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OK. But who would you hire?

Take a good look at what Crean did at Indiana, you might change your mind. Especially if you are someone who wasn't happy with Dixon's results. Some on this board expect Stallings to make the NIT in year 3, Crean lost 20 in his 3rd year at IU.
Crean had to clean house though, and he did essentially what stallings is doing in year two. In Crean's first season he returned only 2 walk ons, his best returning player went pro, and he was cleaning up from the mess that Kelvin Sampson created, which was a real mess, not the so-called mess people say Dixon left. We are talking recruiting violations and multiple scholarship players kicked off the team while Dakich was interim.

I like Crean, he is only 51 and has had some success. I don't know who a good up and comer might be, I do think a coach like Crean would be able to bring in an interesting staff and generate some interest from the casual fans.
 
Crean had to clean house though, and he did essentially what stallings is doing in year two. In Crean's first season he returned only 2 walk ons, his best returning player went pro, and he was cleaning up from the mess that Kelvin Sampson created, which was a real mess, not the so-called mess people say Dixon left. We are talking recruiting violations and multiple scholarship players kicked off the team while Dakich was interim.

I like Crean, he is only 51 and has had some success. I don't know who a good up and comer might be, I do think a coach like Crean would be able to bring in an interesting staff and generate some interest from the casual fans.

Speaking of Sampson, for all his issues he is a hell of a coach, much better than Crean.
 
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Crean had to clean house though, and he did essentially what stallings is doing in year two. In Crean's first season he returned only 2 walk ons, his best returning player went pro, and he was cleaning up from the mess that Kelvin Sampson created, which was a real mess, not the so-called mess people say Dixon left. We are talking recruiting violations and multiple scholarship players kicked off the team while Dakich was interim.

I like Crean, he is only 51 and has had some success. I don't know who a good up and comer might be, I do think a coach like Crean would be able to bring in an interesting staff and generate some interest from the casual fans.
Crean is a totally unlikable person. I'd prefer Kevin Willard, but he'd never come here after the awful treatment our "Field House Fanatics" tossed at him.
 
-All the midmajor guys this board (some of it anyway) was talking about wanting as our new coach are all fully rebuilding programs or rebuilt them already and all of them have prized recruits coming in.

-I was on board supporting 4 of these 5 guys.

Hurley-Arizona State
Beard-Texas Tech
Keatts-NC STATE
Drew-Vanderbilt
Wade-LSU

-All from midmajor programs to the P5.

-These were the Top 5 midmajor Coaches some of us kept talking about over and over on this board before Stallings was hired and some of you wanted a P5 has been or never was. All 5 of them are rebuilding their programs and all of them are recruiting very well.

-We have had 3 former coaches that never Coached P5 come in here and built up the program. Why on earth would we take a P5 Coach that sucks, like Crean.

-Go Midmajor 100%.

-Our Current Coach sucks. No improvement. No incoming recruits. No Crowds.

-Fire him and eat the loss, our grave is already dug, lets not put even more dirt on it.

-We are just about dead as a program. Cut the Cancer- Stallings, and restart.

-Crowd levels of 1000 fans next year in the non conference and acc isnt cutting it. We might as well sit the season out and not even play.
 
Speaking of Sampson, for all his issues he is a hell of a coach, much better than Crean.
He may be a hell of a coach, but he got two major universities slapped with three year probations, and basically got himself kept out of coaching for 5 years.
 
Crean is a totally unlikable person. I'd prefer Kevin Willard, but he'd never come here after the awful treatment our "Field House Fanatics" tossed at him.
Yeah I don't think Willard is an option but I do like him as a coach.
Its really a tough call, there are a lot of good coaches I suspect, but sometimes it has to do with timing and fit too. Stallings is likely a fine coach, but he wasn't the right coach for this situation.
 
He may be a hell of a coach, but he got two major universities slapped with three year probations, and basically got himself kept out of coaching for 5 years.

Yeah that’s the problem with hiring him. Cleaner than Pitino but still pretty dirty.

I really like what he’s doing with Houson, has turned that program around. Entertaining as well.
 
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I will throw out a few mid major coaches.

Eric Musselman
TJ Otzelberger
Steve Forbes
Nathan Davis
Joe Dooley
 
Zero chance Pitt gets a proven winner.

Didn't get one after Howland's success. Didn't get one after Dixon's success. Surely won't get one after Stallings failure.

Think young MACish, A10ish type coach.
 
Matta is just a Stallings who can recruit. Ditto for Crean.

And it is ludicrous to think Pitt can't become relevant again... soon. State of PA has a ton of bball talent. So what they aren't in Allegheny County? 90% of them are within a 3hr drive. Urban campus... nice facilities... good school. Everything needed for success. Paul Evans was able to get talent out of eastern PA and was playing in a high school gym and was a horrible coach. Dixon/Howland never took advantage of eastern PA - probably because they had no contacts and never bothered making contacts and were so arrogant they believed it was their magic coaching 8-ball that led to the early success.

Look at that dope at PSU. All he has is contacts and he's able to get talent. Pitt just needs to get the right guy. Stop ignoring reality.

We had good relationships in Philly until we screwed over a recruit for Birch.
 
-All the midmajor guys this board (some of it anyway) was talking about wanting as our new coach are all fully rebuilding programs or rebuilt them already and all of them have prized recruits coming in.

-I was on board supporting 4 of these 5 guys.

Hurley-Arizona State
Beard-Texas Tech
Keatts-NC STATE
Drew-Vanderbilt
Wade-LSU

-All from midmajor programs to the P5.

-These were the Top 5 midmajor Coaches some of us kept talking about over and over on this board before Stallings was hired and some of you wanted a P5 has been or never was. All 5 of them are rebuilding their programs and all of them are recruiting very well.

-We have had 3 former coaches that never Coached P5 come in here and built up the program. Why on earth would we take a P5 Coach that sucks, like Crean.

-Go Midmajor 100%.

-Our Current Coach sucks. No improvement. No incoming recruits. No Crowds.

-Fire him and eat the loss, our grave is already dug, lets not put even more dirt on it.

-We are just about dead as a program. Cut the Cancer- Stallings, and restart.

-Crowd levels of 1000 fans next year in the non conference and acc isnt cutting it. We might as well sit the season out and not even play.
You are back. Did you temporarily ban yourself after the SEC won both playoff games?
 
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I will throw out a few mid major coaches.

Eric Musselman
TJ Otzelberger
Steve Forbes
Nathan Davis
Joe Dooley
Musselman is an interesting one. My wife and I are from Sacramento and follow the kings and I liked him there, but he didn't get a fair shake as that organization is a mess. He has a lot of NBA experience but seems to have Nevada playing quite well. I'm not sure how he is as a recruiter though.
 
Musselman is an interesting one. My wife and I are from Sacramento and follow the kings and I liked him there, but he didn't get a fair shake as that organization is a mess. He has a lot of NBA experience but seems to have Nevada playing quite well. I'm not sure how he is as a recruiter though.
I would keep tabs on the 5 I listed earlier, and another one under the radar is Ryan Ridder.
 
Musselman is an interesting one. My wife and I are from Sacramento and follow the kings and I liked him there, but he didn't get a fair shake as that organization is a mess. He has a lot of NBA experience but seems to have Nevada playing quite well. I'm not sure how he is as a recruiter though.
I would keep tabs on the 5 I listed earlier, and another one under the radar is Ryan Ridder.

How many more season tickets would any of your guys, which nobody ever had of, sell? 250? 500?
 
How many more season tickets would any of your guys, which nobody ever had of, sell? 250? 500?

Probably none the first year.

Win some games and recruit better and hopefully attendance appreciates on a yearly basis.

Pitt is not in a position to take a chance on and a "perceived " up and comer that creates 0 buzz and sells 0 tickets. If you are going to pay a buyout, you have to offset that with increased ticket sales which Matta or Crean do
 
How many more season tickets would any of your guys, which nobody ever had of, sell? 250? 500?
1) It provides hope. There is ZERO hope with Stallings.

2) Howland was handed a mess, but excitement built over time because of the progress he was making.

3) The longer u wait, the worse the hole becomes.

Hope sells 0 tickets in Year 1. These guys are available every year. If you're not going to sell any tickets, and going to hire a coach who has a greater chance to fail than to succeed, you might as well give Stallings a 3rd year and 1 more recruiting class to see if he's going to do something. To me, paying a higher buyout to bring in a coach from Vermont or Charleston is stupid
 
How many more season tickets would any of your guys, which nobody ever had of, sell? 250? 500?

To be fair I think many basketball fans know who Musselman is if only because of his NBA experience.

I don’t think Crean or Matta are going to increase season tickets all that much either. With the damage that’s been done to the program they’re going to have to show they can win first.
 
To be fair I think many basketball fans know who Musselman is if only because of his NBA experience.

I don’t think Crean or Matta are going to increase season tickets all that much either. With the damage that’s been done to the program they’re going to have to show they can win first.

Exactly. Unless you hire a huge name, it's not going to do much for the attendance issue right away.
 
Exactly. Unless you hire a huge name, it's not going to do much for the attendance issue right away.

I think of the options, Musselman is the most appealing.

We know this isn't the largest, most educated basketball fan base (except the obvious posters on this site.) I think if Musselman (who is from eastern Ohio) would come here - I think the general fan that has walked away would at least take notice and monitor the situation. As everyone stated, it will take consistent winning to get them to buy tickets again but at least we'll get their attention. Obviously the AD needs to provide adequate support and resources and I think that he and his staff, with their NBA ties, COULD take recruiting to a level we may have never witnessed here before. Every kid wants to play in 'the league' and they want someone with direct ties to get them there. I know Stallings has a few and Dixon fewer but nether were employed by the league and can demonstrate exactly what it would take.

I believe this puts him ahead of Matta & Crean and IMHO the general Pitt bball public isn't going to know anybody else on that list. That will prolong the recovery time to recoup the fan base and support that will make our PITT HOOPS GREAT AGAIN (oops! sorry!! I got carried away).

The ball is in the court of the AD - I as a hoop fan hope they stop the fiasco and I can enjoy going to the games and root for "our" Panthers as opposed to going to the games and pray that we don't break a new futility record!!
 
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-Getting back to teams making a turnaround.

-2 years ago BC finished the season on a 20 game losing streak. They hired Jim Christian off of Ohio. BC is 12-6 this year, and is on the verge of being 3-3 in the ACC. They turned it around. BC, a school similar to Rutgers. Beat Duke this year and lost to Virginia by 1 point. And they are blasting Florida State right now.

-2 years ago BC was 0-18 in the ACC. Last year 2-16.

-Its pathetic where Pitt currently is at. Get a midmajor coach
 
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Hope sells 0 tickets in Year 1. These guys are available every year. If you're not going to sell any tickets, and going to hire a coach who has a greater chance to fail than to succeed, you might as well give Stallings a 3rd year and 1 more recruiting class to see if he's going to do something. To me, paying a higher buyout to bring in a coach from Vermont or Charleston is stupid

If we get many more performances like the GT game, I just don't see how this continues. I used to think there was no way he would get fired this season, now I'm starting to really sense he will, and I don't think I'm alone. The GT effort was just so bad. And moreso than just attendance, maybe you just need to make sure this guy isn't running the program anymore, no matter the cost. Is he that toxic? Not sure.
 
-Getting back to teams making a turnaround.

-2 years ago BC finished the season on a 20 game losing streak. They hired Jim Christian off of Ohio. BC is 12-6 this year, and is on the verge of being 3-3 in the ACC. They turned it around. BC, a school similar to Rutgers. Beat Duke this year and lost to Virginia by 1 point. And they are blasting Florida State right now.

-2 years ago BC was 0-18 in the ACC. Last year 2-16.

-Its pathetic where Pitt currently is at. Get a midmajor coach


I mean, that's kind of a big deal for Pitt. BC's roster, their younger players, are clearly better than ours. Clemson is improving. Who in this league is dropping back far enough that Pitt can pass them next season?

Wake has a tremendous recruiting class. GT had good young players. Cuse? NC State? Va Tech?

Even if Luther comes back, we are going to be picked last.
 
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-Getting back to teams making a turnaround.

-2 years ago BC finished the season on a 20 game losing streak. They hired Jim Christian off of Ohio. BC is 12-6 this year, and is on the verge of being 3-3 in the ACC. They turned it around. BC, a school similar to Rutgers. Beat Duke this year and lost to Virginia by 1 point. And they are blasting Florida State right now.

-2 years ago BC was 0-18 in the ACC. Last year 2-16.

-Its pathetic where Pitt currently is at. Get a midmajor coach

BC
0-18
2-16
8-10????

This is a very similar path that Pitt may be on. What's helped them is the development of the 2 Carolina kids, Bowman and Robinson developing into all-ACC type talent.

For Pitt, best case is:

2-16
7-11
10-8

Worst case is
0-18
2-16
4-14
 
BC
0-18
2-16
8-10????

This is a very similar path that Pitt may be on. What's helped them is the development of the 2 Carolina kids, Bowman and Robinson developing into all-ACC type talent.

For Pitt, best case is:

2-16
7-11
10-8

Worst case is
0-18
2-16
4-14
Pitt doesn’t have Bowman and Robinson. Stallings recruiting provides little to no hope.
 
BC
0-18
2-16
8-10????

This is a very similar path that Pitt may be on. What's helped them is the development of the 2 Carolina kids, Bowman and Robinson developing into all-ACC type talent.

For Pitt, best case is:

2-16
7-11
10-8

Worst case is
0-18
2-16
4-14
Pitt doesn’t have Bowman and Robinson. Stallings recruiting provides little to no hope.

Not right now but maybe guys develop. Next year's class isnt good. Badly needs a really good, Top 20ish 2019 class. Could help save his job.
 
Great posts!

Sweet dreams or nightmares to everyone posting on this topic.

Stallings is going nowhere, I repeat nowhere, for atleast two more years!

He was a proven average to below average basketball coach with many years of stats to back up his below average performance yet Pitt hired him.

At this time he may not be meeting the Pitt admin win /loss goals but he is meeting the lets cut athletic department costs goal which will keep him around for a while in hopes that his performance improves.

Let's say he picks it up and starts to win some games I think you're looking at the long term Pitt basketball coach.


"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go Pitt & CSU Rams!
 
Great posts!

Sweet dreams or nightmares to everyone posting on this topic.

Stallings is going nowhere, I repeat nowhere, for atleast two more years!

He was a proven average to below average basketball coach with many years of stats to back up his below average performance yet Pitt hired him.

At this time he may not be meeting the Pitt admin win /loss goals but he is meeting the lets cut athletic department costs goal which will keep him around for a while in hopes that his performance improves.

Let's say he picks it up and starts to win some games I think you're looking at the long term Pitt basketball coach.


"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go Pitt & CSU Rams!
People should boycott Stallings and Nutting.
 
Smf
Stallings didnt have to rebuild the program that was HIS choice.
I get tired of people blaming things on dixon.
As well as the rebuild excuse.
Easy to forget Dixon was in a worse situaion.and look where he is.
Everything that happened was Stallings doing and nobody else !!!
Vanderbilt was firing him, so why hire a fired coach with a pedigree at best (and i think im being generous) then the one you let go . Arent you supposed to improve on your last coach ?
And why as Pitt fans is him rebuilding and making us the laughingstock of the ACC ok ?
He needs defense and rebounding to win in the ACC. Pitt doesnt have it now and its not coming in the near future. He believes in shooters.
If he finishes in the bottom of the conference- fire him. Another year sets the program back 2-3 years.
Is that (really) acceptable for us as fans ?
So here’s your lineup
Best case
Center Nix and Manigualt
Forwards Luther and Cam
Guards Kithcart and Wilson
Being that Luther is injured that puts CM in the starting lineup .
I’d take Pitts current players over that .
 
So here’s your lineup
Best case
Center Nix and Manigualt
Forwards Luther and Cam
Guards Kithcart and Wilson
Being that Luther is injured that puts CM in the starting lineup .
I’d take Pitts current players over that .
You do realize Dixon would have additional players from the last 2 Recruiting classes. Possible Jucos, Fr, and Grad Transfers. I can guarantee you Dixon would have won more conference and overall games than Stallings, and his team would beat this one.
 
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