I called the Jamie Dixon show Thursday

[gary2]

I asked Jamie with Robinson graduating, are we looking to recruit another point guard? He did not say yes or no.

He spoke glowingly about Kithcart and said some people feel he is ready to step in immediately.

He said Wilson has played OK but that he was bad against Wake. He went on to say Wilson has not been a point guard through the entirety of his career. (An excuse?)

He mentioned Milligan has looked good in practice (but did not say anything specific about his ability to handle the point).

 

[KiwiJeff]

Yeah, I listened too. Why did you choose to sing your question in a high falsetto voice?

seriously though, I am not clear what excuse you think Jamie was making for Damon. He is off to a slow start, but has showed some things. Detrick mostella was awful his freshman year too. It's not all that unusual. Some guys never get much better, like Omar Calhoun of UConn. Between injuries and stinking, he has basically done nothing in 4 years. We will have to let Damon write his own story.

 

[PittPoker]

I asked Jamie with Robinson graduating, are we looking to recruit another point guard? He did not say yes or no.

He spoke glowingly about Kithcart and said some people feel he is ready to step in immediately.

He said Wilson has played OK but that he was bad against Wake. He went on to say Wilson has not been a point guard through the entirety of his career. (An excuse?)

He mentioned Milligan has looked good in practice (but did not say anything specific about his ability to handle the point).

You should have also asked about his assistants and mentioned that recruiting has fallen off considerably and what is he going to do about it.

 

[KiwiJeff]

yeah, calling in and being a dick would be great. He would never speak openly and publicly about assistants. No coach would. Especially not during the season. As far as recruiting goes, he would talk about Kithcart, Manigault and Clark. Not sure what other nuggets one would hope to uncover, when he can't talk about recruits who haven't signed yet.

 

[thebadby2]

Yeah, I listened too. Why did you choose to sing your question in a high falsetto voice?

seriously though, I am not clear what excuse you think Jamie was making for Damon. He is off to a slow start, but has showed some things. Detrick mostella was awful his freshman year too. It's not all that unusual. Some guys never get much better, like Omar Calhoun of UConn. Between injuries and stinking, he has basically done nothing in 4 years. We will have to let Damon write his own story.

Damon has potential. He is long and athletic. He appears to be more of the "old school" Dixon recruit that will get better with time and coaching, but the tools are there. Whether it's at the point or not, time will tell.

 

[cabe23]

My impression of his answer was that they have 3 options at PG they like. Of course, he's not going to give anything away but I'd still be surprised if they added another PG. Especially bc Crisshawn Clark played a little PG for his Juco team.

 

[Jeffburgh]

I asked Jamie with Robinson graduating, are we looking to recruit another point guard? He did not say yes or no.

He spoke glowingly about Kithcart and said some people feel he is ready to step in immediately.

He said Wilson has played OK but that he was bad against Wake. He went on to say Wilson has not been a point guard through the entirety of his career. (An excuse?)

He mentioned Milligan has looked good in practice (but did not say anything specific about his ability to handle the point).

I think they caught lightning in a bottle with Kithkart.

I like Wilson as much as anyone, and like the thought of a taller PG as much as anyone.

But, I never thought he was that, a PG, and he is where I thought he would be now.

Showing some promise, but a freshman who isn't ready to really help the team win at this point.

I still think he has looked his best playing WITH JRob, and I think he can be a Wanny type if things work out right. A mulitisklilled wing.

 

[bobfree]

Hey Jamie, long time listener first time caller, love the show.

 

[PantherO]

But will any of these guards grow into a Center?

 

[BigZeke]

But will any of these guards grow into a Center?

Manigault will be a load of a center at this level & if Nix can play 10 effective minutes a game as his backup lookout cause it's gonna be back to the rough & tumble Pitt teams of years past on the interior. Can't wait! I wouldn't mind an elite grad transfer 2G for that last spot.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

But will any of these guards grow into a TRUE Center?

^^^ corrected ^^^

 

[DT_PITT]

^^^ corrected ^^^

Everyone drink!

 

[DT_PITT]

I asked Jamie with Robinson graduating, are we looking to recruit another point guard? He did not say yes or no.

He spoke glowingly about Kithcart and said some people feel he is ready to step in immediately.

He said Wilson has played OK but that he was bad against Wake. He went on to say Wilson has not been a point guard through the entirety of his career. (An excuse?)

He mentioned Milligan has looked good in practice (but did not say anything specific about his ability to handle the point).

What did you expect him to say?

 

[gary2]

My impression of his answer was that they have 3 options at PG they like. Of course, he's not going to give anything away but I'd still be surprised if they added another PG. Especially bc Crisshawn Clark played a little PG for his Juco team.

That is our problem in a nutshell. Our backup options have played a little point. Did you know that Cam Johnson played point before his growth spurt? A lot of good that is. Playing a little point sometime does not get it done.

 

[gary2]

What did you expect him to say?

I thought he would shut me down if there was no value to my question by saying: - No - I believe we are set at point guard with Wilson, Milligan, Kithcart, Clark, Cam Johnson and anyone else who has played a little point. He could have said that - Right? He didn't. He could have said that even if he has a point guard as a silent verbal, but he didn't.

DT - Would you be comfortable with our situation at the point if Kithcart went down with a serious injury? Do you think we have or have had enough players capable of handling the point in recent years or not?

I think it is and has been a real problem.

 

[Chescat]

IMO Wilson is not a pg, and aside from a few minutes a game, will never be one. However I do like
him as a 2 and or 3. His athletic skills make us think he should be more productive as we watch him,
but his lack of experience is telling. IMO, Jamie is getting him experience, yet not depending on him.
This off season should be very big for him. If he puts in the work, I think he'll really develop since
this is the ONE thing that Jamie does well. His players tend to develop over time.
I have no idea how good Kithcart is, but if he can come in and start, day one, great. But can he?
Another grad transfer at pg wouldn't hurt. Milligan?...the little I saw of him didn't impress. He came
from Florida Gulf Coast ( I live near there in the winter) and even though they caught lightening in
a bottle a few years ago, they're no powerhouse, and certainly not ACC caliber (less than MAC, IMO).

JAMIE has to stop screwing around with these mid level types. We need AAC caliber players.
As far as PG next year is concerned, we have a gaping hole. Despite the Robinson haters on
here, this is a very big need IMO.

 

[DT_PITT]

I thought he would shut me down if there was no value to my question by saying: - No - I believe we are set at point guard with Wilson, Milligan, Kithcart, Clark, Cam Johnson and anyone else who has played a little point. He could have said that - Right? He didn't. He could have said that even if he has a point guard as a silent verbal, but he didn't.

DT - Would you be comfortable with our situation at the point if Kithcart went down with a serious injury? Do you think we have or have had enough players capable of handling the point in recent years or not?

I think it is and has been a real problem.

I don't now if I comfortable with any of our point guards at this point. But having three pretty clear options is as many as any college hoops team is going to have.

And yes, I do think we have had enough players capable of handling the point. Perhaps not enough overall talent at the point -- but that's a different questions. And almost any team is going to struggle when the main player at a position goes down with injury.

 

[DT_PITT]

IMO Wilson is not a pg, and aside from a few minutes a game, will never be one. However I do like him as a 2 and or 3. His athletic skills make us think he should be more productive as we watch him, but his lack of experience is telling. IMO, Jamie is getting him experience, yet not depending on him. This off season should be very big for him. If he puts in the work, I think he'll really develop since this is the ONE thing that Jamie does well. His players tend to develop over time.
I have no idea how good Kithcart is, but if he can come in and start, day one, great. But can he?
Another grad transfer at pg wouldn't hurt. Milligan?...the little I saw of him didn't impress. He came
from Florida Gulf Coast ( I live near there in the winter) and even though they caught lightening in
a bottle a few years ago, they're no powerhouse, and certainly not ACC caliber (less than MAC, IMO).

JAMIE has to stop screwing around with these mid level types. We need AAC caliber players.
As far as PG next year is concerned, we have a gaping hole. Despite the Robinson haters on
here, this is a very big need IMO.

I can certainly understand why you or anyone would have this opinion (Wilson not a PG). However, my opinion is that it is far to early to know this with any certainty. I've seen many players who have looked like much less of a point guard than Damon as a freshman turn into pretty good ones. It all depends on how he progresses.

 

[heybandguy]

I feel as though hoping Pitt lands the right graduate transfer is like the early 2000 Pirates thinking Lyle Overbay (or the parade of washed-up/never wasses) was the answer at first base. Maia has given some serviceable minutes at the 5, and Sterling Smith has rebounded the ball fairly well...but...here again I don't know that Pitt is getting an adequate ROI on the graduate transfer. The unfortunate part is that even though the GTs have not been productive (e.g. Zeigler), I just don't have the faith that they can land somebody and essentially coach them up either.

 

[Harve74]

IMO Wilson is not a pg, and aside from a few minutes a game, will never be one. However I do like
him as a 2 and or 3. His athletic skills make us think he should be more productive as we watch him,
but his lack of experience is telling. IMO, Jamie is getting him experience, yet not depending on him.
This off season should be very big for him. If he puts in the work, I think he'll really develop since
this is the ONE thing that Jamie does well. His players tend to develop over time.
I have no idea how good Kithcart is, but if he can come in and start, day one, great. But can he?
Another grad transfer at pg wouldn't hurt. Milligan?...the little I saw of him didn't impress. He came
from Florida Gulf Coast ( I live near there in the winter) and even though they caught lightening in
a bottle a few years ago, they're no powerhouse, and certainly not ACC caliber (less than MAC, IMO).

JAMIE has to stop screwing around with these mid level types. We need AAC caliber players.
As far as PG next year is concerned, we have a gaping hole. Despite the Robinson haters on
here, this is a very big need IMO.

Well, first, Jamie had his best teams, in the strongest conference in the country while "screwing around with these mid-level types." It wasn't until he started trying for guys more like ACC caliber players that the wheels fell off.

Milligan may or may not be a PG but he was offered by several P-5 schools. I listed them earlier. He committed to FGCU but didn't play there. His skillset was never in question, it was getting qualified. I think he is essentially a Newkirk clone, except with two years of Juco experience. If he's eligible, he can probably provide about the same as Josh.

There are likely plenty of issues with this team next season. As I said, we will have two 4-star PG's on the roster. There will be growing pains but the position on paper is stronger than the 2 or 5 and if Young or Artis leave, maybe the strongest of any.

 

[heybandguy]

There are likely plenty of issues with this team next season. As I said, we will have two 4-star PG's on the roster. There will be growing pains but the position on paper is stronger than the 2 or 5 and if Young or Artis leave, maybe the strongest of any.

Can't see MY or JA leaving - given the last month of their season I just don't see them getting a favorable draft rating. Harve - I think this team has more baggage right now than Lady Gaga going on safari. I agree with you, at least on paper, the back court has promise to be better.

 

[BigZeke]

Well, first, Jamie had his best teams, in the strongest conference in the country while "screwing around with these mid-level types." It wasn't until he started trying for guys more like ACC caliber players that the wheels fell off.

Milligan may or may not be a PG but he was offered by several P-5 schools. I listed them earlier. He committed to FGCU but didn't play there. His skillset was never in question, it was getting qualified. I think he is essentially a Newkirk clone, except with two years of Juco experience. If he's eligible, he can probably provide about the same as Josh.

There are likely plenty of issues with this team next season. As I said, we will have two 4-star PG's on the roster. There will be growing pains but the position on paper is stronger than the 2 or 5 and if Young or Artis leave, maybe the strongest of any.

Well, first, Jamie had his best teams, in the strongest conference in the country while "screwing around with these mid-level types." It wasn't until he started trying for guys more like ACC caliber players that the wheels fell off.

Milligan may or may not be a PG but he was offered by several P-5 schools. I listed them earlier. He committed to FGCU but didn't play there. His skillset was never in question, it was getting qualified. I think he is essentially a Newkirk clone, except with two years of Juco experience. If he's eligible, he can probably provide about the same as Josh.

There are likely plenty of issues with this team next season. As I said, we will have two 4-star PG's on the roster. There will be growing pains but the position on paper is stronger than the 2 or 5 and if Young or Artis leave, maybe the strongest of any.

Manigault becomes our best 5 the day he arrives in Oakland and Justice is looking to be the type of PG Pitt has thrived with previously ala BK, CK & LF. Add those two to Milligan and the current roster with a healthy sub 300 lb Nix and boom here come the new and improved, physical old BE Pitt Panthers.

 

[gary2]

I thought he would shut me down if there was no value to my question by saying: - No - I believe we are set at point guard with Wilson, Milligan, Kithcart, Clark, Cam Johnson and anyone else who has played a little point. He could have said that - Right? He didn't. He could have said that even if he has a point guard as a silent verbal, but he didn't.

Well, first, Jamie had his best teams, in the strongest conference in the country while "screwing around with these mid-level types." It wasn't until he started trying for guys more like ACC caliber players that the wheels fell off.

Milligan may or may not be a PG but he was offered by several P-5 schools. I listed them earlier. He committed to FGCU but didn't play there. His skillset was never in question, it was getting qualified. I think he is essentially a Newkirk clone, except with two years of Juco experience. If he's eligible, he can probably provide about the same as Josh.

There are likely plenty of issues with this team next season. As I said, we will have two 4-star PG's on the roster. There will be growing pains but the position on paper is stronger than the 2 or 5 and if Young or Artis leave, maybe the strongest of any.

Harve, do you think Wilson can start at the point next season? In the Wake game in one instance, his defender was giving him 2 feet of space and Wilson had trouble controlling his dribble to merely advance the ball, Unless there is massive improvement, I expect he would get eaten alive as our primary point. Wilson has not turned the ball over a lot and has made some nice passes and even drives to the basket, but it does not look like he has a tight dribble or can be effective against on the ball pressure.

 

[KiwiJeff]

Can't see MY or JA leaving - given the last month of their season I just don't see them getting a favorable draft rating. Harve - I think this team has more baggage right now than Lady Gaga going on safari. I agree with you, at least on paper, the back court has promise to be better.

She better be careful wearing her "Bacon dress" on the plains of the Serengeti.

 

[Delpanther]

I can certainly understand why you or anyone would have this opinion (Wilson not a PG). However, my opinion is that it is far to early to know this with any certainty. I've seen many players who have looked like much less of a point guard than Damon as a freshman turn into pretty good ones. It all depends on how he progresses.

Newkirk played much better as a freshman than Wilson has so I 'm really not sure what to expect from Wilson down the road. He's got a long way to go to be effective at either guard position.

 

[gary2]

I don't now if I comfortable with any of our point guards at this point. But having three pretty clear options is as many as any college hoops team is going to have.

And yes, I do think we have had enough players capable of handling the point. Perhaps not enough overall talent at the point -- but that's a different questions. And almost any team is going to struggle when the main player at a position goes down with injury.

Harve has said in response to my questions that 1) He sees Wilson in more of a Wannamaker like role as a secondary ball handler/distributor and 2) That Milligan might have been an insurance policy that we did not use and he would not be surprised to see him move on to a lower level. If he is correct, that reinforces my calls that we need another point don't you think?

And again, I am not talking about a top 100 guy. I am talking about someone with a handle who can distribute, nothing more. I am talking about someone who might eventuallyy start on an ATL 10, C-USA or like league but might be willing to accept playing 10 minutes at Pitt. Grad transfer, JC, Prep or HS, I think there are players available like that,

Duke plays 6 or 7 , Syracuse plays 6 or 7. Maybe all of our 13 recruits do not need to be potential starters. Maybe we need to recruit a backup or two (no more than that) that are willing to accept their role and coaching and play hard.

It is hard to keep 13 players who want to start/play happy.

 

[mo cheeks]

Wilson needs to work on his shot. needs a GLF there. He has a chance to be a very good player for Pitt. I hope he has sam Young work ethic.

A point guard that can't shoot well is tough to live with.

 

[Harve74]

Harve has said in response to my questions that 1) He sees Wilson in more of a Wannamaker like role as a secondary ball handler/distributor and 2) That Milligan might have been an insurance policy that we did not use and he would not be surprised to see him move on to a lower level. If he is correct, that reinforces my calls that we need another point don't you think?

And again, I am not talking about a top 100 guy. I am talking about someone with a handle who can distribute, nothing more. I am talking about someone who might eventuallyy start on an ATL 10, C-USA or like league but might be willing to accept playing 10 minutes at Pitt. Grad transfer, JC, Prep or HS, I think there are players available like that,

Duke plays 6 or 7 , Syracuse plays 6 or 7. Maybe all of our 13 recruits do not need to be potential starters. Maybe we need to recruit a backup or two (no more than that) that are willing to accept their role and coaching and play hard.

It is hard to keep 13 players who want to start/play happy.

As I said above, give it a rest.

You've made the same point about 15 times now. You're not listening when a number of people have answered it. It's pretty clear nobody on the staff is reading your posts and saying "That Gary2 REALLY nailed it. We've GOT to quit recruiting centers and go all out to sign a MAC-level back-up PG."

Look at it this way. We will have exactly the same number of PG's on the roster next year as this year, except Milligan won't be redshirting. Kithcart replaces Robinson. Clark, primarily a SG, replaces Smith, also primarily a SG, as the 4th emergency guy. Wilson and Milligan will be in the mix for minutes, so we are actually DEEPER.

Wilson will have had a year to learn the system. Milligan will have had a year to learn the system. We're replacing a 4-star in Robinson who many of our fans say "stinks" ( or something stronger), with a 4-star with better physical skills.

We have to cover all five positions, not go 4 or 5 deep at the point.

 

[gary2]

I can certainly understand why you or anyone would have this opinion (Wilson not a PG). However, my opinion is that it is far to early to know this with any certainty. I've seen many players who have looked like much less of a point guard than Damon as a freshman turn into pretty good ones. It all depends on how he progresses.

If Damon played a little wild or not under control, I would understand that and write that off to merely inexperience but that is not his biggest problem. His problems are his dribble and his inability to run the offense with any flow, to pass or advance the ball in an effective manner.. It is much like watching Mike Young insisting on fighting a double or triple team or Jamel dribbling himself into trouble with no where to go.

 

[gary2]

Harve - I always welcome your input, but I can not see a reply here

 

[Harve74]

Harve - I always welcome your input, but I can not able to see a reply here

It's there now. I don't know why the reply closed while I was still typing, but I was able to recover it.

 

[gary2]

It's there now. I don't know why the reply closed while I was still typing, but I was able to recover it.

Thank You for your response - No, I do not think the staff is listening to me - I do think there will be more than the one scholarship available for a center - I think from what you have posted before that you believe Wilson and Milligan are not ideal points - Others on this board have agreed with me as well - I guess we will see

Ok - I am done with it

 

[Harve74]

Thank You for your response - No, I do not think the staff is listening to me - I do think there will be more than the one scholarship available for a center - I think from what you have posted before that you believe Wilson and Milligan are not ideal points - Others on this board have agreed with me as well - I guess we will see

Ok - I am done with it

I'm not meaning to demean your concern. There is always concern when replacing a 4-year starter or even ANY veteran PG with a true freshman. Dixon has tried to avoid this by playing 2 PG's side by side during the transition years, but Newkirk's failure and transfer short-circuited that.

We signed Wilson early, when he had started as a junior on a big time prep team filled with 4-and 5-star talent. But as a senior, he shifted to play mostly 2. He MIGHT still become a P-5 PG. Brad was arguably much worse as a freshman and he became the prmary ball handler and ran the offense even though Ashton had the PG title. Yeah, tall PG's dribble too high. That's why there aren't many tall PG's.

Kithcart will probably get first crack at the position, maybe not the first day of practice, but pretty early. If he fails or goes down, Wilson and Milligan become "Next Man Up". Anybody is a short-term step back from Robinson but all 3 have some upside.

The Novogratz idea isn't without merit, but only if they somehow lose or cut Milligan loose. We just can't carry that many extra PG's. Novogratz is sort of TJ O'Connell light, except even more pugnacious, if that's possible. He seems to specialize in being punched in pick-up games, by such diverse competition as former pro Smush Parker and Durand Johnson.

However, he says he has offers from Rutgers and Nova. I doubt he'd consider a gig as a likely back up here.

 

[gary2]

I'm not meaning to demean your concern. There is always concrn when replacing aa 4-year starter or even ANY veteran PG with a true freshman. Dixon has tried to avoid this by playing 2 PG's side by side during the transition years, but Newkirk's failure and transfer short-circuited that.

We signed Wilson early, when he had started as a junior on a big time prep team filled with 4-and 5-star talent. But as a senior, he shifted to play mostly 2. He MIGHT still become a P-5 PG. Brad was arguably much worse as a freshman and he became the prmary ball handler and ran the offense even though Ashton had the PG title. Yeah, tall PG's dribble too high. That's why there aren't many tall PG's.

Kithcart will probably get first crack at the position, maybe not the first day of practice, but pretty early. If he fails or goes down, Wilson and Milligan become "Next Man Up". Anybody is a short-term step back from Robinson but all 3 have some upside.

The Novogratz idea isn't without merit, but only if they somehow lose or cut Milligan loose. We just can't carry that many extra PG's. Novogratz is sort of TJ O'Connell light, except even more pugnacious, if that's possible. He seems to specialize in being punched in pick-up games, by such diverse competition as former pro Smush Parker and Durand Johnson.

However, he says he has offers from Rutgers and Nova. I doubt he'd consider a gig as a likely back up here.

Thanks as always

 

[DT_PITT]

Harve has said in response to my questions that 1) He sees Wilson in more of a Wannamaker like role as a secondary ball handler/distributor and 2) That Milligan might have been an insurance policy that we did not use and he would not be surprised to see him move on to a lower level. If he is correct, that reinforces my calls that we need another point don't you think?

And again, I am not talking about a top 100 guy. I am talking about someone with a handle who can distribute, nothing more. I am talking about someone who might eventuallyy start on an ATL 10, C-USA or like league but might be willing to accept playing 10 minutes at Pitt. Grad transfer, JC, Prep or HS, I think there are players available like that,

Duke plays 6 or 7 , Syracuse plays 6 or 7. Maybe all of our 13 recruits do not need to be potential starters. Maybe we need to recruit a backup or two (no more than that) that are willing to accept their role and coaching and play hard.

It is hard to keep 13 players who want to start/play happy.

If you are correct on points in your first paragraph, I would absolutely agree.

I've heard good things about Milligan, and one of (biggest?) reason for his redshirt was that he's so slight of a build that they need him to get stronger.

Maybe Nix can hand over 20 lbs?

 

[freddietee511]

Well, first, Jamie had his best teams, in the strongest conference in the country while "screwing around with these mid-level types." It wasn't until he started trying for guys more like ACC caliber players that the wheels fell off.

Milligan may or may not be a PG but he was offered by several P-5 schools. I listed them earlier. He committed to FGCU but didn't play there. His skillset was never in question, it was getting qualified. I think he is essentially a Newkirk clone, except with two years of Juco experience. If he's eligible, he can probably provide about the same as Josh.

There are likely plenty of issues with this team next season. As I said, we will have two 4-star PG's on the roster. There will be growing pains but the position on paper is stronger than the 2 or 5 and if Young or Artis leave, maybe the strongest of any.

Milligan is quicker than Josh, because he is a much better ball handler. And a much better shooter. Not the vertical athlete but better overall.