On the sidebar, there is a new grouping called “Pitt Consortium.” I am thrilled that the number of Pitt blogs has reached the point where it needs it’s own separate group. Make sure you check these guys out as well.
If you are primarily a Pitt blogger, and have been able to stay active for more than one month, just let me know so I can add you to the list.
First things quickly:
– If you haven’t heard or read about Kevin Hart, Google his name and read all about his story. Holy crap it’s amazing — he had a big event where he committed to Cal over Oregon. He wore the hat, people clapped for him, all was good. Until it was discovered he’s had no contact with either school, neither head coach knows who he is, and he basically made the whole thing up. Only in Nevada… (Part I, Part II)
– I think it’s great to see other Pitt blogs that offer more and more outlets for fans to look in to. Check out Pitt Panther Prowl, which is filled with intelligent posts and makes a good point about Wannstedt’s recruiting compared to Howland/Dixon.
Since Ben Howland took over at Pitt (Jamie Dixon being his primary recruiter), and on into Dixon’s tenure, name one McDonald’s All American who has signed with the basketball team. There is no doubt that there have been a few studs, such as Chris Taft and DeJuan Blair. But who are the top 10 recruits the basketball team has had? … But Dixon certainly took players that, as high schoolers, were believed to be inferior athletes, and he got them to play at an elite level. This is the trademark of Dixon’s teams. He takes players that have the skills to fit his system, and he squeezes every last ounce of talent out of most of them. His coaching has made up for the fact that he can’t get the same recruits that Duke, or even UConn can. And if he continues with the success he has had, the future will hold better and better recruits wanting to come play at Pitt.
When Wannstedt becomes a better game day coach (and I think he started to turn that corner near the end of this season), the recruits will be put into better situations to succeed. If not, we’re going to have very good players under a bad coach, and we’ll continue to see these 5-7 type seasons.
Now, to tonight’s game against West Virginia. You’re wondering about the “42 Weeks” thing, right? That’s how many consecutive weeks the Pitt basketball team has been ranked, reaching as high as #2. A loss tonight will certainly end that. WVU plays well against ranked teams:
Now, they get a visit from the Mountaineers (16-6, 5-4), who have performed well against the three ranked opponents they’ve faced. They’re just 1-2, but their losses came by a combined three points — 74-72 to No. 7 Tennessee on Nov. 24, and 58-57 to No. 9 Georgetown on Jan. 26 after a controversial non-call on a potential goaltending call at the buzzer.
Both teams are 5-4 in conference and the repercussions of this game could easily be felt when it comes to the seeding of the Big East Tournament. Also, beating a good team like this looks good on our NCAA Tournament resume (and so does Duke defeating UNC last night).
The hoops rivalry with West Virginia has never really seemed as intense as the football side, but WBGV still lays down the hate.
Things they hate about Pitt (full list on their site):
Today is their day for payback, revenge, retribution (and even murder).
…the 2007 College Football Blogger Awards are here. Lead by the big boys in the CFB blogosphere, the nominees are out. They are spread out on EDSBS, MGoBlog, Dawg Sports, Burnt Orange Nation and Rocky Top Talk. Just a few thoughts:
– For a second straight year, Pitt Blather is nominated for the Best Big East/Notre Dame blog. This is a testament to Chas who I personally think is one of the best bloggers in the business. (Albeit a low income business for most, it’s a business nonetheless.)
– The actual awards are a great way to let let some people who might not be “in” with the vast number of great college football blogs on the web. It also allows newer and lesser known blogs to get some deserved attention.
– Since you can’t win a category if you won last year, Every Day Should Be Saturday and MGoBlog won’t sweep every award.
– My vote for Best Big East Blog will go to Card Chronicle. I try to visit a few times a week; always a good read.
– Funniest post? Enter the Octonion, the secret meeting between the Big East mascots with Roc the Panther being hilariously humanized.
– Eleven Warriors, an Ohio State blog, is beautiful. My vote for best looking site.
– The Birddog, focused on Navy football which I started to read the week of our devastating loss to them, is my choice for Best New Blog.
Soon enough, EDSBS will have directions so that you, me, and my dog (Finnigan!) can vote and award some winners.
Ray from the excellent Flyers Fieldhouse Blog contacted me about doing a little Q&A after the Pitt-Duke game — he apparently couldn’t sleep. I fired off the first questions.
1. Brian Roberts seems to have picked up where he left up last year, but with a couple more assists per game. Freshman Chris Wright appears to be as good as his recruiting ranking. So, who else should Pitt fans be wary/get to know on this Dayton squad?
I’ve been overwhelmed by the transformation of Charles Little over the past year. Charles was the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year last year, and still comes off the bench. He’s currently averaging about 7 points and 5 boards per night, but that doesn’t even begin to do justice to the player he’s become. At 6-6 and 230, the guy is built like a prototypical tight end, and moves like one, too. The problem used to be he’d get in foul trouble for being too physical, rather than relying on everything he’d been taught. This year he’s moving without the ball better, posting up better, and taking his man off the dribble better as well. He’s a matchup problem for nearly anyone he sees.
He still can’t shoot free throws to save his life. I think he’s gotten bored and is actually trying to fire them through the backboard.
2. Dayton’s tempo is not that of a run-and-gun team. Is it based primarily on a hard, tough defense or from a deliberate, half-court, set offense? How has Dayton been able to control the pace of games against opponents?
While they don’t prefer to run and gun, they can get it up there if need be. But you’re right; we’d rather slow it down and make teams beat us from the perimeter if at all possible. Someone the number of passes on the offensive end have made me feel like we’re watching Hoosiers. And it’s very effective; they won’t settle for bad shots. They’re perfectly content to keep on lobbing it around until they get the shot that they (and Brian Gregory) want.
On defense, we haven’t played much zone. The athletes on the floor almost demand you play an up front, physical man-to-man. This makes it hard to get off shots that are both quick and high-percentage. I’ve always been a proponent of the effectiveness of a good 2-3 zone in the college game, but I can’t argue with results. The Flyers have held teams to a very low percentage from the floor.
3. I’ve heard and read rumblings of dissatisfaction with the overall performance by Coach Brian Gregory. Can you explain the reason(s)? Is it his personality, style of play and/or not meeting expectations? Is this a make or break year for him with the talent on the team? What kind of impact do you think adding Anthony Solomon to the coaching staff is/will have on the team from a coaching/preparation/recruiting standpoint?
I’ll admit that I’ve always been the first to question Brian Gregory. The problem in my eyes had been the development of athletes into players. We’re finally beginning to see the type of real players that Brian Gregory saw when he recruited these kids. They’re smart and disciplined, and that’s the first sign to me that Brian Gregory is finally getting through. I think the recruits that Brian has brought in, coupled with his enthusiasm and dedication to the program, have bought him several more years. But, in the end, we need to keep seeing the results in the W column.
I think Anthony has been great for this staff. He was in a virtual no-win situation at St. Bonaventure. The fact that he managed to help keep that program alive after Weldergate is a credit to his worth as a coach. He has east coast ties, which is great for recruiting. Also, it never hurts to have a former A-10 head coach in your ear when you’re preparing for the conference slate. Excellent hire, in my opinion.
4. The A-10 has had well-deserved attention so far this season with Dayton, Rhode Island, Xavier and UMass all scoring some quality wins. That said, with 14 teams it seems that the A-10 is nearly as unwieldly as the Big East. Peering into your Crystal Ball, how do you see the A-10 looking in 5 years?
To be honest, I hope to cut back down to 12 teams. I liked the addition of Charlotte and Saint Louis, but as you said, the conference is just too saturated right now. It’s really hard for teams to rise above the middle of the pack in such a large conference, as the conference slate is almost big to avoid notching four or five losses. This is fine in a conference with the repute of the Big East, but the A-10 is not of that caliber from top to bottom. If you don’t separate from the pack, getting the attention of the selection committee is a tall task.
That said, booting any teams from the conference is something that is bound to end up in court. Say we take two perennially in the cellar, like St. Bonaventure and La Salle. It’s not like they have a conference they could jump to that will match the revenues they’re sharing now in the A-10. Unfortunately, I think the room is bound to remain crowded for the foreseeable future
Look for his questions and my answers later today.
Welcome to the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl. Not too far from kickoff, which can be seen on ESPN. The current line is somewhere around 28 — here’s to hoping things don’t get too ugly. Lou Holtz gave his fictional pep talk to Pitt this week on ESPN’s College Football Live — said something about the Panthers winning to gain some “respecth” — so hopefully Wannstedt proclaims a similar message.
7:32: Post by Chas over at the FanHouse about WVU’s couch burning problems, plus a newspaper ad asking for fans to be responsible. Waiting for this Oklahoma State vs. Washington hoops game to finish up…
7:40: Lou Holtz reminds us teams play tougher in a rivalry. Rece Davis points out that teams ranked #2 ranked have lost plenty of games this season. Many reasons to get hopes up, only to have them quickly crushed. Ugh…
7:50: Kickoff. Go Pitt.
7:53: Bostick already throws a poor pass, which is picked and returned to the Pitt 30. Crap.
8:00: Holy crap, The Paul Rhoads Bend-But-Don’t-Break Defense™ didn’t look too bad. Add a Pat McAfee field goal miss and we get the ball at the 20.
8:11: Bostick gets eaten alive by 7 defenders for a 3rd down sack. Punting…
8:19: Greg Romeus fails to keep containment on White and he gets the huge run. On 3rd and 1 they give it to Owen Schmitt for the short run — measurement confirms the first down. Defense looks good except for White’s huge run.
8:22: McAfee misses another chip shot! Hah, gotta love it!
8:27: We can’t get a first down. LaRod was just body slammed, and the WVU defensive line is getting all sorts of penetration. Time for the Wildcat?
End of 1st quarter, tied at 0-0.
8:31: Fumble!!! Pitt ball!!!
8:34: Blah. Two more bad throws by Bostick and a bad punt through the end zone.
8:47: Bostick is 4 of 4 passing. Four throws and four horrible passes, that is. Screen play to Shady equals 1st down and first decent Bostick throw.
Nevermind, he throws another pick on his 5th bad throw of the night.
8:49: Does Wannstedt use the old-school wood crutches so they easily snap when he hits people with them? I suppose the newer metal ones would hurt a bit more.
8:55: Pat White looks like he’s in a ton of pain from a thumb injury — dislocation? Ew.
8:59: The goddamn backup is as good as White! Pitt takes a timeout.
Text message from a WVU fan/friend: “Dude Bostick is pretty fast and while I’m still lying I’ll say he’s good too.”
9:05: Wrapping White’s finger with a huge bag of ice. Things don’t look great for him. We make a 3rd down stop and Duhart makes a stupid move and gives them a first. WTF?!?
Even though the o-lineman flopped you still don’t push him.
Touchdown West Virginia, with the backup QB running in for the TD.
WVU 7, Pitt 0 — 1:43 left, 2nd quarter
9:19: Conor Lee! From 48, his new career long. He drilled the kick, showing Pat McAfee how to do it.
Only down 4 at halftime, not bad at all. Maybe Lou Holtz’s “respecth” speech worked? Anyways, I got the sense from watching McCoy those last few plays that he’s starting to physically feel those hits he’s taken from all these carries. Defense has tackled well, hopefully carrying through to the 2nd half. Offense is one-dimensional, with absolutely no passing threat.
Pat White will return if/when he “regains feeling in his thumb” according to Rich Rodriguez.
We’ve been close to WVU the last two years going into halftime, only to get destroyed in the second half. Time to break that streak.
WVU 7, Pitt 3 — Halftime
So this week the Post-Gazette decided to have a Pitt writer and a WVU writer take part in The Backyard Blog. It’s not a true “blog” but whatever, at least it gives us something to read. Except when I read it, I get really frustrated by the Hoopies writer, Jon Schmitz. Mr. Schmitz here believes he knows exactly how to fix the Pitt football program.
When you see a drowning man, you throw a rope. With some reluctance, I’d like to offer some CPR suggestions for the Pitt program to bring down those point spreads in the future. Not that I’d mind if Pitt stays right where it is.
His ideas and my thoughts below them:
–Lose the coach.
Next year is Wannstedt’s make-or-break year no matter what.
–Relocate.
It is clear Jon Schmitz has never been to Oakland. Where is there to plop down a football stadium? Heinz Field is empty, but win some games and the fans will come. The product on the field determines fans coming.
–Play Penn State, not Grambling.
Jon Schmitz also does not read the news, read this blog, and most likely lives under a rock. The choice to play the Pitt-Penn State rivalry rests on the shoulders of Joe Paterno. We would ask JoePa again but we’re afraid his road rage might make an appearance.
–Engage the students.
Again, win and they will come. He’s a WVU homer and tells us there are more student ticket requests than availible seats, to which I say “No crap, you’re team is on the verge of playing in the BCS title game. Too bad 75% of them hopped on the bandwagon in the last 2-3 years.”
A few minutes to gametime. I’m at my folks house and the game is being shown locally.
12:14: Grife, is USF’s defense is just faster and better than Pitt’s O-line.
12:16: Greg Romeus with the sack to force an obviously frigid USF punt.
12:19: Noooo! Collins trips over his own feet on a wide open, well-placed pass that would have been a TD down the line.
12:21: A well-excuted screen. Who knew? McCoy with a great run for 40+ yards and inside the 15.
12:23: Are the USF players getting too cold? The Wildcat formation for McCoy picks up 5 yards to give Pitt 1st and goal at the 1. How could that happen? Everyone knew what was coming.
12:25: Pitt scores a TD! McCoy on a quick toss outside and in he goes.
7-0 Pitt.
12:35: Great special teams work. Giving up 35 yards on a fake punt. Ugh.
12:36: And then Mike Ford takes it in on for the TD — untouched.
7-7. 48 seconds left in the first quarter.
Pitt isn’t playing badly so far. The Bulls are definitely bothered by the cold. Ah, the joys of getting warm weather teams up north late in the season.
12:41: End of the 1st Q. Tie game. LaRod Stephens-Howling in for a series it seems. You know, because it wouldn’t make sense to switch backs within the series to keep a defense off-balance.
12:45: McCoy actually throws out of the wildcat, but just out of Porter’s grasp.
12:52: Just like they drew it up. Lousy 4th down play and then get the fumble to have a fresh set of downs.
12:53: Another screen works. This time to Shane Brooks down to the 25.
12:55: Shane Brooks seems to be getting a lot of work in the second quarter. Collins had a horrible first quarter, and some coaches must be feeling the heat for poor performances. Shorter leashes for players has become very noticeable the last couple of weeks.
12:58: Fake FG attempt. Pitt is close. Waiting for the measurement. Just as I wrote Collins was out, he was the one taking the ball. Figures.
And the ball goes over to USF. Well, at least they have to go 97 yards.
1:00: Just for good measure, Wannstedt challenged the ruling and of course lost.
1:08: 19 yard gain on an end around for Maurice Williams. Bostick sold it well and took a hit for it. Pitt inside the USF 20.
1:10: Crap. Byham is down. He’s being helped off. left leg.
1:11: It figures. Bostick had time to throw and McGlynn called for holding.
1:12: Now Turner has a hold on a screen. Pitt is taking themselves right out of FG range. 2nd and 23 from the 33.
1:13: Draw play for 12, but of course. Holding. This time on Strong.
1:14: Nice touch by Bostick to Turner, but that was solid coverage. There’s a reason for that. USF has one of the best pair of corners in the country.
This time, they do it again, but to Mo Williams. He used his height and took it away for the TD. Pretty.
14-7 Pitt, 2:56 to halftime.
Real world intrusions killed all hope of posting yesterday. Settling in for a game that I can’t help but have some hope for an upset.
12:02: Oh, no. Pitt is wearing their Georgia Tech tops. Why? Who? Someone is to blame for them. I need a name. Give me the name!
12:03: Meaningless stat. Pitt has lost the last two to Rutgers. Those were both night games. I’m thinking that the last time Pitt lost to Rutgers in a day game was back in ‘98.
12:14: Guess Teel’s thumb is feeling better. Still, I can’t complain that Pitt is selling out to stop the run. I’d rather take a chance with Teel and the receivers than Rice.
Field goal is good.
3-0 Rutgers, 11:29 in the 1stQ.
12:20: Bostick hits Turner who fights for extra yards. Nice. Get’s Turner’s head in the game immediately as well as opening things up.
Turner should want this game. He is a Jersey boy.
12:21: Poor footwork by Bostick. on that 3d and 5 pass attempt.
Pooch punt fails miserably.
12:25: Wow. Gift interception to Kennard Cox. Britt had position, but let it go past him. Good return.
Pitt at the RU 23.
12:26: No shock that Rutgers will also sell out on the run.
12:28: FG for Pitt now. 33-yarder is good.
3-3, 6:39 in the 1st quarter.
12:33: Wow. A fumble! McKillop caused it. On a blitz? Ah, Jabu was back.
Under review? For what? To see if his arm was coming forward?
12:34: Howling takes it to the 9 yard line for 3 yards.
Munoz (OLB) for Rutgers is down after the tackle.
12:36: Smart dump-off to Howling. Damn. Just stopped short of the goal line.
1st and goal. Have to make this a 4 down attempt.
12:39: Offsides by RU on two straight plays as Pitt QB sneaks have been pitiful.
Oh, crap. what the hell was that? Lucky to be sacked rather than the turnover. Not sure how that can be reviewed.
Vangas stepped on Bostick’s foot as he pulled out.
12:41: Refs say McCoy was short. 3d and inches from the goal line.
Wow. Great stop by Rutgers. Hat right on McCoy to deny him. I’m impressed by that one.
12:44: Going for it after a TO.
Jump ball to Strong. Hey. It worked this time!! Grife. Now we will have to read in the post game by Wannstedt saying, “See, told you it works.”
10-3 Pitt, 2:14 in the 1st Q.
Thanks, Dennis for the draft. Here’s what it looks like at the moment after I hacked at it.
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU | – |
| 2 | Oregon | – |
| 3 | West Virginia |  1 |
| 4 | Kansas | 1 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 6 | Missouri | 1 |
| 7 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 8 | Ohio State |  5 |
| 9 | Georgia | 3 |
| 10 | Arizona State | – |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 7 |
| 12 | Texas | 4 |
| 13 | Florida | 2 |
| 14 | Hawaii | – |
| 15 | Virginia | 5 |
| 16 | Tennessee | 5 |
| 17 | Boston College | 8 |
| 18 | Clemson | 4 |
| 19 | Auburn | 6 |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 4 |
| 21 | Illinois | 5 |
| 22 | Connecticut | 11 |
| 23 | Boise State | – |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 2 |
| 25 | Brigham Young | 1 |
Honestly, I really like Oregon and want to put them #1, but I don’t trust them. They’ve proven me wrong too many times in prior years. Besides. Being #1 seems to be an invite to disaster. Well, just being in the top-5 seems to fit that bill this year.
The bottom half of the poll is getting ridiculous. I keep looking at teams (Texas, VT, Virginia…) and muttering, “that’s too high,” but there’s no one to put ahead of them. I pulled the plug on Michigan, and if someone can really make a case on booting Auburn (4 losses and in the top-20, that’s a problem) I’m ready to listen.
I don’t think it fully dawned on me that it was actually hoops season until I wrote that last post about the 103-62 win over Houston Baptist.
The absolute best collaboration of bracket predictions is the Bracket Project. It’s amazing and amazingly pointless to predict the brackets at any point during the season, especially before the season even starts, but Pitt’s average projected seed is currently on the 7 line. The highest projection for Pitt is 3 and the lowest is 9.
BigEastHoops.com sees Pitt finishing 9th in the Big East since we have “nothing in the middle.” Presumably because they’re not familiar with Dejuan Blair.
9. Pitt - Their dynasty is over. With Gray and Kendall leaving, Pitt is left with nothing in the middle. In a league that has such great big men, the Panthers will struggle to beat the top teams. The backcourt of Cook, Ramon and Fields are very good. But with no inside game, Pitt will struggle to find points. They’ll still beat the weak teams of the league, but I can’t see them finishing much higher than 9th.
Blair won’t lead this team to a conference title, but I think he’ll keep Pitt from falling as far as 9th or worse.
Big East Basketball Report compiled a preseason power poll as well as conference awards.
2007-2008 Big East Pre-season Poll (first place votes in parenthesis):
1) Georgetown (13): 282 pts. Hi: 1st. Low: 3rd.
2) Louisville (5): 274 pts. Hi: 1st. Low: 3rd.
3) Marquette: 243 pts. Hi: 3rd. Low: 5th.
4) Syracuse: 206 pts. Hi: 3rd. Low: 8th.
5) Pittsburgh (tie): 200 pts. Hi: 3rd. Low: 10th.
5) Villanova (tie): 200 pts. Hi: 2nd. Low: 8th.
7) Connecticut: 195 pts. Hi: 3rd. Low: 10th.
8) Providence: 165 pts. Hi: 4th. Low: 10th.
9) Notre Dame: 154 pts. Hi: 5th. Low: 12th
10) West Virginia: 142 pts. Hi: 4th. Low: 11th.
11) Seton Hall: 98 pts. Hi: 9th. Low: 14th.
12) DePaul: 84 pts. Hi: 9th. Low: 16th.
13) Cincinnati: 82 pts. Hi: 10th. Low: 15th.
14) St. John’s: 57 pts. Hi: 10th. Low: 16th.
15) South Florida: 35 pts. Hi: 13th. Low: 16th.
16) Rutgers: 31 pts. Hi: 14th. Low: 16th.
Seems like Pitt is one of the toughest teams to gauge, with their high-low differential of 7 (10-3=7) is only tied by UConn and DePaul — DePaul doesn’t really count though, because they’re near the bottom and once you get closer to #11 or so, all of the teams are similarly bad.
The preseason awards portion has Levance Fields on the all-conference 3rd team, Dejuan Blair on the all-freshman 2nd team, and Bradley Wannamaker on the freshman honorable mention list.
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