Jaland Lowe is THE problem. Least efficient guard in the country?

[GaryMcgheeForThree]

Jaland Lowe is the biggest problem on this team. The coaches continue to let him play dribble dominant hero ball night in and night out, with an unwarranted green light.

Fun fact, among all qualified guards, Jaland is THE worst non-mid major guard in the country terms of inefficiency. Including all D1 teams, he ranks 333/346 in Field Goal Percentage (38.2%) on the season.

He also plays the 7th most minutes of any power 5 guard in the country at over 35 minutes a game.

Now, go ahead and sprinkle in an almost 1:1 assist to turnover rate against power 5/6 competition. The recipe is one of the worst run offenses in the country, getting bailed out for stretches by a supporting cast that is horribly underutilized.

So, whose fault is this? Lowe’s? Coaching? Scheme? Other players? Dunn’s Injury?

The unfortunate answer is all of the above.

The fact is as of today, I can argue we have statistically the most inefficient guard in the country, getting way too many chances, playing too many minutes, with way too green of a light, surrounded by coaches incapable or at best, unwilling, to change things up.

My personal solution (easier said than done) is Lowe playing off the ball more, deepen the guard rotation with Cummings, and coaching that’s willing to get in his ear about his game wrecking shot selection, and get others involved.

We’ve seen Dunn, Cummings, Leggett, and now even Jorge go off, and the result is ALWAYS better than Lowe getting a high volume of shots. They’ve got to balance Lowe’s skill set and drive with what’s best for the team, while still allowing him the motor needed to run the offense as the primary PG.

At this point, the coaches have got to recognize this as an incredibly hurtful trend to the team’s success, regardless of who is at fault the most, and make some actual adjustments before the season is truly over. There is no “play through it” solution.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Lil' Hugley

I think there is some merit to this.

 

[FireballZ]

Lil' Hugley

I think there is some merit to this.

"JL" Hughley.

 

[bobfree]

Jaland Lowe is the biggest problem on this team. The coaches continue to let him play dribble dominant hero ball night in and night out, with an unwarranted green light.

Fun fact, among all qualified guards, Jaland is THE worst non-mid major guard in the country terms of inefficiency. Including all D1 teams, he ranks 333/346 in Field Goal Percentage (38.2%) on the season.

He also plays the 7th most minutes of any power 5 guard in the country at over 35 minutes a game.

Now, go ahead and sprinkle in an almost 1:1 assist to turnover rate against power 5/6 competition. The recipe is one of the worst run offenses in the country, getting bailed out for stretches by a supporting cast that is horribly underutilized.

So, whose fault is this? Lowe’s? Coaching? Scheme? Other players? Dunn’s Injury?

The unfortunate answer is all of the above.

The fact is as of today, I can argue we have statistically the most inefficient guard in the country, getting way too many chances, playing too many minutes, with way too green of a light, surrounded by coaches incapable or at best, unwilling, to change things up.

My personal solution (easier said than done) is Lowe playing off the ball more, deepen the guard rotation with Cummings, and coaching that’s willing to get in his ear about his game wrecking shot selection, and get others involved.

We’ve seen Dunn, Cummings, Leggett, and now even Jorge go off, and the result is ALWAYS better than Lowe getting a high volume of shots. They’ve got to balance Lowe’s skill set and drive with what’s best for the team, while still allowing him the motor needed to run the offense as the primary PG.

At this point, the coaches have got to recognize this as an incredibly hurtful trend to the team’s success, regardless of who is at fault the most, and make some actual adjustments before the season is truly over. There is no “play through it” solution.

Great Post!

 

[Mayday79]

Great post!
who would have thought that the best player (Lowe) could be the biggest issue.
Lowe seems to be so determined to play his game that he becomes a turnover machine.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

ok, but I'm seeing mostly that's how he's coached, that's the game plan.

 

[Millerton]

Good players should let the game come to them. One player consistently forcing things is bad for everyone

 

[ebonylover40]

Good players should let the game come to them. One player consistently forcing things is bad for everyone

And Ish isnt forcing as well? Lowe is part of the problem, but not the only one. Team defense, rebounding and unwillingness to go after loose balls are major issues. Lowe is doing what is asked of him.

The problem is Capel's offensive style with his guards. He wants them to dribble and drive to thw basket. The problem is there is no pick and roll ro offset the doubling if both guards. None of the other players come and set a hard screen for the guards to drive. The only player who does it everytime he is on the floor is Kante. He does it naturally, just like he hedges on defense. None of the other bigs do it. But Capel will not play him more. He may not score, but he can help the defense and set those screens for the guards. They need his energy and hustle.

 

[pittbb80]

And Ish isnt forcing as well? Lowe is part of the problem, but not the only one. Team defense, rebounding and unwillingness to go after loose balls are major issues. Lowe is doing what is asked of him.

The problem is Capel's offensive style with his guards. He wants them to dribble and drive to thw basket. The problem is there is no pick and roll ro offset the doubling if both guards. None of the other players come and set a hard screen for the guards to drive. The only player who does it everytime he is on the floor is Kante. He does it naturally, just like he hedges on defense. None of the other bigs do it. But Capel will not play him more. He may not score, but he can help the defense and set those screens for the guards. They need his energy and hustle.

Ish had a few bad games but he was one of the reasons the game was even close with Clemson. If they turn this around ISH will be the reason not only because if his play but also his leadership

 

[ebonylover40]

Ish had a few bad games but he was one of the reasons the game was even close with Clemson. If they turn this around ISH will be the reason not only because if his play but also his leadership

And Ish was also part of the reason they lost the game. Like I said, Lowe is not the only problem. Both he and Ish is playing bad. Ish shoots a lot, and at a very low percentage, like Lowe. There is no way you can lay the total blame of this team on one person. None of them is playing well. And the fault goes to Capel. He has to change the game plan, or at least not do the same thing over and over, because its easy for the opposing team to defend.

 

[TreesHero]

Lowe (and to a lesser extent Ish) can't keep driving for layups against an athletic frontcourt that can protect the rim. The last game was like watching a Johnson-McGowens show redux.

 

[s.a.titan]

Jaland Lowe is the biggest problem on this team. The coaches continue to let him play dribble dominant hero ball night in and night out, with an unwarranted green light.

Fun fact, among all qualified guards, Jaland is THE worst non-mid major guard in the country terms of inefficiency. Including all D1 teams, he ranks 333/346 in Field Goal Percentage (38.2%) on the season.

He also plays the 7th most minutes of any power 5 guard in the country at over 35 minutes a game.

Now, go ahead and sprinkle in an almost 1:1 assist to turnover rate against power 5/6 competition. The recipe is one of the worst run offenses in the country, getting bailed out for stretches by a supporting cast that is horribly underutilized.

So, whose fault is this? Lowe’s? Coaching? Scheme? Other players? Dunn’s Injury?

The unfortunate answer is all of the above.

The fact is as of today, I can argue we have statistically the most inefficient guard in the country, getting way too many chances, playing too many minutes, with way too green of a light, surrounded by coaches incapable or at best, unwilling, to change things up.

My personal solution (easier said than done) is Lowe playing off the ball more, deepen the guard rotation with Cummings, and coaching that’s willing to get in his ear about his game wrecking shot selection, and get others involved.

We’ve seen Dunn, Cummings, Leggett, and now even Jorge go off, and the result is ALWAYS better than Lowe getting a high volume of shots. They’ve got to balance Lowe’s skill set and drive with what’s best for the team, while still allowing him the motor needed to run the offense as the primary PG.

At this point, the coaches have got to recognize this as an incredibly hurtful trend to the team’s success, regardless of who is at fault the most, and make some actual adjustments before the season is truly over. There is no “play through it” solution.

Thanks for the confirmation that our eyes weren't deceiving us.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Lowe and Leggett need to do a better job creating for others. Watching Louisville decimate SMU last night was beautiful in that the offense Louisville ran was picture perfect. 11 assists on first 11 FG's. There was one sequence where they had like 8 quick passes in a row that had SMU scrambling and resulted in an easy dunk. Just beautiful. Also, Louisville is really good. Depending on matchups and luck, they could mess around and end up in the Final Four. Not even sure how we kept it close because they are humming. One thing that goes unnoticed is that Louisville brought in 11 guys who went to the NCAAT last year. Capel did a good job of this bringing in Nelly and Elliot but not sure its working out with Corhen. Some guys play in winning programs because they are winners and vice versa. I'd be scouting those 12, 13, 14 seeds and try to bring those guys in.

 

[PittPoker]

Lowe and Leggett need to do a better job creating for others. Watching Louisville decimate SMU last night was beautiful in that the offense Louisville ran was picture perfect. 11 assists on first 11 FG's. There was one sequence where they had like 8 quick passes in a row that had SMU scrambling and resulted in an easy dunk. Just beautiful. Also, Louisville is really good. Depending on matchups and luck, they could mess around and end up in the Final Four. Not even sure how we kept it close because they are humming. One thing that goes unnoticed is that Louisville brought in 11 guys who went to the NCAAT last year. Capel did a good job of this bringing in Nelly and Elliot but not sure its working out with Corhen. Some guys play in winning programs because they are winners and vice versa. I'd be scouting those 12, 13, 14 seeds and try to bring those guys in.

You know why Louisville looks really good? Their head coach. Kelsey is far and away a better coach than Capel. If Capel was coaching the exact same Louisville team this season they wouldn't be nearly as good. Those are just facts.

 

[pierre93]

You know why Louisville looks really good? Their head coach. Kelsey is far and away a better coach than Capel. If Capel was coaching the exact same Louisville team this season they wouldn't be nearly as good. Those are just facts.

Louisville has 11 players that have ncaa tournament experience. Blame JC for Calipari coming into Pittsburgh for Theiro with a boatload of $$$$ too. Also he met with our so called loyal donors for dinner as well Benedict Aiken. Your rants are old homeslice.

 

[PittPoker]

Louisville has 11 players that have ncaa tournament experience. Blame JC for Calipari coming into Pittsburgh for Theiro with a boatload of $$$$ too. Also he met with our so called loyal donors for dinner as well Benedict Aiken. Your rants are old homeslice.

Right... so nothing is Jeff Capel' fault when Pitt loses and it's more excuse making when Louisville beats us and has an actual really good coach and players. Capel has been at Pitt 7 seasons now roughly and has made a play-in game 1 time. That's it. And this supposed special season is now on the verge of a major collapse.

But tell us more and more how great Jeff Capel is as a coach smh.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Right... so nothing is Jeff Capel' fault when Pitt loses and it's more excuse making when Louisville beats us and has an actual really good coach and players. Capel has been at Pitt 7 seasons now roughly and has made a play-in game 1 time. That's it. And this supposed special season is now on the verge of a major collapse.

But tell us more and more how great Jeff Capel is as a coach smh.

Louisville has better players than we do. Its really a perfectly constructed team

- borderline elite PG
- elite designated shooter
- good SF
- stretch 4 who is very good
- elite rebounder at the dunker spot

 

[PittPoker]

Louisville has better players than we do. Its really a perfectly constructed team

- borderline elite PG
- elite designated shooter
- good SF
- stretch 4 who is very good
- elite rebounder at the dunker spot

Pitt had a 1st round draft pick on the team last season and a super senior that could shoot from anywhere and we still missed the tournament. I get Louisville has some good players but if Capel was coaching them they would not be nearly as good as they are now. Coaching and coaches matter.

 

[pierre93]

Right... so nothing is Jeff Capel' fault when Pitt loses and it's more excuse making when Louisville beats us and has an actual really good coach and players. Capel has been at Pitt 7 seasons now roughly and has made a play-in game 1 time. That's it. And this supposed special season is now on the verge of a major collapse.

But tell us more and more how great Jeff Capel is as a coach smh.

Any team can be very good if they have the $$$$. Louisville went out and spent alot of $$$$ for players that are experienced. This is not about building a program anymore since most of the rosters are different every year. Sure we have been a little dirty throughout the years but other programs have been dirtier even before NIL. I've questioned JC's decisions etc from time to time but to fully blame him is ridiculous.
Can we all agree JC is a pretty good recruiter as well coach given the circumstances???? I say good but not outstanding. Like my grandmother always said you get what you pay for. H2P!!!

 

[pierre93]

Pitt had a 1st round draft pick on the team last season and a super senior that could shoot from anywhere and we still missed the tournament. I get Louisville has some good players but if Capel was coaching them they would not be nearly as good as they are now. Coaching and coaches matter.

We should've made the tournament last year. The ncaa was sinister and having Barnes on the selection committee was a joke. We were playing our best basketball at the end of the season. I guess Pitt beating Duke & VA on the road which hadn't been done in years didn't matter to the ncaa.

 

[pierre93]

Also Poker a Happy belated 50th birthday 🎂 to you. God Bless! H2P

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Lowe and Leggett need to do a better job creating for others. Watching Louisville decimate SMU last night was beautiful in that the offense Louisville ran was picture perfect. 11 assists on first 11 FG's. There was one sequence where they had like 8 quick passes in a row that had SMU scrambling and resulted in an easy dunk. Just beautiful. Also, Louisville is really good. Depending on matchups and luck, they could mess around and end up in the Final Four. Not even sure how we kept it close because they are humming. One thing that goes unnoticed is that Louisville brought in 11 guys who went to the NCAAT last year. Capel did a good job of this bringing in Nelly and Elliot but not sure its working out with Corhen. Some guys play in winning programs because they are winners and vice versa. I'd be scouting those 12, 13, 14 seeds and try to bring those guys in.

Where did the 6'8"ish dude from Oakland who was lighting it up in the tournament last year end up going? I saw that Michigan has the big center from FAU.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Can we all agree JC is a pretty good recruiter as well coach given the circumstances????

No, absolutely not. He's a pretty good recruiter who was proven to be an extremely lousy coach.

 

[pierre93]

No, absolutely not. He's a pretty good recruiter who was proven to be an extremely lousy coach.

Barnes replacing JD with Stallings was the ultimate self inflicted death penalty to us. AD's, administrators come and go and it's us fans who suffer. Moving forward.......

 

[pierre93]

In this day and age it's all about how much $$$$ a coach has to build a roster. Give Scheyer JC's players and we shall see if he's as successful. For what JC inherited here and the lack of $$$ then to now he's done a decent job JMO. Actually I just had this same conversation with some former Pitt basketball players on Saturday that feel the same way. H2P!!!

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Barnes replacing JD with Stallings was the ultimate self inflicted death penalty to us. AD's, administrators come and go and it's us fans who suffer. Moving forward.......

Capel has made the tournament 4times in 15 seasons. It might be 4 in 16 after this one.

1/4 at VCU... and VCU made it 9 or the next 11 seasons after he left, so it must not have been too tough of a place to win at

2/5 at Oklahoma... including with a lot of talent even after Griffin left... and then, again, they made it 7 of the next 10 seasons after he left, and 11 of the 12 seasons before he got there, so it was hardly impossible to win there

So how many of his tournament appearances were just a result of Griffin/Hinson/etc. taking over games?

He's not a very good coach. He's good at identifying talent and mostly good at recruiting it. But those feel more like assistant coach qualities. College basketball is kind of the opposite of college football, where maybe you can be more of a figurehead and hire good coordinators. In basketball, you better know how to implement a good system.

 

[pierre93]

Capel has made the tournament 4times in 15 seasons. It might be 4 in 16 after this one.

1/4 at VCU... and VCU made it 9 or the next 11 seasons after he left, so it must not have been too tough of a place to win at

2/5 at Oklahoma... including with a lot of talent even after Griffin left... and then, again, they made it 7 of the next 10 seasons after he left, and 11 of the 12 seasons before he got there, so it was hardly impossible to win there

So how many of his tournament appearances were just a result of Griffin/Hinson/etc. taking over games?

He's not a very good coach. He's pretty good at identifying talent and decent enough at recruiting it. But those feel more like assistant coach qualities.

And not a bad hire for us considering the circumstances surrounding our program. Do you even know how bad our perception was when JC arrived here? This season is far from over but continue your negative daily rants as usual. H2P!!!

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

And not a bad hire for us considering the circumstances surrounding our program. Do you even know how bad our perception was when JC arrived here? This season is far from over but continue your negative daily rants as usual. H2P!!!

Stop it. This is basketball. A good coach can easily turn a program around in 1-3 years. Look at Louisville, all those programs in the SEC, etc.

We were paying Capel a top 25 salary - does a coach care that you sucked for two years more than he cares about what his bank account looks like?

We made the freaking NCAA Tournament two years before Capel got here. This notion that Stallings set the program back decades by having one really bad season is absolute baloney perpetuated by drama queens.

West Virginia was 9-23 last year. Stallings was 8-24 in his final year at Pitt. In year one, West Virginia is 13-5 and poised to make the tournament.

Louisville was 4-28 and 8-24 in the last two season. Again, it's year one for the new coach and they're 15-5 and going to make the tournament.

These excuses are lame.

 

[PittPoker]

Stop it. This is basketball. A good coach can easily turn a program around in 1-3 years. Look at Louisville, all those programs in the SEC, etc.

We were paying Capel a top 25 salary - does a coach care that you sucked for two years more than he cares about what his bank account looks like?

We made the freaking NCAA Tournament two years before Capel got here. This notion that Stallings set the program back decades by having one really bad season is absolute baloney perpetuated by drama queens.

And remember Capel' 1st season even his 2nd season Pitt started out well. They beat FSU if I recall and they looked decent. Then collapse #1 happened and then the next season collapse #2. Seems to be a common theme under Capel.

 

[OhioPanther99]

No, absolutely not. He's a pretty good recruiter who was proven to be an extremely lousy coach.

Is his recruiting really that good? We have...one recruit for next year. I'll give him credit for Bub, but his one and done explosion was not expected by anyone. Cummings might turn into a decent player eventually. Is his recruiting really any better than Dixon?

 

[pierre93]

Stop it. This is basketball. A good coach can easily turn a program around in 1-3 years. Look at Louisville, all those programs in the SEC, etc.

We were paying Capel a top 25 salary - does a coach care that you sucked for two years more than he cares about what his bank account looks like?

We made the freaking NCAA Tournament two years before Capel got here. This notion that Stallings set the program back decades by having one really bad season is absolute baloney perpetuated by drama queens.

West Virginia was 9-23 last year. Stallings was 8-24 in his final year at Pitt. In year one, West Virginia is 13-5 and poised to make the tournament.

Louisville was 4-28 and 8-24 in the last two season. Again, it's year one for the new coach and they're 15-5 and going to make the tournament.

These excuses are lame.

Louisville spent a boatload of $$$$ for this season ace. You're clueless about the inner workings and lack of $$$ here. We beat wvcc by 30pts which Dunn scored 24 pts then got injured. Losing Dunn was a huge setback for this team and he's not the same player. Your rants are circuitous and redundant.

 

[pierre93]

Is his recruiting really that good? We have...one recruit for next year. I'll give him credit for Bub, but his one and done explosion was not expected by anyone. Cummings might turn into a decent player eventually. Is his recruiting really any better than Dixon?

Yes it is and has been doing well recruiting in the portal given the budget he has. I'd love to have JD back here JMO.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Is his recruiting really that good? We have...one recruit for next year. I'll give him credit for Bub, but his one and done explosion was not expected by anyone. Cummings might turn into a decent player eventually. Is his recruiting really any better than Dixon?

I think his recruiting is kind of two-fold:

1) He's good at identifying talent. He's been on a few guys early who ended up blowing up and going to a bigger school. And them some of the transfers he's brought in were good pieces.

2) Guys like Toney, Kante, Dior Johnson, Bub, Lowe, etc. were rated pretty highly for Pitt. I mean, yeah - no better than where Dixon used to recruit (it's a common misconception about him, but most of his better players were top 125 guys). But I imagine it's a little more difficult now that the SEC cares about basketball.

None of this matters much, though, because his coaching sucks.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Yes it is and has been doing well recruiting in the portal given the budget he has. I'd love to have JD back here JMO.

You think Capel is so infallible that you want Jamie Dixon back. That makes sense.

 

[pierre93]

You think Capel is so infallible that you want Jamie Dixon back. That makes sense.

I've NEVER said Capel is infallible. You as well a few more have bashed JC even when winning. Keep up your rhetoric

 

[pittbb80]

Capels “offense” if you want to even call it that is basically is designed to isolate a guard or a wing and let them play one on one. For the most part it’s four guys standing around the perimeter and watching the guard go one on one. So that can be attractive for some talented players. However it almost eliminates talented bigs from the equation. People talk about Kante but I just don’t see the talent. Maybe the injury has impacted his explosiveness but he doesn’t appear to be a plus athlete who plays above the rim

Compare that to Ville and you see far less dribbling and more ball movement and off the ball movement. Ville got more scores off inbounds plays in one half than Pitt has gotten all year. That team is very well coached.

I think Pitt needs to hire a guy like that

 

[PittMan 72]

This is how Louisville is doing it. 12 transfers. 1 HS recruit. 13 new players.
I suppose any program with the $$$$ to pay players can try to do something like this. Of course, results may vary (likely largely depending on the payroll $$$$ a school has available to spend).😉

“The University of Louisville's 2024-2025 men's basketball roster was built primarily through the NCAA transfer portal. The roster also includes one high school recruit.
Transfer additions

• Terrence Edwards Jr. Guard/forward from James Madison who was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year
• J'Vonne Hadley: Guard from Colorado
• Koren Johnson: Guard from Washington
• Aboubacar Traore: Forward from Long Beach State
• Chucky Hepburn: Point guard from Wisconsin
• Kasean Pryor: Forward from USF
• Noah Waterman: Forward from BYU
• Frank Anselem-Ibe: Center from Georgia
• Reyne Smith: Guard from Australia
• James Scott: Forward from Fayetteville, North Carolina
• Kobe Rodgers: Guard from Cincinnati, Ohio
• Patrick Antonelli: Guard from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

High school recruit

• Khani Rooths: Forward from Washington, D.C.

The following is information for those that feel Pitt should try a similar approach.

Contribution page

www.alliance412.com

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Capels “offense” if you want to even call it that is basically is designed to isolate a guard or a wing and let them play one on one. For the most part it’s four guys standing around the perimeter and watching the guard go one on one. So that can be attractive for some talented players. However it almost eliminates talented bigs from the equation. People talk about Kante but I just don’t see the talent. Maybe the injury has impacted his explosiveness but he doesn’t appear to be a plus athlete who plays above the rim

Compare that to Ville and you see far less dribbling and more ball movement and off the ball movement. Ville got more scores off inbounds plays in one half than Pitt has gotten all year. That team is very well coached.

I think Pitt needs to hire a guy like that

Capel also either doesn't recruit or doesn't emphasize/coach defense and rebounding, and we don't have - nor will we ever have - enough offensive talent to overcome that. So he's almost starting from a point of impossibility (if the goal is a deep tournament run) right off the bat.

 

[whirlybird optio]

This is how Louisville is doing it. 12 transfers. 1 HS recruit. 13 new players.
I suppose any program with the $$$$ to pay players can try to do something like this. Of course, results may vary (likely largely depending on the payroll $$$$ a school has available to spend).😉

“The University of Louisville's 2024-2025 men's basketball roster was built primarily through the NCAA transfer portal. The roster also includes one high school recruit.
Transfer additions

• Terrence Edwards Jr. Guard/forward from James Madison who was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year
• J'Vonne Hadley: Guard from Colorado
• Koren Johnson: Guard from Washington
• Aboubacar Traore: Forward from Long Beach State
• Chucky Hepburn: Point guard from Wisconsin
• Kasean Pryor: Forward from USF
• Noah Waterman: Forward from BYU
• Frank Anselem-Ibe: Center from Georgia
• Reyne Smith: Guard from Australia
• James Scott: Forward from Fayetteville, North Carolina
• Kobe Rodgers: Guard from Cincinnati, Ohio
• Patrick Antonelli: Guard from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

High school recruit

• Khani Rooths: Forward from Washington, D.C.

The following is information for those that feel Pitt should try a similar approach.

Contribution page

www.alliance412.com

Which is why you can’t compare Capel early years to WVU or Louisville now. It’s not even apples and oranges, it might as well be like different sports altogether. Capel couldn’t build a roster like this early on becuase it wasn’t allowed, no NIL, no immediate transfers.

No excuses for what he’s doing now. Absolutely not. He misses the tournament this season fire him for all I care (even though it won’t happen), but Pitt in 2017-2019 is a challenge unlike any of these other programs right now.

Kelsey might very well be a fabulous coach - but he would have zero of those players right now if it was 2017. Let’s see him try to win with only high school kids and last years Louisville roster

 

[PittMan 72]

Which is why you can’t compare Capel early years to WVU or Louisville now. It’s not even apples and oranges, it might as well be like different sports altogether. Capel couldn’t build a roster like this early on becuase it wasn’t allowed, no NIL, no immediate transfers.

No excuses for what he’s doing now. Absolutely not. He misses the tournament this season fire him for all I care (even though it won’t happen), but Pitt in 2017-2019 is a challenge unlike any of these other programs right now.

Kelsey might very well be a fabulous coach - but he would have zero of those players right now if it was 2017. Let’s see him try to win with only high school kids and last years Louisville roster

Highly priced pick up teams are pretty much the rule of the day now.
Kelsey was given a big payroll budget by Louisville. He identified and was able to buy the right players and has done extremely well with them so far.
Annual roster turnover and quite possibly big makeovers will be required in many cases.
Ask Jim Larranaga. Because even if you have success like Miami did, guys can and will still decide to leave. For various reasons. He had eight guys off of a final four Miami team quit his program. So there can be a lot of volatility.
This is where college basketball is now. Fighting it is not gonna work. Have to figure out how to get it done with the resources available or face the consequences. 🤷‍♂️