2022 season
- Thread starter joeydavid
- Start date
Lets compare
PG - Johnson vs Johnson
Xavier was very good as a freshman. Dior is expected to be better but time will tell.
SG - Cummings vs McGowens
McGowens had a good freshman year but I'll take the 6th year senior.
SF - Burton vs JWF
JWF could shoot but Burton is the better all around player
PF - Hinson vs Toney
Toney played mostly the 4 as a freshman and, while "good for a freshman," was below average. I expect Hinson to be an above average ACC 4
C - Hugley vs Chukwuka
Not wasting my time
Bench
That Pitt team had nothing off the bench. Kham Davis, Jonathan Milligan, etc. This team has an old dude who played a bunch from Marquette in Greg Elliot, Nike Sibande, Jeffress, Santos, the Grahams, and even Fede Federiko may get some time backing up the 5.
This year's team is much better. Way older at guard and that cant be understated. Way better underneath
Consistent high % 3-ball shooting from 1-2 starters? Not sure I see any real improvement there--and this was a major problem the past several years. Lots of opponents going zone or sagging off of outside shooters due to lack of sufficient 3-ball threat.
The jury is still well out for me with this team. Let's wait and see if these guys can play as a team and play at the level they'll need to play in the ACC. I like to see the proof on the court. On paper, they appear to have upgraded their talent to some extent. But that's just part of the equation. If Capel can't put this team together and get all of the moving parts working and step up his in-game coaching and game prep, we're back to what we have been the past 5 years. That's where I lose confidence with this team. Capel has yet to prove he is a capable head coach at Pitt. I hope he proves me wrong.
I mostly agree. I've
been posting for years
that his program mgt,
and poor recruiting
were sinking the program.
As for his game time
coaching, he occasionally
had his team play over
its head. Almost all of
his ACC wins were IMO,
upsets. If he can change
those patterns, and get
some consistent play
out of this group, I feel
there's a chance for a
big step forward. He has
experience, and more
talent than before. For
me, it's a big MAYBE.
AS always, I gotta see
them in real time first.
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I would buy in because I do believe the talent is better, but what has Capel ever done to prove that he can create a winning culture and manage the personalities? I hope I am wrong, but I am skeptical.
Capel's problem at Pitt has been his reliance on 19 year old low character dudes. He now has 30 year olds + a big guy in Hugley who could be ANYWHERE but wants to win at Pitt.
Yeah, I think Capel’s problem hasn’t really ever been pure game day X’s and O’s. It’s been program management, more specifically player management.
We’re firmly in “believe it when seen” territory there, but I think there are signs for optimism. It seems pretty clear that last year was a “locker room reset” year after the X/Toney/Champagnie imbroglio the season before. They brought in a bunch of good kids who worked really hard, they just weren’t good enough as a whole. But I think they played above their heads as the year went on, especially considering the backcourt situation with Horton and Sibande, and that’s a credit to the staff’s coaching - that team had no business winning as many conference games as they did, and remember how close they were in a handful of others (buzzer beater losses against Notre Dame and UVA).
This year, you can see that they’ve made a conscious effort to purchase some good leadership guys out of the portal in Nelly and Elliott, Sibande and Burton seem like solid leaders in their own right, Hugley has seemed to embrace the program after they stood by him during his issues, the early returns on Dior are good, and the twins and Jeffress seem like awesome kids. The whole roster seems “bought in” in a way that maybe they weren’t in the past. Anything goes when the bullets start flying, but I think there’s reason to believe that the roster construction is the best we’ve seen here in a number of years.
We’re firmly in “believe it when seen” territory there, but I think there are signs for optimism. It seems pretty clear that last year was a “locker room reset” year after the X/Toney/Champagnie imbroglio the season before. They brought in a bunch of good kids who worked really hard, they just weren’t good enough as a whole. But I think they played above their heads as the year went on, especially considering the backcourt situation with Horton and Sibande, and that’s a credit to the staff’s coaching - that team had no business winning as many conference games as they did, and remember how close they were in a handful of others (buzzer beater losses against Notre Dame and UVA).
This year, you can see that they’ve made a conscious effort to purchase some good leadership guys out of the portal in Nelly and Elliott, Sibande and Burton seem like solid leaders in their own right, Hugley has seemed to embrace the program after they stood by him during his issues, the early returns on Dior are good, and the twins and Jeffress seem like awesome kids. The whole roster seems “bought in” in a way that maybe they weren’t in the past. Anything goes when the bullets start flying, but I think there’s reason to believe that the roster construction is the best we’ve seen here in a number of years.
Better talent, same head coach and staff. I need to see proof on the court that this TEAM can play. I haven't seen anything close to that proof with any of Capel's teams. It's great to say we have better talent, and this guy and that guy can do all kinds of things. But the single, most important factor is the TEAM. That's Capel's job and so far he has failed. And the culture he has developed with his teams has been less than productive.
I'll wait and see if he can put this team together cohesively that can produce results and wins. We may not know anything until February.
And how will Capel respond when the inevitable happens and we have players entering the portal again, key players, and leaving for whatever reason?
I'll wait and see if he can put this team together cohesively that can produce results and wins. We may not know anything until February.
And how will Capel respond when the inevitable happens and we have players entering the portal again, key players, and leaving for whatever reason?
They finally have provided a reason to pay attention, which hasn’t been the case the last two seasons
They will be substantially better than any of JCs teams and I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up better than most of the Dixon 2 teams . Actually looking forward to watching Pitt bb again .
I don’t mind saying it, I’m excited and can’t wait to see what this season brings! H2P
You shouldn't mind saying it. It's good to be optimistic. I'm the type that needs proof that things are going to change. I haven't seen that yet. If Capel can somehow get to 0.500 overall, that will be reason for optimism at this point. I hope he can but I have my doubts.
I’m looking forward to this year as well. It feels like we actually have a chance.
No proof of that until this years recruiting efforts. If he is not stupid, he is at least extremely arrogant to think his job wasn’t in jeopardy.
Despite the reservation, I am optimistically looking forward to the coming season and hope that the team's 3-ball shooting will be better than I am currently concerned that it might only be.
Really looking forward to watching this team play against WV on the 11th!
This is a good overall thread, a lot of rightful optimism for the upcoming season but grounded in the very reasonable ‘let’s wait and see what we actually have when we can see them on the court’ viewpoint. I agree wholeheartedly.
The 'I'll need proof' posts crack me up. Duh, yes I'd like to wait until we're in the second half of the season before I make my prediction on how many games we'll win too. But this is pre-season message board chatter; there is no harm in making a guess.
I'm certainly more optimistic than I've been in the past 8 years. We have better shooters, we should get better PG play, have several veteran players, and top to bottom, better talent. No gaurantees, but I think it will be a winning season.
I'm certainly more optimistic than I've been in the past 8 years. We have better shooters, we should get better PG play, have several veteran players, and top to bottom, better talent. No gaurantees, but I think it will be a winning season.
Does any coach anywhere ever make predictions on their seasons?
No
It’s a pretty silly complaint by the usual suspects
No
It’s a pretty silly complaint by the usual suspects
