Wednesday Pitt/Duquesne Notes

Good morning,

Just a reminder that tonight will be the first edition  of the Pat Narduzzi radio show at Cupka’s in the South Side. The show starts at 6 PM and will air on 93.7 FM “The Fan.” Some members of our site (Mike Vukovcan, Alan Saunders and possibly more) will be there so if you’re able to, stop by, have a drink/get something to eat and listen to and talk so Pitt football.

Duquesne basketball on Pittsburgh Sports Now is sponsored by The Summit Academy: setting young men on the path to a better future.

** Late last night, Philadelphia cornerback Kenny Bennett announced that he formally received a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech and that they’d now be added to his list of finalists (Pitt, Maryland and Temple). Although he didn’t say this, my guess is that Virginia Tech moves to #1 on Bennett’s list of schools.  Prior to this news, I liked Pitt’s chances of landing him, now the staff has some work to do.

UPDATE (6:09 AM)-

** Yesterday, we told you that while on a visit to the Duquesne campus, Boston 2018 PG Shandon Brown received an offer from the Dukes. I had a chance to catch up with Coach Shawn Brown, one of Shandon’s assistant coaches who made the trip with him to Duquesne.

“The visit was great. They welcomed us with open arms,” said Coach Brown. “Coach Ferry, who use to coach at Adelphi at the time when Shandon’s dad, who led the nation in assist for D2 & D1 and won The championship his junior year at Merrimack college, was there. Coach Ferry’s Adelphi team beat him in the tournament to knock them out his senior year in 2000. So they have a little mutual history there, haha. But they welcomed us and made it feel comfortable.”

Photo courtesy of Shandon Brown

“Shandon got to see the whole campus and got some shots up in the gym. He watched film for a few minutes and also got to meet up with his family & big brother, Rene Castro, who also was there to welcome him before having to go to class. They met up again later and went to eat before leaving,” said Coach Brown.

Photo courtesy of Shandon Brown

UPDATE (10:38 AM)-

** A few interesting notes from Pitt practice courtesy Alan Saunders:

• Thomas MacVittie still has a red jersey, which usually means he won’t be on the scout team.
• Saleem Btightwell isn’t on the 2-deep, but was working with 2’s at LB.
• Bo Schneider is wearing the No. 14 of Villanova QB Zach Bednarczyk, so he’ll be the primary scout team QB.”

UPDATE (3:03 PM)-

** A couple notes on the Villanova Depth Chart: looks like ‘Nova could be without a few starters for Saturday’s opener. Corey Majors and Matt Gudzak are both out, Malik Reaves if he plays will be very limited and All CAA cornerback Jason Ceneus wasn’t listed on the 2 deep Depth Chart. Oversight or injury?

** Villanova has a talented group of wide receivers and will actually start a true freshman in Changa Hodge. Two other wideouts to watch are Jarrett McClenton and Taurus Phillips.

UPDATE (3:39 PM)-

** Ive learned that 3-star small forward Ladarius Brewer (Meridian, Mississippi) will make a visit to Duquesne on September 22-24. This is another highly skilled prospect that Jim Ferry and his assistants have got to visit the school. The next step is getting a commitment or two. According to 247 Sports, Brewer holds offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss and Georgia State.

UPDATE (8:25 PM)-

** It appears as though Donovan Jeter has added another team to his list of finalists. Tonight, Jeter tweeted that he’s added Michigan to his list. A few weeks ago, Jeter added Notre Dame after originally not having them in his Final 5. As of now, Jeter still intends to announce his decision on Halloween.

Donovan Jeter chats with Pat Narduzzi (Photo credit: Alan Saunders)

// Header image: Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics

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