Mitch Vingle
May 21, 2006
DAN TOBIN HAS had a lot of success working with West Virginia basketball players.
The agent worked with ex-DuPont High and current Miami Heat guard Jason Williams as the vice president of basketball for Professional Management Associates.
He is the agent for former Woodrow Wilson High and ex-New Jersey Nets player Tamar Slay. (Tobin, by the way, said Slay is doing well following ankle surgery, playing pro ball for Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem of the Israeli League.)
And now Tobin is representing former West Virginia University center Kevin Pittsnogle.
"I enjoy working with the West Virginia kids," Tobin said. "They all love basketball. They all have a passion for the game."
Now, though, Pittsnogle is trying to exchange that passion for cash. The NBA draft is June 28 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
"I've gotten some very positive feedback [from NBA teams]," Tobin said. "The league puts a premium on 6-10 players who can shoot like he does."
Tobin agreed with most of the dish on Pittsnogle. A face-up power forward with an excellent 3-point shot. A very quick release. Limited offensive moves. A good perimeter player. A good passer. Tough mentally.
Where Tobin walks away is the claim that Pittsnogle is a defensive liability.
"I wouldn?t agree with that," said the agent. "He could be a good NBA position player defensively. He can hold his own at his position."
"Also, he'll be a little more bulked up than he was at West Virginia. He's now at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., working on that. I think he can bang with guys."
Tobin wanted to add to the scouting report.
"He's got a good feel for basketball," said the agent. "And he has a high basketball IQ."
Where he'll fall in the draft, though, is anyone's guess, said Tobin.
"It's hard to tell," he said. "When Ryan Gomes fell to the 50th pick, I got out of the prediction business."
"What I will predict is Kevin Pittsnogle will be a successful NBA basketball player."
When pressed, Tobin said Pittsnogle can expect to be a "late first-round or early second-round" selection.
But the agent doesn't have the former Mountaineer sitting on his laurels. As written, Pittsnogle is at the IMG Academy. Then, starting Monday, the player will hit the road.
"He'll begin NBA workouts starting on the West Coast," Tobin said. "We've set up 13. We've chosen the route of private workouts. I think he'll be a great fit for some of those teams."
Tobin, by the way, has a solo practice in the Washington area. Pittsnogle's former teammate, Mike Gansey, is being represented by Mark Termini, who has handled such past and present NBA players as Ron Harper, Jim Jackson and Pau Gasol.
"I think both [Pittsnogle and Gansey] will get an opportunity to play in the NBA," Tobin said. "I fully expect them to be on rosters."
No, they won't be drafted as high as LaMarcus Aldridge of Texas, Tyrus Thomas of LSU, Adam Morrison of Gonzaga or Rudy Gay of Connecticut.
But odds are, as Tobin says, both will be on NBA rosters.
They are, after all, West Virginia kids.
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Agent to the (West Virginia) stars likes Pittsnogle?s chance
