I haven’t written anything for The On Deck Circle in a long time. After this weekend’s Pitt-Villanova game I had to once again fire up MS Word and let the Internet, and more specifically Scottie Reynolds, know how I feel.

Before you read my letter to Scottie, know that I am a Pitt basketball fan. I went to high school in Pittsburgh and started following them when they were a Big East also-ran playing in the pressure cooker known as Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. The turning point for the program was the 2001 Big East tournament, when Brandin Knight, Ricardo Greer, and Issac Hawkins led the Panthers on a surprising run to the championship game (where they were pumped by Troy Bell’s Boston College Eagles).

I remember that run because we were vacationing in Mexico at the time, and whenever Pitt was on my Dad and I would desperately scour Playa del Carmen for a bar showing ESPN’s coverage of the tourney. Whenever you’re turning down sunny beaches for very unspectacular sports bars to watch a team in the bottom third of the Big East, you might just be a Pitt fan.

That run in the Big East tournament set the stage for the program’s success in this decade. This year was supposed to be the culmination of that success. Pitt had two excellent senior leaders at key positions and one of the nation’s best big men. They were built for tournament success and battle tested in the Big East all year. They achieved their first ever number one ranking during the season.

This was the year for Pitt, and then Scottie Reynolds and Villanova happened. Let’s just say that I wish American could have finished them off.

Dear Scottie,

Hi there buddy. I’ve been a fan of yours for a while. I remember when you were a wee freshman at Villanova, teaming with Mike Nardi to form an unexpectedly formidable backcourt. As a frosh you lead Nova to a surprisingly solid season the year after Foye, Ray, and Lowry left for the riches of the NBA.

That year I actually changed my name on MSN Messenger to “stuart – who is scottie reynolds?” to pay homage to you (Editor’s Note: It stayed there for 6 months before being replaced with “stuart – carl krauser is a raptor, it’s a no brainer”). I think it was after you scored 40 points on UConn – I was quite impressed with your cold blooded three point shooting as a freshman in the Big East. I mean, anyone who could get Mike Nardi to defer to them had to be a player, right?

Obviously we’ve had a good relationship these past three years. I’ve followed you as you’ve helped elevate Villanova back to its status in the Foye-Ray-Lowry days. The Wildcats are now That Team, flying into the NCAA Tournament under the radar despite going 13-5 in the Big East and unbeaten against Marquette, Pitt, and Syracuse.

Until Saturday night, I couldn’t have been prouder. You and Dom James were my non-Pitt guys. Dom managed to end his career with my respect for him intact (something much more valuable than having his foot intact, if you ask me). You, on the other hand, decided to throw our three year relationship out the window in approximately 5.5 seconds. What you did in those 5.5 seconds, as ridiculous as it seems, has ruined my sunny disposition for the rest of March Madness.

As long as this college basketball season is still in progress I’m going to be an inconsolable sourpuss. And it’s all because of you. You still have my respect, but you have lost my undying admiration. That has now been partitioned and sent off to Stephen Gray, Earl Clark, and Edgar Sosa. I hope you’re happy.