What’s The Different This Year ?

[Fsgolfdr]

Last season Pitt had three guys ( men ) in their 20’s who could shoot ( + Hinson ) and they had 4 yrs of college ball under their wings . No matter what the potential of Bub and Lowe are , they’re 18 yr old freshman and it shows .

The portal acquisitions of Ish and Austin while on paper looked good neither are difference makers .

The twins are potential and 2 yrs away and Fede’s regressed leaving the middle totally exposed .

Moral of the story schools like Pitt will really struggle building the roster with talented high schoolers vs finding older experienced players through the portal . Compounding the problem is that better programs are siphoning off the best portal players filling in the holes on their rosters .

Unless Pitt become$ a major player in NIL I don’t see a bright future for the program regardless of who the HC is .

Ps….Blame JC for the composition of the roster , but at some point the blame also needs to be shared with the players throwing up brick after brick , JC isn’t shooting.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Last season Pitt had three guys ( men ) in their 20’s who could shoot ( + Hinson ) and they had 4 yrs of college ball under their wings . No matter what the potential of Bub and Lowe are , they’re 18 yr old freshman and it shows .

The portal acquisitions of Ish and Austin while on paper looked good neither are difference makers .

The twins are potential and 2 yrs away and Fede’s regressed leaving the middle totally exposed .

Moral of the story schools like Pitt will really struggle building the roster with talented high schoolers vs finding older experienced players through the portal . Compounding the problem is that better programs are siphoning off the best portal players filling in the holes on their rosters .

Unless Pitt become$ a major player in NIL I don’t see a bright future for the program regardless of who the HC is .

Ps….Blame JC for the composition of the roster , but at some point the blame also needs to be shared with the players throwing up brick after brick , JC isn’t shooting.

Capel’s offense consists of 4 guys standing around and 1 guy either chucking up a shot or going one on one. Aside from last year, his teams have played selfishly and quit at some point.

 

[Protes]

Last season Pitt had three guys ( men ) in their 20’s who could shoot ( + Hinson ) and they had 4 yrs of college ball under their wings . No matter what the potential of Bub and Lowe are , they’re 18 yr old freshman and it shows .

The portal acquisitions of Ish and Austin while on paper looked good neither are difference makers .

The twins are potential and 2 yrs away and Fede’s regressed leaving the middle totally exposed .

Moral of the story schools like Pitt will really struggle building the roster with talented high schoolers vs finding older experienced players through the portal . Compounding the problem is that better programs are siphoning off the best portal players filling in the holes on their rosters .

Unless Pitt become$ a major player in NIL I don’t see a bright future for the program regardless of who the HC is .

Ps….Blame JC for the composition of the roster , but at some point the blame also needs to be shared with the players throwing up brick after brick , JC isn’t shooting.

The coach stinks and the players we had last year covered for his deficiencies. It's too simplistic to blame freshmen. While Bub has been exposed, Jaland has been very good. The problem is we have a coach who has no system. We don't run any sets or play any semblance of good, sound, fundamental basketball. There's no way to get the most out of his players. Under Ben and Jamie, we knew the mantra. Defend, rebound and get good shots. Under Capel, it's roll the ball out there and pray for the best. Honestly, it's flummoxing how someone with his experience as a player and coach can be so inept.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Last season Pitt had three guys ( men ) in their 20’s who could shoot ( + Hinson ) and they had 4 yrs of college ball under their wings . No matter what the potential of Bub and Lowe are , they’re 18 yr old freshman and it shows .

The portal acquisitions of Ish and Austin while on paper looked good neither are difference makers .

The twins are potential and 2 yrs away and Fede’s regressed leaving the middle totally exposed .

Moral of the story schools like Pitt will really struggle building the roster with talented high schoolers vs finding older experienced players through the portal . Compounding the problem is that better programs are siphoning off the best portal players filling in the holes on their rosters .

Unless Pitt become$ a major player in NIL I don’t see a bright future for the program regardless of who the HC is .

Ps….Blame JC for the composition of the roster , but at some point the blame also needs to be shared with the players throwing up brick after brick , JC isn’t shooting.

24 year old Nelly is a much better college basketball player than 18 year old Bub.

Burton is way better than Leggett

Elliott is way better than Austin

Last year Fede is way better than GDG or this year Fede.

Nike off the bench is better than anyone we are bringing off the bench

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

24 year old Nelly is a much better college basketball player than 18 year old Bub.

Burton is way better than Leggett

Elliott is way better than Austin

Last year Fede is way better than GDG or this year Fede.

Nike off the bench is better than anyone we are bringing off the bench

The veteran guys also had a high basketball IQ and didn’t need much coaching.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

The veteran guys also had a high basketball IQ and didn’t need much coaching.

Nelly and Burton were old school Pitt players. Like say Tray and Brad. Not uber talented but knew how to play basketball. This is why I say recruiting freshman is mostly a waste of time. As good as Lowe and Bub have looked at times, the 23 year old dude who averaged 18 for Elon or whatever is better.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Nelly and Burton were old school Pitt players. Like say Tray and Brad. Not uber talented but knew how to play basketball. This is why I say recruiting freshman is mostly a waste of time. As good as Lowe and Bub have looked at times, the 23 year old dude who averaged 18 for Elon or whatever is better.

I agree - Pitt needs to spend their NIL $ on veteran transfers.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I agree - Pitt needs to spend their NIL $ on veteran transfers.

And vets defend better. Freshmen have never played D in AAU so it takes them a few years in college to learn how to play defense.

 

[4upmc]

Nelly and Burton were old school Pitt players. Like say Tray and Brad. Not uber talented but knew how to play basketball.

Yep tough guys with heart. This team is super soft.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Yep tough guys with heart. This team is super soft.

Soft yes but young. You CANT be young. We start 2 freshmen and a sophomore. You cant win like that anymore. Those need to be veteran transfers. Then you get GDG as a junior or senior when he averaged 17 for Florida Gulf Coast.

 

[gary2]

Last season Pitt had three guys ( men ) in their 20’s who could shoot ( + Hinson ) and they had 4 yrs of college ball under their wings . No matter what the potential of Bub and Lowe are , they’re 18 yr old freshman and it shows .

The portal acquisitions of Ish and Austin while on paper looked good neither are difference makers .

The twins are potential and 2 yrs away and Fede’s regressed leaving the middle totally exposed .

Moral of the story schools like Pitt will really struggle building the roster with talented high schoolers vs finding older experienced players through the portal . Compounding the problem is that better programs are siphoning off the best portal players filling in the holes on their rosters .

Unless Pitt become$ a major player in NIL I don’t see a bright future for the program regardless of who the HC is .

Ps….Blame JC for the composition of the roster , but at some point the blame also needs to be shared with the players throwing up brick after brick , JC isn’t shooting.

To your Ps - It is easier to not throw up bricks when shots come through the flow of the offense.

 

[PittSquared]

The coach stinks and the players we had last year covered for his deficiencies. It's too simplistic to blame freshmen. While Bub has been exposed, Jaland has been very good. The problem is we have a coach who has no system. We don't run any sets or play any semblance of good, sound, fundamental basketball. There's no way to get the most out of his players. Under Ben and Jamie, we knew the mantra. Defend, rebound and get good shots. Under Capel, it's roll the ball out there and pray for the best. Honestly, it's flummoxing how someone with his experience as a player and coach can be so inept.

I see this criticism a lot. What shots would you try to set up, and who would take them? We don't have front court scorers. It's great to work the ball down low when you have wide bodies who can finish. Fede and the twins are 6'11" finesse players at 5. We don't have a Sam Young, Chevy Troutman, Jaron Brown guy at 4 who will bang and create shots. That all may be on Capel for constructing the roster, but the offense is one dimensional because the players are one-dimensional. Carrington and Lowe, and to a lesser degree Leggett, have some ability to create off of the dribble. Otherwise, chucking it up from outside is the only realistic way our guys can score. I don't know if Kante would have helped, or if Barnes can someday contribute, but we sorely lack offense down low and inside the paint.

 

[pittchagg]

I see this criticism a lot. What shots would you try to set up, and who would take them? We don't have front court scorers. It's great to work the ball down low when you have wide bodies who can finish. Fede and the twins are 6'11" finesse players at 5. We don't have a Sam Young, Chevy Troutman, Jaron Brown guy at 4 who will bang and create shots. That all may be on Capel for constructing the roster, but the offense is one dimensional because the players are one-dimensional. Carrington and Lowe, and to a lesser degree Leggett, have some ability to create off of the dribble. Otherwise, chucking it up from outside is the only realistic way our guys can score. I don't know if Kante would have helped, or if Barnes can someday contribute, but we sorely lack offense down low and inside the paint.

I think this line of thought is a little antiquated. The version of Fede that we had last year is more than sufficient to have success this year. Like, not a bit of improvement, just the exact same guy. Unfortunately, he hasn’t come anywhere close to that level this year.

To win in modern college basketball, you need to space the floor and you need to make shots. That’s how the most efficient offenses are structured. Watch a UConn game and watch how they play. The best way to do that and create space on the perimeter and at the rim is with a 5 who plays a lot like Fede is supposed to play. Unfortunately, when he’s playing like this, he is totally useless.

 

[Protes]

I see this criticism a lot. What shots would you try to set up, and who would take them? We don't have front court scorers. It's great to work the ball down low when you have wide bodies who can finish. Fede and the twins are 6'11" finesse players at 5. We don't have a Sam Young, Chevy Troutman, Jaron Brown guy at 4 who will bang and create shots. That all may be on Capel for constructing the roster, but the offense is one dimensional because the players are one-dimensional. Carrington and Lowe, and to a lesser degree Leggett, have some ability to create off of the dribble. Otherwise, chucking it up from outside is the only realistic way our guys can score. I don't know if Kante would have helped, or if Barnes can someday contribute, but we sorely lack offense down low and inside the paint.

It's fair to point out that we lack somewhat in talent. But we have a senior forward who has a track record of hitting 3's and we do nothing to set him up. Absolving the coach completely by just saying the roster isn't good, I can't agree with. If we had some structure to the offense, we'd be better than we are. It's been like this for 5 of 6 years now. Last year was an aberration.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

It's fair to point out that we lack somewhat in talent. But we have a senior forward who has a track record of hitting 3's and we do nothing to set him up. Absolving the coach completely by just saying the roster isn't good, I can't agree with. If we had some structure to the offense, we'd be better than we are. It's been like this for 5 of 6 years now. Last year was an aberration.

We dont run any sets to get him open. Everything he shoots is contested

 

[pittchagg]

We dont run any sets to get him open. Everything he shoots is contested

We run a variety of things to try to get him open. It’s largely unsuccessful because Fede has played so poorly and we don’t have any other bona fide shooting threats that we can put on the floor with him to space. Lowe isn’t a shooter. Bub isn’t a threat when he’s shooting under 25% from three and bricking wide open looks or hurrying things in transition. Austin is actually starting to come around a little bit and present himself as a viable threat on the perimeter, but you can’t be as active with him off the ball as they are with Blake.

 

[MorningCoffee13]

The right coach with a consistent thought process on offensive scheme would bring reasonable success based on guys Pitt can get. Maybe tourney once every three years. But from the very beginning I watched Jeff’s sets and just didn’t understand what he was doing. Same goes today.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

We run a variety of things to try to get him open. It’s largely unsuccessful because Fede has played so poorly and we don’t have any other bona fide shooting threats that we can put on the floor with him to space. Lowe isn’t a shooter. Bub isn’t a threat when he’s shooting under 25% from three and bricking wide open looks or hurrying things in transition. Austin is actually starting to come around a little bit and present himself as a viable threat on the perimeter, but you can’t be as active with him off the ball as they are with Blake.

Would you part ways with Jeff Capel after this season? And if not, then why?

 

[pittchagg]

Would you part ways with Jeff Capel after this season? And if not, then why?

I lean more in the “move on” direction with each game like this.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Would you part ways with Jeff Capel after this season? And if not, then why?

Didn't ask me, but yes. You can't keep him simply to save a few million dollars.

Jesus H, he's in year 6 and it looks like a playground pickup game every night.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Jeff Capel’s Contract Buyout a Factor in Whether He’ll Return to Pitt for Fifth Season

The cries for Pitt to make a change with their men’s basketball coach went away after the Panthers three-game winning streak, capped off by an impressive 76-67 win over North Carolina last week. That silence didn’t last long as the Panthers have put together two disappointing, lifeless...

pittsburghsportsnow.com

This article was from 2 years ago, so IF it’s accurate then we wouldn’t owe him a ton of money.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Jeff Capel’s Contract Buyout a Factor in Whether He’ll Return to Pitt for Fifth Season

The cries for Pitt to make a change with their men’s basketball coach went away after the Panthers three-game winning streak, capped off by an impressive 76-67 win over North Carolina last week. That silence didn’t last long as the Panthers have put together two disappointing, lifeless...

pittsburghsportsnow.com

This article was from 2 years ago, so IF it’s accurate then we wouldn’t owe him a ton of money.

I don't trust Vuk or his sources at all. If the buyout is anywhere near $5m, Heather should be dropping him and Jason off at the airport tomorrow.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

The only difference was last year. An outlier.

 

[pittchagg]

I don't trust Vuk or his sources at all. If the buyout is anywhere near $5m, Heather should be dropping him and Jason off at the airport tomorrow.

I don’t know what the benefit is in a midseason firing. The team is what it is. What are you going to gain with an interim coach? None of the guys on the staff are getting a shot at the job even if they rip off a few wins as the interim head coach. Just not sure what you get out of it.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I lean more in the “move on” direction with each game like this.

Unless he turns it around, I am now in that camp. Last night was one of the worst Pitt home games in many years considering we had equal, if not better talent than Syr and the crowd was dead.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

I don’t know what the benefit is in a midseason firing. The team is what it is. What are you going to gain with an interim coach? None of the guys on the staff are getting a shot at the job even if they rip off a few wins as the interim head coach. Just not sure what you get out of it.

I was being facetious because I don't believe the buyout is as low as Vuk's article claimed. I'd be surprised if it was under $10m.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I was being facetious because I don't believe the buyout is as low as Vuk's article claimed. I'd be surprised if it was under $10m.

Its generally a percentage of the remaining money left on a contract. Usually a high percentage. So probably around $9 million.

 

[PittPharm2002]

Last season Pitt had three guys ( men ) in their 20’s who could shoot ( + Hinson ) and they had 4 yrs of college ball under their wings . No matter what the potential of Bub and Lowe are , they’re 18 yr old freshman and it shows .

The portal acquisitions of Ish and Austin while on paper looked good neither are difference makers .

The twins are potential and 2 yrs away and Fede’s regressed leaving the middle totally exposed .

Moral of the story schools like Pitt will really struggle building the roster with talented high schoolers vs finding older experienced players through the portal . Compounding the problem is that better programs are siphoning off the best portal players filling in the holes on their rosters .

Unless Pitt become$ a major player in NIL I don’t see a bright future for the program regardless of who the HC is .

Ps….Blame JC for the composition of the roster , but at some point the blame also needs to be shared with the players throwing up brick after brick , JC isn’t shooting.

Lack of experienced guards and shooters

It’s really that simple
Fede played over his head last year and regressed to the project he is

We need a transfer shooter and portal experienced physical big

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Lack of experienced guards and shooters

It’s really that simple
Fede played over his head last year and regressed to the project he is

We need a transfer shooter and portal experienced physical big

Had Joe Girard on campus. Needed to close him. Him starting instead of Austin in a 3 guard lineup is the difference between 4-16 and 12-8. Fatal error.

 

[TD_6082]

Had Joe Girard on campus. Needed to close him. Him starting instead of Austin in a 3 guard lineup is the difference between 4-16 and 12-8. Fatal error.

Lol. He starts for a mediocre Clemson team that is 2-4 in the ACC and doubtful to make the tourney.

 

[PittPharm2002]

Had Joe Girard on campus. Needed to close him. Him starting instead of Austin in a 3 guard lineup is the difference between 4-16 and 12-8. Fatal error.

He went to a good team who will be in the ncaat

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Reasons Jeff’s going nowhere .

You’ve got 2 pretty good freshman playing an another one sitting do to an injury . You’re also bringing in another pretty good freshman next yr . New coach , my bet they’re all gone (.3/4 for sure )

Forget the announced attendance , there’s empty seats everywhere the cameras scan . There’s not a coach out there coming to Pitt that’s going to fill those empty seats . Pitts not printing money in their revenue sports .

You owe him 5-10 million dollars , that money in the NIL buys Pitt the players it’s lacking . ( schools try to find idiots to pay the buyouts , they don’t use their own cash , ) persuade those boosters to funnel that money to the NIL instead of the university . Unfortunately that money isn’t tax deductible.

He’s Heathers guy and unlike KS he represents the university in a positive manner. He’s here next yr , but it will be a do or die yr for him .

 

[Black Panther]

I lean more in the “move on” direction with each game like this.

The game last night was especially hard to watch.Much like a lot of other recent games minus the Louisville game.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I think this line of thought is a little antiquated. The version of Fede that we had last year is more than sufficient to have success this year. Like, not a bit of improvement, just the exact same guy. Unfortunately, he hasn’t come anywhere close to that level this year.

Last year teams didn't pay any attention to him on offense, because they were worried about what the other four guys on the court could do. This year we frequently play guys who the opponent is more than happy to let shoot, so defenses can and do pay more attention to him. And he can't handle that.

It's not really that he's worse than last year, it's that he's being exposed this year in ways that never happened last year.

 

[TD_6082]

He went to a good team who will be in the ncaat

Are you sure? I thought he went to Clemson.

 

[TD_6082]

Reasons Jeff’s going nowhere .

You’ve got 2 pretty good freshman playing an another one sitting do to an injury . You’re also bringing in another pretty good freshman next yr . New coach , my bet they’re all gone (.3/4 for sure )

Forget the announced attendance , there’s empty seats everywhere the cameras scan . There’s not a coach out there coming to Pitt that’s going to fill those empty seats . Pitts not printing money in their revenue sports .

You owe him 5-10 million dollars , that money in the NIL buys Pitt the players it’s lacking . ( schools try to find idiots to pay the buyouts , they don’t use their own cash , ) persuade those boosters to funnel that money to the NIL instead of the university . Unfortunately that money isn’t tax deductible.

He’s Heathers guy and unlike KS he represents the university in a positive manner. He’s here next yr , but it will be a do or die yr for him .

I doubt if any booster is willing to pay good money for players if they are going to be coached by Jeff Capel.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

The game last night was especially hard to watch.Much like a lot of other recent games minus the Louisville game.

Wait until 'Ville visits The Pete soon. That's not going to be an easy game unless Capel suddenly starts coaching competently and we get an injection of hard-nosed guys who want to play defense and rebound. Other than Jaland and Jeffress, we don't have anyone willing to do that.

 

[Cap pitt]

Last season Pitt had three guys ( men ) in their 20’s who could shoot ( + Hinson ) and they had 4 yrs of college ball under their wings . No matter what the potential of Bub and Lowe are , they’re 18 yr old freshman and it shows .

The portal acquisitions of Ish and Austin while on paper looked good neither are difference makers .

The twins are potential and 2 yrs away and Fede’s regressed leaving the middle totally exposed .

Moral of the story schools like Pitt will really struggle building the roster with talented high schoolers vs finding older experienced players through the portal . Compounding the problem is that better programs are siphoning off the best portal players filling in the holes on their rosters .

Unless Pitt become$ a major player in NIL I don’t see a bright future for the program regardless of who the HC is .

Ps….Blame JC for the composition of the roster , but at some point the blame also needs to be shared with the players throwing up brick after brick , JC isn’t shooting.

I totally agree, last year they were older then some nba teams, this year not so much, much younger and much less experience

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Lol. He starts for a mediocre Clemson team that is 2-4 in the ACC and doubtful to make the tourney.

Clemson, Wake, and UVa are all right there trying to get the ACC's 3rd NCAAT bid.

 

[PittPharm2002]

Clemson, Wake, and UVa are all right there trying to get the ACC's 3rd NCAAT bid.

You do this every year and every year you’re wrong