On the opening week of the portal and as I think about the state of Pitt BB, I have to say that the magnitude of this mess is so monumental, even for Pitt, that I am incredulous that Pitt finds itself where it is. And while there is nothing that I am about to say here which is new, I have to state it for my sanity.
Heather Lyke has to be the worst AD in the history of Pitt and perhaps the ncaa, and her extension of Capel was clear malfeasance. What school that values winning extends a HC 6 years into his tenure until 2030 after one ncaa appearance followed by a near miss when his overall record demonstrates: an inability to build an entire roster; an inability to develop players; the assembling of teams that tend toward selfish basketball play and ultimately leads to the complete implosion of at least 2 seasons; and the creation of a staff, kept in tact for 7 years of lousy BB, with no real feel for in game coaching or ability to develop players. What was her motivation? My only reaction is that she lacked any real feel for the game itself…was she watching anything! And the frightening thing is that Pitt may find itself in the same position on the FB side where she set the precedent for doling out contract extensions every time a coach showed a pulse…..hopefully not, but this upcoming season looms very large for Narduzzi.
And then we have the circus that Lyke ran in seeeking a replacement for Stallings. She was completely lost! She placed all her eggs publicly in the Hurley basket when it was clear he had no interest in Pitt from the start, and eschewed candidates like Nate Oates, Willard and many others who had actually produced winners at other schools. After then being backed into a corner and about to hire the stiff from St. Bon., she opted for the positive publicity hire in Capel who had a lousy coaching record but who glowed with the Coach K and Duke aura. When I think about her grinning at the introductory press conference, I get sick. Again, hire people who you are going to pay multi- million dollars contracts for the right reasons….you know, actually having previously accomplished something.
And this is where I now focus on Pitt, the institution, run by a board and high level administrators who couldn’t have done a worse job of managing athletics over the last 40 years had they tried to do so….and they have been so skilled at mismanagement, I am almost inclined to believe the mismanagement has been intentional. When you hire an AD, you need to find someone who has some track record of success. No, they hired Lyke, an Administrator who spent nearly her entire career in compliance at OSU, and when she finally did land a top position, it was at E.Mich., a backwater MAC SCHOOL where her track record was as undistinguished as you could ever find. Sorry, but she was hired for all the wrong reasons as her record was completely undistinguished . And the same goes for hiring coaches. I give Gabel a lot of credit for seeing through Lyke and giving her the heave ho.
So here we are …saddled with a HC running out the the string with a contract that prevents Pitt from making the personnel changes that are clearly called for who has absolutely nothing to sell recruits in the way of his accomplishments tasked with trying to completely make over his entire roster in his 8th year. And even if recruiting success is dependent on one thing, money, what can we reasonably expect Capel to accomplish with the players he signs? If this turns out well, this will be a complete miracle! The more money involved in these ncaa sports sweepstakes, the worse Pitt seemingly gets at managing the franchise.
So I apologize for the rant, but from time to time as a Pitt fan, one wonders why bother!
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