- NC State has talent. I am not a Mark Gottfried coach and they are always going to be inconsistent, but his teams will always have talent. I think the Wolfpack will play a handful of games like the one on Saturday.
- I wouldn't fold up the program just yet. This team is going to win and lose some games that just makes you shake your head. Living and dying on every game with this club is not a good idea.
- There are a lot of issues with this team. Outside shooting is one. With the Johnsons out of the mix for different reasons, there is just no consistent threat from outside. This allows defenses to sag and it makes it so much easier for opponents to defend. Starting Cameron Wright and Chris Jones as your two off-guards is tough. Not that there are other options, but it is what it is. No one on this team is going to scare opposing coaches from behind the arc.
- The other main issue I see is that there is no presence at the rim. The perimeter defense has actually improved. I expected this with the return of Wright. However, there is just no shot-blocking presence at all. Beejay Anya plays about 19 minutes a game and has blocked 48 shots this year. Pitt has 46 total blocks as a team. No one on this team even averages 1 block a game.
- This also carries over to the offensive end. Without a true center, this team can get caught up in attempting poor shots. They get a ton of shots blocked and when they get out of rhythm offensively, you see what happens on Saturday.
- This team misses Durand Johnson offensively. More than his scoring threat though, I think they miss his swagger the most. Without him, this team just goes stretches where there seems to be no energy or confidence. I know that term seems silly to some people, but I thought that was what they would miss the most without Durand, and I still think that is the case.
- To make the tournament, I thought they needed to win at least four of their first five. All five games are winnable, and they face a brutal stretch in the middle of the season. It is imperative that they start strong and get out to a four or five game cushion. They can obviously still go 4-1 or even 3-2, but losing the first one in that fashion may hurt. As far as the margin of defeat, it is going to happen this year. Just the way it goes. I wouldn't look into the scores this year. This team is inconsistent and is going to do some mind-numbing things.
- A lot of the issues can be traced back to the 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes. Pitt always relied on fourth and fifth year players. Of the three commitments in 2010, only Cameron Wright is here. Epps and Moore transferred. 2011 was even worse. John Johnson, Malcolm Gilbert, and Khem Birch all transferred. Durand Johnson has been inconsistent and let down his team this year. Oh, and Khem Birch also cost Pitt Jaylen Bond. Jaylen is no superstar, but he was a great fit for this program. He has found a home at Temple and had a huge game the other night as a junior.
- Having two consecutive bad classes is going to hurt. Not right away, but in time. 2013 and 2014 were good classes. Now the only question is; did they learn from those two classes and will things trend upwards again? It looks like they are going to recover but it may take another year.
- Jamie Dixon and Pitt need to be Virginia, or Wisconsin. Those type of players are what thrive in this program. They were so close before. They had the recipe, but just needed that one elite scorer. I don't think we will ever see a team like we did in 2003. As far as defense and toughness goes. I do think this program can get back to being nationally relevant though. Finishing 2015 strong and hanging onto Heron would be big. Losing Rowan really hurts. He is the type of player that this program has not had.
- Pitt could win by 20 tomorrow night, or lose. There is literally no way to know what this team is going to do on a game-by-game basis. I wouldn't panic until we see how they do over these next four games. If they only win one or two of them, it could get very ugly. I am not ready to go there yet.
- I wouldn't fold up the program just yet. This team is going to win and lose some games that just makes you shake your head. Living and dying on every game with this club is not a good idea.
- There are a lot of issues with this team. Outside shooting is one. With the Johnsons out of the mix for different reasons, there is just no consistent threat from outside. This allows defenses to sag and it makes it so much easier for opponents to defend. Starting Cameron Wright and Chris Jones as your two off-guards is tough. Not that there are other options, but it is what it is. No one on this team is going to scare opposing coaches from behind the arc.
- The other main issue I see is that there is no presence at the rim. The perimeter defense has actually improved. I expected this with the return of Wright. However, there is just no shot-blocking presence at all. Beejay Anya plays about 19 minutes a game and has blocked 48 shots this year. Pitt has 46 total blocks as a team. No one on this team even averages 1 block a game.
- This also carries over to the offensive end. Without a true center, this team can get caught up in attempting poor shots. They get a ton of shots blocked and when they get out of rhythm offensively, you see what happens on Saturday.
- This team misses Durand Johnson offensively. More than his scoring threat though, I think they miss his swagger the most. Without him, this team just goes stretches where there seems to be no energy or confidence. I know that term seems silly to some people, but I thought that was what they would miss the most without Durand, and I still think that is the case.
- To make the tournament, I thought they needed to win at least four of their first five. All five games are winnable, and they face a brutal stretch in the middle of the season. It is imperative that they start strong and get out to a four or five game cushion. They can obviously still go 4-1 or even 3-2, but losing the first one in that fashion may hurt. As far as the margin of defeat, it is going to happen this year. Just the way it goes. I wouldn't look into the scores this year. This team is inconsistent and is going to do some mind-numbing things.
- A lot of the issues can be traced back to the 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes. Pitt always relied on fourth and fifth year players. Of the three commitments in 2010, only Cameron Wright is here. Epps and Moore transferred. 2011 was even worse. John Johnson, Malcolm Gilbert, and Khem Birch all transferred. Durand Johnson has been inconsistent and let down his team this year. Oh, and Khem Birch also cost Pitt Jaylen Bond. Jaylen is no superstar, but he was a great fit for this program. He has found a home at Temple and had a huge game the other night as a junior.
- Having two consecutive bad classes is going to hurt. Not right away, but in time. 2013 and 2014 were good classes. Now the only question is; did they learn from those two classes and will things trend upwards again? It looks like they are going to recover but it may take another year.
- Jamie Dixon and Pitt need to be Virginia, or Wisconsin. Those type of players are what thrive in this program. They were so close before. They had the recipe, but just needed that one elite scorer. I don't think we will ever see a team like we did in 2003. As far as defense and toughness goes. I do think this program can get back to being nationally relevant though. Finishing 2015 strong and hanging onto Heron would be big. Losing Rowan really hurts. He is the type of player that this program has not had.
- Pitt could win by 20 tomorrow night, or lose. There is literally no way to know what this team is going to do on a game-by-game basis. I wouldn't panic until we see how they do over these next four games. If they only win one or two of them, it could get very ugly. I am not ready to go there yet.
