The game is at 1:40. It’s on TBS. On the bright side, it isn’t a noon tip. The downside (for me) is picking up the kids from school roughly as the second half is getting underway.
Will Pitt be able to avoid yet another slow start to their game? They are definitely aware of it. I’m not sure that it makes a difference or not — the being aware of it part. The fact is, this Pitt team has started most of their games — win or lose — sluggishly. Fitfully. At this point in the year, it is hard not to shrug and acknowledge that this team doesn’t get off to good starts.
Dante Taylor got six stitches above his right eye from the Syracuse game last week. The eye is still a bit swollen, but he’s not missing the game.
As I noted before, the teams aren’t that different in style and emphasis.
“Except they’re maybe a little bit bigger,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. “They appear to be an inch or two bigger per man across the front line. Maybe our guys have grown an inch or two, but if it’s a mirror image I hope we stack up physically with them.”
I have to believe Lamar Patterson did not say this with a straight face.
“It should be an (up-tempo) pace, probably, because everyone has fresh legs to throw in there. So this should be a fun game.”
Of course Coach Jamie Dixon is bothered by the losses in the NCAA Tournament.
Know that smile Jamie Dixon will flash when he thinks a referee has butchered a call?
The one where his arms are folded, the head tilted a bit, the foot tapping, the skin seemingly going green as it’s about to burst through the suit seams … and yet his face somehow conveys sheer, unfettered joy, his every tooth showing and cheeks stretched like Christmas morning?
Well, as a public service to Pitt basketball fans, I’m here to break it to you (MEGA-SPOILER WARNING): It isn’t remotely real.
Yeah, you’re welcome.
But you know how I became sure?
As part of a good talk Dixon and I had shortly before the Panthers embarked for Utah, the coach flashed almost exactly that same smile upon my broaching the topic of his personal history in the NCAA Tournament.
No surprise. Dixon is not addressing the USC wants to hire him rumors.
“I guess it’s the time of year,” he said. “We don’t talk about other jobs. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. We’re used to it, I guess. And it happens to everybody, I think, this time of the year. It’s speculation, I guess, so I don’t give it much thought.”
Hopefully there will be more games to play to avoid any talk about the issue for a couple weeks.
If anyone needs a link…keep this in site here only…not for ESPN boards.
I still think the most likely scenario is Dixon gets a huge raise and is given complete control over basketball schedule and can schedule whoever he wants.
http://panthersprey.blogspot.com/2013/03/dixon-does-have-strong-interest-in-usc.html#comment-form
Losing this game could put Dixon in the mood for a change in scenery and recruiting base….not to put too much pressure on everybody today (cough).
Unlikely candidate that I’m rooting for, Taylor. He should be able to get some opportunities in transition. Pitt needs him to board. A double double is possible.
A spark off the bench is just what they need to get the fire started. Pitt gets a lead, it will be hard for WSU to come back, as long as Woodall, Robinson and Patterson make some FT’s.
But anyway… Let’s Go Pitt!
Bad omen.
Why not back-door?
I just keep telling myself…survive and advance…survive and advance…
They’ll shoot better and we’ll turnover less.
But damn I’m nervous.
The horror……the horror….the horror
Woodie taking a 30 foot 3 point attempt
Oy Vey !!!
not shooting well. they’ve had some decent looks but their shooting it tight. Most of the misses are short. WSU shooting even worse. They’re not crisp in their sets at all and ball movement is tentative. WSU is a good defensive team but Pitt’s making it look too easy. Pretty evenly matched game with neither side impressing.
Everyyear they play tight as a drum.
I really attribute this to the lack of playing time this month. They feel flat because of the delay that they’ve had, they need to get it up, and make smart decisions.
Teams are a reflection of their coach. He needs to sit down and chill, instead of constantly being up flittering around.
Tired of watching the team stall and nothing done to shake things up. Moore is the only one who has looked like he has an offensive pulse, aside from a few decent plays by Taylor, and he sits the last 5 minutes. No zone, maybe a light half-court press, no attempt to push tempo on a defensive rebound. Nothing to try to alter the pace or momentum.
They may still win this. Dixon may make adjustments at half, but is there a reason you have to wait ’til half time to do it??!!
Hopefully Woodall shakes out of his funk and Patterson gets aggressive. I wouldn’t even mind seeing more Zeigler, somebody try to get the hoop.
A loss in this game is unacceptable in my view and would make me not weep were Dixon to be offered and take the USC job. Underachieving, and doing it in such spectacular fashion, is just unacceptable any longer. He needs to step up and he needs to get his team to step up.
I’ve always been a huge Dixon fan. We go to NCAA tournaments 10 out the last 11 years, won a couple BE regular seasons and tournaments, consistently win games each year, were ranked #1 a few years back …but there is something missing in our style of basketball in tournament play? Howland has the same issue and he is probably out. Tom Izzo does not. Mich St. always plays well in the tournament. Is it the players we have? The game plan? The in game decision making of the coaches? The type of basketball we play? The player development or lack there of?
I’m not sure what I want any more but I’m not sure I want this?
We need more possessions not less, since this team is lousy shooting.
How you get more possessions is change the snail’s pace to maybe that of a at least a duck.
And how do get more possessions, you have to create turnovers. Maybe a light press just to see how WSU reacts. You never know unless you try these things. Prolly too late this season.
So far Pitt has missed way too many easy shots and has made some really bad passes. They need to settle down and play Pitt basketball in the 2nd half.
Probably will win but why bother, not going anywhere. Need new coaching blood whether HC or assistants, something needs to change.
that is 28% FG.
How in the hell are we losing to a team shooting 28% ????
they are 1 for 14 from 3 ….7% lol
And they’re still winning !
If Woodall doesn’t get it together his career is over. No pressure.
Dixon needs to bench Woodie until the last 2 minutes….
other.
Slow and steady does well in a 2.5 month drawn out season but it doesnt satisfy you during march madness with elite competition.
On a side note: Woodall is struggling terribly.
v
Doesn’t put any pressure on the other team at all.
All the pressure is on us to match their baskets.
Blair – Put the ball in the Basket
Chevy – Put the ball in th Basket
Wannamaker – Put the ball in the basket
Nas – Put the ball in the basket eh maybe not
to we’re ever he came. How could he be a
Tip. 100 recruit coming out if HS?
Dixon isn’t leaving (nor should he) so not going to waste time with those comments.
Everyone have a great summer..I’ll chat with ya all around Labor Day. Can’t wait for that Monday night game.
We never test ourselves by playing outside our comfort zone.
When we have to play outside our comfort zone, we are pussies.
Today we are pussies.
In college hoops coaches control out of conference games.
Jamie always pussies out.
Watching Pitt play in the tourney is like watching some mild mannered prisoner get raped in prison.
Next year, just don’t accept an invite if you are offered.
That way America won’t have to watch you get gang banged.
Losses in November are quickly forgotten.
Those in March define you.
Pitt/Dixon= losers of the highest order.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fire-Jamie-Dixon-Now/197027150329706
Worst NCAA game ever, How’s that for my resume.
Oh if its a guarantee to win 20 games every year then why doesn’t every BCS school do that? Why doesn’t Depaul they sure spend a lot of money and they are in a huge market.
WOW!
On the bright side:
Next year, big improvements from (I believe) Adams, Robinson, Wright, and Johnson.
Addition by subtraction of Woodall, and the replacement of Woodall and Taylor by Newkirk and Young.
We didn’t make the NCAAs last year.
Next year, we make a good run.
There has to be more than just making the tourney. this program has been unable to play remotely up to, let alone exceed, expectations. at some point you have to look at Dixon and ask WTF? Previous poster is right — he’s the only constant here
we will rise to great hights. it is not over.
Best of luck Jamie at USC.
This team hasn’t been very good all season. A couple of fluke wins do not a season make. Other than LVille, a weak year for the BE.
Supposed to build on what you have not stagnate. Has never had a good offensive team. Needs to somehow find a balance of D and O. He just doesn’t have it.
I see the servers are down at ESPN….they were down here too for awhile. Pitt is blowing up everything today.
I really feel sorry for Woodall to end his career this way…
Just call me out. 18 points.
Out everythinged. No heart.
I assure you, my metaphor is nothing that their peers don’t call them.
Vulgar? Of course it is. That it is true is sad.
Oh wait, we lost by 18.
California taxes will be over 50%.
The LA cost of living is at least twice what Pittsburgh’s is.
Still, maybe change is good.
peace brothers at least we got here
I suspected they would lose today because of the aforementioned. Therefore I am not surprised but at lest Sleepy and Tra are not here next year and Newkirk, Young and possibly Severe or another 2 guard scorer can come in this years class. Also Steve and JR will have one year under their belts and will work their tales off during the off-season. Also have heard good things on Chris Jones
While it is downer they lost this game,I really think next year’s team will be better. T
This will never happen with SP who is content with the current staff and top 68 every year. More of the same, more of the same over and over again.
I’m not a Kool Aide drinker. I don’t think Dixon is the greatest coach ever. If you pay attention, I’m critical of him when it warrants it. I always say how he needs to run more and pressure the ball more. I also always say I don’t like his obsession with D to the point that it ruins the O. And I’ll never say that Dixon is the greatest coach. He’s really good. How many NCAA tournaments did Pitt make before 2001? Barely any. So if you change coaches history suggests that more likely than not the program will take a step back into being bad if he leaves. There is absolutely no guarantee a guy like Shaka or Sean Miller is walking through the door next. And knowing Steve Pederson, we would probably get retread guy like Herb Sendeck or Seth Greenberg, both guys who as coach make the tournament a lot less often and haven’t done anything in the tournament. So yeah, call me a Kool Aide drinker if I’d take the known of 20 win seasons with constant NCAA tournaments over the likely alternative of occasional NCAA tournaments and losing seasons. I mean some of you guys still harp on the firing of Wanny who wasn’t nearly as successful.
So Dixon had a wry smile when seeding was announced dud he?
I predict he goes to USC. He won’t take Pitt any higher.
Sandal on the radio just called Pitt “passive”. That means pussy but he can’t say it.
I think somebody said at halftime….well they can’t play worse in the 2nd half.
Guess what,…..we were far worse, cause their defense wilted, gave up 50 points in the 2nd half.
Also, I’m really starting to question this methodical, half-court offense. I think some modification needs to be made–when it fails, it’s catastrophic.
I disagree with you. The players you mentioned are both of age and today, they were just as I described them.
If you listen to coach Sandal, he is saying the same thing I am.
He has used the word “passive” more than 5 times
These players come from the playground and I assure you the word “passive” is not in their vocabulary. The word I use is.
Did it even create one turnover.
It was embarrassing they were pressing us with a 13 to 15 point lead.
I like Coach, but his teams are too easy to defend. Especially against other Top 50 teams.
We are a one trick pony. We play tough defense most of the time and out energize the other team.
When that is equaled be the other team(and in one & dones it usually will be), Coach has no other tricks, schemes or anything that would give us an edge.
Although I’m not for bringing Howland back, he taught Dixon how to coach.
I don’t agree with everything that Dixon does, for one I think that he should schedule more like Izzo than Boeheim because to be the best, you should beat the best, but he has taken Pitt basketball further than any of his predecessors and has made them one of the top programs in Division I even without recruiting NBA level talent…
I for one hope that he doesn’t leave, but if he should, I hope that we don’t rue the day that he does…
EMel, Howland is definitely a better game coach than Dixon. Howland would be the best coach with BCS experience that they could get.
They came out of the locker room after halftime and just blew Pitt off the court.
And like the announcers said Marshall lost 4 starters off his team last year.
You can tell in the tournament who can really coach and who can’t. Because the talent level is about equal. Actually Pitt had much higher ranked players than WSU. They are just not being used properly, being played out of position, etc.
breathe deep my friend.
Myself I picked a bad week to give up drinking.
I’m tired of Jamie’s excuses. Hell boys let’s just run faster.
But I’m really tired of this style of half court mess. And he would just continue that.
Plus he’s not going to be able to recruit like he did at UCLA, just because they’re UCLA and we’re not.
Ben is getting run out of town mostly because ppl can’t stomach to watch his teams play. Games are very ugly, similar to Pitt.
Sorry for Woodall, but he did not play like a senior today. I said all year, we are only as good as he and Patterson, they both stunk today. We stunk today.
This game was the definition of CHOKE.
One criticism of Jamie that I agree with, he does not make adjustments. He went with the same rotation, even after Taylor and Moore looked ready to play and Woodall, Patterson and Zanna did not.
I see no upside to Zeigler whatsoever.
The number of unforced turnovers was unbelievable.
Did Moore take a 3 today? Too many round pegs in square holes.
ditto
http://panthersprey.blogspot.com/2013/03/dixon-does-have-strong-interest-in-usc.html#comment-form
Wichita state lost 4 players from last years team. They can reload quicker and better than us?
Today is not the day to defend the coach. HIS players were unprepared, HIS players played uninspired. The buck stops with HIM. HE makes millions of dollars to puut a competitive team on the floor. Today, when it counted. HE .failed in his job. If HE was a volunteer coach I would agree with you but HE’S the one getting paid, not the players. Hence, HE is responsible for this utter failure.
I’m grateful for everything that he has done, but it’s time for a change.
Pacific, Butler, Wichita St, Kent St, Nova, etc…what is the common denominator? DIXON!!!
on a cbs site.
1. Adams is a lottery pick if goes out this year
2. Adams is a warroir he is certainly not soft.
3. Adams is a monster inside he’s unstoppable
This brought on his obvious question that has been obvious all year with the exception of Robison the lack of talent on this team.
Why isn;t Adams the focus of the offense and why does he sit out so much when he is not in foul trouble
If you ever wondered why it takes 15 shots for Woodall to make four watch his realse there is absolutely no rotation on his ball.
As for his master at turning over the ball I would attribute that to Dixon’s poor recruiting that a team with Pitt’s record (inflate though it is) cannot recruit a decent guard (brabdon Knight needs to be fired).
Dixon 10 man rotation playing players like Durand Johnson, Wright, althogh I see not much better among the others never did help it hurt continuity.
Taylor and Adams should have each played 30 minutes at the same time to take advantage of our assest in this game going inside.
Have Robinson get the ball inside and let them hammer the boards.
Dixon’s idea was better, bring in the DII shooter D. Johnson and let him throw line drives at the backboard.
Dixon’s apparent need to bring Adams along slowly was the biggest mistake. If you get lucky (he will never be able to recruit someone like Adams) you run with that thoughbred and let him know you expect mistakes but he is the man not Tray Woodall.
Adams showed today when his teamates would allow him in the game that he is the only player on the team who can control the game.
I hope Young can step in as a freshman because Zanna is terrible.
Adams should go NBA, but if he stays they one dominant player and a solid guard.Hopefully Young can give them a third player.
Perhaps Dixon might use Adams next year.
Dixon’s inability to suceed in NCAA in my opinion reflects on the fact that he has not been able to recruit a shooting guard and he offensive schemes are predictable and rely on the wrong players.
At the end of the first half with Pitt’s ball with 20 seconds I was stunned that Woodall got the ball dribbled around for 14 seconds and shot a fall away 3. It could have been Fields, Kruaser,et.al., the only play Dixon runs-give to the senior guard do not pass ball take any shot even though you are a terrible outside shooter.
And we lose by 19. that says it all
Add Wichita State another mid-major to:
Kent State
Pacific
Bradley
(I’m getting sick)
Butler
Xavier
How we lost that game was incredible. Losing was not unimaginable, but we just went through the motions as if it were an exhibition game.
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=141&f=2456
Dixon’s time is over now…..bye…
The last couple of staffs have been worthless except for running practices I suppose.
They are ALL “yes” men. That is ok if you’re a great in-game coach. Jaime is not.
But the staff is Jamie’s responsibility.
Sayonara Boy is not there….it’s going great !!!
We’ve also lost in recent years to Mich St and UCLA — good teams but neither was anything special.
The upside to all this: my bracket looks really good right now.
It was ok at first with Ben since Pitt had been down for awhile, but it is an incredibly ugly style of basketball and quite boring to watch.
Might be a reason why there are so many no shows at the Pete over the last several seasons, even for BigEast conf. games.
Tony Bennett has brought it with him from Washington State and UVA are really ugly games to watch as well. And I don’t.
I apologize to all of you who have put up with me all season.
On to Labor Day and FSU.
spiritofsection22
With a great head coach we win it all with Blair & Fields and get to the final four with Brad & Gary. The program at Pitt has peaked under Dixon, he cannot win out of his comfort zone even if he has the better team. Howland is not the answer.
Agree Old School.
The program has plateaued. Dixon/Howland helped put Pitt back on the bball map. Very much appreciated. That style of coaching is not going to get us beyond early flameouts. As you’re not going to be able to bring the elite players in to beat other equally or more talented teams.
Actually we’re losing to lesser talented teams.
Wichita State doesn’t have better players than us contrary to what Smizik or others are writing.
What do they have is; these teams play with more confidence than Pitt and that is on the coach too.
This style of play causes players to play very tentative, as in they make a mistake and immediately are yanked from the game. And after a while that effects your confidence.
The lesser talented players might respond to this, but the more talented players do not, for the most part. EVen Sam Young wanted out of Pitt after his sophomore year. Had Huggins stayed at K-State, he was gone. Only Huggins moving back to WVcc saved that from happening. And without Young we never make the Elite 8 that year, probably don’t even make the Round of 32.
I want a Final 4 and a more exciting style of play.
In my opinion, Pitt needs to go out and get a young proven coach who is a great recruiter, who has an exciting style of play, and who is willing to let his players play but stay out of trouble and attend class.
I can think of at least 3 replacements and yes Shaka is one of them and yes our AD is a reason why those types of coaches will be hesitant to come here.
No player who can score and has any brains at all will come to Pitt now. The reputation of flaming out in March is cemented in the minds of everyone who follows BB.
This is one of the main reasons why Dixon has got to go….should be interesting to see what Newkirk & Young do now. Neither guy is signed…
I don’t want that clown being in charge of hiring a janitor let alone a new bball coach.
Double Yike’s !
H2P! ????
They will prolly play much better against Wichita who isn’t a good shooting team.
They beat us by 18 even though they shot 2 for 20 from 3 = 10% and 38% FG
That really tells you just how pathetic we played today. Had WSU shot say 25% from 3 they would have won by 30.
zeise has done it again in his zeise out loud
the head line is awful just awful wtchita pounda
pitt.
it wont let me in to read it may be you can get in.
Sad day for Pitt
1 Jamie goes to USC
2 Adams goes Pro
3 Pederson recruits his man
He coached like Pitt was way ahead and cruising, which clearly we weren’t.
Something fishy. And it’s not all on the players. Pitt wasn’t ready to go, and didn’t care that we weren’t ready to go, even the guys on the sidelines.
I honestly don’t get it.
You are exactly right sir.
Playing defense is about intensity level.
Now… during the regular season Pitt has been able to play with more intensity than most other teams. (ie, like the Uconn’s & the Cuse’s)
However in one & done games, those teams usually ratchet up their level of intensity on defense.
Which then in turn, negates Pitt’s biggest advantage. Rebounding is another area that is dependent upon intensity.
So with the intensity matched by your opponent in both defense & rebounding (because these are now one & done games), the games are won with who has the better offense.
And other than the Young/Blair team we have not had the offensive elite players or they haven’t been put in the best position to succeed with with the halfcourt sets to beat even teams with average players. Add in the fact we don’t produce many turnovers since we don’t really play an aggressive type of defense that produces turnovers, nor do we press.
As more often than not if you look back the defense has not kept anyone below 60 points, they all have scored over 70 points in most of the losses. (u can throw out the UCLA & MSU games since opposing coach also coached crawl ball)
Butler – 71
Xavier – 71
Villanova – 78
MSU – 65
UCLA – 64
Bradley – 72
Pacific – 79
OK State – 63
Marquette – 77
Kent State – 78
What this tells you is Pitt’s defense while good in the regular seasons of these years, just like this year. Isn’t what it’s cracked up to be in a One & Done game against even talent or better talent or even lesser talent teams. When those teams play with the same or more intensity of Pitt. Dixon/Howland success in coaching is dependent upon more intensity or outworking the other team in the regular season. In one & done games, that doesn’t work since other teams know if they match the intensity of Pitt they can win.
We had two (2) WSU players today who both ONLY averaged 13 ppg …..BOTH went off for over 20 points today. Despite the defensive regular season stats, we had no defensive stopper to stop either one.
Is it too late to buy our way into the CBI?
If Dixon isn’t thinking about Southern Cal, he should be. I fear that this stunner today may have killed his chances for any school with even a semi-conscious AD. Which, of course, means Pitt will roll out the red carpet when he returns from Salt Lake City, and match his salary offer.
I used up all of the adjectives to describe a performance like today during the Wannstedt years, the 30 point loss at home to Rutgers last year, and the Notre Dame loss at the Pete this year. So all I can say now is – thanks, for living up to our expectations. And Jamie – don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.
I’ve used up my PG plus freebies. Can’t get in either.
Perhaps someone can copy & paste the whole thing on here.
I wanted to wait a bit and read all the comments before I made mine.
First, I knew we were in trouble when I saw the Vegas line down to 3.5 today. Serious gamblers do not make mistakes.
My first comment…THIS HAS TO STOP! NO MORE!
We are a national embarrassment as a team in the NCAA’s and it is not going to change under this coaching staff. Results and stats do not lie.
I said yesterday that Pitt had no chance at all to win this game because WSU has one thing (OK many things) Pitt does not have. They have 3-4 quick talented quards against our one, Robinson.
Woodall as he has proven for 5 years is a slow methodical guard who sometimes can hit open threes. That’s it. Another way to look at today’s utter failure is this way:
Zanna – a joke as a playmaker/ no offensive talent at all – would be a 7 or 8 player on any other D1 top 30 team.
Patterson – a small forward playing guard, No quickness, no ability to create. Hits an occasional three
Durrand, Wright, Moore and the balance of this class could not even sit on the bench for another top 20 team.
So with that, it is amazing that Dixon and staff have gotten this many wins out of Pitt.
Folks, we need a change at the top. Today’s (and see past 6 NCAAt trips..results are no accident.
My understanding is that Jamie has been offered the USC job and I think he should take it.
For once, FRANKCAN I agree with you. It’s Miller time!
Hail to Pitt….tomorrow’s another day.
Jamie Dixon excited about coaching Pitt next season
I can only hope it’s an old article…
The horse is dead so I don’t know why I should keep beating it but I will try….
Pitt just got clobbered by Wichita State — 73-55 — in the first, errrrrr second, round of the NCAA Tournament and this game smelled and looked a lot like many other of Pitt’s season-ending losses….
1.) Pitt has nobody who can create offense so when the “let’s burn clock and dribble at half court for 27 seconds” offense breaks down they end up getting bad shots at the end of the shot clock.
2.) Pitt’s guards are generally undersized and generally not overly athletic and they get exposed by more athletic or bigger guards in the tournament.
3.) Jamie Dixon’s philosophy is sound – you need to defend to win TO A POINT — but you also need guys who can score and you also need to run good offense in order to score. The handcuffs on this team are apparent, guys are not allowed to play basketball here – this team could have gone up and down and won games and been better and scored more and that’s how the game is played in the offseason.
4.) I was being half-sarcastic – only half – though on Twitter when I said Dixon would tell Seth Curry and Kemba Walker to go elsewhere — but the bottom line is it is true that he does not value offensive players and scorers and shooters nearly enough. When was the last time Pitt had a dominant offensive player? I can’t think of one during this run – Brandon Knight was close, Sam Young worked his way into a much better player than he was when he was recruited — other than that? You need guys who can score.
5.) The “we have a ten-man rotation” is always doomed to fail in the NCAA Tournament. You know why? Because teams keep their best five players on the court in one-and-done basketball situations and don’t sub unless they absolutely need a blow. And if your 8,9 and 10 guys are not different than your 3,4,5 guys, that is a real problem. Don’t believe me? Find me teams who have a true 10-man (or even 9-man) rotation that have won national titles or even got to Final Four. Most teams have 7 or 8 play the bulk of the minutes.
6.) Jamie Dixon is a good coach but this will continue to happen to Pitt unless he rethinks some things — A) Needs to value shooting and shooters more B) Needs to recruit skilled guys and let them be skilled guys and C) he needs to take some of the handcuffs off of his offensive players and stop trying to micromanage every possession. Guys need to play, they need to be allowed to create and score and bouncing the ball for 27 seconds doesn’t make you a good or efficient offensive team – it just limits possessions and keeps scores down so you can brag about defensive numbers.
7.) I laughed when people told me Pitt was going to beat Gonzaga. Do you really think a team as bad offensively as Pitt had a prayer against the Zags, who are one of the best offensive teams in the field? Think about this – WVU under Bob Huggins has been a “defensive team” and last year had a very good defensive team – and I watched the Zags carve them like a Thanksgiving turkey at Consol. You have to be able to score or you can’t win, period. That’s is just how the game is played.
8) It isn’t just Pitt – the game has been hijacked by a lot of bad offensive teams who have gone the route of “it is easier to muck up games, make them slow and ugly and grind out wins than recruit and develop skill” and the NCAA needs to address this or the game is in trouble. Look at some of the scores of these games today – it is awful basketball. I don’t mind great defense, I do mind awful offense and I also mind this “let’s burn 25 seconds every possession” mentality.
9) This game was not a fluke. The two best players on the court were in Wichita State uniforms and frankly, I think the third best player may have been as well. These teams could play 10 times and Wichita State would win 7 or 8 — they are grinders just like Pitt, they rebound hard like Pitt — and they also have better offensive players than Pitt and that was the difference.
You might be on to something. For it surely was a lackluster performance. But you’d still think for Sleepy & Woodie’s last game he’d have the team going full tilt.
After getting only 42 minutes against Cuse, the bench got 72 minutes of play today.
With Durand Durand getting his most minutes of the year I believe at 19 and Wright getting his most minutes in several weeks.
Why Zeigler was out there at all was mind boggling since he hasn’t shown a thing for about 6 weeks.
The bench btw scored 20 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 72 minutes. Not exactly awe inspiring.
Thanks for posting that.
Me thinks Zeise is reading some of our bloggers.
Never was a Woodall fan, but today was awful, I hope there is a guard coming in the can shoot and penetrate, no one on this team could
is team could.
Oughtbto send Zanna to boot camp
What’s there to talk about.
Glad you made it home in one piece guy.
Gotta say I’m not looking forward to another year of Zanna playing many minutes.
We finished 4 wins 8 losses against Top 50 schools
Not very good, not even .500
This teams better moments of the year was when Dixon let them play against Georgetown and DePaul twice. Ppl will say DePaul stunk and they did but they did take ND twice into overtime, led the BigEast in scoring and lost by a closer score to Wichita than we did.
I’d rather see us lose in an uptempo game, seeing some dunking and Adams trailing the play and beating his guy upcourt like in those games than this plodding boring manipulated halfcourt wrestling match with a bunch of players who can’t create their own shots if they’re life depended on it.
USC is really hungry for a winner, let them fall asleep watching those halfcourt snooze fests.
I’ve had enough as well.
Hail to Pitt !
Veritas et Virtus !
I guess we really are a football school afterall !
Cannot remember being this down even after Nova. While I did not think we could win today, especially if we fell behind by 7 or more, I did not think we would be the “laughing stock” of the day in the NCAA’s again. And Pitt is the biggest embarrassment in the NCAA’s over the last 9 years.
My great problem with a coaching change, (and we need one badly)is that Mr. Competent “Pederson” will again lead the group making the change…and we all know his record in that department.
Why not make it a clean sweep and send Pederson packing also.
Dokish says that Miller has no interest in returning to “that situation” at Pitt. So it’s the Robert Morris coach, or the Bucknell coach or B. Knight who is our assistant now.
Still, I think it is time for a change.
History leaves clues. These results (especially today) are no accident.
Instead of debating whether we are a basketball school, football school, or ‘wrasslin school, how about we call ourselves a “smart school” from now on because that’s about all we are at this point.
Somewhere Nordy and Steve are smiling because this is what they wanted all along!
I kind of said that ‘tongue in cheek’ about us being a football school. You know.
I mean who knows about that Head Coach as well.
It I was betting on Pitt in football, I’d prolly bet we’re going to shit the bed against that schedule this year. Too many if’s is never good.
I know what you meant. I know one thing that’s not an if: we definitely have the most poorly run athletic department in the country, no denying that.
i know i should be happy that we win 20 games a year
and that should be enough.
but i have to tell the truth it is boring .
and i dont have a good time watching the games any more.
do you think i am nuts. should we want more or
should we just shut up and say it could be worse
and live with it the way it is.
Pittsburgh consistently is rated as one of the better cities in America to live by various magazines that do that stuff.
If I had the choice I would choose Pittsburgh in a heartbeat.
But they would have to ‘retire” Stevie Cornhole for me to make the switch. So hopefully Sean will insist on that !!
Why so bad today? Who the hell knows. I think Pitt came out tight and nervous and then when the second half did not begin well they cracked mentally. I do know that Pitt has played some its worst games in the Dixon era in the tourney. Teams reflect coaches personalities. Dixon uptight = team uptight.
Lots of blame on here for Dixon and his “system”. Maybe. I think he deserves more blame for not preparing his team mentally, and then not being able to rescue them mid-game. Maybe a Mike Bray technical was in order; maybe a Bobby Knight pull all 5 off the floor at once. Maybe a “just play ball” directive. Maybe a “lets run when the chance is there”, as Emel has called for time and again. Maybe call out a couple guys (Woodall, Patterson) to provide some leadership. Pitt needed a kick in the ass today. Jamie didn’t provide it. That’s why they lost.
Read some UCLA blogs…they feel the same way.
Grinding bball teams are very boring and are devolving the game into pre-1950′s garbage.
Had this been the way bball was played in the 1970′s college basketball would have never become the popular tv sport it has become and March Madness wouldn’t be much.
NCAA needs to do something for the good of the game as Zeise noted in his column.
Look at stats. wonder if Jamie used to much Vaseoline in his hair today.
Adams 27 mins. only 2 fouls, 13 points, 8 on his own no help from teamates and 11 rebounds against double and tripled teamed on offensive boards after shot release. 38 minutes to 40 he is 19 years old and he showed no sense of fatigue. (forgot about 10 man rotation rule). Adams presscence always reduces opponents points 8-10 per game, if he plays.
D. Johnson – should not ever leave bench played an incredible 19 minutes shot 1-5 and contributed 4 fouls.
The major coaching labotomy. Woodall 30 minutes, thank God he is a senior, 30 minutes, shotting 1-12, who lets someone in the game who shots 12 shots and hits one and adds 5 turnovers.
This equals modestly 15 points to Wichata State.
Play Moore at 2 guard for God sake.
Sit woodall after first half.
Play Adams until he drops and tell players who do not get the ball to him they sit.
He fouls out
Look at stats. wonder if Jamie used to much Vaseoline in his hair today.
Adams 27 mins. only 2 fouls, 13 points, 8 on his own no help from teamates and 11 rebounds against double and tripled teamed on offensive boards after shot release. 38 minutes to 40 he is 19 years old and he showed no sense of fatigue. (forgot about 10 man rotation rule). Adams presscence always reduces opponents points 8-10 per game, if he plays.
D. Johnson – should not ever leave bench played an incredible 19 minutes shot 1-5 and contributed 4 fouls.
The major coaching labotomy. Woodall 30 minutes, thank God he is a senior, 30 minutes, shotting 1-12, who lets someone in the game who shots 12 shots and hits one and adds 5 turnovers.
This equals modestly 15 points to Wichata State.
Play Moore at 2 guard for God sake.
Sit woodall after first half.
Play Adams until he drops and tell players who do not get the ball to him they sit.
He fouls out Carl.
The reason Adams production on paper has not met expectations is first the offense is not design inside out or him as an option. It is outside out.
Second you only have to watch one film to seee that although Pitt is a terrible outside shooting team they do not try to get the ball inside. They dribble or pass the ball around perimeter until shot clock is at 10. Easy to defense since the guards and forwards do not look inside to a 7′ monster at center you play tigh man to man on the perimeter and contest the known coming perimeter shot.
I do not think any one on the blog despite how much they respecy Dixon as a coach, and
in usc job and this time it is not all talk
he just might take it and go.
i dont think i want ben back it would be the same
boring BB then dont you think if ucla lets him go do you want him or some young gun,
You’re right. As I noted on previous post Wichita shot only 38% FG ….pretty bad right.
From 3….they were a horrid 2 for 20 ..10%
Of course Pitt was worse at 35% FG
And from 3 and unbelievable 1 for 17 or 6%
However in the 1rst half, they had a chance when Wichita was shooting only 23% and we took one lead of I think, 2- 3 points. That was it.
After that point we never had a lead, never put much pressure on them and they played the whole game from ahead.
And then at the 7 minute mark Pitt was still onlv down by 7 points, yet went into the tank from that point to the bitter end. It was thoroughly disgusting to watch. They never made a run, that press was pathetic as the announcers noted that the back line of Pitt’s press was playing way too far back and not in position to rotate up to intercept any passes and get a much needed turnover.
As I thought all along, Dixon has no clue on how to teach a press. It took us 8 years of prodding to get him to play a little 2-3 zone. And they still don’t play that zone properly. And if I never see another 7 foot defender defending off a high ball screen 30 feet from the hoop, it won’t be too soon. That is the most ridiculous way to use a 7 footer I’ve ever seen. You’re basically taking him ‘out of the play’.
Any of the good teams will pick that defense apart on high ball screens in a one & done game.
I can still see Gary McGhee getting caught trying to guard Kemba Walker, one on one, 25 feet from the hoop.
So true and this needs to change!!!
If you bring back Howland, it’s the same halfcourt crap as Dixon.
Plus how do you bring back someone who bailed on you ??
I know they did the same thing with Pederson as far as bringing him back(that’s been a wonderful experience huh) and Pederson and Howland are still buds.
His reputation at Pitt is carved in stone and it ain’t good.
Pitt will slowly get worse and if Dixon is to make the most of his career, he needs a change of scenery.
He will fair better than Pitt. But Pitt can’t keep him either.
Face facts, Pitt is the laughingstock of college basketball. PSU stinks but choking is perceived to be worse.
I tend to agree.
The downside for Pitt is Cyanide Stevie.
HIS coaching hires since Howland are below average to worse. Callahan, Haywood, Graham, beranato.
Ohio State just fired their head womens coach because he missed the NCAA for the first time in years..because he underachieved.
Time for Pitt to divorce itself from Dixon, Agnes and Cyanide Steve.
But it won’t and the groundhog day experience of unfulfilled potential will go on and on and on and on ….
32-20 at halftime.
Final…81-64
Never let Belmont think they could win.
How does Beranato keep her job ?
I’ve quit watching pro sports.
Maybe college is next.
+1
Goodbye Nordy, Cochran, Pedersen, and…..Dixon
Yea I’ve noticed on Tv. The rest of place is a snoozefest.
Actually ESPN does a good job talking up the Pete it really isn’t that loud compared to other places anymore.
It took us a whole frickin half to score 21.
VCU 21
Akron 9
And Miller – I don’t think he has any particular fascination with coming back to Pitt and working for Steverino. Who would. But it is a chance to coach in the ACC, which will be, for years to come, the first or second best basketball conference in the country. The Pac 10! will never be that.
But honestly, I would take even Mike Rice as an upgrade over this crap.
I’m wary of who Nordy and SP would pick as a replacement. Then again I don’t have to worry about that because they will give Dixon at least 2 more years. He gives them a clean and somewhat respectable program and that’s really all they want as academics is they’re only priority.
We do have 3 Top 100 HS players on the roster.
1) Adams
2) Robinson
3) Zeigler
All of these guys were heavily recruited by all the top programs.
None of them seem to fit in very well with Dixon’s system. As did neither Top 100 and McDonald’s All-Americans Dante Taylor and Khem Birch.
Moore & Patterson were solid 3 and half star players coming out of HS. Woodall come out the HS National Champions that year at St. Anthony’s and was a key contributor.
Almost doubling their score 32-17 8 minute mark
if ben leaves ucla it looks like he might.
Total 3-point Rebounds
## Player p fgm-fga fgm-fga ftm-fta off-def tot pf tp a to blk stl min
21 Patterson, Lamar f 1-7 0-4 7-7 0-0 0 5 9 2 3 0 1 21
42 Zanna, Talib f 1-4 0-0 2-4 4-3 7 2 4 0 1 0 0 20
13 Adams, Steven c 5-7 0-0 3-4 3-8 11 2 13 1 1 2 1 27
00 Robinson, James g 2-7 0-3 3-3 0-1 1 4 7 3 2 0 1 30
01 Woodall, Tray g 1-12 0-5 0-0 1-4 5 5 2 1 5 0 0 30
03 Wright, Cameron – 3-4 0-0 0-0 1-0 1 2 6 0 0 0 1 14
05 Johnson, Durand – 1-5 1-3 0-0 0-1 1 4 3 0 0 1 0 19
11 Taylor, Dante – 2-3 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 1 5 1 1 1 0 13
23 Zeigler, Trey – 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 6
44 Moore, J.J. – 3-5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 6 0 0 0 1 20
TM TEAM – – – – 2-2 4 – – – – – – –
Looking at the statistics it is obvious the poor coaching in this game.
First Pitts advantage was height Adams who could foul ou their best player. However Dixon stuck with the same offense, Adams as last resort so the defense could play the perimeter tight not having to worry about inside entry passes to a 7′ athletic center whose offense production is a direct result of non-use “the guy is a monster I do not understand why they do not use him {color commentator].
Adamas played only 27 minutes had only 2 fouls and was not fatigued scored 13 points with 11 rebounds as a role player.
Woodall 30 minutes 1-12, 5 turnovers (should have limited to 10 minutes.
D. “shot the brick from anywhere” Johnson 17 minutes 1-5, 5 fouls.
Wright 14 minutes 3-4 should have played instead of Woodall.
Moore instead of Patterson.
Most importantly a good coach adapts to the his advantage (Adams) and changes during the game as players perform or fall apart.
I am not a Dixon hater but I think it is obvious he is not a good game coach or offensive coach. He needs to hire a coach to run the offense.
He needs to recruit better guards like Robinson, preferably shooting guards.
Last he should of built the offense around Adams from game one instead of bringing a 7′ basketball marvel along too slowly. Only Adams was going to take Pitt anywhere and he did simply playing part time with his defense.
He may have taken us further if Dixon would have ebcouraged him offensively from game one, someone with the talent to handle Noels and others, so that by March his confidence at the offensive end would match his defensive presence.
You want to hang your hat on an EWL wrestling streak be my guest, but that too is gone. If Pitt can’t beat Edinboro and Cleveland State et al, then it should be ashamed.
I am more persuaded by our performances in football (sad), mens basketball (national choke artist), women’s basketball (doormat), swimming (looked at the Trees pool records? Ever? Pitt doesn’t hold one single pool record and team records are mostly from the 90′s and early 2000′s), soccer, etc
Our athletic department stinks. Basketball has been our shining star, but with the diminished returns, all if our warts are exposed.
There are alot of people on the Pitt welfare system collecting paychecks inside the Athletic Department.
But hey, maybe you’re right. After all, someone has to lose: we can’t all be winners can we?
So be satisfied with perennial losing if you like, just don’t damn those of us who think the school we love deserves mire than it gets from the people it pays.
HTP!!!
Pitt has been recognized as a world class university, and rightly so. So has Duke, Wisconsin, and a few others that seem to do quite well athletically, and with coaches that do not cheat, on the court or off. There is no reason why excellence cannot carry over into the athletic department. No reason outside of the current AD, I mean.
That’s my biggest beef. Look how Southern U played the Zags today….I will NOT accept this kind of gutless trash from my Pitt teams! I’m sick of it!
My guess is you’re a loyal Pirates fan too…
Pitt’s March BB is now the laughing stock of America and it’s been permanently cemented in the minds of every America BB fan and sports writer. I can’t even show myself on the ESPN blogs now…
VCU 86
Akron 39 4 minutes
Syracuse 38
Montana 15 halftime
Even Southern U.
That’s the real problem now: a self-perpetuating downward spiral.
No, I don’t consider those you named to be losers. But none of them are involved in the athletic department.
I do consider the athletic department, with one or two exceptions, to be losers. One high ranking person admitted to me that though he was enrolled in Katz he didn’t put much effort into it: wow, is Pitt handing out degrees to it’s own people I wondered.
Simply put, Pitt habitually and annually underschieves in almost every sport. Look at the records.
Next, get off your arrogant high horse. There are more universities who graduate a higher percentage of student arhletes than Pitt. Notably Penn State.
My personal opinion is that the athletic department (which means the people who work there) aren’t at the level of most D3 programs. D3 people have to be transparent, engaged and versatile on top of having a core competency.
Want to see an athletic department that achieves? Look at RMU. Go right now to their athletic website and see how polished, professional and thorough it is. Then go to the Pitt site. Night and day.
Pitt recently sent me (and I’m certain others) a mailer featuring the ACC move and generally asking for more money.
Sure you want more money; don’t all of us? But what have you done with what I’ve given thus far? A fiasco in football coaching and results. A womens team that could not possibly have lost more conference games! 2 years without a win!! And you want me to increase my subsidy? Am I fucking stupid? Is that what you think? A mens basketball program that before tonight was coming off it’s worst year in a decade, where the non conference schedule is so bad and so filled with patsies that the arena is half empty.
I follow Pitt athletics from top to bottom. The records are average at best, most years poor. The womens volleyball team has struggled, but at least they have a new coach. Did you know that Upone?
What plans do you have for my money? Give me some tangible master plans. There isn’t a business plan in place and Pitt, notably Cyanide Steve and yes, because I do believe in accountability, mark Nordenberg, have squandered that money.
Nordenberg is wonderful in many areas, but in intercollegiate athletics he is an abject failure!! He hired and has retained a fiscal fool in SP. Nothing and no one in Pitt athletics approaches a keel of excellence outside of EJ Borghetti. Even the wrestling program, while good, has benefitted from a once proud but now weak and diluted EWL.
So don’t you dare talk to me about people from different departments and different eras. The past is gone. The athletic department is in shambles and they just lost their last shred of credibility with JD’s public humiliation.
Lastly, and I know this is going to hurt, but it needs to be said.
Stop reaching into your pocket and pulling out the name of Jonas Salk.
It was decades ago and the first thing he did once he made the big time was leave Pitt.
Sorry folks, but time to stop living in the past.
Really why would anyone give money to athletics these days. Pitt has horrible on the field results, still sub standard facilities in many areas, still waiting for that track, an incompetent management team…I can go on but I won’t boil your blood.
Pitt’s brand equity is the combination of both academics and athletics. It also takes into consideration quality of facilities. That brand is used by many audiences for many purposes. It is damn important in university circles. It also produces tangible economic results.
Why keep feeding the fools money unless you are one. Stop contributing and dare I say stop attending games and then there will be change. Hit them where it hurts…in the pocket book.
So yes I am saying destroy your athletic department. That is the only chance to rebuild it the right way and staff it with the right people. And then Pitt boosters, fans, alumni need to step up and donate money and hold the new admin accountable for results. And yes part of this new world order is an OCS along with new coaches, a track field, replacements for Fitzgerald and Trees and a new attitude that does not accept mediocrity.
Pitt is Pathetic. I know those words hurt but that is reality and those who don’t see it are living on fantasy island.
Demand change or continue to expect the same results.
YOU CAN LIVE OUT YOUR UNFULFILLED FANTASIES!If you
donate to the athletic department you donate of your own free will. It is charity!! Would you also threaten to withold your gift to e.g Childrens’ Hospital because they are not competitive! Jamie Dixon is a very good maybe even
great basketball coach. More importantly he is a great human being and role model for these young men!! I suppose a lot of you would rather see a man like Jerry Sandusky in his shoes if would mean
winning a basketball game in the tournament. WHERE ARE YOUR PRIORITIES!!!!????
change is ludicrous. Lots of passion in the comments. All
of us are disappointed particularly in the way we lost.
However if you watched closely during the season
scoring was a challenge in every game except the blowout
vs DePaul. We desperately need a guard who can penetrate and shoot 3′s. Better days ahead.
He can handle the ball better than any 7′ player in college and has an outstanding face the basket offensive game he was not permitted to use in Pitt’s scheme.
Near the end of the seasons as his confidence improved after not getting much playing time and not being part of the offense his shotting mechanics excellent for a 7′ were demontrated by his foul shoting.
Anyone who can embarrass Noels has to be a lottery pick.
Guess its OK now to talk of Jamie Dixon in less than glowing terms.
Woodall 1-12, Patterson 1-7, Zanna 1-4, Johnson 1-5, Robinson 2-7. 15 TURNOVERS.
You can make the case, that Dixon did not have them ready, the offensive system stinks, he needs to recruit better players, all with some truth.
But the players are ultimately responsible. Their threes were not just missing yesterday, they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. They could not make a lay-up. They threw the ball to no one.
Woodall their leader took responsibility like a man, as did Dixon. Woodall was a very good player for Pitt, but yesterday when things did not go well early, he panicked, when he did so did everyone else. Dixon should have called more time outs to calm them down.
These are the same players that did not make the dance last year plus Adams and Robinson. They made the team better, but as we all know not consistent not great.
Too me, Pitt’s weakness has been three years with mediocre recruiting, Gibbs was a one trick pony, Nasir was too short, Taylor was less than average, Woodall was inconsistent, Patterson, Moore, and Zanna have all disappointed. The current group of sophomores, Johnson and Wright may develop.
This year’s freshmen are outstanding and will hopefully turn things around, they have bonafide star potential.
So blame Jamie for the recruiting misses, but has he made them better or worse. Last night we heard the case for worse. I can make the case that they have won a lot of games because of Jamie.
Have they underperformed in the NCAA’s, of course they have.
Jamie allegedly has an offer of 2.5 million from USC. It is reported he makes 1.5. This tells me that the University is not budgeting enough for assistants. Where this has shown up is in recruiting and in player development.
Jamie has made Pitt what it is. Other than a couple years with Smith, Lane, Aiken and Gore, Pitt was a non factor in the Big East, until Jamie got here.
He deserves at least one more year with his prize center and point guard. To throw that opportunity away would be a travesty. For him and the University.
Anyone that thinks that Pitt will open the purse strings and pay the 2.5 mill plus the increase for assistants unnecessary to bring in a name coach hasn’t been paying attention or is just delusional.
When Jamie had Blair, he was close to winning it all. Let’s see what he does with Adams.
Regarding your question of whether I would forego giving to Childrens Hospital if they were not competitive.
First, any comparison between a D1 athletic department and a hospital for children is candied apples to oranges at best.
That said:
Yes, I would.
Resources are scarce and if they are bring wasted, then the
waste must stop. As a matter of fact, Childrens is owned by
UPMC and the charitable status is being challenged.
We can argue whether the challenge is legit or not
but to suggest that finincial contributions should ignore leadership issues doesn’t persuade me.
You might recall about a decade ago when several foundations unexpectedly witheld contributions they had historically given to the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The startled school board asked why. They were told in no uncertain terms that the foundations were nit going to support fiscal irresponsibility over top of a sense of entitlement.
Guess what? The school system was forced to face it’s fiscal irresponsibility; at the 11th hour mind you and begin the painful but necessary problem of recovery.
And therein lies the problem that TXpanther and I write about. The longer you let it continue, the more daunting your task of recovering.
I would say that Jamie Dixon’s success is very similar to Bo Ryan. Neither one gets any top tier HS talent, so there is a limit as to how good or deep either program can go.
I wonder if Brandin or LeVance would have volunteered to come off the bench in his senior year of HS like Woodall. Some can soon that as a postive, but to me it tells you everything you needed to know about his desire to LEAD.
Great kid, did a lot while at Pitt, but he simply was a role player that never had the onions. That’s ok, by the way. It’s just for this team, it was built for him to be the man. And he couldn’t.
Frankly, we haven’t had that guy since LeVance, Blair and Young.
The disappointing loss to Wichita confirms once and for all the “urban legend” that was the notion of Jamie Dixon being among the best if not the best at getting the most out of average players.
In the last two years Pitt players have never been so average and look how things have gone.
It’s time to simply accept Jamie for what he is and isn’t… a great guy and at times a pretty good coach who with the right assistants and players has made Pitt Basketball fun to watch and root for… well, most of the time.
However, should Jamie say goodbye, it’s time for the Pitt faithful to let go… not just of a coach but of the ridiculous notion that Pitt is not a “great” job deserving of somethhing better than just a good coach.
It’s time to demand that Pitt Administrators hire a coach capable of making Pitt basketball as BIG as the Arena they built to house it.
Anything less will confirm the University’s commitment to Big-time basketball to also be an urban legend.
Apparently I did not make my point clear.
If you donate to the athletic department you donate of your own free will. It is charity!!
If you choose not to, fine. It is not necessary to pontificate.
Yes Jamie is a great guy but does that mean that no other coach is a “great guy”. It may be time for pitt to turn the page and move on.
This team struggled all year. There was some improvement from last year but some games when you just scratched your head and wondered. Over all? An improvement. Yesterday? No one was ready to play and, from what I can tell, no one was ready to coach either.
Is JD the greatest coach ever? No. Has he done great things with the program at Pitt? Yes. Can Pitt rise to the pinnacle with him? Maybe. Lesser coaches have done it.
Greatness is not measured by extraordinary people achieving greatness. We expect it of them. Greatness is ordinary people doing extraordinary things – in daily life as well as in sport.
1) Zeigler never bringing that mike cook like offense that we needed
2) Woodall and Taylor were simply role players
3) Dixon using the 23 zone more
4) Robinson and Adams showing promise
5) Weak non con prep causing a weak start to BE
6) finishing well in reg season
7) double bye loss in final bet
8) Returning to tourney and feeling like shit
That is what I mean by disappointing, we have seen athletes get better as they mature. At the end of last year it looked like all three would.
I am one of the few, but my hope is that with three seniors next year, Johnson and Wright as Juniors and our stars as sophomores, we will have a lot of experience and some talent.
The question is, who will be the leader(s)?
I beg to differ.
When you suggest that those who hold a different point of view from yours is akin to supporting a convicted felon like Sandusky, pontification is mandatory.
“Greatness is ordinary people doing extraordinary things – in daily life as well as in sport.”
I wish I had said that!!
How many new coaches succeed vs. fail? Notre Dame football comes to mind. Georgetown after Thompson, St. John’s after Carnesseca, UCLA, DePaul, Providence, North Carolina. Great coaches are few and far between, established ones are too expensive, and up and comers are a crapshoot.
Most successful programs have stability and coaches that stay a long time. Duke, Syracuse, UConn or have tradition and $$$, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas, UCLA, Arizona. And their tradition was based on a great coach that stayed a long time.
We know we don’t have big money, the only tradition we have has been built by Jamie.
In the near term, I think he has the best chance to get it done. In the long term we’ll all be dead.
It’s about having that truly dominant player that teams can’t matchup against. Pitt really had that type of player once and that was Blair.
You take the good with the bad, but its mostly good. This loss hurts and it puts even more pressure on next year.
Next year should be cause for optimism, cold comfort for now.
The reason for this loss begins and ends with Woodall, Patterson and Zanna shooting 3- 23, combined with Woodall and JJ not getting to the line once. Period, end of story. There’s nothing else to even consider. Why those guys had those nerves, and why those guys weren’t getting to the line could maybe be discussed.
I’m looking forward to next year. I think we’ll be better. The ceiling will be set by Adams and Robinson. And so long as we realize Patterson is a role player and leader, rather than an offensive centerpiece, we’ll do well. until the post-season at which points all bets are off.
The Steelers stuck with Cowher a long time with plenty of playoff disappointments. It finally paid off.
I’m not saying it will with Jamie, but if he wants to stay he deserves one more year, at least.
By the way, how’s the change from Wanny working out so far?
@class of 69 – feel free to use it (or a variant) without attribution. It’s not an original thought just one I have taken to heart for a long time. The others are:
“There is no limit to what you can accomplish as long as it doesn’t matter who gets credit”
and
“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”
Actually I am quite pleased with wannstedt being gone. Yes it took the todd graham disaster to find a good coach but I believe PC will turn out to be a great hire for this team.
As stated earlier, teams in NCAA and tourneys step up their defense as it is one and done. This equals Pitt’s defense. Pitt needs to have at least 3 or 4 scorers to compete even if they only come off the bench. Their job is to run and score.
we were in the big east we should be able to recruit
better players then them right.
so if we lose is it that are big east recruits
suck or is it the coach.
it has to be one or the outher they have better players or better coaching.
take your pick.
I can’t wait to beat Duke or North Carolina during the regular season.
While making the Final Four is the ultimate, it means that for a two weak tournament you are one of the best four in the country. We really only had the players to get there one time. Many teams have the players to get there almost every year. But still only four can make it.
It is really no wonder why we choked so badly this year. Imagine the pressure on Woodall knowing how badly he would want to get his coach off the snide. One and Done tournaments are tough. You have to have great players, great coaching and a lot of luck. Just ask New Mexico.
Talent was not the source of yesterday’s loss. Pitt played badly. Probably their worst game of the year save for the last 30 min of the ND loss. You could put that on the players to a point but this is a pattern with this coach in the tourney. Jamie did not have this team mentally ready for this game. They were tense and out of sync and no adjustments, neither psychologically nor tactically were made.
I’m not ready to fire Dixon or let him walk until I see that there is a succession plan in place. But should he stay, a thorough evaluation of the program and ‘plan of correction’ must be required of him. You could make the argument that the program is in regression, and with the string of tourney flameouts continuing, Dixon has not earned the right to run this program carte blanche. Changes and adjustments need to be made, especially heading to a new conference.
BTW, where is “Slice” Rohrssen these days? He may not have succeeded as a HC, but he was a helluva recruiter.
JD has gotten us to the tourney and thats about it. There are plenty of other coaches that can, at minimum, do that.
Until Pitt does well in the tourney this is going to be the case every March….honestly not sure what anyone can do about…maybe Dixon has to become such a jerk all the players will start to hate him.
If Dixon left we won’t have that problem anymore because we won’t be in the tourney anymore.
I’ll take the problem.
If he goes to USC it is a mute point, but I definitely want him back next year.
me off.
it is who we lost to if we lost to kansas or to
duke or memphis some one who you know that can recruit as good as players as you or better players
i could live with that but we keep loseing to mid majors.
why is it coaching some thing is wrong.
and this time you cant exen say it came down to the last shot we were never in the game it is how we lost as much as who to.
with Dixon, so far, you have a guy who is one of the best 5 regular season coaches in the country, and one of the worst post-season coaches.
If you can identify a coach that is elite in both regular and post-season that is willing to come to Pitt, I am all ears.
Some new assistants might help. But whether its his style of play or whatever… even a change in assistants is not going to miraculously improve Jamie’s ability to lure Big-time talent.
That being the case, at this point the writing is on the wall as to what Pitt basketball can be with Jamie at the helm.
If you want more… it’s time to move on. Period. End of story.
The teams above have won championships and been to multiple final fours. I know it is beating a dead horse but how many years did it take Bohemian Rhapsody to get to one and actually win a championship? 27 Years!
I aint bailing on Jamie yet because you can only do so much with the players he gets. Until we get dependable go-to scorers it will be a struggle because being a good defensive team alone without go-to scorers is a hard road to a final four let alone championship.
One final point, Pitt is not a destination like the above mentioned schools but JD is starting to get better recurits…
But really i think we may need to wait and see how Dixon fairs with this team in the ACC. And not only that, but all this conference re-alignment changes the recruiting landscape a good bit too. Its not what anyone wants to hear, because it offers no quick solutions, but i think the smartest move — and the one the administration has already decided — is to give Dixon a little longer rope here and see what happens.
I still think you give the guy who started the Pitt b-ball renaissance some slack.
About yesterday, many of you on here have been saying that the team wasn’t good all year, and then you come on after yesterday’s game and act like the loss was the worst thing ever. If the team wasn’t that great all year, then you can’t flip out about an 8 seed losing to a 9 seed. The team was a classic Dixon team it way overachieved in the regular season and then didn’t have the firepower come tournament time. It happens.
Also, a lot of you guys say Pitt needs to get the top talent. If you think getting top talent is as simple as Dixon recruiting better it isn’t. Getting top talent means go out and play the shady game. Pitt doesn’t play that game. They never will. When you don’t play that game it’s all about getting lucky and hoping a player really develops for you like a Sam Young or Fields or Wannamaker.
Finally, if you are going to rant on and on about Dixon not getting the team ready for games, I better not have to read about how you love PC, a dude who didn’t have his team ready for half the entire season. PC’s first year in terms of a basketball record would have been like 10-20. Will PC be a good head coach? I really hope so. But he’s proven nothing. On the other hand, the equivalent to Dixon in Football would be winning 10 games consistently every year, consistently being ranked and always going to a bowl with two years during which Pitt went to a BCS game but would have been in contention for the national title if they hadn’t blown a head scratching game to Wake Forrest on the road.
Let’s face it, it’s simply painful to hear Chryst speak; can you envision him turning around a locker room after a bad half?
Similarly, do you think JD realizes the sphincter-puckering attitude that Pitt seems to exhibit at tourney time and is capable of taking steps to relieve it? Convincing the guys to relax, instilling the team with a sense of desperate urgency?
I see Dixon’s good and bad points. Face it, he’s very good at times but his program has some glaring shortcomings which tend to repeat.
sister of the poor.
we have won in the big east for 10 years as you point out.
we are on are way to the ACC which is were the best
BB will now be played
we have the pete which is first rate.
there is no reason that a first rate coach would not come here,
it is not like 12 years ago when we were being
rebuilt we are all most on the top now just need some one to take us to next level.
We’ve been very forgiving of jamie’s march failures for 10 years. What year do we stop saying one more year? 12 years? 15 years? 20 years? How many??
one year is a fluke, two years is coincidence, three years (in this case 10 years) is a trend!
Some have written Wannstedt was fired for losing. Quite the opposite: He was fired for running what the Bots thought was a criminal-friendly program.
Also say you fire Dixon, why the heck would any coach want to come here? It would be Pitt saying that Pitt is UCLA without all of the inherent benefits that UCLA brings with it.
Until then — dont get me wrong. He dserves all of this criticism about his post-season shortcomings. Not defending that.
Now the question for JD is can he look at the last 10 years, the last two, this year, the last game and recognize that the CBB game has changed and he has to either adapt or fail to progress? I don’t think it’s fair to jettison him after what was a decent but, in the end, unsatisfying comeback year. Neither do I think we give him a lifetime contract to run the program however he pleases regardless of the level of success. If he is as good a man and coach as I think he is, he will change and succeed – both in the ACC and the NCAA tournament. If not, I also believe he is enough of a realist to know that it is time to move on. Whether Pitt can find someone with his character who can also coach the team to greater achievement is, of course, the great unknown.
His predecessor never got past the Sweet 16, and Paul Evans with more talent than anyone, never got past the 1st weekend at Pitt.
Yes, Dixon hasn’t met everyone’s recent expectations … but a failure? …. hardly!!
Coach Dixon needs to stay. This is NOT a pathetic program, its a NATIONALLY RENOWNED PROGRAM. PSU is a pathetic program, and I don’t want Pitt to become like that!
Next years best 5 should be pretty legit though:
1. Robinson
2. Johnson
3. Patterson/Moore
4. Young
5. Adams
So is Savage for sure ahead of Voytik? I haven’t read much about the spring football.
Pitt had better looks yesterday but couldn’t score.
he cares abought his kids they go to class
i dont really want him fired but starting 3 years
ago something has started to go wrong may be he needs new asst coachs
things are not right there needs to be some changes if he stays even the crowds are down at the pete the get up and go seams to have got up and left
Our football is mediocre. Our basketball continuously under achieves come tourney time and the national audience knows about it so much that we are a laughing stock and the wise money is bet against us.
A nationally renowned program for choking or shitting the bed. Take your pick.
We play in a football stadium that isn’t even ours. Our Olympic sports facilities are average at best or don’t even exist (track).
Stop drinking the Kool Aid.
Football has had Tony D, Hugh Greene, Ricky Jackson, Danny Marino, Larry Fitz, Darrelle Revis, LeSean McCoy. A track record of Hall of Fame and All-pros.
Basketball has had Charles Smith. Dixon’s best does not include one NBA starter. Tell me what new guy can come here and change that.
By the way, Adams may change that. Dixon brought him here. Dixon did pretty well when he had DeJuan, Sam and Levance. And by the way, that was the team. They had no depth. Jamie has been building a program, it’s not a straight line up.
Those of you that cavalierly say that any new coach could recruit better than Jamie and get us to the tournament just might be mistaken. We are only one out of seven teams that have been there 11 out of 12 years. Gee let’s fire the guy that was here for those 12 years, because we might find someone better. Someone to take us to the promised land. He only got us to 3 sweet sixteens an one elite 8 without a future pro starter. Damn he sucks.
He is under contract thru the ’17-’18 season for atleast $1.6M per year. The current AD and administration extended his contract last year. There is no chance, zero, zilch, zip, nada, that they admit they were wrong, fork over $8million bucks (or whatever the buyout is) and the money it would take to attract a new top coach.
Nor should they, at some point money becomes an issue and a decision to fire Dixon would be finanially irresponsible.
Also, I am sure that Nordy and Pederson have no desire to conduct another coaching search after the dissaster that has been the football coaching search(es).
So like it or not, we’re stuck with Jamie for atleast another season unless HE DECIDES to leave.
Sometimes it takes a dissaster like yesterday for someone to realize that things need to change. Hopefully Jamie has that kind of epiphany.
So the only chance that Dixon leaves is if Pat Hayden rolls up a Brinks truck and unloads a ton of cash, both to Dixon AND TO PITT. Unlikely, especially if Hayden reads the comments on PittBlather.
No one is irreplaceable and change can be good. If Jamie leaves for USC, I won’t shed a tear. I just don’t think he should be fired for performance.
As difficult as yesterday’s loss was, it was pretty predictable. I don’t think anyone was surprised, other than the players and coaches.
Even if we didn’t choke yesterday, we weren’t going anywhere. Although on any given day we can compete, there was little consistency.
The anger here is totally justified. We are a very select group that bleed blue and gold.
The thing is that satisfaction is a moving target, if we won just one more tournament game each year over the last ten years, would we be satisfied? We would have had our final four a couple more eights and sixteens. Would there be fewer asking for Jamie’s head if we won yesterday and lost tomorrow. Maybe, I’m not sure.
As Coach Ditka’s gut says coaches are chomping at the bit to come here and our amazingly loyal fan base. I kid the coach.
Anyway, thanks to Chas for the site and all that participate in the debate. It’s good to have a forum to commiserate and get it off our chests.
Hail to Effing Pitt
dixon after the pitt loss to wichita may look some were else.
so for thoes that want him to stay you got it and for you that want him to go i would say usc thinks he did a bad coaching job in the game the same as you.
and said thanks but no thanks we can do better.
@FRANKCAN – that could just be a negotiating tactic (shorter contract and/or less money) on USC’s part. It would be a perverse strategy but it may be a tactic on their part.
you know i like dixon as a man and really dont want him fired.
but some thing is wrong with the team may be it is the lack of good asst coachs may be he was just
a ok coach before that had really good asst but some thing is not right even a bad team can play hard but so many times this year the team seams
confused and down i just dont get it.
I often see the argument on here that Pitt overachieves during the regular season and achieves to their level of talent in the tournament. Though that may be the case in a given year, that’s is unlikely to be the case over more than a decade of seasons.
If I remember correctly from Prob and Stats class, the more times an event happens, the higher the confidence that the result is accurate. So over the course of a 32 game schedule is where a team’s true talent is more likely to be evident; not saying the regular season is of greater importance by any means, only that it is a bigger body of work and therefore less influenced by chance.
It seems much more likely that Pitt achieves to talent during the season and UNDER-achieves in the tourney. It would be interesting to compare Pitt’s tourney results over the last 12 years to teams with similar records and/or seeding. Maybe now that there’s no Pitt game this weekend I can take that on…
On the 13 foul, the fouled team gets 3 foul shots.
Then again, there are the cautionary words of Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, “the more things change, the more they stay the same,”
dont remmber which one but after that game i could see the powers that be changing there mind.
but i think even his strongest supporters on this site would say things are not right with the team.
and have not been for at least 2 years some have said he needs better asst coachs but what ever it is something is wrong and i dont think it is bad players.
my be the players used wrong may be the coaching
but something is wrong and needs changed.
Now this makes Pitt fans look a little more sane:
http://newmexico.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1486756
Glad I have speed scrolling…
4 seed KState LOST to 13 seed LaSalle. LaSalle, which got there by winning a play-in game.
Julius Page was on the Fan today.
His take was interesting. He believes that Dixon gave the point guards too much authority. His POV is that unless you have a supreme floor general like Knight, you should run different sets. JD’s offense was too PG oriented and Robinson was too raw and Tray not a good enough general.
Syracuse set a record by beating Montana by 48 points. Louisville handled NC A&T with ridiculous ease. Marquette won their game.
UC lost a close game. As a 10 seed, that is technically what they were supposed to do.
The Big East, so far, is doing pretty much exactly what would be expected in terms of seeding. They are not “getting smoked.”
You can believe what you want. The tournament is far from over, so of course a lot can happen. But so far, the Big East is doing fine.
Many point to the 3-point loss at Louisville, as being an indicator of our potential–but it occurred to me–maybe the Cardinals overlooked us. Maybe THEY played down to our level, and had an off-game. Maybe we shouldn’t read too much into that game.
We beat Syracuse during a mini-run, and it looked impressive. But it was a home win, and the Orange played without Southland. Clearly, their having a dominant player showed in the BET, and perhaps it will in the NCAA.
Two teams that really showed us reality this year, were Marquette and ND. We wrote those off as bad matchups, and kept our fingers crossed for a double-bye, watching the top teams take each other out. But even with the opportunity to pay back Marquette, we couldnt. Meanwhile, we feasted on DePau, St Johns, and USF to finish the season.
Yes, we had a double-bye in the BET, but the seeding came from a tie-breaker rule, not necessarily because we deserved it. Obviously, the byes didn’t help, and our 8-seed was probably correct. I’m sure that Kenpom, Sagarin, and the BPI folks will work furiously over the off-season to adjust their formulae for teams like Pitt. At least they should.
I supposed I don’t have a point, other than to offer some perspective. Sometimes, our assessment for a better team than what we really have, is blinded by our eternal hope for success. While I won’t say Jamie should be fired, I do believe he needs to make some tweaks…he needs to evolve. By the way, this loss doesn’t have to hurt recruiting-he can say to potential players, “hey, Pitt is one playmaker away from a deep tourney run-you could be that playmaker!”
Of course, that will only work if he lets the player maker play.
Still, finishing 4th isn’t that impressive when you consider we were 1-3 against the top 3 teams, and 1-1 against the two teams that finished immediately beneath us.
I agree that Notre Dame and Syracuse were better teams this year, although I would say that is barely true of Notre Dame. Let’s not forget that DePaul took Notre Dame to OT twice, and that their biggest win (over Louisville), while impressive, was more of a failure on Louisville’s part (chances to win at end of regulation AND first 4 OTs, but didn’t convert).
I think Pitt squandered a LOT of opportunities this year (notably the Michigan, Louisville and Notre Dame games). I think we were RIGHT THERE on the brink of greatness a lot, and never quite got over the hump. It’s too bad, because we do have a lot of good (if not great) talent on the team. I would have liked to see more. But I think this was a great step forward after the terrible season we had last year.
I’m not ready to kick Dixon to the curb just yet. I want to see how he does in a new conference first.
I have not seen him play! He is off everyone’s radar. He will be starting for his team as a Junior. His coach said he has the best arm he’s ever seen and this coach grew up best friends with Johnny U’s son. I will be watching him this
Fall and if he has the potential everyone tells me he has (also a 4.5 40) then I will keep all of you updated.
I have heard literrally hundreds of these kinds of stories of both basketball and football players and then have gone to see them only to find out someone was not accurate in their assessment.
I have a feeling this one is very talented.
Have to be very careful with the new recruitment rules.
There, no more basketball talk…and if I did notice..the sun actually did come up this morning.
MSG and road games in conference do not count as unfamiliar venues.
Challenge your team Jamie! Play in unfamiliar territory and then your players won’t be fazed by it when it really counts.
Anyway, that doesn’t sound good.
Just to make us all feel like we are not alone in the universe with our misery, the Hoyas are getting absolutely thrashed by FGCU, who appear to be incredibly talented and are very entertaining to watch.
If G’town loses, they will have exited their last five tournaments losing to three 11 seeds, a 14 seed, and a 15 seed (yet they still get respect from the national media as if Patrick Ewing was patrolling the key). Pitt fans, it could always be worse. H2P…
You can have those shooters but if you reign them in and put a rope around them (see Ronald Raymon)
it still doesn’t work.
I love Jamie. He has done wonders for Pitt BBall.
We need a coaching change!
Haven’t had time to catchup with all of them yet, but I will since I value everyone’s opinion.
One thing I remember that was a constant on this board that we all seemed to buy into was this:
This team will be far better at the End of the Season than it was as the beginning of the season.
While I guess it was slightly better, but it wasn’t far better. Yes Adams had a double double to end the season, but it seemed to me a lot of those points were in the last 3-4 minutes when the game was lost and they were willing to give up 2 pointers, not 3 pointers.
As far as the other players other than JR and Durand Durand, I didn’t really see many of them got any better during the season.
Maybe a micron better, but far better. Nope they were as inconsistent for the most part as they were in December.
And that imo was due to the constant lineup changes with this myth of a 10 deep.
IMO you can not get into any offensive cohesion or offensive flow to the game by constantly jerking players in and out of the lineup. And we all know, 98% of Pitt games had NO OFFENSIVE FLOW to them at all.
Which also invariably led to almost one poorly played offensive half of basketball, almost EVERY GAME. Now against the weak non-con that was no problem, but we had difficulty putting away even BigEast bottom feeders, USF & Seton Hall for eaxmple as late spurts made those games appear to be a more comfortable victory than they really were.
Against the Top 50 teams we played, one bad half can kill you which was reflected in the 4 wins and 8 losses against the better opponents. And are chronicled below.
Most of the time those halves were the 1rst half where Dixon seemed to have a pre-programmed pattern of substituting. Which imo led to very slow starts, no offensive flow to the game and no offense. I think he got carried away with that, sort of like a mad scientist is with his experiments.
In the last 2 games we had 21 points and looked horrid on offense yesterday and against Cuse we scored 27 points looked lost and trailed by 13 at the Half. A team with little offensive firepower can not trail by 13 and expect to come back unless the opponent totally collapses.
In fact in all but 2 of losses we had horrid first halves when the pre-set substitution pattern or at least more substitutions were mainly in force.
1)ND we scored 22 in 1rst half (this was the game that ND didn’t score for almost 14 minutes in the 1rst half, game was lost in the 1rst half)
2) Marquette, we scored 29 in 1rst half, trailed by 13 at Halftime
3) Louisville, we scored 26 in 1rst half, trailed by 6 at Halftime
4) Marquette (1rst game) we score 30 in 1rst half, trailed by 3 at half
5) Rutgers, we scored 25 in 1rst half, trailed by 14 points at halftime
That’s 7 of the 9 losses. The other 2 losses we had horrid 2nd halves
So again too many substitutions (and when you look back you’ll see all 10 players were used in ALL these losses in the 1rst half) in the 1rst half led to no offensive cohesion, no offensive flow and many lackluster 1rst halves, which caused Pitt to be behind at halftime and in some cases substantially behind.
Indeed we were up by 3. (22-19)
But that game was lost in the 1rst half, Pitt should have been up by 20 points after ND didn’t score a point in almost 14 minutes.
BTW – exactly how many McDonald’s AAs does FGCU have?
Pitt Dad, probably no AAs on FGCU (11 years a team, 6 years D-I?), but that PG could play for my team any day of the week. They were a fun team to watch. Fun…can basketball still be fun?
They will be known as the biggest chokes of this tournament now.
Lose going away to Florida Gulf Coast, 68-78
No comment on the O-line other than Clemmings ahead of Hollings. I imagine Chryst is happy to be under the radar with this group of rabid fans.
Georgetown is snakebit worse than us, number two seed beat by a virgin. and badly. Big East overrated goes down in a cloud of dust. One and done is tough.
It seems to me the teams winning this year approach the game like they’re playing with house money. Let ‘er rip and go for broke.
IMO you can not get into any offensive cohesion or offensive flow to the game by constantly jerking players in and out of the lineup. And we all know, 98% of Pitt games had NO OFFENSIVE FLOW to them at all.
To be a great TEAM on defense, you need to get to know and trust each other. To get to be a great team on offense, you need the same AND more time to develop a feel for timing, spacing, etc. THAT CAN’T HAPPEN WITH A 9 OR 10 MAN ROTATION of college players.
That said, Jaime is not going anywhere unless he chooses to and I hate to be looking forward to next year already, but I am.
Loved seeing Cincy go down too….would love to see Cincy and UConn go the way of Duquesne. BE is getting hammered this year….beautiful.
I think Dixon will not pass up coaching Adams.
http://www.bruinsnation.com/2013/3/16/4114150/howland-already-planning-exit-to-pitt
TMG…you’re wanted back at the Pitt office….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE7CEycI7nc&feature=player_embedded
While I appreciate what he has done (and hasn’t done at Pitt), his stock is prolly the highest it’s going to be right now. A couple more missed NCAA years and/or early flameouts will only diminish his stock.
Further his apprehension over joining the ACC will surely be reflected on the team imo. As a team generally takes on the personality of the coach.
But I’m not exactly tickled about Howland just because he’s buddies with Cornhole Stevie, coming back to Pitt.
The Pete crowd is getting tired or is tired of Howland/Dixon grind ball. Sort of like listening to Grunge music 24/7. Blah.
Whoops!!!
Anyway…Howland is a better coach and a better recruiter than Dixon. Should be an interesting couple weeks ahead.
Meanwhile the BE is 3-4 so far with a chance for ND to go down tonight.
Oh, never mind.
Unless Dixon already screwed the pooch with the turd he laid yesterday, our best hope is that wheeler dealer Stevie can swing the 3 cushion shot with Howland returning to Pitt. And if that isn’t desperation, what the hell is.
The AD: You know, there was this kid once. Friend of Ben Howland. We palled around together. Made our bones when you were going out with cheerleaders. He was cheap. He won games in the Big East. He filled the Pete. Yeah, he sucked in big games, but he was an earner.
As much as any man, I loved him.
Then, one day, after another shitty loss in the tournament, he winds up being vilified on this board.
When that happened, I let it go. I didn’t ask who hired him, or who posted the devastation on this blog about him. Because it had nothing to do with being a Pitt fan.
And I said to myself – I am a Pitt alum. And this is the life I have chosen. And I gave him another 5 year extension.
Had they not be in the B1G,I seriously doubt they would have made the field.
Yet they lead Howland’s UCLA by 10 at half.
35-25.
As far as Howland being a better recruiter than Dixon. That was only because he was at UCLA.
Actually Ben did better with his the players he inherited at UCLA than any of those he recruited.
Lots of transfers, etc at UCLA the last 5 years.
Thanks but no thanks, snail ball is boring.
Now someone please explain to me how Iowa St. in the B12 can out recruit Dixon?
Sorry, but the 5 stiffs who can slow it down and defend system doesn’t work in the 21st century….
You had 3 inside players who were better playing “face up”, yet they were put in position to play, “back to basket”.
You had several players that were better in transition, including the bigs, but were forced to play at a snail’s pace. Think Chas mnetioned 335th in the country.
The pace was more of that of a Howland team that was devoid of any real talent.
And limiting the amount of possessions only makes each possession that much more important, creates more pressure and magnifies every mistake.
I would like to see a lot more possessions and trust the players to make more plays than mistakes.
That shows confidence in your players. At some time as a child is growing up you take him out of the highchair, you take off his harness and you let him run in the yard.
If you don’t, you will surely stunt his growth.
Another player like Taylor that he ruined…
I could see doing this grind style in 2001 & 2002 when we hardly had any real talent.
But those days of little talent are long gone.
Yet they still coach like Toree Morris is playing Center instead of Adams. it’s incredible !
This was not a not a talented team,and if you read Fittipaldo’s blog this season, it’s clear Dixon thought that was the case. And Dixon let this team do more free lancing this year than he did in past years. And every good coach tries to limit possessions — you shorten the game in your favor. He didn’t misuse — your word — any of these kids. You misunderstand that they have limits, that he clearly sees.
BigEast is getting torched in this Tournament.
Pitt lost by 18
ND lost by 18
G-Town lost by 10 to a #15 seed
Cincy got beat by another mid-major from the Mo Valley
That is really weak.
I’ve watched more basketball than most of them, so I don’t need to be told, what to think and I don’t get free lunches and buffets from Pitt’s AD dept to have my views tainted.
“Every good coach trys to shorten possessions.”
haha. What do you think the reason why coaches press for. To create turnovers WHICH GIVE YOU MORE POSSESSIONS.
BASKETBALL 101
When it comes down to it these so-called ‘defensive teams’ can’t even play defense in a one & done. Minnesota as noted above losing 11 of their last 16 games is ‘nothing special’.
Everybody ratchets up their intensity and therefore their defense in a one & done.
You need to be able to score cause when teams want to, they can play defense . A lot of times teams don’t want to play defense in the regular season and don’t play with intensity, that is the only thing Howland/Dixon teams do in the regular season that other top teams don’t.
UCLA shooting a Pittlike 32%….a horrid 20 for 62
No return of Howland please !
If it’s between Howland & Mike Rice, I’d take Mike Rice.
Are you debating the fact that coaches use a press defense to create turnovers which in turn give your team more possessions?
I just want to see how clueless you are
we’ll see
“Coaches know coaches, and we all put coaches into different categories,” Miller said. “I have no problem saying this: Jamie is one of the elite coaches in our game. Period. People are going to look back 20 years from now at the job Jamie and Ben Howland did at Pitt and not believe it. They resurrected the program at a time it really needed resurrected.”
Miller said he’s too busy with his problems to pay much attention to what’s going on at Pitt. But he expressed surprise that Dixon is taking so much heat. Pitt has gone to nine NCAA tournaments in 10 years under Dixon but hasn’t made it to a Final Four and has been to just one Round of Eight.
“It’s very difficult to make the NCAA tournament. It’s even more difficult to advance,” Miller said. “Parity is at another level in college basketball. When I played, there was a huge disparity between the haves and have-nots. Now, there’s no gap. Every team you play in the tournament is a good team.”
This team does have the players to run. Adams and Zanna in particular are big guys that can move. A more wide open style would really help Moore. Wright can flat out fly and finish.
Johnson is fast. Patterson is a great passer in transition, although more deliberate and less speedy.
JR is more deliberate but certainly has enough talent to go up tempo.
The tournament is telling us what kind of style is necessary in the age of parity. The ACC is going to demand it. Jamie needs a new assistant that excels in this style.
I don’t see Jamie ever endorsing run and gun, but change is inevitable, if you don’t adapt to the environment, you will not survive. Or in this case advance and survive.
We have the players, c’mon coach get out of your comfort zone. It’s time to play fast paced exciting, above the rim, high scoring ball.
Lots of posts that Pitt needs a shooter, and for sure they do, but even more they need guards that can penetrate and create. They are so desperately lacking, and really evident to me after watching 20 hrs. of hoops over last 2 days. Even the lowest of seeds, W. Ky was constantly getting to the hoop on a much bigger Kansas team. That can do as much, if not more to open up Adams. I guess Zeigler was supposed to be that type of player (not). Patterson can at times, but won’t more times. Wanamaker was a master at it, Fields good as well.
I live in DC area, Georgetown fans woke up still shell shocked by that drumming they took last night. That Hoya a$$ whoopin makes it a little easier being a Pitt fan this morning.
2 Seeded Georgetown goes down to 15 seed FL Gulf Coast
A lot of other teams also lost to lower seeds, No. 5 Wisconsin, UNLV, Kansas State, Notre Dame, and UCLA.
Marquette got very lucky to win over a lower seed as did Kansas and Gonzaga.
@Justinian – yes it is comfort but small at that. We can revel in the embarrassment of others (don’t the Germans have a word for that?) but it also means it is the kind of tournament we could have (and perhaps should have) won.
But I won’t be wrong again. It was a lot easier to take when expectations were lower. Losing was acceptable because UNM had almost always lost when it really counted. You didn’t have visions of greatness, only to have them dashed. After the pitiful performance UNM put up against a team that doesn’t even offer scholarships, I’ve given up. Having all five starters back next season means nothing on a team that can just disappear like that. I’d be back to wondering when it would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.
No, I’ve had it. I’ve been to my last Lobo basketball game after covering the team for much of the last 33 years. Many of us could write this!
But I won’t be wrong again. It was a lot easier to take when expectations were lower. Losing was acceptable because UNM had almost always lost when it really counted. You didn’t have visions of greatness, only to have them dashed. After the pitiful performance UNM put up against a team that doesn’t even offer scholarships, I’ve given up. Having all five starters back next season means nothing on a team that can just disappear like that. I’d be back to wondering when it would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.
No, I’ve had it. I’ve been to my last Lobo basketball game after covering the team for much of the last 33 years.
“But I won’t be wrong again. It was a lot easier to take when expectations were lower. Losing was acceptable because UNM had almost always lost when it really counted. You didn’t have visions of greatness, only to have them dashed. After the pitiful performance UNM put up against a team that doesn’t even offer scholarships, I’ve given up. Having all five starters back next season means nothing on a team that can just disappear like that. I’d be back to wondering when it would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.
No, I’ve had it. I’ve been to my last Lobo basketball game after covering the team for much of the last 33 years.
Good bye Lobo Basketball”
But I won’t be wrong again. It was a lot easier to take when expectations were lower. Losing was acceptable because UNM had almost always lost when it really counted. You didn’t have visions of greatness, only to have them dashed. After the pitiful performance UNM put up against a team that doesn’t even offer scholarships, I’ve given up. Having all five starters back next season means nothing on a team that can just disappear like that. I’d be back to wondering when it would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.
No, I’ve had it. I’ve been to my last Lobo basketball game after covering the team for much of the last 33 years.
Panthers’ weak offense needs to be addressed”. It is all you need to know as to why Pitt crashes in the NCAAs.
Just as I said they have no go-to scores whom can penetrate off the dribble and score or dish to the open man. Just rebounding and defense alone does not make it if you do not have some players who can create their own shots. The result is the motion offense stagnates and scoring becomes very hard.
What do these teams have in common? They all play boring basketball, they all play slow basketball, they can’t score, and they all lost in the first round.
Zanna needs to change his mindset and become something maybe he can’t – a physical beast offensively. Adams WILL be stronger on both ends of the court. If Newkirk and Young aren’t flops, JR as a sophomore can be the glue that makes this work.
I still do not want to see a 9 or 10 man rotation during the regular season. And as most post here, lets have Jamie “let them just PLAY basketball” a lot more often.
HTP!!!
Stevie-P has given Jamie Dixon all the tools he should need to win in late March, with the possible exception (jury still out) of good assistant coaches. And if it turns out they’re not, even that is at least partly (if not wholly) on Dixon: if (?) his assistants don’t/can’t bring the helps he needs, then replace them.
Pitt does need a quicker offense and getting the ball to Adams. The next year seniors need to realize now that this is their last chance.
I have noticed that most teams that fail in March (failure meaning not playing up to their potential) are the teams that view the regular season as the end of their growth. That is now coined in the phrase “bring your game, not your name”.
Our guys and coach felt slighted by their seeding: based mostly on our name and our conference. NAME.
Our game told a different story. In reality, we were seeded too high.
ND & GT are crying the same blues. Time for us to play a national schedule. We will be far better off in March if we cross the Mississippi long before Jan 1.
true, then Dixon has his chance to go back home. BN’s question this morning: Will Pitt take Howland back? http://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_basketball/2013/3/22/4138048/goodbye-ben-howland
IMHO, I think it was the wrong sentiment then and now. I don’ts ee one style as better for the NCAA Tounrey than another, it’s about doing your style very well.
Living in the nest of Big 10 country I can’t tell you how fans here worship Tom Izzo. I follow him closely. What does he preach, rebound & defend. If you won’t do those t2 things, you sit the bench. Pitt is really built to emulate MSU. I don’t think Dixon is a good a coach as Izzo but I do think Dixon is good.
Dixon tried to get his year’s team to play faster pace. The players themselves said so during the season. either it was not their style or comfort level or it was hard for them to break the mold.
Pitt’s depth was there for fast pace but I didn’t see the players for it. Patteerson, Zanna, Woodall were just not that athletic for their positions. Ronison to some extent as well. Johnson seems athletic but really needs to work on his ball handling.Zedigler was built for faster pace but he was a disaster.
We do need more offense, ball handling and athleticism. I think we got here largely because of 2 bad years of recruiting.
Having said that, I am excited by both next year’s team and the last 3 recruting classes. They are faster, more offensive oriented and athletic than waht we have been getting. Case in point, next year’s core by eligibility (not recruiting year): Sophmores: Wright, Robinson, Adams, Johnson. Freshmen: Josh Newkirk, Chris Jones, Mike Young. (Although Wright & Robinson have a ways to go on offense.
That group appears a lot more talented, offensive skilled, quicker and athletic than: Taylor, Zanna, Patterson, Moore, Woodall.
But let’s face it. The Big East was not as good as we thought this year. That does not bode well for adjusting to the ACC>
to much and they both are on a 3 day drunk
I do like the fact though that Dixon is willing to change…we saw glimpses of it with the 2-3 zone. What he needs to stop is his insistence of trying put extra weight on pure shooters (like JJ Moore) and especially telling true scores like JJ Moore & Durand that they can’t play because they can’t play shutdown defense. Pitt only needs 3 guys like that and 2 pure scorers on the floor.
And I agree with TVax that Dixon needs to end this 10 man rotation….8 deep is plenty unless someone fouls out or gets hurt.
@HbgFrank….that’s Dixon’s fault for recruiting nothing but defensive stiffs…another Pitt problem.
Izzo doesn’t have 10 stiffs on his team either….he also recruits guys like Keith Appling & Gary Harris, and in the past guys like Charlie Bell, Mateen Cleaves, Paul Davis, Draymond Green, Drew Neitzel, Morris Peterson and Jason Richardson.
You can’t advance in the NCAA’s with all defensive stiffs. At least not in this era of parity. Someone will get hot and knock you off early. Dixon needs to change and change now…especially with us going into the ACC with their refs.
I’m not sure that I’d classifiy Adams and Johnson and Newkirk as “stiffs”. And just about every single player you mentioned for MSU is the same type of “stiff” – your description – as Pitt. How many of those players are stars in the NBA. I would compare Cleaves to Knight, Peterson to Sam Young, etc.
And there are still many teams left in the tourney who play a more traditional style of game. But just about every one of them has quicker athletesand better shooters than Pitt.
This year’s team and last year’s was certainly ofensively challenged compared to prior years. Most people who watched them saw that.
Rebounding and defense is still a large part of winning if not the biggest part. As someone just posted, this year’s team was not as hard-nosed and determined as previous years. Our defensive numbers were inflated by the pace and the level of competition both in conference and out of conference. There were many games where we could not defend the interior (Louisville) or the outside 3 pointers.
And we never had the shooting, movement, pentertation ability or athletiicsm to lead with the offense.
*hire big time assistant coach, load up a brinks truck and pay what it takes.
*Schedule TWO more tough preseason games, nova and Georgetown come to mind, even if we have to go their place.
*recruit guards who can dribble drive and a shooter or two, start with Devin Wilson fom Montour.
*run the offense through Adams next year until we get the guards.
All of that is reasonable. And if the big time assistant can help Jamie when things get tight, Pitt could turn things around. Simple.
Dixon’s favorite math question:
http://plus.maths.org/content/round-peg-square-hole-or-square-peg-round-hole
http://triblive.com/sports/kevingorman/3706774-74/pitt-dixon-panthers
Hire an offensive coordinator big time assistant and give him some flexibility.
Zeise is right on the money.
And I strongly agree on Mihcigan State. Izzo is a great coach and except for the past two years he has usually not had that much more talent than Pitt.
A team that plays ok defense and ok offense has a balanced approach and they do better in one and done.
Sorry, just noticed it.
My son wanted to post yesterday. Guess I didn’t change it back.
Just a lot of hot air, you didn’t miss anything!!
LOL!!!
There is no excuse with the pod system that a team should travel across the country
Agreed on both counts.
I fell in love with the ACC traveling thru NC to my largest account, Lowes in the 80′s and have always held them in very high esteem. I am thrilled Pitt has joined the ACC but we will get murdered playing the low scoring, low shot total style we are currently playing. Don’t know how we can change it but it needs to be changed.
Adding insult to injury, Pitt was one of only two losses in my bracket opening day and I only had 3 losses yesterday. Every one of my brackets is solid and alive except for the “Pitt” bracket because I lost my mind and have them going to the final 8!
Lots of folks picking Wichita to beat the Zags today and the betting line has dropped just like the Pitt game. Does anyone know how much money has to be bet to drop a betting line just one point?? It’s $$$$ millions!!
Saying in a written statement that he would like to “finish my career at the University of Pittsburgh,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon agreed today to a 10-year contract extension through 2023.
“Pitt and Pittsburgh are home,” Dixon said. “My family and I feel blessed to be part of such a great institution and wonderful city. It is the people who truly make a place special. I could not be surrounded by better players, staff and administration. These aren’t just people I work for and with every day. They’re friends and I’m very thankful for that. I would like to express special appreciation to our leadership team of chancellor Mark Nordenberg, athletic director Steve Pederson and executive vice chancellor Jerry Cochran. Their guidance and friendship have been invaluable. I greatly appreciate the faith and support they have always shown me since my arrival at Pitt.”
Adams can compete in any confernce. He may be better suited for ACC because of his offensive to the basket game. Dixon will have to use Adams in 2013-2014 in he wants to compete.
Unlike most Acc teams we do not have the quick and accuarate shooting guards. Adams will have to get the ball often and score 15 to 20 which he can do for Pitt to compete.
If Young can be effective at the four we can handle any ACC inside.
Robinson is a good defender and I expect his outside offensive game to improve with Woodall gone. He has good stroke but like Adams I think Dixon had no confidence in him and with most of the plays set for Woodall and Patterson (Patterson will struggle in ACC) Robinson lost his confindence because his coach did not have confidence in him.
Adams was to not part of the offense and would often lose his concentration and confidence because of it. He also spent far to much time on the bench as Dixon fell in love with Zanna beating up on the DII schools.
Johnson is a bust, as is Wright, Moore, and Zanna. It also appears that Zeigler maybe too.
Adams, Robinson are the real deal. I think Young may contribute immediately.
With Woodall gone the back court will not be as reckless and inept defensively. With Taylor gone Dixon will not feel the need to take minutes away from Adams because Taylor was a senior. This will also help.
Lighten up Jamie and find some help from someone who can put the ball on the floor and shoot. Also use the teams stregths rather than your perceived obligations (woodall, etc.).
What are you smoking that makes you think Pitt can get a better coach for the school…Anyone who is a Pitt Supporter should be proud that the school is being represented by a man like Dixon.
Anyone who thinks we should get rid of Dixon is a fool.
Any more evidence needed that Pederson is incompetent?
What other AD lets his basketball coach parlay a 4th place league finish, declining home attendance and a horrible flame out in tourney into a 10 year extension?
I knew they would never fire Dixon, but a 10 year extension? Pitt has no leverage anymore. Dixon will continue to do what he’s been doing and on the same lightly downward trajectory. Insane.
I need to hire Dixon’s agent.
Chas, no new post until we get to an even grand?
You guys who want Dixon gone need to watch other college programs besides, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville NC and Kansas…pick any other team besides the elites…which Pitt clearly is not and tell me how any other program is better off and a wrong move in coach change and we’ll just be another Maryland or Purdue.
I share in the disappointment regarding Pitt’s showings in the NCAA tournament. But Dixon has run a good program here on- and off-court, and I’m happy he’s sticking around.
I’m starting to think Pitt fans are delusional that this is somehow a destination for coaches who are definitely gonna turn the program around (As if that is what we need anyway.
We could spend millions more on our facilities and pay the coaches 150% of what they get now and it’ll hardly move the needle. And it doesnt matter anyway.
If your a good coach, once you’re making millions, its no longer about whether you can get a 5-10% pay increase. (bad coaches do tend to chase money though, ahem, Todd Graham). College basketball is generally about building programs. That’s what good coaches do. That’s what they want. That’s what Jamie is striving for. He wants the court to be named after him one day. IT takes time. It took Coach K time, it took Calhoun time. Boeheim. Seriously, what in the name of all that is good an holy you think is a better move than locking Dixon in?
Do we Calipari like guy who will coach for a few yrs, maybe have one great year, a few disappointments then leave your program in tatters? I’m just trying to figure out what in god’s name you think is a better deal here.
Just to say again, you Dixon haters (or whatever you want to call yourselves – the UPittbaseballs of the world), you have absolutely zero perspective.
(i love the guy actually, but wouldnt take his advice on anything)
1) Adams is pretty much a guarantee to return and should be much better
2) Dixon has indicated himself that he needs to change his philosophy and recruiting
3) we can spout out names like Miller, Smart and Stevens all we want … but there is absolutely no guaranteethat we would hire an improvement
I understand that academic and athletic success are not mutually exclusive (Stanford, Duke, etc.). And I care about the football and basketball programs as much as most of you– how many of you have pulled all-nighters recently to watch our 6-7 football team (I’m stationed in Germany)? But in the grand scheme of things, the academic success of Pitt is a hundred times more important than the performance of the athletic program.
Nordenberg has been a successful chancellor because Pitt’s academic quality and reputation have risen during his tenure. Nothing that happens with our athletic program short of a Penn State type scandal (heaven forbid) will change that.
What if we flame out in the ACC.
Hopefully we don’t, but what if we do.
We’re going to be on the hook for a lengthy contract and absurd money and would severely limit
who could hire.
“He has been far more than a basketball coach at Pitt and we are fortunate to have such a high-caliber person representing our university.”
This coming from a putz who showed DW the door.
In the worse case Pitt would not remove Dixon for at least 5 years..and those odds are pretty slim……If Dixon keeps making the tourney he’ll see all ten years of that contract.
He’s known that for years, what a pos cover piece by Fittipaldo.
That was written to set up the later in the day announcement that Dixon got a 10 year extension.
We’re all supposed to believe Dixon has seen the light, the errors of his ways.
What do they take us for ?
Un f’n believable! Where do I get a job like this??
Anybody remember John DeGroat, how about Cassin Diggs. How about the stiff guard he brought in from Centenary, can’t even remember that stiff’s name.
I do…they were all stiffs.
I liked Wanny, thought he should of been given another year, but I don’t think he was representing Pitt well when he was let go.
And Zeigler was arrested for drunk driving in his Humvee, while sitting in the middle of an intersection.
Plain & Simple
You guys who wanted Dixon replaced should be happy as well about the extension…you have ten years of something to complain about without having to think of something new….if he left you would of had to start up on replacing Chryst already.
jftr2 – she is smoking hot
In 11 years, he has 10 NCAAs, 3 Sweet 16s, 1 E8 and more league wins than anyone in what has been the best basketball league. If you think Pitt has a rich BB history, then you are mediocre .. and he certainly doesn’t have great recruits in his backyard.
I WILL GUARANFUCKINGTEE THAT THERE ARE WELL OVER 300 NCAA PROGRAMS THAT WOULD LOOOOOOVE THIS MEDIOCRITY WE HAVE SEEN THIS PAST DECADE!!!!
Comment by Justinian 03.23.13 @ 3:09 pm
The guy that made that team what it was, was Sam Young who was the only guy at PITT who could take over a game in this whole era.
He was just incredible in our run to the Elite 8 averaging over 25 ppg and 8 rpg in the Dance.
Hit the 2 big 3′s in the final minute against Nova to bring us back.
And averaged close to 20 ppg in the reg. season.
Dixon almost ran him off after his soph year.
I know it’s early in the 2nd..excuse me ..3rd round but notice how we have all teams from Big Conference so far in sweet 16…though I probably just jinxed that.
The most in a 3 year period in 30 frickin years. lol
And more than likely it will be another 30 years that Pitt wins 27 games in 3 years and finish #15 in the country.
So enjoy the waiting like most of us did.
The fact that there are 800 posts to this thread shows you just how ‘ mediocre’ Pitt BB is!!
…how about keeping it to things that actually did happen
….Sam Young, who Dixon recruited and coached, became one Pitt’s best players of all time and helped a Pitt team get to the Elite Eight
..but I guess if you said that then that doesn’t help your case in removing Dixon.
Anybody that thinks a 10 year extension was warranted with this program having plateaued is drinking the Kool-Aid.
Peace out !
Veritas et Virtus !
I hope Birch is happy at UNLV.
Emel, I am not talking to you but some of your compadres only come on here to bitch and never have a positive thing to say and don’t show up at all when we win.
It was a miserable loss, but Woodall was 1-12, 1-5 from the line with 5 turnovers. He missed wide open shots and lay-ups. Passed to phantom players.
He had his worst game ever. Must be time for a new coach. Oh yeah, they didn’t even make the NIT last year.
By the way, the vast majority on this site wanted Wanny gone, don’t try to rewrite history.
Pitt is not going to spend 3 mil on a coach and break a lot of rules to get the superstars on campus. Awards are no fun when they take them away, ask UMass and Memphis how they feel about Calipari, USC about Pete Carroll.
Do think Pitino would still be at Pitt after his public display of amore?
I’ll take the 20+ win seasons. Hail to Jamie!
And Emel, you know as well as I do that a 10 year extension is for only for show. Wasn’t Wanny granted a 4 or 5 year extension the year befor he was axed?
Upittbaseball, what is your definition of above average and good?
“It’s hard to find great coaching talent these days, and we felt that her fine work with the Lady Panthers over the years warranted us locking her up for as long as she wants to coach here at this fine University…(hic)”
If Dixon ever wants to leave, the college he goes to will have to buy out a lot of his contract I suspect, so I actually like what happened after UCLA robbing us of Howland (Man am I glad UCLA lost).
I’m willing to give Dixon a couple years to adjust his coaching style (if he does that is) to the new CBB and what he’ll be up against in the ACC. He already has 2 good guys coming in and 2 more ships….it’s how he used those 2 ships (2 more stiffs?) that may tell us a lot before next season….and I better not hear “they can’t play until they can lock down on defense….”
Should be interesting anyway…
Carrying a conference losing streak of two years is NEWS.
Cyanide Steve subscribes to the theory that any publicity is good publicity.
With that in mind cleverly orchestrated the Wannstadt, Heyward, Graham trifecta! Graham leaving was Madison Avenue good luck.
The ladies team slogan entering into 13-14 season is “with Steve, all bad things are possible”!
And to think Howland could have had this HC job forever…if only….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z9pD_UK6vGU
Look,we all know Jamie wants to win. I think it is safe to say that we all consider him a stand up guy and a fine representative of the university. Legitimately, however, our patience with post season performance has worn thin. I guess we can only hope that perhaps he is capable of self-evaluation and is willing to fix those elements of his approach and of the program that need fixing.
Wichita up on the Zags at the half. Not sure if that makes me feel better or worse. And this just in: Marquette’s Vander Blue is a helluva player.
Come on. This must be some kind of a sick joke. No sane human being would have done this. I mean, we were privileged to have this choke artist through 2016 anyway. But to give him 7 more years on the basis of his stunning performance against Wichita State? After he fired that team up so much they had to be hosed down?
This is a joke. Right?
http://www.mstarz.com/articles/9998/20130320/amanda-marcum-photos-fgcu-coach-andy-enfields-sexy-supermodel-wife-sparks-buzz-following-ncaa-tournament-march-madness-bid.htm
This is not directed at you, I was going to post this before I saw your comment.
So, with your comment being understood……
I hope no one is going to come on here and say, “look, Wichita beat Gonzaga, so that makes Pitt look better”.
NO. We got smoked and embarrassed by 18 points to a Missouri Valley Conference team.
Possibly, if we got beat by a couple points, you might make that stretch.
Getting blown out by 18, please, just leave it alone.
By the way when the heck is Pitt going to play a team that is falling apart in March? All Pitt does is play teams that are hot in March.
However, breaking it down, who’d we beat???
No one really.
Syracuse once. Without their star player.
Georgetown, when their team was in total discombobulation. We were the catalyst that changed their season.
That’s it, if you wanna hang your hat on that.
Slightly better than mediocre on pure record alone I suppose.
Especially with the Big East having a so-so year in general, don’t dig too deep in all of the Pitt wins.
Not bad, but don’t over sell it.
Not one.
I was hoping we weren’t debating that.
This was a rebound year after one really bad year.
And Dan, I’m pretty sure PO’d hates Dixon and probably Pitt in general. And maybe Upittbaseball and I’m willing to give Jackagain the benefit of the doubt. Although Upitt has great taste in women. I think Emel could go either way but has a great sense of humor. And from what he says a pretty good night life.
Besides, anyone that doesn’t have a love/hate relationship with Pitt needs to see a shrink.
C’mon Reed please put us out of our misery with a football thread.
Man, you have some lofty ideals for your head coach. See me next year, when we are dueling with Wake Forest for the bottom of the ACC.
Thank god we stumbled on to Paul Chryst. At least we might go .500 in football.
Keith when has Pitt played a higher seed? Only two I remember are UCLA that was a 2 in the Sweet 16 and a game that I went to Pitt against OK St that was a 2 seed in the Sweet 16. Notice two losses to really good teams that went to the Final Four. I’m sure if Pitt had more opportunities in last 10 years they would have.
I don’t know how in the world to ever prove that to you, other than, I didn’t post much on here this week, and I haven’t posted that much on this thread.
I didn’t want to get bombed by saying this wasn’t a great team.
At least compared to our 03-09 teams.
I watched a lot of those teams, and KNEW they were going to win.
I’ve watched this years team and found myself HOPING that they would win.
Somethings different the past couple years. Talent?? Missing Rohrsen and the other fella (can’t think of his name), but, missing some good a.c. recruiters??
I don’t claim to have the answer, hopefully we can get it back.
Watch, I’ll get bombed for giving my opinion. I’m a hater, not a real Pitt fan, etc. etc.
Sorry, that’s what I saw this year.
I’m just comparing the past couple teams in my mind, to the teams in the 2000′s.
I’m not even talking about March. The teams in general.
So, I’m actually not ripping on Dixon. I think he had some fantastic teams, great teams that were fun to watch.
I just see a difference the past two years.
Too me, in my opinion.
I am confident HCJD will learn and adapt. I am confident Pitt will be successful in the ACC. I am confident that Pitt will, sooner rather than later, make the final 4. I am confident that Pitt will, within the term of HCJD’s contract, compete for a national championship.
However, if I’m wrong, count on seeing me here admitting same.
HTP!!!
94, I was giving credit for posting the picture.
Besides, isn’t that the way to select a coach?
UCLA= HIGH EXPECTATIONS
PITT= CONTENT
Had this strange dream, that Pitt was still alive and headed to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles having just knocked off #1 seed Gonzaga.
And that Jaime got a 10 year contract extension.
Must have been that Chianti we were drinking last nite at Villa Antonio’s.
Going back to bed, my back is killing me !
This offseason should tell us something about if Dixon is committed to change. Will he hire smeone who can upgrade the recruiting efforts? What does he do about the lack off frontcourt depth?
How much of the above is Jamie’s fault for their not developing? Some. How much of it is his fault for misusing their playing time? All!! Does he really get the most out of players? Regular season yes, post-season NO WAY.
Should he have gotten an extension to 10 years? I don’t think so, but did we have any chance to replace him with someone better? Who? My only confident choice would be Brad Stevens.
We’ll see how the next 2 or 3 years go with the transition to the ACC. This will prove his worth, or not. If not, then 10 years wasn’t smart.
Did you see Peyton Siva yesterday?
If I were JR or Patterson, I would spend my time with Adams and Zanna doing the pick and role all day. I would be able to do it in my sleep, dunks and layups are much more dependable than 3′s. Live by the three die by the three.
It’s going to take more than Adams alone next year. Let’s hope the seniors show some dedication to upping their games.
No wonder your back hurts, you carried around the Pitt BB team on it for for over a week while they struggled through the BE and NCAA tournaments. LOL.
Go Wichita State! On to the Final Four! If you can’t beat them, join them, I say!
You met my son….yesterday after basketball practice; you know, the one in which he learned that passing at the 10 year old level is a mortal sin and unless he can dribble and rebound, he will never see the ball, we went to the gym.
At the gym, it is reqally tempting to launch 3′s, try crazy stuff, etc….
Well, there is a young girl who shows up in the early afternoon; she is dressed in baketball jersey, ponytail. etc…
We have seen her before. She is a couple years older than my boy. So I ask her if she will work with my son on some dribbling, etc…she said yes.
So I scram, leaving my son no choice but to swallow his pride (a girl!!) and bring his game, not his name.
Your suggestion that JJ, Cam and Johnson live their lives to the tune of “basketball jones” is dead spot on. But it takes committment and checking your ego at the door. anyone can work on things they do well.
that was the point with my son. I left the two to their own devices and left. 20 minutes later the two were friends and my son got some technique under his belt.
Maybe JJ, Cam and Johnson can head down to the Palumbo center and work with Suzy M.
mediocre all season in a weak conference…how could we be so mediocre and lose in the tournament?…fire the coach!
Glad to see JD is staying…10 year extension…so what?…he can probably still leave at any time but it does show Pitt’s commitment to the program and to what he has done for the schooL…I agree with Chris dokish in that he is the best coach we could get and have going into the ACC next year and is great news for the program…
I have always thought that winning your conference and conference tournament should be the primary goals of any college program because they are realistically attainable goals…something that JD has done with some regularity in his tenure at Pitt, actually the best of any Pitt coach ever and the one of the best in the BE over the last 10 years…
while the NCAA tournament on the other hand is a crap shoot…that is why so few teams have ever won it all (only 19 in the last 35 years and only 35 since the tournament began)…so to soley judge whether a coach is successful or not by how they do in the tournament is shortsighed and ludicrous IMHO…
I think that this year’s team overachieved…and has been mentioned, who on this blog had them winning more than 1 game at best in the tourney?
The prevailing thought among many here is that Pitt will bomb in the ACC becuase they will not adapt to the ACC style of play, more finese than physical…i for one think that within the next 3 to 4 years, the style of play in the ACC is going to become more physical…with Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville and ND the Big East style of play is going have a major influence on the league…just look at Miami; they play a physical style much more akin to the BE than the ACC…
I do agree that changes have to be made…I do not think that the current batch of assistants have served Pitt well over the last couple of years…they miss a strong recruiter like Roherson…I also think that he needs to recruit more shooters…and open up the offense more…
So lets wait to see what happens…I like so few on here look forward to next season and see only better things ahead for Pitt Basketball in the ACC…
HTP
Comment by marcus of schaumburg
Barkley can be an idiot, but he is funny. That could be said of me, except for the funny part.
Seems like he lives as if he came from nothing, enjoys life, and will leave with nothing and no regrets.
that is not a easy thing after last year and being one and done this year they wont be standing in line to come to pitt.
i hope he gets one or two my self but it is not like you go to k mart and pick them off a shelf.
75 percent of the kids have all ready signed
for this year and for the rest we are not on top of the list.
Sandusky state won the NCAA wrestling title for the 3rd straight year.
EWL stopped being relevant a decade ago.
Only a Pitt hater wants Cyanide Steve to conduct a coaching search.
The only reason I am happy for the extension is that it doesn’t force Cyanide out of the office.
spiritofsection22??????
Yep he sure did disappear. Maybe someone should call the Penn Monroe.
This POD system is a utter joke.
If the NCAA is going to let them play virtually “home games” the penalty should be they have to play in the same region.
Same thing with Mich & Mich State playing at home at Auburn Hills. And L-Ville playing in KY.
