Zara, up until about two years ago Dixon had the reputation of being a master manipulator of scheduling. He was well known for putting together a schedule that simultaneously looked good from an RPI standpoint and included almost no games that Pitt had a reasonable chance to lose. That's why games against teams like Central Arkansas and Maryland Eastern Shore are doubly disappointing. They absolutely are a departure from the scheduling philosophy of the past. During just about all of the second Steve Pederson reign at Pitt, Pitt NEVER scheduled a game like Central Arkansas. Not once. Now Steve Pederson is gone and you are blaming him for something he had absolutely nothing to do with, and, as I said before, he really didn't have anything to do with even when he was here.
Pitt didn't schedule the way that Syracuse has scheduled for one simple reason. The head coach doesn't want to. If you think that the Syracuse AD tells Jim Boeheim who he is going to schedule and where he is going to play the games you are simply wrong. If you think that Steve Pederson told Jamie Dixon who he was going to schedule and where he was going to play the games you are simply wrong. If you think that Scott Barnes is going to tell Jamie Dixon who he has to schedule and where they are going to play the games you are simply wrong. That isn't the way that big time college basketball scheduling works. The AD certainly has input, for instance as DT has said he might say that we want to play X games at home this season. But at all the big time schools the coaches do pretty much all the work in putting the schedule together. If you want to complain about Pitt not signing a contract to play Connecticut or Georgetown or whomever then lay the "blame" where it properly belongs, at the feet of the head coach and not with the athletic director.
In other words, I don't think that what you are saying is a bunch of bull. I know it.
Joe... when Dixon announced some time ago that THEY had gotten in touch with Nova and G'Town about home and home (but had gotten turned down)... I don't believe that meant that Dixon had talked on the phone with Boeheim and Thompson III... but rather... Dixon and Pederson had discussed the whole thing and it was Pederson on the phone with the Nova and G'Town ADs and they in turn discussed it with their coaches and it was then that those ADs told Pederson they were not interested.
(I don't have any first hand information on this and thus could be wrong but... that is the way it looks to me and... IMO that is the way it should be.)
Agreed.... that the head coach for all intents and purposes controls the schedule.... BUT... the AD is very involved also and can make a difference.... suggesting things to the head coach (like, lets talk to UConn) and maybe doing a better job of selling the home and home when he talks to the other ADs.
In this respect, IMO Steve Pederson was a total failure... both with the basketball program and the football program as well (particularly the hiring of 'Woody') and, despite the fact that he was a likable guy for sure, I am very happy that he is gone... and hoping that Barnes can have a MUCH more positive impact on the athletics than Pederson did.
But the BIG THING (and I believe we are not in disagreement here) is that, with the move to the ACC, our major recruitment area of NYC Metro, NJ and eastern PA, has DRIED UP... and Dixon has tried getting some players from ACC country (Newkirk, Mostella) and that has been a total failure... and with the hiring of Smoke he is trying to get players from the midwest and THAT IS NOT GONNA WORK. Now, the latest thing, bringing in 5th year grad student players.. and that should work as far as filling out the roster with capable players BUT... it is a year to year thing and you are probably not gonna get players of the caliber of Robinson, Young and Artis as grad transfers.
The thing is, if Dixon is not able to fix this problem things are gonna collapse (at least as far as us being a yearly top 20 and NCAA Tourney team) come 17/18. All the current players will be gone and there are no replacements on the horizon.
I have stated this before... what he (and Barnes) SHOULD do... is re-establish our visibility on the east coast with yearly home and homes with UConn and Temple... one game a year against Cuse at MSG.... and probably another game each year at Barclays or whatever. But noooooooooooooooooooooo.
If Dixon fixes this problem some other way.... fine... but I will not be holding my breath.
