Notre Dame Game & Other Dribbles ...

[DT_PITT]

** Allow me, if you will, to consider this edition as an expression, if not even an examination, of the past, present and future of what we all know and love as Pitt Basketball.

** As I retreated from my seat at the end of the game, it was announced that this was the 300th win for the Pittsburgh Panthers in the history of the Pederson Events Center. So for the present, let’s just offer a congratulations to the program and we’ll think about some of those memories of the 299 wins a little later.

** In the present, we all know what we watched today. This was a Panther win that nearly perfectly exemplified the team we are at the moment. We aren’t a great team, but a team able to comfortably dispatch an inferior Notre Dame team by game end.

** Notre Dame teams of the past, led by former coach Mike Brey, have offered plenty of problems to our Panthers, even during the best days of Howland and Dixon.

** My good friend, with whom I’ve seen many of those 300 wins at the Pete, has always expressed that he believes ND should stand for “No Defense” regardless of the success they’ve had against us.

** But in the early going today, whether it was plenty of ND defense or a lack of offense by our Panthers, it looked like this wouldn’t be the night when the Panthers notched their 300th Peterson Events Center win.

** After all, we were all well aware that the Panthers waddled their way to a palsy 10 points in the first 14 minutes of the contest.

** To my eye anyway, this start wasn’t a consequence of good defense but more as a result of a combination of lethargy and lack of focus.

** The good news for our Panthers though, was that even if you think ND stands for No Defense, this year a better description of their standing is No Offense, and the deficit was not so great to overcome.

** And once the Panthers finally decided to involve leading scorer Blake Hinson, who curiously barely touched the ball early on, they finally got their offense in gear and scored 60 points over the game’s final 26 minutes.

** At the moment, Blake is already the Pitt record holder for threes in a game with 9, the best three point shooting in a game (7-7), and with his four triples tonight, he’s got 74 for the season. This leaves him 27 threes short of setting the Panther record for threes in a season with at least 10 games to go. I think this is worth watching.

** It was also worth watching another fine outing by our freshman backcourt. Bub’s outing was actually pretty solid despite his foul trouble. And we are to the point that we should consider Jaland’s 11 points and 5 assists as ordinary, despite his looser than optimal handle.

** Toss in another fine effort from Ish, and this one was really never in doubt for the final 12 minutes.

** As for the future, I don’t think we are close yet to have any real conversations about getting to the NCAA tournament, even if I’m glad that we are still talking about it.

** I like how Coach Capel has kept his crew together, and they are still fighting and playing for each other. But we have to figure we need to go at least 7-2 in the final 9, with a win or two in the ACC tournament to sit squarely on the bubble.

** Nonetheless, I’m happy to at least be having such NCAA tournament dreams. Unlikely as this future outcome is, I don’t consider it a pipedream.

** Further thinking about the future, or at least next season, mostly involves Coach Capel’s ability to keep Jaland and Bub together next year. There are many other pieces he needs to add, but this duo is the foundation.

** But let’s make no mistake that Capel, barring some extreme circumstance or a total unexpected collapse, will be leading our Panthers next year. After this win and what we’ve seen recently, I’m more than OK with that.

** As for the past, it was great seeing the tributes to the 74 and 09 teams today. I’m old enough to appreciate the latter group, but not so much the former. But I’m not sure I loved any season of any team I’ve ever followed as much as I did the 2008-2009 campaign. I got a touch emotional to stand and applaud Big Fella, Levance, Gil, Jermaine and the rest.

** Before the game, those of us who gathered at Hemmingway’s were reliving many of the gamewatches we had at Rock Bottom in the past. We remembered the 125+ folks who joined together to watch Blair toss Thabeet over his shoulder.

** More and more, I hear many Pitt Hoops fans expressing they probably didn't appreciate how wonderful those days were. This includes Dixon's final 4 seasons when we made the NCAA Tournament 3 times.

** When I think of the past of Pitt Basketball, even more than the many great games I watched at the Peterson Events Center (I was there for 296 of those wins I’m proud to say) and a few hundred more at the Fitz, what I’ve enjoyed most are the many, many Pitt basketball friends I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the years.

** Today we talked about some of the Panther Hoops fans no longer with us, notably geno2u, Harve74 and Drew1208. But we also expressed a nod of appreciation to Panther Lair regulars who enjoyed Pitt Hoops to the highest degree, at gamewatches or otherwise. Even those who never join us to post anymore.

** So I'll sign off with a toast to all of these friends from the past and present, along with the new ones we will get to know in future years. Thank you!

 

[TD_6082]

** Allow me, if you will, to consider this edition as an expression, if not even an examination, of the past, present and future of what we all know and love as Pitt Basketball.

** As I retreated from my seat at the end of the game, it was announced that this was the 300th win for the Pittsburgh Panthers in the history of the Pederson Events Center. So for the present, let’s just offer a congratulations to the program and we’ll think about some of those memories of the 299 wins a little later.

** In the present, we all know what we watched today. This was a Panther win that nearly perfectly exemplified the team we are at the moment. We aren’t a great team, but a team able to comfortably dispatch an inferior Notre Dame team by game end.

** Notre Dame teams of the past, led by former coach Mike Brey, have offered plenty of problems to our Panthers, even during the best days of Howland and Dixon.

** My good friend, with whom I’ve seen many of those 300 wins at the Pete, has always expressed that he believes ND should stand for “No Defense” regardless of the success they’ve had against us.

** But in the early going today, maybe it was plenty of ND defense or a lack of offense by our Panthers, it looked like this wouldn’t be the night when the Panthers notched their 300th Peterson Events Center win.

** After all, we were all well aware that the Panthers waddled their way to a palsy 10 points in the first 14 minutes of the contest.

** To my eye anyway, this start wasn’t a consequence of good defense but more as a result of a combination of lethargy and lack of focus.

** The good news for our Panthers though, was that even if you think ND stands for No Defense, this year a better description of their standing is No Offense, and the deficit was not so great to overcome.

** And once the Panthers finally decided to involve leading scorer Blake Hinson, who curiously barely touched the ball early on, they finally got their offense in gear and scored 60 points over the game’s final 26 minutes.

** At the moment, Blake is already the Pitt record holder for threes in a game with 9, the best three point shooting in a game (7-7), and with his four triples tonight, he’s got 74 for the season. This leaves him 27 threes short of setting the Panther record for threes in a season with at least 10 games to go. I think this is worth watching.

** It was also worth watching another fine outing by our freshman backcourt. Bub’s outing was actually pretty solid despite his foul trouble. And we are to the point that we should consider Jaland’s 11 points and 5 assists as ordinary, despite his looser than optimal handle.

** Toss in another fine effort from Ish, and this one was really never in doubt for the final 12 minutes.

** As for the future, I don’t think we are close yet to have any real conversations about getting to the NCAA tournament, even if I’m glad that we are still talking about it.

** I like how Coach Capel has kept his crew together, and they are still fighting and playing for each other. But we have to figure we need to go at least 7-2 in the final 9, with a win or two in the ACC tournament to sit squarely on the bubble.

** Nonetheless, I’m happy to at least be having such NCAA tournament dreams. Unlikely as this future outcome is, I don’t consider it a pipedream.

** Further thinking about the future, or at least next season, mostly involves Coach Capel’s ability to keep Jaland and Bub together next year. There are many other pieces he needs to add, but this duo is the foundation.

** But let’s make no mistake that Capel, barring some extreme circumstance or a total unexpected collapse, will be leading our Panthers next year. After this win and what we’ve seen recently, I’m more than OK with that.

** As for the past, it was great seeing the tributes to the 74 and 09 teams today. I’m old enough to appreciate the latter group, but not so much the former. But I’m not sure I loved any season of any team I’ve ever followed as much as I did the 2008-2009 campaign. I got a touch emotional to stand and applaud Big Fella, Levance, Gil, Jermaine and the rest.

** Before the game, those of us who gathered at Hemmingway’s were reliving many of the gamewatches we had at Rock Bottom in the past. We remembered the 125+ folks who joined together to watch Blair toss Thabeet over his shoulder.

** More and more, I hear many Pitt Hoops fans expressing they probably didn't appreciate how wonderful those days were. This includes Dixon's final 4 seasons when we made the NCAA Tournament 3 times.

** When I think of the past of Pitt Basketball, even more than the many great games I watched at the Peterson Events Center (I was there for 296 of those wins I’m proud to say) and a few hundred more at the Fitz, what I’ve enjoyed most are the many, many Pitt basketball friends I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the years.

** Today we talked about some of the Panther Hoops fans no longer with us, notably geno2u, Harve74 and Drew1208. But we also expressed a nod of appreciation to Panther Lair regulars who enjoyed Pitt Hoops to the highest degree, at gamewatches or otherwise. Even those who never join us to post anymore.

** So I'll sign off with a toast to all of these friends from the past and present, along with the new ones we will get to know in future years. Thank you!

Good post.

I appreciate Dixon's overall tenure at Pitt. His last 5 years at Pitt was just bad basketball. From 2002 - 2011 was really special though, despite the lack of NCAAT success.

 

[Oregon_Panther]

DT,

Friends all around, even from us West Coasters.

I was there during the fantastic 73-74 season…Mooney (aka Billy Knight ) and company were stellar—the Fitz was rocking, and you went to the games that season knowing you were seeing something special …From Fran Webster’s amoeba defense, to a sparkling offense, to “Tiger“ Paul revving up the fans it was PITT-TASTIC!

it was nice this season’s squad gave us all a victory in front of former outstanding teams!

DT—thanks for taking care of all of us, even some of us several thousand miles away!

Hail to PITT!
-al-

 

[PittMan 72]

Well @DT_PITT 1 thing is for certain: this Pitt team is sure giving us our money’s worth recently. We are getting 2 games for the price of 1 from them. All in the same 40 minutes.

Not sure what was going on for the 1st 12 minutes or so. Just happy that ND wasn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut either.

But then Pitt started making shots. They played solid D all game. They protected the ball pretty well. They didn’t allow ND many 2nd chances. I’ll stick with my 3 pillars of success for the Panthers:
* Make shots
* Defensive rebound
* Limit turnovers

Pitt is kinda in a survive and advance mode now. Even with 9 regular season and at least 1 ACCT games still left to play.

Imagine we’ll see a lot more examples of a team that will make us say “Wow”😃 and make us say “Eww”😏 all in the same game.

Bottom line though: Just Win Baby!!!

 

[PittPoker]

Definitely Pitt fans.

 

[PittPoker]

** Allow me, if you will, to consider this edition as an expression, if not even an examination, of the past, present and future of what we all know and love as Pitt Basketball.

** As I retreated from my seat at the end of the game, it was announced that this was the 300th win for the Pittsburgh Panthers in the history of the Pederson Events Center. So for the present, let’s just offer a congratulations to the program and we’ll think about some of those memories of the 299 wins a little later.

** In the present, we all know what we watched today. This was a Panther win that nearly perfectly exemplified the team we are at the moment. We aren’t a great team, but a team able to comfortably dispatch an inferior Notre Dame team by game end.

** Notre Dame teams of the past, led by former coach Mike Brey, have offered plenty of problems to our Panthers, even during the best days of Howland and Dixon.

** My good friend, with whom I’ve seen many of those 300 wins at the Pete, has always expressed that he believes ND should stand for “No Defense” regardless of the success they’ve had against us.

** But in the early going today, maybe it was plenty of ND defense or a lack of offense by our Panthers, it looked like this wouldn’t be the night when the Panthers notched their 300th Peterson Events Center win.

** After all, we were all well aware that the Panthers waddled their way to a palsy 10 points in the first 14 minutes of the contest.

** To my eye anyway, this start wasn’t a consequence of good defense but more as a result of a combination of lethargy and lack of focus.

** The good news for our Panthers though, was that even if you think ND stands for No Defense, this year a better description of their standing is No Offense, and the deficit was not so great to overcome.

** And once the Panthers finally decided to involve leading scorer Blake Hinson, who curiously barely touched the ball early on, they finally got their offense in gear and scored 60 points over the game’s final 26 minutes.

** At the moment, Blake is already the Pitt record holder for threes in a game with 9, the best three point shooting in a game (7-7), and with his four triples tonight, he’s got 74 for the season. This leaves him 27 threes short of setting the Panther record for threes in a season with at least 10 games to go. I think this is worth watching.

** It was also worth watching another fine outing by our freshman backcourt. Bub’s outing was actually pretty solid despite his foul trouble. And we are to the point that we should consider Jaland’s 11 points and 5 assists as ordinary, despite his looser than optimal handle.

** Toss in another fine effort from Ish, and this one was really never in doubt for the final 12 minutes.

** As for the future, I don’t think we are close yet to have any real conversations about getting to the NCAA tournament, even if I’m glad that we are still talking about it.

** I like how Coach Capel has kept his crew together, and they are still fighting and playing for each other. But we have to figure we need to go at least 7-2 in the final 9, with a win or two in the ACC tournament to sit squarely on the bubble.

** Nonetheless, I’m happy to at least be having such NCAA tournament dreams. Unlikely as this future outcome is, I don’t consider it a pipedream.

** Further thinking about the future, or at least next season, mostly involves Coach Capel’s ability to keep Jaland and Bub together next year. There are many other pieces he needs to add, but this duo is the foundation.

** But let’s make no mistake that Capel, barring some extreme circumstance or a total unexpected collapse, will be leading our Panthers next year. After this win and what we’ve seen recently, I’m more than OK with that.

** As for the past, it was great seeing the tributes to the 74 and 09 teams today. I’m old enough to appreciate the latter group, but not so much the former. But I’m not sure I loved any season of any team I’ve ever followed as much as I did the 2008-2009 campaign. I got a touch emotional to stand and applaud Big Fella, Levance, Gil, Jermaine and the rest.

** Before the game, those of us who gathered at Hemmingway’s were reliving many of the gamewatches we had at Rock Bottom in the past. We remembered the 125+ folks who joined together to watch Blair toss Thabeet over his shoulder.

** More and more, I hear many Pitt Hoops fans expressing they probably didn't appreciate how wonderful those days were. This includes Dixon's final 4 seasons when we made the NCAA Tournament 3 times.

** When I think of the past of Pitt Basketball, even more than the many great games I watched at the Peterson Events Center (I was there for 296 of those wins I’m proud to say) and a few hundred more at the Fitz, what I’ve enjoyed most are the many, many Pitt basketball friends I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the years.

** Today we talked about some of the Panther Hoops fans no longer with us, notably geno2u, Harve74 and Drew1208. But we also expressed a nod of appreciation to Panther Lair regulars who enjoyed Pitt Hoops to the highest degree, at gamewatches or otherwise. Even those who never join us to post anymore.

** So I'll sign off with a toast to all of these friends from the past and present, along with the new ones we will get to know in future years. Thank you!

It feels like only yesterday Harve and Drew would be posting their usual insightful thoughts. Drew even started a private BBall conversation on here where 4 or 5 of us would just chat about Pitt hoops. Damn I really miss them.

 

[Chairman Moe]

*I watched this game on tape - as I have the last few
*Kind of surprised that the feed began after the game was a few minutes in - I thought we were the first BB game on ACCN last night
*As DT_PITT said, the first 14 minutes netted us 10 points
*The final 26 minutes were much more profitable; score at THAT pace all game and we will have 90+ each night
*My #1 star of the game was Ish Leggett with Jaland and Blake close behind
*But let's not forget that Fede had some key blocks and nearly 10 boards
*The end of the game might qualify us for a SVP "Bad Beat"; weren't we favored by 10-1/2 points?
*Micah Shrewsberry has a lot to learn and manage in the ACC; he looked clueless
*I wish there had been more coverage of the '73-74 and '08-09 Pitt teams' reunion; Dan Bonner gave some love (as did Wes Durham) to those teams, but it would've been nice to have shown them during halftime
*Congrats to the Panthers for their 300th win at the Pete - in his post-game presser, Coach Capel made mention of his minor role in the number of wins, and gave credit only to Ben and Jamie (conspicuously left Stallings out of the conversation) for the litany of wins there since the building opened
*Can't disagree that it's far too soon to be talking or thinking about the NCAAT - just keep winning, though, and maybe after February we can. Lots of winnable games ahead

 

[TD_6082]

*I watched this game on tape - as I have the last few
*Kind of surprised that the feed began after the game was a few minutes in - I thought we were the first BB game on ACCN last night
*As DT_PITT said, the first 14 minutes netted us 10 points
*The final 26 minutes were much more profitable; score at THAT pace all game and we will have 90+ each night
*My #1 star of the game was Ish Leggett with Jaland and Blake close behind
*But let's not forget that Fede had some key blocks and nearly 10 boards
*The end of the game might qualify us for a SVP "Bad Beat"; weren't we favored by 10-1/2 points?
*Micah Shrewsberry has a lot to learn and manage in the ACC; he looked clueless
*I wish there had been more coverage of the '73-74 and '08-09 Pitt teams' reunion; Dan Bonner gave some love (as did Wes Durham) to those teams, but it would've been nice to have shown them during halftime
*Congrats to the Panthers for their 300th win at the Pete - in his post-game presser, Coach Capel made mention of his minor role in the number of wins, and gave credit only to Ben and Jamie (conspicuously left Stallings out of the conversation) for the litany of wins there since the building opened
*Can't disagree that it's far too soon to be talking or thinking about the NCAAT - just keep winning, though, and maybe after February we can. Lots of winnable games ahead

I disagree on Shrewsberry. I think he's a really good coach. ND is a really well coached team and they play hard for 40 minutes. The Irish is probably the least talented team in the league, and probably by a fairly wide margin. I like their freshman guards though. His son is a decent player.

Next 4 games will determine if Pitt can get back to the bubble conversation. And tbh, they probably need to win all 4.

 

[Chairman Moe]

I disagree on Shrewsberry. I think he's a really good coach. ND is a really well coached team and they play hard for 40 minutes. The Irish is probably the least talented team in the league, and probably by a fairly wide margin. I like their freshman guards though. His son is a decent player.

Next 4 games will determine if Pitt can get back to the bubble conversation. And tbh, they probably need to win all 4.

I won't disagree that we need all four of the next games in the W column to enter NCAAT bubble and/or NIT conversation. I'm sure some of we Pitt fans feel confident in the NIT regardless, but we'd have to be at least .500 in conference play or better to get in

As for Shrewsberry, I hadn't watched any of ND's games this year, and never watched him when he coached at PSU. Maybe he is a good coach, but he wasn't a good one last night

As for ND's talent, #3 has a nice game; ditto #13. Both are underclassmen (F and SO) so there is something for ND to build on for sure. Definitely didn't look like a Mike Brey team

 

[pittchagg]

I disagree on Shrewsberry. I think he's a really good coach. ND is a really well coached team and they play hard for 40 minutes. The Irish is probably the least talented team in the league, and probably by a fairly wide margin. I like their freshman guards though. His son is a decent player.

Next 4 games will determine if Pitt can get back to the bubble conversation. And tbh, they probably need to win all 4.

I think he’s gonna have to adjust to the ACC, on top of getting talent. He got a lot of mileage last year in the Big Ten by virtue of being one of the very few teams in that conference who actually pretended to care about scoring points and putting pressure on the opponent with your offense, instead of just your defense. That’s not the case in the ACC.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Yes, 10 1/2, Pitt bumbling at the end blew it up. Crazy

 

[mo cheeks]

DT,

Friends all around, even from us West Coasters.

I was there during the fantastic 73-74 season…Mooney (aka Billy Knight ) and company were stellar—the Fitz was rocking, and you went to the games that season knowing you were seeing something special …From Fran Webster’s amoeba defense, to a sparkling offense, to “Tiger“ Paul revving up the fans it was PITT-TASTIC!

it was nice this season’s squad gave us all a victory in front of former outstanding teams!

DT—thanks for taking care of all of us, even some of us several thousand miles away!

Hail to PITT!
-al-

From a Chicago based Panther fan, I was in the Burg during 73/74 and it was the beginning of my love of panther basketball. "Tiger Paul" mention brings back so many good memories. Crazy Paul, sprinting up and down the sidelines with his gold sportjacket, shirt tails flying everywhere getting people pumped out of their minds ! That elite 8 run was so much fun. The Blair/Young/Fields team was special. that team could have won it all with a few breaks. the uconn games were mind blowing. For next year, we need Bub, Ish, Jaland back and we need a Blair-Clancy, like bruiser somehow. ($) and another scorer, put that together and that team has the potential to be special. Just want to say how much I have enjoyed Pantherlair. I was so excited to find the site many years ago. amazed, actually, a web site dedicated to Pitt sports with all Pitt fans, knowledgable talk. I have never met anyone on this site, but look forward to someday doing that. I have been to several Pitt games, Ncaa games, anhything near chicago. I need to get back to the Burg more often. someday, would love to meet many of you at Hemmingways ! I enjoy all of the posters, and I have learned to not let some volatile posters bother me, I think they all have their heart in the right place. I read and enjoy DT's dribbles more than the pgh sports pages. I know those dribbles are not fun to write at times, when we lay an egg. I think maybe the funniest statement was one young poster lamenting that all of the PItt fans are going to die off soon, because so many he met were really old, (over 50!) Lets Go Pitt !!!!

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

I think he’s gonna have to adjust to the ACC, on top of getting talent. He got a lot of mileage last year in the Big Ten by virtue of being one of the very few teams in that conference who actually pretended to care about scoring points and putting pressure on the opponent with your offense, instead of just your defense. That’s not the case in the ACC.

That’s what happens when you ditch your people that got you there…

How do you not take the guy who landed you Jalen Pickett!?

 

[Harlo4PITT]

Outstanding post!
This is why I come here.
Make friends and even if we differ on other topics, be kind to one another.
H2P

 

[HailToPitt1985]

From a Chicago based Panther fan, I was in the Burg during 73/74 and it was the beginning of my love of panther basketball. "Tiger Paul" mention brings back so many good memories. Crazy Paul, sprinting up and down the sidelines with his gold sportjacket, shirt tails flying everywhere getting people pumped out of their minds ! That elite 8 run was so much fun. The Blair/Young/Fields team was special. that team could have won it all with a few breaks. the uconn games were mind blowing. For next year, we need Bub, Ish, Jaland back and we need a Blair-Clancy, like bruiser somehow. ($) and another scorer, put that together and that team has the potential to be special. Just want to say how much I have enjoyed Pantherlair. I was so excited to find the site many years ago. amazed, actually, a web site dedicated to Pitt sports with all Pitt fans, knowledgable talk. I have never met anyone on this site, but look forward to someday doing that. I have been to several Pitt games, Ncaa games, anhything near chicago. I need to get back to the Burg more often. someday, would love to meet many of you at Hemmingways ! I enjoy all of the posters, and I have learned to not let some volatile posters bother me, I think they all have their heart in the right place. I read and enjoy DT's dribbles more than the pgh sports pages. I know those dribbles are not fun to write at times, when we lay an egg. I think maybe the funniest statement was one young poster lamenting that all of the PItt fans are going to die off soon, because so many he met were really old, (over 50!) Lets Go Pitt !!!!

Really good post, mo. I was in the Fitzgerald for those games in 73/74, just graduating from Pitt the first time in '73. That was a lot of fun and I echo your thoughts about Tiger Paul and the Fitz rocking in those days. That was so much fun and that's when I began my passion for Pitt basketball. I was also at the game in 1988 when Jerome Lane smashed the backboard and the crowd, including me, went wild for the entire time they cleaned up. That pass from Sean Miller to Lane was memorable.

Then, of course, we had the Howland/Dixon years and the excellence that we are finding out now is almost impossible to duplicate. I know some of us here in the Lair appreciate how rare that is and how special those times were. The Pete was so loud in the games against UConn as I recall. I miss that.

I've never met anyone from the Lair and hope to someday. The relationships you build with Lair members is valuable, especially as many of us get into our advanced years. And blessings to those Lair members who have passed on to their version of The Pete somewhere out there. I'm sure they're enjoying this.

Take care and Hail to Pitt!!

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I was a student back when Billy Knight , Mickey Martin and company provided the most memorable yr in Pitt bb that I can remember. The Pete has never provided the atmosphere of The Field House when it was rocking and when you add Tiger Paul into the mix it‘s a first round TKO for the FH . That’s not to say that there hasn’t been great moments at the Pete , but the intimacy of the FH when packed and Tiger Paul going crazy was beyond special .


Not only is JC going nowhere I don’t believe for a second that either Bub or Jaland are too . They’re coaches sons who picked JC to be their head coach and I’m sure that they’ll be properly taken care of to ensure that they return to the Panthers . Coaches kids are different and unless they’re being misused they’re loyal to their coach . Originally I thought Bub was one and done , but he’s not ready yet .

The issue with all of JC teams is that they’ve never had enough quality players , adding PaPa and Cummings in to the mix and the right portal transfers next yr could be the year he finally has enough horses . Getting rid of him when his recruiting is starting to pay dividends would be a mistake .

How much better would this team be with Dior and Papa ?

Everyone wants Pitt to be a perennial top 20 team , but right now that ship has sailed and expecting some miracle worker to come to Pitt is wishful thinking . A competitive middle of the pack ACC team with an occasional run at the top is what we all should hope for .

As for yesterday’s game , it’s a good thing ND really sucks . It was an ACC win though .

 

[4Mark_Marty]

DT. You’re the greatest. Keep being you.

 

[TheChair]

I was a student back when Billy Knight , Mickey Martin and company provided the most memorable yr in Pitt bb that I can remember. The Pete has never provided the atmosphere of The Field House when it was rocking and when you add Tiger Paul into the mix it‘s a first round TKO for the FH . That’s not to say that there hasn’t been great moments at the Pete , but the intimacy of the FH when packed and Tiger Paul going crazy was beyond special .


Not only is JC going nowhere I don’t believe for a second that either Bub or Jaland are too . They’re coaches sons who picked JC to be their head coach and I’m sure that they’ll be properly taken care of to ensure that they return to the Panthers . Coaches kids are different and unless they’re being misused they’re loyal to their coach . Originally I thought Bub was one and done , but he’s not ready yet .

The issue with all of JC teams is that they’ve never had enough quality players , adding PaPa and Cummings in to the mix and the right portal transfers next yr could be the year he finally has enough horses . Getting rid of him when his recruiting is starting to pay dividends would be a mistake .

How much better would this team be with Dior and Papa ?

Everyone wants Pitt to be a perennial top 20 team , but right now that ship has sailed and expecting some miracle worker to come to Pitt is wishful thinking . A competitive middle of the pack ACC team with an occasional run at the top is what we all should hope for .

As for yesterday’s game , it’s a good thing ND really sucks . It was an ACC win though .

People used to say that Pitt being a perennial top 20 team was impossible before Howland/Dixon and they were one for about 15 years with the right guys coaching. So, I would not be quick to drop that dream. But, I would also embrace the reality that Capel likely is the kind of coach at Pitt that should threaten top 25 at Pitt once every 3-4 years instead of it being an annual expectation.

For next year, if they can return Carrington, Lowe, Leggett and the twins, they have a ton of bench holes but they conceptually should be able to be filled. It is clear that their best lineup is a three guard lineup and if they want to roll with that as their core, they will need Capel to be better at filling guard depth this offseason.

When they run the 3 guards with Hinson right now, they actually play to the quality of a fringe tournament team. The problem is that because they have no depth, they have to be selective in leaning on that lineup in the first half of games. They essentially have to get to points where guys are not in foul trouble and then they can look to lean harder.

To your question, I am not sure that they look much better with Kante but I think that Dior at least would be competent depth and would allow them to use their best combinations for longer parts of games. The real failure this past offseason was not adding an experienced guard besides Leggett, who I think has outperformed all expectations.

Cummings certainly should help one would think, but provided they return their guys (which is a big if), they probably need 2 players, a backcourt contributor and someone to play the 4 position (whether it is a combo forward or someone more natural in the post). Maybe Capel can sell some solid combo forward on being used like Hinson (essentially an open go to shoot whenever). But, even with what they have, if they returned it, they need some other stuff to factor.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

People used to say that Pitt being a perennial top 20 team was impossible before Howland/Dixon and they were one for about 15 years with the right guys coaching. So, I would not be quick to drop that dream. But, I would also embrace the reality that Capel likely is the kind of coach at Pitt that should threaten top 25 at Pitt once every 3-4 years instead of it being an annual expectation.

For next year, if they can return Carrington, Lowe, Leggett and the twins, they have a ton of bench holes but they conceptually should be able to be filled. It is clear that their best lineup is a three guard lineup and if they want to roll with that as their core, they will need Capel to be better at filling guard depth this offseason.

When they run the 3 guards with Hinson right now, they actually play to the quality of a fringe tournament team. The problem is that because they have no depth, they have to be selective in leaning on that lineup in the first half of games. They essentially have to get to points where guys are not in foul trouble and then they can look to lean harder.

To your question, I am not sure that they look much better with Kante but I think that Dior at least would be competent depth and would allow them to use their best combinations for longer parts of games. The real failure this past offseason was not adding an experienced guard besides Leggett, who I think has outperformed all expectations.

Cummings certainly should help one would think, but provided they return their guys (which is a big if), they probably need 2 players, a backcourt contributor and someone to play the 4 position (whether it is a combo forward or someone more natural in the post). Maybe Capel can sell some solid combo forward on being used like Hinson (essentially an open go to shoot whenever). But, even with what they have, if they returned it, they need some other stuff to factor.

The reason I think we’re most likely not to see JDs golden yrs again is the new environment of college athletics . I’m not sure Pitt has enough of the big money boosters to raise the necessary funds for acquiring / keeping the players needed to compete at that level . Every now and then yes , but not on a consistent basis .

Not adding another guard can’t be put on JC , that goes squarely on the university. You want Dior gone do it last Jan not just before the season starts and after the kid does everything asked of him .

Papa would only be a plus with the current state of Pitts inside play .

 

[mo cheeks]

The reason I think we’re most likely not to see JDs golden yrs again is the new environment of college athletics . I’m not sure Pitt has enough of the big money boosters to raise the necessary funds for acquiring / keeping the players needed to compete at that level . Every now and then yes , but not on a consistent basis .

Not adding another guard can’t be put on JC , that goes squarely on the university. You want Dior gone do it last Jan not just before the season starts and after the kid does everything asked of him .

Papa would only be a plus with the current state of Pitts inside play .

We desperately need a consistent inside scoring threat, that can post up and draw the defense for next year. in my opinion, the key miss from Capel coming into this year was not getting that type of weapon. Maybe Papa K, would of been that piece, though I doubt it, as a freshman, but maybe. DBlair did that as a freshman.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

People used to say that Pitt being a perennial top 20 team was impossible before Howland/Dixon and they were one for about 15 years with the right guys coaching. So, I would not be quick to drop that dream. But, I would also embrace the reality that Capel likely is the kind of coach at Pitt that should threaten top 25 at Pitt once every 3-4 years instead of it being an annual expectation.

For next year, if they can return Carrington, Lowe, Leggett and the twins, they have a ton of bench holes but they conceptually should be able to be filled. It is clear that their best lineup is a three guard lineup and if they want to roll with that as their core, they will need Capel to be better at filling guard depth this offseason.

When they run the 3 guards with Hinson right now, they actually play to the quality of a fringe tournament team. The problem is that because they have no depth, they have to be selective in leaning on that lineup in the first half of games. They essentially have to get to points where guys are not in foul trouble and then they can look to lean harder.

To your question, I am not sure that they look much better with Kante but I think that Dior at least would be competent depth and would allow them to use their best combinations for longer parts of games. The real failure this past offseason was not adding an experienced guard besides Leggett, who I think has outperformed all expectations.

Cummings certainly should help one would think, but provided they return their guys (which is a big if), they probably need 2 players, a backcourt contributor and someone to play the 4 position (whether it is a combo forward or someone more natural in the post). Maybe Capel can sell some solid combo forward on being used like Hinson (essentially an open go to shoot whenever). But, even with what they have, if they returned it, they need some other stuff to factor.

The twins? Cmon. Lol. They’ve been awful up to this point of their careers? How do people still like to point to them as ACC guys.

Guillermo is their 3rd best active center behind Fede and Jeffress and the other one can’t play? If they’re willing to come back as 8th/9th man and be deep bench, sure. But they are what they have been for 3 years.

 

[Franb]

The reason I think we’re most likely not to see JDs golden yrs again is the new environment of college athletics . I’m not sure Pitt has enough of the big money boosters to raise the necessary funds for acquiring / keeping the players needed to compete at that level . Every now and then yes , but not on a consistent basis .

Not adding another guard can’t be put on JC , that goes squarely on the university. You want Dior gone do it last Jan not just before the season starts and after the kid does everything asked of him .

Papa would only be a plus with the current state of Pitts inside play .

Remember that Dior appealed his dismissal, which lead to a few more months of uncertainty. You cannot blame the Pitt administration for following the process that it has in place.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Remember that Dior appealed his dismissal, which lead to a few more months of uncertainty. You cannot blame the Pitt administration for following the process that it has in place.

They never should have allowed him to continue with team activities .

 

[TheChair]

The twins? Cmon. Lol. They’ve been awful up to this point of their careers? How do people still like to point to them as ACC guys.

Guillermo is their 3rd best active center behind Fede and Jeffress and the other one can’t play? If they’re willing to come back as 8th/9th man and be deep bench, sure. But they are what they have been for 3 years.

Guillermo is definitely an ACC player. He is a mark on D when you get him moving and he needs more strength, but he can certainly play the level, should continue to get better and may develop into a guy by next year. He also fits what Capel wants to do very well. HIs worst case is as a solid rotation guy really.

They are using Jeffress situationally at the 5, but I do not take that as an indictment of Guillermo and I would bet that the moment it gets exposed Capel will run from that idea. It worked against Efton Reid for a game; also, Capel has went out of his way to find roles for Will though he consistently plays him way out of them. I do not think it will last.

Jorge? Much more of a question mark but he seems to have more feel for the game, a more diverse skill set and he moves his feet much better than Guillermo (which he should considering that he is more lean). I would be not surprised to see him improve a great deal but by the same token would not be surprised if he stays more a 10th or 11th guy.

They are still guys that Pitt really needs to have return because they help form the nucleus of something. Overturning 8-9 guys each year is not a strategy that I think Capel would be able to manage well over time.

 

[PittMan2003]

Guillermo is definitely an ACC player. He is a mark on D when you get him moving and he needs more strength, but he can certainly play the level, should continue to get better and may develop into a guy by next year. He also fits what Capel wants to do very well. HIs worst case is as a solid rotation guy really.

They are using Jeffress situationally at the 5, but I do not take that as an indictment of Guillermo and I would bet that the moment it gets exposed Capel will run from that idea. It worked against Efton Reid for a game; also, Capel has went out of his way to find roles for Will though he consistently plays him way out of them. I do not think it will last.

Jorge? Much more of a question mark but he seems to have more feel for the game, a more diverse skill set and he moves his feet much better than Guillermo (which he should considering that he is more lean). I would be not surprised to see him improve a great deal but by the same token would not be surprised if he stays more a 10th or 11th guy.

They are still guys that Pitt really needs to have return because they help form the nucleus of something. Overturning 8-9 guys each year is not a strategy that I think Capel would be able to manage well over time.

Yeah we probably lose our first game in the NCAA tournament last year without Guillermo and would have lost to Georgia Tech a few games ago without him. He’s not a star, but he is a good player to have.

 

[PittPoker]

Guillermo is definitely an ACC player. He is a mark on D when you get him moving and he needs more strength, but he can certainly play the level, should continue to get better and may develop into a guy by next year. He also fits what Capel wants to do very well. HIs worst case is as a solid rotation guy really.

They are using Jeffress situationally at the 5, but I do not take that as an indictment of Guillermo and I would bet that the moment it gets exposed Capel will run from that idea. It worked against Efton Reid for a game; also, Capel has went out of his way to find roles for Will though he consistently plays him way out of them. I do not think it will last.

Jorge? Much more of a question mark but he seems to have more feel for the game, a more diverse skill set and he moves his feet much better than Guillermo (which he should considering that he is more lean). I would be not surprised to see him improve a great deal but by the same token would not be surprised if he stays more a 10th or 11th guy.

They are still guys that Pitt really needs to have return because they help form the nucleus of something. Overturning 8-9 guys each year is not a strategy that I think Capel would be able to manage well over time.

He is NOT an ACC player, he stinks and so does his brother.

 

[Chairman Moe]

To @HailToPitt1985 and @Fsgolfdr ==> from reading your comments we were likely at a lot of games together during the Buzz Ridl / Billy Knight era of Pitt BB. I graduated CAS '74, and don't think I missed many (if any) games that season. Tiger Paul was a hoot.

As an aside. a friend of mine at Pitt and I (along with a couple of co-eds) took a road trip to Columbia, SC that BB season to see the team (unfortunately) lose to the Gamecocks. The trip was made even more "interesting" as the gas shortage was in full force, and we had to do some real negotiating to get enough gas to get there and back. That game "woke the team up" (USC dominated from start to finish), as I don't think they lost again until playing NC ST in the Elite Eight round.

 

[TD_6082]

Remember that Dior appealed his dismissal, which lead to a few more months of uncertainty. You cannot blame the Pitt administration for following the process that it has in place.

It's not only the admin process. When a coach signs a kid like Dior, he's signing up for uncertainty. Only a total moron would sign a player with Dior's history and not have a backup plan. Obviously Capel felt that way too.

 

[NTOP]

The twins? Cmon. Lol. They’ve been awful up to this point of their careers? How do people still like to point to them as ACC guys.

Guillermo is their 3rd best active center behind Fede and Jeffress and the other one can’t play? If they’re willing to come back as 8th/9th man and be deep bench, sure. But they are what they have been for 3 years.

2 years.

 

[PittMan2003]

He is NOT an ACC player, he stinks and so does his brother.

Well we would have dropped an another ACC game against Georgia Tech without him three games ago. He came through that game.

He is a nice piece to have and a good kid. No harm in him taking a roster spot at all.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

2 years.

They were at IMG postgrad for a year and every P5 staff decided they weren’t good enough. UMass was who we beat for them a year out of HS. Shockingly the same as Femi.

They’re not gonna get “bigger” or better on defense. That’s pretty obvious. Being nice kids because we’re shell shocked by so many assholes that have been recruited the last 6 years isn’t enough.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

Well we would have dropped an another ACC game against Georgia Tech without him three games ago. He came through that game.

He is a nice piece to have and a good kid. No harm in him taking a roster spot at all.

And Femi Odukale had a good 5 game stretch after XJ got bounced. Hasn’t played well at any level since.

 

[PittMan2003]

And Femi Odukale had a good 5 game stretch after XJ got bounced. Hasn’t played well at any level since.

That’s the point of having G as a depth piece. He can come through for you in a pinch and he’s a good kid and teammate. He has proven time and again he can help the team.

I guess in your dream scenario we can just have only NBA prospects at center, but that ain’t happening at Pitt.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

To @HailToPitt1985 and @Fsgolfdr ==> from reading your comments we were likely at a lot of games together during the Buzz Ridl / Billy Knight era of Pitt BB. I graduated CAS '74, and don't think I missed many (if any) games that season. Tiger Paul was a hoot.

As an aside. a friend of mine at Pitt and I (along with a couple of co-eds) took a road trip to Columbia, SC that BB season to see the team (unfortunately) lose to the Gamecocks. The trip was made even more "interesting" as the gas shortage was in full force, and we had to do some real negotiating to get enough gas to get there and back. That game "woke the team up" (USC dominated from start to finish), as I don't think they lost again until playing NC ST in the Elite Eight round.

The game I remember the best ( during my student yrs Chem‘76) was were Billy Knight almost single handily beat Duke .

As a student you sat in bleachers across from the Blue seats , when I finally graduated from Pitt ( Dental 80) we got season tickets up in the rafters were it was 100 degrees in mid Feb . A friend of mine sold the Golden Panthers a big screen tv and Heddleson ( who ran them ) said if there was ever anything he could do for him to let him know . I tried to get him to find us blue seats ( for those who never went to a game at the Field House the blue seats had backs to them and unavailable), but no go , but he moved us to 5 rows up above the blue seats on the foul line . We had a great view of Jerome’s dunk ! Boy were those bleacher seats uncomfortable , but saw a lot of great games and players over the yrs !

Always hated it when they started moving the big games to the Arena , but their worst decision was when they banned Tiger Paul form doing what he did better than any cheer squad ever did , he made the place come alive (and crazy ) !

 

[NTOP]

The game I remember the best ( during my student yrs Chem‘76) was were Billy Knight almost single handily beat Duke .

As a student you sat in bleachers across from the Blue seats , when I finally graduated from Pitt ( Dental 80) we got season tickets up in the rafters were it was 100 degrees in mid Feb . A friend of mine sold the Golden Panthers a big screen tv and Heddleson ( who ran them ) said if there was ever anything he could do for him to let him know . I tried to get him to find us blue seats ( for those who never went to a game at the Field House the blue seats had backs to them and unavailable), but no go , but he moved us to 5 rows up above the blue seats on the foul line . We had a great view of Jerome’s dunk ! Boy were those bleacher seats uncomfortable , but saw a lot of great games and players over the yrs !

Always hated it when they started moving the big games to the Arena , but their worst decision was when they banned Tiger Paul form doing what he did better than any cheer squad ever did , he made the place come alive (and crazy ) !

Those blue seats were protected by clowns like SP. I tried to get 2 and was told that there were none, and that only big contributors had. A lie, apparently.
We sat in FF row 15 (?), above the students.From 1986-2001.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

That’s the point of having G as a depth piece. He can come through for you in a pinch and he’s a good kid and teammate. He has proven time and again he can help the team.

I guess in your dream scenario we can just have only NBA prospects at center, but that ain’t happening at Pitt.

When your center room is Fede, a twin who can’t beat Fede out and a guy coming off ACL, you need to re-evaluate it. How is this hard to understand?

I’m sure he’s a nice man

 

[deepelemblues]

Yeah I've figured for a bit now that their only shot at the NCAAs is no more than 10 regular season losses and 2+ wins in the ACCT. That would put them at 23-11 at worst with a similar profile to last year's team. Definitely possible but it will be difficult

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Those blue seats were protected by clowns like SP. I tried to get 2 and was told that there were none, and that only big contributors had. A lie, apparently.
We sat in FF row 15 (?), above the students.From 1986-2001.

I had a friend who had them for yrs when nobody came to the games had his seats taken from him ! They relocated him from the second row center court to the last row near the corner. He stopped going and donating to the university.

Pitt was second fiddle to Duquesne back in those days ( 60’s ) when my friend originally bought them .

 

[Fredact]

The reason I think we’re most likely not to see JDs golden yrs again is the new environment of college athletics . I’m not sure Pitt has enough of the big money boosters to raise the necessary funds for acquiring / keeping the players needed to compete at that level . Every now and then yes , but not on a consistent basis .

I agree with the statement, but why is that? Why hasn’t Pitt turned out extremely success graduates that are passionate enough about the University’s athletics that they want to donate large sums of money?

 

[KennyHeisman8]

He is NOT an ACC player, he stinks and so does his brother.

Dude, come on.