At what point do the bball alum start getting involved? Hell even a tweet from on the the famed pitt players about this team needs soul or something might help.
The thing that annoys me most
- Thread starter Bethlehemjohn
- Start date
At what point do the bball alum start getting involved? Hell even a tweet from on the the famed pitt players about this team needs soul or something might help.
It's all about talent this Pitt team has assembled. The players can't play defense because they never learned how at the HS level. Most are not that quick and better players just drive around them. I watch a lot of college ball and the better teams are more athletic, quicker and play at a much higher skill set.. Pitt's problem is they are now playing in the ACC which always recruits on the offensive side of the ball. Most of the teams have 3-4 shooters and a true inside game. These are handicaps Pitt must overcome in order to be competitive. I don't care how great the game plan is on both sides of the court it will not work without players who pretty much are on the same level and can execute the plan. This is the real problem JD is dealing with. For the most part very average talent trying to compete against good to elite talent. This match up will not work in Pitt's favor no matter how hard he tries to coach up the players. The future for JD in this conference is recruiting. If he does not step up his game we are always going to be a 500% program. Another year or two of this type of product and the fingers will begin to point in JD's direction.
I honestly don't think it's a "talent" issue.
we have talent.
We lack want to.... Defense is effort. Screening is effort. Cutting is effort. Rebounding position is effort.
Effort is where Dixon has failed to reach this group.
we have talent.
We lack want to.... Defense is effort. Screening is effort. Cutting is effort. Rebounding position is effort.
Effort is where Dixon has failed to reach this group.
I really dislike watching this team and how they continuously get out worked. However, I still believe Jamie can turn it around by returning to his roots. Kithcart and Manigault are the types of guys we had 10 years ago and they will help us get the fire back.
I agree, Souf. Defense is all want to and this team just does not want to play with heart. I really like Jamel's offensive game and believe he is good enough to be an NBA player. That can only happen if he gets a fire in his belly and realizes that he has to bring it all the time.
Every year now is the same story - "oh we have such and such and such and such coming in and they'll help us".
Problem is none of these guys year after year are making a difference - or very few are.
Recruiting needs major overhaul.
That's that's less than 2 per team, and given most are probably going to UNC or Duke, we probably are not that dissimilar from most. As for who will compliment them, you figure it out, you see the young players, you know, the only ones who show effort.
In 2018 maybe. The problem is.it may be 5 straight yrs wo a tourney by then. Thats too long
As long as we are venting here.....
I've got a pet peeve against the way Pitt plays defense under the basket. This is nothing new, it's been going on for years and this has to be learned behavior. Whenever an opponent gets near the rim, our bigs go hands up with their feet glued to the floor. I think it's obvious that any opponent who watches our film knows by now that short shots are freebies against us since we literally don't contest these shots. And they take complete advantage of this by going to the rim (even guards, especially guards) knowing no one is going to really try to block their shot (except Jeter, he obviously didn't get the memo on this).
And here are the 2 things that really upset me. One, we get called for the foul anyway! How many times have you seen a Pitt defender after a foul call stand there with his hands straight up in the air showing the ref that he wasn't contesting the shot? Somehow even with this strategy, we end up in foul trouble anyway so why not try to defend the basket?,
And two, at our offensive end people are blocking and contesting shots left and right. Ever see the bigs from Louisville or Syracuse stand flat-footed defending their basket? Or any other P5 team we've ever played? The strategy of standing flat-footed if you are a big only works if you are 6 inches taller than the guy you're defending. Works in high school and against D3 teams with no one taller than 6'5". Doesn't work very well against the ACC.
There are other things about the way this team plays defense like losing their man away from the ball that bugs me but I'll stop here.
I've got a pet peeve against the way Pitt plays defense under the basket. This is nothing new, it's been going on for years and this has to be learned behavior. Whenever an opponent gets near the rim, our bigs go hands up with their feet glued to the floor. I think it's obvious that any opponent who watches our film knows by now that short shots are freebies against us since we literally don't contest these shots. And they take complete advantage of this by going to the rim (even guards, especially guards) knowing no one is going to really try to block their shot (except Jeter, he obviously didn't get the memo on this).
And here are the 2 things that really upset me. One, we get called for the foul anyway! How many times have you seen a Pitt defender after a foul call stand there with his hands straight up in the air showing the ref that he wasn't contesting the shot? Somehow even with this strategy, we end up in foul trouble anyway so why not try to defend the basket?,
And two, at our offensive end people are blocking and contesting shots left and right. Ever see the bigs from Louisville or Syracuse stand flat-footed defending their basket? Or any other P5 team we've ever played? The strategy of standing flat-footed if you are a big only works if you are 6 inches taller than the guy you're defending. Works in high school and against D3 teams with no one taller than 6'5". Doesn't work very well against the ACC.
There are other things about the way this team plays defense like losing their man away from the ball that bugs me but I'll stop here.
Who knows they might be amazing. It's just unrealistic to expect 2 freshmen to come here and make the team so much better (unless it's a 1 and done)type.
Perhaps our "bigs" aren't athletic enough?? Maia?? Luther?? ANO?? Birch & Adams were much quicker....before that?? Taft?? Our guys in the middle are small, but not quick. Maia scraps, but can't jump. All those things can be overcome with heart & fight. We're missing that.
Maybe, but that doesn't explain why every team we play does contest our in close shots. Can't be that we are the only team in America with non-quick bigs, can it? Actually, I like the way Maia plays, he battles in there. Not sure why he's not getting the court time. Sure he's overmatched against some of these teams but going to the small lineup hasn't really worked that well.
ESPN3 Announcers "PITT is just standing around"
IMO Dixon is a good coach.
He becomes a great coach as in the past when he has a self motivated talented team.A team like that benefits from his coaching abilities and he benefits from a group of self motivated players.
When he gets a group of players who need motivation (not self motivated) the weakness in his coaching personality appears.
In addition to being an excellent basketball guy he's a nice guy and maybe to nice!
Players have to respect and " fear" their coach knowing there will be consequences for not executing the plan or being lazy.
In last nights game we were out hustled, out executed, and out coached the entire game. Same performance as LU, NCS, etc.
The announcers even mentioned at least three times "PITT is just standing around."
When the team pays attention, plays motivated we get a CUSE, ND, GT, last ten minutes of the FSU game result otherwise we get a Purdue,LU, NCSt., Clemson result!
It comes down to Dixon getting the players who fit his style and coaching personality. These are the wrong guys!
Dixon coaching abilities are fine he needs to get the right team behind him or someone will make a decision he won't like!
Dixon needs some self motivated " junk yard dogs" who don't like to lose like PITTs stars of the past (to many to mention).
IMO Dixon is a good coach.
He becomes a great coach as in the past when he has a self motivated talented team.A team like that benefits from his coaching abilities and he benefits from a group of self motivated players.
When he gets a group of players who need motivation (not self motivated) the weakness in his coaching personality appears.
In addition to being an excellent basketball guy he's a nice guy and maybe to nice!
Players have to respect and " fear" their coach knowing there will be consequences for not executing the plan or being lazy.
In last nights game we were out hustled, out executed, and out coached the entire game. Same performance as LU, NCS, etc.
The announcers even mentioned at least three times "PITT is just standing around."
When the team pays attention, plays motivated we get a CUSE, ND, GT, last ten minutes of the FSU game result otherwise we get a Purdue,LU, NCSt., Clemson result!
It comes down to Dixon getting the players who fit his style and coaching personality. These are the wrong guys!
Dixon coaching abilities are fine he needs to get the right team behind him or someone will make a decision he won't like!
Dixon needs some self motivated " junk yard dogs" who don't like to lose like PITTs stars of the past (to many to mention).
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Actually... it gets to be 'wait until next year'... and then when next year comes it's... 'wait until next year'... etc, etc, etc.
When we had Krauser, many people on this very board wanted to run him out of town.
I wasn't on the board at the time but it wouldn't have been me. I loved the guy - the x he made, he had heart!!!
You and me would've been among the few in agreement then.
In 2005 and 2006.... this board was absolutely toxic with people wanting Krauser benched and couldn't wait until he was gone. The vitriol toward Krauser back then was twice as bad as it is toward James Robinson now.
You can't but you recruit motivated players with heart.
Players without drive and self motivation shouldn't play at this level especially for a program as good as PITT's.
Great coach wrong players except for Young & Artis!
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Wow, I couldn't have even pictured that - what were they criticizing him about? Guy played his heart out every game.
People were saying he was too "street ball"... too much of a "ball hog".... a "turnover machine". They were comparing him to Brandin and didn't like that he wanted to be the go-to guy instead of the distributor that Brandin was.
Others like DT can back me up on this... people on here crushed Krauser after every loss, and often after wins.
No I believe you, it just surprises me. I remember watching games with buddies or my dad and commenting how awesome it was that he wanted the ball in crunch time, he played with heart, fire, desire.
Selective memory on your part.
I wish we had a way-back machine to bring back all the posts that hammered Krauser constantly in 2005 and 2006. It would be nice if the Rivals search went back that far.
Krauser was public enemy no. 1 on this board. He has more heart and desire and leadership on his pinkie than everyone on this team.
You're right.
People who say differently weren't here in '05 and '06.... or they have very selective memories.
There was a core group of us defending Krauser - while a large chunk bashed him to no end.
Yeah the problem with the big men not contesting shots is that we have no shot blockers outside of ANO who is horribly struggling right now and Jeter. Last night early in the second half I believe it was Roper drove hard to the basket and Luther came over in help to attempt to block it. Well he didn't get the block and so as his momentum was taking him out of bounds Nnoko just stood there and collected the uncontested rebound and finished the easy layup. If you have guys that can actually block shots then you can play that way, but otherwise you're just taking yourself out of rebounding position which is more important than blocked shots right now given that we have lost on the boards so frequently lately
I saw krauser in the stands last year cheering harder than any pitt player playing on the floor. Remember when he was the only one who showed up against pacific and his presser after the bradley debacle?
The unwarranted bashing krauser took still bothers me 10 yrs later. He doesnt let us tank like we have been doing.
Absolutely. Krauser was a great player here. We would kill to have a guy like that now. The effort this team shows is for lack of a better word pathetic, especially when it comes to rebounding. The other thing that really annoys me is every time we're down big and close the gap, it seems like this team just totally crumbles. They really need to change their mindsets and toughen up.
Yeah, me too.
This board was brutal to him. Remember how the haters would spell his first name with a "K" just to be annoying.
Gameday threads were taken over by people calling for his head every time he missed a shot or committed a turnover. I like to think they were a minority, but they were a sizeable minority and they were VERY vocal.
...with the notable exception of the second half of the FSU game. I thought that comeback would be an impetus to them playing harder out of the gate against Clemson.... that turned out to be not the case, to say the least.
Same here. It's been going on most of the conference portion this season, but I also though that FSU game might spark them. They actually even almost fell apart in that game, but made some clutch buckets to come back and get the win. They're just not gonna make many comebacks when giving up 40 before the half and trailing by double digits, another huge area of concern.
