Has to include Blake Hinson. ?
Dude helped bring back Pitt basketball almost as much as Brandin Knight.
Almost.
Dude helped bring back Pitt basketball almost as much as Brandin Knight.
Almost.
Pitt Basketball Mt. Rushmore
- Thread starter BreakingPitt
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ABSOLUTELY NOT! Lets not get crazy here.
Well it was a discussion point. Dude helped bring back Pitt from the dead.
Listen to him talk, he is a natural leader ala Brandin.
Listen to him talk, he is a natural leader ala Brandin.
If he can carry this team to a sweet 16 or better he would be in the discussion. A lot of work to do still.
Love the way Blake appreciates his time here. Happy for him and his success!
Hahaha....Nope. Glad to have Blake but not even close.
Maybe if he shoots his way to a Final Four, otherwise, not even close.
He joined the 1000 point club
He has been here at least 2 years .
He needs an Elite 8 appearance. Could you imagine if he leads this team to that ?
He is basically leading 2 frosh and 2 transfers.. He stayed.
He has been here at least 2 years .
He needs an Elite 8 appearance. Could you imagine if he leads this team to that ?
He is basically leading 2 frosh and 2 transfers.. He stayed.
No … but maybe there’s some magic still to be had this year to get him seriously into that conversation.
Knight, Krauser, Wanamaker, Young
That's probably my 4 and Blake isn't close right now. Id have to give it more thought and research it a bit.
Wanamaker won more than anybody. And winning big matters, including conference championships and high seed lines. Wanamaker won 2 league conference championships, and his seed lines in the NCAA tournament were 1 seed, 1 seed, 3 seed, and 4 seed, and played on arguably 2 of the top 4 Pitt teams of all time. It could be argued he played on the 2 best Pitt teams of all time.
Jaland Lowe has a chance to do some real good things. I dont think Carrington lasts in college long enough, like Blair.
Which is actually great, I wish I could dig up some of the old posts here and on TOS writing Wanamaker off as a freshman.
love Pitt BB fans ..
Maybe if Mt Rushmore had just a little more room on the mountain ?
I just think its amazing that Blake is leading this truly NEW TEAM from last season.
Maybe if Mt Rushmore had just a little more room on the mountain ?
I just think its amazing that Blake is leading this truly NEW TEAM from last season.
The disrespect Brad gets is beyond comical. He averaged 28 wins per year playing in by far the toughest basketball league in the country.
Ashton Gibbs fell on his face as a senior without Wanamaker. Wanamaker was the glue of those teams.
agree.
most people have their own lists and different requirements.
Good to talk again about Pitt Basketball.
I lost faith this season after the Carolina blow out, you and others keep it going.
If you mean Billy Knight then this is mine too.
Perhaps the Mount Rushmore is a stretch, that said, he has really helped lift this program from the depths of hell. Leading a team of freshman and a couple portal guys, he has been awesome this season. Some gave up on this team, I was one of them. Coach Capel and especially Hinson have us being talked about again. If we had Hinson for four years, I would think he would garner strong consideration for Mt. Rushmore.
He’s twice the player Rod was.
Mt Rushmore to me is about winning and personal accomplishments combined. The 2 to me go hand in hand and you need both to be on a list like that. Its not just about personal stats to me.
I think Hinson can go down as one of the best team leaders in Pitt history. I still think Jaland Lowe has been a big vocal leader of this team and a huge part of this turnaround, but I also think I underrated Hinson as a leader by a good bit this year. When I think real true team leaders at Pitt, I think Knight, Fields, Krauser, Wanamaker, Burton. These guys are locker room leaders and captains and the rest of the team takes a back seat to these guys. I think if this Pitt team continues to surge and finishes strong this year, Hinson should be in the mix here too.
Smith could absolutly be on it. Its just that Pitt completely flamed out in every conference tournament championship and NCAA tournament with those teams. And the Big East in the late 80s was no where near the powerhouse of the Big East in the mid 2000s. And I think those 80s Pitt teams would have lost to the 2003 Pitt team, 2004 Pitt team, the 2008 Pitt team, the 2009 Pitt team, and the 2011 Pitt team (Wanamaker played on 3 of these). He never made it past the semifinals of the Big East Tournament and flamed out twice in the 1st round.
Smith was the Big East player of the year, a 2 time 1st team all league selection , and won 1 regular season title. Smith was a 2 time all American. He never reached the sweet 16.
Sam Young was a 2 time all Big East 1st team selection and an All American. He owns the 2 highest scoring titles in Pitt basketball history in 2008 and 2009. He won the Conference Tournament Championship in 2008 without its starting shooting guard. He played on arguably the best Pitt team of all time in 2009, and arguably the best Pitt team of all time prior to injury in 2008 when both Mike Cook and Levance Fields went down when that team was undefeated with major wins before both guards got hurt and Cook was lost to the season. I think both of those Pitt teams Young played on beat the Pitt teams of the 80s. In a 7 game series, I think both the teams Young played on would win.
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I mean - comparing Brookins to Blake is pretty ridiculous. Blake is playing like an all American .
Vader - Chad Varga - Ithiel Horton - And then we're gonna leave Lincoln on there, but we're gonna draw a little speech bubble coming out of his mouth that says: "She a ten, but her ORTG makes her a three."
And then just for fun we're gonna chisel Stallings beneath them and looking up at Abe saying, "I'll effing kill you."
And then just for fun we're gonna chisel Stallings beneath them and looking up at Abe saying, "I'll effing kill you."
I dont know what any of this garbage means.
But I put a huge premium on winning overall and winning championships. And I also put a huge premium on defense.
Bill Russell is pushing my top 3 players of all time in basketball for those 2 reasons.
I have been following Pitt basketball since I started there in 99. I haven’t done much research into this but it seems to me that most bball greats since I have been following performed at an elite level for only two years? Knights last two years, Blair’s only two years, Blake’s only two years etc.
That is why with a big time finish to this season I think Blake could at least be mentioned in the conversation.
That is why with a big time finish to this season I think Blake could at least be mentioned in the conversation.
“The Big East of the 1980s was nowhere near the powerhouse of the Big East in the mid-2000s”
Maybe I am nostalgic, but I couldn’t disagree with this statement enough. Let’s just say there were no South Floridas, Virginia Techs or DePauls on the schedule back in the 80s. Plus, if you are old enough to remember back (which you would have to be over 45 to do so), the style of play in that league and the hatred among the teams and coaches will never again be duplicated in college basketball.
In 2009, the Big East earned 3 number 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament which is a tournament record. The Big East put 5 teams in the Sweet 16 which is a tournament record, 4 teams in the Elite 8 which is a tournament record, along with 2 in the Final 4 and Villanova ended up eliminating Pitt in the Elite 8.
In 2011 the Big East smashed the NCAA Tournament record for most NCAA Tournament teams with 11 from 1 conference.
In 1987 the Big East only had 9 teams. 3 of those teams had a losing record for the season. 5 teams from the Big East made the NCAA tournament. 3 made the Sweet 16 or beyond.
In 1988 the Big East had 6 NCAA Tournament teams. None made the Sweet 16.
Its not like the Big East was bad in the 80s. Its just that the Big East in the mid 2000s was superior to everyone in every which way.
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You picked out some convenient examples there. My own 2 eyes saw it differently when comparing the two decades in totality. You also didn’t mention 1985 when the Big East had 3 Final 4 teams, or the fact that mostly also-ran programs like Providence and Seton Hall made Final 4 appearances.
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