Open Competition?

Now that football season is right around the corner, the Pitt Panther Sports Blot is back. We realized during basketball that the enormous amount of games was too much to keep up on for posting, but now that football season is here again we can commit to posting.
And what else would the first topic be about......the QB's!

Please first watch the following video interview: Tino Sunseri post scrimmage

There are several encouraging things about the video:
1. When asked if he could pressure Bill to take the starting job, Tino says that Coach Cignetti approaches the situation as an open competition. This is the way it should be considering there is no star at the position. I understand wanting to prepare someone for the season, but competition breeds success. When you have someone battle tested in competition you know you can trust them in the game. Every position that is not occupied by a star should be an open competition. Want to know why USC is so good? Each week, Pete Carroll says that every position is up for grabs. The practices are extremely competitive as each guy claws for his chance to be on the field. The intensity of USC warm ups aren't matched by some college practices. And then they win, a lot. So hopefully Cig is the one with the say in this matter and it is an open competition. Not because I'm rooting for any one QB (I just want the best on the field) but competition helps breed the best and helps to find the best kid at each spot.
2. Sunseri finished 6-7 for 60 yards and 1 TD, no INT's. If you watch the interview they discuss a TD catch by Baldwin that was ruled incomplete. Tino says he thinks it popped out when he hit the ground. This means that Tino would have been 7-7 with 2 TD's and no picks (unless the TD throw he had was on the same series as this). That's an impressive day for someone who only ran 3 of the team's drives. After the scrimmage, DW reiterated Billy is our guy, and that no one was spectacular. I'm not sure what you can do besides hitting 100% of receivers but with Sunseri taking more 1st team reps it seems Wanny is noticing him. Perhaps DW thought naming a starter early would kill all the media attention on the position and let the players develop and compete. If that's the case, it didn't work so let's open it up publicly.
3. Tino just sounds like a leader and professional in the interview. He said the right thing each time. I don't know if he'll win the competition and if there will be one, but I sure hope they at least open it up.

Talyor a McDonald's All-American

Zags blog has reported news from rivals.com that Taylor has been selected an McDonald's All-American. We all knew he had a very good shot at being selected but it is great seeing players that Pitt is bringing in get recognized. Adam Zagoria reported that rivals had leaked information that McDonald's had notified some guys of there selections early. Congratulations to Dante, and lets keep bringing in more like him. A bigger list can be seen on his website.

Harris as OC?

On Monday, a source told us that Matt Cavanuagh would leave immediately after the letters were in to take a job with the Jets. The source also said that Walt Harris would then take over the OC job at Pitt. Now, let me say that we don't know where the source gets his info from. Also, there have been times in the past when the sources "stories" have turned out to not come true. But some have come true as well. Now looking at this situation: the source was right and Cavanaugh left immediately after the letters were in. Therefore, I have to believe that the second part is going to to be more than just a possibility and Harris may actually take over as OC.

Reasons I see this as likely: Harris was the Coach under Pederson. They had an excellent relationship. Harris always had a great offensive mind. He also had an eye for skill position talent. Think of guys he brought in (Antonio Bryant, Larry Fitzgerald, Kris Wilson, Joe Flacco, Luke Getsy, Palko, Miree (from Alabama), Greg Lee, Rutherford). No doubt the guy has an eye for talent and for developing it. Therefore, I could see Pederson "suggesting" that Wanny hire Pederson. Harris is in the area and jobless. Not to many OC's that are as qualified as him sitting around waiting to be hired for reasonable cash.

Reasons I think its a good match: As mentioned above, Harris can do what Wanny can't, Harris can bring in QB's and develop QB's (Priestly and Gonzalez) to name a few. The major lacking under Cavanaugh, were : talented QB's, development of QB's, and creativity. These are all fields Harris excells in. Things lacking under Harris: toughness, good O-line, a good D-line. These are all things that Wanny has instilled and has developed. These two seem like a match made in heaven, but who knows if they will mesh if this happens. I believe it is a definate possibility.

Let's End This Debate Already

We are tired of hearing this debate, is the ACC or the Big East a better conference? Before the year started everyone said hands down the BE. Now that the top few teams have lost a game or two in the conference everyone is jumping on the ACC ship. I don't give much credence to anything Jay Bilas or Coach K say about the debate, but both think the ACC is stronger up top. Now I really disagree with this so decided to take the subjectivity out of the argument. After all, I am a diehard Pitt fan. So, what we decided to do was look at the top three teams in each conference and at their toughest stretch of 10 games. We assigned point values for each game. A game vs. a top 10 team would earn a team 7 points. A game vs. a top 25 team would earn a team 5 points. If the team is not ranked, but has a winning record, they were awarded points as follows. For at least 3 times as many wins as losses gets 3 points. For double the amount of wins than losses gets 2 points. For a simple winning record gets 1 point. And for a .500 or losing record that matchup gets 0 points.

BIG EAST

Ranking	Record	Pts.
9	14-3	7
8	17-3	7
NR	14-4	3
20	15-4	5
19	12-5	5
NR	8-12	0
NR	14-4	3
NR	13-7	2
3	17-1	7
NR	8-12	0
		39

Ranking	Record	Pts.
NR	8-12	0
NR	13-6	2
9	14-3	7
8	17-3	7
NR	9-9	0
4	17-1	7
NR	7-12	0
10	17-2	7
19	12-5	5
4	17-1	7
		42

Ranking	Record	Pts.
12	12-5	5
19	12-5	5
4	17-1	7
9	14-3	7
NR	13-6	2
NR	14-4	3
20	15-4	5
3	17-1	7
12	12-5	5
20	15-4	5
		51

As we can see the lowest score is awarded to Pitt with 39. Syracuse at 51 and UCONN at 42 have extremely high schedule scores.

ACC

Ranking	Record	Pts.
1	16-1	7
NR	7-9	0
9	16-2	7
NR	14-4	3
5	17-2	7
NR	15-6	2
1	16-1	7
NR	13-6	2
NR	13-5	2
NR	16-4	3
		40

Ranking	Record	Pts.
5	17-2	7
NR	15-6	2
9	16-2	7
NR	13-5	2
2	18-1	7
NR	9-9	0
NR	14-4	3
NR	15-6	2
NR	10-7	1
NR	16-4	3
		34

Ranking	Record	Pts.
1	16-1	7
NR	7-9	0
NR	14-4	3
9	16-2	7
NR	16-4	3
NR	10-7	1
NR	13-6	2
NR	7-9	0
2	18-1	7
NR	14-4	3
		33

Only Duke with a 40 schedule score is higher than any BE teams. The others Wake and UNC are not even close to their Big East Counterparts.

So, we have proven that a ten game stretch in the BE is something that ACC teams don't really have to face. Would UNC or WAKE have nearly as good of a record if their schedule score was a 51? I highly doubt it. The point of this all is that yes, the ACC has good teams at the top of their league, but they are no better than BIG EASTS top dawgs, and I argue are slightly worse. What is more impressive how the BE top teams perform vs. their schedules or the ACC? I believe the BE. Also to seal the deal, lets look at the losses of the top teams. UCONN lost to Georgetown a team ranked 12 in the country. Pitt lost on the road to Louisville, a team ranked 9th in the country. Syracuse lost to fourth ranked Pitt, and Cleveland St. Ouch. But that is the worst, and only loss to an unranked team that any of the top 3 teams from the Big East has had. Now the ACC, Duke lost to unranked Michigan. UNC lost to unranked BC at home (who next got spanked by Harvard at home), and to Wake at Wake, a respectable loss. Lastly, Wake lost at home to unranked VT.
So, to put it all in perspective. The Big East's top teams have outperformed those of the ACC against a much tougher league schedule. The top teams have avoided any losses to unranked teams with the exception of Syracuse's loss to Cleveland St. Each team that leads the ACC has lost to an unranked team. The thing about this all is that if you look at the teams that beat Wake and UNC, they were not good teams. But, they had one thing in common. They slowed the game down, played to their pace and defended. This is exactly what the BE teams specialize in but with far far far better talent then BC or VT. If you thought Unc and Wake struggled with these teams, don't you think they would struggle vs. a Pitt or Louisville, or UConn. This is why Clemson never is good in the ACC. They try to play uptempo and get into a track meet with UNC and Wake, which is what most teams in the Acc do. This is why most teams in the ACC get hammered and why UNC and Wake look so good when they play these teams. WAKE and UNC can out talent anyone who wants to get in a track meet. But, make these teams run a set or two, make them run the clock, and challenge them and they have fallen apart. So I argue, that yes, like everyone else says, the BE is way deeper. But, I also think these top teams are better than those of the ACC

Pitt Commit Epps Showing His Worth

Below is a story on Isaiah Epps and his Plainfield squad's game against St. Anthony that was posted on NBE. This story is further evidence of why Epps is a tremendous recruit to have committed at this stage. ESPN has described Epps as a tremendous shooter and a Juan Dixon protege. Based on everything else reported about the kid, including the article below, Epps seems to possess speed and quicks that many other high school gaurds cannot handle. He seems to be a tremendous fit for the program and this continues Pitt's trend of raising the talent of their recruits. Epps and his teammates overtook St. Anthony's and Dominic Cheek, whom Pitt was heavily involved with before he committed to Nova. I know you never want to lose out on a player like Cheek but it may have helped Pitt get Epps who should be the point guard of the future. You have to love that he outdueled Cheek in this matchup. Maybe this is just a foreshadowing of Villanova Pitt matchups in the coming years.

Here's the story:

Plainfield Edges Top Ranked St Anthony’s 51-48

The organizers of the Dan Finn Classic saved the best match-up for last Saturday. Third-ranked St. Anthony’s took on 16th-ranked Plainfield in a matchup that pitted Bobby Hurley’s finesse laden team versus the speed of Jeff Lubreski’s team, particularly in Tyrone Johnson and Isaiah Epps. This game would be a close one but speed can kill.

Anthony Baskerville and Epps would come out shooting early on. Two-thirds of Plainfield’s rugged backcourt would put Plainfield up by as much as 9 points, leading 12-3 over the Jersey City school. Bobby Hurley’s squad however would come right back with the play of Elijah Carter, Jamee Jackson, and Villanova-bound Dominic Cheek, cutting the Plainfield lead to 12-10 at the end of the first quarter

In the second quarter it was more intense play, but still relatively low scoring because of good defense and speed. With the help of Tyrone Johnson’s nine points Plainfield would continue their slight edge with 25-20 lead heading into intermission.

St. Anthony’s would make the game a real nail-biter for both head coaches in the third quarter. The Friars would mount a comeback behind the play of Jamee Jackson and take a slight lead 35-34 lead through three quarters.

In the fourth quarter 2010 Pittsburgh-commit Epps and sophomore his sophomore backcourt mate Johnson would make the mostly pro-Plainfield crowd happy. In the quarter that was full of lead changes, and by far the most action, Epps would hit for 13 of his game high-high 17 points, and Johnson would add in 7 of his 16. The Friars weren’t giving up though, Jamee Jackson and Cheek worked furiously to counter their Union County rival. However despite Cheek’s 8 points in the final quarter, the game was over when Cheek, whose team was down 50-48 with under 10 seconds left, intentionally missed a free throw and it landed in the hands of Plainfield’s Jabrial Elliot thus icing the game and giving Plainfield the victory by a final of 51-48.

Dom Cheek would lead the Friars on the day with 12 points, and teammate Jamee Jackson would add in 11.

Epps had 17 and was very efficient with good shot selection and ball-handling throughout. Johnson added 16 and played very good defense on Cheek at key situations that helped Plainfield pull out the win.

Dumb Comment of the Week: Paul Harris

There is a proverb: Don't speak unless you can improve the silence.
Somebody needs to tell Paul Harris this. Tonight Pittsburgh turned in one of their less impressive offensive showings of the year with all the turnovers. Yet, inspite of this sloppy play the Panthers dominated the Orange by the games end. Which brings us to Paul Harris and his post game quote:

"Man I hope we play Pitt again,"
"I hope we get them in the Big East
tournament. We will beat them. I can
promise you that. We will beat them
the next time."

That is awful big talk from a team that got smacked in the mouth down the stretch. Mr. Harris I think you may have just made a few other people excited about a rematch, and they won't be wearing orange but rather blue and gold. I would be willing to bet my house that if the Panthers meet the Orange again that quote will be posted on every billboard in the locker room. So props to Paul, piss off a more talented team that already handled the Cuse with a less than impressive performance. (Not to mention, that Pitt has dominated Cuse over the past few seasons). This should come across as no surprise however after watching the game. Harris seemed more interested and well suited for a verbal battle than a basketball battle. His first half technical for jawing went quite well with his 9pt. 5 reb showing in 30 minutes of play. I actually didn't want to post this because I respected Harris more than any other Cuse player entering the game. You have to like the way he plays hard and boards. But, it seems Harris's mouth is bigger than his game at this point. He is not a player that is capable of taking a game over, and therefore should not be garunteeing a win. This is one of the dumber comments I've heard a player make, and it doesn't show a whole lot of sportsmanship not crediting the other team following a loss. Go Pitt!

Pollsters

The following post was written yesterday. Apparently I was wrong. Maybe the pollsters deserve a little more credit than I thought. I think that dropping to 4 in both polls is a fair drop.

I know the polls don't really mean a whole lot at this point, but I think when they come out today the Panthers will have dropped a significant amount. Save yourself the jaw popping anger seen above and prepare yourself for it. I am predicting the Panthers fall all the way to 6th and possibly 7th. They will drop behind Wake, Uconn, and Duke, almost assuredly. I'm sure they will also fall below Oklahoma and UNC. There is also a possibility that Syracuse passes them up. This should show us all how ridiculous the polls are and that we shouldn't even bother looking at them. What is worse? a road loss to Louisville, or a home loss to BC, a home loss to Cleveland State, and a road loss to Arkansas. I can deal with Wake, Duke and UCONN being vaulted above the Panthers. But I believe the losses of the other teams are far worse and don't merrit them jumping the panthers. So, do yourself a favor. When the polls come out today, don't even bother looking. Save yourself the anger. Go enjoy the game tonight and know that the Panthers will have lots of chances to prove themselves starting tonight.