Basketball on Pryor's mind

Terrelle Pryor will think about football full-time again after Saturday, and the extended recruitment of the Jeannette (Pa.) High quarterback should finally reach its home stretch.

In the 37 days that have passed since National Signing Day, Pryor has dominated Pennsylvania high school basketball, jawed with opposing fans, inspired an action figure and taken -- along with his basketball teammates -- an anger management class after several Jayhawks brawled with the opposing team following a state quarterfinal basketball game.

But has Pryor chosen a college?

At the moment, he isn't talking. Pryor didn't respond to a voicemail or a text message from SI.com. That isn't surprising; Pryor promised to shut down media access in the wake of the postgame fight last Saturday between Jeannette and North Catholic players. In a text message to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pryor said he didn't join his teammates at a disciplinary hearing "because I'm not talking to the media. Everyone blames me."

Pryor may lift the ban after Saturday's Class 2A state title game, which will take place at the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State, one of the schools Pryor is considering. The other finalists are Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon. Pryor has until April 1 to sign a Letter of Intent. The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder could wait longer if he wishes, because the schools likely would keep scholarships open, but neither the school nor Pryor would have the security provided by the National Letter of Intent, which forces the school to guarantee the player a one-year scholarship and forces the player to attend that school for a year.

Those close to Pryor aren't saying much, either. "Nothing new," Jeannette football coach Ray Reitz said Thursday when asked about Pryor's recruitment. Reitz did put one rumor to rest, though. He said an out-of-left-field report on the Web site of The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., that Pryor was scheduled to visit Memphis last weekend was untrue.

So does Penn State have an advantage this weekend with Pryor coming to State College? Probably not. NCAA rules forbid college coaches from contacting prospects who are on their campus for the purpose of high school competition until one calendar day after that competition has concluded. Besides, Pryor hears plenty from Penn State fans every day.

Pryor told Rivals.com last week that he planned to visit State College two weekends ago, but his father, Craig, had emergency heart surgery. The elder Pryor has since been released from the hospital and is recovering, but Pryor told the site he is unsure when -- or if -- he will make official visits to Penn State and Oregon. He already has made official visits to Ohio State and Michigan. Before he delayed his decision on Signing Day, Pryor appeared ready to sign with the Buckeyes.

When Pryor finally does choose a school, Kevin Main may have a new project. Main, a Mellon Bank employee from North Hills, Pa., carved a pair Pryor action figures and gave one to the quarterback. The 6 ¼-inch figures feature Pryor in his Jeannette football uniform and are similar to McFarlane Toys Sportspicks figures, Main told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review last week. Main said he makes figures for fun and not for profit, and he told the paper he has no plans to make more. Pryor was impressed with Main's work.

"It's crazy," Pryor told the Tribune-Review. "I'm like, that's me. It's hard to believe someone would make that. I was just hoping to be a bobblehead some day."

While Main may have no plans to make more Pryor figures wearing a Jeannette uniform, maybe he'll carve another after Pryor chooses a school. But what paint will he need? Will it be maize and blue, scarlet and gray, green and gold or navy and white?

We could learn soon.