Is this the team we have for next season?

[rockypanther]

I know it’s going to take Capel time. But with his name and reputation, I thought he could at least fill out a roster of D1 players in his second year through juco’s, grad transfers. From being at Duke, he has to still have many relationships with good high school prospects that just didn’t find the best fit on their college teams.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

Go read the PSA thread.

I have no desire to rehash the downfall of Pitt basketball. I’m wondering why we aren’t holding our coach to a higher standard than “just being better than Kevin Stallings”. He’s getting paid a Kings ransom, has more money for assistants than any other Pitt coach and has the benefit of the coolest colors and uniforms in college basketball.

At some point, just being better than Kevin Stallings can’t be enough.

 

[joeydavid]

I have no desire to rehash the downfall of Pitt basketball. I’m wondering why we aren’t holding our coach to a higher standard than “just being better than Kevin Stallings”. He’s getting paid a Kings ransom, has more money for assistants than any other Pitt coach and has the benefit of the coolest colors and uniforms in college basketball.

At some point, just being better than Kevin Stallings can’t be enough.

He was just hired 14 months ago. The rest is a figment of your imagination or terrible attempt to troll.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

He was just hired 14 months ago. The rest is a figment of your imagination or terrible attempt to troll.

And there’s the mentality of bringing in the 9th best class in the acc is fine. If you don’t think this class is disappointing, you must’ve really enjoyed the Paul chryst years as well. I’m too old to watch Pitt go through 5-6 years of below average in basketball as well

 

[Fsgolfdr]

And there’s the mentality of bringing in the 9th best class in the acc is fine. If you don’t think this class is disappointing, you must’ve really enjoyed the Paul chryst years as well. I’m too old to watch Pitt go through 5-6 years of below average in basketball as well

Should the worst team in the ACC have the best recruiting class , how about right in the middle and why not the worst ?

Ps .. you ought to let JC how many yrs you have left so he can recruit accordingly !

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

Should the worst team in the ACC have the best recruiting class , how about right in the middle and why not the worst ?

Ps .. you ought to let JC how many yrs you have left so he can recruit accordingly !

I just don’t understand it. Can you guys seriously not just be reasonable? Missing on 16 bigs hasn’t been disappointing? I didn’t ask to have the best class, I think that the guy who everyone considered the best assistant coach recruiter in the country shouldn’t miss on his first 16 options at big with immediate time/ACC and everything else I’ve highlighted. That’s all. Sorry that’s too much to ask.

This isn’t hard. You can be a fan, have concerns and legit criticisms and try to have a discussion about it.

Or you can be a fan, wave Pom poms and make excuses and tell ppl they’re dumb or unreasonable for wanting results.

How long has Tom Crean been on the job?

 

[gary2]

Brown - Toney - Drumgoole - McGowens - Johnson

5/4 Coulibaly - 4/3 Champagnie - 2/1 Murphy

Deep Bench- George

Injured - Chukwuka

Open - 3

Where is the activity? Quinerly is unlikely to be eligible in 2019. No other visits even scheduled?

Any chance our twin asks out to join his brother at St.Johns?

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I think there was an Antigua brother that was either some equipment manager but then he started wearing a uniform and sitting on the bench as a player, that was in mid 90's. Was confusing to say the least.

Not Orlando, I liked him but a brother, then atilla Crosby started beating him up in practices and who the heck knows what was going on.. equipment managers as players, players breaking into homes on road trips.. No wonder why those teams sucked..

That was Oliver Antigua. They were desperate for bodies. They didn’t even have enough guys for practice.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I just don’t understand it. Can you guys seriously not just be reasonable? Missing on 16 bigs hasn’t been disappointing? I didn’t ask to have the best class, I think that the guy who everyone considered the best assistant coach recruiter in the country shouldn’t miss on his first 16 options at big with immediate time/ACC and everything else I’ve highlighted. That’s all. Sorry that’s too much to ask.

This isn’t hard. You can be a fan, have concerns and legit criticisms and try to have a discussion about it.

Or you can be a fan, wave Pom poms and make excuses and tell ppl they’re dumb or unreasonable for wanting results.

How long has Tom Crean been on the job?

So has he become a horrible recruiter now that he’s at Pitt ?

Maybe there’s a little more to it than that and that’s what concerns me as a Pitt bb fan .

If he strikes out in the early signing period again next yr then it confirms my suspicions that he’s recruiting with his hands tied behind his back . If he is then no coach will ever be able to win at Pitt the way we want under the current circumstances .

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

So has he become a horrible recruiter now that he’s at Pitt ?

Maybe there’s a little more to it than that and that’s what concerns me as a Pitt bb fan .

If he strikes out in the early signing period again next yr then it confirms my suspicions that he’s recruiting with his hands tied behind his back . If he is then no coach will ever be able to win at Pitt the way we want under the current circumstances .

that is what worries me. If capel cant do it, who can? A house hold name like his, young enough to relate to players, pretty much the best we can get so if he cant do it, why should we expect someone with a worse resume to come in and do it..

 

[jrnPitt]

I still think a couple pieces are out there too. If they are, great; if not, we’ll thats okay too. Why, because I trust in the process of what Coach Capel is doing.

I’m sure we all agree that this isn’t just a matter of replacing parts. Coach is building a new brand at Pitt, this is a long term vision, not something that would be completed in a season...or even two.

Yes we all want improvement. I’m there too. But we also wants individuals who want to be at Pitt, to wear our colors proudly. And whoever decides that they want to be a panther, well, now they are part of the family and deserve our support.

Better times are ahead my friends. I can’t even begin to understand the anxiety and frustration of recruiting today. There are too many new variables. I played a sport at Pitt back in the early 90’s, recruiting across all sports seemed to be easier then. I give the current coaching staff a lot of credit for the work they have done so far.

It’s going to be good again, many times the journey is more important than the end result. This is fun...and I look forward to next season.

At this point there is nothing to suggest that better times are ahead for Pitt Basketball. If Capel doesn't get some additional help in BIGS I do believe next season's record will be worse than the just completed season.

 

[lilspainishflea]

that is what worries me. If capel cant do it, who can? A house hold name like his, young enough to relate to players, pretty much the best we can get so if he cant do it, why should we expect someone with a worse resume to come in and do it..

If Capel can't recruit here, no one can.

But we don't need McDonald's AA players. We need able, tough, team-focused kids that will buy in to Capel and to the program. We need kids who will work their butts off to be great. And if they do all that, they'll be top 150 kids that play like top 50 kids by their third year, we'll get back to making the tournament and being competitive.

I am a bit disappointed so far only at the lack of a decent big man. Xavier Johnson is far better than advertised. McGowens basically single-handedly won 2 ACC games. Toney did about as well as could be expected as a true freshman.

As far as next year, Drumgoole will be a good player. I think Champagnie will contribute and be a heavy rotation guy by his second year. I also think Coulibaly will be a real player by his third year. All of those guys will be good enough....some sooner rather than later...to have us playing competitive ACC basketball.

We're one big man away from being average in the ACC. The good news is that college basketball doesn't really require Joel Embiid or Patrick Ewing. It's a perimeter focused game. I'd rather have all-ACC guards than an all-ACC center (who is gonna leave for the NBA after that year anyway). If we get one guy to be a rim-protector and grab 9 rebounds per-game, we're groovy. That might be Brown. It might be someone we don't have yet. In any event, I've seen nothing yet to indiciate to me that Capel is anything less than a great hire.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

So has he become a horrible recruiter now that he’s at Pitt ?

Maybe there’s a little more to it than that and that’s what concerns me as a Pitt bb fan .

If he strikes out in the early signing period again next yr then it confirms my suspicions that he’s recruiting with his hands tied behind his back . If he is then no coach will ever be able to win at Pitt the way we want under the current circumstances .

I’m confused as to what hands behind his back are? He’s not allowed to drop bags? I doubt Heather Lyke is involved in bag discussions.

Perhaps he should focus on more gettable prospects earlier in the process instead of going for guys who are earmarked from the start. I also think he needs to replace a member of his staff. When recruiting isn’t up to snuff, and it’s not, someone has to take the fall for it. We’re finally paying our staff acc level money they need to recruit

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I’m confused as to what hands behind his back are? He’s not allowed to drop bags? I doubt Heather Lyke is involved in bag discussions.

Perhaps he should focus on more gettable prospects earlier in the process instead of going for guys who are earmarked from the start. I also think he needs to replace a member of his staff. When recruiting isn’t up to snuff, and it’s not, someone has to take the fall for it. We’re finally paying our staff acc level money they need to recruit

So you want him to focus on bigs rated in the 200-350 range and forget about guys who could come in and be impactful .

If he did that all you’d hear is he’s no better than KS or JD .

Pitt will never be able to compete without a few great recruits and like I’ve been saying for awhile next yr will tell us if he’s going to be able to convince these type of players to come to Pitt .

Thinking that Pitts going to hire a guy whose coming in here with a couple of top 100 guys in his hip pocket that’s clean is a pipe dream . I truly believe the FBI investigation is only the tip of the iceberg .

I also believe there are programs that are clean that are very successful, but I’m not sure Pitt will ever be one of them in the ACC .

Pitts administrators don’t care enough about winning to get down and dirty and play the game and the University of Pgh brand isn’t strong enough to lure great athletes to play bb or Fb at Pitt .

Part of me is optimistic that JC can recruit great players to Pitt and the other part of me is starting to believe that college sports is so corrupt that unless you play the game you can’t compete .

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

So you want him to focus on bigs rated in the 200-350 range and forget about guys who could come in and be impactful .

If he did that all you’d hear is he’s no better than KS or JD .

Pitt will never be able to compete without a few great recruits and like I’ve been saying for awhile next yr will tell us if he’s going to be able to convince these type of players to come to Pitt .

Thinking that Pitts going to hire a guy whose coming in here with a couple of top 100 guys in his hip pocket that’s clean is a pipe dream . I truly believe the FBI investigation is only the tip of the iceberg .

I also believe there are programs that are clean that are very successful, but I’m not sure Pitt will ever be one of them in the ACC .

Pitts administrators don’t care enough about winning to get down and dirty and play the game and the University of Pgh brand isn’t strong enough to lure great athletes to play bb or Fb at Pitt .

Part of me is optimistic that JC can recruit great players to Pitt and the other part of me is starting to believe that college sports is so corrupt that unless you play the game you can’t compete .

No what I’m saying is live in the 50-150-200 range and take those kids early until you establish your brand. Don’t go after kids that are impossible to get like Oscar Tshibwe or Aiden Igiehon.

^ now there’s a caveat to my thinking... UNLESS YOU HAVE AN IN. I don’t think one of our recruiters on the road has an in on any top prospect, so you better live in that 75-200 area where the waters are a lot cleaner.

 

[below0w]

No what I’m saying is live in the 50-150-200 range and take those kids early until you establish your brand. Don’t go after kids that are impossible to get like Oscar Tshibwe or Aiden Igiehon.

^ now there’s a caveat to my thinking... UNLESS YOU HAVE AN IN. I don’t think one of our recruiters on the road has an in on any top prospect, so you better live in that 75-200 area where the waters are a lot cleaner.

In general, you're correct, but Tshiebwe is a really poor example to use. It's true that we were always going to have an uphill battle against WVU, but you simply can't ignore a top 30 recruit in your own back yard, especially a big. You really should add the caveat that nothing you said applies to top local recruits.

 

[Tonyt66]

I remember the article saying Oscar loved his visit here and love the coach but they also said his Handler had a problem with Pitt because Dixon didn't take a guy that they thought he would take so he had a beef with Pitt and convinced Oscar to go to WVU out of spite. We all know these handlers have a lot more to say and these kids decision then they should.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

I remember the article saying Oscar loved his visit here and love the coach but they also said his Handler had a problem with Pitt because Dixon didn't take a guy that they thought he would take so he had a beef with Pitt and convinced Oscar to go to WVU out of spite. We all know these handlers have a lot more to say and these kids decision then they should.

Oscar was brought over and earmarked for wvu from the start. He started at mount mission school and was only moved to Kennedy once they believed they had a good relationship with the school and mount mission’s elite team basically dissolved. Sag was a Dixon mess up, but if Dixon lands Sag, Oscar isn’t at Kennedy, and the idea of Pitt having a shot isn’t even mentioned. His handler isn’t in Sharon PA

 

[McKee Place]

Losing on all bigs is extreme. These guys werent elite by any means. And they committed to less worthy programs, in almost all cases. They weren't even guys you'd think were worthy of drawing major payola. That would at least make it explainable if not palatable. But it looks like we just flat out lost em.

But it's water over the dam now (or is it through the dam, technically?). Just hope Capel and staff are adept at coaching Small Ball. This team is behooved to show a 3-4 game or so improvement. Or the following recruiting campaign will be even harder for Pitt. Then what? Then, DePaul, I fear.

 

[Tonyt66]

All of that maybe true but I'm just saying if the kid would've made his own choice maybe we could've had a chance but these handlers have to much power over these kids.

 

[DT_PITT]

And there’s the mentality of bringing in the 9th best class in the acc is fine. If you don’t think this class is disappointing, you must’ve really enjoyed the Paul chryst years as well. I’m too old to watch Pitt go through 5-6 years of below average in basketball as well

I really don’t think this is the mentality at all. I don’t think there’s a single person who thinks what we’ve recruited this year is what is needed. I’ll submit that there’s only varying degrees of patience as to how long we must wait.

My patience is fine for now. If we are in a similar situation this time next year with recruiting, my patience will be wearing thin.

 

[DT_PITT]

Brown - Toney - Drumgoole - McGowens - Johnson

5/4 Coulibaly - 4/3 Champagnie - 2/1 Murphy

Deep Bench- George

Injured - Chukwuka

Open - 3

Where is the activity? Quinerly is unlikely to be eligible in 2019. No other visits even scheduled?

Gary I’m still pretty certain we will add at least one more player who is eligible to play next year.

Whether this player will be good enough to make any kind of a significant impact is a completely different question, however.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

I really don’t think this is the mentality at all. I don’t think there’s a single person who thinks what we’ve recruited this year is what is needed. I’ll submit that there’s only varying degrees of patience as to how long we must wait.

My patience is fine for now. If we are in a similar situation this time next year with recruiting, my patience will be wearing thin.

That’s a fair evaluation. I just can’t get on board with saying everything’s ok when it’s clear we need to recruit better at certain positions.

 

[gary2]

Gary I’m still pretty certain we will add at least one more player who is eligible to play next year.

Whether this player will be good enough to make any kind of a significant impact is a completely different question, however.

I think we have to - As someone said earlier in the thread,Capel better have grad transfers in hand ready to commit. When Bilau says no, you are in. When Quinerly says no, you are in.

I don't for the life of me know why he isn't moving on Nigel John.

 

[Tonyt66]

John said they're getting a date together for him to come here.

 

[gary2]

John said they're getting a date together for him to come here.

Sure

 

[Tonyt66]

Gary2 not that I have to prove he said this but here is his statement when he got the offer:
"Now that he officially has the offer, John says he’s working on a date to travel to Pitt for a visit."

We’ll

 

[gary2]

Gary2 not that I have to prove he said this but here is his statement when he got the offer:
"Now that he officially has the offer, John says he’s working on a date to travel to Pitt for a visit."

We’ll

I did not mean the player did not say what you said he said. I read that myself I think on PSN.

I meant if Capel was very interested that visit would have been set up well before now.

I can guarantee you if Hughley wanted to reclassify,visit and possibly commit, it would be set up in a day or two. Maybe not the visit itself, but a date.

 

[Tonyt66]

I don't know but we will see what happens that's for sure

 

[gary2]

I don't know but we will see what happens that's for sure

The date of the PSN article was 5/24. It looks to me that Pitt is slow playing this kid.

 

[DiehardPanther]

We currently have 9 healthy bodies. Capel must add 2-3 more players. There is simply no reason why we should enter the season with this current roster.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

We currently have 9 healthy bodies. Capel must add 2-3 more players. There is simply no reason why we should enter the season with this current roster.

Nobody is left. It's very likely, at we will only have these 9 for next year and 1 of them is Samson George.

 

[Elsalvador]

The date of the PSN article was 5/24. It looks to me that Pitt is slow playing this kid.

Whether it's hoping or positivity, thinking Pitt gets one of Nigel or Bilau )depending on the KU interest and possible visit). We'll see what else could transpire over the next month...

 

[Ski11585]

Bilau isn't picking Pitt over Kansas. No chance at him.

I mean... we just saw a guy pick ECU over Duke, so I don't think anyone on staff is in a position at this time to operate from such a place of certainty.

 

[Drew1208]

Bilau isn't picking Pitt over Kansas. No chance at him.

No guarantee he picks Pitt over Wake or WVU either.

 

[Drew1208]

Yes and that guy is an idiot. Picking ECU over Duke is perhaps the dumbest thing I've ever seen a recruit do. There is NO WAY, NO CHANCE Bilau picks Pitt over Kansas if Kansas offers him. 0.0000% chance

I agree with half your statement.
Maybe he actually cares about playing time and knows it wouldn't be easy to get any at Duke. Ever.

 

[DiehardPanther]

There are still a bunch of Grad Transfer guards/forwards that are available. Might as well pick up a couple, and then play small ball. Still need at least 1 more guy that can rebound and defend inside even if he is 6-6.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I agree with half your statement.
Maybe he actually cares about playing time and knows it wouldn't be easy to get any at Duke. Ever.

If he cares about playing time, still, you dont go to ECU. It's a mid-major playing in an improving but not great league. He would have played all the minutes he could handle at Wake, Pitt, and many other places. ECU over Duke is just too much of a downgrade.

 

[Tonyt66]

That just tells me about guys like that. There confidence and their heart isn't there.

 

[Drew1208]

If he cares about playing time, still, you dont go to ECU. It's a mid-major playing in an improving but not great league. He would have played all the minutes he could handle at Wake, Pitt, and many other places. ECU over Duke is just too much of a downgrade.

Well I agree ECU is suspect but he obviously really likes that staff a whole lot for some reason.
Not every kid is the same.
But I think it was smart not to go to Duke.