Expansiopocolypse: Still Waiting for WVU to Leave

Lots of chatter of verbal agreements and things behind the scenes, but no actual, direct statements, spun press releases announcing anything. Heck, the Big 12 has even delayed their schedule once more.

The issues of WVU leaving the Big East for the Big 12 appear relatively settled. Just the details need to be resolved.

So, in lieu of anything in particular, a grab-bag of related stuff tied to expansiopocolypse that I found interesting.

Let’s start with the hilarious McConnell-Manchin feud in the US Senate. I think very little of either of them. The one thing I will say, reading that piece, is it does more to benefit DickRod than anyone else. DickRod has long claimed of interference while he was at WV from then Gov. Manchin as playing a role in his decision to leave. Astounding as it seems, DickRod is seeing his credibility improve thanks to Manchin’s antics.

Manchin — I suppose like most politicians — is a bit of a name-dropping ass as he shows in this story where he tries to answer the questions raised by the story of the feud.

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Expansiopocolypse: Waiting for a Settlement

You don’t mind if I put off any post on the game from last night do you? You don’t? Good.

So when last we left the Expansiopocolypse (and for the record, I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that this word has not caught on with anyone), there were reports of a settlement looming between West Virginia and the Big East. The issue was that the numbers being leaked by each side seemed quite wide.

On the Big East side, the settlement would be in the $20 million range. By contrast the WVU side was leaking a figure of $11 million. That seems like quite a wide gap for an imminent settlement.

However, a parsing of what was actually written based on leaks from both sides suggests that both numbers could be correct. Bear with me, there is some math involved, parsing words and abject speculation. In other words, par for the course when it comes to everything else in the process.

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One Month In

It’s been a month since Paul Chryst has been hired by PITT to be the Head Coach of the football program and the dust from that decision has pretty much settled.  His hiring came after a tumulus 13 month period in which we saw a six year HC fired, his replacement arrested and fired after a few weeks on the job and a third and divisive HC hired just to do a disappearing act after 10 months.

After Haywood imploded his career and Graham thumbed his nose at us what PITT needed in its next HC was a stabilizing and more conservative man to get the football program back on an even keel. I think we found that in Chryst. Just as with any head coaching search the fans weighed in with their favorites and inevitably some were disappointed with PITT’s choice and others were made very happy.

Now, after his first month, it appears that there is a contingent of fans who just feel the need to criticize everything Chryst did or is rumored to have done.  There is a laundry list of negative issues that these fans hold onto, mostly with no firm facts to support them.  Here are a few of the complaints about Chryst and staff from before he was hired to the present.

1.  Chryst had no head coaching experience.  Neither did Jackie Sherrill and we seem pretty satisfied with his work at PITT, don’t we?  This was a valid concern as inexperience in being the Top Dog can come back and bite the program sometimes.  But Chryst had been an OC with a Pac-10 and then a Big Ten school and had done well at that.  Leadership is a quality one develops in many ways and everyone who assumes the prime position has had to gather those qualities along his professional path. Chryst was heartily endorsed for the position by his AD Barry Alvarez who is well familiar with PITT and WPA football.  This is a ‘wait and see’ issue but there is no foundation to think he’ll not be able to assume the mantle and succeed.

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LiveBlog: Pitt-USF

Well this is another road game. This time in the Bulls temp home. USF has been better this year, and actually better than decent in whatever facility they decide to use as home court this season. Heck, they’ve actually won their games against Rutgers and DePaul. The Bulls have size up front, so that should be interesting to say the least for Pitt.

While Zanna has been in something of a funk lately, only 9 points and 11 rebounds over the last two games. At  the same time Dante Taylor has stepped up a bit. He’s had a good couple of games, but it is hard not to be a little cynical about Taylor at this point. He looked like he was starting to respond during the non-con after Khem Birch went into the starting line-up, but then disappeared once more. So who is absolutely certain what he will do from game to game.

Tray Woodall has been reaping the attention this week. He got national player of the week honors to go with conference honors. The theme of this being Woodall’s team and the leader that I pointed out last week is now getting more play.

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Expansiopoclypse: Making Sense of Things

You know, just before the Memphis news broke I was actually working on a post on Pitt, the ACC, the Backyard Brawl and all the other things. Then Memphis happened and much changed. So I had to junk it and restart.

Heading into this past weekend, there were interesting comments by AD Steve Pederson about moving to the ACC and the future schedules. I didn’t think much of it, other than being water cooler talk. The ACC put out its future plans for the conference layout including the 9-game conference schedule for football.

Pederson went on the media rounds as expected to talk about it. Much like he has said before, they are keeping an eye on things regarding the WVU lawsuit as you would expect.

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Expansiopocolypse: Big East Football to Get Worse

Um, is it too late to join WVU in their lawsuit to leave the Big East early? I’m starting to come around to the idea of saying, “Screw doing it the right way to leave the conference. Time to burn some bridges and be an asshole about it.”

Why you ask? This:

Memphis and the Big East Conference are in the final stages of negotiations to make the Tigers an all-sports member of the Big East beginning in 2013, college football industry sources told CBSSports.com.

The Tigers would join the Big East with three other Conference USA members – Houston, SMU and UCF – for the 2013-14 school year. The Big East also will add Boise State and San Diego State as football-only members in 2013 and Navy in 2015.

SI.com’s Stewart Mandel noted that Memphis’ BCS rankings for the past 4 years have been: 115, 114, 112 and 96.

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Eddie Faulkner, We Hardly Knew You

So, less than a month after Pitt hired Eddie Faulkner as the running backs coach, he leaves for Wisconsin to be the Tight Ends Coach. Um, okay.

I think I need someone to explain to me what life is like up in Madison. You know, I get wanting to hire guys you know, trust and have been with you in some form before. These Wisconsin coaches, though, seem to be taking it to a new level. There cannot be more than a degree of separation from either Wisconsin or personal connections. This has led to a lot of hiring guys away from each other Doren, Chryst, Bielema — all hiring the same guys and raiding each other for one coach or another. It’s making me a little nervous.

I’m not exactly distraught by this loss to the staff. As noted when he was hired, Faulkner’s recruiting area was in MAC/Big 10 region. That seems well covered with or without him by the Pitt staff.

Chris Dokish makes the good point that this could/should be a blessing in disguise for Coach Chryst. The chance to hire someone with recruiting ties in New Jersey and/or Maryland.

Trusting Tray

No matter how many times in a row Pitt keeps beating Villanova, it will not make up for that Elite Eight game. But, it will have to do that Pitt keeps beating the Wildcats.

Well, I wrote it after the WVU game, but it bears repeating. This Pitt squad is Tray Woodall’s to lead on the court. When I watch Woodall bringing the ball up court and either Nasir Robinson or Lamar Patterson is going ahead pushing the opposing team’s defender up court. Keeping the defense at bay and from putting any pressure on the ball until Woodall crosses half court and can set the offense. It almost strikes me as the advance guards clearing and protecting the way for the commander.

A bit over-the-top? A little. But it kind of works. The other Pitt players fall in to line and place with Woodall leading this team. He brings a confidence that the rest of the team feeds. The hesitation. The stagnation at both ends. The confusion. All seem to have dissipated with Woodall out there.

This past week’s performance by Woodall also earned him Big East Player of the Week honors.

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LiveBlog: Catfight, Wildcats-Panthers

If I’m correct (if?), this is the first Super Bowl Sunday game for Pitt in six years. Let’s hope the end is a little better than that one.

This a 2pm game on ESPN. Villanova is tied with the same conference record as Pitt with a 3-7 mark. The difference is they were also below average in the non-con side. Expect some TV commentary about both coaches having a down year at the same time.

Both teams feature frontcourts that tend to get exploited and is a little undersized at the power forward spot. The key, as always with a Jay Wright team, will be how the Wildcat guards are playing. Lots of high-level talent that came out of high school, but not nearly the success or consistency that would be expected by now.

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Afraid of the Graham

No not Fraud Graham. I’m talking basketball recruiting and one Torian Graham.

With Khem Birch gone, Pitt has an extra scholarship available. It hasn’t been clear whether Pitt was going to use it or bank it. Assuming that Steven Adams is one-and-done, Pitt has 3 scholarships for next year. The sense I have gotten from rumors, reports and such; is that Coach Jamie Dixon is seeing if he can get a very talented player or JUCO. He won’t, however, take a flyer on someone just because he has the scholarship available.

Some of the names that have been popping up are kids like Sheldon Jeter, Jakarr Sampson is getting attention, and Andrew Young (JUCO) for 2012. Dixon has obviously been looking at kids for 2013 (Stanford Robinson and Kris Jenkins), as well, but let’s stick to the present class.

According Adam Zagoria, Pitt is among the most persistent suitors for one Torian Graham.

According to his guardian, Craig Wilson, four schools are working hardest on the 6-foot-4 wing: N.C. State, Xavier, Pittsburgh and Oregon.

“Everything is still wide open right now, everybody’s still calling,” Wilson told SNY.tv Thursday by phone.

Graham is a 4-star, top-100, 6-4 shooting guard.

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Antonio Graves Flashback

Apparently the NBDL Canton Charge likes guys with ties to Pitt. Tyrell Biggs is on the squad. As is one-time Pitt player who transferred to UMass, Dante Milligan. (Sidenote, Luke Harangody has also been sent down to Canton.) In addition, this year’s squad features Antonio Graves.

Graves had actually carved out a nice career in Europe, until suffering a wrist injury and a botched rehab following surgery in Turkey. Another surgery later, he is back to trying to earn a living in basketball.

“They were really patient with me. I was in a cast for four or five months. I was in a cast for a month while I was on the roster.”

Graves sat out the first 10 games of the Charge’s 50-game season. League rules prohibit teams from carrying more than 10 players on the roster and there is no injury list. The organization thought highly enough of Graves to essentially play a man down for the season’s first month.

“We were confident in the type of player he was and what he could add to our team,” said 35-year-old Charge head coach Alex Jensen, a former Utah standout who served on Rick Majerus’ Saint Louis University coaching staff before joining the Charge in October. “When I first started here, I wanted to look down the road rather than just in the immediate future. We’re glad we kept him.”

Graves was a solid player for Pitt. Complete glue guy who played great defense by the end of his four years at Pitt.

Future ACC Arrangements

The ACC today, announced the future set up for divisions and  scheduling.

As expected Pitt was placed in one of the present divisions and Syracuse was placed in the other. The idea of a North-South divisional set-up was never going to fly. First because putting Miami and FSU in the same division seems silly, but more importantly it would be bad for teams in the north to not have regular trips to Florida for recruiting.

Here’s how the divisions will look:

Coastal

Pitt

Virginia Tech

Duke

Virginia

Georgia Tech

North Carolina

Miami

Atlantic

Syracuse

Boston College

NC State

Wake Forest

Clemson

Florida St.

Maryland

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Please Wait on Bubble Talk

I know, it is the topic lately. Whether fans or media. With Travon Woodall healthy, Pitt is surging (Insider subs) with 3 straight wins. They look like a completely different team. The team left for dead as recently as last week now has a pulse.

And so goes all the talk about if Pitt can make the NCAA Tournament.

I do get it. Especially from the media side. It’s a guaranteed read when you talk about the bubble (trust me, the most commented most read stuff I did for NCAA Basketball FanHouse outside of the NCAA Tournament was “bubble” posts). It’s a big reason why you see these discussions happening earlier and earlier.

The importance of the NCAA Tournament and interest in it continues to thrive, and so all talk of who is in or out gets more attention/discussion. And following the Super Bowl on Sunday, you can bet that there will be even more of it.

Now here’s the reality. It’s too soon. It’s all theoretical. Is Pitt on the bubble? Are they outside the bubble? What do they have to do to make the Tournament? There are 8 games left for Pitt plus the Big East Tournament. That goes for all the other teams that you already hear being discussed in terms of “can they get in, get in the conversation, get on the bubble, etc.”

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Your Post-Signing Day Future Backyard Brawl Rumor

Take this one with some incredibly huge grains of salt. After all, it comes from a high school recruit being told something by a coach.

Mountain Ridge’s Jarrod Harper, who inked his letter-of-intent to join the Mountaineers on Wednesday afternoon, said that WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen told him during the recruiting process that the Backyard Brawl would continue.

“It’s going to happen every other year, I’m pretty sure. Coach Holgorsen said that we’re going to switch, playing Maryland and Pitt,” said Harper. “I come from Maryland, so a lot of my friends are Terps fans. They always talk about West Virginia playing Maryland, whenever I’d get up there [to join the team]. Now we’re going to be playing them, I guess, every other year, I’m not sure yet.”

“At this time, we don’t have any information on future schedules,” said West Virginia football sports information director Mike Montoro via e-mail.

Not surprisingly neither did the SIDs at Maryland or Pitt. Maryland and WVU have a deal to meet every year through 2017.

Considering the unknown conference status of WVU for 2012 and Pitt for 2013, I have a hard time believing this is anything more than a coach blowing smoke up a recruit. Something that at worst Holgorsen can claim he merely speculated was a possibility, while talking to a recruit who asked about the Backyard Brawl.

Everyone Has a Story, Part 1

One of my favorite things about signing day period is the day or two after. When the stories are told of these kids. I try to round-up all the local stories on each of the recruits. The kids who are getting a chance to have a full scholarship. Get to play football at the 1-A level. The brief chance to actually see the kids in their hometown when they are certainly the BMOC.

We have lauded them for their wisdom in choosing Pitt. For their potential. For many things, but almost as soon as they are signed we expect much of them from the moment they show up on the campus as freshman — and even before. Plus, with recruiting we are already turning to the next kids who should/must/have to be recruited. I’m as guilty of that as anyone else.

But, these posts are the ones to link and highlight the kids themselves and their decision. For every blue-chip recruit who could go anywhere and has a legitimate shot at the NFL, there are many more who are excited to compete at a high college level and get a scholarship for a great education.

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