Where does JC go from here

[Fsgolfdr]

When JC took the job I’m sure in his mind he had a master plan on how to turn around Pitts bb program . When you listen to him he realizes that to build a sustainable quality program you have to do all the little things right and have patience .
We can learn two things from Duke and Coach K . First , Duke playing with 3 healthy freshman who are projected to be the # 2, 3 and 20th picks in the upcoming NBA draft struggle beating teams like Wake w/o Zion , this shows you that winning in the ACC with freshman is no easy task . Pitts incoming freshman will not be picked at the top of the NBA draft nor will they be Zionlike . So expecting these guys to come in and turn Pitt into a competitive team next season is unrealistic . Second look at Coach K’s record at Duke , it wasn’t until yr 4 that his team made the NCAAs and yr 6 that he made a final four . It wasn’t an overnight success story .
I don’t think JC panics and deviates from his plan , he will add players who he thinks he can help turn the program around in the long run and not add 4 grad transfers and jucos to squeeze out a few W’s next yr . This is a multi year process and until he has quality upperclassmen Pitt will continue to struggle to win games in the ACC.
As Pitt fans we need to embrace the process and appreciate the small steps the program takes it will not be an overnight success story .

 

[efkemanas]

When JC took the job I’m sure in his mind he had a master plan on how to turn around Pitts bb program . When you listen to him he realizes that to build a sustainable quality program you have to do all the little things right and have patience .
We can learn two things from Duke and Coach K . First , Duke playing with 3 healthy freshman who are projected to be the # 2, 3 and 20th picks in the upcoming NBA draft struggle beating teams like Wake w/o Zion , this shows you that winning in the ACC with freshman is no easy task . Pitts incoming freshman will not be picked at the top of the NBA draft nor will they be Zionlike . So expecting these guys to come in and turn Pitt into a competitive team next season is unrealistic . Second look at Coach K’s record at Duke , it wasn’t until yr 4 that his team made the NCAAs and yr 6 that he made a final four . It wasn’t an overnight success story .
I don’t think JC panics and deviates from his plan , he will add players who he thinks he can help turn the program around in the long run and not add 4 grad transfers and jucos to squeeze out a few W’s next yr . This is a multi year process and until he has quality upperclassmen Pitt will continue to struggle to win games in the ACC.
As Pitt fans we need to embrace the process and appreciate the small steps the program takes it will not be an overnight success story .

I agree with your Duke point, but they have the 1, 2, 4, and 20 prospects in the country. Their will have 4 1st round freshman this year and are struggling without their true number 1.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I agree with your Duke point, but they have the 1, 2, 4, and 20 prospects in the country. Their will have 4 1st round freshman this year and are struggling without their true number 1.

That was my point that without Zion they were lucky to beat Wake and lost to Va T . Your never supposed to say never . but I’m pretty confident that Pitt will never have a class like that .

 

[FireballZ]

As Pitt fans we need to embrace the process and appreciate the small steps the program takes it will not be an overnight success story .

I generally agree with your sentiment and it was my perspective last year when Stallings was being crucified that it wouldn't have mattered who our coach was, relying almost exclusively on freshman and first year ACC players is a recipe for disaster.

That said, and I'm all for embracing this process, again...however, where I, and probably most reasonable Pitt fans, are most frustrated is that we didn't really see any small steps the final two months of the season. That is concerning to me. What young players improved...in any area? They continued to make the same end-of-game mistakes...

I will trust the process, and I'll be crucified for this, but outside of X, I can't say that McGowens or Toney looked all that much better to me at the end of this season than Carr, Stewart or Stevenson did last year. More upside? Sure. But their play on the court in the ACC? Not really.

Again, on the Pitt teams of yester-lore, guys like Toney, Brown, Davis, Stevenson, Carr....they probably don't even sniff the court until their REDSHIRT sophomore season. So, I am still taking the same viewpoint as last year, that these guys are simply overwhelmed now, but that it will hopefully pay off in year 3/4 with the experience gained...so long as they never accept a culture of losing - one that they will probably have to endure yet again next year.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Not to ovwrsimplify but he needs to do the following.

Recruit
Recruit
Recruit

‘19 is still up in the air. Maybe he’ll pull something. But there are no excuses for ‘20. If things don’t get better in that class then it’s pretty troublesome.

I get that some will not even give a pass for ‘19 but he was already behind when he took the job.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I generally agree with your sentiment and it was my perspective last year when Stallings was being crucified that it wouldn't have mattered who our coach was, relying almost exclusively on freshman and first year ACC players is a recipe for disaster.

That said, and I'm all for embracing this process, again...however, where I, and probably most reasonable Pitt fans, are most frustrated is that we didn't really see any small steps the final two months of the season. That is concerning to me. What young players improved...in any area? They continued to make the same end-of-game mistakes...

I will trust the process, and I'll be crucified for this, but outside of X, I can't say that McGowens or Toney looked all that much better to me at the end of this season than Carr, Stewart or Stevenson did last year. More upside? Sure. But their play on the court in the ACC? Not really.

Again, on the Pitt teams of yester-lore, guys like Toney, Brown, Davis, Stevenson, Carr....they probably don't even sniff the court until their REDSHIRT sophomore season. So, I am still taking the same viewpoint as last year, that these guys are simply overwhelmed now, but that it will hopefully pay off in year 3/4 with the experience gained...so long as they never accept a culture of losing that they will probably have to endure yet again next year.

Overwhelmed by older more experienced players with no upperclassmen support other than JWF is the way I look at it . The three freshman needed to be worked into their roles and be surrounded by better players . With their limited offensive games it was easy to defend them . JC didn’t have the luxury of picking his spots to play his freshman they unfortunately were his best players . They’ll get better !

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Not to ovwrsimplify but he needs to do the following.

Recruit
Recruit
Recruit

‘19 is still up in the air. Maybe he’ll pull something. But there are no excuses for ‘20. If things don’t get better in that class then it’s pretty troublesome.

I get that some will not even give a pass for ‘19 but he was already behind when he took the job.

2020 , I agree is the yr we see how successful he can recruit to Pitt .

 

[NTOP]

When JC took the job I’m sure in his mind he had a master plan on how to turn around Pitts bb program . When you listen to him he realizes that to build a sustainable quality program you have to do all the little things right and have patience .
We can learn two things from Duke and Coach K . First , Duke playing with 3 healthy freshman who are projected to be the # 2, 3 and 20th picks in the upcoming NBA draft struggle beating teams like Wake w/o Zion , this shows you that winning in the ACC with freshman is no easy task . Pitts incoming freshman will not be picked at the top of the NBA draft nor will they be Zionlike . So expecting these guys to come in and turn Pitt into a competitive team next season is unrealistic . Second look at Coach K’s record at Duke , it wasn’t until yr 4 that his team made the NCAAs and yr 6 that he made a final four . It wasn’t an overnight success story .
I don’t think JC panics and deviates from his plan , he will add players who he thinks he can help turn the program around in the long run and not add 4 grad transfers and jucos to squeeze out a few W’s next yr . This is a multi year process and until he has quality upperclassmen Pitt will continue to struggle to win games in the ACC.
As Pitt fans we need to embrace the process and appreciate the small steps the program takes it will not be an overnight success story .

Does he have overseas contacts? I'd welcome guys from Nigeria to Latvia.

 

[NTOP]

I generally agree with your sentiment and it was my perspective last year when Stallings was being crucified that it wouldn't have mattered who our coach was, relying almost exclusively on freshman and first year ACC players is a recipe for disaster.

That said, and I'm all for embracing this process, again...however, where I, and probably most reasonable Pitt fans, are most frustrated is that we didn't really see any small steps the final two months of the season. That is concerning to me. What young players improved...in any area? They continued to make the same end-of-game mistakes...

I will trust the process, and I'll be crucified for this, but outside of X, I can't say that McGowens or Toney looked all that much better to me at the end of this season than Carr, Stewart or Stevenson did last year. More upside? Sure. But their play on the court in the ACC? Not really.

Again, on the Pitt teams of yester-lore, guys like Toney, Brown, Davis, Stevenson, Carr....they probably don't even sniff the court until their REDSHIRT sophomore season. So, I am still taking the same viewpoint as last year, that these guys are simply overwhelmed now, but that it will hopefully pay off in year 3/4 with the experience gained...so long as they never accept a culture of losing that they will probably have to endure yet again next year.

We have one ACC-level player and 2 possibles after JWF & Sidy leave. Nice kids at the end of the bench don't win games. Time for Jeff to pull out the stops. Get to .500 next season, postseason in 20-21.

 

[Elsalvador]

Not to ovwrsimplify but he needs to do the following.

Recruit
Recruit
Recruit

‘19 is still up in the air. Maybe he’ll pull something. But there are no excuses for ‘20. If things don’t get better in that class then it’s pretty troublesome.

I get that some will not even give a pass for ‘19 but he was already behind when he took the job.

All very true. Sucks Pitt won't be in any type of tournament this year, but *hopefully* starting next year, Pitt will be playing for something in March. I'd hope starting early next week, who knows maybe we win on Tuesday depending on the match-up lol. Be at all these playoff games, tourneys, wherever. Open gyms, practices, anywhere and everywhere.

 

[ScrantonicityIII]

I generally agree with your sentiment and it was my perspective last year when Stallings was being crucified that it wouldn't have mattered who our coach was, relying almost exclusively on freshman and first year ACC players is a recipe for disaster.

That said, and I'm all for embracing this process, again...however, where I, and probably most reasonable Pitt fans, are most frustrated is that we didn't really see any small steps the final two months of the season. That is concerning to me. What young players improved...in any area? They continued to make the same end-of-game mistakes...

I will trust the process, and I'll be crucified for this, but outside of X, I can't say that McGowens or Toney looked all that much better to me at the end of this season than Carr, Stewart or Stevenson did last year. More upside? Sure. But their play on the court in the ACC? Not really.

Again, on the Pitt teams of yester-lore, guys like Toney, Brown, Davis, Stevenson, Carr....they probably don't even sniff the court until their REDSHIRT sophomore season. So, I am still taking the same viewpoint as last year, that these guys are simply overwhelmed now, but that it will hopefully pay off in year 3/4 with the experience gained...so long as they never accept a culture of losing that they will probably have to endure yet again next year.

Looking back at many of our freshmen over the last decade, not that many came ready to play right away. Many did not improve till their sophomore or junior season. We rely on guys who are young to start with, and who were relied on much more heavily than they should have been. Given that context, I don't think it is that astounding to see that the players didn't improve much, or maybe even regressed. Additionally, had they had a better supporting cast, I suspect that may have improved slightly versus not as much.

But let's be honest now, this year was all about getting experience for the young guys and hopefully recruiting well in year 2. By Xavier and Trey's 3rd season, we will also have sophomores with experience and a 3rd recruiting class. If we aren't showing improvement by then, then I would be worried.

 

[wbrpanther]

When JC took the job I’m sure in his mind he had a master plan on how to turn around Pitts bb program . When you listen to him he realizes that to build a sustainable quality program you have to do all the little things right and have patience .
We can learn two things from Duke and Coach K . First , Duke playing with 3 healthy freshman who are projected to be the # 2, 3 and 20th picks in the upcoming NBA draft struggle beating teams like Wake w/o Zion , this shows you that winning in the ACC with freshman is no easy task . Pitts incoming freshman will not be picked at the top of the NBA draft nor will they be Zionlike . So expecting these guys to come in and turn Pitt into a competitive team next season is unrealistic . Second look at Coach K’s record at Duke , it wasn’t until yr 4 that his team made the NCAAs and yr 6 that he made a final four . It wasn’t an overnight success story .
I don’t think JC panics and deviates from his plan , he will add players who he thinks he can help turn the program around in the long run and not add 4 grad transfers and jucos to squeeze out a few W’s next yr . This is a multi year process and until he has quality upperclassmen Pitt will continue to struggle to win games in the ACC.
As Pitt fans we need to embrace the process and appreciate the small steps the program takes it will not be an overnight success story .

It's natural that Capel gets frustrated but this whole year was not unexpected at all. Maybe the staff expected a few more wins but it was and still is a part of the overall plan. You can't get to year 3 and 4 without going thru year 1 and 2. I am sensing some of the usual garbage from a few of our fans who seem to forget that you can't add to the roster any time you would like to. But I do sense that most of us, while frustrated, have a strong belief that it is going to get pretty good, pretty soon.

 

[drp1tt]

That was my point that without Zion they were lucky to beat Wake and lost to Va T . Your never supposed to say never . but I’m pretty confident that Pitt will never have a class like that .

We get a Z, we would be a top 15 team. Interesting with all the talent Duke has, they look pretty beatable without their top player. Proves you only need a couple of players to become good.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

We get a Z, we would be a top 15 team. Interesting with all the talent Duke has, they look pretty beatable without their top player. Proves you only need a couple of players to become good.

Or it shows you how freshman aren’t the answer without upperclassmen support .

 

[drp1tt]

We get a Z, we would be a top 15 team. Interesting with all the talent Duke has, they look pretty beatable without their top player. Proves you only need a couple of players to become good.

Or it shows you how freshman aren’t the answer without upperclassmen support .

No question experience wins out. See Villanova this year versus last year. But again amazing that as how good Duke is, having Z is s huge difference maker.