200 thoughts on “Pitt at Wake Forest Basketball Thread”

    3. I was hoping Tre would go to dental school as we recently lost the only dentist in town who opened his practice when I was in 9th grade.

      Like

  2. Can this Pitt team really shoot this badly? My goodness. High school teams shoot better.. it’s hard to watch a game when they are hopelessly out of it in the first 10 minutes

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  8. Dan, you’re looking at it from a coaches perspective. From a fan’s perspective I feel like I need to puke..,

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    1. I’m also a fan and it’s brutal to see Pitt overmatched and playing at an “I give up level!”

      This game is Stallingsesque and maddening to see such little spirit and horrid play!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I just don’t understand how they could be this bad. After the pleasant surprise of the win against Syracuse (which seems Lyke a month ago) they throw up another two stinkers in a row. I am really disappointed in Capel. The team cannot seem to build off of any success they have after their wins, I don’t know what the buyout is, but the program has not shown any signs of getting better. How does Capel stay another year?

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  9. If the Capel’s aren’t run out of town then I’m betting Hugely hits the transfer portal. Big John is taken out of a game vs good to average opponents because he is the only player that team needs to defend.

    Big John needs some teammates that know how to put the ball in the basket.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Enjoyed the Pitt Letter-of-Intent Event. Best part was seeing Fran, Wolfe, Annie and Richman.

    We talked to Coach Bates for a while – as Richman said, could talk to that guy all night. Coach Bates said a key against WF in the Champ game was that Pitt had not played an offense like theirs and after seeing the plays in the first quarter, they were able to make some adjustments. Also said Pitt changed some of their substitution patterns in that game – especially 3rd downs.

    Also talked a bit to Coach Borbs, Coach Powell and Coach Salem.

    Three players were there – Wayne, Hallett and Dennis. Really well spoken. SirVocea said what changed for the defense in the Champ game was “better communication…”

    They showed highlights of the new recruits and the portal guys. The good news — looks like an emphasis on speed…. Mumpfield is going to remind us of Tyler Boyd – similar moves after the catch…

    Nice event — and those in attendance were fired up for Pitt Football!

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 6 people

  11. We’re seeing the beginning of the end for this staff. It just isn’t working. Plenty of time to turn this around and unfortunately Jeff cannot get it done.

    I’m not sure who’d want this job. No one did after Dixon left behind 13 NCAAs in 15 years, which should’ve made it really desirable, but it’s not. No real tradition nor the care to be great.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Assuming we lost by looking at all 11 basketball comments. Looks like we saw our shadow and we are on our way to 6 more weeks of bad basketball. I hope not, but the lack of comments during the game is an indicator that the fan base is slowly checking out…again. We need a win!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Almost a waste of time and space to put up a Pitt BB comment page for every game.—-OT For those interested all the video’s from yesterday’s LOI are available on the Lair Football Board free site. Narduzzi, Cignetti and the 3 incoming transfers featured.

    Like

  15. The positive is that Wake built their team from the portal so it can be done.
    Probably Capel’s last stand is tis year’s portal class.
    Femi with a good game.
    Pitt not good enough to win on the road, especially when Wake drops 15 3 point bombs.

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  18. Isnore, probably a very tough day for you. It gets better, but it is a marathon not a sprint, at our age can’t sprint anymore anyway. I’m eight weeks out from my surgery, it is a slow tough process, started rehab this week.

    Hang in there it gets better.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. This has always been a pet peeve of mine, when a bad team with no offensive line picks a young QB early in the draft, then throws him into the wolves. It’s amazing Burrow survied his bad knee injury and the Bengals put together the rest of their offensive line quickly and in time for his return. In the Steelers case, how long will it take to rebuild that OL? They’ve been bad since Munchak left, and they hit a new level of ineptitude the last few years. So yeah, I have mixed emotions about Pickett going to the Steelers.

      Liked by 2 people

  21. Maybe one of the biggest indictments of recruiting star ratings is that Naquan Brown is transferring to Norfolk State. Fact is that neither he or Eliot Donald not only did not see much if any action, they didn’t make the travel squad.

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well the line was pretty loaded and it usually takes those guys some time to mature.
      Brown looked to be pretty light for the position.

      Like

    3. Norfolk state is a big down-grade..both in athletics and scholastics….just wasn’t working for him in the Burgh….hope his grass is greener down Nawfuk (proper local pronunciation) little story-My old buddy Archie Farmer went to Norfolk Catholic HS many years ago (he’s 85)…he told me the school had a football cheer back in his day …” We don’t smoke…We don’t drink…Nawfuk…Nawfuk!!!”

      Liked by 2 people

  22. UNC just got another top 10 class. This is a basketball school with no recent history of success

    But we saw the extremes that this school would go through with the 25 year bogus class period …. Which incidentally was exposed by a UNC professor

    Now there is all kinds of pettiness in the SEC because Texas A&M outrecruited Bama and Georgia. Claims of NIL abuse; counterclaims that Bama and Georgia has been doing this for years. Saban responding that Bama has never paid an athlete. (Of course, payments from boosters notwithstanding)

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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  29. Thoughts on Cignetti

    He strings two thoughts together better than Whipple who was kind of like Doc from Back to the Future. 👍🏼
    Slovis characterized his offense as west coast. 👎
    He wants to run more. 👎
    He will incorporate what worked from last year. 👍🏼
    He gives a good press conference. 👍🏼

    The biggest question, will he put up over 35 points per game?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. We ran last year to keep teams off guard, not as a real, consistent threat as part of our offense. I agree we need to be a predominat throwing team next season, but I’d like to see more balance to the point where our run game is a threat as well- it wasn’t under Whipple. The thinking here is, you take advantage of whatever the other teams gives you. That said, our offensive line play will need to improve, and gain confidence in run blocking. We have 2 really good backs to, in Izzy, our #1, and Hammond is a really nice back too.

      Liked by 1 person

  30. Random thought. The panther head logo is a huge success and awesome.

    Seeing it in the end zone of the championship game was cool and well played. Heather did it right by letting Nike take the reigns on the design of it as well as letting them come up with all script lettering for ‘Panthers’ etc. Pitt should never change the script or panther head logo in the future.

    Liked by 6 people

  31. For those at the LOI event at Heinz yesterday given 1) the success of last year and 2) the lingering Covid concerns, just wondered how attendance was at the event?

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    1. The place was packed from what I could see, Mark. All the seats were taken and leaving your seat to go to the restroom meant maneuvering through a ton of people standing.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Mark — the place was packed. (I had to promise to wear a mask the whole time so my wife wouldn’t go crazy. I was disappointed that masks were not required at the event but many wore them…)

      Not surprisingly, the biggest reactions from the crowd came anytime one of the coaches mentioned the opener against the Eers. Then the place went nuts…

      BTW, with Billy H. suffering at the BB game, Jeff Hathorn was the MC. He did an excellent job – especially his interviews of the three players.

      I tried to convince Coach Powell that Richman, with his rugby experience, would make a great fullback, but Coach said Richman didn’t have a big enough neck to play fullback… 😊

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Mark — another point, several of the coaches cited the fan support last season as playing a big part in the team’s success. They thanked the fans and ask us to bring friends and “your grand-parents” to the games. That last one will be tough for us old geezers…

        One Coach, forget which one, said that when the team bus was going to the stadium for the Clemson game, the street was lined with Pitt fans. He said that really impacted the team and they were fired up getting off the bus…

        Be great if we could coordinate somehow so the POVers could be out there to cheer the players on as they come down General Robinson….

        Or maybe the bus could detour thru Red 5A… 😊

        Go Pitt.

        Liked by 4 people

  33. Back home from surgery//must take it easy but I am feeling much better. While in the hospital I turned on the Pitt game about 5 minutes before the end of the first half and my head exploded from watching junior high school basketball. Wake is a very good team but not a great one, however, we were so outclassed that we did not belong in the same building. I keep noticing that when we try to shoot 3’s the arc to the basket is often too low leaving the ball to slam against the back rim and shoot out to the opposing team. IS THERE A COACH WHO CAN TEACH SHOOTING SKILLS? This shooting nonsense showed up in our first game when The Citadel was pouring 3’s in like filling a big pitcher of brewski. The team has checked out and if we win 2 more games I will be AMAZED. Hugely should enter the portal for the sake of his career as there is no hope in Mudviille.

    BOTTOM LINE ///BRING ON THE SPRING GAME AND CLOSE THE PETE (NOBODY WILL NOTICE THAT IT IS LOCKED UP!)

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Do take it easy, isnore, we need you in good shape.

      And great point about the too-flat shots. You see it at the foul line too. Leaves no margin for error. I’d get a plexiglas stand and make them shoot over it to learn the optimal launch angle…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

  34. Pitt basketball used to be a passion for me and so many friends. Now no one watches. I tried to watch five minutes of the game last night and it was what it was.

    A friend told me the only two players he knows is the guy that hung out with prostitutes and the guy that punched the police officer…not a good look for the program right now. Please do something to fix this Mr. Capel. I never thought we would be pining for the days of Ralph Willard.

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  36. I have some health issues that might prevent me from visiting the Burg. You can’t even begin to imagine how much I want to get back to see Pitt and go to a game. If things work out there is a 60% chance that I will come out to share my Brooklynese accent with the BEST fans in Pennsylvania…..I don’t recognize the Nitters.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. You got this isnore!…BTW, when I saw that you were having surgery, my first thought was that you must be having uvula surgery for snoring, lol

      Liked by 1 person

  37. I enjoyed the interviews of the three transfers. Each seem level headed and gave good interviews.

    Cignetti seemed most impressed by the WR room as did Slovis.

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      1. In fairness to my ole buddy UPitt, you can’t say everyone stinks. You’re bound to be wrong sometimes. 😉

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        1. Thanks Ike, BUT There has been a lot of trashing of Pitt football and Narduzzi on this blog which is WELL deserved but I was channel surfing and I came upon the Packer and Durham Show and they were discussing how great Pitt football’s history is.

          Colleges with most NFL HOF members:

          USC 12
          ND 12
          Ohio State 9
          Pitt 8 (with sure fire Fitzgerald, Donald and maybe Revis waiting in the wings)

          Hope your health is improving,
          TIH

          Liked by 3 people

          1. Maybe Revis? Revis will get in, just probably not first ballot. The maybe your forgot is Shady. Lead the 2010’s in rushing. I think he gets in but he’s walking a thin line.

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    3. Stallings recruited some good players.
      He got sent packing and they left.
      Stallings terrible fit.
      However, I agree with your statement.
      N.B I hated the Stallings hire and loved the Capel hire

      Liked by 1 person

  39. Read something today that surprised me — after signing one juco recruit yesterday, WVU still has 7 open scholarship spots on their roster.

    They did sign a 4-star QB from Arizona…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. A TOTAL mystery: why would a four-star from Arizona want go to West Virginia ??

      Surely, he must have had offers from many more attractive places.

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  40. Pitt BBall makes an offer to 6’8” forward Brandon Williams out of Christ our King HS in NY.

    So we will have a team of 6’8” – 6’10” forwards. No point guards and most of all NO SHOOTERS! This is the ACC. Please start with shooters!

    Liked by 1 person

    2. shooters? how about “A” dribbler/ball handler/passer?

      WF was so much better all over the floor AND played with an intensity constantly that we at best this year have had in spurts and not often on both ends of the court even

      Capel NEEDS to recruit because I see little else he gets his kids to do well as a team

      Like

    3. McGoweno, Johnson, Toney, Justin, Hugley, Coulibaly, Femi, Jeffress, Collier (last 2 highly rated but mistakes)

      Horton, Nike, Burton, Gueye

      He had Mintz

      Some say he could have had Julian and Posh Alexander

      I am guessing he passed on other gets while holding out for better

      That level far exceeded ACC Dixon or Stallings. It would have brought a level of success if he could have managed and maintained his players.

      We were “back“ around the time of the Duke game. The Hugley arrest started The end of that sentiment. The near season’s end transfers and the revelation of internal turmoil continued it. the Capel press conference on the transfers wearing a BLM sweatshirt and failing to invite half the media was pathetic. The Lyke ridiculous excuse mission was also pathetic. Covid, Covid, Covid. The Capel mansion tweet ended it for me, the epitome of clueless . He has no idea how to deal with the public. The lack of recruiting since these public utterances is the exclamation point

      The opening double digit home loss to Citadel was treated as just another game.

      And the same attitude exhibited there and the excuses continue.
      .
      There was the act of self destruction compounded by never ending excuse making regarding that self destruction.

      It really needs to end

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  41. Two more tidbits that popped into my head from the LOI Event:

    —Regarding fortunate timing, I think it was Coach Bates who said that he had contacted someone regarding an ND player in the portal and was told that LB Simon had just entered the portal and that Simon was the player Pitt should be checking out…. They then contacted Simon and he quickly became a Panther…

    —Coach Powell talked about the new Aussie punter. Here’s the “kicker” – Coach said the guy can punt with “both feet.” Which if you think about it would be really tough! 😊. But apparently our new punter can kicker with either foot. Weird!

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 3 people

  42. If Stallings had a better win percentage at Pitt, he was a better coach than Capel, period. I’m too lazy to look.

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  43. Pitt Ladies Basketball blown out 54-39 by a mediocre Duke team on their home court. Awful shooting and many unforced turnovers and errors the culprit.

    Pitt Basketball is in shambles!

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    1. Pitt scored only 4 points in the first quarter. Ten minutes of play and 4 points!

      Our two “best” shooters were a combined 3 for 24. Don’t know what has happened to Jayla Everett. She used to be an excellent shooter – now all she can make are foul shots. And Harris was able to score with drives and pull-up jumpers, but nothing is falling now.

      To my amateur eye, a common thread seems to be that everyone rushes their shots. Everything is frenzied instead of steady and focused…

      This team needs someone to teach them how to play offense…. Four points in a quarter says it all.

      Go Pitt.

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  44. Putting Stallings > Capel is similar to putting PSU > WVU or Graham > Haywood

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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  46. Nice of the Washington Football Team to pay homage to Reed with the new name for the team: The Washington Commanders!

    Congrats Commander Reed! 😊

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 6 people

  47. Embarrassing: The Pitt Pep Band played The Commodores 1977 hit Brick House, mere moments after the university’s women’s basketball team shot 1-for-13 from the field

    Liked by 2 people

  48. Tony go drink tea and hold out your pinky with your nerd friends. Stallings sucks, Capel is even worse and Narduzzi has had 1 good season in 6 thanks to Pickett.

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  49. Devin Spurlock of Belle Bernon just committed to Pitt as a PWO. Seen him play twice on TV and he looks like the 2nd coming of Quadree Henderson. Game breaker but very small in stature

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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    1. Devin Whitlock is the first Pitt running back recruit I’ve seen, maybe since Ray and Dion, with a big-time change of direction. I don’t know about his straight-line speed, but he has lightning quickness.

      Will be interesting to see if, at his size, he can break into the lineup. At the very least, would be an awesome kick returner…

      Heck of a get for a PWO…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I thought Coach Cignetti was pretty impressive in the press conference.

      Now comes the pressure to see how many points he can put up – and the schedule does him no favors…

      Go Pitt.

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  55. How difficult will it be for Capel to improve the roster for next year? We know that ND tried to pach KP last year.
    Imagine the effort to poach Hugley from Pitt at the end of the year and the offers that will be made. There will also be those advising to go pro like Champ.
    If he can convince him to stay, Capel must still find 2-3 guys that can provide immediate results from the portal.

    I don’t want to say his situation is hopeless, because we have the example of Wake and others, but it is a daunting challenge.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like Hugley, but I don’t believe its in his best interest to go to the G league next year; that said, you could make a case that he’d develop better on another team, and to be that’s the bigger threat. I don’t like the prospects of where things are headed with this team, but I will admit that a million things can change between now and next season, so it makes it very difficult to speculate.

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  56. What do you think Vegas thinks about owners paying coaches to lose. Unless they were in on it they can’t be happy. How about players with performance incentives? If this can be proven it is a pretty huge scandal.
    Of course Goodell will bury it if he can.

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  57. A note about Center Owen Drexel:

    We know Owen struggled at times last season with his snaps. In talking with Coach Borbely, something maybe we didn’t know was that Drexel suffered a shoulder injury in the Western Mich game. Coach said the injury affected Drexel’s snapping the rest of the season….

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Pitt needs to go all in without breaking the rules (which don’t exist). If it is a free for all, you have to play the game. Copy the absurd deals if they are legal.

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  59. Will Pitt ever show this level of detail and transparency? Looks like the Hokies have an AD that knows how to run a profitable business enterprise.

    https://richmond.com/sports/college/virginia-tech-s-2021-financial-report-shows-athletic-department-surplus-of-4-7-million/article_61dc15a4-e95f-514e-87f7-4180f71f20b2.html?utm_source=richmond.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fbreaking&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=61e46dc9e93fd657dc74af94c0d5127f8382c0e9

    May require login but it’s free

    Like

    1. No college program has transparency. They all do the accounting differently, state laws are all different, there is always hidden money and expenditures that the public will never see.

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      1. But these figures provide one with insight on what the school does to manage a business. Tech was very transparent with their revenues and expenses. Moreover, described how they achieved a surplus and how they plan to increase top line revenues to compete in the upper echelon of the ACC. Pitt never does this. One of the most secretive and least transparent universities out there. You can’t argue with that.

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        1. Getting cheap to make money has not gotten them very far … declining football program. Middling basketball program. Most in-state athletes go elsewhere because it’s in the middle of nowhere. VT students will tell you it’s more fun to party at JMU.

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          1. I hate frugal … I’d much rather spend money to make money than save money to save money. Not a great example IMO. I don’t have stock in Pitt, I don’t care what their profit margins are LOL.

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          2. They aren’t getting cheap. They have a $400 million dollar fundraising campaign because they know it takes money to become elite. What is Pitt doing?

            Spending $300 million on a money losing capital project called Victory Heights supported with a 90 percent debt load that Gallagher says could be a mortgage on Pitts future.

            Care to restate?

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            1. But, who cares? It’s Pitt’s budget? It’s translated into your ever so precious Director’s Cup standings … where was VT?

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              1. Pitt has a way bigger endowment than VT so they’re doing something right … and a better football program currently.

                Pitt Sports Net Profit/Loss
                The sports teams at Pitt brought home $98,866,362 in revenue while shelling out $98,866,362 in expenses. That’s not a profit, but then again, it’s not a loss either.

                But … oh wait …

                The head coach and 14 assistant coaches train and lead the 115 players of the Pitt men’s football team. According to College Factual’s Best Colleges for Division I (FBS) Men’s Football analysis, Pitt was ranked #26 out of the 124 schools in its division.

                Pitt brought in $39,176,605 in revenue from its football program while paying out $31,843,372 in expenses. This equates to a net profit of $7,333,233 for the program. That’s definitely a big plus.

                Not bad for a not for profit … breaking actually even … looks like solid accounting to me.

                VT is just being cheap … show me where that surplus is being re-invested? That $400M campaign is to increase its budget per the article … not being reinvested anywhere concrete … right now it’s like $15M less than Pitt and heading the wrong direction. First time it dipped below $90M since 2017. VT is heading the wrong direction. Pitt is just running a their program like they’re supposed to … not for profit.

                Virginia Tech Sports Net Profit/Loss
                Virginia Tech sports teams made $83,767,722 in revenue, but they did have to spend $82,486,221 for expenses. This means the team turned a profit of $1,281,501, which is great since many schools have to declare a loss

                VT is 17th in football profits … Pitt is 26th …

                That article is using “funny” math. Look at the difference in budget … You can’t tell me VT is not being cheap. Lol. Care to restate?

                Pitt: https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/university-of-pittsburgh-pittsburgh-campus/student-life/sports/

                VT: https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/virginia-polytechnic-institute-and-state-university/student-life/sports/

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                1. In the real world surpluses in budget for departments are a bad thing … you know what happens if I don’t spend all my budget this year for my org? I get a smaller budget next year. You know what I’m going to do? Spend every freaking dime and ask for more next year from my boss. Who knows what VT decides to do with that surplus … maybe it goes to research … the article doesn’t tell you where the money will be re-appropriated … but it does tell you that the budget is shrinking year over year … maybe because they’re not spending it all?

                  Like

                  1. It blows my mind that you criticize our athletic department (which has many faults) but you choose to use frugality as an argument for another school heading the wrong direction. Literally, they have a surplus because they’re being cheap. Spend your budget. Lol. Make your school better.

                    It’s like the entrepreneur who keeps putting all their profits back into the business to build something better rather than squatting and being content and having others catch and/or pass them in success.

                    Investing is how you get better and get bigger budgets … not fundraising. Fundraising should complement the success of the organization.

                    That’s the equivalent of trying to run a business directly from GoFundMe … Great idea to get some capital … but at some point the business will have to make it’s own money.

                    Like

                    1. … and back to Victory Heights … Pitt broke even on it’s budget … the investment is doing just fine …

                      Like

  60. not moved much by Cignetti’s presser, not thinking he could’ve said much to move me anyway but I guess he didn’t seem to screw it up

    I do think we’ll get an idea pretty quickly with this year’s schedule exactly how effective Cig will be

    and btw, I do think Abanikanda showed flashes of having both that burst speed and change of direction guy but he needs to pass block and BE/STAY HEALTHY!

    Liked by 1 person

  61. Coach White has earned a place on the hot seat for next year. To be fair about the situation he inherited a mess and corrections take time, especially when the mess inherited is a dumpster fire But, the team is playing horrible/fundamental basketball//sounds familiar– hey Coach Capal. Our basketball programs can only be described as a disgrace. Next year could see the exit doors for both White and Capal.
    Heather, you should be building a file of coaches to consider for both teams.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hire successful HC’s, not former assistants.

      When you are the one responsible for everything within the program (CEO), it requires certain skill sets that most coordinators and assistant coaches do not possess.

      Capel was an assistant for a long time at Duke for a reason before coming to Pitt. White was an assistant at FSU before Pitt.

      Prove to me as the AD that you can handle the job successfully before coming to Pitt.

      Liked by 2 people

  62. Matt McMahon of Murray State

    Tod Kowalczyk of Toledo

    Andy Kennedy of UAB

    Those guys would get my first call to gauge interest.

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  63. Last year, if a RB whiffed on a rusher he would sit for a long time, especially if the QB got hammered. No doubt this was Whipple’s decision. I wonder how Cignetti will address the problem of good runners who don’t pass block well, or what he thinks of undersized runners like V. Davis. Does he want a power runner for tough red zone yards? Or maybe even a fullback? Pass blocking has no doubt caused Izzy much playing time in the past.

    Liked by 3 people

  64. McGoweno, Johnson, Toney, Justin, Hugley, Coulibaly, Femi, Jeffress, Collier (last 2 highly rated but mistakes)

    Horton, Nike, Burton, Gueye

    He had Mintz

    Some say he could have had Julian and Posh Alexander

    I am guessing he passed on other gets while holding out for better

    That level far exceeded ACC Dixon or Stallings. It would have brought a level of success if he could have managed and maintained his players.

    We were “back“ around the time of the Duke game. The Hugley arrest started The end of that sentiment. The near season’s end transfers and the revelation of internal turmoil continued it. the Capel press conference on the transfers wearing a BLM sweatshirt and failing to invite half the media was pathetic. The Lyke ridiculous excuse mission was also pathetic. Covid, Covid, Covid. The Capel mansion tweet ended it for me, the epitome of clueless . He has no idea how to deal with the public. The lack of recruiting since these public utterances is the exclamation point

    The opening double digit home loss to Citadel was treated as just another game.

    And the same attitude exhibited there and the excuses continue.
    .
    There was the act of self destruction compounded by never ending excuse making regarding that self destruction.

    It really needs to end

    Like

  66. Good to see you return Tex.

    Off topic, but having Cincinnati join the big12 will negatively impact Pitt’s recruiting because they will be another P5 school well within driving distance. Typically, they got a lot of 2 and 3 stars plus solid transfers from OSU. Their academic programs are on par with Pitt in many ways.

    They also have a great game day experience with an on campus stadium. They actually opened up Nippert for a large snowball fight for their students today Not sure our students would want to bus to Heinz for some fun, like a snowball fight. Nothing like tying in the student to the university! Creating great memories opens up check books later! Ask BigB and all you other fat cats!!

    Note: the term Fat cats was not used as body shaming…it is just a saying about those with deep pockets!

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    1. I came out of my hole like the groundhog in Punxsutawney. But only temporarily. Annie will be pleased that it won’t be the movie Groundhog Day. 🤠

      Two other coaches on a short list would be Travis Ford from Saint Louis and Anthony Grant from Dayton.

      You need an experienced HC with program rebuilding on the resume if you are to replace Capel.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Pitt’s lawyers would never allow a snowball fight. They’d be concerned about a student losing an eyeball.

      Like

    3. Some key academic comparison between Pitt and Cincinnati from US News and World Report:

      Pitt is ranked #59 National University
      UC is ranked #148 National University

      *Pitt is ranked #20 Public University
      *UC is ranked #67 Public University

      Pitt acceptance rate (Fall 2020) was 64%
      UC acceptance rate (Fall 2020) was 76%
      Pitt total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020) 19,197
      UC total undergraduate enrollment (Fall 2020) 28,657
      Pitt 4-year graduation rate 69%
      UC 4-year graduation rate 37%
      Pitt Student-faculty ratio 14:1
      UC Student-faculty ratio 19:1
      Pitt endowment $4.17 b
      UC endowment $1.8 b
      According to the National Science Foundation, Pitt spent $1.0 billion on research and development in
      2018, ranking it 14th in the nation
      UC spent $480 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 54th in the nation

      I’m sure UC has a school that rates similar to Pitt’s, but there was a reason the ACC chose Pitt over UC

      Liked by 3 people

      1. But the ACC already broke their academic purity by admitting Louisville. Cincy would be a new market for the ACC, would become a natural rival for Louisville and help bring balance to the North and South divide. But how large can a conference become before getting unwieldy? I still expect Clemson, Miami and FSU to leave the ACC within the next 5 years.

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        2. I agree with your L’ville comparison, but the only reason to bring in another school into the ACC is the amount of additional media revenue dollars that school will add verses splitting the the revenue pie one more time. UC does not move the needle enough for the ACC. For the Big 12 it gives them another school in the Eastern time zone and a travel partner with UWV plus they had to add some schools and UC is doing well in football and OK (15-6) in men’s basketball.

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        3. As long as we are talking expansion…Why not go for WVU and CINN, effectively waving goodbye and God bless to ND in the ACC…No divisions, 9 game conference schedule, 3 conference “rival games” per season, rotating the other six conference members on an annual basis. All conference teams will play each other at least every other year. Top two seeded teams play for the conference championship.

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      2. No need to quote rankings. If I want to change a ranking, I can do it in 30 days. Want to report better student teacher ratios, hire more cheap non tenure track faculty and put em on short term assignment, change your ratio’s. Cincy may have internship and externship requirements in the majority of their programs which require an additional year or two on the pathway to graduation, Again, rankings can be manipulated very easily and I gave two quick examples without looking. There are many more of these examples and yes, universities employ people to ummm, manipulate numbers/stats.

        What does the acceptance rate actually mean? I don’t think it means you are actually better academically. Could cincy accept more because they had a better applicant pool? What is that based on? Standardized tests or other things? Big Court will quickly determine that standardized tests are out and there is a reason for it. Expect that in 5 months.

        The ACC took Louisville. Good grief man! I will only say this once to prove my point and to bring folks down off their high horses about ACC and Academics. You did not have to go to class at UNC for years and still got A’s. They aren’t isolated to athletics as that is called clustering which is a compliance issue that doesn’t fly under the radar. The ACC graduated non-readers, on purpose. Same with Syracuse. It happens at all these schools, you just don’t read about it unless it hits the major outlets.

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  68. At State Penn in Creepy Valley, they have frozen cow patty fights every Saturday afternoon in their erector set stadium. Their lawyers are fine as long as the students don’t hit the showers afterwards.

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  70. How sad is the state of Pitt basketball? We’re heading to the Pete tomorrow and the menu at the club level is of more interest than anything that will happen on the court.

    Sad, very sad.

    Liked by 1 person

  73. For anyone that’s interested VATech has saved their season with accurate 3 point shooting. They lead the ACC. Guess who’s last…..
    A very good FL State team had no answers and lost to them as State was favored by 15 at home.

    Enjoy the food Dino. It’s all you will enjoy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Read and posted your article on your take on Pitt Bb on Pantherlair. It caused quite a stir. Some posters got a little out of. Hand with their responses and the moderators took the thread down.

      Like

      1. Particularly didn’t like my – It seems we have our own Rick Pitino, but without the Rick Pitino results.

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      2. Gary, Since you sent them to me you should know!

        I have 16 years of coaching HS and AAU Basketball and as I’ve stated many times, I do not have the chops of Capel, Dixon and others. But having seen the very dark side of AAU and recruiting and trying to give the POV some small perspective on basketball, I sometimes let my passion get carried away. So many of those vitriolic Lair comments you sent me with all the name calling and childish criticism were taken out of context.

        One of many things I love about the POV is the we can agree to disagree without getting crude and rude.

        Hope you continue to follow this site and my comments. We welcome opinions everyone and I’m a Pitt Alum of 48 years who only wants the best for Pitt Sports!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I am glad you were able to read them before the thread was removed. I could not understand the overwhelming animosity toward your article. This site did not react anywhere near the same manner. Different audiences I guess. Found this site accidentally. Enjoying it thus far.

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          1. Gary – Dan knows his bball.

            Dan – i happened upon a D1 bball practice last week while on a campus. Coach was working his kids hard and surprisingly, the head coach was doing most of the work/teaching. I got to watch about 45 minutes before I got noticed. Two managers came up and told me the practice was closed and I needed to leave. I almost said, hey my name is dan72 so only I can tell me to leave but i didn’t.

            What I thought about was whether our bball head coach actually coaches the players or does he have his assistants handle those chores mainly? I haven’t heard how our practices are run, but was impressed by the way the head coach was so hands on for the 45 minutes I watched.

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  74. Heard that same tune prior to the Louisville and Syracuse games…made winning that much sweeter.
    Dino, come join us at Hemingways prior to the game.
    We always have a good time.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. UPitt was my Pitt Texas brother that dug me out of hibernation. I apologize for the bite. Again, only a temporary reprieve. I’m bound to get spooked when I see my shadow.

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  76. Heard some of Scorin’ Dorin Dickerson on the Fan this evening. He had Bill Stull on with him and they talked to Jon Baldwin too. They all played for Coach Cignetti back in 2009.

    It’s just talk, but it was encouraging talk. They emphasized that Coach C. is good at setting up and taking advantage of miss-matches. They said that he will have the playmakers learn to line up in different spots to help achieve this.

    Stull said he remembered that play-calls earlier in the game would set up later calls and often lead to wide open plays in the second half.

    Bill Stull also said that Coach C. had him prepared during practices that if a play was called, and the defense went into an alignment that would thwart that play, he had plays that they had practiced that he could switch to.

    Surprisingly, he said he only could do this under Coach C. He said under the previous OC, who I think was Cavanaugh (?), he had to run the called play…

    (I remember under Paul Chryst, they would always send in two plays – the primary play and one to “kill” to…)

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 7 people

  77. Our #19 Pitt wrestlers list to #24 UNC 19-12

    The Panthers won only 4 matches and lost several close one point bouts.

    Disappointing to watch as I feel the better team did not win, but way better than watching Pitt BB.

    Pitt wrestling who fell to 6-5 on the season and 1-2 in the ACC, will host Columbia on Sunday.

    We should be better – with two straight losses (VT & UNC), Pitt can look forward to turning those two losses in dual meets into a team win at the ACC championships where Pitt may crown (4) individual champions. If that happens, a team championship could be in the cards.

    H2P!

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    2. A pdf from the ACC site showing standings and individual rankings.

      State and Tech are top ten programs.

      Pitt has some highly nationally ranked wrestlers – three seniors, one junior and one sophomore.

      Although only six schools support wrestling in the ACC, its very competitive. I don’t believe Pitt won a conference match last year and Pitt had a final rank of 12 in 2021 with two wrestlers making the championship match at Nationals.

      Click to access STANDINGS.pdf

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  78. Pitt’s best season prior to this year was 2009 whe Cignetti coached. It was the year of the unfortunate Cinci game which was lost by Wanny and not Cignetti whose offense was one the three best in recent memory.

    All three of those teams had strong QB play, Stull, Peterman and Pickett and a strong cast of characters.
    If Cignetti gets a strong performance fro Slovis/Patti Pitt should have an offense to rival those three.

    I see that the Texas boys are back, odd that they disappeared during Pitt’s Championship run, I guess they didn’t have much to complain about. Too bad they couldn’t celebrate with us while it was happening.

    Liked by 7 people

  79. A championship won without an OCS, and Boyd in the SuperBowl with some kind of record for not dropping a pass, not bad for a guy that couldn’t tie his own shoes according to….

    Liked by 1 person

  82. For those interested the Senior Bowl game today will be televised on the NFL Network at 2:30pm.—-That should give you BB cheerleaders plenty of time to watch the game and then into your seats for the “excitement” of the Pitt BB VT game.

    Liked by 1 person

  83. Welcome back Mike and Mark! Your spice was missed around here. Hope you are surviving your inclement winter down there!

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  84. If KP has a good game, he could be the first QB selected. He’s smart, has good size, decent arm and legs, has leadership and moxy, and showed accuracy.

    I don’t worry about his hands. But I do have concerns if he’s a one hit wonder. It all came together this year. Whipples whispers finally made sense. But how will KP adapt to a new OC, a new system and new playbook. And his upside or ceiling may not be as high as some of the younger and less polished guys in the draft.

    I really think he’s a good fit for a team employing the RPO. Hope he goes to a good organization. I’m thinking Giants.

    And I don’t fault him for bailing on his team in the Peach Bowl. I’m disappointed though that he didn’t play.

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    1. I’m still wondering whether KP has the NFL-elite arm-strength to be a high pick?

      He has everything else, including smarts and working hard in game prep…

      I’d like to see him go to a dome team…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Just read this:

        “Malik Willis’s hardest throw was the fastest at the Senior Bowl (75.7 mph) since 2019, the first year Zebra Technologies, the NFL’s player-tracking data partner, fully measured quarterbacks.”

        Wonder how KP’s velocity compared…

        Go Pitt.

        Like

  85. I am by no means saying that KP is as good as Joe Burrough, but wasn’t he a one hit wonder who floundered on the bench at OSU before flourishing in his single season at LSU?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes he was. And if KP is even half the joe burrow, he can start on half the nfl teams.

      But man that burrow kid is scary good. Josh Allan from the Bills is another I really like. And Herbert from the Chargers ain’t too bad either. Steelers better find a QB to match all these afc youngsters including Mahomes.

      Could Kenny be that pick? If Kenny was still on the board, I’d grab him. Good value at 20. But I think either the giants, commanders, Panthers or saints will pick him before the Steelers.

      Liked by 2 people

  86. Saw this in a SI article on the signing day winners and losers:

    Nebraska was listed as a “winner:”
    “Wide receiver Janiran Bonner flipped to Nebraska from Georgia Tech and running back Ajay Allen was flipped from TCU. The 2022 class is outside of the top 25 but … with much more offensive weaponry entering the program than that on defense. Usually that’s a negative, but the scoring struggle in Lincoln has us considering an exception. “

    The Whipple Effect?

    BTW, as far as ACC teams, the usual suspects Clemson and Miami were “winners” while GT was among the SI “losers.” No mention of Pitt.

    Go Pitt.

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  88. I think Kenny’s hand size qualifies him for one of those blue and white placards you hang on your rear view mirror. He’ll be able to park anywhere he wants. Lucky son-of-a-gun!

    Liked by 3 people

  89. Quick question – what annual post season game was it when players got to put the decals of other schools on their helmets? Was it the east/west or north/south game?

    I always thought That Pitt script looked good and other players in the day seemed to agree.

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    1. That’s what it sounds like – but if they move up to get him, with how many roster-holes they have, it would make no sense to me…

      Besides a QB, they need a couple offensive linemen, and at least 5 defensive players- two inside linebackers, a Dlineman, a corner or two, and a safety…

      Much work to do when you have the worst overall roster in the division…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  91. Underwood adding the passing game coordinator title to the WR coach label was for the added pay Narduzzi and Lyke had to throw into the pot to get him to sign on at Pitt IMO.

    Liked by 1 person

  92. C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
    Kenny Pickett 6/6 89 14.8 1 0

    no idea how the spacing will look but can’t have a much better box than KP in the first quarter

    Liked by 1 person

  93. KP looked his usual solid good but….he had a receiver wide open 30 yds downfield and threw short. That may add to the small hands average arm story following him.
    He did have a TD throw on a swing pass. Willis looks Lamar fast but he throws too hard and doesn’t seem to put any touch on his throws. I’d give KP the advantage. H2P

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think that was mostly because of the pressure. He panicked a little and got rid of it before he had to.

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  95. I just turned on the sr bowl for a couple of minutes. What an engaging individual Malik “what you talkin about” Willis is. The kid is so well grounded and thoughtful in his responses. I guess he had a good run earlier in the game and the radar measured him at 18 mph. The announcer and interviewer gushed over that and his response was that he was not going full tilt. Great interview. How did KPick do in his two possessions?

    One of the draft scrollings has him listed as19th best player and another dude has him drafted at 9.

    The Raiman dude reminds me of brian oneill. I didn’t realize Howell is only 6 ft even. I don’t think the pro game will be good to him, except in pay!!

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  96. KP is solid yet unspectacular. Not elite in any one area. But very good across all facets of the game. He was a fifth year senior and had 3? Years under whipple. He was a man among boys. He’s probably the QB most ready for the NFL but that doesn’t make him the best pick. I think his ceiling is limited. However I’d be torn if Kenny was still there when the Steelers pick. Another Rooney passed on another Pitt QB 40 years ago

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  97. Malik will be a bust.
    He has never faced defenses designed to stop the pass.
    Running around for 3 plus seconds and firing the ball is fine in college.
    In the NFL it gets you beat up and beat down.
    Kenny has constantly played against defensive systems designed to stop him throwing.
    It is a huge advantage for him now.

    Liked by 2 people

  98. The Senior Bowl practices are more important than the actual game. He had an okay week from what I’ve read. Him and Willis clearly the top two but Howell had his moments. Pickett didn’t necessarily shine but he didn’t really hurt himself either. Willis closed the gap a little on the rainy day of practice. Kenny struggled a little when the weather got worse while Willis improved day over day. Kenny improved once they went inside the following day. Sounds like Kenny and Willis will bet the first two off the board. Kenny is more NFL ready with Willis having more potential and will have to be brought along slowly.

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  99. Dan, I for one love the passion you have for basketball and really enjoy your commentary, especially during game action! Keep it up, much appreciated!

    Like

  100. I imagine the FB group is celebrating and pounding chests with KP’s box score

    we know better here, right?

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      1. each of 4 qb’s get one quarter

        even if their team has the ball at the end of a quarter, next guy come in I think

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        1. no, now that I looked at the box(I only watched the actual game sporadically after KP went out) looks like 3 qb’s played for each team so some had to play more than 1 quarter

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