Nobody is expecting Pitt to be one of the big boys, but a good coach makes it to a tournament 3 out of 5 years on average.
Make the move to Brandin after this season
- Thread starter Pitt2006
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Capel still gets 2 years in my book to make at least 1 NCAA Tournament. The Dior Johnson situation leaves a really bad taste in my mouth for how the entire situation happened and it still really pisses me off how Pitt waited for the very last minute possible to throw him off the team right when school began. Some people questioned his talent. They arent going to do that now with him averaging near triple double numbers.
No program is winning without talent. I want to see how our young 4 stars do in the next 2 years and how they develop as I like our underclassmen. If they transfer or we have some big collapse, then maybe that changes my mind.
Eddie Jordan was their Kevin Stallings.
The portal didn’t exist then.
BK has recruited at a similar school to Pitt the last however many years (Duke and Oklahoma are not similar) and recruited better.
You don’t get a feather in your cap for recruiting a criminal who is good at a juco.
There is zero doubt in my mind Meleek Thomas goes to Pitt if BK was the head coach.
But yes other then everything in your post being pointless, it was a good post.
3/5 tournies in a worse conference than the Big East shouldn’t be that hard. I honestly don’t care who the head coach is. Just bring us meaningful basketball. We’re most likely gonna go to 1 tournament in 7 seasons with Capel, assuming next year is like the typical year and not the exception to the rule. We spend top 25 on basketball and aren’t getting top 25 or close results.
I think making the tournament 60% of the time is a little too optimistic. I‘d be satisfied with a middle of the pack ACC team and 40-50% rate unless funding substantially improves .
I truly believe the most important thing in winning in the revenue sports will be NIL money available. No good coach is going to a program without it and attaining and keeping the players you need to win will be impossible.
Are you tone deaf to reality? The portal didn't exist for Jeff Capel either when he started here.
In fact, not only did the portal not exist, there was an entire EYBL / summer circuit season canceled on top of it because of covid which crippled scouting on players. We were trying to recruit players to Pitt coming off an 0-19 disaster and couldn't even host them on visits because of covid.
1 thing is true. Pitt's recruiting now is miles better than what it was in Capel's first 4 seasons.
Well we know the current head coach doesn’t? 5 failed seasons with 1 bubble success
So why do you mention Rutgers 3 years without the portal at freaking Rutgers after taking over for their Kevin stallings like that’s proof Pikiell/BK sucks but then excuse it with Capel? Are you related to him? This would be the only thing that makes sense.
Oh, so only Pitt suffered by Covid. Another idiotic excuse.
You’re right, our recruiting is much better. As evidenced by being last place in the ACC.
Your optimistic takes on every recruit who chooses Pitt sometimes has a good nugget littered in. 99.999999 percent of your posts are useless blusters that kick the can down the road. Everyone is on a 1 year contract. Who cares about incoming freshmen?
You either read what I wrote too fast or just didn't read the whole thing.
I said any coach taking over a complete disaster at a school like Pitt or Rutgers gets the first 3 years free without expectations.
Year 4 expectations start and need to be filled. The clock starts on year 4.
His clock is almost over. He will be fired at the end of next year. We’re just lowering the buyout at this point. Unless an angel donor comes in
Knight has proven to be able to win actual high stakes recruiting battles at a program that’s (IMO) worse than Pitt is. That alone is pretty close to being good enough for me. More than willing to see how the rest of the season for this staff, and probably even next season, plays out, though.
It doesn’t have to be BK. But he ain’t getting year 8 here. I can guarantee that
Ok, lets play this game.
This year, Pitt misses all post season tournaments.
Next year, Pitt goes to the NIT.
Pitt holds on to all the 4 stars on the roster and adds 5 star Meleek Thomas, 4 star Derek Dixon, and 4 star Amari Evans, 3 of the top 50ish best players nationally in a stud filled 2025 class.
Your the ad. What do you do.
The short answer is keep, no extension (at least not one that has any actual consequences), and it’s a just as big of a do or die year in 2025-26 than he had in 2022-23. But the incoming players you laid out is pretty much what would be needed to thread that needle and keep in 2025-26. No Meleek and the results you laid out in 23-24 and 24-25 and it’s probably move on.
I think he’s safe this year barring a total disaster the rest of the way. I think an NIT lessens the pressure going into 2024-25. I still think it’s a roster with potential this season.
Without this angel donor magically appearing what makes you think Pitt can lure anyone ( coach or players ) of note who can alter their path . BK isn’t t a coach I’d consider of note .
Meleek Thomas isn’t coming to Pitt because BK is the coach , he’ll come to Pitt if they do whatever is necessary to $ign him . I don‘t even think it’s in Pitts best interest to break the bank for 1 one and done kid .
Without enough large boosters it doesn’t matter who the next coach will be .
Pitt will give JC every opportunity to succeed. Heather realizes how this game is played now and what’s available with their assets .
If a group of deep pockets knocks on her door and pledges mucho bucks to fund a new coach and the NIL alliance then he’s gone . ( very doubtful those guys exist )
Thats fair, and I basically agree here.
1 year from today at most we are going to know where Thomas, Dixon, and Evans are going. I think we trail for Bundalo but if we start getting these other guys, that might change things and even the playing field with his other top 3.
We can't have a disaster year including this year.
And I think by the end of this December, we are going to know if Capel is the guy or not in the future. IF we happen to strike out on our big targets in 2025, that could also be a case to part ways.
Ill add one more little caveat. I dont think I can handle another player suspension / expulsion under Capel. One more player getting into trouble really tips the scale for me for a new coach.
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The amount of basketball NIL resources does not feel like it’s a problem for Pitt currently. We’re not best in class, but we’re very competitive. Boeheim wasn’t making it up out of thin air last year.
Pitts alliance just announced they have a million dollars , there’s no way that’s enough money to fund both Fb and Bb .
Ish and Zack ( no offense) were the best Pitt could do in the portal , to me it says that keeping Hinson limited their ability to find better players .
Boeheim was full of hot air . Look who Pitt brought in .
Hinson ….hadn’t played in 2 yrs
Nelly …..always dreamed of playing at Pitt
Elliot ….backup at Marquette
Fede …. Backup
There isnt a great chance he comes here but if he goes out early in March, Big Blue Nation will continue calling for his ouster. A lot of people are unhappy with him. And NIL has made it tough for him as SEC boosters at other schools can pay just as much as UK. At Pitt, he rides into town as a savior. Parade down Forbes Avenue as the conquering hero. Face sculpted into Washington next to Lemieux, Big Ben, and Nick Patti.
Here's what you always have to ask. If VT or Wake or GT had an opening, would BK be a realistic candidate? The answer is no. Beyond that, Rutgers is going to go 2 years in a row without the NCAAT though you'd think they should make it next year with the 2 best non-Flagg freshmen.
I like Griff Aldrich from Longwood and of course, Ryan Odom. Odom has won at every level. And Aldrich has a nothing former D2 program at Longwood and has them always at the top of that league. Former lawyer. I like that
Evans? Amari Evans? That wasn’t a favor offer to get Meleek? He’s a 6’4 power forward. He isn’t making an impact in the ACC.
One more suspension will put you over the top!?
Stealing a car, whatever happened with the cop, team fighting in the locker room and punching a woman isn’t enough for you? I mean if you’re gonna recruit mostly bad kids at least freaking win
You think making the NIT/NCAA Tournament 3 out of 5 years is too much for a good coach? GTFOH
If you dont count the first 2 years as it was a massive rebuild, he is going to make the NCAA/NIT 2 out of 5 years if he makes the NIT this year so not much worse than what you are saying
And if he doesn't, really, one year out of five isn't much worse than two out of five, so really, what's the problem?
I can’t even begin to describe how idiotic the Covid excuse has gotten. FFS sake do you not realize it impacted everyone? It was still a level playing field. Stop it, my god.
It sounds like my nitter friends who will tell me they finished in the top 10 5 of last 6 years. Because this year doesn’t count. Covid doesn’t count. Etc etc
Is Knight the head coach? No one knows what he can do, since he only been part of staffs, not the leader. For all any of you know, he could in up a homerun.
I can’t decide what’s more annoying… hoops fans using the covid year as an excuse to justify bad Pitt teams, or weirdo football fans who downplay the ACC title because we benefitted from a covid year for Pickett.
I find it more annoying that every piece of evidence points to Capel not being the guy, yet there are weirdos on here who will defend everything and say next year is the year.
I would love to be wrong about him. As I’m sure would everyone else on this thread who agrees with me. Barring some major staff or philosophical change we won’t be. And it sucks.
We were down 44 at home to Duke in a game where Scheyer could’ve named his score in year 6. How could there still be people who support this?
It wasn’t the same for everyone , JC was trying to establish new relationships not continuing with one’s already established.
Pitt also wasn’t in the game for the guys he was recruiting at Duke .
He also wasn’t interested in the players KS had committed or was actively recruiting.
Thinking he doesn’t get a bye the first couple of yrs is nuts , he took over a total shithole of a program . The worst in all D1 and the only 2 good players wanted nothing more to do with Pitt Bb . ( Carr and Luther and we can’t forget Parker ! )
Plus the university self reported itself for NCAA violations ( unreal ) to try and save a bucks which put a spotlight on doing things the right way . There was no NIlL to help .
He’s got 2 yrs to prove he can be a winning coach at Pitt , Heathers not buying him out .
It was YEAR THREE. And establishing connections!? He was THE recruiter for Duke??? What does this even mean??
Means no one he was recruiting at Duke would ever consider attending Pitt .
you really don’t understand how recruiting works. Sit these discussions out
Actually, it’s not. Jeff Capel has recruited high major kids since 2003. He has relationships everywhere with the people actually making decisions for the kids. Who to visit etc. he didn’t need to make new relationships. He didn’t take a job in Russia.
It was his THIRD AND FOURTH recruiting classes in Pitt. Maybe those first graders he started developing relationships with at the JCC in shady side will pan out in 2034?
Also, his third recruiting class was his best on paper. It’s not my fault Femi Odukale always sucked. But it was what I told you
I think it’s fair to say that the staff didn’t handle the pandemic well. They aren’t alone there - Jim Harbaugh and Michigan didn’t handle it well either - but there’s a difference IMO between “the staff handled an unprecedented situation poorly, but since it’s unprecedented and is in the rearview mirror it’s probably not instructive to assessing their future performance” and “the pandemic adversely affected this staff in particular and their performance shouldn’t be held against them.”
It’s part of the analysis. It’s part of their collective record. They handled it worse than most. The reasons why don’t really matter, because it’s over now. They should be held accountable for current performance, though, with the failures of the past less important than the successes and failures of today.
It’s part of the analysis. It’s part of their collective record. They handled it worse than most. The reasons why don’t really matter, because it’s over now. They should be held accountable for current performance, though, with the failures of the past less important than the successes and failures of today.
Maybe Covid impacted Capel’s and only Capel’s phones and ability to video chat.
I’ll say this again. It was a level playing field. Anything else is either stupidity or spin.
If Capel was a first time head coach, then MAYBE it hurts him a little more. But as you said, being a head coach twice plus being at Duke, can’t be any more connected. And as you asked said it wasn’t his first class.
This crap is laughable. At a minimum.
