Recruiting update Oct. 12

By Chris Dokish

A recent internet article reported that top 20 6'5" wing Ricardo Ledo named his top seven and Pitt did not make the list. That is true, however Pitt was never recruiting Ledo as hard as many thought. In fact, the recruitment of Ledo was such that Pitt never wanted to be heavily involved. The only reason that Pitt was mentioned at all with him is because he is close with recent verbal commit Khem Birch. As I mentioned in my last post, if Pitt could have risen above all that's surrounding Ledo then they would have, but they never really felt comfortable in this particular situation. Because of that, they kind of hung around for awhile just in case things changed, but then eventually decided that they were right to stay out of it.

That doesn't mean that Pitt has stopped recruiting, of course. Omar Calhoun is still a possibility (and for those who have asked, no, the Ledo flirtation had nothing to do with pressuring Calhoun to commit). And Myles Davis is still an outside possibility, though they may not want to go two over their scholarship limit for him.

The biggest news with Pitt, however, is not Ledo, Calhoun, or Davis. The best prospect that Pitt is still recruiting is Andre Drummond, the 6'10" 260 pound big man who just happens to be the consensus No.1 prospect in the nation. Drummond, a Connecticut native, has been rumored to be going to UConn for a long time, but my sources tell me that it's not the slam dunk that many think. In fact, now with UConn facing potential serious penalties, there may be even more of a chance that he goes elsewhere. And one of those schools heavily pursuing him is Pittsburgh. Assistant coach Pat Skerry is very close to Drummond and his mother, and has been for a long time. My sources also tell me that Skerry has made it his personal mission to add Drummond. This despite the fact that Pitt already appears to be very strong in the low post in the near future. Bottom line, you don't pass up a chance at the top prospect in the nation, especially one who is 6'10 and 260 pounds. And with the low post already highly fortified, the Panthers have no pressure to add Drummond.

Will Pitt eventually land Drummond? It's obviously a long shot for now, but Skerry's fearlessness and recruiting skills should never be discounted. UConn is still going to be hard to beat, and West Virginia is coming on strong. But if things fall the right way, and Pitt can hang around long enough, anything is possible.