** I’ve been thinking about what to write to end this season and thoughts just aren’t coming very easily. Really, what is there to say?
** It would seem only one word is coming to my mind. That word is “sad.”
** It’s sad what has happened to Pitt basketball. It’s equally sad that Pitt Basketball seems so incredibly far from getting significantly better. And for me, it’s so very sad that my favorite thing, something that has given me a great amount of joy since 1980, basically has provided little, if none at all, over the last six years.
** Sure, there have been a few moments over the last six campaigns. And we’ve watched some fine players, three of whom have played in the NBA.
** At the top of this year’s moments, one I will remember is the sight of Mo Gueye soaring for a rebound or a block. And I loved watching him play in a way that looked like he really, really loves playing.
** It wouldn’t surprise me if Mo finds his way to an NBA floor for a moment or two a few years in the future. I hope so. It would be a great story.
** Another memory from this year were those times when Big John made post scoring look pretty light and easy for such a big man. This certainly wasn’t always. But for his first full year, John did just fine. And he proved that his shoulders were pretty broad for the load he frequently had to carry.
** For a good part of this season, Onyebuchi Ezeakudo was a great story too. He always played so hard, and his contributions were real, not just for a former walk-on. Eventually and unfortunately however, he became all too clear of a symbol of how little talent this team has.
** But that was about it. The rest of our stories seemed like nothing more than the same old story – a story that’s become so sad.
** Sure, last year’s the story went a little differently. It featured some decent talent who achieved a little success to be spoiled along the way by internal strife.
** But this year’s story was not one bit different than what Head Coach Jeff Capel said in his final news conference – we need to get better talent.
** I’ll even go as far as to say that for short spurts in this year, it looked as if Coach was actually getting the most out of his talent. There were games where we did play to the sum of our parts. But when that sum is the combination of some numbers as low as ours, that’s sort of faint praise, isn’t it? And as the season went on, in the final weeks, our men couldn’t even sustain that below mediocre level. They either tired out or stopped caring and whatever buy-in the players once showed seemed to be sold. Whatever the reason, what difference does it make?
** I’ll be brutally honest about the talent. We will return just 6 guys who appear to even have the ability to play at the ACC level. And this includes Nike who didn’t even play this year and even Noah Collier who seem capable enough to hold down a single digit minute role as a backup of the five spot.
** Only John Hugley starts for a majority of ACC teams. Nike, Femi Ithiel and Jamarius don’t. That is a team woefully short on talent. It was a team that finished #158 according to Sagarin and #208 according to Pomeroy.
** Most would say that we liked the hire of Jeff Capel four years ago because he thought would remarkably improve our talent from a program that had just finished with an 0-18 ACC record and a #227 Pomeroy ranking in 2018.
** In short, Capel has failed at the one, most important reason we brought him to Pitt. He has failed to bring in enough talent. Four years after he arrived, he's right about back were he started from. And there no reason to believe this will change.
** As a fan, I wish I could think of one legitimate, reasonable thought that would justify Capel staying for another year, but I cannot.
** Of course, Heather Lyke may not be able to make a move for financial reasons, and while I understand this, to some degree, she almost has to held accountable in way for extending his contract without any real demonstrated success from Capel, putting herself in the situation she is now.
** I’ll close with two personal stories about our last two games. Last Friday night, I was planning my Saturday chores and errands, and I actually forgot about the Pitt game. I forgot. I woke up and somehow remembered and had to change my plans to fit in TV time. And halfway through the second half, I returned to my preplanned chores, because they were much less of a chore than watching to the end.
** And yesterday I didn’t even watch the ACC Tournament game. Since I entered College in 1984, I can’t recall ever not watching a conference tournament game, and I would take days off or make other arrangements to do so. I just didn’t bother yesterday. I just followed along on my phone for a while.
** I will always be proud to be a Pitt Basketball fan of the highest magnitude. But this year, maybe more than any year in the past, I felt that slipping. And that’s a problem, because I can only imagine how it must feel for someone who does not take this as seriously as I do.
** Therefore, something better happen soon. Either we get a new leader, or the current leader must finally show he can start getting better guys. Because where things stand now is sad.
