I had been waiting for news to break like an unemployed private eye.  Sitting behind my desk, surrounded by half empty coffee cups and unfiltered cigarette butts.  Finally the phone rang.  Well, not really rang, but notified me.  Via twitter.  Jeff Capel had landed a commit.  I’d been staking out Oakland for nearly a week, waiting to see who would break first.  Capel, Pitt basketball’s golden boy, who can do no wrong no matter how many four stars slip through is fingers, or Narduzzi, who’s been around Oakland longer than most short order cooks at the O, and is twice as greasy.  His stock and trade is transfers and three stars “with potential”, but the only potential we saw since last Friday’s Pat Signal was a little purple devil.  Still no word on that one.  Oh sure, some guys down at the local dive known as the “Panther Lair” claim to have a line on it, but in this business it’s all rumors until it ain’t.

A few bucks to an informant got me a hot tip.  Turns out the suspect is one Mr. Kylan Johnson, lately of Gainsville, Florida.

Screen Shot 2019-05-08 at 9.40.57 PM

Here’s the skinny on Johnson.  If it ain’t him, then your guess is as good as mine.

Now back to the Capel commit.  The guy’s name is Murphy and that means he’s Irish just like half the police force in LA.  Irish or not, the guy’s been around the block, spent a season in Charlotte and then lit on out to some seedy Junior College in New Mexico.  Word on the street is that he’s a one-trick pony, but he’s got one hell of a shot.  That’s something we can all agree Capel needs on his squad.

Screen Shot 2019-05-08 at 9.46.13 PM

Here’s the scoop on Murph from the boys down at the ‘Lair.

When it rains it pours because my phone kept going off.

First, I got a hot tip that Darrin Hall stayed in Cleveland just long enough to realize why it was called the Mistake by the Lake.  Yea, the Browns dropped him like a bad habit, but I knew he wouldn’t stay on the schnide long.  Sure enough, the Bengals nabbed him before he even had a chance to clear waivers.

It was certainly shaping up to be quite a day at the office.

I had just enough time to catch my breath when the hottest dame on the block walked in:

Screen Shot 2019-05-08 at 9.54.16 PM

Screen Shot 2019-05-08 at 9.56.47 PM

Yea I was a little excited but I kept my cool.  After all, there were some real smooth operators left out of the story, guys like Fralic, May and even that Shady guy from up in Buffalo.

Here’s the link if you want to poke your nose into this business.

Finally, my day was nearly over.  I’d sat back down to go through my notes, when I learned about Ollison.  We all know Ollison.  We all know he’s a stand up guy.  We all know what he can do to opposing defensive backs.  But did we all know he did this?  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  I don’t know what it is with Pitt running backs and adversity, and all I could say was wow.  Qadree Ollison is a man who’s got it both on and off the field.

http://www.espn.com/blog/atlanta-falcons/post/_/id/34204/falcons-rookie-qadree-ollison-keeps-the-faith-through-brothers-murder

Talk about one heck of day.

Hail to Pitt

Michaelangelo Monteleone

 

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

100 thoughts on “This is the Stuff Dreams are Made Of”

  7. MM, you old gumshoe you! John Huston couldn’t have presented this better. And glad to see other POVers share my passion for the old classics.

    In the remake, of course MM will take the role of Bogie’s Sam Spade while I see veteran stage actor, Reed K, doing Sydney Greenstreet’s character (although for the sake of the art, he will have to put on about 40 pounds). Ike is the favorite for Peter Lorre’s role and of course Anne will do just great in Mary Astor’s role.

    And ironically, just as the search for Maltese Falcon came up empty (spoiler alert), so is the search for the “Devil’s Commit”

    Liked by 2 people

  8. here is a little more dirt on Kaylan Johnson’s high school days

    PRIOR TO FLORIDA:
    Quarterbacked Skyline to a 14-1 record in 2014, throwing for 2,456 yards and had 36 touchdown passes without throwing an interception in his senior year… He also rushed for almost 400 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014… Plans on playing safety at UF, while potentially returning kicks and being a wildcat quarterback… Played for Coach Reginald Samples.

    Like

  10. Very enjoyable stuff MM.
    How do you keep Fralic and Mark May off that team? But who do they replace?
    James Conner was much more impactful as a Panther than Curtis Martin, but this
    review might be about their Pro Careers?
    In any case that all-time team could go up against anyone’s

    Glad we got Murphy, an experienced player that can shoot, need one more of those and two guys
    with beef underneath.

    Johnson would be a good pick-up..

    Liked by 2 people

  12. MM – outstanding article by you.

    Maybe you expand this into a serial — The Maltese Panther…

    Trouble followed Narduzzi like a shadow. “No trouble ever got fixed late at night,” Dooz told the blond. “Midnight is for regrets. “

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

  13. M… Here’s more on your “Hot Tip?” Hopefully your source is wrong.

    xxxxxxxx
    “And that leaves Florida linebacker Kylan Johnson, who played quarterback at Dallas Skyline in high school before signing with the Gators as a safety in 2015. After putting on weight during a redshirt season, Johnson moved to linebacker and started the final five games of the 2016 season due to injuries, recording 39 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, and one fumble recovery.

    In 2017, however, Johnson’s career got derailed by multiple injuries and he only started one game as a result. With the arrival of Dan Mullen from Mississippi State as the head coach, Johnson largely served as a reserve, starting two games and recording 27 tackles.”

    xxxxxxxx

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/florida%E2%80%99s-kylan-johnson-headlines-weak-group-of-potential-texas-graduate-transfer-lb-options/ar-BBWfGjw

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Those are some impressive numbers for Johnson (if he is the mystery recruit) in those final 5 games as a redshirt frosh. Might be an indicator of promising potential.

      “That is, if the thought of that blond who keeps strolling past his dorm at 2 am every night ever lets him get some shut eye. Narduzzi warned him that the summer nights in Oakland get hot; he didn’t realize just how hot…”

      (Oops, blamed it on Michaelangelo…)

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. As for Murphy… anybody capable of putting a Ball through the hoop is welcome at this point. Make not mistake about it… SHOOTING was Pitt’s No. 1 problem last season.

    But how is the Murph Man going to look in transition Defense in the ACC?

    Like

  15. “It’s the stuff that dreams are made of…'” is a line said by Bogie of the falcon statue in that great movie, The Maltese Falcon. Words were borrowed and paraphrased by novelist and screen writer Dashiell Hammett from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Words could apply to Pitt;s sports fortunes, couldn’t they? Great article MM.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. And he is rated as a 2* on Rivals.

      Anyone sensing desperation from this coaching staff already? Three 3‘s and one 2 – if they snag another 2* they have a “Full House”…

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Should see if they would consider opening a franchise on the Pitt Campus.

      Just replace the Washington Monument with the Cathedral of Learning.

      A match made in Pitt Heaven.

      Like

    2. The Doozer may be spooked by the venue.

      Then Reed shows up!

      Too many coincidences!!

      Then Reed starts with the Shakespeare quotes…

      Going to be an interesting event…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  19. POD – I actually agree with you; despite our glaring lack of an inside presence last year, shooting was indeed our biggest problem. This is why the addition of Murphy & Drumgoole was so criticial; relying on just Drumgoole, a freshman, to knock down 3’s, would’ve been scary. As others have said, Murphy is not just a “one-trick-pony”, he appears to have a very good floor game, so he’s really a different player than Frame.

    The other positive, in terms of shooting, is that supposedly Coulibaly is an efficient shooter/scorer for a big, so that may help as well. Don’t want to expect too much from a freshman, we really do need to put players out on the court that can make their share of shots, and we were really lacking in that dept. last year.

    Like

  20. A clear NO-BRAINER that shooting was Pitt’s BIGGEST problem out of the many they had.

    The Post-Game shooting percentages comparisons with Opponents almost always told the tale.

    Like

    1. Thanks for posting that, PoD. Nice to see that Murph is not just a stand-still 3-point shooter. Especially like to see the pull-up jumper and passing ability…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  22. great job Michaeangelo! Very entertaining and informative.

    If Gonzaga wanted Murphy then that’s good enough for me.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Michaelangelo Monteleone wrote this line.

    “Narduzzi, who’s been around Oakland longer than most short order cooks at the O, and is twice as greasy.”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Had to laugh out loud. I can just imagine the name Narduzzi will call you when and if you bump into him. “The Spy” will sound more like a compliment. Funny stuff…..

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hahah thanks Ike. When I thought about that line much later I realized that it kind of doesn’t make sense. How long do short order cooks stay at the O? Probably not very long lol

      Liked by 2 people

  27. Another OT……. Just noticed the trout stocking brigade rolling down the street. The Loyalhanna Creek is only 100 yards away. Grab your rod and come on down. At times they put in lots of tagged fish. Beer is on me.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. It would be nice if they got another top 150 player to finish up this class.

    Pitt’s 2018 player national rank:
    McGowens 95
    Johnson 232
    Toney 118
    Aiken 373
    avg: 148.3 (not counting Aiken)

    Pitt’s 2019 player national rank:
    Drumgoole 108
    Champagnie 202
    Coulibaly 223
    Murphy 41 JC
    avg: 177.66 (not counting Murphy)

    Like

  30. while MM had me completely enthralled with his Sam Spade take, I missed the part of Fralic not being on the all time Pitt offense. And how about the Pitt defense showing Ricky Jackson at DE and Hugh Green at OLB? I’m pretty sure those two need to be reversed

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Here’s Reed’s next acting performance along with Michaelangelo. You decide which one is who.

    and then there is this………….

    Like

  33. Hope this is not beating a dead horse, but “the stuff that dreams are made of” was first used by Shakespeare in The Tempest when he has Prospero say, “We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded by a sleep.” Singer Carly Simon had a song The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of that had these lines that also seem apropos to the speculation that goes on in this off-season on the POV: “It’s the stuff that dreams are made of. It’s the slow and steady fire. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of. It’s your heart and soul’s desire. ” The ex-English teacher and journalism writer in me couldn’t hold back.

    I am more of an old-time pop music aficianado who still admires Bob Dylan, Harry Belafonte, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Carole King, Gordon Lightfoot, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and the like. I saw them perform in person. Younger hard rockers are on the POV.

    New signee Murphy, besides the 3-pointer, can also shoot the pull up jumper unlike most shooters on Pitt’s 2018-19 team. But he also may be as ephemeral as a dream when the ACC league play starts. Same with QB Pickett and Coach Whipple. Hope and dreams are nice. But they can be as ephemeral as what Mark Twain said about the worth of faith: “Faith is believing in what you know ain’t so.”

    Sorry to take so long.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. From one words major to another, now that’s a damn good post

      Like

  34. A Cal transfer (Suing) who a Pitt staffer had an “in” with committed to Ohio State.

    Sy is announcing on Monday.

    Like

  36. Fact or Fiction? You decide.

    Pitt won an award (1 of 11 honored) for: These 11 sports information departments have done an outstanding job of not just fulfilling the needs of media members, but of understanding the importance of strong working relationships between programs and the reporters who cover them,

    This award was for the 2018 season & presented by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

    http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/2018/super11190509.html

    Liked by 1 person

  37. It’s not the Director’s Cup, but looks like we have some brains on our teams. Good “Academic Progress” rankings – for what they’re worth…

    2017-18 – Pitt Multi-Year APR Scores by Program
    Program – Score (National Average) – ACC Rank
    Baseball – 969 (976) – 14th
    Men’s Basketball – 985 (967) – 6th
    Women’s Basketball – 1,000 (982) – T-1st
    Men’s Cross Country – 994 (982) – 4th
    Women’s Cross Country – 1,000 (989) – T-1st
    Football – 984 (968) – T-5th
    Gymnastics – 991 (993) – 2nd
    Men’s Soccer – 965 (979) – 11th
    Women’s Soccer – 982 (988) – 14th
    Softball – 992 (986) – T-5th
    Men’s Swimming & Diving – 986 (982) – T-7th
    Women’s Swimming & Diving – 990 (993) – T-10th
    Women’s Tennis – 1,000 (990) – T-1st
    Men’s Track & Field – 946 (973) – 15th
    Women’s Track & Field – 992 (983) – T-8th
    Volleyball – 995 (987) – T-8th
    Wrestling – 979 (976) – 5th

    Like

    1. Will somebody who lives in Texas please compare these to our actual sports win loss records?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. well obviously women’s tennis has an inverse effect between brains and W/L …. (a no brainer)

        Like

  38. Sy down to three… ah oh. U-Miss is one and they pay out their waazzo…… ECU is where his best girl is at… and PITT…… ah oh. BUT! PITT is the best fit for him and that’s not being a homer…. So let’s be hopeful and not overreacted when it happens or not..

    Like

  39. MM, I never have followed Panther Lair. What are the problems, issues with that site? Is that Chris Peak’s scene?

    Like

    1. No issues i was just being snarky for the sake of artistic license. Same with the greasy narduzzi line. PL a really good site and in my opinion Chris Peak is one of the most informed and balanced Pitt football and basketball writers out there. Chris if you are reading this I’m hoping you took my ‘dive bar’ reference with a grain of salt!

      Liked by 2 people

  40. Justin, I loved Carly Simon. I was at work one day and one of the young residents walked onto our unit and i said to the nurse next to me “who’s the girl that looks like Carly Simon?”
    We’ve been married 24 years.

    Liked by 3 people

  44. Wow!!!…that tune takes me back to’72.. ‘73… to PITT… walking from the Phi Delt house on N Ditheridge to my evening job bussing tables at the University Club… damn, just passed a long-haired hippie in a P- coat, bell-bottoms wearing dingo boots.. looks like a young GC… I’ll be damn…the 70’s in Oakland.. the music of the times- perfect match…..and all THEY have out east- a creamery… man were we blessed… PITT/OAKLAND..”GET HIGH on LIFE” … time to turn on my BLACK-LIGHT and let’s get the Dark Knight back… I like crazy…Hail to Arches and PITT…

    Liked by 4 people

    1. At least it will be handy for Morton’s family to see him play…

      🤔

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  46. Great education, athletics and facilities in the Big Ten.

    Hoops has really gone downhill under Gallagher’s watch.

    Like

      1. Landing this big man would be huge for the program. Sy Slama Jama

        And getting a sixth year for Sidy would be an added bonus. At that point I would retract my prediction of a losing season for 2019-20.

        H2P!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Definitely would be a huge positive landing Sy and Sidy getting another year.

          Pretty sad it has come down to that but it has. It is also frustrating seeing the new Va. Tech coach land a top 75 player after being on the job a few weeks with a roster looking really light.

          Like

  47. Starting my day early for work reasons – read the PSN article on Ethan Morton’s commitment to Purdue – I found this clip interesting –

    “Morton admitted that (Capel) starting at Pitt last year and starting recruiting him later than most of his finalists hurt Pitt. He had the opportunity to develop stronger relationships with other programs.

    Another factor brought up is winning and how important it is to him. Morton is used to winning and playing for championships, something he believes he’ll be doing at Purdue. Pitt is still rebuilding and have the yearly challenge of competing in the ACC conference.

    Morton is the first of a trio of WPIAL juniors that will (be) signing with high major programs, along with Moon’s Donovan Johnson and First Love Academy’s DJ Gordon.”

    Someone on the POV mentioned that Pitt BB has been set way back under Sir Patrick Gallagher – that is an extreme understatement in my opinion.

    The perception of Pitt BB is hurting Capel’s recruiting. The program is a shell of what it’s recent history became. Winning consistently, NCAA tourney 13 out of 15 years, tough home court atmosphere – the program currently has 3 straight years of losing and missing the tourney with another losing season right in front of us.

    Missteps by the Pitt administration and lack of an overall plan in the Athletic Dept. I’m hoping Capel’s vision for success trumps the lack of a Pitt admin/AD plan so we as fans can see a winning program sometime in the very near future.

    H2P!

    Liked by 1 person

  48. Well said, Rick…thanks for the tune Biggie.
    The only place better than Oakland in the 70s was Walnut Street in Shadyside.

    Like

  49. the writing was on the wall for Dixon when his buddy Stevie was fired
    Dixon then refused to adapt his style to the new ACC
    His recruiting also slipped
    Dixon was only 28-26 in the ACC

    Barnes was hired
    Barnes pushed for a tougher OOC
    Dixon wanted out
    Pitt made the mistake of allowing Barnes to use his buddies search firm
    We all know the rest

    Like

  50. I’m not so sure I would place the sole blame on Gallagher. The majority of college prez are astute in academics and/or fund raising but know little about sports aside from how they affect the bottom line,

    JD was definitely on the downward swing when Gallagher arrived. Gallagher’s problem was selecting the wrong search firm for hiring Smug Steve’s replacement … and not even sure he was responsible for that. Both the search firm and the new AD had a fiduciary responsibility to represent Pitt … and they failed miserably, placing the hirees above their employers.

    Like

    1. I like your take wwb. I agree that Gallagher generally seems like a guy that wants to have strong academics and good athletics. FWIW I’m not sure if I’d have been interested in having a beer and watching a game with Nordenberg, but I think I would with Gallagher. Plus he shows up at football practice from time to time and I like that.

      Like

  51. Let’s not forget that Gallagher played a big part in the hiring of Capel when he traveled with Heather (while she was on vacation) to convince him to come to PITT.

    Like

    2. He better have done that after the Stallings fiasco. It is still a terrible look for him that won’t be washed away until Pitt is back in the NCAAs, which won’t be happening again next season.

      Like

  52. I would think the final two for Sy would be Pitt and Ole Miss. Not sure I understand the ECU attraction. You would think the young man would want to play in one of the major conferences.

    Ole Miss has two big guys on their roaster already. Sy would get much more playing time and exposure at Pitt.

    Like

    1. Facebook group had a good breakdown: 1. Ole miss pays out the wazoo. 2. His best girl is at Ecu 3. Pitt is the best fit

      Correction: I incorrectly attributed this quote to someone on the Facebook Group. I would like everyone to know that it was Ike’s quote and Ike’s original thought, and it was a good one. MM

      Liked by 2 people

  53. That’s a direct quote from me Mike and I don’t do Facebook. Check above @ 8:09 PM from yesterday. LOL.

    Like

  54. haha sorry Ike I knew i saw it somewhere. It all runs together these days. IT WAS YOUR QUOTE!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  55. It’s ok Michael, maybe someone is plagiarizing me on Facebook but I highly doubt that. Who wants to be like ike? I’m surely not Mike.

    Like

    1. No no it was you…it popped up on my phone so my brain went Facebook

      Like

  56. BTW Michaelangelo Monteleone, I think you do a fantastic job on the POV and have BIG shoes to fill in Reeds stead. I’m thinking a small fund raiser to help you with your expenses sometime soon. Ask Reed, it’s not a get rich quick scheme but we don’t want you to go broke either.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Ike. Reed generously has funded the blog through the rest of 2019 but future funding is always helpful. Right now the blog costs about. I’ve also had some other donations that will keep us going though 2020. However if we want do do more…eg add plugins that allow for users to post pictures, I have to upgrade the subscription which costs more $$$

      Like

  57. Interesting promo coming out of PITT today. Not sure if I could link it or whether or not I should. But, PITT has thrown out the gauntlet challenging the 2020 local stars to stay home and defend their city. Real interesting and maybe a bit risky?

    Like

  58. PSN has a nice piece out today on Narduzzi’s tweet defending the city. They got all the local kids referenced in the tweet to comment on it. A lot of positive vibes coming from those kids. That begs the question of how many of those will commit to Pitt? My guess 2 or 3 at the most.

    Like

  59. I think Hayes and Rawlings are pretty much locks to PITT. Hill-Green and Fisher iffy, I’d be shocked if Carmondy came to PITT and I don’t know anything about Brown.

    Like

    1. Nah. They love it. Now maybe that fact that I am being a blatantly optimistic homer is a little cheesy. But that’s the price you sometimes pay for passion

      Like

  62. Typical Pitt, asking the offensive guys to defend the city. LOL!

    carmody a toss up between osu and nd and maybe a small percent to dairy. The coin may land on its side.

    Nate picked up on what I said about capel awhile back. Nate points out that the brand spanking new VT coach landed himself a top 75 player after a few weeks on the job. This goes back to my argument that coaches establish relationships over long periods of time. Morton didn’t say that Capel got in late on him. He said that Pitt did. Capel has been recruiting these kids since 8th grade for the most part so if they didn’t have a relationship started, Morton was not good enough for Duke. For those that say he needs a pass on recruiting, I say poopypants.

    He is losing battles. This is about whether Pitt will play the game. Good grief folks read the news. Every program does it. Miller was just stupid and so was the LSU dude. EVERY last one does it, even the blue bloods (100k for stephenson), but we have a compliance lady running our program. You have to get in the game. Let Capel go do what he needs to do. I hope he does well and have said that a thousand times. I also said that I don’t mind him playing the game although there is a smart way of doing it and a not so smart way. That is where he needs an AD steeped in the athletic culture, especially in hoops.

    PS – Did Morton mention academics? NOPE!

    Like

    1. Huff you clearly aren’t listening to George.

      “The best defense is a good offense”

      -George Patton

      Liked by 1 person

  63. Glad you pointed that out…i kinda got stuck with the old….if everybody is thinking alike, then somebody is not thinking.

    I think George Patton said that but i am not sure and i am also not sure if that is a correct quote but it is close.

    Touche’ and LOL!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Haha thanks Huff. Actually I thought your quip was pretty dang funny. Just couldn’t resist flipping it though

      Like

    2. Apparently I was a couple of hundred year off…

      George Washington wrote in 1799: “…make them believe, that offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only (in some cases) means of defence”

      Liked by 1 person

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