| 10 April 2011
I'm sure it's always great for coaches to get verbal commitments early. The problem is that they're not binding, so even if the player is committed, you still have to work to keep him in the fold. That appears to be exactly what Jamie Dixon is doing down in New Zealand running a basketball camp that just so happens to have 2012 center Steven Adams in attendance. Adams went from being completely unknown to now being one of the top 50 players in the class of 2012 according to Rivals. He also impressed at an Adidas camp in Chicago, where he showed off against some tough American and international talent.
There's some nice press in the local paper about Pitt, Dixon's New Zealand ties and even Dixon's I-279 heroics.
Adams is playing with a New Zealand professional team, where he is apparently not being compensated in order to keep his NCAA eligibility. The season is scheduled to begin this week and his coach seems happy with his progress:
There is plenty of interest in the development of giant Wellington schoolboy Steve Adams, who is regarded as a potential NBA prospect.
Cameron gave a cautious tick to what he had seen so far.
"He's getting better and better in every training and he's improving and understanding our systems and learning to fit right in with the team. I'm sure as the season goes on he'll just keep getting better and better. He's a 17-year-old kid who's got it all ahead of him: he's in his last year of high school and he's concentrating on that so we don't want to put too much pressure on the young fella."
As is always the case with Pitt basketball, hope springs eternal. I can't wait to see this kid in the blue and gold.
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