Pitt Visits NYCs Gaines

Sundiata Gaines, the chiseled 6-foot-1, 195-pound shooting guard from Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood, New York, recently had a member of the Pittsburgh staff stop by to pay him a visit at the school.

In addition, Gaines will visit Pitt's campus in the near future. The Big East school has been showing the Queens' native love for quite some time. Pitt assistant Barry Rohrssen, a native of New York City, has helped the program make inroads into New York basketball circles. Sources tell us that the Panthers, after landing New Yorkers Chris Taft and Dante Milligan in the class of 2003, are in contention for All Hallows(Bronx) combo guard Ron Ramon. Mount Vernon shooting guard Keith Benjamin, who recently de-committed from Villanova, who Jerry Meyer reported verballed to the Big East school Monday night.

Gaines, a brawny and physical guard who is an excellent on-the-ball defender with good toughness, solidified his stock this summer with a strong go-round with The New York Gauchos. Other programs that previously had expressed an interest in Gaines included Boston College, Georgia, and Kansas.

Rivals.com ranks Gaines No. 107 on the Rivals150 list and the No. 23 best shooting guard in the class of 2004.

We'll keep you abreast of any new developments in Gaines' recruitment.