Pitchers and catchers report this week — something of a trade-off for Valentines Day I guess. But there’s still a little time before then for the columnists to write things about Pitt. Since they haven’t for a while, they need to ease into things.
Ron Cook does one on Krauser. Hey, did you know Carl came back for his senior year? Man, haven’t heard much about that this season.
Hey, give the man a break. Dixon freely admits he fudges the numbers with Krauser. He insists on counting Pitt’s 29-6 record in 2001-02 in Krauser’s total even though Krauser redshirted that season. “If you saw us practice that season, you know he made us better as a team and Brandin Knight better as a point guard,” Dixon said.
But even if you use conventional arithmetic, Krauser’s success at Pitt is extraordinary. At 19-3, Pitt is one win from its fifth consecutive 20-win season.
“And Carl has been a big part of all five,” Dixon said. “That, to me, is what it’s all about.”
It’s clear the young Pitt players, including three freshmen and two sophomores in that 10-man rotation, follow Krauser the way he once followed Jaron Brown and Julius Page, and Knight before them. You see it in the little things. Krauser quickly made peace with Gray yesterday. “I told him it was my fault. I should have given him a bounce pass.” You really see it in the big things. No one practices harder or plays with more passion than Krauser.
“The guys feed off his experience and knowledge,” Dixon said. “They trust him, They believe in him.”
And they have learned well from Krauser.
No, to be fair, Krauser deserves plenty of love right now. There are only two more home games left. That’s actually kind of hard to believe. Krauser no longer playing at the Pete.
The other piece from Joe Starkey after busting out the Howland comparisons for the team last week, gives Dixon a puff piece of how he’s coming into his own.
It’s not just the X’s and O’s, or Dixon’s masterful manipulation of the bench (Keith Benjamin was the hot reserve yesterday, with a career-high 16 points). It’s the way he has embraced his role as the public face of the program.
Previously, Dixon’s news conferences often consisted of him scratching the back of his right ankle and the back of his neck while staring at the floor and mumbling non-answers. He won plenty of games, of course, but public relations are an important part of running a big-time college athletics program.
This year, suddenly, Dixon has assumed the public persona of a self-assured, ultra-confident, well-spoken boss. Kind of like his mentor, Ben Howland.
I’m convinced Pitt enlisted somebody to coach Dixon on improving his public relations skills. Long hedged on that question, saying only, “As Jamie has gotten more and more comfortable leading the team, he’s been able to focus more on his public image. … I think he’s matured both on and off the court in leading the program.”
Long acknowledged that he and Dixon had discussed the public-relations issue during the offseason. Now, it seems about time they talk about a new contract. Dixon hasn’t received one since he replaced Howland three years ago. His current contract runs a few more years. The prudent move would be to lock him up (as much as that’s possible these days) with a fat, new deal.
Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say “ultra-confident.” He has, though, looked more relaxed and at ease in post-game interviews and when doing interviews. The worst I’ve seen him do was his appearance on “Jim Rome Is Burning” a few weeks ago. He looked like someone who had been, uh, coached to remember to smile the whole time. Otherwise, only once in the course of the interview did he sound like someone who was trying to recite key talking points rather than have a conversation.
I do agree with Starkey, though, that I think someone in the Athletic Department got him some help in the public speaking and dealing with the public. Either that or he got some help on his own. The change has been too dramatic.
