1. To start, I just want to say that I am so damn proud of this team. The resilience and poise and togetherness that they have shown the past 2 years is exciting to watch.
2. I have always been a pretty big Dixon Fan. But I doubt he would have gotten the same result with this team. There's something about the trust and freedom Capel gives to his guards that seems to help players blossom. I think that, and their innate talent has a lot to do with the growth of Bub and Jaland this year. It has been a long time since we have seen 2 freshman play this well. Very excited for the future with the hopes that they stay.
3. At the beginning of this year, I thought there was no way in hell, this team would have a chance to make the NCAA tournament. Just too many new players, too much youth. They have pretty dramatically exceeded my expectations
4. While Pitt may or may not make the NCAA tournament, we all know they DESERVE to be in the tournament!
5. The metrics that they use to pick at large teams really really sucks. To reward teams to kick the crap out of their opponent when the game is already in hand will lead to late game injuries to starters when it really isn't necessary. It also means less playing time to subs which is disappointing.
6. About the time Pitt started to turn around, after a 1-5 start in conference play, the culture that Capel tries to build started to show. They play together. No finger pointing about bad results. No complaints about lack of playing time. They play for each other and are excited for each other. We saw this last year too. This is the culture that Capel tries to build. He wants players that really want to play at Pitt. He wants players that are excited for the success of their teammates. Can he maintain that culture? We will see. That can be a hard thing to do. If he can keep this up, that is a recipe for success.
7. If Pitt doesn't have too much attrition, I am hopeful with the transfer portal, that this team could be a top 4 team again in the ACC conference, with a preseason conference slate/performance that shows that.
Exciting times, indeed!
2. I have always been a pretty big Dixon Fan. But I doubt he would have gotten the same result with this team. There's something about the trust and freedom Capel gives to his guards that seems to help players blossom. I think that, and their innate talent has a lot to do with the growth of Bub and Jaland this year. It has been a long time since we have seen 2 freshman play this well. Very excited for the future with the hopes that they stay.
3. At the beginning of this year, I thought there was no way in hell, this team would have a chance to make the NCAA tournament. Just too many new players, too much youth. They have pretty dramatically exceeded my expectations
4. While Pitt may or may not make the NCAA tournament, we all know they DESERVE to be in the tournament!
5. The metrics that they use to pick at large teams really really sucks. To reward teams to kick the crap out of their opponent when the game is already in hand will lead to late game injuries to starters when it really isn't necessary. It also means less playing time to subs which is disappointing.
6. About the time Pitt started to turn around, after a 1-5 start in conference play, the culture that Capel tries to build started to show. They play together. No finger pointing about bad results. No complaints about lack of playing time. They play for each other and are excited for each other. We saw this last year too. This is the culture that Capel tries to build. He wants players that really want to play at Pitt. He wants players that are excited for the success of their teammates. Can he maintain that culture? We will see. That can be a hard thing to do. If he can keep this up, that is a recipe for success.
7. If Pitt doesn't have too much attrition, I am hopeful with the transfer portal, that this team could be a top 4 team again in the ACC conference, with a preseason conference slate/performance that shows that.
Exciting times, indeed!
