Yardbarker: Sam Young

Pitt Surviving With Five New Starters

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:16:00 -0500

by David SteeleFiled under: PittsburghKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- None of the five players Pittsburgh started in the NCAA tournament regional final last March -- the one the Panthers lost in heart-wrenching fashion to Scottie Reynolds' dramatic drive -- was around for Monday's CBE Classic semifinal against Wichita State.Well. technically, one was. Guard Jermaine Dixon was on the bench in his warmups, but didn't set foot on the Sprint Center floor; he's still recovering, slightly behin...

PITT EDGES...WOFFORD?

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:12:00 -0500

While many of us were distracted with Cincy-WVU or thinking ahead to this weekend's buffet of great sports TV, the Pitt Panthers officially opened their 2009-10 campaign at the Pete against Wofford. And it wasn't particularly pretty.Down by as many as 13 in the second half, the Panthers rallied behind 6'10" junior Gary McGhee, who scored two huge baskets on offensive rebounds down the stretch, to beat the Terriers, a veteran team returning all five starters. Wofford went 16-1...

Three Former Pittsburgh Panthers Sign NBA Deals

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:10:46 -0500

Last month I wrote an article for Bleacher Report bemoaning how DeJuan Blair and Sam Young fell out of the first round in the draft. I openly wondered how this would affect Pittsburgh, a program that measures up to the big boys from November through February. However, it doesn't have the resume in March or June that all of the other big-time programs have.This is the reason why it's nice to see Blair and Young sign deals.Blair was the first to sign when he inked a three-year deal wit...

Steal of the draft ....

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:58:24 -0500

How about Sam Young of Pittsburgh? Young's predraft measurements: 6-foot-6 and 223 pounds. So he's got the NBA size. And he turned 25 on June 1. So he's mature. He can score: he averaged 19 points per game in his final season with the Panthers. But he also defends. He's athletic and he's tough. I think he'll stick in the league for a while. He'll be a steal for some lucky team in the late first round. He'll probably go anywhere from 20-25. Perhaps the Sacramento Kings at No. 23 or maybe Dallas at No. 24. Young could end up being that swingman we see a lot around the league these days. A player that can shoot and play strong defense. Players like Trevor Ariza and James Posey coming to mind. Thoughts? -- Mike Rose

Hey, Danny Ferry: If Trading Up To Draft Sam Young Is Wrong, You Don't Want To Be Right

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:05:00 -0500

Besides the strong possibility of LeBron James picking up his player option for 2010-11 and J.J. Hickson sparking the interest of many General Managers around the league, we learned one more important tidbit in our interview with beat writer Brian Windhorst last week:Danny Ferry and University of Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon are very close.That would be the same Dixon who coached '09 draft prospect Sam Young for four years at Pittsburgh. The same Sam Young that Ferry is rumored to ...

Eyes of March

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:56:58 -0500

I wanted to wait till the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament was finalized before I released Keep It Real Friday: The Tourney Chronicles. The fans requested, so I'm running with it.

HAVE AT IT! www.LynchyRightNow.com

Sweet 16: Pittsburgh-Xavier Preview, Analysis, and Prediction

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:50:18 -0500

Jamie Dixon leads Pittsburgh against Sean Miller and Xavier in Sweet 16 action on Thursday. MSF offers a preview and prediction of the Pitt-Xavier game, including the TV time, pick with the spread, and the announcers for the Pittsburgh-Xavier showdown.

How Sweet It Is

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:10:55 -0500

Ah, how we forget. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness, is the preeminent sports showcase in this country. Not the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the Stanley Cup Playoffs, March Madness gives you everything those do, and much more. The 2009 version, hasn't disappointed. The tourney is just four days old and it's given us everything we've asked for:

www.LYNCHYRIGHTNOW.com

Panthers Down Oklahoma State, 84-76

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:33:15 -0500

Pittsburgh powered its way to a familiar place. Sam Young, the Panthers' poet in motion, scored 32 points and DeJuan Blair added another double-double as top-seeded Pittsburgh advanced to the round of 16 for the fifth time in eight years with an 84-76 win over Oklahoma State on Sunday.

Preview for Thursday`s NCAA Tournament Games

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:08:01 -0500

With the NCAA Tournament officially underway with an opening round win by Mount St. Mary`s over Coppin State, let`s look ahead to some intriguing matchups on Thursday, the first day of the First Round: (12) Temple at (5) Michigan State: What a way top start off a tournament with a classic 5-12 game with potential for an upset. Temple comes out as out of the hottest teams in the country and are finally playing to their ability. Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale are two very underrated players in the NCAA`s and will be the keys to the Owls success in this game. On the Spartans side, no question that guard Drew Neitzel is what makes this team go. He needs to run his Michigan State squad against a tough Temple defense. If Temple can slow down the game and slow down Michigan State`s offense, an upset may occur. SFB Prediction: Temple wins 69-63 (9) Kent State at (8) UNLV The 8-9 matchup has produced some very good games and these teams are usually the most evenly matched. UNLV won the Mountain West title this year and Kent State won the Mid-American. The Golden Flashes of Kent State were very impressive in their Bracket Buster win over fellow tournament team, St. Mary`s, and perhaps is the game that put them into the NCAA Tournament. With four starters averaging in double figures, Kent State is a dangerous squad. However, the Rebels of UNLV are just as capable to win this game. Wink Adams averages over 16 points per game and is a great playmaker. SFB Prediction: Kent State wins 85-83 in overtime (13) Oral Roberts at (4) Pittsburgh So the Pittsburgh Panthers come into the Big East Tournament as the #7 seed and win the whole thing and get a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They have players like Levance Fields, Sam Young and DeJuan Blair. So they have a great team with great momentum, right? Well remember in 2005, Syracuse went along a similar path and were upended by feisty #13-seeded Vermont in the First Round. Could this happen again with Oral Roberts pulling off an upset? Robert Jarvis is a phenomenal guard for the Golden Eagles and this team has been to the tournament before (similar to Vermont when they beat Syracuse). A lot of comparisons to that matchup in 2005, so don`t be so sure the Big East post-season champs will move in so easily. SFB Prediction: Pittsburgh wins 78-69 (11) Kansas State at (6) USC When sports fans saw the Kansas State Wildcats will be playing the USC Trojans in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, everyone thought of the matchup between the Wildcats` Michael Beasley and USC`s O.J. Mayo. Both these players are outstanding and will most likely be Top 5 picks in this year`s NBA Draft. However, I say look at the supporting cast matchups for this game. USC`s Taj Gibson, Davon Jefferson and Dwight Lewis versus Kansas State`s Bill Walker and Jacob Pullen may be what determines the outcome of the game. USC is more deep and balanced than the Wildcats, but Beasley can potentially just take over the game. SFB Prediction: USC wins 75-62 (9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Brigham Young Gotta love these 8-9 matchups. The Texas A&M Aggies started off the year very solid and were ranked in the Top 25, but have tailed off towards the end of the year. The Aggies have 6 players averaging more than 8 points per game starting with leading scorer Josh Carter and ending with center (and NBA prospect) DeAndre Jordan. The BYU Cougars were the runner-up in the Mountain West Conference and they have 3 players averaging more than 13 points per game. Center Trent Plaisted is a monster inside and an on the glass scoring 15.6 points per game and pulling down just under 8 rebounds per game. This is another great 8-9 matchup. SFB Prediction: Texas A&M wins 71-67 (10) Arizona vs. (7) West Virginia The Arizona Wildcats are one of those teams that many think do not belong in the tournament. Well, even though their Pac-10 Conference record does not show it, this team is battle-tested (#2 strength of schedule) and talented. Potential 1st round NBA Draft pick Jerryd Bayless scores just over 20 points per game and forward Chase Budinger is a great all-around player. But the West Virginia Mountaineers have a forward named Joe Alexander, who had 34 points against Connecticut in the Big East quarterfinals. The key to this game will be whether Alexander can score for the Mountaineers and if Budinger can stop him. SFB Prediction - West Virginia wins 83-82 in overtime (12) George Mason vs. (5) Notre Dame Everyone picking their bracket this year remembers how the George Mason bracket absolutely tore the bracket apart 2 years ago in 2006 with their Final Four run. Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell are still left over from that starting lineups that beat Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut in the Big Dance. But this still is not the same team from 2 years ago and they can thank William & Mary for upsetting Virginia Commonwealth in the Colonial Semi-finals in order for Mason to make it to the tournament once again. The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have forward Luke Harangody leading the way, averaging about 21 points and 10 rebounds per contest this season. Harangody may be a little too much for the Patriots to handle, but don`t be surprised to see Mason bust another bracket. SFB Prediction: Notre Dame wins 78-68 Enjoy the games on Thursday and fill out your bracket on Sports Fan Base.com!

Pitt Can't Hold On

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:21:24 -0500

Real bummer of a Pitt game, as they played great for the first 30-some minutes, only to completely fall apart with 5 minutes to go in a 82-70 loss at #21 Notre Dame. Pitt looked in control, ready to end ND's big home streak (Pitt was up double digits twice in the middle of the 2nd half), but the Irish closed out the game on a 21-10 run. I'm really too frustrated with this loss to give you a detailed recap of the ballgame. Like I said, I was very impressed with Pitt's play for t...

Pitt Cruises Past Friars

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:52:32 -0500

Nothing out of the ordinary to report from the Pete last night, as Pitt dominated a poor Providence team, coming away with a 82-63 win that simply helped Pitt keep pace in the Big East. The Panthers are sitting in 5th place, a half-game behind UConn (who beat Pitt) and a half game ahead of Marquette (who Pitt will play on the road, Friday night). The top 4 teams get a bye in the Big East Tournament. After some back-and-forth play seen in the first half of most college b-ball games, Pitt gr...

BIG Monday

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:51:36 -0500

You all know the basics by now. Pitt beat Georgetown at the Pete on Monday, 69-60. Benjamin and Ramon had 18 each. Blair had 15 and dominated Roy Hibbert (who is 7 inches taller). The Panthers played a phenomenal game and are once again contenders in the Big East. I don't think anyone still thinks they won't manage to make the NCAA Tourney. I could go on, but there's been plenty of coverage in the past few days. I'd simply be repeating the same things over and over again (D...