212 thoughts on “Duke at Pitt Basketball Thread”

  1. Great time eating and drinking at Hemingway’s with Fran, Scooter, Mark (PittPT), and others tonight! Looks like a lot of football recruits here at the Pete. Watch for the Zoo’s Grayson Allen head behind foul shots. Should be a fun night tonight! Enjoy! Wish you were all here!

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  4. Great start for Pitt 16-3 Duke.
    Ok they got the spread. 14.5

    Glad you guys had drinks at Hemingways. You’re going to need Em.

    Thank God only one more game of this awful season to watch!

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  11. Duke is obviously the better team but Pitt’s mistakes: driving 1 on 4,
    Putting the ball on the floor in the paint, failure to properly set a single screen, etc etc. have been there all year. You’d think Capel would’ve fixed one of Em by now.

    Really hard to watch!

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  20. Femi and Jeffress are not getting better. Horton is doing nothing. At least Gueye is playing with energy and is getting some boards. When I see Duke hitting all these 3s it makes my blood boil…

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  21. Duke does nothing special. They run a very simple offense and defense but they run it to perfection. But… what great shooters! ACC Basketball at its best.

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  22. OT: Iowa had a need at tight end and addressed it in the transfer portal Monday when Lafayette graduate transfer Steven Stilianos announced his decision to join the Hawkeyes.

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  25. I don’t care how good Duke is, Pitt should not lose by 30 points. Six points from the bench, and a walk on EZ gets 4 of them. Pitt looked like a JV team out there. Can they really improve next year with a couple more transfers?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t think they looked nearly as good as a JV Team!

      They look like a very poorly coached and poorly drilled team. In fact an utter embarrassment to most Pitt Fans.

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  26. One last thing…. If I see Femi ball handle into his opposing defender near the top of the key and then turn his back … with the frick n ball,
    one more time! Ugh. 8th grade rec ball players know not to do that!!!

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  28. I am tired of our asleep starts. We need to come out pressing immediately even if we run out gas later. We have nothing to lose.

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  32. Hats off to Fran, Wolfe, Mark and Scooter!

    Supreme Pitt fans!

    (I know it looks bleak, but I still think HL is going to find a way to move on from Coach Capel…)

    Go Pitt.

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  33. The skunk is a 20 game winner at TCU and “All and the Family” is a 20 game loser at Pitt.

    What a joke.

    If Heather doesn’t fire him she loses any credibility.

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    1. 15 million next year
      I heard it drops to 9 the next year.
      He is telling his friends he is good here for at least the next 2 years.

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  34. How to separate from Capel now:
    Be honest with him. The chances he coaches beyond next year are low. So he’ll earn his salary ~$3M for next year and his buyout ~$5M.
    Offer him ~$8M NOW to resign and stop the bleeding at Pitt and let him go on with his life.

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  35. Special thanks again to Gallagher for creating this mess and for Heather not finding a better coach four years ago. Does this university not believe in scouring the country for a coach?

    I’d also like to thank Sonny Vaccaro again for delivering Howland, which also brought Dixon. Without those two Pitt hoops’ history is a big zero.

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    1. Sonny is the “street agent” of all street agents. He’s made a fortune off of AAU shenanigans.

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  36. Since we here are need of some good news …. The first two series for the Pirates have been cancelled (with more possible)

    Sent from my iPhone

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  37. I have nothing to add so I haven’t posted///it is OBVIOUS our basketball program is toast. $$$ buyout
    we are losing tons with an empty Pete. Will Heather make the move to send Capel on his way?
    I doubt it!! One more year like this and we will be totally reentering the Stallings era SHAME

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  38. Whoever and whenever our next basketball coach arrives, I hope he’s a teacher, not just an xs and 0s guy!

    So tired of seeing horrible fundamentals in Pitt Basketball!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Nate & Dan, I agree. I admit I’m no expert, and it’s especially difficult to gauge fundamentals when there’s such a talent disparity, but I see a team that continues to struggle in the same areas over and over again, and the 2 things that stick out the most to me are: poor ball movement on offense, and poor discipline/communicaiton on defense. With the exception of the NC State & NC games, where we moved the ball well, I just feel like I’m watching a broken record. A team that is NOT getting better. I was really rooting for Capel to succeed, and I will root for him again next year, assuming he comes back, but I just don’t think he’s a very good coach, who also happens to have a recruiting problem.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Definitely the key. Many people KNOW what needs to be done to win; only a few excel at getting players to actually do what needs to be done to win…

      That was Jamie’s strength…

      Go Pitt.

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  39. Well, the $5 million Richards family donation came at a good time. Throw in another $3 million and buy Capel out. At the time of the 3 game win streak (long ago), I thought there was hope for the future with the addition of just a couple of transfers. After last night’s debacle, where once again we hear Capel’s excuses for not being ready to play, it is hared to believe there is any possible way to finish with some momentum for next year. I just don’t see how he turns things around from here..

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  40. big talk of Maryland in hot pursuit of Iona coach

    I’d be ok with that while I know some/many would not and everyone SHOULD have reservations

    I believe in rehab

    no matter, no way he leaves for Pitt imo, not even thinking he goes to Maryland but I do believe they will throw a huge offer that he will need to refuse and he’d sure fit here with the vermin inside the beltway

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  41. I hope Heather has put together a master list of Head Coaching prospects … even if she doesn’t use it til next year.

    Fork in the road for Capel coming soon. If Hugley and others bail, he’s gone now. If they stay and show loyalty, he has one more year.

    I think Jeffress is unreachable and un teachable. If he hits the portal it will be addition by subtraction.

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  42. This is my fear: Heather has no list.

    Last time she went hard for Hurley and got played like a fiddle until Danny squeezed everything he wanted from UConn.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. And after being rejected by Hurley she then turned to a guy who was last a head coach it was seven years prior.

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  43. Dan’s assessment is spot on. Capel can squeeze out another year if he has a plan that Heather thinks is workable and if his better players don’t transfer. But what can that plan be? There are no incoming recruits to talk up, and he needs to recruit some transfers by May 1st if they are to be eligible to play next year without sitting out a year.

    So it is crunch time for the Capel era. That his players tanked yesterday because they were all star struck was the end of the line for me. As for Jeffress, he is an immature player with some skills but no confidence. Hard to believe he was the best player in PA when Capel recruited him.

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  44. Jeffress was nowhere near the best player in PA when Capel recruited him; he may have been the highest rated player in PA (I’m not sure), but a high rating plus $4 will get you a cup of coffee. This was a ratings miss, they happen all the time in both directions.

    It is near impossible for Capel to recruit freshmen right now, because the program is reeling, and everybody knows Capel’s time here is short-lived, barring a radical turnaround thru the Portal next season. Offer the man $8M (Presumably next year’s salary) plus the buyout and find a new coach, and if he doesn’t take the deal, he’s going to be living thru a miserable season next year, more than likely.

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  45. Basketball is in a terrible place. It’s good enough to show glimmers of hope that it may one day turn the corner with this staff (see recent winning streak) and yet bad enough to get blown out by 30 at home with no recruits coming in, being looked at as perennial cellar dwellers in the conference and a large buyout due to the HC if Lyke does make a move. Horrible….

    If I were Lyke, I actually think I would let Capel stay next year but would fire his brother and bring someone else in that she picks ( I don’t care if the guy was a janitor at EMU when Lyke was there ). Then, the writing is clearly on the wall for Capel and everyone else associated with the program. If Capel doesn’t like it he can quit ( he won’t but he could have a soft landing spot waiting for him at Duke as an Asst. Coach again) and they won’t owe him million$ Or he stays and is a deadman walking.

    Maybe he can pull off a miracle and get a transfer portal or 2 guy to make a difference and win 20 games or so ( I almost made. Myself laugh typing this). It’s a VERY LONG shot that this happens and Capel turns it around in a year but miracles do happen.( I never thought in my wildest dreams I would see the football team win 11 games in my life again yet alone under Narduzzi.)

    At the worst, it’s just another crummy year for the basketball team with an empty Pete which has become the norm since JD left.

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  46. Increasingly the focus here and on Chris Peak’s basketball and the PPG has turned to Lyke. Sure, come big donations have come our way during Lyke’s tenure but did she have anything to do with them?

    In a Google search, this comes up: “She’s recruited eight new head coaches, opened a broadcast production facility, rebranded the school’s athletic logos and launched the Victory Heights initiative, a new master plan to expand and upgrade Pitt’s sports facilities. Oct 5, 2021.”

    Lance White is the head women’s basketball coach. He is having his third straight losing season. She hired Kevin Gavin to coach wrestling. The wrestling team has not won a conference title under his direction. Randy Waldrum, Pitt’s women’s soccer coach posted a losing ACC record last season of 4-6.

    So basketball is pretty much a disaster. Heather Lyke’s skill at hiring coaches is questionable. Do you trust her to hire the next coach after Capel is released in 2022-23. Men’s basketball may not be in the red, but it certainly has lost revenue for Pitt? How much? Why aren’t Zeise and Meyer investigating that?

    Pitt basketball is currently off my list so having another moribund season next year makes no difference.

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  47. Somebody help me. What is the monetary value of the Pete averaging attendance of 10,000 per game–note I am not requiring a sell-out of 12,000+ per game. What is the average price per ticket and how much revenue is earned per game on concessions. Bottom line based on 19 home games what does Pitt receive from basketball? (19 home games including pre-season turkeys with The Citadel’s of the world)

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  48. Beware of what you wish for. Most on this site thought Capel was a very good hire. Look at schools like Georgia (6 wins) NC State (11 wins) Ga. tech (11 wins) and others. No guarantees especially with NIL all bets are off. Offer big NIL deals and you will get players. No deals = no players.

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  49. Pitt women lost today in first round of ACC tourney. Blew a 9 point half-time lead.

    Pitt scored more FGs and same number of three-pointers. But Pitt went 7 for 17 on free throws.

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    1. Got cut off…. Anyway, Pitt lost to Duke by three points after missing 10 foul shots!

      Go Pitt.

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    1. Pitt has immensely mismanaged its baby (football) so no shock basketball is in its current state. Wipe away 2001-2016 and it is a pretty bad hoops history despite a ton of talent in the area from 1951-74.

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  51. Pitt women led by as much as 16 and led for 31 minutes of a 40 minute game. Turnovers and poor shooting killed them in the end.

    Not enough words to express my disappointment for this years team. I love Lance White as a coach and know how difficult a journey he’s on. But….it’s been four years. If he has a weakness as coach, it’s being too nice a guy.

    My fave two coaches are Brenda Freese at MD and Kelly Harper at Tennessee. Watch them on You Tube! They are brutally tough on their respective teams but equally inspiring !

    Two things I believe; a woman should coach women’s basketball (sorry Geno) and nice guys finish last!

    Get it together Coach White! You have one more year!

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    1. Coach White does seem like he’s trying to keep everybody happy at times. He routinely plays 12 players which I think adds to their turnover problems.

      I’m not a BB guy, but two little things really bother me about the woman’s team. One is that they routinely rush their shots around the hoop. Instead of going up strong and focusing and then releasing the ball, they seem like they can’t release the ball soon enough. They miss a ton of close-in shots.

      My second amateur pet-peeve is the too-flat jumper or foul shot. Shots with little arc leave a slim margin for error – this is especially glaring on the foul shoots.

      What bothers me is if I can see these little things repeated over and over, why can’t the coaches fix them?

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 2 people

  52. Coach White has a very different approach to Womens Basketball. He tries to make it fun for his players. I studied his tactics, practices and film as I was the opposite type of coach and thought “winning” was fun. Guys are used to being competitive, criticized and drilled hard at practices. HS Ladies and college women, not so much.

    Geno at UConn is a heartless taskmaster but wins. His teams play simple basketball “perfectly” much like Duke and Coach K. He does not tolerate mistakes!

    My daughters MD State HS Championship Team’s coach never smiled and was tough as nails. I’ve been retired 17 years now but see advantages to both. I think Coach White has too much of the former and not enough of the latter. It can’t always be fun and never have I played all players every game.

    But, I always tried to learn from my coaching mistakes. Sorry for the diatribe ….

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  53. Coach Cignetti must be planning to stay awhile. He just offered a high school freshman QB from Tenn. — George MacIntyre. The kid is already 6’5” – but he weighs 175#.

    It’s his first D-1 offer.

    Go Pitt.

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  55. Re: in The Department of What might Have Been:

    Trey McGowens scored 12 points and his freshman brother Bryce McGowens scored 25 points as Nebraska rolled over Penn State last night.

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  56. Lost last three games by an average of 19 points…all on home court!

    You have to be kidding, and I was all set to watch the game last night but couldn’t, a small blessing I suppose.

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  57. Is everyone else measuring hand size today? Pickett official measurement today 8.5 inches. Smallest of last 668 QBs measured!

    Say qoodbye to first round Kenny!

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  59. Two notable (and surprising comments from Zeise this morning in his PG question and answer segment.

    First,,, he claims Wooden was a mediocre HC at UCLA until he hired a “bagman”.

    Now the NIL should make that a moot point.

    Second .. he claims Heather and Pitt are having serious talks about an On Campus Stadium! Oh really???

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  60. Guy on the radio, talking about KP’s hand size, said KP fumbled 26 times over his Pitt career.

    I don’t remember thinking of KP as being fumble-prone.
    I wonder how many of those fumbles were on bad snaps??

    I sure hope the Steelers don’t end up with KP – the Steelers are a mess and need 2 or 3 good drafts to get back in the mix just in their own Division, IMHO.

    Would like to see KP go to New Orleans…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. If I hear one more time from the media (not referring to message boards) about Pickett’s hand size, I’m going to puke. What a joke. The only people that should be putting that crap out there are the ones who want to draft him.

      And I agree, the Steelers’ OLine is in worse shape than Pitt’s, they need to shore up the trenches, not throw a rookie QB in to take a beating.

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  61. Of course the word on the street is the Steelers are really in the market to draft Malik Willis.

    Surprisingly, Willis has elected to not run the forty yard dash today. That tells me he’s not quite as fast as he would like people think he is.

    As the tape shows, more power than speed which won’t prove as much of a benefit at the next level.

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  62. Kenny fumbled 38 times with 26 lost fumbles in 49 starts with as many drop backs as Kenny had is not a concern. Not every fumble is created equal either … how many were bad exchanges? How many were at the mesh point with the RB? How many were over his head? Like someone said, he didn’t appear to be fumble prone which is the telling factor. Perception is reality sometimes.

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  64. My guess is a little better 4.65. But he could run faster.

    Point is, I don’t remember seeing Pickett beat to the sidelines or really caught from behind. That tells me he is NOT average when it comes to forty quarterback speed.

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  67. That slide was… as I said at the time… nothing short of EPIC!

    The fact that it continues to get referenced and has been “cancelled” by the NCAA only lends support to some NFL team thinking that drafting Kenny Pickett might be a SMART thing to do.

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  68. Did you know that former Panther Dorin Dickerson has the best 40-time ever run at the combine for a TE?

    Dorin ran a 4.4. Course he was more of a hybrid…

    Go Pitt.

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  69. And the numbers say …

    Since 2003 supposedly only three first round QB picks have had hand sizes as small as 9″: Goff, Tannehill, and Burrow

    Some QBs at the NFL Combine had 11.75″ hand sizes!

    TE Gronkowski’s hands are 10.75″ which is like having Velcro at the end of your arms.

    Pickett was measured 8.5″ tip of thumb to tip of pinky stretched.

    Pickett should have gone to a plastic surgeon before the Combine and gotten a hand job.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. Not sure that’s where he should have gone for that tony…….

      Lou Riddick had a great comment about K8. He said that when you are a GM, and there is a question about a measurable and you draft the person in the first round anyway, the spotlight is on you if that player doesn’t succeed with some of the lack of success attributable to the measurement or lack thereof. He says it can be career limiting very quickly!! McShay follows and says he was awful throwing in wet weather and was the best in the controlled weather environment. So the question was does a North team draft him or a more southern team. All about risk from the GM perspective. Look for dome teams or more south teams to take the plunge! Can’t argue with the logic, therefore he goes to New England!! LOL!

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  70. Just adding up Cignetti’s QB offers in the last month…. Anyone know how many Whipple offered in the last 3 years??? If you want to catch fish you gotta get those hooks in the water!!!

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  73. And the numbers say …

    My take on Kenny is that he is incredibly over-sized from the neck up. Watching him walk up to the line, check the defense and Whipple be damned; i’m going THERE. And it worked in 2021. It is obvious that he is intelligent from his interviews.

    How is that measured other than the Wonderlic. 50 questions and 720 seconds to answer.

    I know a very intelligent Pitt mechanical engineering graduate who was in my classes at Pitt and he said that 14.4 seconds allowed for some questions is daunting. He was surprised at a job interview when he had to take the test.

    Hoping Kenny doesn’t have to move after the draft.

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  76. They just showed KP on the news throwing some deep bombs right on target. Very impressive.

    Go KP!

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  79. Chris Peak pointed out the satiric statement made by NFL analyst Ross Tucker that Pickett’s hands are way too small to play in a cold weather NFL city like Pittsburgh

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  80. I think the KP Mac Jones comparison is a good one. KP is a better runner. KP’s 40 time was very good.

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  81. I’m here to stir controversy. After winning two in a row against ranked teams, TCU lost at 6th ranked Kansas by 4 points last night. Still, they are at 19 wins and sure to get over the 20 win plateau in what has been considered over the last few years as the most competitive conference in CFB

    Yes, Dixon can still coach. Yet, even with him, Pitt BB has trended downward since joining the ACC. Even a reputed recruiter with big name like Capel is failing to attract sufficient talent to the program

    This begs the question .. is Pitt basketball and the ACC just a bad fit?

    Pitt football is doing well these days primarily to recruiting mostly 3 star talent within the ACC footprint. Pitt BB did well in the Big East by recruiting mostly 3 star talent from NYC/NJ area. Is there some type of correlation here?

    Sent from my iPhone

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  83. And oh by the way … BC basketball pretty much suffered the same fate. The Eagles averaged just under 25 wins in the last 4 years in the Big East, but after a 28 win season in the first year in the ACC, it had pretty much trended downhill since

    Syracuse’s decline has been much slower… but it is still a decline

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  84. That Pitt can’t win in the ACC is just crazy. The ball is round and the rim is 10 ft in every conference in college basketball. Pitt needs to find the right coach and then get some decent recruits in that can play. That’s all there is to it…

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  85. Pretty sure Dixon only made the tournament one time in 6 years. Not counting this year.

    I wouldn’t call that good coaching.

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  86. The portal trend hurt Capel and many other teams. He has to adjust to win. No use changing coaches until this crap settles down.

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    1. ….but the other coaches seem not to have the same problem. After the portal, there will be unionization and the next change, etc. If you wait for things to settle down, you go 20 years without squat. Excuses will find you if you let them. Saw that as I visited a D1 football coach two weeks ago.

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      1. Justifying Capel not getting fired in my head. He has been terrible. Pitt isn’t eating his buyout so may as well accept it.

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  87. The problem with Pitt basketball is two fold, first is recruiting, if Capel can’t do it who can? Second is the turmoil caused by the Portal and NIL. Again finding someone to navigate this landscape will be a crapshoot.

    I still think Capel gets one more year, but Heather better be working on a plan for what comes next and it won’t be easy.

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  88. Fair enough Notrocket, but please note that TCU had not made an NCAA appearance since 1998. And it had a losing record in 11 of the 15 years prior to Dixon’s arrival.

    Dixon clearly has upgraded the program

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  89. But still .. my point is that all 3 Northeast ACC programs have trended downward since joining the ACC.

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  90. BC has been really bad in the ACC and really bad in the Big East. Yes, they had a couple of good years, but not a very good winning percentage in my opinion. I might be wrong because i didn’t look it up. Or, I might be right because i didn’t look it up!

    Syracuse has been fairly consistent with wins in the ACC at a minimum of 18 or 19, except this year. Did they win 30+ like they did in the big east, no. However, I think they have done pretty good in the acc, not dominant. Not great in the tournament and that might be why the perception is not so good. Syracuse was really horrific in the 1960’s.

    Pitt – solid to awful in acc during their 9 year run. First three were really solid and the last six were awful, putrid even.

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  92. PG Screaming headline this morning. “Pitt Basketball has NO
    recruits for 2022. Where do we go from here”?

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  93. Since joining the Big East, all Northeast ACC teams have gotten worse, and 2 of the 3 have gotten much worse. The principle reason? The primary recruiting source has been taken away

    The defense rests

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    1. I know of no ACC teams joining the Big East. Just saying! Maryland is the only northeast team that has left the ACC and that was to join the Big Ten.

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    2. I know its a stretch to say they are a Northeast ACC team, but Notre Dame has held its own since leaving the Big East to join the ACC. Pitt had just as much success in Big East basketball as ND, so why can’t Pitt recruit the same regional areas as ND even if it means adjusting to a new recruiting area? Likewise, WVU has done better than Pitt since leaving the Big East. Why must Pitt be limited by primarily recruiting in the Northeast? The ACC should have opened up a larger recruiting area especially with a coach who spent years recruiting in the southeast and nationally, for that matter.

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  94. While in the Big East, Pitt played every year Providence, St John’s, Rutgers Seton Hall, Villanova and UConn … as well as the BE tournament at MSG. This has all been taken away

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  95. A thought on coaching hires at Pitt. Maybe Huff would know for sure but I suspect that Pitt has a governance edict or policy that says in effect, “thou shalt not make any contact or inquiries relative to potential candidates for positions that are currently occupied”.

    The University of Texas announced the firing of Tom Herman and the hiring of Steve Sarkisian on the same day. Obviously that can’t happen without extensive contact, discussions, negotiations, and maybe signings prior to that day. Would the Pitt AD be permitted to do that? I highly doubt it. Our recurring process is to fire a coach, announce the formation of a search committee, and several weeks later announce a new hire. In the meantime, all of our current players are left hanging and worrying.

    I assume we, and maybe most universities, would not want to risk the PR disaster of a candidate, staff member, or candidate family member, leaking that contacts occurred when there is no vacancy. But what an advantage it would be to know for certain that you have a commitment from someone you think strongly is an improvement before you cut loose your current coach. If we do have such a restriction, I bet not even the Chancellor has the authority to change it.

    I guess my point is that having a list of candidates in your AD’s pocket isn’t worth much if you can’t do anything with it until you part ways with the incumbent.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah, Wolfe, people say you should have a new hire lined up before you split with the current coach. I agree that’s easier said than done…

      But maintaining a list is important – I think you should be following the performance and monitoring any developments with these listed coaches, as well as keeping an eye out for new candidates and up-and-comers… But that all seems pretty obvious, I guess…

      Go Pitt.

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    2. In the business world it happens every day. Almost no business fires an exec or salesperson without having the new hire waiting in the next room.

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    3. Pitt’s policy has always been to fire a coach, then wait 6 months or so until all of the other very good (i.e., expensive) coaches have been hired by other schools who also need a coach first, then hire some assistant or bum.

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  96. Pitt baseball losing to Army to start the weekend – down 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th.

    Army with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out.

    Pitt’s ace with 7 strong innings / the bats are quiet again today.

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    2. Pitt with 6 hits and 3 runs, while Army pounded out 10 hits and 5 runs.

      Disappointing loss after Pitt was winning 3-0 in the middle innings.

      No relief pitching and only 2 starters on a team who’s HC was a former pitching coach, but never a HC.

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      1. Good friend of mine played SS and Catcher for Army mid 70s. Graduated top of his class at West Point but his best story was that Army played the Mets every year on their way back from Florida. One of the players from the Mets was Willie Mays and Steve got to ride back next to him on the plane and talk for an hour.
        Has Mays Jersey signed on his wall !

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  97. As it turned out … Pitt’s best BB Coach was a 3rd choice at best hired by a temp AD. And it was mostly panned by both media and fans

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  98. It would be nice to be good at baseball, soccer, volleyball, etc. but if football was top 25 every year and basketball made the tournament every year not many would care about the other sports. I never followed the other sports when attending Pitt. Then again, there was no soccer or baseball field on campus.

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    1. They have a few guys hitting around .300 but the competition is not up to ACC level pitching so it will probably be another sub-.500 season.

      There are several starters with a batting average below the Mendoza line. I could do that. Talent level is below par which makes the HC below par in my book.

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        1. Haha!!

          They lost to Army not good and I imagine Ohio State will roll them today. Heather has for Cons than Pros at this point in her tenure.

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  102. The heat she is feeling is self inflicted I believe. For some reason she thought it was a good idea to extend Capel’s contract with a bump in pay, and she was able to persuade Pitt administrators to sign off on that bad idea. This off-season, pinning no adjustments on Capel for improvements (like assistant coaching changes, landing a legitimate PG, etc.), could be a disastrous sign for next season.

    Meanwhile, Nate Oats (Alabama) and Danny Hurley (UConn) are developing winning programs in the same timeframe.

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  103. OT: switching to FB for a minute, 3 of the 4 team captains have moved on (2 to the NFL combine and 1 to Washington thru the transfer portal). The remaining captain, Des Alexander had a less than stellar season and chose to return for his COVID year.

    He seems to be re-embracing that leadership role in some of the film & photos from camp this week. Who will be the other 3 captains?

    Here is my take – on D it seems like a no brainer that SirVocea Dennis will be a team captain. As a MLB, he can be the QB of the D and in his interviews, he presents himself as an intelligent, well spoken and well mannered young man. His play on the field also speaks volumes.

    On the O side of the ball, can you anoint a player as a captain who may not end up as the starter? The QB is an assumed leader, but Pitt has a 2 man competition for the top spot (Patty and Slovis). Many are discounting Beville in this competition and ridicule his performance in the bowl game loss. IMO, Beville performed well and when he hits that maturity level needed to be a starting P5 QB, he will make some team a mighty fine signal caller.

    Jordan Addison is the only offensive player I can think of that warrants a captain’s C on his uniform. Jared Wayne seems like a quiet leader who carries a lunch pail to his job and works hard at being the very best he can be. Can 2 WR’s be captains? I don’t know that answer. The RB’s are all young except for FB Carter (hmmm…🤔). The OL has a slew of veterans coming back, but are any of them leaders like Jimmy Morrissey was? I like Kradel a lot, but he seems quiet. If he was our center, then I’d say yes to the C on his uniform.

    On special teams, we have all youth, across the board. New Aussie punter, new long snapper (maybe this position could be a good fit for Owen Drexel) and two second year kickers.

    So, if I were to name the captains for 2022 today, based on what I see and know of this team, SirVocea Dennis, Des Alexander and Jordan Addison would get the C on their uniforms. The 4th would be an as earned, per game decision. If Slovis wins the QB1 job, he is the designated captain for the hoopie opener. If he goes out and wins the game, he probably earned the C for the Tennessee game.

    By the way, Mrs. Erie and I discussed our season ticket renewal options last night. We plan to renew in the next few days AND we are planning a redneck vacation around the season opener. We will drive to the hoopie game, picking up roadkill as we see it for the tailgating experience and leave the next day for an extended stay deep inside of Virginia, with a return trip to Pittsburgh for the Tennessee game. Pitt needs to “get-r-done” so my entertainment dollars are well spent. Nothing less than 2-0 will satisfy the Erie clan.

    Can you tell I’m anxiously awaiting my next tee time?

    H2P!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Rick:
      We can golf ⛳️ if you want.
      We can get Fran too.
      My Dad told me my great uncle Charlie did that at Shady Side .
      It was basketball, but came out shook hands and sat on the bench for the games.
      He really liked telling that story.

      Like

  104. Watch for groundhogs, EE, they should be available in good numbers that time of year. Especially late in the afternoon. Make sure you have a cooler full of ice in the car. You want that groundhog to stay fresh until you get it on the rotisserie.

    If you’re lucky enough to bag a possum or two you can probably sell them to a hoopie fan for enough to cover the cost of your trip. 😁

    Liked by 3 people

  106. So Erie is going to clean house at the Ribfest which always occurs during Pitt’s opener. Imagine the trophy he can display in Lot 5A for seasons to come

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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  109. Like

  110. Nothing in the Post Gazette on this week’s Spring ball. Apparently a little skirmish broke out among a couple of players, and they were hitting in pads for 2 hours, but you wouldn’t know it from the PG. Tough competition among QBs, but again you wouldn’t know it. The substitute Junko story could be written any time, especially this week of spring break when nothing is happening. Isn’t this the time for Pitt, coming off an ACC Championship, to push for season ticket ales? A little Spring ball publicity to whet the appetite wouldn’t hurt..

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  115. I read on a link here that the last major QB prospect to have hands the size of Pickett’s, was Michael Vick. I looked back and he was the first player taken in the 2001 NFL draft. I wonder if his hand size was such a large point of discussion in 2001?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Vick’s hand size was 9”

      The smallest until this year was 8.75”

      KP8’s hand was stretched to 8.5”

      Like

  118. Looks like the beginning of the Pitt-Notre Dame basketball game is being preempted by the final quarter of an African League game on AT&T Sports?

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  122. Bring in our top secret weapon —-Amadasun. Pitt is without doubt one of the worst shooting teams in the US. Chapel should play DEEP into the bench——- our starters play like scrubs—- with only a few exceptions they are scrubs.

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  129. Pitt 1 of 13 from the three. ND is 5 of 11. There’s your 10 point deficit. Fouls are 10 to 4.

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  130. Wow,,,down 20 in the opening minutes of the 2nd half. Pitt only has taken 1 FT shot, which is partly why they’re getting routed. If not for all the FT’s taken/made Pitt would have been routed in many more games.

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  131. Hugley determined not to go to the bench with fouls. Even if he has to allow his man to score on every possession.

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  133. Meaning the Refs giving Hughley & others the benefit of the doubt & calling fouls….kept Pitt from losing even more games, losing by larger margins and being further embarrassed,

    One of the worst Pitt teams in the last 50 years. And this is after 4 years with the same coach.

    Liked by 2 people

  136. There are 350 teams playing Division 1 basketball. Some of them are pretty small schools(Alabama A & M) or have little to no basketball history like IUPUI,

    Some you might never have heard of, like NJIT or UTRGV. Or ones made fun of, like Elon.
    (all of these 3 no-names are scoring more points per game than Pitt btw)

    But out of all these 350 schools Pitt is Number 337 in Scoring Points.

    You can’t win if you can’t score points. This is a basic basketball pretext.

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  138. In NET rankings, only Oregon state is worse among P5 schools. Very similar to the Directors Cup final standings every year in July. Yet some see progress since Barnes bolted? Must be the Koolaid.

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  139. Elon recruits better than Pitt for football. Wasn’t Pitt ranked something like 72 in football recruiting after a championship year?

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  140. Remember reading an article over at PSN that Horton would have made a big difference had he played all year. Yea right. Of course it was written immediately after Horton had his one-time 20 point game at FSU .

    Pitt was 3 wins 9 losses in the games he played. Beating one of the few worst teams than themselves, that being 11-20 (4-16) NC State by a meager 2 points. And caught Fla State in the midst of a 6 game losing streak. The UNC win is totally inexplicable, unless the Capels have some dirt on them, since I think
    that was 2 times in a row over them at Deandome.

    I will say they MIGHT have beaten Minnesota (4-15 Big 10, next to last place) with Horton, but not The Citadel (6-12, next to last place in Southern conf) since that game wasn’t even close. Certainly no
    more ACC teams. Other than perhaps lowly BC, if they caught them on the right night.

    And the other guy who was injured this year is no great shakes either. Wouldn’t have made much of
    a difference, just like Horton didn’t.

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  141. According to both ESPN and CBSports, Pitt finished 13th in the ACC. They are actually tied for 11th but the tie breaker must make them 13th. If so, they would play the first game of the ACC tournament on Tuesday at 2 pm against Boston College.

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    1. Last season Pitt finished 12th.

      Not much of a drop – I’d prefer not to watch the Capel show ever again at Pitt.

      Maybe one more time in the ACC tournament and we pack his bags?

      I know, there is a HUGE buyout. What is HL’s buyout?

      Mrs. Erie is a big Duke men’s BB fan. I put my Carolina blue golf shirt on and took her to one of Central PA’s sports bars to watch the game 🤩

      Any bets that the Capel brothers show up in time to take their $5397 seats?

      I’m thinking Felton will be on the court shaking hands pre-game.

      He and Mike Brey probably chartered a flight after the 24 point trouncing.

      Liked by 1 person

  142. Only washed up writers are employed at PSN by DK. Commenters on this forum are far more articulate and informative.

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  143. Pitt baseball beat tOSU today 6-5.

    With the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 9th, SS Brock Franks ripped a game winning walk off HR.

    Nice win for the resume –

    H2P!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Always good to beat the Suckeyes but I’ll be more impressed when Pitt can consistently compete against southern schools who have the benefit of weather in the Spring. The ACC writers picked Pitt to finish just above BC in the ACC basement. Baseball needs to be a Fall and Spring sport.

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  144. A glimmer of hope, with improvement evident today at Notre Dame today. What improvement, you say? Simply put, we lost the prior game to a very good Duke team by 30, and cut that loss by 20%, with a 24 point loss today. Heading in the right direction…

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    1. In all seriousness, some people will see it that way. Pitts AD needs to force a coaching staff change and make sure booster money is there for elite transfers and NIL. Otherwise, she’s negligent and should be fired for being grossly incompetent. This HC hire and extension is 100 percent owned by her.

      Liked by 1 person

  146. The media likes to say this team never quit under Capel. Granted they didn’t walk off the team, during the season. Like they did last year. So in that respect, they didn’t quit.

    But they did get beat by an avg of 25 ppg in the last 3 games, And in the 5 previous losses before that
    they lost by an avg of almost 18 ppg.

    So we weren’t only losing…..we were getting stomped on.

    Capel is like the Lovie Smith of NCAAB. You can keep losing year after year and maintain your job.
    Even get a new one with a huge pay raise ala Lovie with the Texans.

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  147. Pitt shoots 36% with 11% from behind the arc. Is this really possible? How do they stink, let me count the ways..

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    1. Isnore, I’ve actually heard of it on one of those cooking shows, so I looked it up. I’ve become even more in-tuned to YouTube than ever while I continue to search for my MoJo.

      Like

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