Why Pitt BBHC is or is not a good job

[Chairman Moe]

Why it is:

1. ACC - major P5 conference vs high quality opponents
2. Exposure (see #1 above)
3. Facilities - relatively new arena, on campus
4. Recent BB success (Big East days)
5. Oakland Zoo - when we are competitive
   
6. Opportunity to overhaul program with mostly new roster/recruits

Why it is not:

1. ACC - dominated by the Tobacco Road schools (Duke/UNC); nearby rivals (Syracuse and Louisville) have had better BB programs, historically
2. Recruiting - it's been awhile since Pitt has recruited "nationally". Big East recruiting hotbeds are not necessarily the ones that would attract student athletes to come here
3. Pro Sports - let's face it; it's the Steelers, Pens; Pirates; then Pitt. The 'burgh has never been known as a "destination" BB area
4. Fans' expectations / local media - both are too critical, and expect more than a program of Pitt's can deliver
5. Facilities - while the Pete is a decent arena, it's not all that intimidating to an opposing team
6. Administration - the recent history of FB Coaches, plus the debacle hiring of KS and his termination, could be a deal breaker

That being said, we (Pitt) will hire somebody! I'm not going to predict who, but I pray - along with many others of us whose Pitt BB roots go back several decades - that the new coach will represent the school and the fans with a positive approach. Wins will happen; it can't get much worse than going 0-19 . . .

HTP!

 

[Gep Dawg]

Great article. I think Lyke not only has to make a great hire here but she has to support that person with support and patience like the university has with Narduzzi.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Remember this though.........

Basketball is an urban game. So unlike football, Pitt's urban campus is a better sell.

Secondly, while Pittsburgh is a Pro Sports town, there is no NBA, so Pitt BB is the highest level for Western PA basketball fans to root for. This works in our favor.

 

[Pittx9]

Good points but when Pitt was a top team the Pete was always rated one of the toughest places to play and our record there backed it up. It was almost always voted the most intimidating place to play in the big east for about an 8 year stretch at least. I think a big hire would get the general fans back in the seats, interested to see if the zoo follows and works it way back up.

 

[Parkview57]

That being said,

IMO, if you analyze the OP the positives 1-6 don't seem debatable. On the other hand, the negatives either have a counter point as seen in other posts or are debatable, for example point number 1 of the why it is can trump point 1 for why it is not. Points 3,5 have a good counterpoint above. That leaves 2,4,6 , if a big-time or strong personality is hired those points are greatly diminished IMO. It total it is a great opportunity for the dynamic type, hence the poor showing of the last regime.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

IMO, if you analyze the OP the positives 1-6 don't seem debatable. On the other hand, the negatives either have a counter point as seen in other posts or are debatable, for example point number 1 of the why it is can trump point 1 for why it is not. Points 3,5 have a good counterpoint above. That leaves 2,4,6 , if a big-time or strong personality is hired those points are greatly diminished IMO. It total it is a great opportunity for the dynamic type, hence the poor showing of the last regime.

He’s a Jamie lover that bought into his excuses.

 

[Chairman Moe]

A sort of sequel to my OP might be, is Pitt BB nowadays an intermediate HC stop? With the top tier teams in the ACC, I wonder if Pitt attracts one of our "top choices" (Hurley, Musselman), would they consider Pitt a destination job?

 

[Parkview57]

I wonder if Pitt attracts one of our "top choices" (Hurley, Musselman), would they consider Pitt a destination job?

Probably not, but 2-3 years of great recruiting and a winning system combined with a team attitude of no excuses would do wonders for Pitt right now.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Probably not, but 2-3 years of great recruiting and a winning system combined with a team attitude of no excuses would do wonders for Pitt right now.

As I said earlier, Ben Howland was only here for four seasons. If someone comes in here and does what Howland did in four seasons and then he leaves to go elsewhere, is there anyone at all that doesn't sign up for that in a heartbeat?

 

[Chairman Moe]

As I said earlier, Ben Howland was only here for four seasons. If someone comes in here and does what Howland did in four seasons and then he leaves to go elsewhere, is there anyone at all that doesn't sign up for that in a heartbeat?

I would

 

[Chairman Moe]

Remember this though.........

Basketball is an urban game. So unlike football, Pitt's urban campus is a better sell.

Secondly, while Pittsburgh is a Pro Sports town, there is no NBA, so Pitt BB is the highest level for Western PA basketball fans to root for. This works in our favor.

Not going to debate your points; might I still add, that Pittsburgh (as a city) has enjoyed seeing their teams winning a combined 14 championships (6 Steelers; 5 Penguins; 2 Pirates; 1 Pitt) since 1971. And as you know, neither Pitt nor the Pirates have won one SINCE the '70's. Perhaps why these two programs are the less popular.

BB is indeed an urban sport, but the casual fans there will likely follow it more, if/when Pitt contends for a title.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Not going to debate your points; might I still add, that Pittsburgh (as a city) has enjoyed seeing their teams winning a combined 14 championships (6 Steelers; 5 Penguins; 2 Pirates; 1 Pitt) since 1971. And as you know, neither Pitt nor the Pirates have won one SINCE the '70's. Perhaps why these two programs are the less popular.

BB is indeed an urban sport, but the casual fans there will likely follow it more, if/when Pitt contends for a title.

Yes, but there is a completely unserved population of basketball fans right now in Western PA. While not as big and avid as football fans, and now hockey, it is still a large group. Since there is no NBA entry, we only had to see how difficult it was to get a ticket to the Pete, the "stars" who came out to the Pete like they do now the Pens when Pitt was a top 10 team.

It doesn't have quite the same negatives as the football program has. And again as I posted in another post, Cincy and Xavier can have viable top 10-20 programs in a city that is smaller, surrounded by BB powers, UK, Lville, tOSU and Indiana all within a 2 hour drive of Cincy.

 

[Atch]

Remember this though.........

Basketball is an urban game. So unlike football, Pitt's urban campus is a better sell.

Secondly, while Pittsburgh is a Pro Sports town, there is no NBA, so Pitt BB is the highest level for Western PA basketball fans to root for. This works in our favor.

You're correct about no NBA team and the highest level of basketball for WPa fans, but whenever the Pens and Pitt play on the same night, more TV's are tuned into the Pens. If a bar has more then one TV, Pitt will be on one of the secondary TV's that no one is watching.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

Yes, but there is a completely unserved population of basketball fans right now in Western PA. While not as big and avid as football fans, and now hockey, it is still a large group. Since there is no NBA entry, we only had to see how difficult it was to get a ticket to the Pete, the "stars" who came out to the Pete like they do now the Pens when Pitt was a top 10 team.

It doesn't have quite the same negatives as the football program has. And again as I posted in another post, Cincy and Xavier can have viable top 10-20 programs in a city that is smaller, surrounded by BB powers, UK, Lville, tOSU and Indiana all within a 2 hour drive of Cincy.

More Jamie apologists spewing out bull as to why he couldn’t recruit. He couldn’t recruit because he couldn’t recruit. Very good coach though.

 

[rmf05]

Remember this though.........

Basketball is an urban game. So unlike football, Pitt's urban campus is a better sell.

Secondly, while Pittsburgh is a Pro Sports town, there is no NBA, so Pitt BB is the highest level for Western PA basketball fans to root for. This works in our favor.

Many of the elite and better programs are more rural in nature and most of the players are suburban.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Pittsburgh is changing, at least somewhat. I went into an east end bar to watch an NBA game this year and it was filled with young mostly white kids rooting for the Sixers (Pitt students/grads maybe?, seemed like a lot from Philly) and young Asian kids rooting for the Warriors. Basketball will never be our top game but a lot of the Zoo has been and can be again young people from other parts of the country who love their best local basketball team. We don't need a million local basketball fans to support Pitt to be doing much better.