Lett, Knight invited to play

Just when they thought their college basketball careers were over, Brandin Knight and Ontario… Just when they thought their college basketball careers were over, Brandin Knight and Ontario Lett found out they still had one more weekend to go.

While the entire men’s basketball squad will not be traveling to New Orleans to compete, Knight and Lett will.

The two seniors found out Tuesday that they have been invited to compete in two different competitions by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Knight, who ended his four-year career at Pitt as the school’s all-time leader in steals and assists, will participate in the Intersport Three-Point Championship Shootout on Saturday at Tulane’s Fogelman Arena.

Among some of the other college players competing in the shootout are Tom Coverdale of Indiana, Jason Gardner and Luke Walton from Arizona, Kyle Korver of Creighton, Hollis Price of Oklahoma and Matt Bonner from Florida.

The shootout will start after 2 p.m., along with a slam-dunk contest and a women’s three-point shootout.

Lett was also invited to participate in the competition this weekend, picking up a request to play in the NABC College All-Star game against the Harlem Globetrotters.

Also participating in the game with Lett, who was a junior college transfer, Marcus Hatten of St. John’s, Dahnty Jones from Duke and Drew Nicholas of Maryland. Gary Williams, head coach at Maryland, will be coaching the all-stars.

Last year, the all-stars defeated the Globetrotters, 86-76, for their first win in three tries. The game will take place Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the New Orleans Arena.

Knight named All-America team

Knight picked up another postseason accolade on Wednesday, being named to the John R. Wooden Award All-America team. A two-time Wooden National Player of the Year nominee, Knight is one of two Big East players on the 10-man team.

Also making the squad are Emeka Okafor of Connecticut, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich of Kansas, T.J. Ford from Texas, Jason Gardner of Arizona, Wake Forest’s Josh Howard, Hollis Price from Oklahoma, Dwayne Wade of Marquette and Xavier’s David West.

Fronhofer named EWL Wrestler of the Year

Carl Fronhofer was named Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Year on Tuesday, becoming only the second Pitt wrestler to receive the award.

Fronhofer became just one of nine wrestlers in Pitt history to qualify for the NCAA Championships four times and came within one match of winning a EWL and national title at the 174-pound weight class this season.

“This is a wonderful achievement for Carl,” Pitt head coach Rande Stottlemyer said in a press release. “He had an outstanding season for us and represented the University of Pittsburgh very well at the NCAA Championships. Carl earned this award with a lot of hard work and determination to be the best.”

Heading into the tournament unseeded, Fronhofer defeated the No. 9, No. 8 and No. 12 seeds, winning five matches until losing to Robbie Walker of Oklahoma in the final, 7-2.

At the beginning of the season, Fronhofer moved up from the 165-pound weight class to wrestle at 174 pounds. He won 15 of his last 18 matches and ended his career third on Pitt’s all-time win list with a record of 123-39.

Pat Santoro is the only other Pitt wrestler to ever win the award, being named Co-Wrestler of the Year in 1989 and 1990. With Fronhofer’s appearance in the NCAA final, he is also the first Pitt wrestler to advance that far since Santoro was a finalist in 1989.