Terrible writeup from a clueless writer. Check out his 18-19 preview if you want to laugh (or gag):
After an entirely predictable 0-18 finish in the ACC, head coach Kevin Stallings was fired following the season because not everyone in college learns.
What was a promising roster is now back to square one. Point guard will again be handed over to a freshman, in this case either Xavier Johnson, a 6-3 4 star recruit and a true point guard, or 6-3 combo guard Trey McGowens, a top 100 recruit. 6-6 transfer Malik Ellison, who came to the school to play for Kevin Stallings and is now essentially stuck unless he wants to sit out yet another year, should take over at shooting guard after posting respectable numbers at St. John’s two years ago (7.4 ppg., 34.1% 3pt.). Because the team lacks size, Ellison will likely play significant minutes at forward. The Panthers will also have Sidy N’Dir, who struggled with offensive efficiency at New Mexico State, and 6-4 sophomore Khameron Davis, who produced all of 4 points in 24 minutes per game as a freshman, to provide depth. Jared Wilson-Frame (13.0 ppg., 3.5 rpg.), a capable, high motor athlete that led last year’s team in scoring, will start at small forward. He shot horribly from the field (37.5% overall and 32.0% behind the arc) due to the limited number of offensive options the team had a year ago; those options won’t be increasing this year.
6-10 sophomore Terrell Brown was one of the success stories of Stallings’ coaching a year ago, as he went from being forced to play because he’s big to eventually competing on the boards and showing potential as a future inside out scorer. 6-6 Shamiel Stevenson might be the best player on the roster after averaging 8.5 ppg. and 4.4 rpg while shooting 37.5% beyond the arc. He’s a tough and interesting player that plays at a slower pace in the mold of Boris Diaw or Roosevelt Jones at Butler, and like those players he is able make good things happen. Because of the limited number of frontcourt options, Wilson-Frame and Ellison will be the forwards at times. At 6-9, 215 pounds, junior Kene Chukwuka will again see minutes at center out of necessity after providing almost nothing statistically in 17 minutes a game last year. Pittsburgh will again find itself dramatically undersized and overwhelmed at times in conference play.
Three years ago, Pittsburgh managed to drive off Jamie Dixon despite the fact that he was by far the best coach in the history of the program and took them to the NCAA Tournament almost every year, which somehow wasn’t good enough. The program doubled down on that mistake by firing Kevin Stallings after just two seasons despite the fact that, due to his history of successful player development, he was the perfect coach for their developing young roster. The team was outmanned but still competed last season, staying close to superior teams multiple times down the stretch despite their record and managing defensive numbers (179th in fg% defense and 98th in 3pt.% defense) that weren’t horrible (coincidentally, two teams that did not continue to compete were Jeff Capel’s last two (post-Blake Griffin) Oklahoma teams, both of whom were among the worst defensive teams in the country in every major category). With the return of Ryan Luther and a group of rapidly improving (thanks to Stallings, who they were loyal to) rising sophomores, the team could have been in line for a four to six win season in conference play. That will not happen now. While Capel was successful recruiting at Duke, he won’t have a Duke education and the coach of the Olympic team to entice recruits with; if anything, Pittsburgh without Jamie Dixon is a significant step below Oklahoma with regards to reputation, and things didn’t go well for Capel there. It seems impossible that a team that finished 0-18 in the ACC could get worse, but Pittsburgh’s athletic department has evidently decided to give it the old college try.
