Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 107
Pat Narduzzi would welcome Irish into ACC, but on a permanent basis
In this upside-down college football season, Notre Dame, an independent since 1887, has climbed into first place in the ACC. The undefeated Irish, No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, agreed to join the conference only for the 2020 season to facilitate scheduling in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic....
Pat Narduzzi’s gray hair byproduct of 2020 season
Pat Narduzzi is 54 years old, not old by anyone’s standards. But when asked about the special problems associated with coaching a young team, he turned his head to reveal some gray peeking out from the temples. “They give us a lot of gray hair. That’s for sure,” he said....
Robert Morris prepares for spring football, announces 5-game schedule
Spring football will mean more than just practice for Robert Morris coach Bernard Clark Jr. After postponing the fall season, the Colonials on Monday released their 2021 spring schedule that includes a nonconference game against James Madison and four others against Big South Conference opponents. With Clark in his third...
Duquesne women picked by Atlantic 10 coaches to finish 4th in 2020-21 season
The Duquesne women’s basketball team was picked to finish in a tie for fourth with Davidson and Fordham in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll released Monday. The league’s head coaches voted in the poll, and Duquesne received one first-place vote. Duquesne’s Libby Bazelak and Lala Sole were named to the...
Pitt notebook: Run game makes a modest comeback
The numbers were modest but productive. Pitt running back Vincent Davis averaged 4.0 yards per carry, and his 28-yard run was Pitt’s longest of the season and set up a touchdown in a 41-17 victory Saturday against Florida State. A.J. Davis recorded an 18-yard run among his five carries for...
Hobbled Pitt recovers, snaps losing streak at Florida State
Kenny Pickett returned, courageously and triumphantly, completing 78% of his passes while moving on a heavily bandaged left ankle. The defense, missing six players who were starters at the outset of training camp, threw a shutout in the second half and intercepted three passes. Alex Kessman hit from 51 yards,...
Pat Narduzzi believes Pitt players will remain hungry against Florida State
The game presented by the ACC Network at 4 p.m. Saturday will match Pitt (3-4, 2-4), the conference’s ninth-place team, against Florida State (2-4, 1-4), mired even deeper in the standings at 12. It will be Pitt’s first game after safety Paris Ford opted out. Given Ford’s love for the...
Pat Narduzzi knocks on wood, hopes Pitt stays covid-free for another week
There is a large, wooden table in a meeting room inside the Pitt football offices, and Pat Narduzzi makes frequent use of it. The coronavirus has infested college football with repeated cases nationwide, but Pitt’s players have had no positive covid-19 tests over its past five games. “Our kids need...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi suggests playing injured Kenny Pickett might be ‘risky’ choice
After barely a nudge from reporters, Pat Narduzzi — a coach who stubbornly avoids discussing players’ injuries — quickly turned the topic toward quarterback Kenny Pickett’s sore left ankle Thursday afternoon. The initial question concerned tight end Lucas Krull and middle linebacker Wendell Davis and whether they might play Saturday...
Robert Morris picked to finish 4th in 1st Horizon League season
If Horizon League watchers are correct, Robert Morris will make a significant splash during its first season in the conference. A poll of Horizon head coaches, communication professionals and select media members was released Thursday, and it predicts the Colonials will finish fourth this season. Robert Morris is picked behind...
Dick Groat, celebrated two-sport athlete, turns 90
Dick Groat, a two-time World Series champion, MVP, basketball and baseball All-American and a member of three Halls of Fame, reached another milestone Wednesday. He turned 90. Groat, a Swissvale native, celebrated with a private dinner, seated with family at Champion Lakes, the golf course he owns in Fairfield Township,...
Robert Morris’ first season in Horizon League features games on back-to-back days
Robert Morris’ first basketball season in the Horizon League will have a different twist in an attempt to keep players, coaches and spectators safe from the coronavirus. League members will play one conference opponent on back-to-back weekend days at the same location. Teams will have five weekends at home and...
Covid protocols put Pitt’s swimming, diving teams on pause
Pitt’s swimming and diving teams have paused all activities among their athletes because of “covid-related protocols,” the athletic department announced Wednesday. Pitt’s meet at Notre Dame, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, has been canceled. The swim team is the third Pitt athletic program affected by covid concerns during the fall...
Injuries, opt-outs force young Pitt team into on-the-job training
Perhaps it is a good sign Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates didn’t want to discuss Paris Ford’s decision to opt out. It’s also not a surprise. Win or lose, Pitt’s final four games will create waves at least as important as any past developments, and Bates said it is “absolutely”...
Florida State coach Mike Norvell made quick, meaningful stop in Pittsburgh
Mike Norvell arrived in Pittsburgh nearly 10 years ago, brimming with energy and ambition. Named co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, he was part of the Todd Graham’s first and only staff at Pitt. Winning more and more of Graham’s trust through the 2011 season, Norvell called the plays in...
Duquesne to open season in Louisville’s bubble against trio of strong teams
Duquesne will open its season by playing three 20-game winners from a year ago at the nine-team Wade Houston Tipoff Classic at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center. The Dukes will play North Carolina Greensboro on Nov. 29, Winthrop on Dec. 1 and Little Rock on Dec. 3. Game times will be...
Pitt notebook: Players get day off Tuesday to vote in the election
Division I athletes throughout the NCAA will take a break from their sports Tuesday, so they will have time to vote in the presidential election. Coach Pat Narduzzi, who conducted practice Monday to compensate, said about half of his players already have cast a ballot. “Everybody talks about wanting change,...
Paris Ford opts out of Pitt’s final 4 games of 2020 regular season
Pat Narduzzi said he met with Paris Ford on multiple occasions after the Notre Dame game to discuss the Pitt junior safety’s future. In fact, as late as Monday morning, coach and player had a conversation about Ford’s decision to opt out of the final four games of the season....
Next 4 games will determine if Pitt can salvage its season
When Pat Narduzzi fired Shawn Watson in 2019 after two seasons as Pitt’s offensive coordinator, he did not arrive at that nasty bit of business easily. Watson was more than a trusted colleague. At the time of Watson’s hiring, Narduzzi called him “one of my first mentors in this business.”...
Former Duquesne player Baylee Steele signs with Polish team
Former Duquesne player Baylee Steele, who averaged 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, signed to play for PGE Spojnia Stargard of the Polish Basketball League. Steele, a 6-foot-11 graduate senior for the Dukes last season, scored in double digits 12 times and hit 33 3-pointers. Steele played at Des...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi says staff evaluations won’t begin until after the season
After seven games and four defeats — and with four opponents left on the schedule — Pat Narduzzi has plenty of evaluating to do, but he said now is not the time to do it. When he was asked Thursday to assess Pitt second-year offensive coordinator Mark Whipple after 20...
Pitt basketball will play Northwestern in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Pitt continues to work on its 2020-2021 men’s basketball schedule, but the Panthers will visit Northwestern on Dec. 9 in Evanston, Ill., as part of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Game time and television platform have not been announced. Pitt defeated Northwestern, 72-59, last season in the championship of the...
Big 12 coaches rank West Virginia men’s basketball team 3rd in preseason poll
With a physically imposing front line that includes 6-foot-9, 260-pound Oscar Tshiebwe and 6-10, 255-pound Derek Culver, West Virginia men’s basketball has opened some eyes around the Big 12 heading into the 2020-21 season. Now, the trick is to validate the respect bestowed upon the Mountaineers by conference head coaches,...
Pitt men’s soccer team cancels final 2 regular-season games
The Pitt men’s soccer team, ranked No. 1 in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches, has canceled its final two regular-season games and paused all other activities because of covid-related protocols. The games against Notre Dame and Syracuse were scheduled for Friday and Nov. 6 at Pitt’s Ambrose Urbanic...
Duquesne gets verbal commitment from 2021 Ohio guard
Fabian Lara uses the word “goofy” when describing Andy Barba, a shooting guard who is Duquesne’s first verbal commitment in the class of 2021. COMMITTED! ?? @DuqMBB pic.twitter.com/O8V7h7ZnPR— Andy Barba (@andybarba5) October 28, 2020 Barba, who plays at the International Sports Academy in Willoughby, Ohio, announced on Twitter his intention...
