I’ve been meaning to blog about Pitt’s incoming recruiting class for awhile and now that the Panthers are off for a few days with not much to report on and with the “calm before the storm” of March Madness I figured now would be a good time to give a rundown on the three recruits for the 2010 class.

Isiah Epps-Point guard 6’2’’ 170 pounds

Chatham, VA.

Hargrave Military Academy

 Ranked as the No. 69 player in Rival’s 2010 class, Epps is probably Pitt’s most highly touted recruit. An outstanding shooter with excellent court vision, he can step into the Panthers lineup and be a part of coach Dixon’s rotation right away. While listed as a point guard he can play shooting guard as well and is dangerous in transition. The thing he needs to improve on the most is his defense. Has reportedly struggled with the adjustment to Hargrave, a post-graduate school, but has been coming on strong as of late.

J.J. Moore-Small forward 6’6’’ 190 pounds

South Kent, CT.

South Kent

Moore is ranked by Rivals as the No. 107 player on Rivals but those rankings haven’t been updated in months, and once they are Moore should skyrocket in the ranks as he has drastically improved in the past year. While Epps may be Pitt’s most well-known recruit, I’ll go out on a limb right now and say that Moore will end up being the best player (and the most athletic) in this class. He has legitimate NBA potential. Transferring to South Kent for his last year of high school, Moore has been impressive against top-level competition and he reminds me of Sam Young only with more potential. He is so physically gifted and can throw down highlight reel dunks and he can shoot from distance and drive to the basket as well. The big question with Moore is his grades, but signs are pointing towards Moore being eligible for next season as he has been improving in the classroom. Moore has the ability to play from day one and could be the next superstar at Pitt. He’s that good.

Cameron Wright-Shooting guard 6’5’’ 195 pounds

Cleveland, OH.

Benedictine

A four year high school starter, Wright is a solid player who is very athletic and can defend. A player very comparable to Brad Wannamaker as Wright could play either shooting guard or small forward for Pitt. He can do it all on the court; averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4.5 steals last season. While it may take Wright the longest of the three to get legitimate playing time, he has the potential to be a good player for Pitt in the future.

Down seven with a minute to go in Pitt’s game Friday night against West Virginia I thought that the game was over. Then all of a sudden after a few Mountaineer missed free throws and a couple quick Pitt baskets, they were down only three when Ashton Gibbs’ deep three tied the game to send it to overtime.

The Panthers eventual triple-overtime win will go down as the best game to date at the Peterson Events Center but some Pitt fans weren’t even there to see the overtime periods, as they had already left assuming that the game was over.

But with this year’s Panthers team, seemingly no opponents lead is safe. They have come from behind three times this season to send a game to overtime against Duquesne, Louisville and West Virginia; before eventually winning all three.

Against Duquesne they trailed by 13 at halftime and were still behind by nine with nine minutes to play in regulation before winning in double-overtime. In that game the comeback was spurred by Gibbs’ hot hand late in the game and Jamie Dixon’s decision to switch to a 2-3 zone in the second half.

In the game against Louisville, Pitt was down by six with two minutes left in regulation and by five with a minute to play. But late missed free throws by Louisville, including four by Edgar Sosa, allowed the Panthers to creep back into the game. Clutch shooting by Brad Wannamaker, scoring the team’s last five points in regulation, tied the game up with one second left and Pitt never looked back in overtime.

But the greatest of all the comebacks was last Friday night. Afterwards Gil Brown said it was the best game he’d ever played in and I’m sure most of the other players would say the same thing. All of those comebacks have been crucial for the Panthers this season, and that’s not even counting their come from behind victory in the season opener when they trailed by six points with six minutes to go in the win against Wofford.

 Just think if Pitt hadn’t pulled off those comebacks. Their NCAA tournament hopes would be slim and they would be playing for their tournament lives right now. But the fact is, they did win those games and coming from behind and winning close games are signs of a good team.

So if Pitt’s behind late in another game this season, don’t turn off the TV or leave the game early because this team plays to the final buzzer.