In the final basketball Q&A for Ray Fittipaldo, it would appear that the overwhelming majority of the questions were declarations that Coach Dixon sucks and then asking variations of when will he be fired. Similar bile was spewed Dixon’s way in the letters page. You would have thought this team was Providence.
Over at ACC BasketBlog there is an interesting piece regarding ever-embattled NC State coach Herb Sendek as a zen master:
But we have not wanted our short, balding leader to only conform to our peers’ successes, we’ve wanted him to conform to our expectations of a good coach and strong leader. You know, to do things like, well, win lots of games. Or, at least demonstrate good communication skills. I mean, if he can’t connect to us and the media, how can he possibly make sense to his players? It’s very hard to picture Sendek rallying his kids in the locker room, shouting before taking the floor, “our paradigm for defense is more holistic!” You know what though, I can totally picture him calmly reciting parables from Bhudda in the middle of a timeout.
…
The criticisms that have plagued Sendek in the past reemerged stronger than ever. He can’t win close games. He had at least four games to show that he could draw up a play at the end of a game to get off a good shot, and his team failed each time. He can’t adjust his diligently prepared plans in mid-game. He had no answer when woeful UVa, of all teams, surprised him with a stall and possession game plan. He doesn’t know how to develop players or best utilize his personnel. Andrew Brackman, after starting so strong, all but disappeared from the box scores in midseason.
[Emphasis added.]
While I don’t see Dixon as a zen master, the issues of communication and what is expected from a head coach is a factor in the number of Pitt fans ready throw Dixon off the bus after this season. His public communication skills has been something that has driven me up a wall these 2 seasons.
Let’s face it, Pitt fans (and most Pittsburghians) like their coaches and managers to be loud, forceful, emotional and blunt. On and off the court/field. There is a sort of appreciation with that. Like the coach understands the fans’ emotions and feelings.
With Coach Dixon, no matter how much he yells and stomps on the sidelines, when it comes time for that interview — ugh and yawn. He just drops into zombie-cliched-coach.
Another piece rating the draft and top Power Forward prospects (Subs. only).
Most GMs will tell you that they always draft for talent, never for need. The problem with that theory is that most teams always need more big men.
The ability of an athletic, 6-foot-10 power player to change the course of a game or season is proven and most teams, especially bad ones, are always in the hunt for them.
That’s why, year after year, the lottery is usually dominated by folks 6-8 and taller.
As many as five of this year’s lottery picks will likely be power forwards. Nowadays they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big, burly bruisers like Pittsburgh’s Chris Taft and Duke’s Shelden Williams. Others are skilled fours who dominate outside as well as inside like Utah’s Andrew Bogut and Lithuania’s Martynas Andriuskevicius. And then there’s your yearly quota of guys like Hakim Warrick and Wayne Simien who would be lottery picks if they grew two or three more inches in college.
And here’s the rub. Different scouts like different types of power forwards, meaning that the stock of everyone except Bogut and Spain’s Fran Vasquez is all over the place. A few scouts still have Taft in the top five. Others have dropped him down into the late teens. Some scouts have Warrick in the late lottery, others in the 20s. A couple of scouts have Simien in the middle of the first round, others in the second round.
In other words, creating a consensus ranking of the top 10 power forwards this early, before we know who is drafting where, is almost impossible. It’s a bit of a mess.
…
2. Chris Taft, Pittsburgh
The line: 6-10, 260, Sophomore
The skinny: After sleepwalking through the season, Taft might have done enough in the first round of the tournament to help resurrect his draft stock. Taft has the rare combination of size, athleticism, strength and power that had NBA scouts calling him a top-three pick before the season began. However, his lackluster performance during the regular season has raised serious questions about his work ethic and attitude. Despite the hand wringing, everyone still concedes that the chances of Taft’s falling out of the top 10, if he declares, are slim. There’s a dearth of athletic big men in college basketball. When one comes along, very few teams are willing to pass him up. If he can follow up his solid tournament performance with some great individual workouts, his stock will rise. He’s not the stellar prospect he was at the beginning of the season, but in the right system, with the right motivation, Taft still has the most potential of any big guy on the board. Where that leaves him on draft night is anyone’s guess. Most scouts still have him rated between the Nos. 5 and 10 picks. However, a couple have moved him entirely out of the lottery.
In other words, if this season didn’t really hurt his draft stock by more than a couple spots, what does coming back actually do for him?
