From the desk of Jim Snyder
Hoops talk
Bracketologists Joe Lunardi says Pitt is already in the NCAA tournament regardless of the outcome of their last couple games. Rivals.com agrees and has Pitt on their NCAA “lock list”.
Personally I would feel better if the Panthers take care of business this Sunday against DePaul. Sunday is Senior Day for Ronald Ramon, Keith Benjamin, and Mike Cook. Injuries has resulted in this year not being as much as it might have been but they have brought us some very exciting comeback wins against Duke, West Virginia and Syracuse.
DePaul needs a win to get to Madison Square Garden so don’t expect them to just roll over and play dead.
If Pitt beats DePaul they will be in the NCAA for the seventh consecutive year. They will also have won 10 or more conference games for seven consecutive years. Not many schools can make this statement.
This Pitt basketball team does not play defense as have other recent Pitt teams but few teams around the country did. It has had just as much bad luck with injuries as did Dave Wannstedt’s football team did this year.
It is possible that six players will require surgery before all is said and done and that does not count Keith Benjamin’s shooting hand being repeatedly stitched backed together. It was a very bad year on the injury front for both the football and basketball teams at Pitt.
The Pitt basketball team is currently ranked No. 25 in the RPI ratings. They might need a couple of more wins if they hope for a NCAA seed as high as this ranking might suggest.
It appears Pitt will enter the Big East tournament in New York next week as the No. 7 seed. I am not sure I would want to play a desperate Syracuse in the first round in New York.
Barring late season upsets the Big East should get 7 teams into the NCAA tournament. Here is a list that should get in along with their current RPI ranking.
No. 8 Georgetown
No. 11 Louisville
No. 13 Connecticut
No. 19 Notre Dame
No. 20 Marquette
No. 25 Pitt
No. 34 West Virginia
It is our understanding that Pitt will host a number of recruits this weekend. Forward Andrew Fitzgerald (6’ 8”) from Owings Mills, MD and Greg Enrique (6’ 8”) from St Benedict’s apparently will both visit. Late last year we reported in a War Room that Fitzgerald was a Pitt target. Both players come from nationally ranked programs.
St Benedict’s finished their year 24-1 and is coach by Danny Hurley. They are ranked No. 2 in the country right behind St. Anthony’s which is coached by his father. St Benedict’s was the only team this year to beat Chester and Pitt commit Nasir Robinson.
Chris Peak will have a report on Andrew Fitzgerald later today.
We also think junior college guard Jermaine Dixon will make his official visit. He gave Pitt a verbal commitment in mid-February.
Rivals Radio devoted the morning to college basketball. Jerry Palm from RPI.com was on Rivals Radio as was Jamie Dixon. If you missed Coach Dixon’s interview we hope to have a replay today.
March Madness Contest
Rivals.com will hold a bracket contest again the year. The person that wins on the Rivals network gets $10,000. If you are lucky enough to get them all right you win $5 million. In addition the PantherLair will give away a sixth month subscription to the winner of our league.
If you are already a subscriber we will have your current subscription extended by six months.
Video problems
Rivals.com is in the process of moving videos to the Yahoo! servers. When a new video is released it is taking some time to propagate itself through the system. If you have problems viewing a new video please try again in a half hour or so. It usually clears itself up. The techs are supposedly aware of the problem and are trying to correct the situation.
The Nike combines
The folks at Student Sports processed 720 athletes last Sunday at the Nike combine at the UPMC complex on the Southside. It is the first time they have held one in Pittsburgh so it was a pretty good turnout for a first time out.
There will be another Nike combine in Columbus on Saturday March 29th and one in Baltimore on April 19th. Both are within the Pitt recruiting footprint. My guess is that they will have processed over 1,800 prospects when these three combines are completed.
Once we get to the Evaluation Period in the month of May there will also be Nike Camps at State College and Ohio State.
It will take the better part of 30 days for all on the info and photos to flow through the Rivals network. Keep in mind that you not only had 720 prospects in Pittsburgh but they were also conducting a combine in Atlanta the same weekend so you can almost double that amount.
Football recruiting recap
Over the past two weeks we have been reporting on players that attended either Pitt’s Junior Day or the Nike combine at the UPMC complex. We have reported on many of them but still have a few to cover.
Here is the Pittsburgh All-Nike combine team as selected by Student Sport. Keep in mind these are based on test results. Not on a players ability to play football. It is all just a part of the evaluation process.
Offense
QB-Alex Gillet-Clyde, Ohio 6’ 1” 181
RB Corey Brown-Springfield Cardinal O’Hara 5’ 11” 167
RB A.J. Fenton - Erie McDowell 6’ 1” 203
RB Ryan Kane - Milford Academy 5’ 9” 163
WR Deon Long - Washington Dunbar 5’ 11” 174
OL David Wang - Stone Bridge, VA 6 1” 302
OL Blake Graham - Northeast Catholic 6’ 4” 269
OL Jack Lowery - Archbishop Carroll 6’ 3” 248
OL Matt Fedor - Seton-LaSalle 6’ 1” 274
OL Adam Gress - West Mifflin 6’ 7” 279
ATH Bryan Stefanik - Blackhawk 6’ o” 193
ATH Phil Bondi - Moon 6’ 1” 177
Defense
DL Michael Larrow - Union, NJ 6’ 3” 252
DL Nicolas Soto - Altoona 6’ 3” 285
DL Darnell Harding ? McKeesport 6’ 2” 211
DL Kyle Baublitz - Central York 6’ 5” 251
LB Cody Miller - Souderton 6’ 3”
LB Dan Mason - Penn Hills 6’ 0” 216
LB Garrett Wilcox - St Vincent St. Mary’s 6’ 3” 206
DB Chad Bowman - Franklin Regional 6’ 0” 183
DB Corey Slater ? Mars 5’ 10” 165
DB Jared Jones - Shaler 5’10” 155
DB Jawan Bryant - McKeesport 6’ 1’ 168
ATH Devin Street - Bethlehem Liberty 6’ 3” 173
Pitt has offered several players in the Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, DC area this year. It appears Pitt’s new wide receiver coach Bryan Bossard brought the Maryland recruiting book with him. Pitt has offered a number of players in his old recruiting footprint. It will take some time, maybe until we get into the Evaluation period in May and the coaches can visit their school before we know where Pitt really stands on this group.
RB Caleb Porzell (Virginia commit), WR Justin Brown, OL Pete White, DE Sean Stanley, LB Mike Previtt, DB Darrell Givens and DT Raynard Randolph might all fall into this group. We have an article on WR Justin Brown this morning.
Yesterday we had an article on offensive lineman Corey Linsley from Youngtown Boardman. He told us Pitt was not high on his radar prior to his visit on Junior Day. He had a great visit on Junior Day and Pitt moved into his top three after the visit. If you missed the article yesterday please see the Ticker.
Rivals.com has changed their default settings. When you go to the database now the Class of 2009 will come up first. It will make it much easier for you to follow the recruitment of players that will be raising seniors.
You can always toggle backwards if you want to see another Class.
Vacation
I will be taking a vacation starting a week from today. As a result there will be no War Room article next week. I will be joining my daughter’s family in Florida. Her three boys are on spring break. I hope to be sipping an adult beverage beachside while watching the Big East tournament on ESPN next weekend.
Once I return the Pitt football coaches will be just about ready to start spring drills. Chris Peak, Tony Greco and Pete Madia are all scheduled to be at spring practice to give you the best coverage found anywhere.
Please see the link below for more details on the Pittsburgh All-Nike combine team. Stay with the video. The second intervie is with Penn Hlls LB Dan Mason.
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.
Pittsburgh All-Nike combine team
Hoops talk
Bracketologists Joe Lunardi says Pitt is already in the NCAA tournament regardless of the outcome of their last couple games. Rivals.com agrees and has Pitt on their NCAA “lock list”.
Personally I would feel better if the Panthers take care of business this Sunday against DePaul. Sunday is Senior Day for Ronald Ramon, Keith Benjamin, and Mike Cook. Injuries has resulted in this year not being as much as it might have been but they have brought us some very exciting comeback wins against Duke, West Virginia and Syracuse.
DePaul needs a win to get to Madison Square Garden so don’t expect them to just roll over and play dead.
If Pitt beats DePaul they will be in the NCAA for the seventh consecutive year. They will also have won 10 or more conference games for seven consecutive years. Not many schools can make this statement.
This Pitt basketball team does not play defense as have other recent Pitt teams but few teams around the country did. It has had just as much bad luck with injuries as did Dave Wannstedt’s football team did this year.
It is possible that six players will require surgery before all is said and done and that does not count Keith Benjamin’s shooting hand being repeatedly stitched backed together. It was a very bad year on the injury front for both the football and basketball teams at Pitt.
The Pitt basketball team is currently ranked No. 25 in the RPI ratings. They might need a couple of more wins if they hope for a NCAA seed as high as this ranking might suggest.
It appears Pitt will enter the Big East tournament in New York next week as the No. 7 seed. I am not sure I would want to play a desperate Syracuse in the first round in New York.
Barring late season upsets the Big East should get 7 teams into the NCAA tournament. Here is a list that should get in along with their current RPI ranking.
No. 8 Georgetown
No. 11 Louisville
No. 13 Connecticut
No. 19 Notre Dame
No. 20 Marquette
No. 25 Pitt
No. 34 West Virginia
It is our understanding that Pitt will host a number of recruits this weekend. Forward Andrew Fitzgerald (6’ 8”) from Owings Mills, MD and Greg Enrique (6’ 8”) from St Benedict’s apparently will both visit. Late last year we reported in a War Room that Fitzgerald was a Pitt target. Both players come from nationally ranked programs.
St Benedict’s finished their year 24-1 and is coach by Danny Hurley. They are ranked No. 2 in the country right behind St. Anthony’s which is coached by his father. St Benedict’s was the only team this year to beat Chester and Pitt commit Nasir Robinson.
Chris Peak will have a report on Andrew Fitzgerald later today.
We also think junior college guard Jermaine Dixon will make his official visit. He gave Pitt a verbal commitment in mid-February.
Rivals Radio devoted the morning to college basketball. Jerry Palm from RPI.com was on Rivals Radio as was Jamie Dixon. If you missed Coach Dixon’s interview we hope to have a replay today.
March Madness Contest
Rivals.com will hold a bracket contest again the year. The person that wins on the Rivals network gets $10,000. If you are lucky enough to get them all right you win $5 million. In addition the PantherLair will give away a sixth month subscription to the winner of our league.
If you are already a subscriber we will have your current subscription extended by six months.
Video problems
Rivals.com is in the process of moving videos to the Yahoo! servers. When a new video is released it is taking some time to propagate itself through the system. If you have problems viewing a new video please try again in a half hour or so. It usually clears itself up. The techs are supposedly aware of the problem and are trying to correct the situation.
The Nike combines
The folks at Student Sports processed 720 athletes last Sunday at the Nike combine at the UPMC complex on the Southside. It is the first time they have held one in Pittsburgh so it was a pretty good turnout for a first time out.
There will be another Nike combine in Columbus on Saturday March 29th and one in Baltimore on April 19th. Both are within the Pitt recruiting footprint. My guess is that they will have processed over 1,800 prospects when these three combines are completed.
Once we get to the Evaluation Period in the month of May there will also be Nike Camps at State College and Ohio State.
It will take the better part of 30 days for all on the info and photos to flow through the Rivals network. Keep in mind that you not only had 720 prospects in Pittsburgh but they were also conducting a combine in Atlanta the same weekend so you can almost double that amount.
Football recruiting recap
Over the past two weeks we have been reporting on players that attended either Pitt’s Junior Day or the Nike combine at the UPMC complex. We have reported on many of them but still have a few to cover.
Here is the Pittsburgh All-Nike combine team as selected by Student Sport. Keep in mind these are based on test results. Not on a players ability to play football. It is all just a part of the evaluation process.
Offense
QB-Alex Gillet-Clyde, Ohio 6’ 1” 181
RB Corey Brown-Springfield Cardinal O’Hara 5’ 11” 167
RB A.J. Fenton - Erie McDowell 6’ 1” 203
RB Ryan Kane - Milford Academy 5’ 9” 163
WR Deon Long - Washington Dunbar 5’ 11” 174
OL David Wang - Stone Bridge, VA 6 1” 302
OL Blake Graham - Northeast Catholic 6’ 4” 269
OL Jack Lowery - Archbishop Carroll 6’ 3” 248
OL Matt Fedor - Seton-LaSalle 6’ 1” 274
OL Adam Gress - West Mifflin 6’ 7” 279
ATH Bryan Stefanik - Blackhawk 6’ o” 193
ATH Phil Bondi - Moon 6’ 1” 177
Defense
DL Michael Larrow - Union, NJ 6’ 3” 252
DL Nicolas Soto - Altoona 6’ 3” 285
DL Darnell Harding ? McKeesport 6’ 2” 211
DL Kyle Baublitz - Central York 6’ 5” 251
LB Cody Miller - Souderton 6’ 3”
LB Dan Mason - Penn Hills 6’ 0” 216
LB Garrett Wilcox - St Vincent St. Mary’s 6’ 3” 206
DB Chad Bowman - Franklin Regional 6’ 0” 183
DB Corey Slater ? Mars 5’ 10” 165
DB Jared Jones - Shaler 5’10” 155
DB Jawan Bryant - McKeesport 6’ 1’ 168
ATH Devin Street - Bethlehem Liberty 6’ 3” 173
Pitt has offered several players in the Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, DC area this year. It appears Pitt’s new wide receiver coach Bryan Bossard brought the Maryland recruiting book with him. Pitt has offered a number of players in his old recruiting footprint. It will take some time, maybe until we get into the Evaluation period in May and the coaches can visit their school before we know where Pitt really stands on this group.
RB Caleb Porzell (Virginia commit), WR Justin Brown, OL Pete White, DE Sean Stanley, LB Mike Previtt, DB Darrell Givens and DT Raynard Randolph might all fall into this group. We have an article on WR Justin Brown this morning.
Yesterday we had an article on offensive lineman Corey Linsley from Youngtown Boardman. He told us Pitt was not high on his radar prior to his visit on Junior Day. He had a great visit on Junior Day and Pitt moved into his top three after the visit. If you missed the article yesterday please see the Ticker.
Rivals.com has changed their default settings. When you go to the database now the Class of 2009 will come up first. It will make it much easier for you to follow the recruitment of players that will be raising seniors.
You can always toggle backwards if you want to see another Class.
Vacation
I will be taking a vacation starting a week from today. As a result there will be no War Room article next week. I will be joining my daughter’s family in Florida. Her three boys are on spring break. I hope to be sipping an adult beverage beachside while watching the Big East tournament on ESPN next weekend.
Once I return the Pitt football coaches will be just about ready to start spring drills. Chris Peak, Tony Greco and Pete Madia are all scheduled to be at spring practice to give you the best coverage found anywhere.
Please see the link below for more details on the Pittsburgh All-Nike combine team. Stay with the video. The second intervie is with Penn Hlls LB Dan Mason.
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.
Pittsburgh All-Nike combine team
