The disgraced ex-coach of Oklahoma and Indiana has very successfully screwed Pitt this year.
As you may recall, his reign at Indiana led to recruits heading to WVU — Devin Ebanks — and Xavier — Terrell Holloway. Both were released from their letter of intent (LOI). Ebanks of course, was a big reason Pitt bowed out early in the Big East Tournament. Holloway helped give Pitt a hard time in the Sweet Sixteen.
Then there was his time that ended at Oklahoma. Scottie Reynolds had committed to Oklahoma to play for Sampson. Then Sampson fled to Indiana as the penalties at Oklahoma came down. The Sooners let Reynolds out of his LOI and he went to Villanova. I think we all know what Reynolds did to Pitt last night.
Bastard.
As for Blair staying/leaving, I think he stays. He can make one phone call to Shady McCoy who I can guarantee regrets leaving after hearing his name and second round in the same sentence.
As for Dixon, I have appreciated everything the guy has done here and would continue to support him as our basketball coach, but if he takes the job in Arizona, I think Pitt would be able to get any coach in the country. Everyone keeps throwing out Sean Miller as the next coach, and while I think it would be a great hire, I wouldn’t be suprised if Calipari fielded some phone calls from Nordy. He is as much of a Pitt guy as you can be without being an alumni.
Nope! It’s Kelvin Sampson!! I like it!
I think Blair will go pro. All of the mock drafts I’ve seen have him as nearly a lottery pick. I’d like to see him improve his play away from the basket a little bit before he leaves, but the money’s there for him.
Remember, Aaron Gray stayed for an extra year and went from a possibly lottery pick to a late-2nd rounder.
I really doubt Jamie Dixon’s going anywhere.
However, if he did I’d just make the phone call to Sean Miller and have the press conference the next day.
Calipari’s a real good coach, but in this hypothetical situation where Jamie Dixon would leave for another program, I think Calipari might too, despite his local roots.
Miller would be like Wanny, in that he’d never leave.
For arguments sake (I am fueling your argument against me) Chris Taft could have been a potential lottery pick after his freshmen season. He stayed an extra year and was drafted in the 50s
PS. These announcers suck. They are all over OU. I have been watching for 5 minutes and they have not said anything about PITT.
I have no idea whether or not those are Pitt band members in Oklahoma City, though.
it’ll be interesting to hear where people are projecting him now.
Is staying and passing up millions of dollars worth a 20-10 season and a first or 2nd round NCAA loss next year – I wouldnt think so!
Let’s face it – this was the best Pitt hoops team we’ve seen in 3 decades, and quite possibly the best team we will see in the next 3 decades.
A Kentucky sportswriter brought up Dixon’s name for the UK job but can’t see that happening. They just fired a Dixon type … young, promising coach that hasn’t yet reached a Final 4.
UK is now where Alabam fb was a couple of years ago when they hired Saban … and they will settle for nothing less than a Calipari or Izzo.
Dixon may consider a large offer from Arizona since UA would love to get him, a little lower expectations than UK, and it is closer to his family in Calif. However, my guess is that he stays … he knows and apppreciates the chancellor and AD are clearly in his corner even if Pitt wouldn’t make NCAA next year (although I do expect them to.)
Don’t compare Gray with Blair, please!! The only comparison is that neither are really the prototype NBA player type, but that is where it ends. Blair is much more athletic; he is quicker, stronger and (despite the height difference) can outjump Gray. Also, Blair will be a power forward in NBA, and can and will make a valuable contribution to the team even if he plays less than half of the game. Gray is only a large body who many times “DNP”
A – Who cares!!!
Regards
…Plus, that gives him PLENTY of time to develop his mid-range game for the NBA.
Maybe I’m dreamin — and I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves — but I think the potential is there if he decides to stay for another possible deep run in the not-so-distant future.
Anything is possible I suppose. Next year we’ll be taking a step back in all likelihood, but maybe not if Blair stays. Losing Sam and Levance hurts for sure, those two are almost irreplaceable, but we have the most talented class of the Dixon era coming in next season. We made some big strides this season, number one ranking, number one seed and elite eight. The program is in good hands and I have no doubt that we’ll be competitive the next few years. I also think we’ll be in a position to go to the Final Four sooner rather than later. Time will tell.
Hail to Pitt.
Our team next year consists of some highly ranked players.
Guards: Wannamaker, Woodall, Dixon, Gibbs,
SF: Brown, Patterson, Robinson
PF: Taylor, Miller
C: Blair
While I dream of Blair and Taylor playing together down low, other teams have nightmares.
Saturday night was a great sporting event to have attended. Those last minutes were incredibly electric. I’m really glad that Pitt finally played a strong game, because the efforts, taken as a team, against ETSU, OSU and Xavier were pretty lousy and it would have been even more frustrating to go out without having seen the team really show up.
I felt like they showed up on Sat and got beat by another really good team. It happens, and it’s painful.
A few impressions from the two Boston contests:
* Pitt fan support was questionable. Didn’t see sportswear on the streets, empty seats in the fan section and even the “Pitt” bar, Johnnie’s, was lame. I expected Pitt to have the second best attendance there, after Nova, but it was more like Nova and three equal last places.
* Blair finally got the ball a few times on Sat night and went 9 for 9. Does this tell Jamie Dixon that maybe he should bench people (Fields, for one) who won’t enter the ball to the post? Just wondering.
* Feel like Sam Young keeps helping his NBA draft status. He’s Dixon’s best development story and I see no reason why he can’t keep improving. Thanks to him for putting the time in to become the player he is today.
* Jermaine Dixon never should have had the ball in that situation against the half-court trap. You could just see how uncomfortable he looked. Anybody who thinks having him handle it a lot next year is an option needs to re-think that opinion and Jamie Dixon needs to put his players in positions to take advantage of what they do well, not what they stink at. He used Biggs very intelligently all year long against presses and Biggs couldn’t get on the court in this tournament. What gives?
*I loved the fact that Gibbs wasn’t scared to take those shots. When he entered the game late, he went around to all the upperclassmen and Blair and got in their faces to fire them up, which also took some nuts. Like that attitude.
* Levance Fields had a great career at Pitt, including some exciting game winners and overall very solid PG play. That being said, it bothers me that no one’s willing to recognize that he wasn’t able to be the third player Pitt needed this year to get to Detroit. Much of his game regressed this year, including his shot selection, his FG percentage and even his free-throw shooting. He had a strong assist year because he finally played with guys who could score a bit, and I think that covered up the fact that he often shot in the 30 to 40 percent range and often didn’t get the rock to the right guys at the right time. With Levance’s national reputation and the hype he gets from the national pundits, you would have expected him to have been head and shoulders above the rest of the guards on the floor on Thurs and Sat nights. Not the case. He was just another in the crowd of good players.
* Sad to think about Blair leaving. It feels like Young and Fields have had their time, but that Blair is just getting started. He would, most likely, be the most recognizable college basketball player on the national stage if he comes back, assuming that Lawson and Griffin are gone.
Pitt had a really good season. It’s hard to shake the perception that they just weren’t ever going to be that great away from the Pete because the supporting cast (Fields, Wanamaker, Brown, Biggs) just weren’t ready for that. One road win against UConn does not a season make.
We don’t rebuild, we reload.
Although, I think the main reason Pitt lost is because Nova played Blair away from the basket and we didn’t box anyone out (same as the time they beat us in January). Too many offensive rebounds for Nova won them the game.
I would not be surprised to see Pitt make the sweet 16 again next year, again, even without Blair. There will likely be some growing pains, particularly early in the season, some bad losses. But I think the talent is there for a good team next year and possibly an exceptional team two years down the road.
Obviously losing Young and Fields is going to be tough on us. Those guys were two of the best in the country. But this team will always be competitive because of the style they play.
Hail to Pitt and the Grizzly Blair
Keep in mind that Pitt’s front five strength meant younger guys were blocked. Robinson, Miller (on the redshirt), Woodall, plus newcomers Taylor, Richardson and Zanna. Who knows if Dixon finds JuCo talent? An outstanding senior class departs, but there should be some fierce battles for PT and a lot of incentive for younger players trying to establish themselves at this level.
If the last decade has shown us anything it’s that Dixon knows what he’s doing. Relax.
As for Young, he was a top 50 player. A lot of people thought he was going to be as good as he was. Nobody on this team next year will be a top 50 prospect.
D-E-L-U-S-I-O-N-A-L
Brown is more talented athletically than most, but he’s not on the Young plane. Let’s just let him become what he can be — a solid swingman who can get out on the break, play strong defense and make some open jumpers and shoot a very good percentage from the charity stripe. He’s not going to turn into an all-american, but he can help Pitt win a bunch of games.
The first top 50 player that Dixon signed was DeJuan Blair. Dante Taylor is the second.
He’ll be a freshman and adjusting to the frontcourt play in the Big East will take a while. He’ll get thrown around for a year and then we hope he’ll become a force.
You have to remember that Blair was a unique force on the boards. Maybe Taylor has more upside with scoring and an all-around game, but Pitt might not have another dominant rebounder like Gray became or Blair was for years. The rebounding that Gray did on the defensive end and Blair does on both ends was pretty special and isn’t likely to be matched for a while.
It is probably a good idea for JD to consider a more uptempo approach, given the mix of size and skills he’ll have. Don’t know if he has the requisite flexibility to do that; it would certainly require changing the paint-by-numbers plan he’s used thus far.
I’m pretty sure that Aaron Gray was in the same position that Blair is now, mock-draft position wise. He was a solid 1st rounder, who some people had on the cusp of being a lottery pick, which is where I see Blair now.
But coming back really hurt his draft stock, nobody can deny that. I’m happy he’s kind of caught on with Chicago as a bench player now because I was worried about the guy.
It seems like since about 2003 or so (after Knight, Lett, Zavackas, etc left) we’ve never had the possibility of having this great of a turnover amongst our top players.
Krauser oversaw the transition from Troutman and Taft to Gray and Young, and they oversaw the transition from Krauser to Fields, and he oversaw the transition from Gray to Blair.
“D-E-L-U-S-I-O-N-A-L”
BULLSHIT. Are we talking about a preseasaon top five or a competitive Big East team here. Some people thought losing Aaron Gray was the end of Pitt competitiveness. Or Chevy Troutman before him. Sometimes these guys look good in the system. Young and Fields may be a step above the other departed talent, but others will buy into the system, work hard, and progress. Whether this team reaches a #1 ranking, gains a #1 seed, or makes a title run next year . . . maybe not. Pitt will still be a team no one will want on their schedule. The sky is not falling
Screw that dude.