From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Some football tidbits
Stan Savran interviewed Dave Wannstedt on both his radio show and again on television prior to the Georgetown basketball game. Dave indicated he would be attending the American Football Coaches Association meeting in Kentucky, which starts Sunday and runs through Wednesday. He will interview coaches while there. Apparently there are four offensive coordinators that he is talking to. It is a critical hire so hopefully he takes his time and gets the right man. The NCAA has a “Dead Period” in recruiting coinciding with the convention so all coaches can attend without fear of one of their recruits being poached by another school.
Dave also indicated Pitt has commitments from 15 recruits and that Pitt hopes to take approximately 20 players this year. These numbers always get a little fuzzy. There are three players that enrolled this week at Pitt. Defensive lineman Craig Bokor attended Valley Forge this fall. Florida linebacker Steve Dell graduated early from high school and will also be available for spring practice. Running back Rashad Jennings had trouble getting through the NCAA Clearinghouse this summer but is now in school. We think he really counts against last year’s class. If you look at players that enroll in January across the country many often make their way into the two-deep chart in the fall so all three of these players will be worth watching.
Assuming Coach Wannstedt has his hands around a good number and there are 5 scholarships left. Hopefully two will go to Shane Murray and John Pelusi from the state champion Central Catholic team. Pitt lost quarterback Luke Getsy this summer when he transferred to the University of Akron. They need to pick up a quarterback. Shane Murray appears to be the most likely to fill this slot although Greg Boone told us he still might visit Pitt and Craig Carey has as well.
Dave Wannstedt indicated that simply holding on to existing commitments is not that easy and they staff has done a good job holding on to most of them although two Ohio defensive backs Bryan Williams and Dominic Jones have flown to coop to Minnesota.
Of some concern are three defensive linemen. Pitt will probably holding their breathe up until Letter of Intent Day with Derrell Jones and Rashad Duncan. They will be hoping a poacher does not swoop in late and change their minds. We are also a little concerned about the academic status on Akron Buchtel’s Marlon Terry.
Coaching Staff Starts to Take Shape
Dave Wannstedt may several announcements on coaches this week. Of the defensive side of the ball he retained most or all of the staff. Paul Rhoads stays on as defensive coordinator. Rhoads is highly thought of at Pitt and probably would have gotten the head coaching job if Dave had not reconsidered. He retains defensive line coach Bob Junko and linebacker Curtis Bray. In an interview this week Dave said he felt these guys all got along and were on the same page. Apparently they are talking to Charlie Partridge about taking over the role of recruiting coordinator. This looks like a very good choice. We hope they work out an agreement.
Wannstedt is making big changes on offense with offensive line coach Paul Dunn and wide receiver coach Aubrey Hill already on board. He still needs to bring in an offensive coordinator as discussed earlier. It looks like he is discussing a change of duties with Bill Bliel. Not sure what that entails. Dave Wannstedt indicated he also needs a running back coach.
Offensive line coach Tom Freeman and the old running back coach Wayne Moses went to Stanford with Walt Harris. Pete Carmichael will be 64 in March so it looks like he will need to decide if he wants to continue to coach. He does have family on the West Coast.
We spoke to Bryan Deal just before the Fiesta Bowl game. He was offered a job at Stanford by Walt Harris but did not want to go to the West Coast. He would like to stay in the Pittsburgh area if possible. He is still not sure what he wants to do but a high school head coaching job or a high school athletic director is probably something he would like a shot at.
It appears Dave Wannstedt has also retained Chris LaSalla as Director of Football Operations. This is a very good move and will help to keep the entire operation going smoothly without missing many beats. Chris is not directly involved with coaching but handles just about everything else.
Promising career over
I was standing near the Pitt bench before the Fiesta Bowl and Princell Brockenbrough was standing nearby. One of our "birdies" informed us that his career is over. He will not be given a sixth year. He felt the knee simply would not hold up. It looks like his career is over. Too bad.
Check out Rivals Radio
Rivals Radio was launched this week. They are still trying to iron out some of the bugs so bear with them. Veteran talk show host Bill King teams with Bobby Burton to host the show, which will air from 10:00 AM to Noon EST each day (Monday through Friday). They are making arrangements to archive the show in case you are unable to listen live. Bill King has covered recruiting for many years but he has also been a talk show host for a long time. He will say some things designed to generate controversy and phone calls. Burton, I believe, will try and be a little more factual in his presentation. They will have some guests each day and will also take calls from listeners. You can call them at 866-9-Rivals. Ultimately Rivals Radio will also air on Sirius Satellite Radio on Channel 123 although my understanding it may be about a week before they start carrying it.
Some More Good News!
Rivals.com has put in another order with the printer for the Recruiting Yearbooks. Recruiting Yearbooks were to be given to all who chose to upgrade their month to month UltimateTicket subscription to an annual basis. Rivals has made the decision that all current annual UltimateTicket subscribers as well as those that upgrade to the annual subscription will receive one. If the printer cooperates they hope to have a copy in the hands of all of those that have an annual Ultimate Ticket subscriptions in the next two months or so. I have had mine for a week now and it is professionally done. Anybody remotely interested in recruiting will find this a great read and reference.
As we have indicated earlier the old Team Ticket will be phased out sometime in 2005. Here is your chance to get the Recruiting Yearbook and Rivals Radio by upgrading today.
A few thoughts on Hoops
I did not see the Bucknell basketball game as I was still in Phoenix. However, if you want to be a Top 20 teams you cannot lose to Bucknell and Georgetown in back-to-back performances on your home floor.
Offensively Pitt has three quality big people in Chris Taft, Chevy Troutman and Aaron Gray. They must pound it down inside to them. If they draw double coverage the big guys should kick it out for the open jumper. Pitt now has the perimeter shooters this year but Krauser, Graves and Ramon must do a better job of getting it inside first. Few teams in college basketball have three inside guys with as much potential.
Ball handling is also a problem with this team. Antonio Graves has made big strides and I love this guy but he has missed both playing time and practice time this year with the ankle injury and it is occasionally reflected in his ball handling. This same injury slowed Julius Page all last year. Page played but was never the same player as he was as a junior.
Ronald Ramon does not seem strong enough to penetrate. This may take a year or two in the weight room to completely solve. He passed up a wide-open Aaron Gray on a number of occasions Wednesday night. Give the big guy the ball and hope he passes it back to you.
The big problem, however, is defense. South Carolina shot 50%. Bucknell shot 51% and Georgetown shot 50 %. You will notice the pattern. In the last three games the other team is making 51% of its shots from the floor. Of the players in the current rotation only Chevy Troutman is a lock down defensive player. The rest have their ups and downs. Not sure what the answer is but Jamie Dixon and his staff had better find one quick before this promising season slips away.
Just who is preparing the scouting reports anyway? The object is to force the other team to use the worst offensive players and the pressure the shooters. It is the reason Yuri Demetris and Mark McCarroll often find themselves open. Pitt’s opponents are trying to make these two beat them. Make guys that aren’t used to handling the ball beat you. It sounds simple but it often isn’t that easy.
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.
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.
This post was edited on 1/7 4:29 PM by Steve Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
Some football tidbits
Stan Savran interviewed Dave Wannstedt on both his radio show and again on television prior to the Georgetown basketball game. Dave indicated he would be attending the American Football Coaches Association meeting in Kentucky, which starts Sunday and runs through Wednesday. He will interview coaches while there. Apparently there are four offensive coordinators that he is talking to. It is a critical hire so hopefully he takes his time and gets the right man. The NCAA has a “Dead Period” in recruiting coinciding with the convention so all coaches can attend without fear of one of their recruits being poached by another school.
Dave also indicated Pitt has commitments from 15 recruits and that Pitt hopes to take approximately 20 players this year. These numbers always get a little fuzzy. There are three players that enrolled this week at Pitt. Defensive lineman Craig Bokor attended Valley Forge this fall. Florida linebacker Steve Dell graduated early from high school and will also be available for spring practice. Running back Rashad Jennings had trouble getting through the NCAA Clearinghouse this summer but is now in school. We think he really counts against last year’s class. If you look at players that enroll in January across the country many often make their way into the two-deep chart in the fall so all three of these players will be worth watching.
Assuming Coach Wannstedt has his hands around a good number and there are 5 scholarships left. Hopefully two will go to Shane Murray and John Pelusi from the state champion Central Catholic team. Pitt lost quarterback Luke Getsy this summer when he transferred to the University of Akron. They need to pick up a quarterback. Shane Murray appears to be the most likely to fill this slot although Greg Boone told us he still might visit Pitt and Craig Carey has as well.
Dave Wannstedt indicated that simply holding on to existing commitments is not that easy and they staff has done a good job holding on to most of them although two Ohio defensive backs Bryan Williams and Dominic Jones have flown to coop to Minnesota.
Of some concern are three defensive linemen. Pitt will probably holding their breathe up until Letter of Intent Day with Derrell Jones and Rashad Duncan. They will be hoping a poacher does not swoop in late and change their minds. We are also a little concerned about the academic status on Akron Buchtel’s Marlon Terry.
Coaching Staff Starts to Take Shape
Dave Wannstedt may several announcements on coaches this week. Of the defensive side of the ball he retained most or all of the staff. Paul Rhoads stays on as defensive coordinator. Rhoads is highly thought of at Pitt and probably would have gotten the head coaching job if Dave had not reconsidered. He retains defensive line coach Bob Junko and linebacker Curtis Bray. In an interview this week Dave said he felt these guys all got along and were on the same page. Apparently they are talking to Charlie Partridge about taking over the role of recruiting coordinator. This looks like a very good choice. We hope they work out an agreement.
Wannstedt is making big changes on offense with offensive line coach Paul Dunn and wide receiver coach Aubrey Hill already on board. He still needs to bring in an offensive coordinator as discussed earlier. It looks like he is discussing a change of duties with Bill Bliel. Not sure what that entails. Dave Wannstedt indicated he also needs a running back coach.
Offensive line coach Tom Freeman and the old running back coach Wayne Moses went to Stanford with Walt Harris. Pete Carmichael will be 64 in March so it looks like he will need to decide if he wants to continue to coach. He does have family on the West Coast.
We spoke to Bryan Deal just before the Fiesta Bowl game. He was offered a job at Stanford by Walt Harris but did not want to go to the West Coast. He would like to stay in the Pittsburgh area if possible. He is still not sure what he wants to do but a high school head coaching job or a high school athletic director is probably something he would like a shot at.
It appears Dave Wannstedt has also retained Chris LaSalla as Director of Football Operations. This is a very good move and will help to keep the entire operation going smoothly without missing many beats. Chris is not directly involved with coaching but handles just about everything else.
Promising career over
I was standing near the Pitt bench before the Fiesta Bowl and Princell Brockenbrough was standing nearby. One of our "birdies" informed us that his career is over. He will not be given a sixth year. He felt the knee simply would not hold up. It looks like his career is over. Too bad.
Check out Rivals Radio
Rivals Radio was launched this week. They are still trying to iron out some of the bugs so bear with them. Veteran talk show host Bill King teams with Bobby Burton to host the show, which will air from 10:00 AM to Noon EST each day (Monday through Friday). They are making arrangements to archive the show in case you are unable to listen live. Bill King has covered recruiting for many years but he has also been a talk show host for a long time. He will say some things designed to generate controversy and phone calls. Burton, I believe, will try and be a little more factual in his presentation. They will have some guests each day and will also take calls from listeners. You can call them at 866-9-Rivals. Ultimately Rivals Radio will also air on Sirius Satellite Radio on Channel 123 although my understanding it may be about a week before they start carrying it.
Some More Good News!
Rivals.com has put in another order with the printer for the Recruiting Yearbooks. Recruiting Yearbooks were to be given to all who chose to upgrade their month to month UltimateTicket subscription to an annual basis. Rivals has made the decision that all current annual UltimateTicket subscribers as well as those that upgrade to the annual subscription will receive one. If the printer cooperates they hope to have a copy in the hands of all of those that have an annual Ultimate Ticket subscriptions in the next two months or so. I have had mine for a week now and it is professionally done. Anybody remotely interested in recruiting will find this a great read and reference.
As we have indicated earlier the old Team Ticket will be phased out sometime in 2005. Here is your chance to get the Recruiting Yearbook and Rivals Radio by upgrading today.
A few thoughts on Hoops
I did not see the Bucknell basketball game as I was still in Phoenix. However, if you want to be a Top 20 teams you cannot lose to Bucknell and Georgetown in back-to-back performances on your home floor.
Offensively Pitt has three quality big people in Chris Taft, Chevy Troutman and Aaron Gray. They must pound it down inside to them. If they draw double coverage the big guys should kick it out for the open jumper. Pitt now has the perimeter shooters this year but Krauser, Graves and Ramon must do a better job of getting it inside first. Few teams in college basketball have three inside guys with as much potential.
Ball handling is also a problem with this team. Antonio Graves has made big strides and I love this guy but he has missed both playing time and practice time this year with the ankle injury and it is occasionally reflected in his ball handling. This same injury slowed Julius Page all last year. Page played but was never the same player as he was as a junior.
Ronald Ramon does not seem strong enough to penetrate. This may take a year or two in the weight room to completely solve. He passed up a wide-open Aaron Gray on a number of occasions Wednesday night. Give the big guy the ball and hope he passes it back to you.
The big problem, however, is defense. South Carolina shot 50%. Bucknell shot 51% and Georgetown shot 50 %. You will notice the pattern. In the last three games the other team is making 51% of its shots from the floor. Of the players in the current rotation only Chevy Troutman is a lock down defensive player. The rest have their ups and downs. Not sure what the answer is but Jamie Dixon and his staff had better find one quick before this promising season slips away.
Just who is preparing the scouting reports anyway? The object is to force the other team to use the worst offensive players and the pressure the shooters. It is the reason Yuri Demetris and Mark McCarroll often find themselves open. Pitt’s opponents are trying to make these two beat them. Make guys that aren’t used to handling the ball beat you. It sounds simple but it often isn’t that easy.
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.
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.
This post was edited on 1/7 4:29 PM by Steve Pantherlairif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
