse 4-35

Read more!

ISAIAH EPPS: FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS

By Anthony Jaskulski

Bucket off the beautiful assist…

It’s a line you may hear often as a Pittsburgh Panther/Big East fan in the near future, and it won’t be replays from the Levance Fields era either.

Instead, you’ll be seeing one of the more prolific passers in the country follow the footsteps of the pass-happy Fields, and that assist man waiting in the wings is Isaiah Epps.

At a slight 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Epps may not strike you as the most impressive shooter on the floor, and he certainly isn’t a rebounding monger. But with a string on the ball, a quick, agile style and a passing game that would make a quarterback envious, Epps, has emerged on the scene as one of the top recruits in the country thanks to his smooth facet of the game.

READ REST OF THE ARTICLE...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


“When you work on your game as much as I have and put a lot of time into it, it starts to get a little easier,” said Epps. “There is always more room to improve though, and that’s what keeps me hungry everyday.”

A 2010 verbal commitment for the Pittsburgh Panthers, Epps, who was recruited by former Panther star and now assistant coach Brandin Knight, also a native of New Jersey, will more than likely be operating from the same position Knight dominated from 1999-2003, the point guard spot.

“Coach Knight definitely brought me towards the Pitt program, and my cousin (Travon) Woodall also made me feel more at home,” Epps said. “(Pitt) is a place where some of the best guards in the country go, and it’s a big honor to be a guard on a team like that.”

Woodall, a redshirt freshman next year for the Panthers, also operates from the point guard position.

But Epps, who is currently ranked 35th on the Rivals Top150 for the class of 2010 list, and part of the ESPNU Super-60 list, makes much more of an uncanny resemblance to a more current Panthers point guard, Levance Fields.

“I relate to Levance a lot more then any other Pitt player, because he’s more of a passer then a scorer like me,” Epps said. “He also was the guy the team could depend on to hit the game-winning shot, and I will definitely do that. I have a lot of confidence in me being that guy.”

From his high school in Plainfield, New Jersey to his AAU team: The New Jersey Playaz, Epps has wooed many scouts and crowds alike with his unique passing ability, solid ball-handling skills and spot-up shooting in clutch situations.

Recently, at the Pittsburgh Jam Fest, a weekend tournament held on April 17-19 at the Petersen Events Center, the talented Epps showed many what his game was all about, leading his AAU squad to the 17-U Gold championship game, in which they lost in the final seconds, but not before Epps showed off an impressive nine point, eight assist performance, including a hair-raising, half court, ally-oop pass that threaded through two defenders.

But for Epps, making plays like that is just secondary, when the passing category is your primacy.

“I like getting my own team involved first, no matter if it’s a pickup game or a championship game.” said Epps. “I’ll score when I need to score, but it’s not the top priority.”

With his Fields-esque style in full swing and his leadership-first, veteran attitude, you can expect Epps to make an immediate impact at Pittsburgh, and follow in the footsteps of one of the best point guards—Fields—to ever wear a Panther uniform.

Read more!

PARROM OPTS FOR 'ZONA OVER PITT

BY JEFF BORZELLO

Fresh off his visit to Arizona, Kevin Parrom made it official: he will play for the Wildcats next season.

“I committed today,” Parrom said in a text message Sunday evening.

Parrom, a 6-6 swingman from New York who played at South Kent Prep (Conn.) this past year, was released from his letter of intent to Xavier in April after Musketeers’ head coach Sean Miller accepted the job at Arizona.

However, he decided to follow Miller across the country to Tucson and suit up in the Pac-10. He chose Arizona over Pittsburgh.

“The people there,” Parrom said when asked why he signed with the Wildcats. “The surroundings. The coaching staff. Great academic support. And the campus is wonderful.”

READ REST OF THE ARTICLE...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


After his visit to Pittsburgh last week, Parrom said he would go see Arizona and then likely choose by the end of the upcoming week. However, he was so impressed by his trip to UA that he committed on the spot.

“My trip was great,” Parrom said. “Just getting out there in Arizona and being myself at all times with the people and the players on campus.”

Over the summer, I had a chance to watch Parrom at the Reebok All-American camp in Philadelphis. He was one of the best all-around players at the camp, and showed the ability to do nearly everything on the court. Parrom has good shooting form, which enables him to knock down outside shots, meaning defenders can’t leave him open for jumpshots. As a result, Parrom also drives to the basket well and finishes creatively at the rim.

He also has an effective back-to-the-basket game and posted up smaller defenders on several occasions. He is an extremely difficult match-up for most defenders. Parrom is also a very good passer with good vision who looks for his teammates as soon as he touches the ball. He can shoot the ball either in transition or in the half-court, and also runs the floor well. Parrom rebounds well at both ends of the court due to his athleticism, and is a very good defender, both on-and-off the ball.

Parrom transferred to South Kent after an off-the-court problem at St. Raymond’s (N.Y.), in which he allegedly hit a coach. He originally chose Xavier in September, picking the Musketeers over St. John’s, where high school teammate and close friend Omari Lawrence will attend next season.

However, once Miller left Xavier to replace interim head coach Russ Pennell at Arizona, Parrom wanted to re-evaluate his recruitment. Miller brought two of his assistants with him to Arizona, including Emmanuel “Book” Richardson, who was the former head of the New York Gauchos AAU program and with whom Parrom has a close relationship.

Parrom is the third recruit of Miller’s tenure at Arizona, following Kyryl Natyazhko and Solomon Hill.

Read more!

May 3rd Q&A

By Chris Dokish
doke88@yahoo.com

Q: You wrote in the last Q&A that Dixon is not a great closer and he isn't as aggressive as some other top coaches. In your opinion, what does it take to be a great closer? I’m sure a lot of kids/families are different and want to hear different things, so how do these other guys close the deal? I read message board fodder about AAU and coaching connections, promises made, skirting the rules, etc.... How much do these things play into closing? And one last thing, will Jamie ever be a great closer? If so, what does he need to work on?

A: It's like any sales job. The great ones can sell ice to an Eskimo. Is it just one thing that all the best real estate agents or the best car dealers have? It's just that some people are born closers. It's a great skill. Do the great ones probably skirt the rules a little? No doubt. I'm not saying Dixon should do that, but some of the great closers know every trick in the book, and some of those tricks are a little shadier than others. Dixon has chosen to stay away from that stuff. Some may say he's taking a moral stand and some say he is making a mistake by not using the same tactics as everybody else. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.

But, also Dixon just isn't aggressive enough. Tom Herrion wanted Dante Taylor and Dixon helped close, but it was mostly Herrion who was responsible. Brandin Knight went hard after Isaiah Epps and Dixon helped close, but this time it was Knight who deserves the kudos. When a Rick Pitino, a Jim Calhoun, or a John Calipari closes on a kid you know it because the kid can't stop talking about. When was the last time a kid was gaga over Dixon? They like him, and they respect him, but there isn't fireworks. In Herrion and Knight, Pitt has two guys who can go toe to toe with some big time recruiters, but at the end of the day, they need Dixon to come in and put the hammer down. That's what the head coach does. The assistants set them up for the kill, but the head coach comes in and seals the deal. Bottom line, kids like Dixon, but then a Pitino or a Calipari walks into his house and the kid sees rainbows and puppies.

If you look at the low numbers of elite prospects that Pitt gets compared to other top programs, it's quite startling. Pitt lags behind quite a bit. But thankfully for Pitt fans, what Dixon gets out of his players is pretty remarkable when you realize how the talent level of his team often can't approach programs that are equally as successful on the court.

Q: What does is say that Dixon couldn't close out on Kyryl Natyazhko and Kevin Parrom, and that Pitt will now probably end up with an obscure undersized junior college player?

A: Well, first of all, the undersized junior college player is pretty good. But Pitt may not end up with him either because his academics are highly questionable. If they weren't, he would have signed somewhere already.

As for Natyazkho and Parrom, Sean Miller was all over those kids long before Pitt was. For the Panthers, they were back up plans that they suddenly wanted after DeJuan Blair left. Miller has been courting them heavily for a year. That's a big difference. Both are good players in the 75-100 range, and they would have helped this year, but I don't think the loss will go beyond this upcoming season. Pitt is the masters of getting players in the 75-100 range.

Q: Why isn't Pitt going after Lance Stephenson? It seems so obvious that they could use him and he seems desperate at this point to join a great program.

A: You're right. He is desperate. And there's a reason why. As one college coach told me when discussing Stephenson, "He's going to get some coach fired". Enough said.

Q: Did Darnell Dodson officially sign with Kentucky?

A: Yes. Thankfully. Now maybe the Pitt fans can move on. He's a good player that has taken on mythical proportions. But not everybody at Pitt thought highly of his skills, and that's a fact. And I was told that the new regime at Memphis had no desire to keep him. The only reason Kentucky wanted him was because they need players for this season. But one assistant coach told me last week that Dodson will hardly see the floor at Kentucky because he will quickly get recruited over. Bottom line, he is a good, solid prospect, but he isn't a future star.

Q: With Natyazhko and Parrom out of play, is it Kavon Lytch or nobody?

A: Lytch has academic problems, so from what I hear, Pitt is going to keep looking into the summer. If they still can't find somebody then they will carry it over to next year.

Q: You say you want a center and shooting guard for next year. Any names?

A: Well, they don't feel the center crop in the East is strong for 2010, so I'm not holding my breath on that one. You never know who they may unearth, though. As for guards, there are a lot of excellent ones out there and none have Pitt in their sights as of yet.

Q: For 2010, what do you think Pitt's chances are for these players- Adreian Payne, Will Barton, Doron Lamb, Kyrie Irving, Trae Golden, Victor Oladipo, Shane Southwell?

A: Payne- very slim
Barton- very slim
Lamb- very slim
Irving- very slim
Golden- very slim
Oladipo- too early
Southwell- too early

Q: One of the national networks just reshuffled their top 75 and Epps was not in it. What does that mean?

A: I can only assume that it means they are clueless. That kid will be a star at Pitt and he will be in the NBA.

Q: Mike DeCourcy ranked Pitt No. 11 in his preseason rankings and Andy Katz ranked them No.24. Are you just being pessimistic?

A: Pitt could very well end up No. 24 at the end of the year, and I would not bet against a Jamie Dixon team, but no way are they No. 24 in the preseason. As for DeCourcy, he wrote his preseason Top 25 when he thought Blair was returning, and then it was released and edited by editors after Blair left. So it looked like he had them No. 11 without Blair, but he actually had them No.11 with Blair, which I would have agreed with.

Read more!

KEVIN PARROM UPDATE

by Jeff Borzello


Despite the high school basketball season ending last month, Kevin Parrom is still very busy.

The 6-foot-6 swingman from South Kent (CT) was released from his letter of intent to Xavier earlier this month after Musketeers’ head coach Sean Miller accepted the job at Arizona.

Parrom visited Pittsburgh this past weekend, and is set to visit Arizona next weekend.

“It was great,” Parrom said of his visit to Pittsburgh. “I had a chance to meet some guys and the coaches. The coaching staff was great. It was a good visit."

“There was a sense of family, everybody was together. Also, they win every year, so that’s a plus," said the polite and well-spoken Parrom.

Parrom will take a visit out to Miller’s new school, Arizona, this upcoming weekend.

“I’m going to check out the atmosphere,” he said when asked what he is looking for when he visits Tucson. “I want to meet the coaching staff and see how it is out there.”

Reports earlier in the week indicated that he was going to potentially visit Rhode Island, Providence and Virginia Tech, but Parrom is unsure.

“I was supposed to visit Rhode Island and Providence on Thursday,” he said. “But I don’t know if I’m going to do it."

“I was planning on visiting Virginia Tech, but the chances are slim of me actually visiting.”

Parrom’s former school, Xavier, is still in the picture but he said he wants to see other schools.

When asked what he is looking for in his college of choice, he said he wants to play immediately and also wants to feel a bond to the players and coaches.

“I’m looking for playing time and the chance to make an instant impact as a freshman,” Parrom said. “Also, I’m looking at the relationships.”

Indicative of his decision to originally sign with a school from a non-power conference, the Atlantic-10, Parrom said that conference affiliation will not a play a role in his decision.

“Conference is not a factor,” he said. “I’m not picking a conference, I’m picking a school. I could care less about the conference.”

As of now, Parrom said he is focused on Pittsburgh and Arizona, his top two schools.

“I plan on making a decision within the next two weeks, probably by the end of next week. I want to try to get it over with; I don’t want it to be a long process.”

--------------------------------------------------------
Due to technical difficulties at the NBE Basketball Report, this article is posted on this blog. We hope to have NBE back up this evening. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
--------------------------------------------------------

Read more!