Tico's Stallings Thoughts

[TicoCooperFan]

Of course everyone is surprised by this hire and I'll admit I couldn't believe Barnes actually had the balls to make this move. Barnes appears to have gotten played on some level by the search firm head but we'll never know if that's true or not. Clearly Barnes wanted someone with some experience at the major D1 level and I can't imagine there were many candidates so Stallings's people must have on some level gotten into Barnes' head knowing he was going to get fired at Vandy and amazingly here we have it.

Pros:

1. Clearly Stallings got better players during his tenure than Dixon. His players go to the NBA, Dixon's don't. I see no reason why this won't continue.
2. Stallings plays an up tempo style and isn't afraid to score points. Should be a better brand of basketball to watch.
3. Hoping Stallings needed a change of venue just like Jamie did and it gives him a new lease on coaching with a better fanbase and better facilities in a better league. This is a very underrated aspect to this move that I hope works in our favor. For as much as Jamie loves TCU, his time here had gotten very stale and he knew it. I think the same for Stallings at Vandy.

Cons:

1. He's 55 years old and how many more quality years of coaching can he have?
2. His teams are terrible defensively
3. Players appear to underachieve relative to their talent levels under him
4. He doesn't look like a confident leader of men. Not sure what former players have thought of him but I have a feeling there's not a lot of positives there
5. His NCAA tourney record stinks. This one I can't get past. 17 years at Vandy and 2 Sweet 16s.

I'm willing to give Stallings 4-5 years and re-evaluate. I expect to get some real interior players here and some guys who can shoot the 3. How Stallings works with these kids will remain to be seen. I hope BK sticks around and shows his Pitt loyalty but I doubt it will happen.

Oh, and for those who are giving up their tickets now...what the hell are you waiting for? Haven't you seen enough OOC cupcakes under Jamie Dixon to have jumped ship already?? If it took this for you to give up your tickets then good riddance. Better seats for us.

 

[DT_PITT]

Of course everyone is surprised by this hire and I'll admit I couldn't believe Barnes actually had the balls to make this move. Barnes appears to have gotten played on some level by the search firm head but we'll never know if that's true or not. Clearly Barnes wanted someone with some experience at the major D1 level and I can't imagine there were many candidates so Stallings's people must have on some level gotten into Barnes' head knowing he was going to get fired at Vandy and amazingly here we have it.

Pros:

1. Clearly Stallings got better players during his tenure than Dixon. His players go to the NBA, Dixon's don't. I see no reason why this won't continue.
2. Stallings plays an up tempo style and isn't afraid to score points. Should be a better brand of basketball to watch.
3. Hoping Stallings needed a change of venue just like Jamie did and it gives him a new lease on coaching with a better fanbase and better facilities in a better league. This is a very underrated aspect to this move that I hope works in our favor. For as much as Jamie loves TCU, his time here had gotten very stale and he knew it. I think the same for Stallings at Vandy.

Cons:

1. He's 55 years old and how many more quality years of coaching can he have?
2. His teams are terrible defensively
3. Players appear to underachieve relative to their talent levels under him
4. He doesn't look like a confident leader of men. Not sure what former players have thought of him but I have a feeling there's not a lot of positives there
5. His NCAA tourney record stinks. This one I can't get past. 17 years at Vandy and 2 Sweet 16s.

I'm willing to give Stallings 4-5 years and re-evaluate. I expect to get some real interior players here and some guys who can shoot the 3. How Stallings works with these kids will remain to be seen. I hope BK sticks around and shows his Pitt loyalty but I doubt it will happen.

Oh, and for those who are giving up their tickets now...what the hell are you waiting for? Haven't you seen enough OOC cupcakes under Jamie Dixon to have jumped ship already?? If it took this for you to give up your tickets then good riddance. Better seats for us.

Very fair.
And it wouldn't bother me to be sitting courtside.

 

[JD1976]

Excellent pros and cons. Very fair breakdown.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

• Clearly Stallings got better players during his tenure than Dixon. His players go to the NBA, Dixon's don't. I see no reason why this won't continue.

• Stallings plays an up tempo style and isn't afraid to score points. Should be a better brand of basketball to watch.

On the first one, the recruiting rankings say otherwise. I'm not a big fan of recruiting rankings, but if he was getting better players and yet still got worse results in an easier league that certainly is not a good sign.

On the second one, once again, the actual numbers. Vanderbilt's tempo ranking the last four years, most recent first: 191, 214, 312, 335. In the 15 years that Pomeroy has tempo data for Stallings' teams were in the top 100 in tempo three times, and were in the bottom 100 three times. Their highest ranking was 57, and that was 14 seasons ago. The last time one of his teams was in the top half of the NCAA in tempo was six years ago, and in that year they were 138.

In short, anyone who says that Stallings' teams play an up tempo style either doesn't know the facts or doesn't understand what saying that means.

 

[pierre93]

Of course everyone is surprised by this hire and I'll admit I couldn't believe Barnes actually had the balls to make this move. Barnes appears to have gotten played on some level by the search firm head but we'll never know if that's true or not. Clearly Barnes wanted someone with some experience at the major D1 level and I can't imagine there were many candidates so Stallings's people must have on some level gotten into Barnes' head knowing he was going to get fired at Vandy and amazingly here we have it.

Pros:

1. Clearly Stallings got better players during his tenure than Dixon. His players go to the NBA, Dixon's don't. I see no reason why this won't continue.
2. Stallings plays an up tempo style and isn't afraid to score points. Should be a better brand of basketball to watch.
3. Hoping Stallings needed a change of venue just like Jamie did and it gives him a new lease on coaching with a better fanbase and better facilities in a better league. This is a very underrated aspect to this move that I hope works in our favor. For as much as Jamie loves TCU, his time here had gotten very stale and he knew it. I think the same for Stallings at Vandy.

Cons:

1. He's 55 years old and how many more quality years of coaching can he have?
2. His teams are terrible defensively
3. Players appear to underachieve relative to their talent levels under him
4. He doesn't look like a confident leader of men. Not sure what former players have thought of him but I have a feeling there's not a lot of positives there
5. His NCAA tourney record stinks. This one I can't get past. 17 years at Vandy and 2 Sweet 16s.

I'm willing to give Stallings 4-5 years and re-evaluate. I expect to get some real interior players here and some guys who can shoot the 3. How Stallings works with these kids will remain to be seen. I hope BK sticks around and shows his Pitt loyalty but I doubt it will happen.

Oh, and for those who are giving up their tickets now...what the hell are you waiting for? Haven't you seen enough OOC cupcakes under Jamie Dixon to have jumped ship already?? If it took this for you to give up your tickets then good riddance. Better seats for us.

I would love to have more JAMIE cupcakes than this Twinkie the kid Barnes bullshit!

 

[fivetoolprospect]

Terrible hire point blank. U are willing to give 4-5 years? Man I don't know what to say to that. Mediocre basketball at best.

 

[JD1976]

On the first one, the recruiting rankings say otherwise. I'm not a big fan of recruiting rankings, but if he was getting better players and yet still got worse results in an easier league that certainly is not a good sign.

On the second one, once again, the actual numbers. Vanderbilt's tempo ranking the last four years, most recent first: 191, 214, 312, 335. In the 15 years that Pomeroy has tempo data for Stallings' teams were in the top 100 in tempo three times, and were in the bottom 100 three times. Their highest ranking was 57, and that was 14 seasons ago. The last time one of his teams was in the top half of the NCAA in tempo was six years ago, and in that year they were 138.

In short, anyone who says that Stallings' teams play an up tempo style either doesn't know the facts or doesn't understand what saying that means.

Tico mentioned talent as measured by producing NBA players. He had three players drafted in the first 31 picks of the 2012 Draft. Dixon had 4 or 5 in his entire Pitt tenure. Now, it's fair to criticize Stallings for not winning in the NCAA tourney with those players. I get that.

 

[18Melba]

Of course everyone is surprised by this hire and I'll admit I couldn't believe Barnes actually had the balls to make this move. Barnes appears to have gotten played on some level by the search firm head but we'll never know if that's true or not. Clearly Barnes wanted someone with some experience at the major D1 level and I can't imagine there were many candidates so Stallings's people must have on some level gotten into Barnes' head knowing he was going to get fired at Vandy and amazingly here we have it.

Pros:

1. Clearly Stallings got better players during his tenure than Dixon. His players go to the NBA, Dixon's don't. I see no reason why this won't continue.
2. Stallings plays an up tempo style and isn't afraid to score points. Should be a better brand of basketball to watch.
3. Hoping Stallings needed a change of venue just like Jamie did and it gives him a new lease on coaching with a better fanbase and better facilities in a better league. This is a very underrated aspect to this move that I hope works in our favor. For as much as Jamie loves TCU, his time here had gotten very stale and he knew it. I think the same for Stallings at Vandy.

Cons:

1. He's 55 years old and how many more quality years of coaching can he have?
2. His teams are terrible defensively
3. Players appear to underachieve relative to their talent levels under him
4. He doesn't look like a confident leader of men. Not sure what former players have thought of him but I have a feeling there's not a lot of positives there
5. His NCAA tourney record stinks. This one I can't get past. 17 years at Vandy and 2 Sweet 16s.

I'm willing to give Stallings 4-5 years and re-evaluate. I expect to get some real interior players here and some guys who can shoot the 3. How Stallings works with these kids will remain to be seen. I hope BK sticks around and shows his Pitt loyalty but I doubt it will happen.

Oh, and for those who are giving up their tickets now...what the hell are you waiting for? Haven't you seen enough OOC cupcakes under Jamie Dixon to have jumped ship already?? If it took this for you to give up your tickets then good riddance. Better seats for us.

LOL if you think that Pitt's OOC is going to be significantly different. At most, Pitt will play one more tougher game per year.

The whole OOC argument is such a joke because in reality you are talking about 1-2 different games per year.

 

[Piranha]

In 85 years of being in the SEC, Vandy made the The Big Dance 14 times and Stallings had half of those appearances. Trying to be positive.

 

[TicoCooperFan]

Bottom line: A fresh face is what Pitt basketball needed, whoever it happened to be. I think many of you are giving Jamie D a little too much credit in all aspects. Lets look at recent history and I think you'll see Pitt and Vandy aren't that much different. Lets give Stallings a chance to breathe and see if his new style works here.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

We will know after one season if he can be an upgrade. The cupboard is not bare--unless he blows it up. It doesn't take years to install and get used to a new system in hoops. He neither needs or should be given 4-5 years to prove or disprove what kind of hire he will be. We will probably know after year one where we stand with this hire. We will definitely know by the end of year two. If things aren't better by the end of year two, we better be looking for his replacement because they won't be getting better.

A more exciting style? Winning is all that matters. I would rather win games played in the 60s than lose games played in the 80s. It is never exciting to lose regardless of style. If all I was interested in were style I would watch nothing but AAU streetball and the NBA.

 

[tuckshop]

Tico mentioned talent as measured by producing NBA players. He had three players drafted in the first 31 picks of the 2012 Draft. Dixon had 4 or 5 in his entire Pitt tenure. Now, it's fair to criticize Stallings for not winning in the NCAA tourney with those players. I get that.

Stallings NBA players:
Derrick Byars - one year 2012
Festus Ezeli- 2013-2016
Matt Freije - 2005-2007
John Jenkins - 2013-2016
Dan Langhi - 2001-2004
Jeffrey Taylor - 2013-2015

Like his recruiting numbers and tempo, unimpressive but then again makes a good resume line.

 

[ameoba defense]

Stallings NBA players:
Derrick Byars - one year 2012
Festus Ezeli- 2013-2016
Matt Freije - 2005-2007
John Jenkins - 2013-2016
Dan Langhi - 2001-2004
Jeffrey Taylor - 2013-2015

Like his recruiting numbers and tempo, unimpressive but then again makes a good resume line.

Six players, whoop dee do! Off the top of my head, Jamie also has six, and DeJuan, and Aaron Gray have actually had long careers in the league, as will Steven Adams.