Lied about?You have no proof that Dixon wasn't pushed out. None. and I have no proof he was. None. But Barnes lied.
As to who was a better choice?? Dixon, emphatically.
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Lied about?You have no proof that Dixon wasn't pushed out. None. and I have no proof he was. None. But Barnes lied.
As to who was a better choice?? Dixon, emphatically.
Ridiculous. If Stallings has a good year, it's with Dixon's players. More power to him. If he craters, more shame to Barnes. Don't expect lights out, though, as Dixon supposedly couldn't recruit well enough to win.
Frankly, I don't care what national OR local writers have to say. Lots of folks were up in arms when Dixon was hired....by Nordenberg. They shut up after 31-5. Let's see what KS can do.
This is the only line that matters:
"For both Pitt and Tech, basketball insiders say their lofty initial hopes were shot down."
S.O.P. is to NOT comment, unless you have absolutely no interest. I changed jobs a lot, never leveraged an offer from elsewhere. Of course, I only had a couple dollars as a buyout...the highest was $4.79.I guess it depends on what would have made him stay. He was under contract, was he looking for another raise or extension? Not sure what was said behind closed doors.. Just once it would have been nice if Dixon stopped these rumors without getting a raise first..
Maybe Dixon wasn't pushed out, but the boosters absolutely had a part in him wanting to leave.
As far as stallings, I expect a top 6 seed next year, and to win 11+ ACC games as he has a pretty good roster coming back. If he does any worse than that, Barnes needs to be shown the door.
Some people would have us all believe that Pitt is a terrible job, where nobody can win, where the fans are ungrateful idiots who don't deserve anything, where the weather is a serious deterrent to any basketball coach, located in the only town in America where the media is tough on the team and sub-par.
I believe big money boosters had a hand in Dixon leaving. They were making noise for a while and Dixon leaving was pretty much a foregone conclusion weeks before the Wisky game. And Barnes lied through the whole process, search firm and all. I also agree with the statement that someone made that no matter how this Stallings thing transpires, we should not forget that our AD lied and is not a man of integrity and decency. Regardless of what Stallings does or doesn't do, Barnes is not my choice as an AD and I want him gone.
I also expect Stallings to get us back in the NCAAT as a minimum 6 seed next year and win 11+ ACC games, or the season and his evaluation will be one of a major underachievement. Do I think he'll be able to do that? No, I don't. But this won't be Stallings' fault. This is 100% on Barnes and the big money boosters. They will have to answer for this. It was a mediocre hire made by an incompetent AD pressured by a bunch of big mouth donors.
Nonsense...you have no idea what transpired. At the LEAST, 12 of 13 kids on scholie are Dixon recruits. I hope they have a great year. But it'll take a while to make this Stallings recruits. So, if the results this coming year aren't as good as last season, shouldn't KS take some heat?? He's walked into a better situation, but a deeper conference. I'll be OK if he makes the NCAAT. Dixon's work at TCU will be tougher....they're in worse shape than Pitt was in 1999....no Ricky Greer. I doubt he'll have a winning season.-So we should give Dixon credit for winning next year, when he couldnt win in the NCAA Tournament again this year and he left? Why would I give Dixon any credit for next years team? If Dixon thought the grass was Brown on Pitt's team going into next year and the future and he left for TCU, now we are supposed to give him credit? Dixon is gone, so is Knight. Now we have a contest.
Stallings and Barnes vs Dixon and Knight. Its on the table now.
-No one is giving Pitt respect next year. No one. A team that returns 6 of its top 7 scorers that made the NCAA Tournament, had a Top 50 offense and defense in efficiency, and had wins over a Sweet 16 team, and Elite 8 team, and 3 wins over a Final 4 team. Ive never heard of such lunacy (of getting no hype at all after all that outside the fact most sportwriters thinks Stallings is garbage and Barnes is a jackass for hiring him. Stallings and Barnes are expected to win now. Not tomorrow, not 3 years from today, not under the 17 year plan, NOW.
Where were you in the 1980's?? Pitt was a mess. Lots of interference, bad admin. Sound familiar??I believe big money boosters had a hand in Dixon leaving.
-You can bet your life savings on that because its a sure winning comment.
Nonsense...you have no idea what transpired. At the LEAST, 12 of 13 kids on scholie are Dixon recruits. I hope they have a great year. But it'll take a while to make this Stallings recruits. So, if the results this coming year aren't as good as last season, shouldn't KS take some heat?? He's walked into a better situation, but a deeper conference. I'll be OK if he makes the NCAAT. Dixon's work at TCU will be tougher....they're in worse shape than Pitt was in 1999....no Ricky Greer. I doubt he'll have a winning season.
And Barnes can't recruit & Knight is out of the picture. Nice try. Consensus on this board seemed to be that Pitt will be better w/o JRob. I hope so....I like the 3 new guys, and maybe KS can snare a center.
im a college hoops fan too and I've never heard of him.. never found value in following national media types with regards to their coverage of local teams.. Is there anything that he or any national blogger can tell you or write about that you don't already know about your team? Its like reading about pirates pitching manager article in SI, cool that he gets the recognition but is there anything in that article that I don't already know? Of course not.. That's why im not too interested in reading national bloggers/writers and their coverage of pitt..
This is more or less exactly what college coaches were telling people when asked about their interest in the job.
Whether you believe it or not, that matters very little. All that matters is how the people who will be courted here perceive it.
Hell, you have literally one timeframe where you can frame Dixon's tenure as a failure (ironically, it's a different timeframe than the one used last year as the optimum time period to evaluate a coach by, although it's the same posters who are using the arbitrary endpoints to suit their needs) and there are people who are dumb enough to cling to it and go down kicking and screaming about it being relevant.
Where were you in the 1980's?? Pitt was a mess. Lots of interference, bad admin. Sound familiar??
You still refuse to answer my question after a week.....that's ok I get it, you hope to keep throwing something out there i.e. Barnes lied, no integrity, yada, yada, yada, hopefully it will stick for you...I believe big money boosters had a hand in Dixon leaving. They were making noise for a while and Dixon leaving was pretty much a foregone conclusion weeks before the Wisky game. And Barnes lied through the whole process, search firm and all. I also agree with the statement that someone made that no matter how this Stallings thing transpires, we should not forget that our AD lied and is not a man of integrity and decency. Regardless of what Stallings does or doesn't do, Barnes is not my choice as an AD and I want him gone.
I also expect Stallings to get us back in the NCAAT as a minimum 6 seed next year and win 11+ ACC games, or the season and his evaluation will be one of a major underachievement. Do I think he'll be able to do that? No, I don't. But this won't be Stallings' fault. This is 100% on Barnes and the big money boosters. They will have to answer for this. It was a mediocre hire made by an incompetent AD pressured by a bunch of big mouth donors.
I don't know, with this situation, what is this guy going to tell you about stallings that hasn't been discussed a million times on this board. What is some ACC blogger going to tell you about pitt football that, again, hasn't been discussed on here countless times?? Just don't see the point.. I know about stallings and what he did at Vanderbilt, some guy on yahoo sports (or wherever he is from) isn't opening my eyes or exposing me to anything I don't already know..I'd HIGHLY recommend national writers/bloggers over Pittsburgh's mainstream media for almost anything. Pirates and Penguins have some good niche blogs, but DK, the Trib, the Post-Gazette, and BCT are trash.
That's spin. Or do you have quotes from coaches? I'm guessing John Miller is the best you can do. But, if you've got a quote from a current coach, please link. As far as I can tell, this narrative can be sourced back to Pitt's own athletic department. Neither Matt, nor any other source close to the action indicated that people were crapping on the Pitt job... as far as I remember. In fact, Stallings was a name that snuck up on everybody and then.. BOOM.. the ink was dry. It's too convenient to say everybody hated the Pitt job.
What in the world are you talking about with that last bit? Dixon did a fantastic job here. Then he let it run off the rails. Nobody's saying he was a failure, in total. He just ceased to be the right man for the job.. for several reasons... not the least of which were that his heart wasn't in it, or that his weakness as a recruiter were exacerbated by the ACC move.
I don't know, with this situation, what is this guy going to tell you about stallings that hasn't been discussed a million times on this board. What is some ACC blogger going to tell you about pitt football that, again, hasn't been discussed on here countless times?? Just don't see the point.. I know about stallings and what he did at Vanderbilt, some guy on yahoo sports (or wherever he is from) isn't opening my eyes or exposing me to anything I don't already know..
RIGHT?Hell the national media was still praising Pitt for tough physical D, when in fact this wave of players wouldn't put a hard body on you unless the opposing player ran into them
You still refuse to answer my question after a week.....that's ok I get it, you hope to keep throwing something out there i.e. Barnes lied, no integrity, yada, yada, yada, hopefully it will stick for you...
get a clue
I believe big money boosters had a hand in Dixon leaving.
-You can bet your life savings on that because its a sure winning comment.
national guys come in from a blimp view as opposed to a possible biased view of a local guy, i'll give you that. I like the fine details though, info I don't know about. I've been very critical of football beat writers for pitt (Werner and dipalo) but was impressed last year, especially with Werner. Give me the updates that I don't know about, I'm not concerned about what some girl who writes for espn, thinks about the ACC and where we'll end up at, I have my own opinions on that and have just as much info as she/he does..Yeah, Forde rehashed things a bit. Still, though, I thought Parrish was excellent during his coverage of Pitt's job search.
I do agree that this site specifically is very, very good in its coverage and scoops. I think nationally though you have some writers who really actually know their stuff and have legitimate contacts. That, to me, has value. I don't need to read Rob Rossi articles about the Pirates owing Neil Walker a contract because he's from Pittsburgh (which is about the level of analysis most mainstream Pittsburgh writers offer) when I can instead read a national guy who breaks down the pros and cons of the move and sees the big picture.
I think everybody who had sources on the coaching side is saying one thing, while everybody who had sources on the Pitt side is saying nothing. To me, one of those is far more credible than the other.
How's Ray Mernagh's tweet where he polled coaches and they put it in the 50-60 range work for you? He's a Pittsburgh guy, he wrote for this site, and has contacts all throughout the industry. Is that enough, or are we going to move the arbitrary line of where "credibility" lies in this search again?
The final paragraph was just showing how dumb and infantile a relatively sizable portion of the fanbase is. They had one point they could use to paint Dixon in a bad light (after defending their use of a DIFFERENT point in time last year) and just clung to it and shouted it from the rooftops over and over.
Why would coaches feel like that's a rational fanbase with reasonable expectations?
national guys come in from a blimp view as opposed to a possible biased view of a local guy, i'll give you that. I like the fine details though, info I don't know about. I've been very critical of football beat writers for pitt (Werner and dipalo) but was impressed last year, especially with Werner. Give me the updates that I don't know about, I'm not concerned about what some girl who writes for espn, thinks about the ACC and where we'll end up at, I have my own opinions on that and have just as much info as she/he does..
No, Ray Mernagh is a great source. Let's go with his 40-50 range. Stallings was the best available option for a top 40-50 job?
Is USC in the top 50? Is Vanderbilt, where Drew landed, a top 50 job? How about Oklahoma State? Xavier?
If it's true that Stallings really was a last ditch hire after numerous whifs... why are the list of schools so.... Pitt-like?
And let's not forget... Pitt was paying its hoops coach quite nicely.
I think that is a "trap" that a lot of us fell into. I agree, how would a small school like Nova or Xavier ever be considered a better job than a program in a P5 conference? holds water with football, not so much with hoops..I don't think it's like football at all where being P5 is a massive advantage.
There's a difference between reporting and editorializing. In the age of blogs and blog networks, a lot more people are offering what you describe. Guys like Katz, Forde, etc. have actual sources and industry contacts. They aren't just throwing darts at the wall like Curtain on how well he thinks a new coach will do. They are actually talking to people involved. I don't personally like Zeise, but he had some interesting counterarguments with quotes from Howland, etc. praising Stallings. Nobody on this board is going to get Howland quotes, but actual reporters do that.
Much easier to just get paid comparably at a mid-major school and then jump to a job that affords an easier path to winning.
The difference in football is that even most P5 schools are objectively out of contention for the playoff. Pitt might be lucky to make it once in 25 years. The barrier for entry for a competitive basketball team is significantly lower.
I think the real issue is more that fans and ADs at P5 schools are becoming increasingly impatient with coaches. There's almost zero reason to take a job with a losing or mediocre school in a P5 league at this point, because you're almost surely going to get fired within 4-6 years. There's only a few guys like Stallings that managed to hang around so long with arguably mediocre results: Hamilton, Romar, etc.
As I said in another thread, positive momentum these days is incredibly over-valued, and incredibly fleeting. If you're Marshall and take a job at Rutgers, for instance, you're going to use up all your mojo very quickly and suddenly you're just another average coach. These guys (Marshall, Smart, Few, etc.) can name their job, and it's pretty wise of them to not make a dumb choice.
7) I make a lot more money then any of those guys. And I know a lot more about sports and college basketball then any of those guys. I told everyone Pitt would make the Tournament last year when no one predicted it preseason.
From my recollection, expecting this team to barely make the field was pretty much the consensus last year, myself included. If you want to pound your chest based on that prediction, go right ahead.
I don't value your predictions at all, nor do I value the predictions of anyone else. My only point was that you aren't picking up the phone and talking with coaches, players, or administrators. Reporters deal with facts, editorials speak with conjecture. You've already anointed Stallings as COY practically, and there's no factual basis to back it up. There are no facts here, because we're talking about events that haven't happened.
yep, realistically there are 4-6 teams that even have a remote chance to win the National championship, in hoops, much different.. Outside of ND, an non P5 program has zero chance of winning it, in football.The difference in football is that even most P5 schools are objectively out of contention for the playoff. Pitt might be lucky to make it once in 25 years. The barrier for entry for a competitive basketball team is significantly lower.
I think the real issue is more that fans and ADs at P5 schools are becoming increasingly impatient with coaches. There's almost zero reason to take a job with a losing or mediocre school in a P5 league at this point, because you're almost surely going to get fired within 4-6 years. There's only a few guys like Stallings that managed to hang around so long with arguably mediocre results: Hamilton, Romar, etc.
As I said in another thread, positive momentum these days is incredibly over-valued, and incredibly fleeting. If you're Marshall and take a job at Rutgers, for instance, you're going to use up all your mojo very quickly and suddenly you're just another average coach. These guys (Marshall, Smart, Few, etc.) can name their job, and it's pretty wise of them to not make a dumb choice.
Are you certain you said these things?-Anointed Stallings Coach of the year? I most certainly did NOT. I most certainly did say Pitt has more than enough talent to win multiple NCAA Tournament games. I most certainly did NOT hype Stallings, ever. I most certainly did say Ill give Stallings a chance. I most certainly did NOT say Pitt was making a huge run next year. I most certainly did say Stalling is very much a wait and see hire, meaning, he could be good or bad.
The search. Probably was locked up much sooner. Also about why Dixon left. Too cut & dried.Lied about?
Simply conjecture on your part. I guess you're one of the folks that has Barnes as the new boogieman in Pitt sports worldThe search. Probably was locked up much sooner. Also about why Dixon left. Too cut & dried.
There's almost zero reason to take a job with a losing or mediocre school in a P5 league at this point.
I have him as enemy #1, at least until he apologizes for referring to me as "noise."Simply conjecture on your part. I guess you're one of the folks that has Barnes as the new boogieman in Pitt sports world
Is Pitt a losing or mediocre school? Is that why we were left with what Vanderbilt was ready to toss?
Is Pitt a losing or mediocre school? Is that why we were left with what Vanderbilt was ready to toss?.
I most certainly did NOT hype Stallings, ever.
Quote of the year.