HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The madness isn't supposed to begin until March for NCAA basketball teams, but any coach will tell you that July is the most hectic month of all.
This is the time when championship teams are born, when coaches pound the asphalt and search for players who can carry their teams over the threshold. The "live" recruiting period officially began Thursday and coaches converged on gyms throughout the nation.
Pitt's Jamie Dixon kicked things off in Indianapolis on Thursday for the Nike All-American Camp, then hopped a 6:30 a.m. flight Friday for the Adidas Superstar Camp in Suwanee, Ga. His next stop is here, at the Reebok ABCD Camp, where eight seniors-to-be are considering Pitt.
"It's just part of the deal," Dixon said.
Coaches are permitted to recruit until July 17th, per NCAA rules. They must then take a four-day break, before another "live" period stretches from July 22-31. Dixon and two of his assistants, Barry Rohrssen and Joe Lombardi, will see hundreds of games each, thousands of players and cross paths with head coaches or assistants from nearly all of the 300-plus Division I programs in the country.
During the July recruiting period, coaches can evaluate players only, meaning they can not as much as say hello to any them. They are also forbidden to talk to players' coaches or family members -- or anyone who can impact the recruiting process.
"It's strange for all of us," said Ed Gonzalez, the coach at All Hallows High in the Bronx, where incoming Pitt freshman Ronald Ramon played. "I know so many of these guys well, but I don't even want to look at them."
Rohrssen was stationed here at the ABCD Camp this week, which made sense because he's built a pipeline from New York City to Pittsburgh. All but one of the potential Pitt recruits here are from the New York-New Jersey area. Yough's Ben McCauley is the odd man out.
For Rohrssen, July Madness began early Wednesday when his flight to Newark got cancelled. He switched to a LaGuardia flight, but it sat on the runway for three hours and didn't get to the big city until 10 p.m. Rohrssen had dinner plans with his mother, who lives in Brooklyn, but they fell through.
"I hadn't seen her for two months and I was hoping it would work out," Rohrssen said. "But ..."
Now, Rohrssen's dinner plans consist of fast food or late-night meals at the completion of 14- to 16-hour days. He'll live out of a suitcase that comprises multiple pairs of Pitt shorts, Pitt socks, Pitt T-shirts and Pitt baseball caps.
"Basically, I'm a walking sandwich board," Rohrssen said. "And the special of the day is always the University of Pittsburgh."
Rohrssen arrived at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Rothman Center at 8:30 a.m. Thursday to watch former coaches and current college players such as Matt Doherty and Hakim Warrick (Syracuse) work out campers at various training stations. He then witnessed all or parts of 11 games during the afternoon session and 11 games in the evening.
By the time he walked out of the gym, it was 10:45 p.m. He went to dinner at a 24-hour spot and got back to his hotel room at 1 a.m.
Then, Rohrssen woke up and did the same thing over again.
"It's groundhog day for me," said Rohrssen, who sat among coaches such as Rick Pitino of Louisville, Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Gary Williams of Maryland and Phil Martelli of Saint Joseph's.
The remainder of Rohrssen's itinerary had him watching workout stations at ABCD this morning, then driving north to Trenton for the Eastern Invitational Camp at the College of New Jersey, where he'll see 64 different high school all-star teams play basketball from the early morning until close to midnight.
He'll spend a day-and-a-half there, then return to Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday for the Reebok Summer Classic East, which comprises 32 teams, or about 350 players. Late Monday afternoon, he'll hustle out the door and traverse the George Washington Bridge, hopefully fast enough to arrive in Queens for the High School Super Hoopfest at Holy Cross High School, where the best of the best in New York City go head-to-head.
"You don't stop moving," Rohrssen said. "You can't. You might miss something."
On Tuesday, it's another back-and-forth day for the Pitt coach between Hackensack and Trenton, before a full day in Trenton, once again for the High School Hoopfest. He set Thursday aside for watching players work out individually at several high schools in the metro area, and Friday he'll go to South Orange, N.J., for the Playaz Club AAU Tournament, which consists of 50 of the top teams in the country. Rohrssen plans to be there for the opening tip at 8 a.m. until the final buzzer near midnight. He admits it puts a crimp in a guy's social life.
"How bad is it⢠Ask my girlfriend," Rohrssen said. "That's if I still have one after this."
Finally, comes Saturday, the last day of the madness. It will be another marathon for Rohrssen, beginning with the Playaz Club Event from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and followed by the 60-team Metro Classic in East Orange. He'll return his rental car Sunday, then return to Pittsburgh until he has to do it all again.
"People ask me what I do in the offseason," Rohrssen said. "I work."
| Pitt recruit undergoes MRI |
HACKENSACK, N.J. --- Pitt recruit Mike Davis, who injured his right knee Thursday at the Reebok ABCD Camp, underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed there was no structural damage. The injury was described as a bone bruise.
The 6-foot-9 center from Xaverian High in Brooklyn, Davis landed awkwardly on the knee on the first day of competition. He's already given Pitt a verbal commitment and is set to sign a letter-of-intent in November. He was on crutches yesterday and the knee was covered in a brace.
"It feels better already," Davis said. "I don't feel like it's anything serious."
