Rivals #69
Capel visiting him today per Zagoria
Anthony Harris
- Thread starter Ronnyp91
- Start date
Rivals #69
Capel visiting him today per Zagoria
Capel will need to overcome the ill-will at PVI created by Stallings' running off Dixon's two PVI recruits C. Manigault and A. Thompson.
Last edited:
Thompson wasn't Dixon's recruit, dopey.
Thompson was recruited by Dixon for the class after Manigault. Stallings tried to keep him committed after Dixon left but Thompson asked for and received his LOI release from Pitt without ever arriving at Pitt seemingly because Stallings ran his HS teammate Manigault off when he unadvisedly blew up the entire roster. He was the point guard Stallings and Pitt desperately lacked. This was just one of many aspects of the massive Stallings fail.
Last edited:
-The whole thread is pointless because Zagoria or whoever put the information out got the name wrong. Capel was visiting Anthony Walker, the 4 star recruit that just visited Pitt twice. Pitt is trying to get Walker.
-All the other stuff here about Dixon and Stallings players is past history and worthless
-All the other stuff here about Dixon and Stallings players is past history and worthless
You are mistaken - Thompson committed to Stallings, not Dixon. In fact, he was Stallings' first recruit and was offered the same day that Stallings took over at Pitt. The relationship between the two dated back to Vandy where Stallings had prioritized him.
It's extremely likely that running off Manigault had an impact on Thompson's decision to decommit, but it's patently false to say that "Stallings tried to keep him after Dixon left". Nothing of the sort happened, Dixon didn't factor into that at all.
Being that Thompson was a teammate of Manigault no doubt meant that Dixon and his staff had been recruiting him before Stallings was hired. Assuming Stallings had also been recuiting him for Vandy and Manigault was already at Pitt likely gave Stallings an in to continue recruiting him -- this time for Pitt.
In any event, Stallings lost a greatly needed decent point guard when he over-reacted during his roster blow up and included Manigault in his purge. He "thew out the baby with the bath water" IMO.
However, as noted. It is ancient history now, especially in light of the Zagoria error. But, I continue to be annoyed everytime I think of the Stallings disaster and the clueless Bozo carpet bagger AD who foisted his hire on Pitt fans.
In any event, Stallings lost a greatly needed decent point guard when he over-reacted during his roster blow up and included Manigault in his purge. He "thew out the baby with the bath water" IMO.
However, as noted. It is ancient history now, especially in light of the Zagoria error. But, I continue to be annoyed everytime I think of the Stallings disaster and the clueless Bozo carpet bagger AD who foisted his hire on Pitt fans.
I genuinely don't understand why you keep trying to push a fictional scenario. Thompson's first visit to Pitt came after Stallings took over. He wasn't a Dixon recruit, period. Was Dixon aware of his existence? Probably, but that's not even remotely close to what you're claiming. Take the L.
You need to realize that a lot of the recruiting process takes place long before there is an on-campus visit at any college or university. Why do you think Capel's staff is already out and recruiting kids for the class of 2020 and 2021--most of whom have not yet visited Pitt. The assistants, and often the head coach, of any staff, go and recruit kids at camps, summer AAU leagues, and at their high schools long (often several years) before there is any campus visit. Any or all of these things were definitely underway for numerous prospects by Dixon's staff before Dixon moved on (or was pushed out).
Also, it is normal for any new coach (and particularly his staff) to look at the list of player's that the previous coach was on to and touch base with those they also happen to like--particularly any they were also recruiting for their prior school. To claim, that recruiting Thompson was only done by Stallings and his staff and never by Dixon'and his staff because there was no Pitt campus visit until Stallings was the coach is not reasonable. Given how badly Pitt needed a a decent point guard, believing that Dixon's staff had nothing more than some degree of awareness of Thompson doesn't pass the common sense test in view of their successful recruiting of Manigault. I will continue to quite reasonably believe, without very hard evidence to the contrary, that Dixon and his staff were recruiting Thompson from the from the time they recruited his HS teammate Manigault. That Stallings had also been recruiting Thompson for Vandy was coincidental and, of course, helpful in continuing to recruit Thompson to Pitt.
Stalling got and then lost Thompson's commitment therefore he was solely a Stallings recruit , but Kithcart , CM & Clark both were responsible for . Too bad none of those guys could play .
But it wasn't coincidental. Stallings had made Thompson a priority recruit at Vandy. Stallings offered him months before Dixon did at Pitt. He came to Pitt and he was a priority recruit, first offer, first visit, and first commit. IF Pitt was recruiting Thompson under Dixon they did so without a visit, any publicity, or an offer. There is no evidence to support Thompson as a "Dixon recruit" who Stallings then capitalized on. Dixon didn't recruit him at TCU.
It wasn't that Dixon or Pitt never recruited him before Stallings, but that Stallings started recruiting him and offered him before Pitt and long before he became Pitt's HC. Pitt, under Dixon, had not offered. Thompson committed barely a month after Stallings came to Pitt. Jamie Dixon at Pitt or TCU never offered him.
Even as someone who thought Stallings was a disaster from beginning to end, it is transparent anyone who is counting Thompson as a Dixon recruit, and not someone Stallings got to commit via a prior relationship and offer, is being disingenuous. When you say things like: "Stallings tried to keep him committed after Dixon left," you are clearly lying or ill informed.
". . . Dixon they did so without a visit, any publicity, or an offer." Always the way under Dixon. We never knew much or anything before a commitment was announced by a player or until LOI day--whichever came first.
Regardless of whatever the reality of the situation actually was--Stallings was a complete fool to run off Manigault. Had he not, the chance that Thompson would have asked for his release would have been, IMHO, between slim and none. Had Thompson stayed, regardless of whatever other weaknesses we had in the 0-18 ACC disaster season--at least we would have had respectable PG play.
Of course, the upside of that not happening is that we might still be stuck with Stallings as coach this season and perhaps into the future because with Thompson we might have won a few more games OOC and, perhaps 2-3 ACC games. So, it probably has worked out for the best.
Regardless of whatever the reality of the situation actually was--Stallings was a complete fool to run off Manigault. Had he not, the chance that Thompson would have asked for his release would have been, IMHO, between slim and none. Had Thompson stayed, regardless of whatever other weaknesses we had in the 0-18 ACC disaster season--at least we would have had respectable PG play.
Of course, the upside of that not happening is that we might still be stuck with Stallings as coach this season and perhaps into the future because with Thompson we might have won a few more games OOC and, perhaps 2-3 ACC games. So, it probably has worked out for the best.
Totally agree. One of my biggest fears for the Stallings era was that we would win 4-6 (maybe peak once in a while with 7/8) conference games each year and be in perpetual mediocrity. It didn't even occur to me that he could actually go winless in the ACC. Looking back KS probably did more for the program by being so bad and getting fired than he would have by staying.
First off the job should've never been available ! JD while floundering in the ACC deserved another 2 yrs to right the ship . I'm not sure he would've been successful in doing so , but he did earn that right . If JC can bring in the players JD couldn't then maybe a few yrs of misery with KS will have a silver lining .
Dixon wasn't righting the ship if he had 10 years to do so. He needed a fresh start as much as the university did. "Earning the right" to stay is, in my opinion, a small time mentality not befitting of a program that was accustomed to the level of success of Pitt. That's how programs enter a downward spiral. Hiring Stallings never made sense from any perspective, but the decision to cut bait on Dixon was clearly in both parties' best interest. If we had hired, say, Kevin Keatts, everyone would be praising the administration for making a tough but correct decision and being forward thinking. Sadly, all Barnes could think about was giving his crony one last hurrah.
Pitt Bb before the Howland / Dixon era except for the Golden Panther era never approached anything close to the level of success JD brought to Pitt . In fact Pitt Bb was quite pathetic . JD earned the right to try . Ask the Browns if changing coaches every other yr is a good way to be successful . Now I believe it was in his best interest to get a fresh start elsewhere and it's worked out nicely for him .
I'm still bummed Clark turned out to be damaged because I liked what I saw of him in the little action we did see.
Oh well.
I stated back in the time right before Dixon left that the coach who had the most success in our history probably gave us the best chance to get us back to where he once took us. Or at least deserved a good shot at trying.
But once he left, that became pretty much irrelevant.
His two years at TCU has already demonstrated what we already knew about his capability as a Coach. He's a pretty good one for sure.
But of course, it proves nothing as to whether he could have righted the ship here. Nothing at all, in fact. TCU proved to be a very good situation for him. But that means nothing at all for Pitt Hoops.
Personally, while it's still a bit on my radar, I find it harder and harder to care about Dixon at all. I'm all in with the Coach we have now --- let's hope he continues to affirm all of our good feelings about him very soon. Both on the recruiting trail and on the court.
It doesn't matter what the program did or didn't achieve prior to Howland and Dixon. The program was elevated, which necessitates that the standard for performance is also elevated. Dixon's teams were trending downward on the court and his recruiting was absolutely pathetic. The Browns are a cherry picked example from a different sport of the downside of coaching turnover. For a cherry picked example of the opposite, look at Chelsea FC from the English Premiership. Excluding two caretakers who managed one match each, Chelsea have had 12 managers in 14 years. They've also been the most successful team in England, comfortably outperforming their rivals who have had much greater stability. Neither of those examples have anything to do with Pitt, though, professional sports are a different animal. Dixon deserved nothing, he was extremely well compensated financially and didn't come close to earning it. Sticking with him based entirely on past accomplishments was a very good way of ensuring that Pitt never achieves them again.
If Pitt could only of skipped the KS two yrs of agony and gone straight from JD to JC ! I have high hopes for Pitt Bb now , Pitt finally now has a coach who can connect with the kind of recruits who can make Pitt competitive in the ACC. We'll get an insight into his coaching abilities this yr because he still doesn't have enough talent .It's going to be fun watching Pitt Bb again !
Can we wait for some Capel recruits to actually play some games? After the disappointment of another FAILURE of a football coach who raised our hopes, I'll reserve judgment. I hope Capel gets us to Dixon's level ,Getting a couple good 2019 recruits would be tangible evidence.
-No expectations = Rutgers or Drop to Division 2 in sports.
-Lets stop the Stallings loser mentality bullshit already and put expectations and goals on the board. Unless you want Stallings to come back and take the team to dunkin donuts to celebrate our 8 wins last year and then sleep afterwards after a 10 minute practice and say there is always tomorrow and next year.
-Lets break the friggin loser next year mentality already. Because our football team has the same dam loser mentality as Kevin Stallings. Its contagious and it spreads.
- Capel had this team work its ass off training in the offseason. Something Stallings and his crew completely failed at. No surprise all our players are jacked and in shape. That is something to talk about as opposed to the out of shape loser team Stallings put together last year. Move forward
I think this yrs team will be much improved , but the real progress will occur in yr 2 & 3 . Realistic expectations .
Dude, you're *really* missing the mark in this thread. Thompson was Stallings and Stallings alone. He visited Vandy with Stallings March 6th, 2016. There was NO connection with Thompson and Pitt until Stallings offered him from Pitt March 27th. He was Vandy/Virginia Tech/Temple up until that point. Pitt wasn't even on the radar, no matter what gyms Dixon was or was not visiting.
And in NO reality would Thompson have meant an extra '2-3 wins in ACC games' Dude slashed 40%/13%/54% in 24 MPG. His AST/TO? A pedestrian 2:1 (3.4 APG/1.7 TOPG). That's ludicrous.
Xavier Johnson came out of the same league Thompson did, was more decorated than Thompson in that league- and even he, alone, would not cause that type of impact.
Tough call, since we don't know the roster. I think Capel gives us the best shot at being a strong program again...but no guarantees.
Last time I looked nothing in life is guaranteed ! But I'm still optimistic for the future of Pitt Bb not so for Fb though !
