Dixon has had two jobs in 18 years. Tubby has been a HC at 7 D1 schools, including 4 schools in 7 years (2013-2019). I wouldn't call those remotely similar.
Why is Pitt such a tough sell?
- Thread starter Chairman Moe
- Start date
@bobfree nailed it. The only thing that matters is the coach.
Calipari - UMass, Memphis, Kentucky. How were those schools without him? Billy G had run Kentucky into the ground
Underwood - Illinois was shit before him. What he did at SFA was insane.
Huggins - wins everywhere. Everywhere was worse before and after him
Chris Beard - wins everywhere, recruits everywhere
countless other examples. The other thing that makes a great coach special is the ability to attract and identify great assistants for their programs. This was what Jamie was great at early in his career.
our facility is another huge issue but I’ve beat that down 1000x and no one believes me.
Calipari - UMass, Memphis, Kentucky. How were those schools without him? Billy G had run Kentucky into the ground
Underwood - Illinois was shit before him. What he did at SFA was insane.
Huggins - wins everywhere. Everywhere was worse before and after him
Chris Beard - wins everywhere, recruits everywhere
countless other examples. The other thing that makes a great coach special is the ability to attract and identify great assistants for their programs. This was what Jamie was great at early in his career.
our facility is another huge issue but I’ve beat that down 1000x and no one believes me.
100%
Its 90% the coach. 10% everything else. They will play in Kabul if they like the coach
entertainment wherever they are.
Good post! How many times
do we have to say it?............
It's THE COACH!
It just not all about the coach , it’s what the coach is allowed to do at a particular university In regards to building a roster .
No one wins without talent , a great coach takes great talent and wins championships .
A great teacher/strategist without talent wins a couple more games than the average guy , he doesn’t win championships with mediocre players in any sport .
Pitt has tried to attract the “hot coach “ , but the only times they succeeded was in hiring Paul Evans during the Golden Panther era . They also swayed Johnny Majors from Iowa St for Fb . Fb 1 bb 0 .
As the program now stands I’m not sure even an obscene amount of cash would attract a HC of note to Pitt .
No one wins without talent , a great coach takes great talent and wins championships .
A great teacher/strategist without talent wins a couple more games than the average guy , he doesn’t win championships with mediocre players in any sport .
Pitt has tried to attract the “hot coach “ , but the only times they succeeded was in hiring Paul Evans during the Golden Panther era . They also swayed Johnny Majors from Iowa St for Fb . Fb 1 bb 0 .
As the program now stands I’m not sure even an obscene amount of cash would attract a HC of note to Pitt .
Capel got the facilities done?? Gee, what a guy!
As for new staff....nepotism already in place. Tough situation, there. Our recruiting base hasn't changed much in the last 20 years. We've had ONE "star" from the local ranks....Blair. But we won a lot of games for 17 years. Capel seems to spread a wide net. You're right about needing new blood, but nothing so far .I'm beginning to think Jeff was a good setup guy....but not a top closer.
lets put coaches in perspective. cream is and always was an a hole that kids dont want to play for.
you just displayed a coaching issue as if its the transfer norm.
your example shows coaches matter more
Not sure why you thought I thought the coach doesn’t matter. You’re preaching to the choir. However, we don’t get “very good to great players”. We get great kids who aren’t entitled and want to put in the time and effort to make a great team.
I was simply saying that Pittsburgh is a small city with limited draw for a black athlete.
But Kabul U. also has great outdoor facilities and nice weather. Not to mention their ballistics program is quite good..
You DO get "very good to
great players."
Here are some recent 4star
WVU recruits we at Pitt
only wish we could get:
Isaiah Cottrell 2020
Tshiewbe, Bridges, 2019
Culver, McCabe, 2018.
That's Five four stars in
the past few years! I
don't have to remind
you of other WVU 4
star greats: Kevin Jones,
Williams, Ewbanks, Butler,
of earlier years. Huggy
mixes these greats with
"very good" three star
recruits.
Your comment about
Pittsburgh being a "small
city with limited draw for
a black athlete" is even
dumber. Morgantown by
comparison is in a rural
area, yet Huggy is able
to get those top black
athletes to come there.
It isn't the area, it's
THE COACH.
It's amazing that you have
to come here to learn about
WVU basketball.
Stop making an ass of
yourself on a Pitt message
board.
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I think you’re missing the point regarding the location. That’s entirely my point. It’s not about urban enviro being superior to a “hick” enviro. That simply doesn’t matter. BUT Pitt doesn’t fall into an urban enviro that could potentially make a difference from a recruiting standpoint. Relatively speaking, it’s not a diverse city like ATL, Houston, Dallas, etc.
Nearly half of those guys you mentioned were not 4 star players. Also, that’s about the entire list....over a 13 year period.
I didn’t think I was being contentious with my response so don’t know where the hostility is coming from.
The reason why Huggs is so successful at WVU is because he can flat out coach. Much less to do with overall talent pool we typically get. We’ve had 1 player in NBA since his time at WVU.
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And I think YOU'RE "missing
the point." Those recent four
star players I mentioned were
not only 4 stars, they were
mostly in top 100. Some as
high as 31. McCabe, the
lowest of the group was 113.
The comment about Pitt being
a place that doesn't "draw
black players because of the
size of the city is ludicrous
at best. Again...it's THE COACH
not the location.
The "hostility" that you're
referencing is coming from
the constant incorrect
corrections you're making
in this thread.
Ok, you've made your point,
I've made mine. We disagree,
no biggie. I'm done discussing
this. Enjoy your stay on a
Pitt message board..
the point." Those recent four
star players I mentioned were
not only 4 stars, they were
mostly in top 100. Some as
high as 31. McCabe, the
lowest of the group was 113.
The comment about Pitt being
a place that doesn't "draw
black players because of the
size of the city is ludicrous
at best. Again...it's THE COACH
not the location.
The "hostility" that you're
referencing is coming from
the constant incorrect
corrections you're making
in this thread.
Ok, you've made your point,
I've made mine. We disagree,
no biggie. I'm done discussing
this. Enjoy your stay on a
Pitt message board..
It seems from the majority of the replies that the “tough sell” for Pitt is its coach.
And without saying it in my OP, I kinda surmised that from what I witnessed over the past year.
And for the record, I’d really like to see Jeff Capel succeed at Pitt. He seems like a good person, he loves the city, and he has recent ties to perhaps the most successful college basketball program.
But none of us gets to see what’s happening at practices nor in the locker room, only what transpires on game day. And those results have been head-scratching.
I don’t recall the exact terms/length of his contract, but I’d be shocked if another poor season (poor = less than 10 wins, including OOC play) doesn’t lead to a coaching change, after the 2021-2022 season.
And without saying it in my OP, I kinda surmised that from what I witnessed over the past year.
And for the record, I’d really like to see Jeff Capel succeed at Pitt. He seems like a good person, he loves the city, and he has recent ties to perhaps the most successful college basketball program.
But none of us gets to see what’s happening at practices nor in the locker room, only what transpires on game day. And those results have been head-scratching.
I don’t recall the exact terms/length of his contract, but I’d be shocked if another poor season (poor = less than 10 wins, including OOC play) doesn’t lead to a coaching change, after the 2021-2022 season.
Think your wrong , Pitts not going to eat 4 yrs of his contract and with what money are they then going to pay the next guy ?
If Pitt wants to play by the rules this is close to as good as it’s going to get . Seven to nine ACC wins is my definition of a successful season .
I hadn’t recalled that HCJC has 4 years remaining on his contract, so you’re probably correct given what the amount of his buyout is.
I won’t argue that 7-9 wins in the ACC schedule is acceptable, and maybe successful, given our recent history.
I was looking at a 10 win (or fewer) overall season as being poor. And if Pitt is not willing to or able to pay the buyout, we may be in for another four, long years. But my optimistic self hopes not ...
We need to hope that sooner or later HCJC lands a difference maker and then builds upon it . Switching coaches every 3/4 yrs won’t get it done .
It's super frustrating not winning or making the tournament. It sucks. But I think JC gets at least two more years. If he hasn't made the tournament and doesn't have a monster class coming in by the end of year 5 he is gone. He would have to have a Kevin Stallings like year to get the boot next year. But I think you have to make the tournament once in 5 years no matter how bad the program was before he got here.
Look, I'm rooting for him. From all we can see as fans he's nothing but a great guy. He seems to be a great mentor and father-figure like head coach.
With Hugley coming back and maybe less drama on the roster now this upcoming year is where they have a winning record and maybe make the NIT. That would be great for the program and is possible (not probable...but possible) with the players they have. You never know but if not, those kids have to make a big step up the following year. As we expected the kids who just left to do but never really did as a team at least.
Look, I'm rooting for him. From all we can see as fans he's nothing but a great guy. He seems to be a great mentor and father-figure like head coach.
With Hugley coming back and maybe less drama on the roster now this upcoming year is where they have a winning record and maybe make the NIT. That would be great for the program and is possible (not probable...but possible) with the players they have. You never know but if not, those kids have to make a big step up the following year. As we expected the kids who just left to do but never really did as a team at least.
Great guy, great mentor and father figure like head coach?
Are you talking about the guy that has internal problems each year and had all his best players leave?
That guy?
A history of mediocrity, little hope of infusing the roster with local talent, a fickle fan base with expectations of grandeur or bust......and a long history of Pitt's administration pushing out successful coaches in revenue sports.
What are you talking about? What does that have to do with black players? What does "not as diverse mean"? What recruit even knows some statistical diversity percentage numbers for a city? Are black players flocking to University of Detroit or UAB?
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