I think the grind of the big east is wearing him down. Key to rest of year is for him to get some offense going and hoping that Zanna does not disapear again. Seems when Zanna starts getting bumped around he usually responds by doing nothing. Hope abounds as against Cinci he actually sucked it up and played harder.

Robinson was beginning to shine offensively driving to the basket and using the rim to avoid defenders in the paint. For some reason he stopped driving and started shooting jumpers, which haven’t fallen, so he’s stopped trying to score all together. Hopefully he has a Rondo-like turnaround, wherein people stop respecting his jump shot but it magically gets better and opens up his offensive game once more.

The part of Robinson knowing his limitations is very pertinent, as is the fact that he still makes free throws in clutch times.

Which brings me to a player that gets a lot of critism here .. Tray Woodall. Yes, he misses some key free throws and doesn’t play the best defense, but Pitt wouldn’t have won 7 of its last 8 without him.

agree totally- he is an asset. when i think of what i was like as a freshman i am even more impressed.

Robinson is a key component to the teams success. He is a team player, plays within himself and is the future leader of the team. Right now he is losing minutes to Ziegler, who is a much greater threat offensively and Wright who is better defensively.

Robinson is the best ball handler on the team and clutch free throw man. It is good to keep his legs fresh for finishing games when those skills are needed most.

He is going to have a great career and join Woodall on the all time list. Right now he is a crucial part of the puzzle.

He has shown that he is ICE from the line late in games and has the best handle on the team. I have no trouble with him running the offense late in games…especially when we are up and protecting a lead.

He’s going to be a very good player as he matures and gets used to the grind of the college season.

Pitt has lacked a real ball handler and quarterback since Knight left. Robinson is the man. Because of him, Pitt will be able to match up in the back court with other guard oriented teams. It’s not so much his stats that count but his toughness. Keep in mind (and I sometimes forget ) he is a true freshman….never been to BE tourney or NCAA’s. I am very pleased at his progress. It he starts shooting and driving it will be one of those things that gets Pitt playing to a higher potential.

The only time I have seen him bow to game pressures was when he missed a couple of FT’s. He should never miss a FT. His form and balance are perfect. Eventually I see him as a 90% FT avg.

I think all 10 are key components. For example, even as Adams is improving and playing more and more minutes, I think that the time Sleepy gives him to rest is important; especially since most of the time when Sleepy is playing, Pitt is still pretty competitive.

The fact that pitt is almost always the stronger team in te final minutes can be mostly attributed to its depth.

I really like seeing Robinson in there late in games now, because later in his career (and maybe later this season) there’ll be times when the team will look to him to lead them and close games out. He’s getting solid experience.

I see no need for him to be a scorer so I never had a problem with his offensive production. Being a guy that doesn’t really make mistakes (though there was that stretch of TOs), keeps the offense flowing and in motion, and occasionally facilitates the better scorers. That’s what Robinson should be most of any game, and that’s what he does. and no we know that he’s got ice in his veins for the late game FTs, so he’s a huge asset.

wbb Depth is certainly a key factor but coaching is huge as well.Dixon is terific at being intensely involved for 40 minutes.I think he gets them wins even when they don’t play their best game like Saturday night.

WBB I agree, But the two freshmen fill the two greatest weaknesses from last year. When Woodall was out we had no quarterback and had a hard time breaking the press and scoring.

Our middle was so soft that anyone could drive the lane and score at will. Adams has taken care of this.

But don’t forget, Jamie won’t play freshmen.

But you are absolutely correct, the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts. On any given night any of the 10 can be MVP.

Dixon is finally gaining more confidence in guys like Ziegler and Wright (and they are finally deserving it), so I don’t see it entirely as a slight to Robinson. In fact, it’s more of a compliment that out of all these guys, he was deemed most “ready” at season’s beginning. I agree with the sentiment that I love seeing the ball in his hands, especially late — although he has brief moments when he rushes things during the course of the game, I feel quite confident at the end.

the win vs Syracuse was probably the best example of a total team effort in any sport that I could think of. You may remember that with just 2 minutes left, everyone had between 4 and 8 points … except for Robinson who finished with 2.

I think one could make the argument that JR has the least talent/athleticsm of our 10 man team,however he is hugely important to our success and one of our best players come crunch time.I can’t help but remember when we played Oakland and he was called for a travel with 10 seconds left.An obvious freshman mistake,which he immediately corrected by stealing the ball back.Then he went to the line and sank both fouls to tie.Neither freethrow touched the rim.Mature gutsy play,thats what this guy gives us. I love JR.

Robinson is a true freshman playing in the Big East with the burden of running the floor for a team that needed a leader.
He is both human and, a very young man. There has got to be a strain on him.
He played 18 minutes against UC. 18-22 minutes down the stretch should allow him to restore his mental game and physical too.
Slight to Robinson? To the contrary, I want to keep him fresh before he burns out.
Having a week off before we play the Warriors of Marquette can’t but help him relax and get his strength back; mental strength!

What time do the new rankings come out? Anybody have a guess where Pitt will be ranked at? A lot of teams in front of them lost this week. I think Pitt could easily move up into 16-18 range.

Right now Pitt is in a good situation. They have a lot of depth and the luxury of being able to mix and match. Basketball is a game of match-ups and with Trey Zeigler and Cam Wright they a couple guys who can drive to hoop. Jamie can now take advantage of different match-ups, when it’s to Pitt’s advantage while keeping his players fresh. With Robinson and Woodall he has two guys who play the point. That wasn’t the case last year. I like the way Jamie has been rotatating his players. However at the end of the game, I want to see both Robinson and Woodall on the court together.

This is the first Pitt team in a long time that will only continue to get better and better for the rest of this year and all of next year also, thanks largely impart to true freshmen JR and Grizzly Adams. Also encouraging is the fact that no matter how poorly this team is playing in a game, they NEVER quit. We are truly blessed to have a team like this to follow. Lets Go Pitt!!!

Edit, nevermind, #16 in the AP poll. Not bad, Hail to Pitt!

16 but still behind GTown which makes no sense. CBS has us one spot ahead of them – we’re 15, they’re 16.

The rankings came out with Indiana at No. 1 Duke 2 and Pitt is 16th just behind Georgetown at 15. Syracuse is 6th, Louisville 12th, and Notre Dame at 21.

Same with the coaches poll.
Pitt #17
Georgetown #15
Why?

CBS sports has posted pitt is among the biggest underachievers in NCAA tournament.
it says who are the worst performing teams with at least 10 tourney trips in the bottom 5 is pitt.
dixon is a great regular season coach and a great person.
but when i say it is miller time you all think of this cbs post before you get mad at me.

Yes not sure how somebody could put GT ahead of Pitt with their resumes at this point in the season..GT did just beat LV and ND but that seems the same to me as Syracuse and Cinn ..and we did destroy them on their court!

Well we want them to win tonight if we want to be #1 in Big East this year (yes it is defintely a possibility) so hopefully they play as well as their rankings at least for tonight.

With Newkirk coming next year, Pitt will have 2 PGs over 6’2″. (or 3, if you consider the Ziegler can play point)
Although I will miss Woodall, next year Pitt will look more like the big, long, athletic teams at the top of the ACC. (NCST, UNC, Syr)
And the zone D should be even stingier.

@FRANKCAN – while I appreciate all your posts, I think Sean Miller’s two Elite 8 appearances and one Sweet 16 don’t make him a better regular season or post season coach than JD. Not mad at you, I just don’t think Miller is, as yet, the second coming of John Wooden.

info for the teryl austin was who chryst wanted
for his DC i guess austin said no.
i hope he changes his mind.

xfmrman, If Adams returns, we project to a Top 10 team next year with exerience (and quality) at every position. If Adams doesn’t return, we are dead in the water with a frontcourt of Zanna, Moore and natural frosh, Mike Young.

The only flaw I see in robinson’s shooting motion when he is at the line is that he has a tendendecy to not keep his elbow in against his body Watch him next time and see if you agree). Despite that mechanical flaw he obviously swings his elbow into proper position before release when at he foul line.
This mechanical flaw when taking a shot under pressure or from a longer distance does adversely impact his shot putting a hitch in his shooting motion.
Despite this his court savy (far surpassing Woodall and the other guards) requires him to be on the court to limit turnovers.
In the off-season he has t work on keeping his elbow in because his follow thourogh and rotation (wrist) are there.
Also if in the off-season lock Zeigler in the gym with someone (not knight) to show him how to shot a jump shot and not let him leave until he hits 49% consider his game next year.
Now it seems like Dixon has confidence in Adams,
Spread the court get the ball down low to Adams set up off the ball screen for a cutter the let Adams decide to hit the cutter or take his man one-on-one.
He dominates the game now wait until next year with som strength training. If Young is a banger at the 4, he has the build. I live in ACC country and I am ready to get my season “away tickets.”

Like I said in post on other page..Pitt has not underachieving in the Tourney…no matter what CBS Sports says…they have been overacheivers’s in the regular season.
So take what you want from that..

Also if it because you think a Pitt man is better..(which we know from FB doesn’t work..Foge, Wanny, the 2nd Majors debacle) Miller was at Pitt 6 seasons..Dixon has been here 14…he’s now way more a Pitt man than Miller could even become.

wbb, I fully expect Adams to continue to improve and to stay at Pitt, at least through the end of his junior year. Despite his athleticism, he still needs to work a lot on his post up game. Adams will develop much faster playing every game against Big East and ACC competition, then he would sitting on the bench in the pros. Playing in the ACC to full arenas in pressure games will better prepare him better than the NBA developmental league. Adams needs to improve his over offensive game to make it in the NBA. I’ve seen too many players go the NBA early and last only a year or two.

This is what makes JD a Pitt Man:

“I did what anyone else in Pittsburgh would have done given the situation. I just happened to be right behind the car.”

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/breaking/pitt-coach-dixon-details-how-he-helped-with-crash-rescue-269975/

wbb, Also you only have a very small window to play college ball. When players look back it’s that time of life that they enjoy the most. Yes they offer to pay you, but you’ll get the same money or more, if you develop and improve your game. If you leave early you’ll always look back and wonder what you could have accomplished if you ahd stayed. Tim Dunkin stayed all 4 years at Wake Forest and continued to refine his game. How many years has he been playing in the NBA?

FRANCO HARRIS LIED
And someone had to call him on it.
Today on the Fan, the above named idiot claimed to Vinny & Cook that Sandusky was exonerated on the conduct witnessed by Mc Curly! Later, he claimed that what McQuery witnessed and told Paterno consisted of “maybe questionable behavior”.
I called in and told Harris that Sandusky was exonerated only of the rape charge because no one could establish penetration.
Sandusky was CONVICTED of the other 4 felony charges!
Franco you effin liar!
Then, I reminded him that what he called “maybe questionable behavior” is what the jury and the Commonwealth of Pa calls felonies committed against those who can’t help themselves.
I concluded by saying that I believe nothing that comes out of the mouth of that lying sack of human excrement!
Sorry guys, but someone has to tell the truth Franco ain’t that guy.
Don’t let your children near him as “maybe questionable behavior” will go unreported.
I wanted to vomit.

I want a Final 4. I don’t really care what named coach can do it. Jamie still hasnt done it. He may get there someday. How long are we willing to wait. I personally will give him another 5 years. But, I dont call the shots. For Pitt to be considered an elite basketball program (and I think that should be a goal), you need a few Final 4′s on your resume.

Boeheim’s first Final 4 was in 1987 – 11 years after he became HC. His second didn’t come for another 9 years. He didn’t win an NCAA championship until 2003 – his 27th year as HC.

It took Krzyzewski less time to get his first championship but the field was smaller then.

The chances of Sean Miller ever coaching at Pitt are slim and none. So I don’t even know why this topic is even being discussed. As for me, I’m quite satisfied with Jamie Dixon’s job performance, and I see no need to make a change.

correction – it took Krzyzewski 11 years also and the field was 64. It was Coach K’s 16th year as a HC if you count the 5 years at Army.

@SFPitt…Good job calling him out..and did I hear he was going to run for office..sounds like he’ll fit right in as a politican.

@Swinging Gate..totally agree Dixon isn’t going anywhere but we have an entire week off till next game so need to discuss something….

So Final 4 for Pitt within 5 years is a high probability.

Two quick points:
- Let me second and third Milo Blooms pt. Bit is way more of a regular season over-achiever than a post-season under-achiever. Not that we aren’t the latter at all, but Dixon is a victim of his success.

- and once again let me denounce anyone who thinks its time for Miller to come in. Miller’s proving to be a very good coach and I very much respect him. But, this will be his 4th full year coaching in a power conference, and only second year in the tourny. Meaning he’s already missed the NCAA tourny more times than Dixon has.

I’ve definitely noticed a decrease in minutes for Robinson. Woodall’s play has been stellar over the last 5 games so he’s getting the majority of the playing time and also Cameron Wright is playing a lot better to earn more minutes. I know Robinson is only a freshman but he is growing as a player during Big East play. I remember over the first 5 conference games he had a knack for making a few lazy passes per game which led to turnovers and transition buckets for the other team. He’s not making as many mistakes now. That might be due to the decreased minutes but it still is an encouraging sign. Pitt should be in good hands with Robinson controlling the backcourt over the next three years.

SFpitt…I listened to Franco as well…what an idiot..completely blinded by his love affair with JoePed….he wants to blame McQuery…Franco wanted pics of full penetration for him to begin to believe…..what is wrong with those people

@Milo – Big time rooting for GTown tonight.

Don’t over think rankings. We’re ahead of Marquette, but we lost to Marquette. Should we be ahead of Syracuse because we beat them? No worries. Beauty of hoops vs. football, you always get your shot to win it on the court.

Right now I think Pitt’s Achilles heel will be a strong outside shooting team, the same type of team that Pitt always struggles with. There really aren’t any in the BE this year. ND is the only team in the BE in the top……EIGHTY, if you can believe that. Seton Hall is #81. Pitt is actually 3rd in BE, tied for 87th at 35.8%. BTW, Pitt is 263rd in FT% at 66.1%.

@SFPitt – do we now have to question the Immaculate Reception if Harris’s credibilty is suspect?

To clarify, ND only BE team in top 80 in 3pt. %, Seton Hall 81st, Pitt 87th in the country.

for you people who measure everything on a Final 4:

Are any of the following programs better than Pitt’s? George Mason, VCU, WVU, Villanova or Georgetown.

All of them habe been to the Final 4 since Dixon took over as Pitt’s HC.

Villanova. Ugh. Scottie Reynolds. Ugh. I curse the name Kelvin Sampson ever since.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Aristotle

While I love to see Pitt make it to the Final 4, I love even more that Pitt has been very competitive ever year under Dixon except for last year.

However, while I’m glad Dixon is Pitt’s coach, based on their resumes thus far, I would choose Sean Miller over Jaimie.

By the way, guess where the top high school BB prospect in PA is going to college next year? …. Univ of Arizona

wbb:
I was assuming Adams stays.

I don’t buy the underachieving tag. Other than De
Juan’s final year, when have we had the players to get to the Final Four? Even that year we only had 3 really good, but not great players. You might say that Blair was a great college player, but he hardly gets off the bench in the pros and Sam is out as well. Levance was one of our best but certainly no upside like Kemba Walker.

We have overachieved in the Big East because of coaching and style of play.

Even this year we only have one pro prospect and he is just starting to be a factor. I can already hear the negativity if we don’t make a sweet sixteen. Maybe it’s the guys who never played a sport that are so critical and think it’s easy to win big games in tournaments.

This year there will be 20+ teams that can win it all. 4 out of the top 5 lost this weekend with Duke squeaking it out. None of tneir opponents were rated. It’s going to take a hot hand and a lot of luck to win it all this year.

Dixon’s not perfect, but most of his critics disgust me. Five year’s after he is gone we will be saying remember the halcyon days.

Jamie is the best coach Pitt has ever had since Jock Sutherland. Majors was great but he jumped ship as did Sherrill. Jamie has been loyal and true blue and gold. Only our esteemed press has had any doubt about his value, they do that to sell papers and you know how I feel about them.

What makes anyone think that Miller would come here. He is at Arizona, a program in the class of UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas.
Just cause Pitt is his Alma Mater? You think it’s as easy to recruit at Pitt as it is at one of those? How do you think the salaries and other acoutrements compare?

Nice article by Fittipaldo though, maybe he was reading the Blather.

How would you measure an elite program then?

20 win seasons doesnt cut it for me as the sole indicator. I want final 4′s.

I think that is the goal of every program. Winning their conference and getting to the final 4.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone outside Pittsburgh thinking Pitt is elite.

Final 4′s, whether you like it or not, determine that status.

But, elite recruits help good coaches get there. Jamie needs to recruit better. He is stepping up. However, he must more consistently land 4 and 5 star talent. I think he is a good coach. Miller can out recruit him though so my money is on Miller getting there. Maybe elites don’t like the system and team first approach.

And yes all those teams were better than Pitt those years they made the final 4. And their fans got to enjoy it. I’m jealous.

TX PANTHER and Wbb i am with you both on this
final 4 is were it is at.
20 win seasons are great but at some point you must do better at some point you must make a final 4

there was a time when wining 20 and just geting into the NCAA was enough but we are past that now
we want more and we should want more.

PITT is now up to #16 in the AP.

I blogged either #15 or #17 last nite.

Right Square in the Middle, lol.

HTP !

Anybody see the Huggins ad during college hoops coverage on TV on Saturday? I think it was promoting the Infiniti Coaches Charity Challenge. A classic.

Huggie Bear is selling cookies door to door for a charity. Goes the the first house, “would you like to buy some cookies?”. “No.” Door slams. Repeats 2 more times, same result. Goes the the fourth house. A guy in a Pitt jersey answers the door. Huggie shakes his head, says nothing, turns and walks away. Then some girl scouts accost him and run him out of the neighborhood.

Looked for it on line but no luck.

And BTW, Jamie’s a keeper in my book.

Coach is doing a great job throttling back on JR’s minutes.

As long as Woodie doesn’t revert back to being a turnover machine(2011-2012), we can get away with doing this.

For not really having any great players. our offensive efficiency(Top 10 by kenpom) suggests were pretty good.
But as we all know stats can be very deceiving. (see last QB) And this team’s offense can be horrid at times, especially in the halfcourt.

Somehow we are winning, so there is that. And after last year…..that is really something.

This team will only go as far as the defense and free throw shooting will carry them, imo.

Saw the same Huggie Bear commmercial- a classic!!
Got prime seats with my son for the Pittt/ND basketball game-already psyched! Dixon is the best coach that Pitt has kept in a looooooooong time-A class act who works hard with what he has!! H2P to Pitt

lol dino.

That’s a hoot.

gc,

Well stated and thanks for your voice of reasoned thought!

We are crazy for being critical of Jamie Dixon. He is an ambassador for PITT. Over the past ten years, while we have been on here lamenting all that has gone wrong in football; we have had a winning tradition established in basketball. Basketball for PITT continues to evolve.
Jamie Dixon is not perfect but he is an elite basketball coach. How many teams would love to have him lead their team. He has been offered many opportunities to move on but instead has stayed at PITT to build a champion.
Jamie’s integrity and class are well documented. Coaches respect him, players respect him, the press respect him and we should be proud to have him represent our beloved PITT.

dinosaur – here’s a link to the commercial you mentioned.

http://collegespun.com/national/video-bob-huggins-isnt-good-at-selling-cookies#.URllAaXC3jV

Thanks for mentioning…pretty funny.

I agree if it takes a final four to be be elite, then we are not elite. Just damn good.

I didn’t say I didn’t want to make a Final Four or be National Champs. I am saying that expectations are unrealistic compared to the achievement. I’d like to win a Football Championship too, but how realistic is that.

Maybe Miller is better, but so is Calipari, Coach K, and many others. I don’t think they are coming here either.

Dixon is a consistent winner, I’m pretty stoked about that. I hope he takes us to the final four, but I’m not ready to dump him because he hasn’t.

Making a final four on it’s own doesn’t make you elite as evidenced by WBB’s list. I wouldn’t trade places with any of them, well maybe Villanova and they have won a championship, but I still don’t consider them as one of the elites.

If we consistently win 20+ games, we will eventually get our final four.

Thanks, Tank.

I am very happy Jamie Dixon as Pitt’s basketball coach. I am very pleased with the job he’d done. Yes, I know we lost to Villanove on Scotty Pippen’s coast to coast shot and that we lost to Butler with no time left on the clock because of a fould 90 ft from their basket. In both instances Pitt could have gone onto the final. I think Shawn Miller is an excellent young coach and I am happy for his success Arizona.

@PittDad
No need to question something that happened 40 years ago, but what Funco is doing now should be referred to as the Immaculate Deception.
Don’t worry though, Satan is penetrating Joe Pa somewhere that can’t be seen.

I have followed Pitt hoops since the mid 70′s and people forget that we used to flat out suck.Many years winning 20 games was a farfetched dream.Nobody wanted Jamie Dixon as head coach when he was hired and he only got the job because a guy named Prosser chose the Georgia Tech job over us.We could have had Calipari but the administration thought he would get us in trouble with the NCAA. The players wanted Dixon. They were right and only an idiot would be looking to replace him.He is the best thing that ever happened to Pitt basketball and if we ever win the national championship in basketball it will be because of him.The grass always looks greener but I’d want this guy to coach in a game for all the marbles against anyone.If Dixon ever leaves Pitt will never reach the prolonged level of excelence he consistantly delivers.

Great job SFPitt. I would’ve loved to hear your back and forth w/Harris.

Maybe some one could relate a little history on Calipari and Pitt. I understand He wanted the Pitt job at one time. Not that I agree with his style.

I think Pitt should pay Jamie what ever it takes so that he coaches his entire career at Pitt.

Pitt’s biggest rap is that they’ve never been to a Final Four and have never beaten a higher seeded team in the Tournament. Not elite…. consistently good….but improving the program every year.

I posted this about an hour ago on the other link:

Dixon is a better developer of players than Miller…by far, and he’s probably a better coach.
Miller is a much better recruiter that Dixon. Some would argue…give me the Jimmies & Joe’s over the X’s & O’s. (see Kentucky)

If Dixon starts to be a better recruiter and gets and keeps (that’s the problem) assistants who can recruit, we won’t ever hear it’s Miller time again. I frankly doubt Pitt will ever do better than Dixon…I hope I’m wrong about that though.

As for Robinson…I think he’s hit the wall already. He’s a little chubby and needs to get in better shape for next season….but he’s still a kid just out of college. He’ll be fine…

CBS has Pitt as a 5 seed now and moving up. I see us as a 4 seed before it’s over and maybe a 3 seed if we win the BE Tournament…..which would be great going out the door.

I love Robinson. He’s got ice in his veins and his teammates know it. His confidence is infectious.

Think about it. Last year we all cringed when Pitt was being pressed, betting even money we wouldn’t get the ball beyond midcourt.

Count your lucky stars he’s a Panther.

@SFPitt – that made my day.

I’m 63 years old….if If I was assured today that Dixon would still be the coach at Pitt when I die it wouldn’t bother me one bit.

@PittDad
Where I’m from, they call that justice!
Glad I helped your day!

wbb You posted “that if Adams leaves we are dead in the water.” I have to disagree.Obviously with Adams returning we appear to be awesome but I think we could field a very good team without him.Zanna is no slouch and likely to be at least representative at the 5.The rest of the team could hold their own and add a couple nice recruits to the mix and we might do just fine.We were pretty good with Gary Mcgee at center with less of a supporting group and Talib can match what Adams gave us for the first half of the season.Backup depth at the post could be the real challenge.

Jackagain …I am 62 and like several of my frat brothers, I would like to see a statue of Jamie Dixon eventually at the Pete. He is that good. Final 4′s will come.

Pittisit- I saw that same Robinson FT flaw early and you could not be more correct. You want the least amount (like none) of motion possible in FT shooting and he was swimging that arm. But after he missed 3-4 Ft’s in a game a few weeks back, he seems to have locked that arm in place. I suspect the coaches saw it also and corrected it.

I have tremendously enjoyed Pitt’s success over the last 10-12 years, and last year was a painful reminder how bad losing sucks. As a fan, I just want Pitt to make one Final Four 1) so I can enjoy the ride and 2) to shut up every Pitt naysayer who says they are irrelevant underachievers for never making the Big Dance. From a national respect perspective, I agree that Pitt has much left to accomplish before being considered one of the elites.

But it is not easy, even for the best of the best. Consider Syracuse hasn’t been back since 2003, Indiana since 2002. The reality is the bluest of the blue bloods – Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, Duke, probably have a legit shot at a Final Four appearance every 2nd or 3rd year. UCLA, UConn, and Florida have each been to 3 in the last decade (Of course Fla and UConn actually won 2).

I would love for Pitt to be Michigan St., a team that is rarely mentioned as a blue blood, but that has actually been to more Final 4s since 2000 (five) than any other team, even though they have only the one title in that time. Now THAT is consistent success. I also respect Izzo’s formula of testing his teams in the Non-con schedule, tearing them down to build them up. And he’s done it with less than elite talent as well, some NBA players but no stars.

Dan…I thought you were 72…

As for Adams…he’s a man of his word. He said he would sign with Pitt and he did. He said he likes college life and has no plans on the NBA right now. He also said that he wants to stick around and help Pitt win.

Adams was never in the states before and he’s having a blast. He was never corrupted by friends and handlers like Birch and so many others have been. I say he’s a lock for next year and even 50-50 for the year after that.

Any other great college player in the nation (who grew up here) would be 50-50 for next year. Even the NBA scouts agree that he would be better off in staying and developing.

Next year is going to be very interesting….Pitt owns Cuse….Duke is losing their best 2-3 players. We could win the ACC next year.

I’m a big fan of Sean Miller, but hearing this discussion in almost every thread is getting irritating, especially when our team is doing so well.

-You can’t ask for more out of a coach than Jamie Dixon has given to Pitt. (Measuring success just by final fours is not realistic. If you can’t deal with this, go buy a Duke tee shirt.)

-Sean Miller has a great job and I doubt he’d leave it. If we’re having a head coach discussion with no basis in reality, then what the hell, let’s go hire Bill Self!

-Pitt would not offer a job to Miller without firing Dixon first, and there’d be no reason to get rid of Dixon unless they knew Miller wanted to coach here. That means that Dixon would have to be hired away or start losing an awful lot of games.

Just my $0.02.
Please save the Miller talk for the offseason, or at least a losing streak.

Jackagain, Hope you are right on Adams because short of winning a national championship there is nothing I would rather see than Pitt win the ACC in their 1st try. My Tar Heel relatives would stroke out.

4/1/2 Great post

Another thing with Adams is his girlfriend in supposed to enroll in the fall.

x, God bless her heart.

Pitt will head to Marquette to face a team that lost at Georgetown (55-63). In two games against Georgetown, the “Warriors” mustered a whopping 104 points.
After early wins against Wisconsin, Pitt and Georgetown, Marquette’s next best win is Providence.
I believe that Pitt’s defense will be much better in the rematch. And I expect a win.

@Dan72 “Pitt has lacked a real ball handler and quarterback since Knight left.”

I respectfully, but wholeheartedly disagree. I can make a strong argument that Levance Fields was a better point guard than BK. Carl Krauser was a winner that got a bad rap because he was forced to handle the ball too much. And Tray — when healthy — has been above average.

Pitt has been blessed with tough, hard nosed point guards during the Howland/Dixon era.

Loved the Huggie Bear commercial. Loved in a different way but very much the Pitt spot which highlights Pitt’s stature as a leading public research university and home to Rhodes, Fulbright and other world class scholarship winners. Love having Jamie Dixon as our coach. Don’t love “Franco Who”‘s attack of dishonesty with himself and everyone else. Paul Chryst is starting to look like someone we can love having as our coach. Don’t love the fact that I could not find anything on the P.G. or Trib’s web sites about Pitt’s new ranking. Hey four out of six ain’t bad for a Monday! H.T.P!

The Miller rant is absurdly old and cudos to the 412 for his words of wisdom. Props to SFPitt for telling the truth to Turf Toe Franco. GC said it way back “U think it’s easy to recruit at Pitt?” That’s an He-l NO! Weastern PA is wasteland for college basketball recruiting! So we’ll rip a man who maintains his contacts/ keeps his eyes open to recruit potentially the best basketball player to pull on the Pitt uniform from around the globe. Y Adams just ended up at the junction of the Three Rivers in a basket via the Nile. Jamie had nothin to do with it. I just want another BEast Regular Season Championship! Prowl Pitt! UPone

What is amazing to me is that Pitt has gone from having their worst defensive team in the last 15 years(last year)to probably their best defensive team since Buzz Ridl’s ameoba defense with Billy Knight. They are winning with defense and thus may be vulnerable in the tournament because they are offensively challenged. If only they could make a free throw and get Woodall to stop being a turnover machine they might go far.

Um, define “turnover machine.” Woodall has 52 turnovers on the year. That’s to 134 assists. Even in just conference games — 12 — Woodall has a grand total of 26 turnovers. Couple that with 59 assists and he is still at better than 2:1 A/TO in Big East play.

James Robinson, just for comparison is below 2:1 in Big East play. He has 33 assists to 17 turnovers in 12 conference games.

Definition of TURNOVER MACHINE
1: A device that produces an act or result of turning over : upset
2: A device that causes, a turning from one side, place, or direction to its opposite : shift, reversal
3: An Oven that makes a filled pastry made by folding half of the crust over the other half
4: the act or an instance of a team’s losing possession of a ball through error or a minor violation of the rules (as in basketball or football)

Examples of TURNOVER MACHINES
*Marquette University Basketball vs. Georgetown last night.

Marquette looked really bad last night, Georgetown had something to do with it. But they turned it over 19 times, which led to 24 G-town points.

Pitt will be favored on Saturday. The last game betweeen the two teams at the Pete, was ugly. Pitt missed 13 free throws. Woodall played about two minutes before leaving with a concussion. It was the worst officiated game I’ve seen at the Pete. Pitt took 20 3-point shots. And even with all of that, Pitt managed to get it to OT.

Pitt will be favored in EVERY game they play from now until the BE tourney. It will be interesting to see how they handle success. They have been getting better all season, a lot of that has do with the progression of Adams.

Woodall gets a bad rap on the turnovers. His statistics are good. But the perception is that he has a brain cramp at the most inopportune times. When he lets the game come to him (i hate that expression), he can be very productive.

Woodall and Patterson both played very well in the second half of the Cinci game. They made big plays, assists, rebounds and shots down the stretch. Their leadership (or lack thereof) is going to be the limiting factor in how far this team goes (well that and free throws, ugh). I worry that neither guy has the “clutch gene”. But confidence can go a long way, and this team seems to be feeling it. The two missed free throws were the only bad plays Woodall made in the second half.

Woodall is starting to trust Adams. Woodall has been hesitant (being nice) to give Kiwi Steve the rock in the post, but he continued to get it to him in the second half against Cinci. That should help with the rest of the team’s confidence in him.

Robinson absolutely does have the “clutch gene”. In the last Marquette game, Pitt was down by 3 with the ball with about 10 seconds left. They called a time out to set up a play. Robinson got the ball, fumbled it a little and it was going out of bounds. He grabbed the ball and quickly called a timeout. He seemed very calm, cool and collected. There was no panic at all in him. On the inbounds, Patterson got the ball and knocked down a 3 to send it to OT. And he makes clutch free throws.

I know it’s not quantifiable, but Woodall’s turnovers often seem to be of the “what were you thinking?” variety. (As in, why did you throw that difficult, 65-foot pass into press row, etc.) I think that, and the timeliness of them as Boubacar mentioned, lead people to inflate the numbers.

I love that Tray looks like he wants to be THE guy in clutch/late-game situations. As long as he’s not the ONLY guy (as he ended up being too often last season), I think it can only help.