BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: PITTSBURGH

October 17, 2006


Verbal Commitment Alert: Cassin Diggs, (C) Cloud County Community College




Projected 2007-2008 Roster:


Seniors: Keith Benjamin (G), Ronald Ramon (G), Mike Cook (G/F)
Juniors: Levance Fields (PG), Sam Young (F), Tyrell Biggs (F), Cassin Diggs (C)
Sophomores: Gilbert Brown (SF/G), Austin Wallace (BF)
Freshmen: Darnell Dodson (G/F), Bradley Wanamaker (G), Gary McGhee (C), DeJuan Blair (PF)



The Panthers look to have closed out their recruiting for the early signing period by picking up their 5th verbal commitment when Could County sophomore center Cassin Diggs decided Pitt would be it. The Panthers' New Recruit Could Provide a Big Role (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) as Aaron Gray's replacement in '07-08. He certainly has the size...


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Cassin Diggs has been on the Pittsburgh radar for a long time. As a high school senior at Williamsport High School in Pennsylvania, the Pitt coaches evaluated him several times. However, from there, Diggs has been travelling to places high and low in a quest to be eligible to be a high-major basketball player. On Sunday, it looks like that quest finally paid off when Diggs made a verbal commitment to Pittsburgh. He decided on the Panthers over UNLV. He also had scholarship offers from South Florida, Bradley, St. Bonaventure and Nebraska and had much of the rest of the Big 12 evaluating him closely as a likely spring target.

Diggs has the persona to be a solid player at Pitt. The lefty stands 6'10 tall and weighs in at 265 lbs. Since his time at Williampsort, Diggs prepped at Bridgton Academy for a couple years before attending Could County. As a freshmen in the always competitive Jayhawk Conference, Diggs averaged 14 PPG and seven rebounds a contest. He is not the most athletic player, but he is more than willing to put his body on people and use the skills he has developed over time to use in the post.

Overall, the Pitt class pretty much has a little bit of everything and seems to fit right into their program. I think we have come to learn that Pitt does not land the high-end athlete very often, but continues to fit pieces that make sense into their program. With the early completion of their 2007 class, we look for them to continue to get to work in laying a foundation in 2008. With a re-made staff led by recruiters Orlando Antigua and Mike Rice and the new connections of recently added Director of Basketball Operations David Cox, getting these guys a head start on 2008 could be the boost they need to take their recruiting up a notch.

Looking over their roster, that is the one thing they seem to be missing, the difference maker that has the high potential to put them on his back when need be. They might be hoping a Sam Young or Gilbert Brown develops into that role as they become upperclassmen, but to this point, we have yet to see it (it is early). Again, not your 'sexy' team set-up, but likely another deep team from Pitt that will play you tough for 40 minutes.

We will continue to follow the Panthers on the recruiting trail, but for now, it looks like we will be watching them after players in the 2008 class, including local standouts Terrelle Pryor, Brian Walsh and Jonathan Baldwin. The interesting notes on Baldwin and Pryor are that they might also be elite football prospects, too.

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BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: PITTSBURGH

October 6, 2006


Verbal Commitment Alert: DeJuan Blair, (PF) Schenley HS in Pittsburgh




Projected 2007-2008 Roster:


Seniors: Keith Benjamin (G), Ronald Ramon (G), Mike Cook (G/F)
Juniors: Levance Fields (PG), Sam Young (F), Tyrell Biggs (F)
Sophomores: Gilbert Brown (SF/G), Austin Wallace (BF)
Freshmen: Darnell Dodson (G/F), Bradley Wanamaker (G), Gary McGhee (C), DeJuan Blair (PF)



Jamie Dixon and the Pitt Panthers got some good news this afternoon as DeJuan Blair made his college decision, according to Panther rants, and the Panthers Land Blair. Blair is the 4th Pitt commit this season.


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As we mentioned previous, with the final two scholarships the Panthers were targeting DeJuan Blair and Ayodele Coker. Blair is a Pittsburgh native who attends Schenley HS near the Pitt campus and has been a fixture at Pitt home games the last couple years. He was a high priority of Kansas St, Indiana and Tennessee, and reports over the last couple months had each of them leading, and not Pitt, but in the end, staying close to home was what won out for the 6'7 Blair. With Pitt losing Levon Kendall and Aaron Gray to graduation (along with Doye Hudson) on their frontline, early playing time is a real possibility for Blair at Pitt. Despite suffering two knee injuries in the past, Blair looked healthy this spring and summer and had some monster performances on the AAU circuit and saw his recruiting take off. The Panthers and their fans have a player that will fit in perfectly with their hard-nose style in Big East battles the next four years.

Coker remains a Panther target and is currently visiting St. John's this weekend. He is expected to also visit Indiana for their Midnight Madness next weekend, so a decision could be forthcoming soon. Aaron Pogue was expected to visit Pitt this weekend, but with the commitment of Blair and the previous commitment of Gary McGhee, it is unknown if he is still a target.



A few other players also remain on Pitt's, including Chris Wright, the PG from D.C. who attends the school (St. John's College Prep) where Pitt Director of Basketball Operations David Cox was most recently the Assistant Principal of. Wright is expected to decide next week between NC St, Georgetown and Pitt, but the Panthers look to be a long-shot for him. Also, Cox has extensive ties to the powerful DC Assault program and Pitt is sometimes mentioned with Michael Beasley, although Beasley is currently a verbal commitment of Kansas St rumors persist that Pitt could get him to visit soon. However another Pittsburgh blog (BlackandGoldInsider.com) reports that there is No Chance of Beasley and Pitt. Another local star, Herb Pope, is also in the mix with Pitt, although no one can be too sure of how 'recruit-able' Pope is at this time because of grades and attitude. It also looks like Maryland may be the only active school recruiting Pope at this time.

With the last scholarship, we expect Pitt to continue to pursue Coker until he makes a decision and monitor the situations with Beasley, Wright and Pope, just in case.

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