I really wanted to be all in on Capel and thought we had turned a corner. If we miss another tournament it will really be hard for me to have any hope that he is the right guy to be leading the program. I don’t think it is irrational to hope for a change after 7 seasons and only one trip to the tournament - it is becoming pretty evident that capels ceiling as a coach here is bubble team.
I know that the contract makes it unlikely that any change will be made, but I don’t know how anyone will be able to get invested in another Capel coached team coming off of this collapse. At least some of the post Dixon dark ages you could watch a team that wasn’t tournament worthy and try to envision how some of the younger guys can grow into a tournament-level team as their careers progressed, but anymore it appears that players staying for 3-4 years with the same program are unicorns. Even in stallings final year I was able to watch with interest to see if he was going to make things so bad that we had no choice but to get rid of him.
I see a lot of people posting about how Pitt fans have unrealistic expectations and about how in the current landscape we are destined to be also-rans. I am not expecting us to be a Duke level program competing for a national championship each year, but I don’t think it is too much to ask to be one of the best 40 or so teams in the country more than once every 7 years. Are schools like Creighton, Texas Tech, Utah state, Iowa state etc. really better off than Pitt?
Nothing would make me happier than if we were able to pull out of this tailspin, get hot, make it into the dance, and have me feel silly for making this post (my first), but I just don’t see it happening.
I have a pit in my stomach thinking about how not only will I be forced to watch fairly meaningless uninspired basketball for the remainder of the year - next year will be more of the same. I usually don’t get too down after a loss, but it has been 4 in a row with little to indicate our problems will get better (the fact that I had high hopes going into the year doesn’t help). Does anyone have any thoughts that can cheer me up, or are things really this bad?
I know that the contract makes it unlikely that any change will be made, but I don’t know how anyone will be able to get invested in another Capel coached team coming off of this collapse. At least some of the post Dixon dark ages you could watch a team that wasn’t tournament worthy and try to envision how some of the younger guys can grow into a tournament-level team as their careers progressed, but anymore it appears that players staying for 3-4 years with the same program are unicorns. Even in stallings final year I was able to watch with interest to see if he was going to make things so bad that we had no choice but to get rid of him.
I see a lot of people posting about how Pitt fans have unrealistic expectations and about how in the current landscape we are destined to be also-rans. I am not expecting us to be a Duke level program competing for a national championship each year, but I don’t think it is too much to ask to be one of the best 40 or so teams in the country more than once every 7 years. Are schools like Creighton, Texas Tech, Utah state, Iowa state etc. really better off than Pitt?
Nothing would make me happier than if we were able to pull out of this tailspin, get hot, make it into the dance, and have me feel silly for making this post (my first), but I just don’t see it happening.
I have a pit in my stomach thinking about how not only will I be forced to watch fairly meaningless uninspired basketball for the remainder of the year - next year will be more of the same. I usually don’t get too down after a loss, but it has been 4 in a row with little to indicate our problems will get better (the fact that I had high hopes going into the year doesn’t help). Does anyone have any thoughts that can cheer me up, or are things really this bad?
