194 thoughts on “Pitt vs Duke BB Thread”

  1. The Duke moneyline tonight is -5500! If anyone wanted to win an easy $100 on the game tonight, all you have to do is put up a cool $5,500. If I wasn’t so heavily invested in the Patriots and Steelers this weekend, I would do it for shizz and giggles.

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  3. Hey Scooter, Can’t wait for next years Fran’s tailgates.. Bring home a respectable game and I know that is one tall task to ask…. ike

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  5. Sparse crowd Iek…but I ran into Bob Pompeani and talked up the POV. I expect him to be at the opener tailgate next fall.

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  11. The Dookies height advantage makes us look like children. They could beat us with 4 players as long as Bagely is on the floor.

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    1. Why is that? Because of the nice arena that was updated just last year and will be updated again? Is Stallings underpaid?

      Perhaps you’re being sarcastic…

      Pitt may not break 20 in the half. We also my be headed for a new home loss record.

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  16. The one good thing about our ineptitude (fancy ass word) is that potential recruits who have real talent
    have a real chance to get loads of playing time as freshman.

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  18. Turned on the game and realized, for the first time in over 30 years I can’t nane ONE player on this team. And I probably won’t waste time learning them either.

    They might all be good kids and maybe some of them might even turn into legitimate DI players but none deserve to be playing in an ACC game.

    This is even worse than described. And it’s an absolute embarrassment. But hey, it’s only sports and sports don’t matter.

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  21. Funny thing is Duke is terrible this year. I know a member in AD Dept at Duke and he said they are really weak.

    Enough!!!

    Heather grow balls and fire this bum.

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  23. I’m not seeing the acclaimed effort from the Pitt youngsters.

    However I did see a very good replacement for KS just now on ESPN.

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    1. I was there! It was a great win. A great crowd. Pitt basically dominated throughout.

      Last game I attended. Thanks Barnes!

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  29. These guys wouldn’t compete in D2. How does Heather sleep
    at night?????

    This Stallings is setting back Pitt Basketball 20 years.

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  30. Sitting here with my wife and watched some of the game… Jeanie B kept repeating “ they are awful. They can’t even make a foul shot !!” She averaged over 30 points a game for her nursing school team her last year. Basketball is a tough watch for me… this team is unbearable. Sorry.

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  31. Everybody on Dukes team can score in double digits if the pressed and pushed the ball up the court the whole game.

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  32. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Hey, Barnes though looked impressive to some fans after Dixon left and he had that smug solo press conference as if all was well. Way to strike out on a good coach, do your buddy a favor and hire Stallings then bail for Oregon State and use your daughter’s illness as an excuse.

    It all happened on Gallagher’s watch.

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  35. Barvo.

    I disagree. I see tons of effort. They’re just no good. I’m not going to talk $h!t on these kids because they are playing HARD. They just shouldn’t be on the floor.

    I think 1 & 15 have potential. The rest..? Uggh.

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    1. Jay, they’re giving more effort now. In the first half Duke was getting anything they wanted and was pounding Pitt on the glass.

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  44. I am by no means a basketball guru, however, I have noticed that many of Wilson-Frame’s 3 point shots are line drives with not enough arc…shots are banging off rim and are recovered 10 feet out from the basket.

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  47. I think The Zoo may have lost their way. Chanting overrated to Bagley. Guy has 16 points and 14 boards with 9 to play.

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  48. When are they gonna learn this isn’t high school you can’t over power everybody going to the rim. Stop and pop or kick it out for a 3 or a reset.

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  49. I really like Ryan Luther, but he has become a mythic figure since going down last year. Dude hasn’t played more than a handful of ACC games in the last 2 seasons.

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  50. Pittman… after she gets her other knee replaced and get one of those fancy hairdos the boys now sport she should be good to go!

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  56. What moral victory are we to take from tonight from the optimists?

    Under 30? These kids try hard?

    Let’s be clear…while they got it to under 20 at one point. The other side isn’t a machine…being up over 25 you tend to get a little sloppier in your gameplay. I even said out loud to myself when it got to under 20 – watch Duke kick it up a notch and blow up the lead.

    I know the athletes are trying. I don’t blame them.

    But how is this team growing? Some of the comments on here actually state I like their heart but they aren’t learning from their mistakes.

    Duke is shooting 52%, 39% from 3 pt range
    PItt is shooting 35%, 16% from 3 pt range

    Pitt has 14 TO’s to Dukes 6.

    a 34 point (right now) blow out to me literally has nothing to build upon.

    Fact is I doubt they get rid of KS even if he doesn’t win a single ACC game this year. The excuse will be you can’t purge a HC in year 2 it will scare any potential coaches away. He needs at least 3 years.

    So there is nothing to glean from this game, or this year for that matter.

    And I was open minded about KS when he was first hired…not I didn’t like how it went down, but I did at least say I will give the cat a chance before judging him.

    Well I don’t know how much more of a sample size is needed at this point. For me it’s clear UPitt is closer to right that this is going to take 20 years to fix. I will be old before this team is good again (or dead).

    DaveD

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    2. Pitt cutting Stallings loose wouldn’t hurt their ability to find another coach.

      Let me give it a go.

      They may very well finish 4-32 in conference play under Stallings. There have been several losses that haven’t been remotely competitive (a few at home). Lyke didn’t hire Stallings. Season ticket sales are way down. Attendance is way down. Stallings hasn’t exactly carried himself well. He has recruited limited talent and as you’ve pointed out it doesn’t appear to be developing. He has limited talent coming in next year. Stallings already replaced the “legend”. The fans have learned their lesson and will appreciate the next successful coach. Write your AD now!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Barvo,

        You may be turning me into, dare I say it, a cockeyed optimist. I mean I think you might be onto something here.

        What better way for Ms. Lyke to establish her hegemony on the Sports Administration by thinking/acting on the things you stated above.

        Hell she can even send him off with faint praise.

        So those of you in the optimist mold, I too am an optimist. Not for the reasons you are however. Barvo has given me hope this hell can end by seasons end.

        🙂

        Thanks man!

        DaveD

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    1. I thought we were done with the non respectful names. What did Rutgers Big Ten money, Metro NYC location TV market, good basketball coach (plus Brandon Knight), and my oldest grandson attending; do to you?

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  61. How can you recruit 11 guys and go 0-11? You know, I played hard too, but that doesn’t mean I was any good. And Rocky and Bulwinkle were entertaining.

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  62. Pitt is losing at least $4M each year with a Pete at half capacity. Thats like 15% of the money Pitt makes from ACC membership. Do we really think next year will be any better?

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  63. Not trying to pile on but this team has D3 talent. And next year and the year after they will still have D3 talent.

    You can coach up talent but you can’t create it!! These were the only 9 guys we could get thanks to the world class hoax which was the hiring process of Stallings. That’s on Herman but the fact he’s still here is on Gallagher. Heather was brought in to look the other way. She’s doing a fabulous job.

    No one of talent will come to Pitt while this farce continues to play out. Heather grow a pair. Take a stand.

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    1. I will be glad to coach this team for free once Stallings is gone. I guarentee my record will be no worse. Pay the $$ Fire Stallings.
      Let’s start fresh.

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  64. You know what’s worse than people talking smack on this team no one showing up the games nobody posting because honestly no one cares anymore welcome to the world of being irrelevant. We are in Boston colleges rearview mirror.

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  65. The thing that amazes me, and I mean truly amazes me, is that if you told someone to try and totally screw up this program they couldn’t have done a better job. I mean think about it, bring in a coach who makes no attempt to engratiate himself with the fan base, gets rid of all but 2 players, recruits a roster of kids who simply do not have ACC talent, and turn off one of the most rabid student sections in college basketball. And, to top it off, turn one of The nicest arenas in the sport into a boast town. I mean, it would be hard to accomplish this if that in fact was your goal.
    These moves and the AD hire cause me to wonder, can the powers that be really be so inept, or is there another plan? Even if you were trying you couldn’t do more harm.

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    1. They really are that inept. The intellectuals in the ivory tower have spent their lives in public service and and are pretty skilled at how to be a bureaucrat. Couldn’t tell you the first thing about football and basketball, but probably know all the rules of fencing. Likely see the money generating sports as some sort of diversion that negatively impacts the research university rankings. If the 1,900 per night attendance at the Pete doesn’t wake them up next year, nothing will.

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  66. I have consistently blamed the downfall of our recently proud program on Jamie Dixon. He left behind no Center, no point guard and players who quit on him in his last year at Pitt. The same guys quit last year on KS.

    However, it is apparent that we do not have ACC level talent. I don’t see just youthful mistakes. I see lack of size, speed, athleticism, spatial recognition, fundamental rebounding positioning…. I could go on.

    Nothing on KS’s resume suggests he is capable of turning things around quickly. He was the wrong hire, I think nearly all of us would agree with that. But in absence of spending some REALLY big money, we weren’t going to get a coach who was going to reel in a roster full of four star recruits. And we all know that Pitt wasn’t going to do that.

    So I am sympathetic to him. I was originally of the belief that once hired, he should be given the opportunity to rebuild over 3 or 4 years at a minimum. But the fans are speaking loud and clear with their wallets. And while I observe that the players do play hard, I am beginning to find it to be unwatchable on television.

    So I have now joined the faction that believes that we should blow it up and start over. BUT, only if the money is spent to hire a DYNAMIC replacement who can come in and recruit 4 star talent IMMEDIATELY. Ask me who meets that criteria or how much it would cost, and I come up empty. Our basketball program is a national embarrassment, and likely the worst power 5 team in the country.

    What we should not do is fire Stallings without the intent of upgrading SIGNIFICANTLY. Remember when we fired Dave Wannstedt and hired Mike Haywood? It set our football program back 10 years, because Dave was fired without a plan in place to spend the money to hire someone BETTER.

    So Chancellor Gallagher, AD Lyke and the BOT, I ask? What are you going to do?

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    2. Great comments..Unfortunately the answer is…..wait for it………. nothing!

      They will ride it out because to do something would be to admit they were a party to the hoax that was the hiring of KS. I bet they, the Pitt BOT and Gallagher are stunned that Pitt fans would actually rise up, recognize this farce, and vote with their feet. We’ve never done it before…hell the tore down our home Stadium and we barely raised a peep.

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  67. As I’ve posted previously, there’s nobody on this current Pitt squad who would make most other ACC teams.
    Duke could have won by as many as they wanted. Only the Coaching fraternity thing keep that from happening. Otis does have tenure and is part of the Huckleberry Hound tree.

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  69. Can’t use the….we’re young excuse either.

    Duke started 4 freshmen. with 2 more frosh coming off the bench and 2 sophomores.

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  70. No one listens to me. I’m just a negative ahole. I have sales managers friends who are paid more than Yellow Blouse. Fire her and Stallkngs and hire a real AD who makes moves. If our chancellor cant raise 4M to give pappy and 600k to Heather after 3 phone calls he needs fired.

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  71. I tweeted this tonight..

    @PittChancellor @Pitt_MBB and @Pitt_FB are going backwards. You and the BOT need to show commitment or we are all going away. We love our school but enough is enough.

    I may not speak for all of you but I speak for the majority. #enoughisenough

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  72. You know, I thought for sure Pitt would hire an AD who would bring a good BBall coach with him.

    Guess it was more wishful thinking and not really indicative of how Pitt does business. Which is cockeyed.

    Dumpster diving.

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  73. Pitt would have been no worse hiring Brandon Knight as HC. Probably much better since there would have been some continuity with the program. Would have saved themselves themselves $ome money as well.

    Always a major concern with the cheap$kates.

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  74. What’s even more disturbing is…… since our program has gone into the dumpster. Two programs we use to beat regularly in the BigEast have soared.

    Villanova has won a National Championship and is ranked #1 again currently this year.

    WVcc (who we make fun of) is ranked #2 this year after finishing last year ranked #13 and a Sweet 16 appearance. They might well make the Final 4 this year.

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      1. Yeah, you could see Duke ratchet it back up at around the 10 minute mark in the second half after Pitt had cut it to 17.

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  76. I think it was UPitt who stated Tom Crean should be our next coach.
    Thinking about this possibility, it makes good sense! Crean is a highly successful big name HC (Marquette and Indiana), he was an Assistant Coach at Pitt (with Ralph Willard), and he even graduated from Heather’s Central Michigan!!!!!! That is 3 YUGE feathers in Crean’s cap! Come on Heather – you can do this!

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  78. Bring in Crean and Thad Matta. At least they can recrruit! May not be great game managers, but I would love to see a few 4 stars in anything on our campus. Empty seats = do the financial math.

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  79. Go get Miller’s Dad. Close. No relo and taught Shaun and Archie. Haha.

    Williards Boy has potential.

    Vandy hired a winner to replace Stallings.

    Any Hurley.

    I don’t like Crean but over Stallings Yes.

    Matta has health issues I think.

    At this point I’d take anyone.

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  80. Posted this on the Star Power thread too, but does anyone have a fairly accurate estimate as to when the full 2018 PITT FB schedule will be out? I have a couple of meetings go to schedule and I want to avoid Pitt FB weekends if possible.

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  81. I said this on another thread. We need a parade around the Pete before the last home game to PROTEST like the Browns fans did after their crappy year. We are not going to win a conference game this year. We need changes from the top down including the BOT. Totally disgraceful.

    I know many on here don’t want to blame Stallings because Jaimie left the cupboard bare, but I”ve never seen anyone so divisive other than a former boss that drove an entire team sans two to transfer….Stallings gave us this group of Bad News Bears that give their best, but these guys like Kene “foul machine” Chukwuka belong in the Horizon League.

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  82. Sports Illustrated@SInow
    7h7 hours ago

    Jimmy Butler on Steven Adams: “That m—–f—–‘s strong. He hit me with one screen today and I thought my life was over. Like, seriously.

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  83. Now I don’t expect Coach K to say anything bad about another coach …. but what he said about a program and not a team is a valid point … and that goes for all new coaches that are not given a whole lot to work with

    Will Graves@WillGravesAP
    11h11 hours ago

    Mike Krzyzewski on Pitt’s current situation in hoops: “you all should stick with what’s going on. he’s a really good coach and a good guy. …. Kevin is trying to build a program, not a team.”

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  84. wwb – Because a coach ever said, please fire Stallings. We could of won by 60 honestly. His system and talent stink but honestly don’t can him because it give me 2 simple wins a year.

    come on man.

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    1. Chuck Noll was 1 and 13 in his first year. Frank Beamer was 2-9 and 3-8 in his first 2 years at Va Tech.

      There is a long line of coaches who struggled hard at first but eventually worked out just fine.

      AS much as I didn’t like Stallings’ hire, firing him would just set back the program that much more … it would turn out BB program into Pitt FB, post-Wanny where we have a bowl win vs Bowling Green and a couple of major upsets to hang our hats on.

      Just like the FB program, we need stability to expect long term positive results.

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      1. The difference is Chuck Noll and Frank Beamer could judge talent and then bring it in.

        There is no evidence, that Otis can do either. Nope he’s gotta go as quickly as they can find the guts
        to admit they were totally wrong with not only Otis…..but that other overpaid…schmuck….Herman !

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        1. Beamer had been reasonably successful as a head coach at another school and that program had success right up to his exit. Stallings didn’t have that. Beamer took over for a coach who had to resign due to NCAA violations. Stallings did not.

          Noll took over a team that had been bad for decades. Stallings took over a team that had been really good to good for 15 years.

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          1. Excellent points….i submit, not firing Stallings, will set the program back another 5-7 years.

            Can Pitt afford the lost revenue ? Tex suggested Pitt lose $4 million on Pete tickets sales this year alone.

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        1. As you said before bro…..Stallings is just riding ‘out the string’ until Retirement. Pitt is funding his Nest Egg to the tune of over $10 million dollars. What morons.

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  85. Does Stalling know how to teach any defense? This team doesn’t box out and the defensive scheme is terrible.

    I can find teams with the same level of recruits that are playing much better. Sure, youth hurts you unless you are recruiting like Duke or Kentucky (one and done guys) but the coaching of this team on the defensive side of the ball is horrible.

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    1. Otis is only known ( i don’t know by who other than some of his HC Coaching Fraternity kin) ONLY as an offensive savant. I will give him that………..he’s offensive.

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    2. In a word. NO. They couldn’t even play defense against teams from Robert Morris’s conference.

      This team might finish in the bottom half of Bobby Mo’s conf. And many others.

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  88. Duke started 4 freshmen last nite. 2 more freshmen came off the bench along with 2 sophomores.

    Oklahoma has a freshmen leading scorer and apparent Top 5 NBA pick if he left. As do just about any of the Top 25-40 teams.

    Young is not an excuse in basketball anymore. And hasn’t been for quite a while.

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  89. Pitt really isn’t that young either for the kids that play. Before Lex got hurt. 3 of the 8 that played the most minutes….were Lex a Senior, Milligan a Senior, and the guy with the beard who looks to be about 30 years old but they say is a Junior.

    The kids that don’t play on this team shouldn’t even be on an ACC squad. The other 7.

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  90. I hate to admit it, but I agree with one of Upitt’s comments above :). NRS as well.

    The points being made (and I’ve made them before as well), that KS’ “systems stinks” and the question of “does Stallings teach defense”. I truly believe that Stallings is a really poor basketball coach, and his incompetence is being masked by excuses:

    (1) he’s playing all freshmen,

    (2) he inherited a mess, and

    (3) my personal favorite, he’s building a program.

    While there may be some truth in each of these excuses, I’m tired of all the excuses being riddled in post-game comments (every single game) and I’m tired of the excuses MASKING poor coaching (that assumes there’s any coaching going on at all). Stallings’ system seems to be ‘Just wing it’, both offensively and defensively. And I agree with Upitt, that Duke could’ve beaten us by 50-60 if they kept the pressure on the whole game.

    Now, for the redeeming quality of KS: I do believe he’s a decent recruiter, and could build a decent core of players if given time, and eventually make us competitive with the bottom half of the league eventually, if that’s something to aspire to (and it’s not).

    Given the above, I believe we’d be better off cutting the cord after this season, and based on the comments of others, we wouldn’t lose any money (net) versus lost attendance $ if we keep him.

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  91. This reminds me of the people who compare us, recruiting wise, with Penn St. Our BB team is much like our FB team … primarily 3 stars that grow and get better throughout a 4 year career.

    Have you forgotten how bad Wannamaker, McGhee, Patterson, Gray, Kendall, etc (I could go on and on) were in their freshmen and soph years?. Sam Young averaged 7 ppg in his soph year.

    You people here have the most unrealistic expectations imaginable.

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    1. Saw Sam Young as a freshman turn a loss against South Carolina in Columbia…into a win. Anyone or most anyone could see Sam Young had immense talent, even only a couple games into his freshman year.

      You see anyone on this team comparable to Sam Young ?

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      1. It won’t let me post the link. therefore

        COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Freshman Sam Young scored a career-high 16 points to keep Pittsburgh undefeated with a 58-51 victory over South Carolina on Wednesday night.

        Young’s play saved the Panthers (10-0) from an overall sluggish performance as they shot less than 40 percent for the game and finished 19 points below their season’s scoring average. Still, Pitt matched its start from last season and kept on the trail of the school’s 18-0 start from 2003-04.

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        1. You can post a link if you add some words to the post like “Here’s the link”
          Lone links won’t ost.

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  92. Some of the comments are unbelievable. I’m not saying he’s the right guy for this job but to say he is a horrible and incompetent coach is ridiculous. You don’t coach for as long as he has and not have a clue what you are doing.
    If they can him now it’s a start over again. Same deal next year as what you see now. And to think we are going to get one and done players? Look at that schools that get them. They are either the Dukes and Kentucky’s or the shady programs of which Pitt won’t be.

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    2. He was a below .500 coach in conference games for the 19 years at Vandy. That’s in the SEC, not exactly a BB powerhouse conference. Yes, you can coach for as long as has and still not have a clue.

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  93. “These guys are getting playing time,” Krzyzewski said. “They play well together. I see them as a building program and a good one. They can shoot the ball, and they seem to have real good chemistry.”

    yea right Coach Alphabets…Pitt shot the ball that is true. Except most of them missed. Pitt shot a pathetic 17 of 51 FG’s for 33% and an even worse 4 of 22 on 3’s (18%). Chemistry ? This team regularly has 15-20+ turnovers a game…even against teams like Mount St Mary’s and other lightweights.

    Some of these coaches are as disingenuous as the dreaded politician.

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  94. Stallings can’t even teach this team how to beat a full court press. In the pre-season we had schools from lightweight nothing conferences even pressing us. And getting turnover after turnover.

    Anybody in the ACC can run a press and in 10 minutes have a 30 point lead on this team.

    Thankfully because of the Coaching fraternity, most of the other ACC HC’s won’t run it, unless the game is
    in doubt. You see they don’t really want to embarrass one of their own. Which is why Coach K called off the Dogs…last night.

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    1. Seriously, if you’re an opposing ACC coach and you aren’t pressing this Pitt team you’re forfeiting possessions and most likely points.

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  95. Unfortunately for Pitt, star power matters even more in Basketball than football. I am no Stallings fan and the debate over whether he should be fired at the end of the season is valid. However, to expect him to recruit players in one year to compete in the ACC is ludicrous. wwb points out Pitt’s winning formula of the past was to recruit solid guys and coach them up over 4-5 years, with the rare freshman contributions. Is it possible for Pitt to find a coach capable of attracting 5 star guys to Pitt, not bloody likely. So no matter who Pitt brings in it will take time to build a program.

    My educated guess is that Pitt stays with Stallings for at least two more years to see what he can do. Like most, I don’t think it will be much more than average at best, unless he gets lucky and brings in a couple of game changers.

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    1. In 2011, Pitt was seeded No. 1 in the NCAA tourney with the following starting lineup:

      Gary McGhee
      Nasir Robinson
      Gilbert Brown
      Brad Wannamaker
      Ashton Gibbs

      I don’t believe anyone of them was a 4-star (maybe Brown was) … and certainly none of them made big impacts as freshmen

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      1. the point is that this was a senior laden team (all but Robinson and Gibbs) … and none made a big splash their first 2 years

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        1. Gilbert Brown was a fairly ‘big get’ when he was recruited. I believe he was a 4 star. Wannamaker played for a legend program in Philly, Roman Catholic HS and Nasir Robinson played for another legend program….Chester HS.

          Robinson was an EA Sports Second Team All-America selection…Two-time PIAA Class 4A All-State First Team selection while leading Chester to a 58-7 two-year record and two state title game appearances.

          Gibbs was also a fairly big get.

          There’s no one even close to any of those players on this roster.

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          1. Emel, not one of those players helped PITT their first two years. Brown couldn’t shoot straight until 3 years in. Aaron Gray was truly awful at first…

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          2. Wannamaker was awful his first 2 years. Would dribble off his own feet when driving – make bad passes – miss open shots…..all the same types of things you are seeing from these young guys. Who knows if any of them will turn out to be as good as he was for Pitt. But to completely discount it now is just showing flat out biased hatred towards the coach.

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    2. Well it’s not currently looking all that favorable for 2018.

      Golden is currently a Top 250 player.
      Kingsby is a 2 year JUCO who is a 6’1″ shooting guard, just like Marcus Carr.

      Crean has a track record of recruiting very good players dating back to Marquette.

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  96. Since this team has little to no talent….Stallings should be playing a slow tempo game. Much as I don’t like that tempo…..you play the tempo that gives you the best chance to win.

    An up tempo game with these kids is the last thing you want to do. But to play slow tempo you have
    to actually coach…not just give it to them and tell them to go ‘playground’.

    Stallings could be here for 50 years and not have the talent to win playing uptempo in the ACC. And he doesn’t have the coaching skills ( at least I haven’t seen them yet) to win playing another way.

    Also if you have much less talent than the other teams, you have to come up with some sort of gimmick
    defense( a 1-3-1 trap, etc) to produce some turnovers..to get some easy scores…as in layups.

    I have not seen any defensive coaching ability with this guy at all.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, exactly!! Pitt teams of the past slowed the talented teams down (think Syracuse), attempted to win on the Boards etc. Stalling’s style of play doesn’t seem to fit with the players that he’s recruited, IMO.

      I like the trap idea for this Pitt squad as well.

      I can see this, and I’m not even a basketball guy.

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    2. I couldn’t agree with this more. They should trap and press the hell out of other teams; especially teams without strong PGs. Try to force them into making errors. When there is such a talent gap, this could help level it out. What’s the worst that could happen? Lose by 35 at home on national TV?

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  98. Hate to go against the lynch mob, but Stallings has a record of recruiting high caliber players at Vandy. Seems like one or two good recruits a year could make a difference fairly quickly. After all basketball teams don’t have 120 players on the roster like in football.

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    1. So where are the one or 2 good recruits this year ?

      He had 11 open slots or more. And over a year to find some players.

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    2. If true, why didn’t it amount to success over his last 4 seasons at Vanderbilt? His replacement had more success with Stallings’ recruits in his first season.

      The last two guys Stallings sent to the NBA in 2016, Baldwin and Jones, don’t play there. Baldwin is now in the G League and Jones doesn’t play at all for the Warriors.

      See above, the recruits for 2018 do not appear to be players that will change the trajectory of the program.

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  99. How would any of you know whether Stallings is doing a good job? This is D3 talent and next year and the following year it will still be D3 talent. John Wooden reincarnated couldn’t get an ACC win out of this team.

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    1. Difference is, John Wooden would at least try Dan. He certainly wouldn’t be playing an uptempo game and just ordinary defenses with this overmatched group.

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      1. Touché ….ordinary defense? I’ve seen no defensive strategy at all! Not unusual for KS. His Vandy teams played little D….just chucked it up from 3. If they went in, Vandy won. If not…no

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    2. A huge part of his job is to recruit and develop talent. You just acknowledged that the talent is lacking and I see little evidence that it is being developed.

      Pitt’s scoring defense is #148. Pitt’s field goal percentage defense is #142. Pitt’s 3P percentage defense is #103. Pitt’s rebounds per game is #263. Pitt’s turnovers per game is #284. Pitt’s A-TO ratio is #271. Those are stats that are more reflective of effort and coaching. I add that Pitt is not yet a quarter of the way into the ACC schedule, so the numbers will likely degrade.

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  100. Reed @ 8:53
    …..Reed, there is no more room left in either eye to insert another sharp stick. I’m all filled up buddy! :<(

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  101. I don’t get that the SEC is not a good basketball conference at all? Didn’t Florida win a national championship or two down there? Doesn’t Kentucky play in that conference? Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Tennessee routinely have good teams.

    I don’t think in my lifetime that I’ve seen a coach take as much abuse from fans as Stallings has. 20 years of head coaching basketball but everyone could coach better than he can. He really is a hell of a salesman making millions. Come on guys, just don’t sit there. Put your applications in for the job.

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    1. The SEC is a pretty good bball conference, it’s just not been thought of as equal to the ACC in the last 40 years. Nor has been thought to have been the equal of the old BigEast.

      And I wish i would have, cause this guy is a clown. But I’m not part of the coaching fraternity or in Huckleberry Hounds coaching tree.

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  102. I’m sure the bot loves all the excuses people like to offer on why our basketball program is a complete embarrassment. This once proud B.B. program is a disgrace.

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  104. Maybe Ike,
    But I do think the fb program has not plummeted. Some think it’s on the rise. I’m not so sure, but I believe there is at least hope.

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  105. Ike – The SEC has been historically sucky as a basketball conference, with about two good teams every year, and Stallings’ record there is subpar, despite doing an above average job as a recruiter. The only reason to keep Stallings around for another 2 years is if he’s bringing in high level talent, and so far, I’m not seeing it. Nor am I witnessing any signs of an “offensive genius”. I don’t care if this is his 50th year as a coach and Coach K calls KS a mastermind, there’s no way I’m buying rather than believing my eyes.

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  107. Reality

    Point Against: Stallings hasn’t been that successful
    Sure, Stallings is Vanderbilt’s all-time winningest basketball coach. Look deeper under the hood, though, and once again you notice that it’s largely a function of longevity. In fifteen seasons at Vanderbilt (not counting the current season), Stallings has had a winning record in the SEC just five times (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012.)

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    1. Stallings had the most wins in Vanderbilt history. Roy Skinner had the highest winning percentage for any Vandy coach that coached for more than 5 seasons. Skinner coached from 1958-1959 through 1975-1976. Bob Polk finished behind Skinner. Polk coached 1947-1948 through 1960-1961,

      Stallings SEC winning percentage was .493.

      The last season that a team coached by Stallings won more than 60% of their games was 2011-2012.

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  108. Moving to the ACC was the best thing for the university and gave the football program a platform to compete at the highest level. Will they reach that? Highly unlikely but a few lucky breaks/bounces and break out kids can make it happen. That said it crushed basketballs future. As bad as the recruiting base is for football it is even worse for hoops and playing in the Big East opened up the Northeast to Ben and Jamie. That is gone. I posed this question once before, if you were a 4+ star basketball or recruit from outside the WPIAL would you even consider Pitt? This is not a defense of Narduzzi or Stallings but everyone makes it sound so easy to get the best players to come here with the right coach and I just don’t see it. Based on the recruiting bases for both sports in my view we need to build over time and have players developing. To me it seems like that is what both coaches are trying to do. Maybe they are the wrong guys but i don’t believe firing coaches is going to improve things any faster. I have said before that football seems on the right path and basketball, well if 2-3 of these kids become excellant players by junior year we would only need 2-3 more over the next two years to be tourney bound again. I have also said before that competing with the top of the ACC year in and year out in either sport is not something I realistically expect.

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    1. I gotta disagree with the 4 star basketball recruits from outside the WPIAL not considering Pitt.

      There haven’t been many 4 star recruits in the WPIAL in the last 30 years for bball. So Pitt has got most ALL of it’s 4 star and even 5 star recruits from OUTSIDE THE WPIAL.

      And there are/were plenty of them.

      Curtis Aiken 5 star
      Charles Smith 5 star (nba)
      Jerome Lane 5 star (nba)
      Demetrious Gore 4 star
      Bobby Martin 5 star
      Jason Mathews (LA) 4 star
      Brian Shorter 5 star
      Eric Mobley 4 star (nba)
      Chris McNeal 4 star
      Jerry McCullough 4 star
      Vonteego Cummings 5 star (nba)
      Mark Blount 4 star (nba)
      Ricardo Greer 4 star (asst coach at Dayton)
      Brandin Knight 4 star (asst coach at Rutgers)
      Julius Page 4 star
      Jaron Brown 4 star
      Chevon Troutman 4 star
      Carl Krauser 4 star
      Chris Taft 5 star (nba)
      Dante Milligan 4 star
      Sam Young 4 star (nba)
      LeVance Fields 4 star
      Keith Benjamin 4 star
      Tyrell Biggs 4 star
      Gilbert Brown 4 star
      DeJuan Blair 4 star (Pgh City League)(nba)
      Brad Wanamaker 4 star
      Nasir Robinson 4 star
      Dante Taylor 5 star
      Khem Birch 5 star
      Steven Adams 5 star (nba)
      James Robinson 4 star
      Michael Young 4 star

      So saying that you can’t recruit top tier players to Pitt is just not correct.

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      1. I said in the ACC. Being in the Big East allowed Pitt to tell these kids in Philly and NYC that they would have a few road games at least a year in conference play and we always played neutral site games at the garden, oh and the Big East Tournament. Blair was the local exception and Adams came from New Zealand. Those pipelines are still open if some more 4 and 5 star guys pop up, but NY and Philly kids are a much tougher sell then they were.

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        1. Oh and it’s too soon to say Pitt can’t recruit in the ACC. Had Slice stayed Dixon had lined up a very good recruiting class 2 – 3 years ago led by Mustapha Heron.

          Are you saying that nobody can recruit quality kids to Pitt now ?

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          1. I am saying I can’t think of any coach that would get 4+ stars kids with no Pittsburgh connections to come to Pitt. I am saying that if I was a 4+ star kid from say NJ I can’t imagine why I would pick Pitt. I went there! I love it and actually comment on message boards 20+ years later. I said nothing about quality kids. I also feel that in college a team of 3 star seniors can make a legit tourney run. It happens every year. There is no reason we can’t be that team again. You know who is that team? Every team in the ACC besides UNC, Duke and Louisville. Heck Virginia is just Pitt from 10 years ago. Clemson is the perfect example this year. There top 5 leading scorers are Sr and Jr, they are 14-1. They won 6 ACC games last year.

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  109. Just fire KS and start over. Pitt is losing at least $4M in real money each year with a half empty Pete. This says nothing about the loss in equity to the Pitt brand. I saw enough last year to know. Why are some Pitt fans and the admin so blind?

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  110. A new coach could probably get 3-4 real ACC players rights away. Theres your 16 wins.in Year 1.

    KS will never achieve 16 wins at Pitt.

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    1. If you’re a ACC HC getting paid over $2 million a year and you can’t recruit 3-4 real ACC players, who will play immediately at a great school like Pitt. You shouldn’t be coaching in the ACC or any of the big conferences. It’s a simple as that.

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      1. Freshman who are truly ready to play immediately in the ACC are one and done kids. Those kids go to Duke and UNC not Pitt. I can’t believe I am defending Stallings (whom I am no fan) but I can’t see who you guys think can take the job here and get 3-4 ACC ready Freshman to commit. Maybe all the current players will not amount to ACC players but I like the chances of 3-4 of them growing into the league much better then finding some mythical recruits ACC ready. To say with certainty that none of these kids will end up being ACC quality players in a year or two is crazy. Jamie left because he knew we could no longer compete at the highest level because of recruiting challenges. Most people assume that is because he was a bad recruiter. I don’t. We are overestimating the appeal of the school, which I love, to non local recruits. The minute we joined the ACC this was likely. Upitt always mentions we are the new Boston College, he’s right. BC was a very solid program in the Big East too, moved to the ACC, and the same thing happened, it killed them in recruiting.

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        1. I don’t really understand. Basketball is by and large a city game right. Pitt’s campus is a city campus.
          That should be a strength not a weakness. Urban kids by and large don’t like playing in the middle of nowhere at some podunk place..

          And btw I predicted several years ago we were gonna slide to BC status. Not to toot my own horn.
          Because we almost identically followed the same path in the ACC cellar that BC did. Except Pitt’s slide was even quicker than BC’s.

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      2. Yea it does seem like your defending Otis. he was 4-14 in the ACC with 2 pro players.

        This year he will most likely be 1-15 or 0-16. Somebody might cut him a break and let him win a game.

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        1. We just might not agree on what these recruits are looking for Emel and that is fine. I wish they did not hire Kevin Stallings but they did. My defense stems from the belief that at this point we are better off seeing what happens over the next few years than starting over again. The good news is it really only takes a couple of players in basketball. I would not be shocked if in two years Stallings had this team back in the tournament because I do believe 3 or 4 of these kids will be much better then. I just don’t have higher expectations than that.

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