Officially dead?

[Duneaux Harm]

At some point in the past you could look at this board’s statistics and see who all was logged in and when the last recorded high number of participants were on the board. I haven’t seen that in a long time but maybe it is hidden from me.

However those high figures always came after some calamitous loss and there would be so many threads that any thread that was highly discussed the day before was now buried on the second or third page.

After an almost thirty point, highly embarrassing loss I stopped to look at the board last night and realized that there were only a handful of posts and not much doom and despair publicized.

This felt to me like the absolute depth of death for this team and there is probably not much chance of recovery for the greater fan base until the Panther move into a semi final ACC tournament game or something like that.

Incredibly sad time to be a Pitt hoops fan. This is worse than Stallings because when he crapped the bed our anger stemmed from just recently having been in the tourney. But at this point, this level of bad is not reflected against any kind of recent success to feel longing for.

Insane.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

Ironically this board picks up steam after a few wins now.

 

[Duneaux Harm]

Ironically this board picks up steam after a few wins now.

I do note that, but the passions always seem a little half hearted. Like we are all desperately trying to find something we can hang our hats on to enjoy consistently. Then, in typical this year fashion, the team goes out and does a 180 on that enthusiasm point and you doubt why you latched on to that aspect of their play as a positive.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

The only quick way to change this attitude towards Pitt bb requires a huge capital investment at seasons end . Firing JC to hire any reasonably affordable mid major coach won’t move the needle one bit .

I doubt that winning a few more bb games a yr is worth the millions required to those in charge .

Finding a coach that will reinvigorate the program and the fan base won’t be an easy task . I’d be very surprised if they identified that coach he come here .( Hurley , Posser )

Unless they lose the rest of their games in an embarrassing way to force Heather to act JC is going nowhere .

 

[TD_6082]

The only quick way to change this attitude towards Pitt bb requires a huge capital investment at seasons end . Firing JC to hire any reasonably affordable mid major coach won’t move the needle one bit .

I doubt that winning a few more bb games a yr is worth the millions required to those in charge .

Finding a coach that will reinvigorate the program and the fan base won’t be an easy task . I’d be very surprised if they identified that coach he come here .( Hurley , Posser )

Unless they lose the rest of their games in an embarrassing way to force Heather to act JC is going nowhere .

You really believe that?

 

[HailToPitt1985]

The only quick way to change this attitude towards Pitt bb requires a huge capital investment at seasons end . Firing JC to hire any reasonably affordable mid major coach won’t move the needle one bit .

I doubt that winning a few more bb games a yr is worth the millions required to those in charge .

Finding a coach that will reinvigorate the program and the fan base won’t be an easy task . I’d be very surprised if they identified that coach he come here .( Hurley , Posser )

Unless they lose the rest of their games in an embarrassing way to force Heather to act JC is going nowhere .

I think in some ways you are right and this guy isn't going anywhere for at least another year. We're stuck with him for now. But do you think Lyke will just sit there and do nothing while more and more empty seats are very visible at The Pete every game and we keep losing more and more revenue? When a crowd of 500 shows up for the season ending games, what do you think Lyke is thinking?

 

[rockypanther]

I think in some ways you are right and this guy isn't going anywhere for at least another year. We're stuck with him for now. But do you think Lyke will just sit there and do nothing while more and more empty seats are very visible at The Pete every game and we keep losing more and more revenue? When a crowd of 500 shows up for the season ending games, what do you think Lyke is thinking?

If she doesn’t fire him I don’t think she is going to mandate anything. I don’t think he has felt much pressure from her yet. How did Milan get a promotion if she hadn’t put pressure on him after last season?

 

[Fsgolfdr]

You really believe that?

Yep , let’s just say for arguments sake that JC’s buyout is 10 of the 15 million owed to him , now if JC is making 3 million a yr what’s the cost of a needle mover going to cost Pitt 4 mil or 5 mil ? A four or a five yr contract that’s another 16-25 million .

An investment somewhere around 30 million needed to win more bb games with no real guarantee of success or fan involvement , that’s a lot of money for a university that doesn’t have a win at any cost philosophy .

Hire a mid major guy save money , but less chance of success .

Take the money out of the equation theres no question what needs done .

it won’t be hard to find someone that can produce better results , but unless they can dramatically increase attendance at games what’s the point ? Win a few more games !

Difficult decision$ lie ahead for Heather .

 

[Silkky1982]

It’s time for the major boosters to put heavy pressure on Heather Lyke. Enough is enough, this program is an embarrassment. In fact one could say this is the only athletic program at Pitt that is a complete disaster and is showing no signs of improvement.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I think in some ways you are right and this guy isn't going anywhere for at least another year. We're stuck with him for now. But do you think Lyke will just sit there and do nothing while more and more empty seats are very visible at The Pete every game and we keep losing more and more revenue? When a crowd of 500 shows up for the season ending games, what do you think Lyke is thinking?

If she doesn’t fire him I don’t think she is going to mandate anything. I don’t think he has felt much pressure from her yet. How did Milan get a promotion if she hadn’t put pressure on him after last season?

She could try to force him into staff changes , but if he refuses her only choice then is to fire him and pay him . If she’s not not in a financial position to fire him she’s powerless.

 

[gary2]

Yep , let’s just say for arguments sake that JC’s buyout is 10 of the 15 million owed to him , now if JC is making 3 million a yr what’s the cost of a needle mover going to cost Pitt 4 mil or 5 mil ? A four or a five yr contract that’s another 16-25 million .

An investment somewhere around 30 million needed to win more bb games with no real guarantee of success or fan involvement , that’s a lot of money for a university that doesn’t have a win at any cost philosophy .

Hire a mid major guy save money , but less chance of success .

Take the money out of the equation theres no question what needs done .

it won’t be hard to find someone that can produce better results , but unless they can dramatically increase attendance at games what’s the point ? Win a few more games !

Difficult decision$ lie ahead for Heather .

There were strong rumors of Capel being crooked at both Oklahoma and Duke.

People who are crooked seldom ever change.

Pitt should have investigators look into our recruitment of Efton Reid.

If they find anything amiss,they have no choice but to self report.

I see nothing wrong in using our coaches efforts to make our team better against him if it helps Heather reduce the buyout.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Cheating when acquiring players isn’t done in a vacuum , the AD might play dumb , but they know what’s going on . As do the boosters who are going to finance the acquisition.

You don’t pay unless you unless you get the prize .

Trying to reduce your buyouts by stabbing your coaches in the back really makes the job appealing to the next guy !

 

[gary2]

Cheating when acquiring players isn’t done in a vacuum , the AD might play dumb , but they know what’s going on . As do the boosters who are going to finance the acquisition.

You don’t pay unless you unless you get the prize .

Trying to reduce your buyouts by stabbing your coaches in the back really makes the job appealing to the next guy !

You stab your coach in the back to lower the buyout. Heather has proven she is capable of that for nothing offenses. This is more palatable, if a serious offense did in fact occur.

Truthful or not, Lyke by self reporting, could claim the moral high ground.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

You stab your coach in the back to lower the buyout. Heather has proven she is capable of that for nothing offenses. This is more palatable, if a serious offense did in fact occur.

Truthful or not, Lyke by self reporting, could claim the moral high ground.

Two coaches in a row , yeah coaches will be knocking down her door to work for her .

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

It's gotten to a point where I would rather just suck at basketball and know that we're not going to dump any money into the program that could have otherwise been used for football.

 

[gary2]

Two coaches in a row , yeah coaches will be knocking down her door to work for her .

I would never stand up for a coach that committed real NCAA infractions. That position is just untenable.

If it requires Lyke falling on her sword to both fire for cause and clear our reputation, so be it.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Gary, I think you're totally right....people who are crooked and cheat don't change their stripes. Even if they temporarily get on the straight and narrow, they always go back to their norm of cheating. Capel is no exception. You'd have to be naive to think that Capel hasn't cheated while at Pitt. He just isn't doing a good job at cheating either.

 

[gary2]

Gary, I think you're totally right....people who are crooked and cheat don't change their stripes. Even if they temporarily get on the straight and narrow, they always go back to their norm of cheating. Capel is no exception. You'd have to be naive to think that Capel hasn't cheated while at Pitt. He just isn't doing a good job at cheating either.

I agree.

If Pitt wanted a show cause, I believe they could find one.

Use it to fire or to leverage a lower buyout.

The Reid recruitment was very likely dirty.

 

[TD_6082]

Pitt isn't hurting for money. There is no need for those bush league tactics. If they want to fire him, pay the man his money and move on.

 

[gary2]

Pitt isn't hurting for money. There is no need for those bush league tactics. If they want to fire him, pay the man his money and move on.

They certainly acted like they were hurting for money when they employed these bush like tactics In the first place.

There was no - Pay him his money and move on.

 

[TD_6082]

They certainly acted like they were hurting for money when they employed these bush like tactics In the first place.

Which was ridiculous. That could be part of the reason they had to overpay to get a retread that hadn't had a HC gig in several years.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

It bugs me to no end when people say dumb shit like no one will want to coach here.

East Tennessee state fired their coach for sticking up for his players for kneeling for the anthem. They had close to 700 applicants when it opened. They hired a young African American assistant who could’ve waited. This is one of the most cutthroat businesses there is. NO ONE CARES. People will be lining up to take Pitt. Stop saying insane things.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Gary, I think you're totally right....people who are crooked and cheat don't change their stripes. Even if they temporarily get on the straight and narrow, they always go back to their norm of cheating. Capel is no exception. You'd have to be naive to think that Capel hasn't cheated while at Pitt. He just isn't doing a good job at cheating either.

I heard he backed a Lamborghini with a trunk full of money into the driveway to get Nate Santos.

I don't even want to imagine what tactics he had to employ to land Shaq Oladapo.

 

[gary2]

Which was ridiculous. That could be part of the reason they had to overpay to get a retread that hadn't had a HC gig in several years.

Agree. It was ridiculous.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

I heard he backed a Lamborghini with a trunk full of money into the driveway to get Nate Santos.

I don't even want to imagine what tactics he had to employ to land Shaq Oladapo.

With this guy, I wouldn't doubt it.

 

[Silkky1982]

I agree, so many people on these forums say they won’t come here, he won’t come here. How the hell does anyone know. There’s no place I hate more than Cleveland, and if a company to me and offered 500k a year, my ass is packed the next day, so I don’t want here that no one wants the Pitt job, money talks!!

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

With this guy, I wouldn't doubt it.

I just don't think there's much incentive for him to cheat here. Lose and run a clean program, and get paid a ton of money. Cheat, and risk losing a bunch of money.

I guess you could say that about any coach, though. Still, he has to know that's on Pitt's radar, so why risk it?

 

[TD_6082]

It bugs me to no end when people say dumb shit like no one will want to coach here.

East Tennessee state fired their coach for sticking up for his players for kneeling for the anthem. They had close to 700 applicants when it opened. They hired a young African American assistant who could’ve waited. This is one of the most cutthroat businesses there is. NO ONE CARES. People will be lining up to take Pitt. Stop saying insane things.

Sure they will find someone. Of course SOMEONE will accept it.

How long do you think Desmond Oliver was going to wait? He's not young. He's 52. He got the job the same way Shay & Forbes did, - he was a well known assistant at Tennessee.

Shay wasn't fired. He resigned. The situation turned toxic. A local car dealership reclaimed the staff's vehicles. The Bucs only won one of their last 10 games.

 

[Panthergrowl13]

Scott Barnes hired by Pitt as their new AD in April 2015.

Let Jamie Dixon go (TCU did not even have to pay Pitt contract compensation) who had Pitt in the NCAA Tournament almost every year when Pitt Basketball fans packed the PETE (Pitt had a waiting list of fans who wanted season tickets).

Scott Barnes announces he is leaving Pitt in December 2016 to go to Oregon State.

Some on the Basketball Board were glad when JD was let go by Barnes.

Hope they continued to purchase their Pitt Basketball season tickets.

So much damage in such a short period of time.

Short stroll down memory lane.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[gary2]

I just don't think there's much incentive for him to cheat here. Lose and run a clean program, and get paid a ton of money. Cheat, and risk losing a bunch of money.

I guess you could say that about any coach, though. Still, he has to know that's on Pitt's radar, so why risk it?

The Reid recruitment screams payment

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Scott Barnes hired by Pitt as their new AD in April 2015.

Let Jamie Dixon go (TCU did not even have to pay Pitt contract compensation) who had Pitt in the NCAA Tournament almost every year when Pitt Basketball fans packed the PETE (Pitt had a waiting list of fans who wanted season tickets).

Scott Barnes announces he is leaving Pitt in December 2016 to go to Oregon State.

Some on the Basketball Board were glad when JD was let go by Barnes.

Hope they continued to purchase their Pitt Basketball season tickets.

So much damage in such a short period of time.

Short stroll down memory lane.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

I'm sure there are some on this board who were glad when Dixon was pushed out by Barnes. You're right...I also hope they still have their season's tickets to Pitt basketball and go to every game at The Pete. But I doubt they renewed their tickets because they're blowhards.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

The Reid recruitment screams payment

Oh, there was definitely some funny busine$$ going on with that recruitment. I wouldn't doubt something like that was going on with Mintz either.

 

[gary2]

I'm sure there are some on this board who were glad when Dixon was pushed out by Barnes. You're right...I also hope they still have their season's tickets to Pitt basketball and go to every game at The Pete. But I doubt they renewed their tickets because they're blowhards.

I would have never fired Jamie or Dick Groat or Big Ben.

I would be not telling you the truth if I said I “wanted” the ACC Jamie to continue.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

Sure they will find someone. Of course SOMEONE will accept it.

How long do you think Desmond Oliver was going to wait? He's not young. He's 52. He got the job the same way Shay & Forbes did, - he was a well known assistant at Tennessee.

Shay wasn't fired. He resigned. The situation turned toxic. A local car dealership reclaimed the staff's vehicles. The Bucs only won one of their last 10 games.

Correct he resigned because he was backed into a corner? What’s the difference? And they have a brand new team (with a lot of black kids) shocking that they’re not winning. So if a good dude like Oliver would take the job at East Tennessee State to make around 250k, how many people are interested in a job with low expectations, in the ACC, at least an updated facility, making 3 mill plus? I know FOR A FACT Ryan Odom would walk here tomorrow. And for less than 3 million. That’s a proven name. Medved? Don’t know. Richie Reilly? Depends what Clemson does with Brownell but he’s not staying at South Alabama forever? How about Matt McMahon at Murray State? This is the year he’s looking to jump… or Lamont Paris, Chattanooga… also looking to jump.

the point about ETSU wasn’t supposed to be a perfect point. It was an example of how someone good is willing to take this job regardless and for people to stop saying silly things like we can’t attract a candidate. It’s stupid as shit and devoid of any reality. No one thought we could land a guy like Capel last time and on paper it was a good hire. Money talks in any industry.

 

[MalvernPanther]

It has that late 90’s feel, but less enthusiasm because this team‘s talent is much worse.
5-10 years after any marked success.
Apathy at the highest degree