From the desk of Jim Snyder
We sure have a lot of Home Pages
We now have five (5) Home Pages. In addition to our front page we now have a site for Football team news, Basketball team news, Basketball Recruiting and Football Recruiting. The Rivals.com national sites are set up in a similar manner. This should be particularly helpful during periods when the seasons overlap or during heavy news periods. They are still working on several technical issues but you can check them out for yourself now.
Another technical issue
Some subscribers have complained they are having trouble reading the message boards. If you know some one that is having this problem here are several things they can try. They should clear their internet cookies and history. Also clear the Pantherlair from their favorites. They should then access the site and set up the Pantherlair in the favorites once again. That should correct the problem. The new coding is apparently reading their internet history incorrectly.
We had a board monitor off-line for a few days. It took some time to figure out what was going on. One of the Pitt staffers also told Chris Peak at practice that he had been blacklisted. Chris joked back he should posted more responsibly. A few hours later we realized he was having the same problem as a few others were having. He is back on line.
Now could be the time for an annual subscription
Rivals.com is having a huge amount of success nationwide with their annual subscriptions. You will get the annual recruiting magazine in October and you will save money. The Pitt basketball team will be ranked in the Top 10 to open the season. The football team is still very young but should be exciting as they rebuild the program. The football team has added speed and athleticism. It is only a matter of time until these young players gain some experience. If you are still subscribing monthly please call 1-866-274-8257 during normal business hours.
Some basketball visitors
Earlier this week we reported that No. 2 guard Bradley Wannamaker out of Philadelphia would be visiting Pitt the weekend of September 8th. In addition we reported that point guard Chris Wright out of Washington, DC is also scheduled to visit the same weekend. Since we wrote the article on Wannamaker we have been told he will also visit Dayton, Temple, Virginia Tech and George Washington. Apparently our article had coaches on the phone wondering when he would be coming to their school. The phones were ringing in Philadelphia and additional visits have been tentatively scheduled. Wannamaker has been in Pittsburgh before. He attended the Jam Fest earlier this year with his AAU team so he has seen the “Pete”. I like it when guys come back for a return visit.
We spoke to South Kent coach Raphael Chillious this week about his big man Ayodele Coker (6’ 10”). This is the school that sent Pitt incoming freshman Gilbert Brown. Classes start September 5th at South Kent and he expects college coaches to make in-school visits the 9th and 10th of September. Coker and his coach will then decide which schools he will visit. In addition to Pitt Indiana, St. John’s, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Virginia are also involved.
We have been trying to reach Hamidu Rahman (6’ 11’) who attends American Christian School in the Philly area but the phone number we had was disconnected. We will keep trying to reach his coach but it could be tough until they are back in school.
We also spoke to Brandon Waters (6’ 8) from Lincoln High School in Brooklyn this week. He said Rutgers, Pitt, Michigan Tennessee and St. John’s were all involved but he has not scheduled any visits. He may be in the process of taking the SAT test.
There was a Rivals.com network article this week which indicated Mike Scott (6’ 8”) intended to visit Pitt and several other schools. Scott signed with Temple this past season but will now attend Hargrave Military. He lists his top five as NC State, Clemson, Wake Forest, Seton Hall and Pitt.
The Rivals network also had an article yesterday on Chris Braswell(6’ 9”) out of DeMatha HS in Washington DC. He is a member of the Class of 2008. He will visit Pitt September 23rd. He is a five-star player that was recently ranked by Rivals.com. as the No. 12 prospect in the country for 2008.
As long as Pitt has scholarships to give I have not totally given up on Herb Pope or DeJuan Blair although Blair probably makes more sense at this point.
Why didn’t these guys have more stars?
Two recruits that have really impressed camp observers are quarterback Kevin Smith and defensive end Greg Romeus. Both of these guys were two-star prospects coming out of high school. Kevin Smith was injured most of his junior year and only played in two games. Greg Romeus has been so impressive that the Post-Gazette’s Paul Zeise has already declared him a potential two-time All-Big East player. (I think he’s got it right). Romeus did not play football in his junior year. He was strictly a basketball prospect until his senior year. Unfortunately the recruiting process starts so early these days that having a big junior year is the best way to pick a lot of stars.
A little more on a JUCO prospect
Earlier this week Jeremy Crabtree from Rivals.com had an article on the prospects at Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas. In the article there was high praise for Tommie Duhart although the coach said he was not sure Pitt was still interested. One of our readers asked about it and I gave a weak answer.
Pitt has very strong interest in defensive tackle Tommie Duhart (6’ 4” 285) and he has interest in them. He is in junior college for a reason but if he gets himself in shape academically we think Pitt will be all over him. Duhart spent two weeks in Pittsburgh this summer with his old high school teammate Rashad Duncan and he likes Pittsburgh. Duhart would have three years of eligibility which makes him a lot more attractive that many junior college players.
As an aside we also hear a lot of good things about Rashad Duncan. Pitt figures to rotate a number of defensive tackles and Duncan figures to be one of those in the rotation.
Nice pick-up and who’s next?
Henry Hynoski announced this week he would be a Panther. He told me he had informed the Pitt coaches about 10 days earlier although another source said it may have been 17 days earlier. I think his high school coach simply wanted everyone to hold the announcement until Southern Columbia started fall camp. Hynoski has to be happy it is public because he gets the use of his cell phone back. He has not been accepting calls during this period.
Pitt picks up a quality kid who reportedly has a 3.9 GPA. They are thin at fullback behind Conredge Collins so this helps them build some depth at this critical position. It is a position that takes a lot of pounding.
Pitt now has 11 verbal commitments. We think Jordan Mabin should be next. He opens his season August 25th He has told us on a number of occasions that he hopes to announce prior to the start of his first game so we should not have long to wait. You can never be sure about recruiting but we think Mabin will be the next to commit to Pitt. He seems like another quality person so we hope we are right.
Next month we think Pitt has a good chance of landing kicker Brandon Walker out of Findley, Ohio. We had video of him this week. I hope you noticed he is a left-footed kicker as is Purdue transfer Dave Brytus. If Pitt ends up with two left footed kickers next year they might set a NCAA record.
There are several in-state players that do not seem to be in a rush to make decisions. Pitt may have to wait some time to find out where they stand with Toney Clemons, Derek Moye, Mo Williams and Brandon Lindsey although it was good to see Mo Williams at practice this past weekend. Mo has been to Pitt several times which is a good sign. Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanic often puts his kids off limits to recruiters during the football season. Pitt has had good success at this school but the Quip football players often tend to commit late in the process.
Pitt has offers out to five (5) Florida running backs in Bo Williams, Xavier Stinson, Zach Brown, Greg Williams and Chacon Lee. Pitt needs to come out of this recruiting season with one of these players although if Brandon Mason decides to leave the program you might want to take two. Another very positive article on Bo Williams yesterday.
Chris Peak called yesterday to say the joke on the practice field was that the staff had been worried about recruiting a big 6’ 2” 220 pound running back when running back coach Dave Walker looked across the practice field and spotted Dorin Dickerson.
There have been articles this week on DE Jabaal Sheard, WR Darrian Williams, DT Uriah Grant and DB Rashad Jackson. These players are all from Florida and have Pitt offers. We will have to see who Pitt invites up for an official visit. There is one Florida player coming up Labor Day weekend for an official visit. Three-star wide receiver Matt Clements is scheduled to come to Pittsburgh to watch the Virginia game. South Carolina seems to be the main competition.
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.
We sure have a lot of Home Pages
We now have five (5) Home Pages. In addition to our front page we now have a site for Football team news, Basketball team news, Basketball Recruiting and Football Recruiting. The Rivals.com national sites are set up in a similar manner. This should be particularly helpful during periods when the seasons overlap or during heavy news periods. They are still working on several technical issues but you can check them out for yourself now.
Another technical issue
Some subscribers have complained they are having trouble reading the message boards. If you know some one that is having this problem here are several things they can try. They should clear their internet cookies and history. Also clear the Pantherlair from their favorites. They should then access the site and set up the Pantherlair in the favorites once again. That should correct the problem. The new coding is apparently reading their internet history incorrectly.
We had a board monitor off-line for a few days. It took some time to figure out what was going on. One of the Pitt staffers also told Chris Peak at practice that he had been blacklisted. Chris joked back he should posted more responsibly. A few hours later we realized he was having the same problem as a few others were having. He is back on line.
Now could be the time for an annual subscription
Rivals.com is having a huge amount of success nationwide with their annual subscriptions. You will get the annual recruiting magazine in October and you will save money. The Pitt basketball team will be ranked in the Top 10 to open the season. The football team is still very young but should be exciting as they rebuild the program. The football team has added speed and athleticism. It is only a matter of time until these young players gain some experience. If you are still subscribing monthly please call 1-866-274-8257 during normal business hours.
Some basketball visitors
Earlier this week we reported that No. 2 guard Bradley Wannamaker out of Philadelphia would be visiting Pitt the weekend of September 8th. In addition we reported that point guard Chris Wright out of Washington, DC is also scheduled to visit the same weekend. Since we wrote the article on Wannamaker we have been told he will also visit Dayton, Temple, Virginia Tech and George Washington. Apparently our article had coaches on the phone wondering when he would be coming to their school. The phones were ringing in Philadelphia and additional visits have been tentatively scheduled. Wannamaker has been in Pittsburgh before. He attended the Jam Fest earlier this year with his AAU team so he has seen the “Pete”. I like it when guys come back for a return visit.
We spoke to South Kent coach Raphael Chillious this week about his big man Ayodele Coker (6’ 10”). This is the school that sent Pitt incoming freshman Gilbert Brown. Classes start September 5th at South Kent and he expects college coaches to make in-school visits the 9th and 10th of September. Coker and his coach will then decide which schools he will visit. In addition to Pitt Indiana, St. John’s, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Virginia are also involved.
We have been trying to reach Hamidu Rahman (6’ 11’) who attends American Christian School in the Philly area but the phone number we had was disconnected. We will keep trying to reach his coach but it could be tough until they are back in school.
We also spoke to Brandon Waters (6’ 8) from Lincoln High School in Brooklyn this week. He said Rutgers, Pitt, Michigan Tennessee and St. John’s were all involved but he has not scheduled any visits. He may be in the process of taking the SAT test.
There was a Rivals.com network article this week which indicated Mike Scott (6’ 8”) intended to visit Pitt and several other schools. Scott signed with Temple this past season but will now attend Hargrave Military. He lists his top five as NC State, Clemson, Wake Forest, Seton Hall and Pitt.
The Rivals network also had an article yesterday on Chris Braswell(6’ 9”) out of DeMatha HS in Washington DC. He is a member of the Class of 2008. He will visit Pitt September 23rd. He is a five-star player that was recently ranked by Rivals.com. as the No. 12 prospect in the country for 2008.
As long as Pitt has scholarships to give I have not totally given up on Herb Pope or DeJuan Blair although Blair probably makes more sense at this point.
Why didn’t these guys have more stars?
Two recruits that have really impressed camp observers are quarterback Kevin Smith and defensive end Greg Romeus. Both of these guys were two-star prospects coming out of high school. Kevin Smith was injured most of his junior year and only played in two games. Greg Romeus has been so impressive that the Post-Gazette’s Paul Zeise has already declared him a potential two-time All-Big East player. (I think he’s got it right). Romeus did not play football in his junior year. He was strictly a basketball prospect until his senior year. Unfortunately the recruiting process starts so early these days that having a big junior year is the best way to pick a lot of stars.
A little more on a JUCO prospect
Earlier this week Jeremy Crabtree from Rivals.com had an article on the prospects at Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas. In the article there was high praise for Tommie Duhart although the coach said he was not sure Pitt was still interested. One of our readers asked about it and I gave a weak answer.
Pitt has very strong interest in defensive tackle Tommie Duhart (6’ 4” 285) and he has interest in them. He is in junior college for a reason but if he gets himself in shape academically we think Pitt will be all over him. Duhart spent two weeks in Pittsburgh this summer with his old high school teammate Rashad Duncan and he likes Pittsburgh. Duhart would have three years of eligibility which makes him a lot more attractive that many junior college players.
As an aside we also hear a lot of good things about Rashad Duncan. Pitt figures to rotate a number of defensive tackles and Duncan figures to be one of those in the rotation.
Nice pick-up and who’s next?
Henry Hynoski announced this week he would be a Panther. He told me he had informed the Pitt coaches about 10 days earlier although another source said it may have been 17 days earlier. I think his high school coach simply wanted everyone to hold the announcement until Southern Columbia started fall camp. Hynoski has to be happy it is public because he gets the use of his cell phone back. He has not been accepting calls during this period.
Pitt picks up a quality kid who reportedly has a 3.9 GPA. They are thin at fullback behind Conredge Collins so this helps them build some depth at this critical position. It is a position that takes a lot of pounding.
Pitt now has 11 verbal commitments. We think Jordan Mabin should be next. He opens his season August 25th He has told us on a number of occasions that he hopes to announce prior to the start of his first game so we should not have long to wait. You can never be sure about recruiting but we think Mabin will be the next to commit to Pitt. He seems like another quality person so we hope we are right.
Next month we think Pitt has a good chance of landing kicker Brandon Walker out of Findley, Ohio. We had video of him this week. I hope you noticed he is a left-footed kicker as is Purdue transfer Dave Brytus. If Pitt ends up with two left footed kickers next year they might set a NCAA record.
There are several in-state players that do not seem to be in a rush to make decisions. Pitt may have to wait some time to find out where they stand with Toney Clemons, Derek Moye, Mo Williams and Brandon Lindsey although it was good to see Mo Williams at practice this past weekend. Mo has been to Pitt several times which is a good sign. Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanic often puts his kids off limits to recruiters during the football season. Pitt has had good success at this school but the Quip football players often tend to commit late in the process.
Pitt has offers out to five (5) Florida running backs in Bo Williams, Xavier Stinson, Zach Brown, Greg Williams and Chacon Lee. Pitt needs to come out of this recruiting season with one of these players although if Brandon Mason decides to leave the program you might want to take two. Another very positive article on Bo Williams yesterday.
Chris Peak called yesterday to say the joke on the practice field was that the staff had been worried about recruiting a big 6’ 2” 220 pound running back when running back coach Dave Walker looked across the practice field and spotted Dorin Dickerson.
There have been articles this week on DE Jabaal Sheard, WR Darrian Williams, DT Uriah Grant and DB Rashad Jackson. These players are all from Florida and have Pitt offers. We will have to see who Pitt invites up for an official visit. There is one Florida player coming up Labor Day weekend for an official visit. Three-star wide receiver Matt Clements is scheduled to come to Pittsburgh to watch the Virginia game. South Carolina seems to be the main competition.
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.
