I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech, and a hell of an engineer—
A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, hell of an engineer.
Like all the jolly good fellows, I drink my whiskey clear.
I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer.

Oh! If I had a daughter, sir, I’d dress her in White and Gold,
And put her on the campus to cheer the brave and bold.
But if I had a son, sir, I’ll tell you what he’d do—
He would yell, ‘To hell with Georgia!’ like his daddy used to do.

Oh, I wish I had a barrel of rum and sugar three thousand pounds,
A college bell to put it in and a clapper to stir it round.
I’d drink to all the good fellows who come from far and near.

I’m a ramblin’, gamblin’, hell of an engineer!

Lets beat these geeks.

Hail to Pitt!

 

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

96 thoughts on “Pitt Basketball: Pitt at Georgia Tech Open Game Thread”

  2. First comment: Pitt really needs this one! At some point it has to come together. I’m smelling a win tonight!

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  3. MM — you must admit that the first verse of “Ramblin’ Wreck” is pretty awesome.

    Maybe it’s the engineer in me. 😊

    Obviously we need a hot shooting night, and guess what, we’re overdue for one!

    Go Pitt!

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  4. Hey Fran, on my desk top it doesn’t pop up until 3 down. Easy to miss. Seems like Mike is keeping football articles up top and BB articles down a few. Just so you know you’re’ not crazy, not that proves it.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Off to our usual great start….can’t buy a basket. Just once I wish we’d come out and take over a game!

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  10. I’m sorry folks, but this is bad basketball I am watching right now. And yes, this is Jeff Capel’s team.

    Bad basketball all the way around. I hate to say this, but this performance tonight looks Lyke Stallings is the coach.

    No movement on offense, poor ball handling, many bricks and missed bunnies.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Hard to understand how Pitt has slipped so much offensively. What happened to their transition game? They seem content to set up in half court offense and run the shot clock down. And can’t hit open shots.

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  17. Looks like our guys have hit a wall both mentally and physically. Just not able to make what should be some very basic plays.

    But in spite of that, the effort is amazing.

    Go Pitt.

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  20. Four of Pitt’s five starters have a total of 4 points combined in the 20 minutes of the 1st half against a GT team that is 3-10 in the ACC.

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  26. I long ago learned not to try to figure out foul calls in BB.

    Best to just accept that they are pretty much a random phenomenon.

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. What happened to N’Dir? Why he sits while Kham Davis plays is hard to figure. He’s their most experienced player. No one can shoot 3s besides Wilson-Frame. So many problems so little time.

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  33. Sad thing is that GT stinks…and we’re worse.

    I’m tired of “they fight til the end” crap. This team is not well coached (or doesn’t take to coaching). Dan knows better than the rest of us but I see horrible spacing and off ball movement on offense and terrible fundamental footwork and IQ on defense. They look and play lost and all stare at the guy with the ball. Can someone show me examples of the great coaching?

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Pod … no one coaches a team to play this horribly! They’re kids… they’re beaten and frustrated. Other than the frosh, there’s not a single D1 player on this team. I’m worried X might leave. McGowans is the biggest mystery I’ve seen in a while.
    He was playing all ACC, gets his in the head and has become useless.

    And those Free throws… OMG!

    I’ve never seen worse shooting form from the line in my life. 4 HCs on the staff and they can’t fix this?????

    Liked by 2 people

  37. Dan… here’s my little REALITY Check on Capel as a Head Coach.

    As I’m sure you know, but some here might not… Capel’s other stint as a Head Coach was FIVE years at Oklahoma.

    Looking at the history, one thing is pretty clear. Capel wins. But he does so ONLY when he has SUPERIOR talent. One of those Superior Talents he was fortunate to attract at OU was a familiar name… Blake Griffin.

    History also shows, even benefiting from all that SUPERIOR Talent… Capel and his Staff managed exactly ZERO Conference Titles.

    As things went, a couple of Capel’s Assistant Coaches got caught up in some $$$$$ SHENANIGANS. Soon MARQUEE Players opted to leave and the next thing you know OU Basketball was trending DOWN and Capel was shown the DOOR. Apparently, his tenure is pretty much viewed as a DISAPPOINTMENT by the majority of the OU Faithful.

    Thanks to his relationship with Mike Krzyzewski, he was able to immediately resurrect his coaching career as an assistant at Duke which ultimately lead to him being hired at Pitt.

    The questionj is “Can Capel WIN at Pitt?” Everything considered, I think it’s obvious the answer is YES. However, if history holds true… it is going to REQUIRE recruiting SUPERIOR Talent.

    And even then an ACC Championship will remain a QUESTION… until we actually see it happen!

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    1. Capel is a different coach today than at OK. There’s no strategy for an untalented team with a horrible basketball IQ. We can have this discussion next year about this same time and I think you’ll feel much different.

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      1. Not seeing anything to suggest Capel makes it a priority to coach the “little things.”

        I believe there are a lot of Coaches who would be capable of making this Pitt Team more competitive despite the shortcomings.

        They are now losing to Teams that really are no more talented then they are.

        Don’t think that’s a sign of good coaching.

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    2. Please an ACC Championship is out of the question considering the caliber of the other coaches and reputations of ACC basketball at the other schools.

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  39. Ok I can’t sleep because I’m still furious at Pitt’s play vs GA Tech. Most of all I’m upset over missed Free throws.

    When I was a senior in HS I was a rebounder only averaging about 5 points a game. In a playoff game I got the ballon a pick and roll with 1 second left, with our team down by 1. I was fouled as I missed the layup and with no time left, made both FTs and we won the game. I had no idea why I made those shots other than practicing a lot growing up.

    Since then, I’ve spent 42 years studying foulshooting ive been to every Shot Doctor clinic and my AAU and HS teams all shot 78% or better. I wanted to know why players made and why they missed FTs.

    Some day I will list the 5 most important fundamentals of shooting FTs but I will give you the two most important right now.

    Relaxing your shoulders…whether it’s hitting a baseball,golf ball or shooting FTs under pressure, you have to learn to eliminate the stress in your shoulders. Hint…it’s not easy and takes practice.
    Watching Toney, Chewy, Ellison et al.you can see their veins popping in their shoulders and neck as they shoot.
    Square your stance to the hoop. Both feet near but not on the Ft line. Same stance and routine each time. Ellison and Chewyalmost shoot sideways to the basket.

    Not one Pitt player does either of these. POD…that is on Capel and his coaches. Shooting FTs in a game, under stress, with weary and battered legs…is far different from shooting at practice. Proper form is everything! Only X man has any form at all and maybe McGowans.

    18-36 is totally unacceptable but even if they’d made their FTs…something else would have probably cost them the game. Pitrs basketball IQ is about a 3 on a scale of 10.

    More in future posts. I still love Capel and we are blessed to have him at Pitt.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. — I like the look on X-Man’s face when he shots fouls. Like he’s all bright eyed and can wait to see the result. 😊

      — I think several players shoot their foul shots too flat – gives them less margin for error, seems to me…
      JWF is an exception, but he seems like he could hit them in this sleep…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  40. G Jose Alvarado scored a career-high 29 points, F James Banks had 10 rebounds and five blocked shots and Georgia Tech snapped a seven-game skid with a 73-65 victory over Pitt last night.

    The Panthers lost to a bad GT team that struggled mightily to find the basket in the previous 7 games and Pitt firmly stayed in the basement of the ACC with another poor shooting performance themselves (on all phases of the BB term shooting).

    The good news is, Pitt today, is ONLY 1 game behind miami and the fighting Irish. Both of those teams are on Pitt’s schedule to finish the year. Let’s hope that finish doesn’t resemble the final 3 game skid of our FB team.

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  41. I see a FB repeat(year end loses) with Pitt BB over its final ACC games. Capel better do it at Pitt with recruiting because I don’t think his coaching will even come close to comparing against most of his ACC opponent coaches.

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  42. dan72… piss poor shooting mechanics period…. I grew up trying to perfect my jumpshot and free throws and never much on driving the a jammed…. these kids specialize in ramming and jamming the ball on the floor to the basket aided and abetted by carrying, palming the ball and traveling.. not to mention pushing and banging… they have been doing this since they started playing following their NBA heroes…my how the game has changed… just my thoughts on why players can’t shoot FTs, 3pointers or a 10-15 foot jumper on a regular basis…I agree on your relaxed mechanics… gotta stroke it not throw it

    Liked by 1 person

    1. My biggest bitch w college coaches (and HS coaches)is that once they’ve recruited a player they make no attempt to change his shooting style even though it’s a mechanical mess. Practicing a shooting style that won’t work is like practicing a bad golf swing over and over….utter futility!

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  44. I understand and feel the frustration here. But you have to understand that

    — this team starts 3 natural freshmen; only 1 of them would start on a normal team that actually has upperclassmen

    — this team has no center but instead has a power forward and small forward manning the 5 position

    — despite all of the recent failures, this team still plays hard every minute. Last night, they overcame an 18 point lead early in the game, got to within one point four times only to make a turnover or miss foul shots ……. yet never gave up and came back

    I agree though that 18 for 36 from the foul line is absurd.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. and one more thing and maybe most important …. this team overall is less talented than its opponents. A handful of players that gets a decent amount of PT would not see much action at all with most other ACC teams

      Liked by 1 person

  45. Who has renewed their football tickets?

    Considering whether I want to waste the money or not. Someone talk me backoff the edge!

    Without comparing to last years prices seems tickets are a lot cheaper (guess its the PU factor)?

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    2. If you are going to gamble on success this is the year. Narduzzi is going to either win 9 games or implode spectacularly. My bet is that he wins 9

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    4. I renewed and am recruiting a friend to take over the vacated seats next to me. My friend, who has been to a couple of POV tailgates w me is likely to take the seats, among hi# reasons the fun of the POV tailgates, and his disillusionment with the drama surrounding the Steelers.

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  46. Josh, I also was thinking about sitting this season at home but then I thought about the tailgates and all the great people I would miss, plus it would be just my luck that PITT would have a great season and I would miss out on that too. So I went ahead and jumped all in. EE is having doubts as well but knowing him…he’ll be joining us when it’s all said and done. That man is to passionate for the University of Pittsburgh and PITT sports.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have been reading on this site every year where people are having second thoughts about renewing the tickets. You would think that if anyone would want to not renew, it would have been after last season with the 5-7 record (especially when there was only 6 home games this past season)

      I guess the excuse this year was the poor recruiting class … which will have very little effect on this year’s team …. or is it another bowl loss (a one point loss to a team that was favored by 7.)

      I have never seen a situation like this …. 25 years of mostly mediocrity but all of the sudden it has become unbearable.

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      1. on the other hand ….

        — the team improved by 2 games this past season

        — it has a new OC with a proven record of good offense performance

        — it has most of its defense returning

        — and it has 7 home games

        Liked by 2 people

      2. After the 17 season we thought Pickett would be Pitt’s answer for future success. This year we’re hoping Whipple can be Pitt’s answer for future success.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Those 3 games were really rough, as was the PSU debacle.

          But I really enjoyed being in Heinz for the wins against:
          GT
          Syracuse
          Duke, and
          VT

          Those games were interesting, dramatic, fun, and surprising to me.

          Beating Duke, after being behind the whole game but matching them score for score, was a memorable game for me.

          Go Pitt.

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  47. I think the losing street has given them PTSD from the intensity and losses, some very close, which has impacted the shooting of the freshmen. Once Mcgowan’s shot his first shot, an air ball, the crowd was in his head the entire game. They still can focus their energy on defense but their confidence in their shot is effected by this 9 game experience. Only Frame seemed to be able to maintain his offensive edge which reflects the only offensive experience on the team.

    I hope Capel can create the space for them to refocus for the rest of the season.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. but if you recall, Frame wasn’t exactly focused on defense. But I agree PSTD (or whatever) has hit the young guys. But as long as they continue with the effort, I won’t get too disappointed

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    2. Somewhere I read where Pitt was +3 for the GT game when JWF was on the floor. This in spite of a couple of defensive lapses on his part.

      Go Pitt.

      Like

        1. I thought just about everyone had defensive lapses. X-Man was complaining when his man went right around him under the basket. Brown let’s that little guy score by driving right to the hoop even though Brown was there waiting for him. I thought one backdoor play was on Davis. On and on…

          Go Pitt.

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  48. I think this season is going exactly how Coach Capel expected it would go with three not one-and-done FR starting. A few more players added next season and we will start winning a lot of these close games. The following season we could be competitive with most teams in the ACC.

    Liked by 2 people

  51. Josh, I’ll take a shot at talking you down from the ledge, one way or the other.

    First, if you are missing your kid’s soccer game to go to the Pitt football game. Give up your tickets. Pitt football will still be there when those days are over. And they will be over far too soon.

    Second, if you have not been coming to Fran’s tailgates, please do. It puts a whole nother level of enjoyment on your Pitt football day. The fun starts five hours before kickoff. Takes about 15 minutes to put up the flags, tables, and chairs and then the drinks are poured. The atmosphere is relaxed and the conversation is lively. Feast on JoeL’s grilled specialties and all the other delicious fare. Listen and laugh while Scooter shares his solutions to the problems of the world. If you don’t have a great time, I don’t know what to say.

    Finally, get your tickets and go to the games because, like all of us, the day will come when you can’t. Not to be morbid or depressing but it’s the truth. I’m sure there are many on this blog who know exactly what I mean. I’m pretty sure that when you look back over your days, one of your regrets will not be, “I wish I had spent more Saturdays sitting on my couch watching TV”.

    Liked by 5 people

  53. I have reached that point… at age 68 where going back to games is a huge physical drain. I will not be renewing my season tickets but will be coming to one game a year.

    I found this last season particularly draining starting with the Penn State disiaster and another horrid loss to UNC. It will be the first year since 63 that I’m not attending multiple games.

    I like the new coaching hires a lot especially that they are good recruiters. My inside info tells me both were Heather finds and hires.

    I hope that Narduzzi improves as a person and a head coach but all his behavior says otherwise. H2P

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Dan, if you are only planning to come to one game, make it the first game. That would give us the chance to talk you into coming to the next one.

      Liked by 5 people

    2. Dan, I commiserate with you, I did not go to the Syracuse games this past year because of the rain forecast (I did not have PSU tickets and was in the hospital for the Duke game).

      However, I am not an alum but have suffered thru many, many worse years than this past one. Go back and look at 1995 and the two years surrounding it, Go back to 1984, just 2 years removed from being ranked #1 during the season. Wanny had 3 non-winning years and then the following year began the year at home with a loss to Bowling Green … and ended the year being shut out in the Sun Bowl. Pitt got dominated at home by a D2 team in 2012, and then lost a mid-season game to Akron in 2014. Heck, even the BCS bowl team of 2004 needed OT to beat Furrman?

      Yet, we are all apparently gluttons for punishment. We moan and groan but at the beginning of each year we inwardly hope that this will be the year. I lived in Cleveland area from 2010 to 2018 and until 2 years ago, the Browns’ fans thought that every year was going to be the year. But guess what? Next year just may be the year for them!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I was there for Syracuse. Sat thru the soaking 1,75 hour rain delay, went to Frans pregame fete…by games end 5.5 hours, the fact that Pitt won was almost meaningless. I’m 5 hours away and even the drive was brutal. I met and talked with Narduzzi this year. I really don’t like him as a person. Why should I put out time, money and physical pain to root for this guy? Easier to root from home where I can imbibe my sorrows and then lie down after our coaching idiot blows another game. Having said all that, my one game will be at Penn State!

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  54. I heard a story (completely unconfirmed, so just a rumor at this point) that when the team got back from Georgia Tech, the team lockers were emptied out and the locks were being changed on the locker room doors. Basically, Capel said that their play is not worthy of representing the team. So, they were to come to practice in their own clothing and would not get access to the locker room, uniforms, or any other amenities until their play and work ethic was at a level worthy of representing the team. I’m guessing it was the free throws, lackadaisical defense, and minimal effort toward rebounding.

    Liked by 3 people

  55. wwb — that Furman game ended up being quite a game to watch, for those who didn’t leave when Pitt was down 31-14 in the 3rd quarter and 38-24 in the 4th quarter.

    Here’s an excerpt from coverage of the game:

    “Tyler Palko had a career day, as the Pittsburgh Panthers overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the Furman Paladins 41-38 in overtime Saturday at Heinz Field.

    The Panthers scored twice in the final nine minutes of the game to tie the score at 38, and a Josh Cummings 37- yard field goal sealed the deal in overtime as the Panthers improved to 2-1 on the season.

    Palko was the major story of the day as he completed 30-of-36 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Wide Receivers Joe DelSardo and Steve Buches also had huge days scoring their first collegiate touchdowns.”

    Joe DelSardo!!

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. … and you were right, not too many people stayed after Furman took the big lead. I remember my friend and I were one of the very few in our section which at the time was on visiting sideline 40 yd line.

      Liked by 1 person

  58. Lot’s of famous folks came from Lay-trobe. Arnold Palmer, Mister Rodgers, Mr Strickler who invented the banana split, The Tito’s who started Rolling Rock brewery, The McKenna’s who started Kennemetal, missingWlat and yes, a few infamous types as well, who will go nameless but we know who they are?

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  59. ^^ Dan, I sure hope you make it to one PITT home game this year. It was great meeting you last year. I’m thinking the one big reunion game to earmark is the UNC game. Thursday night, a long weekend type of deal and we will paint the town. Let’s make it the biggest and best Fran and JoeL’s tailgate ever!! Bernie and some other out of towner’s are already planning on being there.

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  61. Anybody see the clip of Karim Coulibaly working out? Liking the dexterity he displays.

    Scotland Campus Hoops (@scotland_hoops) Tweeted:
    Recent Pitt commit Karim Coulibaly getting a workout session in with Coach Sully @sullyb901

    https://t.co/wkohKS89L2

    Like

    1. Note that Coulibaly appears to be doing the dunk drill while wearing a weighted vest. Good stuff!

      Go Pitt.

      Like

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