Greentree Summer League Kicking Off Next Week

Only a few days away till the 2011 Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am (i.e. Greentree Summer League) kicks off. It's always hard to find decent information leading up to this regarding player participation because that depends on who decides to show up. But the league starts up on Monday, so that info should be out soon.

That said, Ray Fittipaldo of the Post-Gazette does have some information out.

Pitt, West Virginia, Duquesne, Robert Morris, and Youngstown State will all have players suit up. And if you're looking for Pitt's recruits, Fittipaldo says all four, including Khem Birch, will be there and will play if they're deemed eligible by the NCAA.

Parking is free and the games are free - doesn't get much better than that.

To be honest, I'm surprised this isn't hyped much more. This thing could be huge if it got the right type of backing, and while I know funding is hard to come by, if promoted right it would be a huge deal. That's no knock at the promoter(s), but lots of fans that aren't big into Pitt blogs, message boards, etc., have no idea this even takes place. And while crowds may be decent, there's not traditionally a ton of coverage of it by mainstream media.

Plus, factor in that NBA players have come back and played and it really is quite an event. It's still up in the air if DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, and/or Aaron Gray will play, but there's a chance apparently since they're all training in Pittsburgh with the lockout due.

By the way, here's some good general info on the league from its site.