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What is Brandin Knight's best asset as an Assistant? I was under the impression

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mdpitt

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That defense was his thing along with coaching the guards to start the flow. We now play zero defense and the flow is cautious at best.

I know I'm kind of picking on a legend for Pitt but it seems like with all the changes that have not worked, Knight is the one constant other than coach Dixon.

I hope Jamie Dixon is here for another 20 years personally but I sure would love to have an up and coming assistant with a deliberate style and dynamic recruiter come in, run the show behind the scenes and Jamie simply conducts the orchestra on game day.

Jamie Dixon sure looks like he needs a fresh shot of optimism.
 
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It's hard to say what Brandin does or dos'nt do. We are not in practice or on the recruiting trail.
It is obvious that someone on the staff isn't doing something in practice or on the recruiting trail.
When will someone do something.
Until someone does something; Pitt is on the wash, rinse, repeat cycle.
 
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MDPitt I was just thinking the same thing and I'm really starting to believe that Jamie is missing that number 1 assistant and that has been a problem. I might if I was AD Barnes I might insist on Jamie hiring a number 1 assistant that can be another ear for Jamie to listen to.
 
King Of All Message Boards said:
He gets up and screams and jumps up and down when Dixon needs a break.
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Actually, they frequently scream and jump in unison! Honestly, I'd imagine it could get a little confusing for the players. It's like when the football team has multiple people signaling in plays and the players have to know which guy to watch.

I've also noticed that while Jamie is crouched down in front of the players during timeouts, Brandin often starts yelling at them from over Jamie's head. Now, I'm hoping that Jamie isn't talking at the same time Brandin is yelling, but you can't tell from where I sit.
 
Hes in all reality a decent recruiter. And would be a great 3rd guy on the staff, but fact is that he is just "ok" from what ive picked up over the past few seasons. Id feel better about having an ex-head coach whos collecting from a previous job, along with BK. If smoke doesnt bring someone in recruiting wise he wont be here much longer....and again....like ive said a hundred times...what exactly does barton do?
 
Most handsome man on staff. Recruits moms drool over him.
 
ClarkLotTgate said:
Hes in all reality a decent recruiter. And would be a great 3rd guy on the staff, but fact is that he is just "ok" from what ive picked up over the past few seasons. Id feel better about having an ex-head coach whos collecting from a previous job, along with BK. If smoke doesnt bring someone in recruiting wise he wont be here much longer....and again....like ive said a hundred times...what exactly does barton do?
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Barton was lead recruiter on Artis, Nix, Kithcart and I think Clark.
 
Not to take away from Knight but I think that Jamie really needs an older veteran coach on the bench beside him. Someone that ran their own program for a while and would be happy being a right hand man, a mentor of sorts. Maybe the ying to his yang. Not sure if Jamie would listen to him but to have someone that would challenge him a bit. To say "Whoah Nellie" once in a while. Kind of like what Willard is to Pitino.
 
I hate to say this but I think it's probably time for BK to move on. He's a little too much like Jamie in that he's really, really intense. Maybe he and Jamie at once are too much. I don't know. Ultimately it's Jamie's program but let's face it, he's probably not going anywhere. Knight has also been pretty disappointing on the recruiting trail, at least lately. He's the second in command and his spot needs to be our best recruiter. He does get credit for landing Wilson, and I'd imagine he had a hand in Kitchart but Barton has actually passed him. Barton is the guy who has done all the digging on the grad transfer/jucos/and was the lead on Kithcart. Smoke was the lead on Manigault. It was really disappointing Knight couldn't even get a visit from Myles Powell and he was supposed to have a relationship with Brandin. We also couldn't even get Temple Gibbs to give us a serious look. Again, Dixon deserves a lot, maybe even most, of the blame but he's not going anywhere. Barnes needs to throw out the money to hire a top notch former coach, recruiter that can help get us back on track. I'd imagine Barton leaves too even though he hasnt been as bad as we all say, at least lately.
 
Probably the best indication of what the industry thinks of BK is that I can't remember him ever being mentioned as a HC or the possibility of being poached. With our previous success you would think he could at least get an interview with a MAC or NEC school.
 
Harve74 said:
Barton was lead recruiter on Artis, Nix, Kithcart and I think Clark.
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Are u making a case to support him or fire him? Artis is a selfish player who plays no defense. Nix- Not exactly enthused by a guy who cannot even warm up, Clark and Kithcart - who knows, but Kithcart actually credited Dixon with coming here.
 
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Delpanther said:
they're not necessarily mutually exclusive attributes and how would a guy who's also a good bench coach hurt?
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Obviously someone whose great at both is ideal. If I'm choosing though I'd go with the recruiter. Plus whom amongst us knows what kind of job BKnight is doing.
 
CCHS82 said:
Not to take away from Knight but I think that Jamie really needs an older veteran coach on the bench beside him. Someone that ran their own program for a while and would be happy being a right hand man, a mentor of sorts. Maybe the ying to his yang. Not sure if Jamie would listen to him but to have someone that would challenge him a bit. To say "Whoah Nellie" once in a while. Kind of like what Willard is to Pitino.
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I totally agree with this. Someone who has been a head coach. Kind of like Self has in Norm Roberts, Williams has in Steve Robinson, Huggy has in Billy Hahn and Coach K has in Capel. Hell, Pitt best team had Herrion on the bench. Time to find someone like that again.
 
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All I know is we were a Top 10 team in the polls on numerous occasions when JD had a good right hand man. It is obvious he needs one.
 
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Piranha said:
All I know is we were a Top 10 team in the polls on numerous occasions when JD had a good right hand man. It is obvious he needs one.
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How about Dino Gaudio? He has Wake going well when he was inexplicably sacked. Seemed to recruit ok. They have been in the crapper since firing him.
 
cabe23 said:
I hate to say this but I think it's probably time for BK to move on. He's a little too much like Jamie in that he's really, really intense. Maybe he and Jamie at once are too much. I don't know. Ultimately it's Jamie's program but let's face it, he's probably not going anywhere. Knight has also been pretty disappointing on the recruiting trail, at least lately. He's the second in command and his spot needs to be our best recruiter. He does get credit for landing Wilson, and I'd imagine he had a hand in Kitchart but Barton has actually passed him. Barton is the guy who has done all the digging on the grad transfer/jucos/and was the lead on Kithcart. Smoke was the lead on Manigault. It was really disappointing Knight couldn't even get a visit from Myles Powell and he was supposed to have a relationship with Brandin. We also couldn't even get Temple Gibbs to give us a serious look. Again, Dixon deserves a lot, maybe even most, of the blame but he's not going anywhere. Barnes needs to throw out the money to hire a top notch former coach, recruiter that can help get us back on track. I'd imagine Barton leaves too even though he hasnt been as bad as we all say, at least lately.
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Can't argue BK maybe should go. New blood is almost always a good idea, just for a different point of view if nothing else. .

I would argue that we were weeks if not months too late in offering and showing love to Gibbs and especially Powell. We were focused on Rowan and Heron long after it became pretty obvious neither was coming here.

I doubt we change BOTH Knight and Barton. We need some continuity and I gotta think Williamson might be gone after next year unless he really hits it in the '17 class. .
 
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KiwiJeff said:
How about Dino Gaudio? He has Wake going well when he was inexplicably sacked. Seemed to recruit ok. They have been in the crapper since firing him.
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Someone along those lines. I mentioned him a few years ago. He is 58 and seems to like his gig. There are a lot of possibilities out there. It is a lot easier to spend an extra 200k on an assistant rather than 10-15 million on buyouts. Go out and get the best assistants you can find.
 
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Harve74 said:
Can't argue BK maybe should go. New blood is almost always a good idea, just for a different point of view if nothing else. .

I would argue that we were weeks if not months too late in offering and showing love to Gibbs and especially Powell. We were focused on Rowan and Heron long after it became pretty obvious neither was coming here.

I doubt we change BOTH Knight and Barton. We need some continuity and I gotta think Williamson might be gone after next year unless he really hits it in the '17 class. .
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My guess is that Barton and Regan go. An experienced coach (with prior head coaching on his resume) with recent ACC recruiting contacts is hired as Assistant Head. Knight and Williamson stay and Richards is promoted to replace Regan.

Knight has been on the staff when we were good, Barton was not. Knight clearly knows more about basketball than either Barton or Williamson, I know Bob Prince and Mike Lange were fired. I do not expect the same to happen with Brandin Knight. Without Knight and Krauser even with Howland and Dixon, Pitt would be Duquesne before Everhart and Ferry.

Maybe he has not been the best recruiter but who made the decision to concentrate on Rowan, Herron and Diallo and ignore Gibbs and Powell? Was that Knight's decision?

Brandin Knight is a Pitt icon. I can not envision him being fired.
 
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gary2 said:
My guess is that Barton and Regan go. An experienced coach (with prior head coaching on his resume) with recent ACC recruiting contacts is hired as Assistant Head. Knight and Williamson stay and Richards is promoted to replace Regan.

Knight has been on the staff when we were good, Barton was not. Knight clearly knows more about basketball than either Barton or Williamson, I know Bob Prince and Mike Lange were fired. I do not expect the same to happen with Brandin Knight. Without Knight and Krauser even with Howland and Dixon, Pitt would be Duquesne before Everhart and Ferry.

Maybe he has not been the best recruiter but who made the decision to concentrate on Rowan, Herron and Diallo and ignore Gibbs and Powell? Was that Knight's decision?

Brandin Knight is a Pitt icon. I can not envision him being fired.
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I think you may be right. He may "suddenly" leave for a different position, but perhaps not publicly fired.
 
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Voice of Danno said:
Probably the best indication of what the industry thinks of BK is that I can't remember him ever being mentioned as a HC or the possibility of being poached. With our previous success you would think he could at least get an interview with a MAC or NEC school.
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Bingo! You would think that we would have heard at least some rumblings about him being looked at by another school.
 
CCHS82 said:
Bingo! You would think that we would have heard at least some rumblings about him being looked at by another school.
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To be fair, how often do you hear of many assistants being up for jobs? Maybe there a handful out there that the talking heads throw out there, but there are over 900 assistant coaches. I don't find it at all unusual for a guy not to be publicly on anyone's short list.
 
cabe23 said:
I hate to say this but I think it's probably time for BK to move on. He's a little too much like Jamie in that he's really, really intense. Maybe he and Jamie at once are too much. I don't know. Ultimately it's Jamie's program but let's face it, he's probably not going anywhere. Knight has also been pretty disappointing on the recruiting trail, at least lately. He's the second in command and his spot needs to be our best recruiter. He does get credit for landing Wilson, and I'd imagine he had a hand in Kitchart but Barton has actually passed him. Barton is the guy who has done all the digging on the grad transfer/jucos/and was the lead on Kithcart. Smoke was the lead on Manigault. It was really disappointing Knight couldn't even get a visit from Myles Powell and he was supposed to have a relationship with Brandin. We also couldn't even get Temple Gibbs to give us a serious look. Again, Dixon deserves a lot, maybe even most, of the blame but he's not going anywhere. Barnes needs to throw out the money to hire a top notch former coach, recruiter that can help get us back on track. I'd imagine Barton leaves too even though he hasnt been as bad as we all say, at least lately.
Click to expand...
BK seems to be the guy berating the players. Jamie is just constantly yelling instructions...doesn't seem to criticize the players in public. He uses bench time to show his displeasure.
I think Brandin has shown an inability to recruit. Kids today don't know his history, as his pro career went nowhere with that injury. So there's no sizzle. If Barton's beginning to do a bit better, Smoke showing signs, an older guy with AAU ties to the east would be the ticket.
It is interesting that Dixon only consults with BK & Jason Richards during timeouts.
 
NTOP said:
BK seems to be the guy berating the players. Jamie is just constantly yelling instructions...doesn't seem to criticize the players in public. He uses bench time to show his displeasure.
I think Brandin has shown an inability to recruit. Kids today don't know his history, as his pro career went nowhere with that injury. So there's no sizzle. If Barton's beginning to do a bit better, Smoke showing signs, an older guy with AAU ties to the east would be the ticket.
It is interesting that Dixon only consults with BK & Jason Richards during timeouts.
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JD really likes Richards. Almost like he views him as his protege. Richards = Young JD
 
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NTOP said:
BK seems to be the guy berating the players. Jamie is just constantly yelling instructions...doesn't seem to criticize the players in public. He uses bench time to show his displeasure.
I think Brandin has shown an inability to recruit. Kids today don't know his history, as his pro career went nowhere with that injury. So there's no sizzle. If Barton's beginning to do a bit better, Smoke showing signs, an older guy with AAU ties to the east would be the ticket.
It is interesting that Dixon only consults with BK & Jason Richards during timeouts.
Click to expand...

Maybe that tells you something
 
Piranha said:
Someone along those lines. I mentioned him a few years ago. He is 58 and seems to like his gig. There are a lot of possibilities out there. It is a lot easier to spend an extra 200k on an assistant rather than 10-15 million on buyouts. Go out and get the best assistants you can find.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure they talked with Gaudio when Herrion left. His personality is supposed to be very abrasive and somebody told me he and Dixon didn't hit it off.

I'm sorry but I just don't see the need for an older, experienced bench coach alongside a 50-year old former Naismith COY winner with over 300 wins under his belt. Dixon was Ben's top assistant at NAU and Pitt for several years before that. He's not wet behind the ears.

I CAN buy the need for a young energetic recruiter. And for a guy with knowledge of analytics like Richards. Maybe Jason fills both needs. Knight was considered for the Bobby Mo job a few years ago and if Andy Toole keeps kicking half his roster out every year, that job could come open sooner rather than later.

Just as I don't think both Knight and Barton leave, I don't think BOTH Barton and Regan leave. Both do a lot of the political BS and scut work for Dixon. Barton effectively fills a recruiting coordinator-type role, as well as does a lot of compliance work. A lot of people seem to think we might benefit from replacing Regan.

There will probably be SOME staff changes. The question is who?
 
I think Regan should go. I don't really believe I've heard a whole lot good about him and have heard his personality isn't the greatest. Maybe that's wrong, I don't know him personally, but that's just what I've heard. I know he recruits locally to the degree his position allows him to do so, and his brother is now a Judge but it's probably time to move on. I think he wanted bumped up when Smoke was hired, he even told a couple people he would be. It's pretty telling that he wasnt, IMO. As Matt said a few weeks ago, that position is usually used as a stepping stone for guys like Richards, but Regan has been there for awhile and has blocked anyone else from getting the position.

I think Barton is going to move on. He's been rumored to be doing so for the last two years. I would guess he might be ready to move on himself. He has done a decent job the last few years recruiting juco and 5th year guys but the ceiling should be higher than that. I think he should be replaced, at least his position is a recruiting one even if he isn't technically the top assistant. Replacing Regan does nothing to help recruiting bc he cant really recruit off campus.
 
cabe23 said:
I think Regan should go. I don't really believe I've heard a whole lot good about him and have heard his personality isn't the greatest. Maybe that's wrong, I don't know him personally, but that's just what I've heard. I know he recruits locally to the degree his position allows him to do so, and his brother is now a Judge but it's probably time to move on. I think he wanted bumped up when Smoke was hired, he even told a couple people he would be. It's pretty telling that he wasnt, IMO. As Matt said a few weeks ago, that position is usually used as a stepping stone for guys like Richards, but Regan has been there for awhile and has blocked anyone else from getting the position.

I think Barton is going to move on. He's been rumored to be doing so for the last two years. I would guess he might be ready to move on himself. He has done a decent job the last few years recruiting juco and 5th year guys but the ceiling should be higher than that. I think he should be replaced, at least his position is a recruiting one even if he isn't technically the top assistant. Replacing Regan does nothing to help recruiting bc he cant really recruit off campus.
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When you say there are rumors about Barton leaving, is that actual rumors, or posting on this site? Agree about Regan.
 
Harve74 said:
I'm pretty sure they talked with Gaudio when Herrion left. His personality is supposed to be very abrasive and somebody told me he and Dixon didn't hit it off.

I'm sorry but I just don't see the need for an older, experienced bench coach alongside a 50-year old former Naismith COY winner with over 300 wins under his belt. Dixon was Ben's top assistant at NAU and Pitt for several years before that. He's not wet behind the ears.

I CAN buy the need for a young energetic recruiter. And for a guy with knowledge of analytics like Richards. Maybe Jason fills both needs. Knight was considered for the Bobby Mo job a few years ago and if Andy Toole keeps kicking half his roster out every year, that job could come open sooner rather than later.

Just as I don't think both Knight and Barton leave, I don't think BOTH Barton and Regan leave. Both do a lot of the political BS and scut work for Dixon. Barton effectively fills a recruiting coordinator-type role, as well as does a lot of compliance work. A lot of people seem to think we might benefit from replacing Regan.

There will probably be SOME staff changes. The question is who?
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Jim Calhoun gives a ton of credit to George Blaney for making him a better coach. There are a lot of other examples, but you are either moving forward or going backwards. JD is going backwards and would greatly benefit from a veteran #1 and a good, aggressive asst. who can recruit. The program is stale.
 
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