Mr. Miller: ouch

[TIGER-PAUL]

John Miller expressed concerns about unrealistic expectations at Pitt.

“I just think it's a very, very difficult job,” he said, specifically alluding to the ACC competition Pitt faces annually. “Coach K (Duke's Mike Krzyzewski). (North Carolina coach) Roy (Williams). (Syracuse coach Jim) Boeheim. (Louisville coach) Rick Pitino. Start adding them all up. It's brutal.

“The guy that was there (Dixon), he's been winning 25 games a year. He's done an unbelievable job. But, yet, they've been trying to get him out of there for four, five years. If you're the new guy coming in, I think you'd better look at that.”

http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/10189728-74/miller-pitt-coach

 

[Piranha]

The guy DOES NOT like Pitt.

 

[PITT92DOG]

The guy DOES NOT like Pitt.

Shame the new administration didn't know the Old man Miller's history and kept things quieter.

 

[Pittbaseball11]

Who was trying to get Dixon out exactly? A few morons on Panther-Lair maybe but it's a fallacy that Pitt was trying to push him out for the last 5 years.

Boosters/donors.

 

[hilltoppanther]

Johnny needs to keep his mouth shut. He's still mad at Pitt because of Paul Evans. That was 27 years and 3 coaches ago. He is one of the all-time great cheaters of the WPIAL.

 

[JD1976]

Boosters/donors.

So donors and boosters were trying to push out Dixon while he was earning No. 1 seeds? No way. A grumble maybe but "trying to push out". No way.

 

[wbrpanther]

Who was trying to get Dixon out exactly? A few morons on Panther-Lair maybe but it's a fallacy that Pitt was trying to push him out for the last 5 years.

Pitt wasn't but a whole lot more than a few fans were.

 

[Pittbaseball11]

So donors and boosters were trying to push out Dixon while he was earning No. 1 seeds? No way. A grumble maybe but "trying to push out". No way.

It was a pretty solid source talking about it on premium, I'm inclined to believe it. It's not like Pitt has a bunch of donors and boosters where you can drown out some discontent pretty easily with the quantity of supporters in the base.

 

[Atch]

Maybe some of the Lair posters will start to understand what some of us have been saying about them. John is still pissed at Pitt because Evans hired John Serandrea rather than him.

 

[BigZeke]

Maybe some of the Lair posters will start to understand what some of us have been saying about them. John is still pissed at Pitt because Evans hired John Serandrea rather than him.

...to get Red Autry and Brian Reese and neither of them came here. Met John a few times. Nice guy. His brother is a wild man.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Boosters/donors.

This year. But not for the last 5 years. One, two or five posters on the Pantherlair does not constitute "trying to get him out for 5 years".

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

“I just think it's a very, very difficult job,” he said, specifically alluding to the ACC competition Pitt faces annually. “Coach K (Duke's Mike Krzyzewski). (North Carolina coach) Roy (Williams). (Syracuse coach Jim) Boeheim. (Louisville coach) Rick Pitino. Start adding them all up. It's brutal.

Most coaches would struggle against those four legends. The good news and old-man Miller must not be thinking down the road, but Boeheim is done very soon, Pitino should be fired and may not be at Louisville much longer though I expect the school to keep him. Roy Williams and Coach K aren't in their mid-40s, either. Coach K is pushing 70.

These guys aren't going to be around forever. Four years from now none might be at their current school. And none of those schools are guaranteed to make another great hire. Carolina has no savior in its pipeline like Williams last time. Hopkins had a bad look on the sideline earlier this year. Capel might be the next Duke coach? God I hope so. I trust shady Louisville to make the best hire of all these schools.

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

John is still pissed at Pitt because Evans hired John Serandrea rather than him.

You have to admit--J. MIller would have been a SLIGHTLY better recruiter.

 

[thebadby2]

John Miller expressed concerns about unrealistic expectations at Pitt.

“I just think it's a very, very difficult job,” he said, specifically alluding to the ACC competition Pitt faces annually. “Coach K (Duke's Mike Krzyzewski). (North Carolina coach) Roy (Williams). (Syracuse coach Jim) Boeheim. (Louisville coach) Rick Pitino. Start adding them all up. It's brutal.

“The guy that was there (Dixon), he's been winning 25 games a year. He's done an unbelievable job. But, yet, they've been trying to get him out of there for four, five years. If you're the new guy coming in, I think you'd better look at that.”

http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/10189728-74/miller-pitt-coach

Fun fact: outgoing TCU head coach Trent Johnson, considered a bum by most accounts, has been to 2 Sweet 16s as a head coach--just one less than the new TCU head coach. Well Mr Miller, if you think Pitt is a tough job, try winning at this place:

 

[pitt2010]

John Miller was a hell of a recruiter. Do you know how many kids he got from outside that district to move into it!?!?

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

John Miller was a hell of a recruiter. Do you know how many kids he got from outside that district to move into it!?!?

Sarandrea was pretty good at that also. That's why I said SLIGHTLY better.

 

[Breeze90]

John Miller is a Penn State football fan.

Doesn't surprise me.

 

[Harve74]

John Miller expressed concerns about unrealistic expectations at Pitt.

“I just think it's a very, very difficult job,” he said, specifically alluding to the ACC competition Pitt faces annually. “Coach K (Duke's Mike Krzyzewski). (North Carolina coach) Roy (Williams). (Syracuse coach Jim) Boeheim. (Louisville coach) Rick Pitino. Start adding them all up. It's brutal.

“The guy that was there (Dixon), he's been winning 25 games a year. He's done an unbelievable job. But, yet, they've been trying to get him out of there for four, five years. If you're the new guy coming in, I think you'd better look at that.”

http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/10189728-74/miller-pitt-coach

Miller still has an anti-Pitt agenda and he exaggerated more than a few details to push his points. .

But, honesty, the jist of what he said is not that wrong. We have to play the elite ACC schools and our fan base has high, perhaps unrealistically so, expectations. The AD wants to strengthen the schedule despite being on the bubble and already having the #27 nationally overall SOS.

We somewhat rudely pushed a very successful coach off the bus with very little remorse.

All of those things ARE kind of brutal.

A lot of guys are likely to look at those things before coming here. Barnes may have to overpay.

I'm NOT saying we can't get a decent coach. Just that it's not a slam-dunk.

 

[PITT92DOG]

Miller still has an anti-Pitt agenda and he exaggerated more than a few details to push his points. .

But, honesty, the jist of what he said is not that wrong. We have to play the elite ACC schools and our fan base has high, perhaps unrealistically so, expectations. The AD wants to strengthen the schedule despite being on the bubble and already having the #27 nationally overall SOS.

We somewhat rudely threw a very successful coach under the bus with very little remorse.

All of those things ARE kind of brutal.

A lot of guys are likely to look at those things before coming here. Barnes may have to overpay.

I'm NOT saying we can't get a decent coach. Just that it's not a slam-dunk.

This pretty accurate accept JD was not way thrown under the bus in anyway, not one bad word from Pitt about JD. They might have tried to put more effort to keep him but that is it.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

John Miller expressed concerns about unrealistic expectations at Pitt.

“I just think it's a very, very difficult job,” he said, specifically alluding to the ACC competition Pitt faces annually. “Coach K (Duke's Mike Krzyzewski). (North Carolina coach) Roy (Williams). (Syracuse coach Jim) Boeheim. (Louisville coach) Rick Pitino. Start adding them all up. It's brutal.

“The guy that was there (Dixon), he's been winning 25 games a year. He's done an unbelievable job. But, yet, they've been trying to get him out of there for four, five years. If you're the new guy coming in, I think you'd better look at that.”

http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/10189728-74/miller-pitt-coach

Just curious, do you scour the internet to find as much negative about Pitt as you can find, or are you vying with CMUandPitt for biggest sad-sack/sky is falling poster on the lair?

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

This pretty accurate accept JD was not way thrown under the bus in anyway, not one bad word from Pitt about JD. They might have tried to put more effort to keep him but that is it.

the fanboys are going to stick with that narrative, poor Jamie thrown under the bus. I'm glad the current AD refused to let Dixon continue to go to the well for more money/extensions based on his name being circulated for other jobs as the past AD had done.

 

[pittbb80]

This pretty accurate accept JD was not way thrown under the bus in anyway, not one bad word from Pitt about JD. They might have tried to put more effort to keep him but that is it.

Agreed. This fairy tale of JD being pushed out or thrown under the bus is total hogwash.

Again its pretty simple. The decline in the level of performance of the program over 5 years, along with slipping attendance at the Pete resulted in Barnes and company looking more closely at the program. When you're being out recruited by UPS you have some issues. No AD worth his salt would completely look the other way when there are empty seats for big games. Other than publicly talking about tweaking the OOC schedule, NO ONE KNOWS what discussions Barnes had with JD about his staff and style of play. That's all conjecture. I highly doubt he would force JD to make changes but it is believable that he had discussions with JD about those issues. Again most ADs would broach the subject with the coach. JD clearly didn't like being questioned as he had complete autonomy before this. The TCU Job opened up, provided JD with complete autonomy and far less pressure and a clean slate. Its unlikely that Barnes could have done anything short of being irresponsible financially to keep JD. NO ONE was pushed out!!

Id add that if Barnes is as good as I think he is, this issue with JD will not impact his ability to get another coach at all. Lets wait to see who they get before we run around like our hairs on fire.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Miller still has an anti-Pitt agenda and he exaggerated more than a few details to push his points. .

But, honesty, the jist of what he said is not that wrong. We have to play the elite ACC schools and our fan base has high, perhaps unrealistically so, expectations. The AD wants to strengthen the schedule despite being on the bubble and already having the #27 nationally overall SOS.

We somewhat rudely threw a very successful coach under the bus with very little remorse.

All of those things ARE kind of brutal.

A lot of guys are likely to look at those things before coming here. Barnes may have to overpay.

I'm NOT saying we can't get a decent coach. Just that it's not a slam-dunk.

Let's face it and be honest, a lot of Jamie's stats were inflated by his OOC. People keep on reciting Jamie's overall record. But you have to put the scope on the last 5 years, because they are the 5 freshest data points, they are more relevant, they reflect most reality as to where the program is, and Jamie is 45-45 in conference, 1-3 in NCAA tourney games and 7-23 against ranked teams. And recruiting wasn't improving, the assistant coach selections were seemingly getting worse and worse. The Jamie we knew is not the Jamie we recently viewed.

 

[Harve74]

This pretty accurate accept JD was not way thrown under the bus in anyway, not one bad word from Pitt about JD. They might have tried to put more effort to keep him but that is it.

Ok, fair. Too much hyperbole just using standard phrasing. Edited it to 'pushed off the bus."

If we ever get two #1 seed in 3 years with the next guy, I'll glady eat my words.,

 

[Cap pitt]

Shame the new administration didn't know the Old man Miller's history and kept things quieter.

Who cares about what John Miller has to say? When did he become the beginning and the end of Pitt basketball, and so what that his sons don't want to coach Pitt, who cares, neither one of them set the basketball coaching world on fire, what have they won that Pitt should go after them? their dad doesn't like Pitt and they listen to him, seems like he does the talking for both of them, move on

 

[QuitCallingMeWanny]

It was a pretty solid source talking about it on premium, I'm inclined to believe it. It's not like Pitt has a bunch of donors and boosters where you can drown out some discontent pretty easily with the quantity of supporters in the base.

That douchebag know it all mike412 hated Dixon and has ripped him for years

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

That douchebag know it all mike412 hated Dixon and has ripped him for years

Since day one as a matter of fact.

 

[Pittbaseball11]

That douchebag know it all mike412 hated Dixon and has ripped him for years

In his defense, he probably thought Jamie Dixon was a completely different person or had his basic supporting facts entirely wrong when forming his opinion.

He's still convinced that the Pirates passed on Kyle Schwarber to draft Austin Meadows when they weren't even in the same draft year and Schwarber went 4th overall in a year the Pirates picked 24th.

Google's a wonderful thing for many.

 

[Souflives]

Who was trying to get Dixon out exactly? A few morons on Panther-Lair maybe but it's a fallacy that Pitt was trying to push him out for the last 5 years.

And big boosters

 

[Souflives]

This year. But not for the last 5 years. One, two or five posters on the Pantherlair does not constitute "trying to get him out for 5 years".

No, for about 13 years.
Same fanboys of Sean Miller who should feel stupid now.
And delusionally thought Calipari would come home.
Even people with money can be stupid.

 

[Souflives]

Sarandrea was pretty good at that also. That's why I said SLIGHTLY better.

What? Lots of kids from Texas move to new castle, pa for high school.

 

[martingale]

And big boosters

And yet, all that happened was that Dixon kept getting raises and then a huge extension.
You have stated consistently that AD's listen to the big boosters and yet we see in Dixon's case that Pitt's AD did not.

Is there any evidence to support this supposition?

 

[martingale]

Bullshit.
Dixon's rep came from dominating better talented teams in the best hoops conference year after year.
Good grief

7-23 against ranked opposition in the last 30 games. That's not dominating better talented teams year after year.

 

[Souflives]

And yet, all that happened was that Dixon kept getting raises and then a huge extension.
You have stated consistently that AD's listen to the big boosters and yet we see in Dixon's case that Pitt's AD did not.

Is there any evidence to support this supposition?

He got raises because we could drum up no credible replacements.

And he earned them.
Sp and nordy blocked out the noise since ticket revenue and donations were enough for along time.

 

[martingale]

He got raises because we could drum up no credible replacements.

And he earned them.
Sp and nordy blocked out the noise since ticket revenue and donations were enough for along time.

I don't deny that Dixon earned his raises. Just that the evidence does not support your theory. Which means that either your theory is wrong or you need qualify you statement about AD's listening to the big boosters...

 

[Souflives]

7-23 against ranked opposition in the last 30 games. That's not dominating better talented teams year after year.

Nice selection.
How about The first 11 years to.earn his rep and raises?
You know, to stay on the topic.
He's gone, rejoice.
Better days ahead for sure.

 

[DT_PITT]

This year. But not for the last 5 years. One, two or five posters on the Pantherlair does not constitute "trying to get him out for 5 years".

There has been a contingent of about a dozen high powered donors and alumni who started putting heavy pressure to make a change with Dixon as soon as the new chancellor and AD were in place.

 

[Souflives]

I don't deny that Dixon earned his raises. Just that the evidence does not support your theory. Which means that either your theory is wrong or you need qualify you statement about AD's listening to the big boosters...

At Pitt, the boosters didn't wield as much influence for a long time because there are too few and didn't give much to earn a seat at the table. Cochran and Steve called the shots.

They are gone and a new regime isn't as pragmatic.
We went cheap for football... Hopefully it works out long term.
Hope the hoops hire does too... As we know boosters aren't luring in top flight candidates.

 

[martingale]

Nice selection.
How about The first 11 years to.earn his rep and raises?
You know, to stay on the topic.
He's gone, rejoice.
Better days ahead for sure.

I did not cherry pick. It's called a trend and I really wish that the data showed something else.
Dixon's 1st 7 years were amazing. Everyone thought he was on the path to becoming an elite coach. Unfortunately for Pitt he not only stopped winning at that rate but dropped to a much lower level. Dixon's results over the last 5 years are nothing special.
Heck, even you during this season in some games actually suggested firing Dixon.

The bar to replace Dixon is can we hire a coach to do better than what Dixon did over the past 5 years. That's a very possible outcome.

 

[Souflives]

I did not cherry pick. It's called a trend and I really wish that the data showed something else.
Dixon's 1st 7 years were amazing. Everyone thought he was on the path to becoming an elite coach. Unfortunately for Pitt he not only stopped winning at that rate but dropped to a much lower level. Dixon's results over the last 5 years are nothing special.
Heck, even you during this season in some games actually suggested firing Dixon.

The bar to replace Dixon is can we hire a coach to do better than what Dixon did over the past 5 years. That's a very possible outcome what.

We'll see.
What odds are you laying better than 3 dances in 5 years.