It really, really pisses me off to see again the lack of basketball acumen and knowledge exhibited by the local media.
The local media dismiss this job like it is Robert Morris. "Oh, they can't compete in the ACC, Jamie Dixon knew this and got out." Really? Was the Big East, Little Sisters of the Poor? Or, "Pitt's move to the ACC took them away from their recruiting areas"? Really? Where does UVa, UNC, Duke, Syracuse, Louisville, at all recruit from?
"The ACC is a basketball conference, Pitt can't compete." Again, was the former Big East the WPIAL Quad A North conference? Constant crap like this. I have to give Colin Dunlap credit, from the Fan, he is the one guy standing out saying "hey, this job isn't Geibel High School., it is an ACC job!"
This job:
1) Is one of 15 ACC jobs.
2) We only need to look back to this past decade to see how this program can compete, thrive and draw fans at the very highest of levels.
3) This job has no NBA competition.
4) We always denigrate some other places (Morgantown) etc...when kids choose those locations, but we forget for an 18 year, culture, food, etc...doesn't really matter, it is Pizza, P***y, beer and parties. But for a college coach, Pittsburgh is a helluva more attractive than say Starkville, MS, Auburn, or State College or Morgantown or many of these other college burghs in the middle of nowhere. So for a coach and his family, quality of life factor here would be high.
5) Pittsburgh's an hour plane ride from Chicago, New York, Baltimore/DC, Detroit, etc...so easy access for recruiting.
6) You are no longer following the most successful coach in program history. That is always a difficult and unenviable task.
It's not a bad job. Ben and Jamie proved they could be a top 10 program here. It is not loaded with local talent, but really at a P5 level, who recruits "locally" to fill their roster? And now a bit of humility and reality has kicked the fanbase in the head and mouth, that maybe now they will appreciate some levels of success that weren't just appreciated in the past.
The local media dismiss this job like it is Robert Morris. "Oh, they can't compete in the ACC, Jamie Dixon knew this and got out." Really? Was the Big East, Little Sisters of the Poor? Or, "Pitt's move to the ACC took them away from their recruiting areas"? Really? Where does UVa, UNC, Duke, Syracuse, Louisville, at all recruit from?
"The ACC is a basketball conference, Pitt can't compete." Again, was the former Big East the WPIAL Quad A North conference? Constant crap like this. I have to give Colin Dunlap credit, from the Fan, he is the one guy standing out saying "hey, this job isn't Geibel High School., it is an ACC job!"
This job:
1) Is one of 15 ACC jobs.
2) We only need to look back to this past decade to see how this program can compete, thrive and draw fans at the very highest of levels.
3) This job has no NBA competition.
4) We always denigrate some other places (Morgantown) etc...when kids choose those locations, but we forget for an 18 year, culture, food, etc...doesn't really matter, it is Pizza, P***y, beer and parties. But for a college coach, Pittsburgh is a helluva more attractive than say Starkville, MS, Auburn, or State College or Morgantown or many of these other college burghs in the middle of nowhere. So for a coach and his family, quality of life factor here would be high.
5) Pittsburgh's an hour plane ride from Chicago, New York, Baltimore/DC, Detroit, etc...so easy access for recruiting.
6) You are no longer following the most successful coach in program history. That is always a difficult and unenviable task.
It's not a bad job. Ben and Jamie proved they could be a top 10 program here. It is not loaded with local talent, but really at a P5 level, who recruits "locally" to fill their roster? And now a bit of humility and reality has kicked the fanbase in the head and mouth, that maybe now they will appreciate some levels of success that weren't just appreciated in the past.
