OT: D1

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Pitt just a got a very nice backcourt pickup with former Wichita State and Texas Tech 6-4 PG Jamarius Burton. Scored at a 10 PPG clip with the former school. Has the ability to really motor around the court and likes the dribble drive. The Panthers all of a sudden have some nice pop to their backcourt with the addition of Burton joining Odukale, Sibande, and Horton.

But still need that dominant post. Looks like Efton Reid is talking with the Tar Heels.

Well ... if you believe the draft experts ... Champagne is projecting as a mid- to late Round 2 guy.

That range is not good news for him. So, he likely will play in college next year. Question is of course where. He could stay in Oakland ... or become the Belle of the portal ball.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Well ... if you believe the draft experts ... Champagne is projecting as a mid- to late Round 2 guy.

That range is not good news for him. So, he likely will play in college next year. Question is of course where. He could stay in Oakland ... or become the Belle of the portal ball.

Probably if he transferred anywhere it would be to St. Johns to join his twin brother. But my guess is that he will play for Pitt if he comes back to the college game.

I see that four-star post Henry Coleman is leaving Duke to enter into said portal. Pitt might want to try and get him. I know they recruited him rather hard a year ago.

Looks like Jalen Suggs is entering the NBA draft. He's ready for prime time.

I like what UCLA is doing. They add a five-star recruit and post Myles Johnson from the transfer portal to add to a team that was a breath away from the NC game a few weeks ago. Things seem to be pointing up in Westwood.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Looks like 5-star center Efton Reid is set to announce his choice of school tomorrow at high noon. He waffled on it a few weeks ago. Let's see how it goes here tomorrow. Pitt was said to be on his final list but Florida State came on strong back in April. I heard that Hubert Davis of UNC got into his ear. Maybe he picks the Tar Heels. Who knows.

I see that former First Love swing D.J. Gordon recently entered into the transfer portal at Penn State. The same can be said for C Ibrahima Diallo who looks to want out of Ohio State. Pitt recruited him quite hard two years ago.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Pitt's Justin Champagnie is going to sign with an agent and officially enter the NBA draft.

[IUPalum]

Pitt's Justin Champagnie is going to sign with an agent and officially enter the NBA draft.

Don't blame him one bit. What a farse Jeff Capel and the Pitt program has become!

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Pitt's Justin Champagnie is going to sign with an agent and officially enter the NBA draft.

I guess we will have to see how it all plays out but I can't help to think that he may have very well made an absolutely horrendous decision in doing this. Okay, if he gets drafted and makes it onto an NBA roster then all is well and good. But what if he doesn't? He may find himself sitting back at home in Brooklyn when he could have had potentially three more college seasons to play. That's a lot to give up in my opinion. Certainly, there are lesser pro leauges than the NBA and there is always overseas ball, but I think he did not do the smart thing here by signing with the agent.

Also worth noting that the public auction for the services of Efton Reid appears to be over and the winner was L$U. Will Wade's FBI indictment should be a fun one to read one of these days. LOL.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I guess we will have to see how it all plays out but I can't help to think that he may have very well made an absolutely horrendous decision in doing this. Okay, if he gets drafted and makes it onto an NBA roster then all is well and good. But what if he doesn't? He may find himself sitting back at home in Brooklyn when he could have had potentially three more college seasons to play. That's a lot to give up in my opinion. Certainly, there are lesser pro leauges than the NBA and there is always overseas ball, but I think he did not do the smart thing here by signing with the agent.

Also worth noting that the public auction for the services of Efton Reid appears to be over and the winner was L$U. Will Wade's FBI indictment should be a fun one to read one of these days. LOL.

I don't know his family situation but solely basketball-wise is seems an awful decision. I haven't seen one mock with him in the Top 45 picks.

That said, is the culture at Pitt so bad right now he just wanted out? Of course, he could have did a free transfer.

I'd have hit the portal. Spend a year at the school of his choice (he could have went anywhere). One year at Kentucky and he's a Top 15 pick next year.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

I don't know his family situation but solely basketball-wise is seems an awful decision. I haven't seen one mock with him in the Top 45 picks.

That said, is the culture at Pitt so bad right now he just wanted out? Of course, he could have did a free transfer.

I'd have hit the portal. Spend a year at the school of his choice (he could have went anywhere). One year at Kentucky and he's a Top 15 pick next year.

I agree. I would much rather have seen him transfer to a different school than to do this. I feel kind of sick for him. I don't really follow the NBA or their mock drafts at all but from what everyone is saying he is not appearing in many of them at all. Another year of college ball to bulk up his frame and grow his game he may have been a first round pick in my opinion. I just don't understand this at all. It reminds me of some years back when Pitt had a good WR/KR named Quadree Henderson or some such name and he foolishly gave up his final two years of college football to go pro. Well, he was not drafted and was cut by the Stillers in camp as a free agent. Just a plain dumb decision on his part. I sort of see the same things here. Somebody also mentioned Paris Ford as well.

[IUP24]

Pitt's Justin Champagnie is going to sign with an agent and officially enter the NBA draft.

I wonder if he wouldn't have been better off just transferring elsewhere. I don't know the NBA game, but doesn't seem like he's ready.

Edit... Didn't see you already mentioned that.

[IUP24]

Don't blame him one bit. What a farse Jeff Capel and the Pitt program has become!

Kevin Stallings recruited far better players than Jeff Capel has, but that's not a conversation anybody is interested in hearing. Marcus Carr was a better player than anybody Capel has brought in. Quit "being 2nd" with every 5 start recruit. If you're a good coach, identify 3 star players you think fit, recruit them, bring them in, and coach/develop them. Pitt isn't the type of team/program to just go out and sign multiple 5 stars a year for a quick fix.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Kevin Stallings recruited far better players than Jeff Capel has, but that's not a conversation anybody is interested in hearing. Marcus Carr was a better player than anybody Capel has brought in. Quit "being 2nd" with every 5 start recruit. If you're a good coach, identify 3 star players you think fit, recruit them, bring them in, and coach/develop them. Pitt isn't the type of team/program to just go out and sign multiple 5 stars a year for a quick fix.

Stallings was doomed even before his introductory press conference. He was never given a chance. I actually feel bad for him.

[IUP24]

Stallings was doomed even before his introductory press conference. He was never given a chance. I actually feel bad for him.

Correct. He never had a chance. The media destroyed that man before he coached a single game. The vitriol from the media spilled into the fan base and then that rolled right into the roster and everybody wanted out because the fans and media said so. That was perhaps one of the biggest hatchet jobs to ruin a coach that I've ever seen in my life.

The reality is that he brought in better recruits than Capel has. That doesn't fit the narrative though.

[Chuck Norris]

Correct. He never had a chance. The media destroyed that man before he coached a single game. The vitriol from the media spilled into the fan base and then that rolled right into the roster and everybody wanted out because the fans and media said so. That was perhaps one of the biggest hatchet jobs to ruin a coach that I've ever seen in my life.

The reality is that he brought in better recruits than Capel has. That doesn't fit the narrative though.

[IUP24]

In reality, he actually wasn't a bad hire. He had built a really nice program at Vanderbilt. The Pitt media thought Pitt was going to make a "splash hire" and get a young up and comer. Will Wade and Bryce Drew were the two big names I remember. Pitt hired a search firm and stated that they wanted a coach with Power 5 head coaching experience that had recruited NBA players. Stallings fit the bill and did it at a place with difficult academic standards that limits your recruiting pool.

The abject failure of the Stallings era was also partially due to Jamie Dixon leaving that roster completely barren (Mike Young and Jamel Artis were still around, I get it). But Dixon wanted no parts of going to the ACC, and what he left behind when he left for TCU showed that. Stallings had to rebuild a Big East team into an ACC squad on the fly while being criticized for everything he did. I actually thought he was bringing in decent players. He recruited players he could get and could coach up. Far different than Capel striking out with every blue chip out there. Marcus Carr was a better player than anybody that Capel has recruited.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Kevin Stallings recruited far better players than Jeff Capel has, but that's not a conversation anybody is interested in hearing. Marcus Carr was a better player than anybody Capel has brought in. Quit "being 2nd" with every 5 start recruit. If you're a good coach, identify 3 star players you think fit, recruit them, bring them in, and coach/develop them. Pitt isn't the type of team/program to just go out and sign multiple 5 stars a year for a quick fix.

I'm not so sure if I would entirely agree with that, but to be fair Stullings really wasn't given much time to work with. We have to remember that Capel actually did recruit some good players to Pitt but unfortunately not very many of them are here anymore. I saw a chart that someone complied and it showed that out of Dixon in his latter years in the ACC, Stullings, and Capel----it was actually Capel who had brought in the most four-star recruits (Hugley, Jeffress, and McGowens come to mind). Capel's 2020 class actually featured four players (Jeffress, Collier, Odukale, Hugley) that spent time in the top 150 recruits lists (okay, they can be highly subjective I grant you).

I agree with your comments with Marcus Carr----very fine time at Minnesota. No arguing that. I'm not sure who else Stullings recruited was all that great. Parker Stewart? Not sure. Stullings did bring in Terrell Brown who was a very fine person but not that great a post.

I also agree that you are on the money with Capel and these five stars. Yes, forget about them. It's all corrupt when it comes to the top crust. There are reports that Efton Reid actaully gave Capel a verbal on Friday night and then flopped to L$U by Sunday. How do you think that likely happened? But i do like your philosophy of just going after the three and four star players who are obtainable. Find good character guys who fit your system and guys who want to get after it. I agree all the way with you there.