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From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Just keep on recruiting
Ben Howland and now Jamie Dixon developed a philosophy of continuing to recruit even if it appeared no scholarships were available. You never know when one might open up and you have an opportunity to improve your team.
Both Harry and I spoke to Mount Vernon Coach Bob Cimmino this week. He told us that forward Dexter Gray (6’ 6” 220) would be making an official visit to the University of Pittsburgh this weekend. He told me that Pitt had not yet offered a scholarship.
Coach Cimmino went on to say that Dexter does have several scholarship offers. He indicated he had offers from Providence, St John’s, Fordham, St Jose, Penn State and few MAC schools.
We asked what Dexter weighed. We said there was one report that he weighed 240 pounds. He laughed and said, “No he weighs about 220. They must have been looking at the coach.”
We asked Coach Cimmino about Keith Benjamin. He said he still had some work to do in the classroom. He felt Keith would eventually be eligible but that he needs to get to work and apply himself. He said he reminds Keith twice a day. We sure hope that the opportunity for Dexter Gray is not coming at Keith Benjamin’s expense but it is possible.
The Pantherlair also attempted to contact forward Alex Galindo (6’ 6” 203) from St Benedict’s Prep but he was home in Puerto Rico. This will slow his recruiting process some. We will try and follow up on him.
A little football recruiting talk please
We spoke to Coach Terry Smith at Gateway this week about linebacker Mike Barlak and offensive lineman Matt Houy.
We told him that despite the fact that Pitt had offered his stepson (Justin King) we had allowed Rivals to cover Justin King. Rivals has written ten articles on Justin. We also have 2 pictures and 8 video clips in his database. We told him that until we had some evidence of increased interest in Pitt we would allow Rivals to cover him. Coach Smith was comfortable with that. He said he believed Justin would play defensive back in college despite the fact that a few schools had mentioned the possibility of him playing running back. Justin will be at the Nike Camp at University Park and we should get some feedback on his workout from this camp. The Gators could make some noise in the WPIAL AAAA this year.
We also had a long conversation with WR Jesse Canada’s coach from Monrovia, California. Coach Steve Garrison had a lot of good things to say about Pitt and Coach Walt Harris. This frequently happens when talking from coaches in Florida or other distant states. Their impression from afar is that Pitt is doing a great job of rebuilding a program that appeared to be dead at one point.
Last summer Chancellor Nordenberg addressed the media about the “New Big East Conference”. He went out of his way to say that he thought Coach Harris was doing an outstanding job if you believe those conducting the NFL draft.
In short he seemed to be saying Pitt has not sent many players to the NFL draft but has started to win more frequently despite not having dominant players. Obviously this past season was a disappointment to all Pitt fans. Last year’s record did not meet expectations. It will be interesting to see where. Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Miree, Lousaka Polite, Kris Wilson, Claude Harriot, Lewis Moore, Shawntae Spencer, Rod Rutherford and Andy Lee are taken in the upcoming draft.
Pitt has not had a player selected in the first round since Rueben Brown was selected as the 14th pick overall in the 1995 draft. Pitt has not had more than three player drafted since 1992. There are many that feel this may all change in next week’s draft.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Just keep on recruiting
Ben Howland and now Jamie Dixon developed a philosophy of continuing to recruit even if it appeared no scholarships were available. You never know when one might open up and you have an opportunity to improve your team.
Both Harry and I spoke to Mount Vernon Coach Bob Cimmino this week. He told us that forward Dexter Gray (6’ 6” 220) would be making an official visit to the University of Pittsburgh this weekend. He told me that Pitt had not yet offered a scholarship.
Coach Cimmino went on to say that Dexter does have several scholarship offers. He indicated he had offers from Providence, St John’s, Fordham, St Jose, Penn State and few MAC schools.
We asked what Dexter weighed. We said there was one report that he weighed 240 pounds. He laughed and said, “No he weighs about 220. They must have been looking at the coach.”
We asked Coach Cimmino about Keith Benjamin. He said he still had some work to do in the classroom. He felt Keith would eventually be eligible but that he needs to get to work and apply himself. He said he reminds Keith twice a day. We sure hope that the opportunity for Dexter Gray is not coming at Keith Benjamin’s expense but it is possible.
The Pantherlair also attempted to contact forward Alex Galindo (6’ 6” 203) from St Benedict’s Prep but he was home in Puerto Rico. This will slow his recruiting process some. We will try and follow up on him.
A little football recruiting talk please
We spoke to Coach Terry Smith at Gateway this week about linebacker Mike Barlak and offensive lineman Matt Houy.
We told him that despite the fact that Pitt had offered his stepson (Justin King) we had allowed Rivals to cover Justin King. Rivals has written ten articles on Justin. We also have 2 pictures and 8 video clips in his database. We told him that until we had some evidence of increased interest in Pitt we would allow Rivals to cover him. Coach Smith was comfortable with that. He said he believed Justin would play defensive back in college despite the fact that a few schools had mentioned the possibility of him playing running back. Justin will be at the Nike Camp at University Park and we should get some feedback on his workout from this camp. The Gators could make some noise in the WPIAL AAAA this year.
We also had a long conversation with WR Jesse Canada’s coach from Monrovia, California. Coach Steve Garrison had a lot of good things to say about Pitt and Coach Walt Harris. This frequently happens when talking from coaches in Florida or other distant states. Their impression from afar is that Pitt is doing a great job of rebuilding a program that appeared to be dead at one point.
Last summer Chancellor Nordenberg addressed the media about the “New Big East Conference”. He went out of his way to say that he thought Coach Harris was doing an outstanding job if you believe those conducting the NFL draft.
In short he seemed to be saying Pitt has not sent many players to the NFL draft but has started to win more frequently despite not having dominant players. Obviously this past season was a disappointment to all Pitt fans. Last year’s record did not meet expectations. It will be interesting to see where. Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Miree, Lousaka Polite, Kris Wilson, Claude Harriot, Lewis Moore, Shawntae Spencer, Rod Rutherford and Andy Lee are taken in the upcoming draft.
Pitt has not had a player selected in the first round since Rueben Brown was selected as the 14th pick overall in the 1995 draft. Pitt has not had more than three player drafted since 1992. There are many that feel this may all change in next week’s draft.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
