Comments on: Recycled BET Unimportant Story http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/ The rantings and commentary on Pitt football and basketball ... and anything else from a distracted mind Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:10:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: jaygeekray http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97664 jaygeekray Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:36:17 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97664 After I sent this email to some friends, I realized that others may also enjoy reading it... -------------------------------------- Explain to me again why we are supposed to be so excited about and happy for and proud of WVU after they choked again last night in the Sweet 16 ...but no matter what Pitt does they are always a disappointment to Smizik and Cook... I can't wait to read Smizik's article ripping on Huggins for (1.) NOT having his team ready for last night's game (pathetically falling behind 28-10) and then (2.) not having anything left in the tank to hang onto the lead and win in both regulation and OT...(3.) fatigue and Huggin's negativity obviously played a role in Alexander's missed FT... (4.) after Wellington left Ramon at the Pete to give up the winning 3ptr how could Huggins play him in a similar situation last night where he again left his man to give up the clinching 3ptr...(5.) Why couldn't Huggins take advantage of a Musketeer team that had two starters fouled out and on the bench? ... Bad coaching, bad game management, bad use of personnel...More evidence that being a Great Recruiter does not make you a great coach...with a dozen NBA players at Cincy-Huggins only reached the Final Four once...and his teams are always just an NCAA investigation away from probation...can't he just leave for Michigan now?... Of course I'm just being a jerk and an article like that will never be written...because this is Pittsburgh and we only tear down the local teams (except for the Penguins) ... teams away from Pgh are always vastly superior ... just ask the duds at the P-G... After I sent this email to some friends, I realized that others may also enjoy reading it…

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Explain to me again why we are supposed to be so excited about and happy
for and proud of WVU after they choked again last night in the Sweet 16
…but no matter what Pitt does they are always a disappointment to Smizik
and Cook…

I can’t wait to read Smizik’s article ripping on Huggins for (1.) NOT
having his team ready for last night’s game (pathetically falling behind
28-10) and then (2.) not having anything left in the tank to hang onto the lead
and win in both regulation and OT…(3.) fatigue and Huggin’s negativity
obviously played a role in Alexander’s missed FT… (4.) after Wellington
left Ramon at the Pete to give up the winning 3ptr how could Huggins play
him in a similar situation last night where he again left his man to give
up the clinching 3ptr…(5.) Why couldn’t Huggins take advantage of a
Musketeer team that had two starters fouled out and on the bench? …
Bad coaching, bad game management, bad use of personnel…More evidence
that being a Great Recruiter does not make you a great coach…with a dozen
NBA players at Cincy-Huggins only reached the Final Four once…and his
teams are always just an NCAA investigation away from probation…can’t he
just leave for Michigan now?…

Of course I’m just being a jerk and an article like that will never be
written…because this is Pittsburgh and we only tear down the local teams
(except for the Penguins) … teams away from Pgh are always vastly
superior … just ask the duds at the P-G…

]]> By: pitt1972 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97547 pitt1972 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:56:01 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97547 Dave in orlando--IMO, you can toss out Pitt as a #4 losing to #5 and as #2 losing to #3 from your thesis. The seeding difference there is essentially meaningless, especially when you consider how the committee may slip a team up or down a seed or two in order to distribute teams to balance the brackets. The point of losing to a much higher seed in the other two cases for Pitt does lend support for your argument, however. Nevertheless, upsets and near upsets in the form of losses to much lower seeds happen to everyone in the NCAAs including programs like UNC, Duke, and Kansas so even citing these other two Pitt losses, without additional context for comparison, may not be a very strong argument. Dave in orlando–IMO, you can toss out Pitt as a #4 losing to #5 and as #2 losing to #3 from your thesis. The seeding difference there is essentially meaningless, especially when you consider how the committee may slip a team up or down a seed or two in order to distribute teams to balance the brackets. The point of losing to a much higher seed in the other two cases for Pitt does lend support for your argument, however. Nevertheless, upsets and near upsets in the form of losses to much lower seeds happen to everyone in the NCAAs including programs like UNC, Duke, and Kansas so even citing these other two Pitt losses, without additional context for comparison, may not be a very strong argument.

]]> By: JoePa's Poop http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97464 JoePa's Poop Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:29:36 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97464 Why are you anti-poop Chucky-boy? Why are you anti-poop Chucky-boy?

]]> By: Omar http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97448 Omar Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:21:24 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97448 Dixon should play his best players. He played the best 7 guys. It's not like the difference between the 7th guy and the 8th guy was small. It was a very large drop-off. The Big East Tournament is not an effing exhibition tournament. The games count on your record and they affect seeding. Smizik doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. Dixon should play his best players. He played the best 7 guys. It’s not like the difference between the 7th guy and the 8th guy was small. It was a very large drop-off. The Big East Tournament is not an effing exhibition tournament. The games count on your record and they affect seeding. Smizik doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about.

]]> By: Dave in Orlando http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97412 Dave in Orlando Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:47:24 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97412 Those Florida teams had three players chosen in the top nine picks of the 2007 draft and five players selected overall. That is a ridiculous amount of talent -- which Pitt does not have. Those Florida teams had three players chosen in the top nine picks of the 2007 draft and five players selected overall. That is a ridiculous amount of talent — which Pitt does not have.

]]> By: Stuart http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97410 Stuart Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:39:13 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97410 Florida won the tourney 2 years in a row playing no more than 7 main guys, after winning their conference tourney. We lost in the first round of the BET tourney of 05: how'd that turn out. If he wants to bitch that we've never had a consistent SG, be my guess. The rest is garbage, and the editor that allowed it to come out is garbage. Florida won the tourney 2 years in a row playing no more than 7 main guys, after winning their conference tourney.

We lost in the first round of the BET tourney of 05: how’d that turn out.

If he wants to bitch that we’ve never had a consistent SG, be my guess. The rest is garbage, and the editor that allowed it to come out is garbage.

]]> By: The Hagen http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97404 The Hagen Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:28:12 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97404 Smizik just can't help himself. He can't give Dixon credit for taking Pitt to the NCAAs and winning the Big East. He and Cook love to be negative. That's why he's writing for the PG and not coaching some sport. Hey, I'll be the first to admit that Pitt looked tired Saturday night. What should JD have done, tank the Big East tourney to shoot for an 8 seed? Bull Shitting is easier than coaching. Smizik just can’t help himself. He can’t give Dixon credit for taking Pitt to the NCAAs and winning the Big East. He and Cook love to be negative. That’s why he’s writing for the PG and not coaching some sport. Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that Pitt looked tired Saturday night. What should JD have done, tank the Big East tourney to shoot for an 8 seed? Bull Shitting is easier than coaching.

]]> By: geeman2001 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97388 geeman2001 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:27:02 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97388 Let's not forget that the Post Gazette isn't allowed to criticize the Steelers or Penn State, and usually not the Penguins, especially when Lemieux was there. That leaves little else. Smizik takes turns either ripping the Pirates, the local radio shows that won't put him on the air, Catholic high schools, or Pitt sports. That aside, the column is obviously retarded. Worse than that, I'm afraid I have to disagree with Chas that Smizik is consistent. I'm old enough to remember when he and all his breathren ripped Pitt to shreads for having a decent season but not doing well in the BET. At that time, our futility at MSG was a running joke in the local media. It was used as withering criticism against Evans and Willard. We could win 20 games and share the Big East title, but if we went 1 or 2 and done at MSG, we were jokes. Nobody, especially Smizik, EVER praised those guys for wisely keeping their starters in reserve for the NIT or NCAA. Let’s not forget that the Post Gazette isn’t allowed to criticize the Steelers or Penn State, and usually not the Penguins, especially when Lemieux was there. That leaves little else. Smizik takes turns either ripping the Pirates, the local radio shows that won’t put him on the air, Catholic high schools, or Pitt sports.

That aside, the column is obviously retarded. Worse than that, I’m afraid I have to disagree with Chas that Smizik is consistent. I’m old enough to remember when he and all his breathren ripped Pitt to shreads for having a decent season but not doing well in the BET. At that time, our futility at MSG was a running joke in the local media. It was used as withering criticism against Evans and Willard. We could win 20 games and share the Big East title, but if we went 1 or 2 and done at MSG, we were jokes. Nobody, especially Smizik, EVER praised those guys for wisely keeping their starters in reserve for the NIT or NCAA.

]]> By: Paul http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97383 Paul Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:02:34 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97383 I know that everyone likes to define their season by the NCAA torney but isn't it a little crazy to define the success of your season by how you do in a single elimination tournament. Aside from the national champ, the NIT winner and any Ivy league school who wins it's last game, the season is going to end in failure for every team. Overall wins is probably a better measure of a team's success but that aside, as fans we should just enjoy the best stretch of basketball when it comes and for us this year it was the BET. Lets just put aside the fact that if we lost before the finals we probably wouldn't have been in a better position to make the sweet 16 with a lower seed. Did anyone else get goosebumps watching Ronald and Keith as seniors cut the nets dowin in their hometown? That was special and lets not loose sight of that because of one bad shooting night in Denver I know that everyone likes to define their season by the NCAA torney but isn’t it a little crazy to define the success of your season by how you do in a single elimination tournament. Aside from the national champ, the NIT winner and any Ivy league school who wins it’s last game, the season is going to end in failure for every team. Overall wins is probably a better measure of a team’s success but that aside, as fans we should just enjoy the best stretch of basketball when it comes and for us this year it was the BET.

Lets just put aside the fact that if we lost before the finals we probably wouldn’t have been in a better position to make the sweet 16 with a lower seed. Did anyone else get goosebumps watching Ronald and Keith as seniors cut the nets dowin in their hometown? That was special and lets not loose sight of that because of one bad shooting night in Denver

]]> By: Dave in Orlando http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97377 Dave in Orlando Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:13:08 +0000 http://www.pittblather.com/2008/03/25/5062/#comment-97377 Good questions Colt. Louisville used 13 players in its win over Oklahoma and 12 in its win over Boise State. Both admittedly blowouts -- but I'm not sure Pitt even has that many players on its roster. Villanova used 10 in its win over Clemson and 12 against Siena. But is basically using an eight-man rotation. WVU played eight against Arizona and 11 against Duke. The Mountaineers are essentially running a nine-player rotation. Michigan State used 10 players in their win over us. They had played only four other games during the previous 14 days compared to our six. Pitt got everybody in against ORU and only played seven against MSU. They ran only seven for the final two weeks of the season - turning to Brown and Biggs off the bench with Wannamaker and McGhee only getting rare calls. These other teams, like Pitt, probably shortened their bench in the tournament. What they didn't have to deal with, was playing with a short bench for three consecutive months. I think that probably has more to do with it than four games in four days at the BET. Good questions Colt.
Louisville used 13 players in its win over Oklahoma and 12 in its win over Boise State. Both admittedly blowouts — but I’m not sure Pitt even has that many players on its roster.
Villanova used 10 in its win over Clemson and 12 against Siena. But is basically using an eight-man rotation.
WVU played eight against Arizona and 11 against Duke. The Mountaineers are essentially running a nine-player rotation.
Michigan State used 10 players in their win over us. They had played only four other games during the previous 14 days compared to our six.
Pitt got everybody in against ORU and only played seven against MSU. They ran only seven for the final two weeks of the season - turning to Brown and Biggs off the bench with Wannamaker and McGhee only getting rare calls.
These other teams, like Pitt, probably shortened their bench in the tournament. What they didn’t have to deal with, was playing with a short bench for three consecutive months. I think that probably has more to do with it than four games in four days at the BET.

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