Okay, guess it’s time to clear some links. Not really any need for game recaps, right?
So, um, congratulations Coach Dixon on being named Sporting News Coach of the Year.
Coach of the Year honors go to Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, whose philosophy of player improvement led Pitt to a 27-5 record, 15-3 Big East record and Big East regular-season championship. The Panthers have won at least 20 games and 10 in the Big East in each of Dixon’s eight seasons and few of his players transfer if their careers start slowly. Never once have you heard of his team splintering because players were focused on their draft statuses.
“I think that’s the type of sacrifice you have to make to become a Pitt player,” senior forward Gilbert Brown says. “If you sacrifice for the team, you’ll have the outcome. I think that’s the environment Coach brings to the team.”
Outstanding timing.
That ties in nicely with LostLettermen asking if Pitt is the college basketball version of the Chicago Cubs.
Much in the same way the Cubs have had some great teams and players like Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg and Sammy Sosa, this is a program with six Big East regular season titles, 23 NCAA Tournament appearances and a list of college basketball greats like Don Hennon, Charles Smith, Jerome Lane, Brandin Knight and Sam Young, to name a few.
And just like the Cubs have been painfully close to reaching and winning the World Series over the years — most especially in 1984 and 2003 — Pitt fans have constantly been tortured by brutal losses in the Big Dance that have left them short of the Final Four.
I actually prefer the Phil Mickelson comparison a little lower in the piece. Lefty eventually broke through.
In the no right or wrong answer. Would you prefer a coach that has fallen short of NCAA Tournament expectations with the talent Coach Dixon has had or Texas and Rick Barnes.
Just like the five previous seasons when Barnes had eight NBA draft picks, five of which were first-rounders, including a guy named Kevin Durant.
And with all that talent, what does Barnes have to show for it? Not a single national championship, and only one Final Four appearance.
In fact, Barnes has now lost to a lower-seeded team in nine of his 13 NCAA tournament appearances at Texas and his lone Final Four appearance came eight seasons ago.
“I guess they’ll say we were another talented team that didn’t make it,” senior forward Gary Johnson said. “It sucks.”
Right now there’s a new crop of “never won the big ones” coaches. Coach Dixon is part of it. Barnes, Bo Ryan, and Matt Painter are as well.
Nasir Robinson was as inconsolable as you would expect after that game. As much self-pity and angst I’d like to have for myself with this, it pales with what Nas has to have felt. What he’s going through. Charles Barkley even gave him a call of encouragement. And players try to move on from this.
Yesterday, fewer than 48 hours after Pitt’s loss, [Dante] Taylor was in the weight room at Petersen Events Center getting ready for 2011-12.
That’s really all the players and coaches can do. Move forward. Get ready for next year.
One of the last things I saw before turning off the games on Saturday night was the whole exchange on CBS with the head of NCAA officiating. Frankly I was very confused by the whole discussion as to whether fouls should have been called on either or both of the plays in the final 2.2 seconds. I had no problem with either call, and have no arguments with those calls. In the other 39:57.8 seconds, however, there were problems. Or as a couple Louisville and Texas A&M fans noted late in the game:
YES. RT @RobEffinBrown: If Howard gets away with one more hook I’ll punch something
Slowly. There will be movement away from thinking about this game. Not yet. But at some point.
I don’t know what Pitt offense you watched this year but Wanny and Nas kicking the ball to Gibbs is how he got the majority of his shots. The were running him off multiple screens in that game but he couldn’t shake Nored who is an outstanding on-ball defender. And high pick and roll for Wanny? It was a high ball screen to get him in the middle to force Gil’s or Nas’ or Gibbs’ man to commit. If they don’t, Wanny drives to the rim. Gibbs shot hit the back of the rim. Didn’t look like a short-arm shot to me, since that would more likely be an airball.
You had an argument with Omar and blackmagic about Pitt basketball? Do you think you won it? They know their stuff.
You can continue to think you can outcoach Jamie. That’s your right. I’ll be glad he’s our coach rather than you.
Sorry if I’m beating a dead horse, but when the years spin by and great opportunities are lost you start to feel like a Cubs fan. I have heard great things about Birch from reliable sources and I can’t wait to see 7′ Adams in a Pitt uniform. Dixon has to figure out what he needs to do to get Pitt to a NC. Media critics who say we’ll never get there can drop dead.
As for Gibbs late shot he took the shot that Butler wanted him to and because of the distance he had too much push, didn’t have time to set.
Why is everyone so bend out of shape over this year like the NC was Pitt’s destiny? I’m more pissed about playing below their abilities than not winning a NC, which is always a crap shoot.
The talent level on this team was below the 08-09 squad, and more importantly inferior defensively (even with Blair being foul prone and not a great defender). Even with the infusion of promising talent, I’m a little concerned about our team defense next year. Let’s hope Birch is as advanced on that front as advertised. We already know Gibbs and Taylor (2/5 of the starting lineup) have room to improve and Moore is largely an unknown on this front.
However, that doesn’t mean he’s a choker, freezes under pressure or has no plan as some have insinuated. I’ll continue to defend him there, because it’s just the opposite. He probably sticks a little too much to plan.
He’s getting better talent and has pretty much seen it all now. I think his time will come sooner than later. Like I said a few posts back, I think we’ll be talking about Final Four and NC potential 2 years from now, hopefully under better circumstances.
As for the shot clock violation possession, neither Gibbs nor Brown is very effective trying to create dribble penetration. Gibbs isn’t quick enough, and Brown just doesn’t have a consistent handle. In the context of what Pitt was trying to do (which TampaT accurately described), Wanamaker made the most sense. Additionally, if Butler was not worried about him, why did they double team him off of the ball screen? That was a smart move and forced him away from the basket. It also made it much more difficult to get the ball to either Brown or Gibbs.
Look, I respect the opinion that Pitt should have run a different play, although my only problem with that last sequence was that Wanamaker started his drive attempt too late to allow for a breakdown contingency. I’m not sure if Dixon has addressed this, but I would guess that was the primary coaching error on that sequence.
And now, back to my coma…
My prediction for a starting lineup is Gibbs, Moore, Robinson, Birch and Taylor with first off the bench Woodall, Patterson and Zanna. A little unorthodox but pretty athletic and a beast of a rebounding team. Interior offense would be pretty intense too. Team could play a little more inside out than they played this past year. Gibbs the spot up shooter, Moore the slasher with a shot and the rest of the guys cleaning up inside. First sub off of the bench would be Woodall for Moore.
I think people have been too harsh on Taylor. The last 2 years he has been learning an entirely new position. He plays with fire and intensity when involved and I’m pretty sure he’s been hurt since January. Not once, have I heard him use than that as an excuse. I have a gut feeling he will continue Dixon’s streak of getting Most Improved every other year.
Nas will put last weeks game behind him and come out fired up. I think he is the key in replacing Wanamakers leadership and smarts (I know not everyone will agree with that statement).
I don’t think there is any way Birch doesn’t start…not if Dixon wants to continue getting players of his caliber. You may be able to get away with one (Taylor) but not two in a row.
I think Woodall is best off the bench. He’s used to it – he didn’t start in high school either. He’ll get more playing time this upcoming year than he did last year. Dokish just made a comment on his sight that he expects Epps to stay. Apparently, he brought it the second half of the season in practice.
Zanna will be huge off the bench spelling Birch…who I think will be playing both the 4 and 5. I think Taylor stays permanently at the 5.
Adams and Birch may never happen. Birch may jump ship after one season and Adams could always try to jump straight to the NBA since he is a pond hopper.
We’ll see, but I think they will a pretty decent team with huge potential in 2 to 3 years.
SilverPanther, you are right about Dixon not playing athletically superior guys. But the question I have to ask is that is this actually a good strategy? For example, if the young guys like Birch, Adams and Moore play a lot in the early part of the season, then won’t they be a lot more experienced and ready to play come March? Another thing, if you want to start getting the top 15 player consistently, then I’d imagine a player like Birch needs to get a lot of minutes and maybe even start. Say you are a top 5 PG in the country, why would you even consider coming to Pitt when the chances are that you are going to have to sit behind established players for at least a year. Coach K is a great coach and he moved Nolan Smith to the 2 for Kyrie Irving and it worked amazing until Irving got hurt. Didn’t he also move Powlus to the bench as a senior? Could anyone see Dixon moving Nasir to the bench next year because he has a top big man like Birch coming in?
This is the lineup I’d go with next year:
1. Woodall/Epps
2. Gibbs/ Moore
3. Patterson/ Robinson
4. Taylor/ Zanna
5. Birch/ Gilbert
I know Dixon will never play Taylor at the 4. But really how much sense does that make? Birch is the number 1 center in next year’s class and Gilbert is the number 8 center according to ESPN.com So those two should easily be able to play the 4. And say if both got in foul trouble you can always play Taylor at the 4 and go small.
Zanna, Woodall and Patterson will all see plenty of playing time.
1. Gibbs/Woodall/Epps
2. Moore/Gibbs/Patterson
3. Robinson/Patterson
4. Birch/Zanna/Robinson
5. Taylor/Birch/Richardson
I think Gilbert redshirts. Could all change on who transfers/doesn’t qualify etc.
You are right about the PT. Sam Young actually got almost 20 minutes a game as a freshman although it didn’t seem like that much at the time. Just me worrying too much.
* Belmont coach Rick Byrd has interviewed for the job;
* There is mutual interest between UT and Boston Celtics assistant coach Lawrence Frank;
* Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall is interested in interviewing for the position;
* The Vols’ interest in Richmond coach Chris Mooney cooled after learning of violations committed by a Mooney assistant at Richmond in 2007, and;
* There has been no direct contact between Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon and UT.
A source in the Pitt athletic department said there has been no official correspondence between Dixon, 45, and UT. It is Pitt’s policy not to comment on coaching searches.
Villanova coach Jay Wright, 49, Alabama coach Anthony Grant, 44, and Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon, 46, joined Dixon and Marshall on the Vols’ immediate list of top candidates after Pearl, 51, was fired.
UT, according to a source within the program, would like to have a new coach in place by April 4.
Looking forward to Green Tree. While it isn’t possible to predict with 100% certainty what the lineup/rotation will be next year, Dixon makes it much more predictable than at other places.
Here’s my take:
*Center – Taylor is your starter. He’s going to need to get stronger and make a big leap in development for Pitt to achieve its goals. Birch will be the back up. The center spot in Dixon’s system is easier to learn than the power forward spot. Most “experts” felt that Birch is an incredible talent with a ton of potential, but probably needed another year to develop. He’s going to do that development at Pitt instead of a prep school. Gilbert is a bean pole and a project. Probably looking at a redshirt. Best case for Birch is he is smart enough and good enough to earn some time at the four too. The four spot is crowded.
*Power Forward – Nasir Robinson is your starter. Jamie loves experience and toughness. Nas has those in spades. Zanna will be the back up. Heard some talk that he may be asked to transfer, that would be a huge mistake. The kid has talent. JJ Rich is out. Bond is a redshirt candidate.
*Small Forward – Toughest call. But the edge goes to Patterson (see above toughness and experience). Moore will have a good shot though. He is a better athlete, a better scorer and just too talented to sit. Durand Johnson will be a redshirt candidate too.
*Shooting Guard – Gibbs, no brainer. Wright could get some time. Saw him in Green Tree last summer. Played well, decent shooter, decent scorer, good athlete and good size. Needed to improve defense, he has the tools to do it. Also think Patterson/Moore will get some time at the 2. Dixon did a little of that this year.
*Point Guard – BY FAR the biggest hole on the team. Woodall will be your starter. But with Gibbs, he makes back court really small and defensively challenged. Gibbs will play some point. He’ll probably play 36+ minutes a game. Epps is clearly in the dog house and is a candidate to leave. Johnson is the x-factor. Superior athlete, not a true PG. But that athleticism could be what they need to compliment Gibbs.
I’ll save my Green Tree preview and wish list for later.
I just don’t see Jamie sitting either a two year starter (Nas) or a two year project (Dante) in favor of a raw talent in Birch. The whole program is based on player development. If Birch is as good as everyone says, he will see significant playing time as the season progresses, and the only circumstances under which he starts are injury or Taylor doesn’t make a decent leap. I think Taylor will make that leap.
Agree on the issues with the Woodall/Gibbs backcourt. I would not be surprised to see Patterson assuming the Wanamaker role in the offense with Gibbs moving to the point in some substitution pattern involving Moore and Woodall. Woodall’s earned his stripes so I think you’ll see him start at the 1 with Gibbs at the 2, but, you might see him sit early depending on the matchups.
Hoping that Chas starts a looking-toward-to-next-year thread so this can all be discussed and debated in more detail..
