If you honestly believe that, you are delusional. Here is the state of Pitt BB today:
-- Any mention of Pitt as an elite program is wholly unfounded. Pitt is a sinking ship
-- It is March and Dixon is still out desperately trying to find players for 2015, while other schools have their classes set.
-- Every Spring we are told by the so-called experts that the new players are more athletic and better shooters than past Pitt players. Every season, we find out that they aren't athletic and can't shoot. A program that prided itself on its defense, rebounding and lunch pail mentality now is comprised primarily of guys who can't play defense, don't rebound and wouldn't know a lunch pail if they fell over it, which many of them would do if you put one 5 yards in front of them. To name four, Artis, Newkirk, Jones and Jeter are terrible defenders.
-- This was not a one year aberration. As Joe Starkey pointed out in his column, the program had been dropping in quality like a lead balloon for the past four years.
-- Dixon can't recruit. Period. End of story. His recent flyers on Luther, Houghton, Jones and Uchebo seem to compel the conclusion that he can't evaluate talent either.
-- He is a nice guy. I sat at the same table as him at an event in Orange County, and he is a truly nice guy and a good human being. But, that doesn't mean he is a quality coach. Jim Boeheim is a horrible human being, but he has won two NCAA titles. And, while Dixon scrambles for players, Syracuse has its best class ever coming in.
-- Less than 3,000 people in the seats today told the story. The days of the sellouts at the Pete are ending. And when the money no longer is rolling in, Dixon will be gone. Likely at the end of next season. Anyone who thinks he deserves to be Pitt's coach as long as he wants to stay is a fool. The game is about $$ and that means putting fans in the seats.
-- Dixon has lost all but one game to higher seeds in the NCAA. And, that win was over a Colorado team when Pitt was a 9 seed and Colorado an 8 seed, when many said that Colorado didn't belong in the tournament because they had been horrible since they lost their best player to a season-ending injury. Dixon has been badly outcoached by coaches from Butler, Bradley, Kent State and others, not to mention by the big names like Izzo when we have faced them in the tourney.
--Jay Wright, who many on this board derided when Pitt was in the BE, just keeps winning at Villanova, and has them in the tourney as a #1 seed. John Calipari, who many said shouldn't become our coach because he aalegedly was unethical, is developing into a legend at Kentucky. Can anyone win big at Kentucky? Just ask Calipari's predecessor, the former Texas A&M coach. Sean Miller is winning big and winning consistently at Arizona. Again, many so-called supporters didn't want him at Pitt. Mick Cronin, who many of the self-proclaimed experts here laughed at when he became coach at Cincy, outrecruited Dixon by miles until he was sidelined by illness. The rightfully infamous Bob Huggins has WVU in the tourney once again -- as a #5 seed. Of course, he has the "fertile" West Virginia territory to recruit in, while Dixon is stuck in Western PA, with its dearth of talent.
--Speaking of local talent, half of the top 20 are in area where there is less talent than in the WPIAL. How many players does Gonzaga have from Spokane and the rest of eastern Washington, or Moscow Idaho, 16 miles away? Is Tony Bennett winning with Charlottesville players? I watched Iowa State on Saturday and I don't think they have a guy who played who is from Iowa. I don't think Kansas relies on local talent either. I guess Wisconsin wins because that state is loaded with bluechippers.
There simply are no excuses. Dixon is taking the program in the wrong direction, and there isn't a sign that he has the capacity to right the ship and turn it around. We either sink with him or get a new ship's captain after next year, if not sooner.
-- Any mention of Pitt as an elite program is wholly unfounded. Pitt is a sinking ship
-- It is March and Dixon is still out desperately trying to find players for 2015, while other schools have their classes set.
-- Every Spring we are told by the so-called experts that the new players are more athletic and better shooters than past Pitt players. Every season, we find out that they aren't athletic and can't shoot. A program that prided itself on its defense, rebounding and lunch pail mentality now is comprised primarily of guys who can't play defense, don't rebound and wouldn't know a lunch pail if they fell over it, which many of them would do if you put one 5 yards in front of them. To name four, Artis, Newkirk, Jones and Jeter are terrible defenders.
-- This was not a one year aberration. As Joe Starkey pointed out in his column, the program had been dropping in quality like a lead balloon for the past four years.
-- Dixon can't recruit. Period. End of story. His recent flyers on Luther, Houghton, Jones and Uchebo seem to compel the conclusion that he can't evaluate talent either.
-- He is a nice guy. I sat at the same table as him at an event in Orange County, and he is a truly nice guy and a good human being. But, that doesn't mean he is a quality coach. Jim Boeheim is a horrible human being, but he has won two NCAA titles. And, while Dixon scrambles for players, Syracuse has its best class ever coming in.
-- Less than 3,000 people in the seats today told the story. The days of the sellouts at the Pete are ending. And when the money no longer is rolling in, Dixon will be gone. Likely at the end of next season. Anyone who thinks he deserves to be Pitt's coach as long as he wants to stay is a fool. The game is about $$ and that means putting fans in the seats.
-- Dixon has lost all but one game to higher seeds in the NCAA. And, that win was over a Colorado team when Pitt was a 9 seed and Colorado an 8 seed, when many said that Colorado didn't belong in the tournament because they had been horrible since they lost their best player to a season-ending injury. Dixon has been badly outcoached by coaches from Butler, Bradley, Kent State and others, not to mention by the big names like Izzo when we have faced them in the tourney.
--Jay Wright, who many on this board derided when Pitt was in the BE, just keeps winning at Villanova, and has them in the tourney as a #1 seed. John Calipari, who many said shouldn't become our coach because he aalegedly was unethical, is developing into a legend at Kentucky. Can anyone win big at Kentucky? Just ask Calipari's predecessor, the former Texas A&M coach. Sean Miller is winning big and winning consistently at Arizona. Again, many so-called supporters didn't want him at Pitt. Mick Cronin, who many of the self-proclaimed experts here laughed at when he became coach at Cincy, outrecruited Dixon by miles until he was sidelined by illness. The rightfully infamous Bob Huggins has WVU in the tourney once again -- as a #5 seed. Of course, he has the "fertile" West Virginia territory to recruit in, while Dixon is stuck in Western PA, with its dearth of talent.
--Speaking of local talent, half of the top 20 are in area where there is less talent than in the WPIAL. How many players does Gonzaga have from Spokane and the rest of eastern Washington, or Moscow Idaho, 16 miles away? Is Tony Bennett winning with Charlottesville players? I watched Iowa State on Saturday and I don't think they have a guy who played who is from Iowa. I don't think Kansas relies on local talent either. I guess Wisconsin wins because that state is loaded with bluechippers.
There simply are no excuses. Dixon is taking the program in the wrong direction, and there isn't a sign that he has the capacity to right the ship and turn it around. We either sink with him or get a new ship's captain after next year, if not sooner.
