Congratulations your the next Head Coach of the University of Pittsburgh Men’s Bb Program
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Not sure what you mean because there really isn't anything more important than money. Pitt is going to have to overpay, whether it be for a mid-major guy or established guy.
My only condition would probably be for a booster group to establish a fund to pay the players an "NIL salary." Not that UPMC is any friend of Pitt, but they have to spend their money to remain a non-profit, get them to pay Pitt players $50K/year to go on some billboards.
Pitt won’t be able to simply overpay for a coach because of the Gene Stallings situation. Pitt made a fatal mistake firing a coach after 1-2 seasons. A program at the level of Pitt or WVU never does that and doesn’t pay for it.
Pitt will need to hope it gets the next John Beilein. It isn’t getting a Hurley or Schmidt. Not happening.
Pitt will need to hope it gets the next John Beilein. It isn’t getting a Hurley or Schmidt. Not happening.
What does a former Alabama football coach have to do with anything?
The former Vandy and Pitt coach. The first name is irrelevant to me.
You got me. Have no idea what Stallings first name is. I know his son is Jacob, who is a gold glove catcher.
I knew who you meant. Was just busting stones a little.
The only mistake with Stallings was not firing him after Year 1. When Cam transferred and Stallings didnt have a good class signed, I said the new AD should just correct the mistake then and there and fire him after Year 1. It was extremely obvious he was getting fired after Year 2 so why wait a year? The same logic applies to Capel. He is going to be fired after Year 5 so you might as well fire him after Year 4.
Yeah, that’s what they should’ve done. Fire Stallings after year 1. Yeah. Definitely.
How about be thankful that you have a terrific coach in Jamie Dixon? You actually had a recruiting area with him.
I think the two things I want are:
(1) I want the largest off-court staff budget in the conference. A Special Assistant to the Head Coach, a recruiting director and an assistant recruiting coordinator, at least two opponent scouting guys, an internal video coordinator to self-scout, a player development/NIL/alumni relations guy, a strength coach and a dedicated athletic trainer, and a director of basketball operations. On top of the two graduate assistants and an assistant coach salary pool towards the top of the league.
(2) I want commitments and a timeline for the facilities projects we’ve talked about on here before. When are we getting the student gym out of the Pete and devoting that to student athlete (not just basketball) purposes? How soon can we expand the practice court and weight training areas? Is it feasible to just expand the practice gym and other player-side facilities at the Pete into the hilltop towards the OC lot and do it that way, and who can we talk to about getting the money for that? What’s the plan for student-athlete housing - are we just doing the lease at the Bridge on Forbes indefinitely or are we building an athlete dorm up in upper campus? And, who can we talk to at Nike about getting us into the Jordan brand?
(1) I want the largest off-court staff budget in the conference. A Special Assistant to the Head Coach, a recruiting director and an assistant recruiting coordinator, at least two opponent scouting guys, an internal video coordinator to self-scout, a player development/NIL/alumni relations guy, a strength coach and a dedicated athletic trainer, and a director of basketball operations. On top of the two graduate assistants and an assistant coach salary pool towards the top of the league.
(2) I want commitments and a timeline for the facilities projects we’ve talked about on here before. When are we getting the student gym out of the Pete and devoting that to student athlete (not just basketball) purposes? How soon can we expand the practice court and weight training areas? Is it feasible to just expand the practice gym and other player-side facilities at the Pete into the hilltop towards the OC lot and do it that way, and who can we talk to about getting the money for that? What’s the plan for student-athlete housing - are we just doing the lease at the Bridge on Forbes indefinitely or are we building an athlete dorm up in upper campus? And, who can we talk to at Nike about getting us into the Jordan brand?
Yep. When you only have 1 returning player who is P5 material (Luther), your recruiting class sucks, you just had the worst conference season in Pitt history with 3 future NBA players (4-14), and the fanbase hates you, they absolutely should have corrected the mistake right then and there. No need to wait a year.
Someone who is young, intelligent, winner at a lower level, and HAS to win here to move up the ladder. This guy is probably making about 500k and the facilities and conference he is currently in are worse than Pitt. You triple his salary and provide good money for him to bring in a top staff. Provide them good incentive bonuses. Then commit to facility upgrades.
No disrespect meant to you here at all. I just didn't think you were on the "fire Capel now" train. I'm just wondering if you are 100% serious with starting this thread.
My two areas that I’d insist on before I‘d consider taking the job
#1 …is establishment of a booster group that works with someone on my staff to organize an effective NIL program. You come to Pitt we are going to take care of you and if you excel you will be handsomely taken care of .
#2 …being able to hire effective recruiters even if they have a checkered past and have connections to the bb factories and or to AAU teams .
#1 …is establishment of a booster group that works with someone on my staff to organize an effective NIL program. You come to Pitt we are going to take care of you and if you excel you will be handsomely taken care of .
#2 …being able to hire effective recruiters even if they have a checkered past and have connections to the bb factories and or to AAU teams .
Lol. Cam didn't even start until Stallings first year. I don't know that I would call Artis and Young NBA players. They were both undrafted, saw almost no playing time and had absolutely no impact.
Step 1 has to be putting together a competent, focused staff. Find guys that have deep connections to NY/NJ/DMV/Philly and focus exclusively on those areas. Build bridges and do right by the top AAU programs in the area. Be less focused on the transfer portal and start building this like a pro team where your core comes from the draft and free agency is only used to plug a gap or two.
Beyond that, develop, develop, develop. Quit swinging for high end kids that we have a marginal chance at landing. Identify your style and bring in kids that fit your style of play, regardless of ranking. Don’t let talent dictate your recruiting strategy. Value character and toughness over flash.
Beyond that, develop, develop, develop. Quit swinging for high end kids that we have a marginal chance at landing. Identify your style and bring in kids that fit your style of play, regardless of ranking. Don’t let talent dictate your recruiting strategy. Value character and toughness over flash.
Everyone’s been on this train for awhile now . Owning him 15 million is the best reason for retaining him at this point .
After losing the Mintz commitment and seeing the current state of his team I’m just not sure how he sells the program to anyone who can change the trajectory of the program .
From the early results even with improved play from all of his players there’s just nowhere near enough talent in the program to expect much better results next yr .
My biggest concern with moving on from him is who would really want the job and then we start from scratch again with no players . If I could get the job I’m sure I could probably get a better opportunity elsewhere .
The topic crossed my mind because I think Pitt will be hard pressed to convince any good coach to leave his current successful program to take over here .Sure the money has to be there , but what else would it take to convince me that the university is serious about winning that they’re not currently doing . .
As bad as it is I still think he has a 5th yr unless they do a Stallings and go winless in the ACC .
I'm not sure I'm following you completely ... but i sense tons of uncertainty with every line you have written here, and THAT I completely understand.
We have a mess, don't we?
I agree that we should recruit those areas, but we cannot focus exclusively on that. We need to get them from wherever - Prep School, International Players, Juco, Transfers.
We need to focus on good players with a high ball IQ who are winners, but happen to be an inch or two too short or not fit the profile of a Top 50 recruit. Find those guys with a chip on their shoulder who will run through a wall to win. Go back to what we did under Howland. We agree on this part.
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Can a Howland/Dixon succeed in the free agency era? Are kids going to sit and be patient today? Its not as easy as you make it seem. More than anything, you need a recruiter, someone who can bring in talented HS players and someone who can replace them in the portal when they inevitably transfer.
How is Pitt not serious about winning? Dumping Stallings after 2 years seems to indicate that there is a serious commitment to basketball. And hiring the top assistant at the best program in the country says something as well. It hasn't worked out, but where is the lack of trying?
Why not? You develop a team concept with a winning culture. You only need an 8 man rotation.
6 year contract
Name my own assistants and staff
No limits on roster turnover for my first 2 years
AD makes several public pronouncements of patience during my first 2 years
Completecontrol of scheduling during entire tenure
If I am going to win or lose, I want it to be solely because of me. I want to control what determines if I win or lose, not cede any part of it to anyone else or have my efforts sabotaged by the public remarks of anyone else.
Not for nothing, and I'm sure you won't disagree, but I believe Capel got every and every one of these points when he was hired. I'm not sure what this means to the OP's original question however.
The question was what conditions would you demand before accepting the Pitt job?
I do think Capel received all of the above with the possible exception of scheduling? Guessing Capel does not want WVU as an OC opponent.
The fact that Capel has failed receiving all that makes his failure even more abysmal.
I think in asking about conditions, the OP was really asking what does it take to be successful at Pitt? The answer is the right coach and people staying out of his way.
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I agree that the failure is clear, and I'm sure Capel received the scheduling consideration.
I also think Stallings received all of the same considerations too, with the exception of the initial news conference, which I know you took exception to. Perhaps Stallings did not receive the public pronouncements from the AD, which I suppose is not something a coach should expect when he is going 0-18 in conference, 8-24 overall, and being a sub 200 RPI and Pomeroy rating.
We’re any of Richards, Regan, Ramon or Brown strongly suggested?
I realize these are not impact positions, but maybe indicate someone wanted an eye or two into the program.Just making sure things were on the up and up?
Was Knight strongly suggested for the original staff?
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I’m just not sure where Pitt goes from here .
Retaining JC for another yr or two makes the most sense financially since 15 million is a lot of money and then there’s always a chance ( a small one ) he somehow turns this around . It can’t get much worse from here and the fan base is basically down to the die hearts already .
It will take an armored truck full of bitcoins to lure anyone of note to come here . Any currently successful coach will just use a Pitt offer as leverage.( Hurley is a perfect example ) Hiring a hot up and comer won’t be that easy either , won’t other programs know about this guy too ? Whose dying to take over a bottom dweller in the ACC with not much talent ?
I‘m not sure Pitt is willing to use its money to fund the buyout and the hiring of a new coach . Now if some big monied booster writes the check anything is possible.
Losing the Mintz commitment I likened to Stallings losing Thompson and Cam . Confirmation of the beginning of the end . With the Mintz commitment I felt JC finally had found his footings in recruiting , losing him reenforces my thought that why would any highly sought after kid choose Pitt ?
I have no idea if JC can win at this level with his coaching abilities, but I do know that he can’t convince the talent needed for him to be successful at Pitt to come here . No coach wins without talent .
Bottom line ….They need to either change how they go about recruiting , using all means available under the NIL umbrella to overpay a few program changing players or change coaches .
This is an excellent post. The points covered are the same fears I have. We have two problems here, getting rid of one coach , and hiring another. The thought you can throw a bunch of money at a good candidate amuses me. Those fans do not understand how bad this situation is.
Right, I think that is why you hire Knight.
He will want the job. You will not have to over pay. He probably will recruit and keep a team with better team chemistry.
You might have to be willing to accept a less than miracle worker performance. No instant gratification.
Patience will be necessary. Team building at Pitt anyway, , probably requires some time.
One last thought on the topic. Two great hires last year, Lloyd at Arizona and t.j. At iowa state. Honestly, does anyone think we could attract 2 candidates like that, by using the term throwing a pile of money at them. Our average fan probably didn’t even know who they were.
Are you serious? If Pitt pays the full buyout (let’s say for argument sake 15 mill, which they won’t come close to paying) what up and coming coach WOULDNT wanna come to Pitt? You guys realize they can go get another job after Pitt pays these buyouts that pay them more money then they’ll spend in their lives?
Literally hundreds of head coaches nationwide would take their chance at an ACC job that they can hopefully turn around or get paid a handsome buyout if they can’t. This isn’t hard to figure out
Pretty sure the buyout is a lot less than $15 million and that Pitt paid a lot less than what most thought they would for Stallings. I really don't think money will be a huge factor. The biggest issue is the huge hole the new coach will have to dig out of.
Ding ding ding. This buyout will be closer to what we heard Stallings got. And they have the cash lined up
So this begs the question, a loss today and a move is made sooner than later? At some point the axe has to fall but during the season?
Pitt fans love to talk about how Pitt never has any money to do anything even though the football program got a $20M donation before this season even kicked off. Somebody gave Pat Narduzzi $20M dollars when his best season was winning eight games five years ago. It’s turned out to be a good investment, though!
Do people realize how much richer some people got during the pandemic? There are people out there with unexpected amounts of money that’s burning a big hole in their pocket.
