A couple Pitt things on SI.com today. Grant Wahl’s mailbag continues to discuss innovation by coaches and Pitt.

Speaking of Beilein, we got a lot of responses to our recent items on innovators in the game. Here are a couple (and thanks for the kind words, guys):

As a coach whose teams often have to compete with smoke and mirrors I really like the concept of discussing the game’s greatest innovators. I especially agree with including Beilein. Another I would add to the list is Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon. No team is better at attacking zone. Check out some tapes of their games with Syracuse if you want proof. I show a clip tape of the Panthers playing against zone to my team each year. They have been so effective that Boeheim almost immediately abandoned the 2-3 in the Big East final last year. Thanks for your dedication to the intricacies of the game.
— Zico Coronel, New Plymouth, New Zealand

Mr. Coronel is an assistant coach with the Waikato Pistons (PDF), who finished just out of last place in the NBL.

Interesting point, though I wouldn’t go so far as to label Dixon’s dealing with the 2-3 zone an innovation. Dixon does very well at attacking it, and it ties in nicely to what I wrote earlier today about Pitt and Syracuse in recent years.

Then there’s Seth Davis giving his BUY and SELL lists heading into the conference slates. Pitt earns a buy with a bit of a backhand smack.

I liked Pittsburgh a lot at the start of the year, but this rating is more a reflection on the relative weakness of the Big East than on what the Panthers have shown thus far. They lost their only two tough road tests, including getting embarrassed at Wisconsin, and despite their reputation for playing suffocating defense they are only creating 5.1 steals per game. Still, Aaron Gray‘s size and poise will serve this team well in a conference where toughness in the paint is a must. I also like the offensive dimension East Carolina transfer Mike Cook has added to this team.

No surprise, then that Syracuse and UConn got sells.

That steals stat is a joke, in that it is not the way Pitt plays defense even when it is at high intensity. They don’t force turnovers and steals. They count on making teams work hard to get shots — limiting possessions and — and when they do shoot, not good shots. That said, I don’t necessarily disagree with the comment about the defense, just the stat he cites.