Upcoming Panther Club outings:
Here are a few Panther Club events that will take place in the month of May:
Laurel Chapter Banquet
Sunday, May 6th 4:00 pm
Sheraton Four points, Greensburg
Contact: Harold McHail 724-733-3040
Mon Valley Chapter Banquet
Thursday, May 10th
Willow Room, Belle Vernon
Contacts: John Zunic 724-929-4463
Randy Rodriguez 724-258-4440
Washington Chapter Golf Outing & Banquet
Monday May 14th
Golf: 12:30 pm, Banquet 6:00 pm
Southpointe Golf Club
Trudy Kosey 724-745-1969
Central PA Chapter Golf Outing & Banquet
Friday May 18th
Golf: 8:00 am & 1:00 pm: Banquet: 6:00 pm
Heritage Hills Country Club, York, Pa.
Contact Todd Toerper 717-764-1155
Football camps and AAU basketball events
There is a Nike Camp in Dallas weekend.
The next football camp in Pitt’s footprint is the Elite College Combine on Tuesday May 1st from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Superdome Sports complex at Warwick, NJ. This event typically draws a large number of college coaches. Rivals.com will be there covering it. The Rutgers site is also sending a crew.
On the basketball front over 300 basketball teams are expected in Akron for the King James Classic this weekend. You can expect many of the teams that were at the Jam Fest in Pittsburgh last weekend will be in Akron this week. Justin Young from Rivals.com will be there covering it for you.
Football recruiting summary
The past two weeks have been a bumpy ride for Bishop McCort’s Mike Cruz. I will have to admit I was taken in by his boyish enthusiasm. He went from wanting to sing Hail to Pitt from the top of the Allegheny Mountain ridge to decommiting to trashing Pitt publicly all in the span of 10 days.
This episode reminds me a little of the Mike Mangold incident a few years ago. Mike told one of our reporters his commitment to Pitt was a “Solid as Oak”. Mike Mangold then went on to commit to three different schools. He eventually signed with Florida. Mangold is not on the Gators’ roster today. I do not think he made it past the NCAA Clearinghouse. I remember talking to Mangold’s coach at that time. He told Mangold not to commit early and to be patient but he got so caught up in the moment and he would not listen. I have had this exact same conversation with Bishop McCort coach Ken Salem about Mike Cruz. He was told to wait and he would not listen. Some teenagers are simply more mature than others.
The newspaper industry has been a slow but steady decline for five decades. This decline continues today and is projected to continue going forward. However, it still has a substantial audience and is considered main steam by most folks. A recruit should be careful what he says to any reporter. Some veterans will sanitize the remarks of a teenager but many reporters will not. If an individual identifies himself as a reporter you should have a reasonable expectation that he will report what you tell him. Recruiting is like a game of musical chairs. Until you have a scholarship firmly in hand you never really know what chair you will try to sit on at the end. Recruits should be careful about burning bridges. It can come back to haunt them. Cruz has put the coaching staff in a bad position.
In years past when you saw Florida State offer a player from the state of Pennsylvania it often meant he has moving from just being a regional recruit to being a national recruit. This year it is different. Florida State hired West Virginia assistant Rick Trickett and Bobby Bowden has allowed him to continue to recruit Pennsylvania this year. Tino Sunseri, A.J. Alexander, Mike Cruz and Jonathan Baldwin all have offers from Florida State this year. We were advised yesterday by the West Scranton head coach that his tight end Hubie Graham has also been offered by Florida State. There could be others before the process runs its course. Florida State already has a commitment from Nick Moody from Philadelphia Roman Catholic.
So far I have not seen Pitt’s new assistant Chris Ball associated with the name of many recruits. It is our understanding that he will recruit in Ohio. Pitt has Paul Roads recruiting the area from Cleveland, Ohio over to Erie, PA. Matt Cavanaugh is recruiting the Youngstown area. It looks like Chris Ball many have most of the rest of the state. Not sure if you would call this a shift of emphasis. Bob Junko use to recruit the Akron-Canton area as well as Allegheny County.
We are now in an Evaluation Period. You should start to read more football recruiting articles stating a coach has visited the player’s high school recently.
Many southern high schools start spring practice next week. They usually run for about three weeks. College coaches will often stop by to observe. Charlie Partridge and/or Coach Wannstedt will probably be spotted at Florida high school practice or two over the next 30 days.
One high school coach told us this week he has been told Pitt will take 15-18 players in this class. He was also told that they have offered everyone they will offer for a while. The smaller class this year means they will proceed slowly.
We will have video today of Hopewell’s David Posluszny who has committed to Notre Dame and of quarterback Matt Carroll whose father was a member of the national championship team at Pitt. We also have an article on Matt Carroll in the pipeline and one on Central Catholic’s tight end Quentin Williams.
Some hoops talk
I hate to see Mike Rice go. I was hoping Pitt could get another year or two out of Coach Rice giving David Cox and Brandin Knight time to gain a little more experience.
Coach Rice was an effective recruiter for Pitt. Recruits often said the reason the picked Pitt was Mike Rice. He is a good choice for Robert Morris. He has been an assistant at five different schools over the last ten years. He is 38 years old. He has paid his dues. It is his turn. Three of Coach Jamie Dixon’s assistants have now gotten head coaching jobs.
It will be interesting to watch which direction Coach Dixon goes for a replacement.
Chris Peak had a very good article this week on Travon Woodall. We hope you caught it. We also reported on junior Roscoe Davis (6’ 10). Today we will report on sophomore Terrence Boyd (6’ 5”).
We will also continue our Getting to Know you series with an article of incoming freshman Gary McGhee.
Another good reason to become an annual subscriber
Text Alerts are now FREE to annual members.
We’re pleased to announce that from here on out, text alerts will be available free to our annual members.
If you have an annual membership (billed once per year), and you are not currently signed up for text alerts, take a moment to Sign up now[/URL]
Monthly members, this is one more excellent reason to upgrade[/URL]. Imagine having Pantherlair.com breaking news at your fingertips---any time, anywhere. Add to this the fact that you’ll save money (about $20 over the course of a year), plus you’ll be eligible for other special offers, and it’s an irresistible proposition.
Upgrade your membership now[/URL]
Already an annual member?
Sign up for text alerts now![/URL]
PS: If you’re an annual member, and you paid $19.95 for text alerts, we have already extended your membership by two months as reimbursement for your payment. We hope you’ll continue to enjoy them along with your membership.
Free text messaging is available to Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and Cingular subscribers.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
Here are a few Panther Club events that will take place in the month of May:
Laurel Chapter Banquet
Sunday, May 6th 4:00 pm
Sheraton Four points, Greensburg
Contact: Harold McHail 724-733-3040
Mon Valley Chapter Banquet
Thursday, May 10th
Willow Room, Belle Vernon
Contacts: John Zunic 724-929-4463
Randy Rodriguez 724-258-4440
Washington Chapter Golf Outing & Banquet
Monday May 14th
Golf: 12:30 pm, Banquet 6:00 pm
Southpointe Golf Club
Trudy Kosey 724-745-1969
Central PA Chapter Golf Outing & Banquet
Friday May 18th
Golf: 8:00 am & 1:00 pm: Banquet: 6:00 pm
Heritage Hills Country Club, York, Pa.
Contact Todd Toerper 717-764-1155
Football camps and AAU basketball events
There is a Nike Camp in Dallas weekend.
The next football camp in Pitt’s footprint is the Elite College Combine on Tuesday May 1st from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm at the Superdome Sports complex at Warwick, NJ. This event typically draws a large number of college coaches. Rivals.com will be there covering it. The Rutgers site is also sending a crew.
On the basketball front over 300 basketball teams are expected in Akron for the King James Classic this weekend. You can expect many of the teams that were at the Jam Fest in Pittsburgh last weekend will be in Akron this week. Justin Young from Rivals.com will be there covering it for you.
Football recruiting summary
The past two weeks have been a bumpy ride for Bishop McCort’s Mike Cruz. I will have to admit I was taken in by his boyish enthusiasm. He went from wanting to sing Hail to Pitt from the top of the Allegheny Mountain ridge to decommiting to trashing Pitt publicly all in the span of 10 days.
This episode reminds me a little of the Mike Mangold incident a few years ago. Mike told one of our reporters his commitment to Pitt was a “Solid as Oak”. Mike Mangold then went on to commit to three different schools. He eventually signed with Florida. Mangold is not on the Gators’ roster today. I do not think he made it past the NCAA Clearinghouse. I remember talking to Mangold’s coach at that time. He told Mangold not to commit early and to be patient but he got so caught up in the moment and he would not listen. I have had this exact same conversation with Bishop McCort coach Ken Salem about Mike Cruz. He was told to wait and he would not listen. Some teenagers are simply more mature than others.
The newspaper industry has been a slow but steady decline for five decades. This decline continues today and is projected to continue going forward. However, it still has a substantial audience and is considered main steam by most folks. A recruit should be careful what he says to any reporter. Some veterans will sanitize the remarks of a teenager but many reporters will not. If an individual identifies himself as a reporter you should have a reasonable expectation that he will report what you tell him. Recruiting is like a game of musical chairs. Until you have a scholarship firmly in hand you never really know what chair you will try to sit on at the end. Recruits should be careful about burning bridges. It can come back to haunt them. Cruz has put the coaching staff in a bad position.
In years past when you saw Florida State offer a player from the state of Pennsylvania it often meant he has moving from just being a regional recruit to being a national recruit. This year it is different. Florida State hired West Virginia assistant Rick Trickett and Bobby Bowden has allowed him to continue to recruit Pennsylvania this year. Tino Sunseri, A.J. Alexander, Mike Cruz and Jonathan Baldwin all have offers from Florida State this year. We were advised yesterday by the West Scranton head coach that his tight end Hubie Graham has also been offered by Florida State. There could be others before the process runs its course. Florida State already has a commitment from Nick Moody from Philadelphia Roman Catholic.
So far I have not seen Pitt’s new assistant Chris Ball associated with the name of many recruits. It is our understanding that he will recruit in Ohio. Pitt has Paul Roads recruiting the area from Cleveland, Ohio over to Erie, PA. Matt Cavanaugh is recruiting the Youngstown area. It looks like Chris Ball many have most of the rest of the state. Not sure if you would call this a shift of emphasis. Bob Junko use to recruit the Akron-Canton area as well as Allegheny County.
We are now in an Evaluation Period. You should start to read more football recruiting articles stating a coach has visited the player’s high school recently.
Many southern high schools start spring practice next week. They usually run for about three weeks. College coaches will often stop by to observe. Charlie Partridge and/or Coach Wannstedt will probably be spotted at Florida high school practice or two over the next 30 days.
One high school coach told us this week he has been told Pitt will take 15-18 players in this class. He was also told that they have offered everyone they will offer for a while. The smaller class this year means they will proceed slowly.
We will have video today of Hopewell’s David Posluszny who has committed to Notre Dame and of quarterback Matt Carroll whose father was a member of the national championship team at Pitt. We also have an article on Matt Carroll in the pipeline and one on Central Catholic’s tight end Quentin Williams.
Some hoops talk
I hate to see Mike Rice go. I was hoping Pitt could get another year or two out of Coach Rice giving David Cox and Brandin Knight time to gain a little more experience.
Coach Rice was an effective recruiter for Pitt. Recruits often said the reason the picked Pitt was Mike Rice. He is a good choice for Robert Morris. He has been an assistant at five different schools over the last ten years. He is 38 years old. He has paid his dues. It is his turn. Three of Coach Jamie Dixon’s assistants have now gotten head coaching jobs.
It will be interesting to watch which direction Coach Dixon goes for a replacement.
Chris Peak had a very good article this week on Travon Woodall. We hope you caught it. We also reported on junior Roscoe Davis (6’ 10). Today we will report on sophomore Terrence Boyd (6’ 5”).
We will also continue our Getting to Know you series with an article of incoming freshman Gary McGhee.
Another good reason to become an annual subscriber
Text Alerts are now FREE to annual members.
We’re pleased to announce that from here on out, text alerts will be available free to our annual members.
If you have an annual membership (billed once per year), and you are not currently signed up for text alerts, take a moment to Sign up now[/URL]
Monthly members, this is one more excellent reason to upgrade[/URL]. Imagine having Pantherlair.com breaking news at your fingertips---any time, anywhere. Add to this the fact that you’ll save money (about $20 over the course of a year), plus you’ll be eligible for other special offers, and it’s an irresistible proposition.
Upgrade your membership now[/URL]
Already an annual member?
Sign up for text alerts now![/URL]
PS: If you’re an annual member, and you paid $19.95 for text alerts, we have already extended your membership by two months as reimbursement for your payment. We hope you’ll continue to enjoy them along with your membership.
Free text messaging is available to Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and Cingular subscribers.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
