Nearly two weeks later, how do you feel about HC Kevin Stallings?

[steel_curtain]

Yes, thankfully we now have a coach with Stallings' impressive tournament history. 5-7 in his career, yes?

-Look. The one thing Im going to say is, the vibe internally is changing if you cant see it. The players are actually excited about next year, and are tweeting about it. The players and the recruits are buying into Stallings as a Coach. The recruits are looking forward to playing with us next year. It was less than a month ago people were talking about half the roster leaving. Now every single player is staying and working toward next year. That is the direct reflection of our new basketball coach. It will be determined how well Stallings and the players do. But the players are buying into Stallings and the players think they can win next year. The internal vibe with the players is good, possibly better than what it has been in a long time. That is credit to Stallings, whether you or anyone hates the hire or not. The guy gets some credit, its deserved at this point. The entire roster is staying, and we have good balance split by the assistants, one for offense, the other for defense.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Who was hired that was better? Jamie Dixon.

Worse? Maybe Pastner.

Pikiell to Rutgers and Drew to Vanderbilt could easily turn out better as well. Chris Beard possibly too, though everyone is leaving UNLV, but same thing happened at Little Rock and he won a tournament game there.

I agree. Dixon to TCU was definitely the best hire of the offseason. I think Stallings falls into that middle of the road hire for now. Nothing earth shattering but not a disaster, at least on paper. Pastner to GT is a head scratcher.

 

[Piranha]

I agree. Dixon to TCU was definitely the best hire of the offseason. I think Stallings falls into that middle of the road hire for now. Nothing earth shattering but not a disaster, at least on paper. Pastner to GT is a head scratcher.

Time will tell. How do u think people rated the Dana Altman hire at Oregon? How about the Dixon hire when Ben left?

 

[HailToPitt1985]

I see a lot of "I get the feeling that" and "It seems that" being said. A lot of talk so far with regard to Stallings. And truthfully, what else can there be at this stage? Until I see how he manages the team and achieves results, I am indifferent to the hire. Talk is cheap. Stallings' record is mediocre, at best. I can only hope that doesn't transfer to Pitt. I'll wait and see what he can do with this Pitt team before forming any kind of opinion on how good he is or isn't.

 

[Tuckabuckaway]

The reality is Jamie Dixon hasn't got the job done since 2009. And the truth is neither has Stallings. But sometimes when you get a change in scenery, good things sometimes happen. Im in the camp, regardless of how loaded the ACC was this year, was that Dixon really underachieved with this years team. I dont blame talent, I blame Dixon.

^^ THIS ^^

JD did great things at Pitt but the recent trajectory was clearly downward. Pitt and JD needed this change. With change comes opportunity. KS wasn't the sexy pick we all hoped for, but the guy is no lightweight. High ceiling. He's also done exceptionally well so far by keeping the recruiting class, injecting energy into the team and assembling a staff. His style of play is going to be fun to watch...goodbye micromanagement and short leashes...and will make it easier to bring players to Pitt, and IMO, win consistently.

 

[mvk112]

High ceiling? He couldn't get to the tournament even half the time at his old job, where they were pushing him out the door to St. Louis, Pitt, whoever would take him off their hands.

High ceiling is the opposite of what this coach is.

 

[Piranha]

I see a lot of "I get the feeling that" and "It seems that" being said. A lot of talk so far with regard to Stallings. And truthfully, what else can there be at this stage? Until I see how he manages the team and achieves results, I am indifferent to the hire. Talk is cheap. Stallings' record is mediocre, at best. I can only hope that doesn't transfer to Pitt. I'll wait and see what he can do with this Pitt team before forming any kind of opinion on how good he is or isn't.

Do u really believe you are waiting and seeing? LOL

 

[Piranha]

High ceiling? He couldn't get to the tournament even half the time at his old job, where they were pushing him out the door to St. Louis, Pitt, whoever would take him off their hands.

High ceiling is the opposite of what this coach is.

Dana Altman is doing a heck of a job at Oregon. How about Al Skinner? He did a mediocre job prior to BC, then did a good job with BC. You guys like to pimp his name out.

 

[mvk112]

BC shouldn't have fired Skinner. Those guys didn't come from power conferences either. Altman made as many tournaments at Creighton (MVC) as Stallings did at Vanderbilt.

 

[Fredact]

When the hire was first announced I was very disappointed since I was told there was going to be a "Big Splash", but I didn't know much about Stallings so I hoped for the best.

After that I learned of Stallings miserable record at Vandy, his NCAA failures, his one great recruiting class that he couldn't even get to the round of 64, and my disappointment got greater.

Then I heard his pronouncements here at Pitt: excuses about why he can't recruit, fantastically changed story about Jeter, saying he's going to waste recruiting time going against the Blue Bloods, and I realize that it's even worse than I thought. Sounds like a politician that will drift with the winds.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Do u really believe you are waiting and seeing? LOL

Of course I am. So far, I've seen nothing from Stallings that suggests he is going to be a good coach or a bad coach. Are you anointing him as even a good coach already? Sorry, I can't. It seems you have a problem with that. Deal with it.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

When the hire was first announced I was very disappointed since I was told there was going to be a "Big Splash", but I didn't know much about Stallings so I hoped for the best.

After that I learned of Stallings miserable record at Vandy, his NCAA failures, his one great recruiting class that he couldn't even get to the round of 64, and my disappointment got greater.

Then I heard his pronouncements here at Pitt: excuses about why he can't recruit, fantastically changed story about Jeter, saying he's going to waste recruiting time going against the Blue Bloods, and I realize that it's even worse than I thought. Sounds like a politician that will drift with the winds.

Good points. The excuses from him seem a bit "political", which isn't a good thing. That's why I'm not forming any final opinion of him until I see what he can do on the court. So far, I'm disappointed. But that can change if he proves himself to be a competent coach.

 

[TD_istheman]

Stallings is a very good hire, watch recruiting jump up big time, eat crow for some soon, can't wait.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

High ceiling? He couldn't get to the tournament even half the time at his old job, where they were pushing him out the door to St. Louis, Pitt, whoever would take him off their hands.

High ceiling is the opposite of what this coach is.

Yeah, high ceiling and Stallings don't exactly fit in the same sentence. Not even close.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Stallings is a very good hire, watch recruiting jump up big time, eat crow for some soon, can't wait.

If you're right, it will be the first time in Stallings' career that he'll be as successful as you seem to think he will be. Even if recruiting improves, which is debatable, what is he going to do with those recruits to win games? Can he win 25+ games every year, let alone 20+ games? Our standard at Pitt is getting to that 25+ game area every year. I don't have his career record handy, but I doubt he has done that many times in his career.

 

[steel_curtain]

If you're right, it will be the first time in Stallings' career that he'll be as successful as you seem to think he will be. Even if recruiting improves, which is debatable, what is he going to do with those recruits to win games? Can he win 25+ games every year, let alone 20+ games? Our standard at Pitt is getting to that 25+ game area every year. I don't have his career record handy, but I doubt he has done that many times in his career.

-Dixon has only won at least 25 games once in the last 5 seasons.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

I see that Stallings had the following records of 24+ wins during his career:
96-97 - 24-6
97-98 - 25-6
07-08 - 26-8
09-10 - 24-9
11-12 - 25-11

That is over a 23 year head coaching career. 5 times he had 24 or more wins in a season. And he had 4 seasons where he was at 0.500 or below. Judge it as you desire. To me, that a mediocre record with some good and bad seasons sprinkled in. We're not used to that for the past 13 years or so. He'll have to do better.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

-Dixon has only won at least 25 games once in the last 5 seasons.

The same goes for Stallings. You do realize that, right? In his entire head coaching career, he has only won 25+ games three times, dating back to 1993. Just stating facts. He never won more than 26, and that was in 07-08.

 

[steel_curtain]

I see that Stallings had the following records of 24+ wins during his career:
96-97 - 24-6
97-98 - 25-6
07-08 - 26-8
09-10 - 24-9
11-12 - 25-11

That is over a 23 year head coaching career. 5 times he had 24 or more wins in a season. And he had 4 seasons where he was at 0.500 or below. Judge it as you desire. To me, that a mediocre record with some good and bad seasons sprinkled in. We're not used to that for the past 13 years or so. He'll have to do better.

-Right now Im focused on next season only. I see Stalling won 26 games and was 2 seconds away from an Elite 8 Birth. With a good team and some players, he can win.

 

[Fredact]

-Right now Im focused on next season only. I see Stalling won 26 games and was 2 seconds away from an Elite 8 Birth. With a good team and some players, he can win.

And Dixon was 2 seconds away from a Final 4 birth. I'd say that's a pretty good comparison of those two coaches relative levels: Dixon, almost a great coach. Stallings almost a pretty good coach.

 

[steel_curtain]

And Dixon was 2 seconds away from a Final 4 birth. I'd say that's a pretty good comparison of those two coaches relative levels: Dixon, almost a great coach. Stallings almost a pretty good coach.

-No, Dixon wasn't. The game was tied with Pitt and Villanova when Reynolds hit the final basket. Stallings had the lead when the miracle shot happened for Georgetown with 2 seconds left. The circumstances were different.

 

[Skip74]

Embarrassed by the knee-jerk negativity of this forum which ordinarily is well informed. We got a proven strong P5 coach who was thrilled to take the helm of a potential top tier team of the best conference in NCAAM. And, a coach who will smoke JD's recruiting results from the last few years. Embarrassed !

 

[rockypanther]

One way or another, it probably makes no sense to act so sure he will succeed or fail until he at least coaches his first game at Pitt.

 

[steel_curtain]

Embarrassed by the knee-jerk negativity of this forum which ordinarily is well informed. We got a proven strong P5 coach who was thrilled to take the helm of a potential top tier team of the best conference in NCAAM.And a coach who will smoke JD's recruiting results from the last few years. Embarrassed !

-There is going to be a lot of egg on someone's face, and I love it when the stakes and pressure is raised. Dixon is gone and so is Knight. If Pitt wins big, they look like clowns. If Pitt loses big, Barnes looks like a clown and gets fired from the Boosters. The stakes are clearly raised, place your bets.

 

[rockypanther]

Probably be a better discussion to research Stallings offensive and defensive sets and predict what positions and how our players will fit in.

I will expand later, but I think we had players that were out of position who could be better suited at a different spot so do they get the ball in better places than last year.

I also want to see if Stallings really lets players play more freely and without having a short leash like he said at his press conference. I think some players like Jeter and Luther had their confidence lowered because Dixon was inconsistent with their minutes and very quick to pull them.

 

[steel_curtain]

-If you want Stallings or Barnes to fail, you better hope Kithcart doesnt make it to Pitt somehow. Because all the guy does is win Championships year over year. Just saying, place your bets accordingly.

 

[rockypanther]

Who wants Stallings or Barnes to fail? Name posters or share threads where someone has openly said they hope Stallings and Pitt fail and are terrible. Explicitly said.

 

[IamHeisenberg]

Oh? Explicit is the new threshold. So I guess all of Phil's post were supportive of the team. You know because they weren't explicitly rooting for team failure.

 

[rockypanther]

Yes. Who said in words anywhere near: I want Stallings to fail at Pitt. Not a prediction but that they were openly rooting for KS to fail.

 

[rockypanther]

Oh? Explicit is the new threshold. So I guess all of Phil's post were supportive of the team. You know because they weren't explicitly rooting for team failure.

I don't know Phil, but the propaganda now seems to be that there are multiple people cheering for KS and Pitt to fail.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Still pushing a false narrative. #1 seed in 2011. 24 & 26 wins in 13-14. That's in the best conference.

You are aware that's it's 2016 ?
I was a Jamie backer ,but you have to admit that the program was regressing and people were talking with their pocketbooks by staying away.
Everything will be answered in a few years arguing about whose better is useless because Kevin Stalling is Pitts coach and Jamie Dixion is TCUs coach.

 

[pittbb80]

I love all these great PItt fans.............they'll give Stallings a chance to prove himself but until then they reserve the right to trash him with every post..............

I wasnt happy at all with the hire initially but I can at least see what Barnes saw in the guy. Im 100% behind him not only because I a bigger fan of Pitt than any coach, but also because it will be awsome watching all these UJD fans eat crow.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

You are aware that's it's 2016 ?
I was a Jamie backer ,but you have to admit that the program was regressing and people were talking with their pocketbooks by staying away.
Everything will be answered in a few years arguing about whose better is useless because Kevin Stalling is Pitts coach and Jamie Dixion is TCUs coach.

So was vandy under stallings, even worse.
Which is the concern.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I love all these great PItt fans.............they'll give Stallings a chance to prove himself but until then they reserve the right to trash him with every post..............

I wasnt happy at all with the hire initially but I can at least see what Barnes saw in the guy. Im 100% behind him not only because I a bigger fan of Pitt than any coach, but also because it will be awsome watching all these UJD fans eat crow.

People who make these kind of statements, only prove they are dumb.

 

[ameoba defense]

I still see him as a "safe hire". I don't expect him to turn Pitt into an elite program, but I don't think he's a guy who will wreck the program either. I think we'll continue to be what we've been. The question is, when we are in an up cycle (senior and junior laden team that cracks the Top 25), can he make some hay in the tournament? He may actually be less consistent than Jamie (maybe dance 50% of the time), but if he makes deep runs in the years he does make the tournament, will people like that better than Jamie nearly always getting in, but rarely going far, or will people be complaining about too many NIT trips, even if we make some Elite Eights, and maybe a Final Four in the up years?

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Oh? Explicit is the new threshold. So I guess all of Phil's post were supportive of the team. You know because they weren't explicitly rooting for team failure.

Don't even count Phil's posts. That guy has to be mentally unstable and his opinions mean absolutely nothing.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

I love all these great PItt fans.............they'll give Stallings a chance to prove himself but until then they reserve the right to trash him with every post..............

I wasnt happy at all with the hire initially but I can at least see what Barnes saw in the guy. Im 100% behind him not only because I a bigger fan of Pitt than any coach, but also because it will be awsome watching all these UJD fans eat crow.

No one is trashing Stallings. That's just a very dumb and foolish post. And saying you want posters who respect Dixon and his contributions to Pitt basketball eat crow is beyond stupidity. There is nothing wrong with being a fan of Dixon (there are many out there) and still being a fan of Pitt, mainly because that's the way it is in spite of your finger wagging.

I can't stand so-called Pitt fans like you who aren't really Pitt fans at all.

 

[pittbb80]

No one is trashing Stallings. That's just a very dumb and foolish post. And saying you want posters who respect Dixon and his contributions to Pitt basketball eat crow is beyond stupidity. There is nothing wrong with being a fan of Dixon (there are many out there) and still being a fan of Pitt, mainly because that's the way it is in spite of your finger wagging.

I can't stand so-called Pitt fans like you who aren't really Pitt fans at all.

Nothing dumb about a statement that clearly hit too close to home for the chicken little's on the board who have been picking apart Stallings record and predicting gloom and doom for the program

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Nothing dumb about a statement that clearly hit too close to home for the chicken little's on the board who have been picking apart Stallings record and predicting gloom and doom for the program

By picking apart you mean making statements of fact that we failed to upgrade at best and likely down graded based on his track record?

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Honestly, I feel kind of foolish about how I initially reacted; though I wasn't completely at a loss with the hire, I didn't like it, and the first two weeks of his tenure have gone about as well as they could have. He kept the recruiting class together, we've yet to hear about any current players leaving (though that could certainly still happen), and he seems to have made some good-to-great hires for his staff. Obviously the jury is still out as to whether or not he is a Final Four caliber coach, but I'm confident he will bring us back to being a Sweet 16 caliber program.

I seem him as a credible hire, but definitely a safe one. The few cronies ($) who run the bb program were tired of Jamie but don't have the stomach to hire a younger guy. The endings of the last 2 years and the empties at Pete scared them. I do suspect a few here will keep the Jamie v Stallings threads going for years though.