I’m-a-gonna-believe!! THIS is our year… and besides, I picked all 16 teams, first time EVER, so I have to believe it’s an omen that Pitt is gonna win it all this year.

cause of course, that’s who I picked.

LET’S GO PITT!

I love Dixon. I don’t want to see him leave. But you know what I do want?

Wanamaker to sit… And Gibbs to get his minutes. Our D is suspect this year, and while Wanamaker might be a better defender, he is reckless with the ball and cannot perform in big games outside of Pittsburgh.

Wow, such a cynical take. Yeah, the coaching musical chairs aspect is annoying, but I like the back story at least. Says something about the level of prominence and success our program has reached. Obviously we had something similar two years ago vs. Howland/ UCLA, but I prefer the notion that our school is producing Sweet 16-worthy coaches (yes, I know Xavier has been here before). Perhaps we’ll see an Orlando Antigua squad here someday as well.?.?. Anyway, all of us here just need to stay on target. These next few days will be tough to endure.

I’ve noticed my tourney-viewing demeanor has changed this year. When in years past I had a high level of frantic impatience, I’ve thickening my skin and lowered my heart rate to a much more resigned steady determination- nodding my way through things with cool “serenity now” whisperings. 63% from the field first half? Serenity now. Levance throws a ball into the third row? Serenity now. We shoot ridiculous 3-pointers while we’re up? Serenity now. Half-assed passing in the backcourt STILL? Serenity now. Stay on target. Eyes on the prize. 110% for the team. I love winning. It’s better than losing. All clichés are out the window. On to Boston. 1 if by land. 2 if by sea. 3 if on Levance Fields’ shoulders.

Totally agree with sitting wannamaker for now for gibbs….it really depends on the situation, but wannamaker’s lack of ballhandling is really troubling…it looks like he’s forcing the issue so much, while gibbs is playing within himself..he had a few turnovers late though with fields on the bench, and thats not a good sign….even with the bench, j dixon HAS to play more….he hasnt been great, but id rather see him out there in crunch time if we’re up then any of the other guys….

brown has played well though..he still needs his minutes…but sam going 40 and vance 36 is a great sign……..

Bradley oughta Wanamaker better passes. He show no mental toughness. He needs to take a serious development leap next year or he’ll be a total washout.

I saw Sean Miller at a youth clinic way back. He did lots of fancy dribbling with multiple balls and swished an insanely high number of consecutive free throws while his dad lectured. Not sure how that translates to coaching

I wouldn’t change a thing.

Hail to Pitt. I’m Boston bound on Thursday and plan to stay till Sunday.

Looking forward to Boston as Dayton was boring, outside of sweating thru two tough games and then watching Louisville get a scare. By the way 80% of the arena were Louisville fans. A see of red.

I am not sure why there is such criticism of Wanamaker all of a sudden. He hasn’t been stellar the last two games (of course, only Blair was stellar against ETSU), but he has had a very good year. He made so much improvement over his freshman year. He earned himself a role as the 6th man. Made good decisions. Improved his shooting. And gave this team a much needed lift off the bench.

So he hasn’t been an All Tournament type player so far. It doesn’t take away all the progress he made all year. And if I am not mistaken, many, many posters on this site have complimented him all season for his growth and improvement. No time for a short memory now.

Note that Wannamaker was in at crunch time yesterday — the last 3 minutes. I assume due to defend the perimeter, and he was very careful with the ball the few times he had it.

While Sean Miller would be the logical choice to replace Dixon, I’m not so sure that Tom Herrion wouldn’t get a real close look for continuity purposes.

One more thing ….. how is that Conference RPI rating working out for the ACC and Big 10, who were ranked 1 and 2? It was ludicrous then and proven now to think that these 2 conferences were better than Big East and Big 12. This meaningless stat is more of an indicator of conference mediocrity than superiority .. yet the selection committee has uesd this as a criterion in the past.

Note that Okla St had an RPI of 19, strength of schedule of 5, and the only losses in the past 5 weeks were to Oklahoma, Missouri and Pitt, all still alive. 8th seed, my ass!!! (but then, they were in a lower RPI rated conference, weren’t they?)

Prowler…I agree with you…Wanamaker has made big improvements from last year to this. He was a significant contributor for this team this season. He does have a problem with turnovers, but his positives far outweigh his negatives. There is no way Gibbs should play more than him. Dixon uses gives in certain situations (which is what a good coach does)…to spell Fields or when we need a 3. Two years from now, when Wanamaker is a senior and Gibbs a Junior, I suspect they will both be in the starting five.

Gibbs vice “gives” in certain situations….

Have you guys heard rumors that there is going to be a major announcement out of Pitt’s athletic department this week concerning football? There are a lot of things floating around and wanted to know if any have legs.

Wanamaker plays well only at the pete.. and that one time against nova…. he is trash on the road.

i hope he looks at the tape.. and slows down a bit… and plays with focus.

All of the criticism of Wanamaker is unwarranted. He hasn’t played particularly well the last couple games and he isn’t the greateast ball-handler, but he has made tremendous contributions to this team throughout the season. “Wanamaker only plays well at the Pete” is a myth. Nova played great, and if I’m not mistaken he’s the primary reason we were able to beat Rutgers early this season. He’s not a starter, but he is a good bench player who has made great strides this season. I agree with Prowler completely.

I like wannamaker, and im glad he’ll be on the team in the future, but he has not played well recently and gibbs has…if thats not a reason for a flip-flop in playing time i dont know what is…..gibbs has earned it…its not necessarily a knock on brad, but if you have a player who’s hot and one who isnt, which are you going to play??

wannamaker gambles way to much on both ends…that comes because he’s a very intense player, but he makes these gambles at some inopportune times…..

again, like the guy, but i think gibbs deserves the minutes he’s getting……

Jermaine Dixon looks like he’s toally out of place, sloppy passes, bad decisions, and lots of turnovers.

Like he has most of the season, I would expect Jamie Dixon to play the reserves based on favorable matchups AND to reward good play. Wanamaker and Brown are bigger and better rebounders than Gibbs, which they may need against Xavier, which is a bigger team than OK State. That’s not to say that Gibbs won’t play, but I expect Jamie Dixon to continue to try to create advantageous matchups with the bench players.

what have you heard JCS?

I have heard everything from changing the uniforms but keeping the colors, to having an on-campus stadium, to renewing the Penn State rivalry….just wondering if anyone else has heard anything substantive.

The relevant question re: Gibbs v. Wanamaker is “What have you done for me lately”? The tourney is all about a team getting “hot” and Gibbs is clearly on. Wanamaker has made great strides this year, and I don’t doubt that he will be even better next year. He has shown flashes of brilliance with his ability to shoot the three and drive the lane. BUT, that doesn’t change that fact that he frequently (more often than not, in fact, in big games) hesitates and ends up making the wrong decision. I want him to gain confidence, but I don’t want him to do it while Pitt is trying to win a National Title and when every possession counts. Gibbs has shown that he has no conscience and is willing to take good shots as long as he is open. He also is a better ball handler (though he too picks up the dribble more frequently than I would like against the press).

JSS,

Not to be too (much more) cynical, but a lot of those rumors you mention cycle through periodically. I have a hard time giving them much credence at this point.

I’d also mention that it is a week away from April 1. Tends to be a day for the ridiculous.

Gibbs looks comfortable while Wanamaker looks tight. That’s the biggest obvious difference.

I’m concerned that too many teams are able to penetrate and kickout. Some of that may be Fields’ injury, but they’re not guarding well on the perimeter, especially the guards. That was the story of WVU, ETSU and the first half of OSU (with some notable lapses late).

That may not hurt them against Xavier, but it will if they advance.

hey Nuggets.. i love your analysis. But the real reason why gibbs is awesome…he is from scotch plains.. that just makes him the greatest.

Man what would you do to have Antonio “big shot” Graves now ?

Wanted to make it clear that I wasn’t advocating for Wanamaker getting more minutes than Gibbs. Gibbs has been playing great as of late and deserves to be out there. My point was that I think there is a place for both of them and I wasn’t quite sure why many posters were sh*tting on Wanamker so much.

Chas:

That is precisely why I asked the question on here. Because I heard read it from someone who has had pretty reliable information in the past. He will not say what it is, but said that there will be some sort of big announcement. I was just wondering if anyone on here has heard anything.

Thanks.

As for Wanamaker v. Gibbs, I think that they are both good to decent players that can continue to grow into excellent guards. Each seem to clam up too much when they have big time pressure on them but they are still pretty young, so some (though not all) is forgivable. I am confident we will see a very focused and determined group in Boston. Sam Young will not let this team lose. HTP!

I don’t thin Wanamaker is bad. Its just he tends to be out of control too much. If he calmed down and relaxed, he would be fine. His shot isn’t falling recently either. I hope he goes back to eating whatever he ate before the nova game.

Here’s the big announcement:

Pitt invited to join the Big Ten but declines.

(just kidding)

And, Snala, the reason Ashton is so good is that South Plains is a short distance from Metuchen, the Brainey Boro.

Whoops, I meant “Scotch,” not “South.” A case of an alcohol-induced brain fart from too much…you guessed it…scotch.

“Bradley oughta Wanamaker better passes. He show no mental toughness. He needs to take a serious development leap next year or he’ll be a total washout.”

That is what I was addressing. That there is no reason to treat Wanamaker all of a sudden like he sucks when he has progressed well all year.

I do agree that Gibbs is playing very well right now, and at the right time. It is nice having him come in, as a true freshman, and nail clutch threes when the team needs them. That gives a lot of reason to be happy about this tourney and the next three seasons.

Aside from facing some great individual performers in the tourney, much of Pitt’s postseason troubles stem from playing tight.

Even sophomores on this squad have now played 4 tourney games, not to mention BET twice and countless nationally televised games. It’s time to step up. You think the seniors on this team care about how the younger guys project?

Why would JD want to leave Pitt for Arizona? The conference is better than the PAC-10, and he is now getting better recruits than ever before. Unless Arizona backs up the truck and pays him a boatload of cash I can’t imagine him viewing Arizona as a promotion. The days of Pitt being a stepping stone program are over.