Huge blow when it comes to recruiting....
Reid would have provided a spark that this team needed especially at a position that's been lacking for years on end. College basketball is a tough business as well as probably a tiring one for any head coach. Don't get me wrong, this is not to say that Jeff doesn't deserve criticisms because there are definitely some that are warranted when it comes to his time at Pitt. He will get 2 more years contrary to what some want to believe. Pitt is not gonna cut ties with him right now. No reason to at the moment simply because of financial reasons, starting over, etc.
Losing Reid today has many reasons (some we all have an idea of) and others that are internal. What comes to mind first (which we all know what that is) is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. The supporting staff in terms of recruiting has been underwhelming to say the least. We can certainly critique Jeff's ability to have late season collapses and having a mediocre head coaching record but I don't truly believe he just forgot how to recruit. I think the problems lie within his staff. There are just more misses than actual gains when it comes to closing. Part of this is on Jeff for sure but not all of it. His supporting staff needs to be better (which they are not). Jason is pretty underwhelming and Milan has his struggles too. Something's got to give at least for the sake of making changes whether better or worse. If the rumors about Jason are true (e.g. - not having a good relationship with players, being unapproachable, etc.), what else is there? His resume isn't exactly stellar when it comes to coaching and there appears to be a 4 year gap of employment in the coaching ranks between his time with Appalachian St and Pitt. Something is definitely wrong there. Assuming he's recruiting (at least I believe that's in the job description), I haven't heard anything at all (good or bad) about him. I would think one would err to the side of caution and assume one of the three things is happening
This is certainly not a complete bash on Jason because I think Milan has trouble when it comes to recruiting albeit he seems to put more effort into it. His efforts just rarely pay off.
In order for improvements to be made and for Jeff to be with Pitt longer than 2 more years, making changes to the staff would most certainly be a step in the right direction for starters. It's always up for discussion on additional reasons what else needs to change, but this is the elephant in the room that seems to be the struggle.
In fairness, the Center position has been a problem for years so it is relevant as partial reason to why Pitt struggles so badly to fill this position. This can be chalked up to the slide in getting a serviceable BIG at the end the Dixon era. Nothing really has been there since then. It's not an excuse....just reality.
In terms of transfers, Jeff will need to rely heavily to land a few centers to at least have a rotation (that's at least assuming that Hugley doesn't return). The good news is that the portal is growing every day. It's naive to think otherwise. The bad news is it's gonna take longer to fill that position and the staff has from now until November to do it. It's still an unknown in all fairness to know what type of players come in to fill the 5 spot. That will be determined after the games are played.
Time will tell for sure.
Reid would have provided a spark that this team needed especially at a position that's been lacking for years on end. College basketball is a tough business as well as probably a tiring one for any head coach. Don't get me wrong, this is not to say that Jeff doesn't deserve criticisms because there are definitely some that are warranted when it comes to his time at Pitt. He will get 2 more years contrary to what some want to believe. Pitt is not gonna cut ties with him right now. No reason to at the moment simply because of financial reasons, starting over, etc.
Losing Reid today has many reasons (some we all have an idea of) and others that are internal. What comes to mind first (which we all know what that is) is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. The supporting staff in terms of recruiting has been underwhelming to say the least. We can certainly critique Jeff's ability to have late season collapses and having a mediocre head coaching record but I don't truly believe he just forgot how to recruit. I think the problems lie within his staff. There are just more misses than actual gains when it comes to closing. Part of this is on Jeff for sure but not all of it. His supporting staff needs to be better (which they are not). Jason is pretty underwhelming and Milan has his struggles too. Something's got to give at least for the sake of making changes whether better or worse. If the rumors about Jason are true (e.g. - not having a good relationship with players, being unapproachable, etc.), what else is there? His resume isn't exactly stellar when it comes to coaching and there appears to be a 4 year gap of employment in the coaching ranks between his time with Appalachian St and Pitt. Something is definitely wrong there. Assuming he's recruiting (at least I believe that's in the job description), I haven't heard anything at all (good or bad) about him. I would think one would err to the side of caution and assume one of the three things is happening
- nothing is happening in terms of recruiting with Jason
- he's not very good at keeping up with recruiting or chooses not to
- kids are not relating to him at all
This is certainly not a complete bash on Jason because I think Milan has trouble when it comes to recruiting albeit he seems to put more effort into it. His efforts just rarely pay off.
In order for improvements to be made and for Jeff to be with Pitt longer than 2 more years, making changes to the staff would most certainly be a step in the right direction for starters. It's always up for discussion on additional reasons what else needs to change, but this is the elephant in the room that seems to be the struggle.
In fairness, the Center position has been a problem for years so it is relevant as partial reason to why Pitt struggles so badly to fill this position. This can be chalked up to the slide in getting a serviceable BIG at the end the Dixon era. Nothing really has been there since then. It's not an excuse....just reality.
In terms of transfers, Jeff will need to rely heavily to land a few centers to at least have a rotation (that's at least assuming that Hugley doesn't return). The good news is that the portal is growing every day. It's naive to think otherwise. The bad news is it's gonna take longer to fill that position and the staff has from now until November to do it. It's still an unknown in all fairness to know what type of players come in to fill the 5 spot. That will be determined after the games are played.
Time will tell for sure.
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