Panthers still pursuing forwards
By Chris Dokish
As previously reported, the Panthers coaching staff are doing their best to use their last scholarship available for this recruiting season, a scholarship that opened when All-American DeJuan Blair left early for the NBA. As the NBA playoffs approach, one can see why a player like Blair would be valuable to help the NBA Odds of winning a championship as there will be few pure rebounders like the Panthers' 'Big Fella'.
One player the staff is looking at is 6'6" 200 combo forward Kevin Parrom of South Kent Prep in Connecticut. Parrom originally played for St. Raymond's HS in the Bronx, but was forced to leave after he punched head coach Oliver Antigua. Parrom was arrested for the incident. Eventually Parrom signed with Xavier, but after former Xavier head coach Sean Miller left to take the head coaching job at Arizona, Parrom asked for, and received, his release.
Now that Parrom is free, he is down to four schools- Pittsburgh, Arizona, Virginia Tech, and Xavier. Parrom has a scheduled visit for Sunday to Pittsburgh and next weekend for Arizona.
The Panthers are also looking at junior college prospects and head coach Jamie Dixon recently appeared at Midland Community College in Midland, TX to check out 6'6" 240 pound Kavon Lytch. Midland is one of the premier juco programs in the country and lost in the national championship game this season.
Lytch, a Brooklyn native, is a bit of a vagabond as he spent his freshman season at Redlands Community College in El Reno, OK. He is well known as a ferocious rebounder despite his height (6'6" may be generous), and he also has excellent passing skills, two attributes that Dixon looks for in his low post players. I have seen tape of him and he reminds me of former Panther Ontario Lett, who ironically was another undersized junior college sleeper that Dixon found late in the recruiting season. Cincinnati, Seton Hall, UAB, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and St. John's are among the other schools who have been pursuing him.
One forward the Panthers will probably pass on is 6'8" 230 pound Florida transfer Allan Chaney. Dixon has inquired about Chaney, but sources indicate that he is too similar to the young forwards the Panthers already have.
Labels: Pittsburgh recruiting
posted by Chris Dokish @ 1:02 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I just saw that Dodson was lured away to Kentucky. I`m still pretty mad about how the clearing house rules played out but I digress. I`m hoping that since Dodson and Coleman were supposedly great friends maybe Coleman would now decide to leave and come to Pitt.
I'd say there is a 0% chance that Coleman will be at Pitt, to be honest with you. As for Dodson, he is a good player, but nothing more. The truth is, not everybody at Pitt thought he was a great prospect and at Memphis, the word I got is that the new staff didn't want him either and didn't even fight to keep him. And that's from an excellent source. Do not be surprised if he gets over recruited at Kentucky. Lamar Patterson will be a much better overall player for Pitt than Dodson would have been. All Dodson excels at is shooting. Patterson has the ability to be a very good shooter, plus he can do a lot more things that Dodson can. Don't be fooled by his ridiculous drop in the rankings. When DeJuan Blair was being ranked 123rd, I had college coaches telling me he was a top 50 player. That's why I wrote it long before anybody else. Well, I'm telling Pitt fans now that a lot of those same coaches are telling me that Patterson is highly underrated and they expect him to be a real pain in the butt for Big East opponents over the next four seasons.
This is what I am assuming happened with Lamar's ranking:
Last year-
Averaged 22 ppg, almost double digit rebounds, and 5 or 6 assists a game with McCaskey. He played almost every position on the court and dominated. There were no other high major D 1 players on his team and only a few he played against. I believe they won the Lancaster-Lebanon League and then eventually lost to Nas Robinson and Chester. Stats like those gave him a top 50 and a 4/5 star ranking.
This year he transferred to St. Ben's, didn't start at first, and played out of a position most of the year. He only averaged 9 points and 8 rebounds a game playing on a team littered with high major D 1 recruits. The competition they played also was littered with high major D 1 recruits. In addition to his stats dropping because he was no longer the only option while at St. Ben's, he didn't participate in many summer camps.
Thus, he dropped in the rankings despite the fact that he is now in better shape and has played against better competition. He is a better player now average 9 and 8 with St. Bens than he was averaging 20 and 15 at JP McCaskey but his stats kept his ranking down. I keep reading rankings folks saying he is a power forward, a banger, and can't shoot. The games I've seen he has a really nice stroke. Playing inside and banging with Tiny Gallon and his ilk all the time probably made him play with a PF mentality and not a SG. I think he will be a good player at Pitt.
Herrion told me that Patterson has the ability to be a "lights out shooter". And he would know more than any scout. If they knew more then they would be coaching in college and not working on the internet. And, of course, the same could be said for me. That's why I rarely give my own opinions. I simply report what many coaches around the country tell me. And coaches tell me that Patterson is going to be a very good player for Pitt. I'm not talking an all-star necessarily, but I'm talking 10 ppg, 6, rbg, good shooting, good defense, excellent passing, and all the little things that make Pitt who they are.
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