Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs is making a strong case for tournament Most Valuable Player (well, if there is actually one) if Team USA keeps up its strong performances. The Americans won their third consecutive game beating South Korea 112-68 in the 2011 World University Games.

Gibbs added 14 points and four assists in helping the USA to victory. Through the three contests, he leads the team in scoring, minutes, and assists.

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Well, after the big showing Steven Adams had at the Adidas camp, it was pretty much assured that he wouldn't stay around the 50ish rankings where he had been projected.

Still, not sure I saw this coming.

Adams has vaulted from around No. 50 to No. 8 on Scout's 2012 Top 100 Recruits list. That's not the No. 8 center, boys and girls - it's the No. 8 overall prospect.

About Adams' big jump, Scout had this:

Isaiah Austin checks in at No. 6, while fellow Texas native Cameron Ridley comes in at No. 7. Following those two is foreign big man Steven Adams.

Adams, a native of New Zealand, is making the move to Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Prep for his final year of high school ball. He made a statement at adidas Nations and jumps from outside the top 50 to into the top 10.

Because of that big leap, he's now turned into a bonafide five-star on his Scout page.

And that's not the only reason to get excited.

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With all the talk about Texas A&M and college football expansion the past few days, it's only fitting that school finds its way into a discussion about something Big East related.

This time it's basketball, though, that's the focus. New Big East member TCU may take on the Aggies in the 2012 Big East-SEC Challenge. Of course for that to happen, Texas A&M actually has to be invited to the SEC, but, well, you get the picture.

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Team USA won its opening game in the 2011 World University Games over Mexico 108-67 and Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs led the way with 20 points in the contest. Gibbs was 7-12 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range, and also had two steals and a team-high three assists.

Wait, team-high three assists? What is this, an NBA All-Star game?

I digress.

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Jamie Dixon's pickup of New Zealand center Steven Adams is looking better by the day. How good? This good:

The athletic, 210cm power forward, whose sister Valerie is an Olympic gold medallist in the shot put, is seen as perhaps the most exciting prospect in the history of New Zealand basketball.

He also just recently won the New Zealand's National Basketball League (NZNBL) Rookie of the Year award.

Good indeed.

On the local front, Adams is in Los Angeles and had a dominant two-day effort at the recent Adidas Nations camp. On the first day, Adams' 12-point 20-rebound effort opened some eyeballs, but it was on the second day that he had perhaps the best outing of the event thus far. Following his strong Day 1 performance, Adams dropped 37 points and 18 rebounds on a 2013 Team USA squad.

Despite the fact that Adams played well last year at the camp, averaging a league high 11.3 rebounds per game, he apparently looks even better this year.

But he almost wasn't at this year's event.

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I'll admit I was a bit surprised to see that. Still, Basketball Prospectus in its ranking of the top 100 college basketball players rated Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs as 16th best. Not the 16th best guard - the 16th best overall player.

Gibbs is good, no doubt, so it's not like I have a problem with rating Gibbs that high. And with Brad Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown, and Gary McGhee gone, Gibbs will be relied on for even more production this season. Still, even while ranking him that highly, the writer has his reservations:

16. Ashton Gibbs, Pitt (Sr., PG)
It's not a great sign for the Big East that Gibbs is my pick for preseason conference Player of the Year. There's not a strong argument for anyone but Gibbs as the best returning shooter in the country, though John Jenkins and Kevin Foster should probably at least be mentioned. That said, Gibbs isn't a great defender, doesn't have much of a slasher game, and wants to use this year to demonstrate to NBA scouts that he can be a true point guard. Talib Zanna, Dante Taylor, J.J. Moore, and Nasir Robinson may be a good enough surrounding cast for Gibbs to make Pitt a tough team again in a weaker Big East. That is a team, though, that needs Gibbs to be both a featured scorer and a successful distributor. If he can adjust to getting open shots with Moore and Robinson getting him the ball (instead of a great passer like Brad Wanamaker), he could have an incredible season. But I still have unanswered questions.

Best shooter in the country? I'm not inclined to disagree, but to say there's not even a strong argument for anyone else is interesting. I don't know if Gibbs is head and shoulders better than anyone else, but just goes to show you what kind of respect he is commanding.

If he lives up to that rating, that would put Gibbs in All-America territory and that doesn't seem all that far fetched.

Another day, another preseason college basketball ranking list. This time it's Yahoo Sports checking in and they've got Pitt slotted 14th.

The Big East gets plenty of respect and even at No. 14, Pitt is still only the fifth rated team in the conference behind Syracuse (No. 5), UConn (No. 7), Louisville (No. 9), and Marquette (No. 13). Cincinnati also appears in the top 25 at No. 19.

Insert standard Pitt preview text here:

14. Pittsburgh – The Panthers accomplished one of the toughest things in sports last season by winning the Big East title, but they lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third time in the last four years and have yet to reach the Final Four under coach Jamie Dixon. Standouts such as Brad Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee are gone from last season’s team. But the Panthers still have plenty of firepower thanks to the return of Ashton Gibbs, last year’s leading scorer, and forwards Nasir Robinson, Talib Zanna, Dante Taylor and highly-touted newcomer Khem Birch.

North Carolina predictably (and rightfully) checks in at No. 1.

We're all familiar with the Jaylen Bond story. Quality recruit comes to Pitt as part of an under-the-radar Jamie Dixon class, but then decommits in the wake of Pitt being over the scholarship limit.

Sure, the chance that he would come back to Pitt existed, but it was a slim one. So Bond was off to prep school to regroup while offers came in - reportedly from Penn State, Tennessee, Maryland, and a few others. But in the end, it was the Texas Longhorns who swept in for his services.

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