He had to rush to put passable players on the court when he first arrived. I could only imagine the outrage here if he would have just focused on finding nice guys who are into bible study.
The incident that changed the trajectory of the season
- Thread starter panther4life32
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Even if just a portion of what’s being described is true, it’s a very toxic situation that Capel will have to clean up. And probably sets the rebuild back a year or two.
Beggers can’t be choosers, and Capel probably took whatever he could from the recruiting trail and made whatever promises he needed to at the time - without really having the opportunity to consider team chemistry and team fit in his player evaluations,
I think Capel needs to have a long talk with Narduzzi, who seems to have a better handle on recruiting players that provide for team chemistry.
Beggers can’t be choosers, and Capel probably took whatever he could from the recruiting trail and made whatever promises he needed to at the time - without really having the opportunity to consider team chemistry and team fit in his player evaluations,
I think Capel needs to have a long talk with Narduzzi, who seems to have a better handle on recruiting players that provide for team chemistry.
Spot on, these guys should be fighting at least in practice every day. As long as it comes from a competitive place, nothing to see here.
Yeah. Hall of fame coaches manage it in such ways that it doesn't spill over on game day and tank their season.
Kind of hard to predict that XJ and trey would turn into the worst backcourts in the ACc after the freshmen year they had. I’m probably the biggest Capel critic on the board, but there was no way to predict what they’ve become. If you’re saying they should’ve signed a guard anyways, I’d agree with that.
Yes. He definitely should have signed a guard. In parr for depth. Also, I thought he would have already been recruiting one anyway, because I don't think he would envision them both being the guys you want to roll with for 4 years at the time he signed them.
Hopefully Horton answers the mail and they find another 3-ball shooter this spring.
The big problem is having no one on this team, whether guard or wing, who can make 3 pointers consistently enough to prevent this team from seeing nothing but zone defenses. That was a problem that got even worse for this team with the unequal trade of JWF for Murphy and the 3 point line being moved further out. Worst team 3 point percentage in the ACC and one of the worst in the entire NCAA.
They shot the 3-ball last year at an almost marginally acceptable rate but their percents plummeted dramatically with the line moved further out. In addition, Murphy proved a huge drop off in that regard from Wilson-Frame. The numbers—
XJ dropped from 35.2% to 33.7%
Trey dropped from 32.7% to 30.6%
Even more dramatic—
JWF 39.5% vs Murphy 33.9%
Overall backcourt of 3 guys—
37% last season vs 32.6% this season
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After the freshman season those two had, I’d say it’s reasonable to think that Capel thought he was on to something. X averaged 15.5 ppg. That’s impressive as hell even with his uneven play. McGowens was a double digit scorer. So yeah, he probably did think he had an excellent future backcourt duo. Many people did too. They still might be despite the stupid conjecture on this board.
You NEVER said they would play in NYC (in a generic sense), you ALWAYS said that they would be playing at MSG. Because you always said that MSG would break their contract with the Big East in a heartbeat for the chance to get just one ACC tournament.
But as I said, this is why it's my favorite prediction of yours. You obviously got it completely wrong, and yet here you are five years later still rationalizing why it is that even though you got it completely wrong you were actually still right.
That is one more missed shot for every 67 three pointers taken.
That is one more missed shot for every 48 three pointers taken.
Publicity. The fact that NYC is a far better destination than Greensboro, which quite frankly shouldn't even be in the discussion at this point. Easy for everyone to get to. If they would play at MSG that's the most iconic basketball arena in the world.
Having said that, I'm not sure I'd be in favor of playing in NYC all the time, unless they got the contract to play at the Garden. I have no problem with them rotating it around every year. Just get rid of Greensboro.
I don't think the ACC brass would feel the same way. I believe they would rather have the tourney in their backyard and limit travel for their marquee programs.
And as the premier conference for college basketball, I don't think they feel they need any more publicity. The ACC has a long history and comfort factor with Greensboro.
A couple of weeks ago I thought it was difficult to see who the extra defection would be. Now it is difficult to figure who stays. I see 2 or 3 guys leaving besides the seniors and George who were honored before the last game. I am guessing 2 out of X, Tray and Murph. And possibly Terrell because I think his improvement is maxed out.
They may not. If not, they are being short-sighted. There is a reason that Duke (and others) try to play games in NYC and if at all possible at the Garden every season. I guarantee if you asked Coach K if he'd rather play the ACC Tournament at Greensboro or at MSG that you wouldn't even be able to get the whole question out of your mouth before he'd answer MSG.
No one should be the cause of an altercation after a big win. You just can't square that
I agree. Regardless of what happened, Capel recruited these guys and they are his players. He either needs to clean it up or send them packing.
I agree with DT that fights among teammates happen. They are not always a bad thing and on occasion can be a good thing.
A fight after a good win, started over a complaint over not getting the ball, is always bad, real bad.
Where were the coaches in all this? A coach needed to stop that conversation as soon as it started.
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Au’Diese Toney & NBA Mock Draft shouldn’t or better yet wouldn’t be used by anyone outside of his immediate family otherwise you’d be labeled certifiably insane
I agree that some type of leadership/intervention by the coaches may have done wonders.
However, to your second point, have you not noticed a real reluctance by X and Trey to give up the ball to open players from the beginning of the year, sometimes to even laughable measures? I think that it had become a barrier to winning that the players were all well aware of, I would believe it was not give me the ball but rather get the ball to the open man. Also, better to address the problem after a win than in the throes of blaming teammates for a loss, IMO.
They aren't going to ignore NYC, as I'm sure they are going to throw them a bone on occasion. They pretty much have to now. I just don't see them ever willing to do that on a full-time basis. The ACC HQ is in Greensboro, it's super convenient for their marquee programs and it's a nice event for the local economy.
Now come on down and enjoy this. https://www.visitgreensboronc.com/
Agree X and Trey have been selfish with the ball and criticism for not hitting the open man is/has been warranted.
I still believe you don't do it after a win. Point to this behavior after a loss and frame it as something the team needs to do to be better, not individual attacks. Coaches should have been stressing better ball movement all season.
If you watched or attended the Georgia Tech game at home, that was the best Pitt moved the ball all season. Pitt was getting exactly what we wanted. Complaining about ball movement after THAT game was plain stupid.
Little wonder things turned out as they did/have.
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I don't think they'd ever go to NYC on a full time basis either. And I have no problem with a rotation of sites. But Greensboro is small time. It isn't even the best option in North Carolina, and it's not even close. If you are going to have it in North Carolina (and they should) then they should be in Charlotte. It's a better venue and city in pretty much every way.
Next year it's in DC. The year after it's at Barclay's. I think that's the only two scheduled in to the future at this point. Take those two venues, add Charlotte and Atlanta and call it a day. Every one of those is superior to Greensboro. Hell, Pittsburgh is better than Greensboro, and that's not even close either.
Point taken....
My bias comes from my observations which lead me to believe the problem lies with X and Trey, but as another poster pointed out we do not really know the inside story and I easily could be missing key elements of the problem . I prefer Toney's leadership to Trey's at this point... let's hope after this week the problem will be resolved for good and for the good of Pitt basketball.
I agree with you 100%. I just think the ACC brass is married so to speak, to Greensboro.
I remember for the longest time it was hard for the SEC to leave Birmingham for obvious better options. I think the ACC is even more entrenched in Greensboro, and I would venture to guess that the biggest reasons are financial.
I always wonder if these kids understand that every terrible team has one or two guys that average 15 because someone must shoot the ball eventually. If you go 6-14 in the league no NBA team is going to care. No NBA team is saying I want a PG or SG that can't shoot, pass, or play defense, and also have no leadership skills or win.
For those who say a coach should not address issues after a win you clearly have never coached or played especially at the college level. Most top coaches (typically behind closed doors) will actually get on their teams more after a win because they have their attention more because the players are normally happy they won. Something along the lines of nice win we did so and so well...BUT if we want to be the team we are capable of we can’t be satisfied with so and so. We must do better in so and so areas.
Many times after a loss especially a tough one they are trying to pick up the spirits of the players. Sure after a blowout loss where their team lacked effort, heart etc no good coach will accept it and the will let their team hear about it right away.
Many times after a loss especially a tough one they are trying to pick up the spirits of the players. Sure after a blowout loss where their team lacked effort, heart etc no good coach will accept it and the will let their team hear about it right away.
Just to be clear - I think the discussion surrounded a player being critical of his teammates after a win. A player, not the coach.
I would be fine with the Coach saying something like that was good but we need to do better.
That is not what happened here.
Yes, I read about what some say happened. But it’s a bunch of he said he said. Something probably did happen but ppl won’t know the truth, just speculation. And don’t act like you know what happened because you don’t. All I know is that Toney is the only legit 2 way player on the team. He plays hard, is tough and actually improved his game in the off season unlike others.
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