Had a great time at the Pitt-Tennessee women’s game last night. Great crowd (the place was about 80% full) and the actual gameplay is really solid. Candace Parker is the top player in the country, no doubt. The fact we were able to hang with a team like the Lady Vols was impressive and this Pitt program has a good future ahead of it.

Moving to tomorrow though. There’s actually going to be a basketball game played between all of the Howland-Dixon hype. Just as I wanted to play Duke, I’m also excited to play UCLA — a perennial and historically great program.

ESPN Insider (subscription…and what on ESPN.com isn’t subscription anymore?) breaks down the Bruins.

Offensive Preference The versatile Bruins are excellent in the halfcourt, with two guards who can score at the end of the shot clock. But they also pick their spots and run effectively, especially off turnovers.

Defensive Philosophy The Bruins’ success starts here with solid man-to-man defense. They rebound well, do not give up easy shots and have not allowed more than 75 points in a game all season. During one eight-game span, no UCLA opponent topped 62 points.

Secret Strength The Bruins led the Pac-10 in steals at nearly eight per game, a 50% increase over last year, indicating a more aggressive mindset on defense.

Achilles’ Heel The Bruins do not have great depth, and when Darren Collison was sidelined by injury at West Virginia, the thin bench cost them. Also, UCLA’s big men are poor foul shooters, which often forces them off the floor late in games.

Will Lose When … Through their first 29 games, the Bruins shot 50.4 percent in their 26 victories, just 41.1 percent in three defeats. With their defense, if the Bruins make shots, they win.

By the way, and I’m just gonna throw this out there, UCLA’s Lorenzo Mata is the ugliest player in NCAA hoops.

I’m sick of writing about Dixon-Howland and Howland leaving Pitt. I suspect most of you are sick of reading about it. I still feel somewhat obligated to note them, so here’s the deal. I’m just going to give straight links to the articles on the subjects and you can read them on your own. And let’s let it die in the comments.

Joe Starkey at the Trib. looks further back to their old mentor at UCSB, Jerry Pimm.

Bill Wirtz at the LA Daily News looks at the friendship. Probably the only must read — the UCLA job apparently cost Howland a couple other coaching friends. Also something from Pimm about the way Dixon observes what goes on in practices.

Rather stock piece in the Orange County Register.

Moving on.

If anyone happens to have a paid subscription to the Vancouver Province let me know. I’m curious about the rest of this article on Levon Kendall that starts out this way.

But it’s a qualified success so it’s fair to criticize University of Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon for not using Levon Kendall to his full potential.

Reads like someone from his hometown expected Kendall to be the focal point of the offense.

Just an observation, but Gray hurting his ankle a few weeks ago may have been the best thing for Kendall on offense. Since that point, he’s been much more assertive and shooting a lot better/with more confidence. It seems that once he had to step up on offense — and he did — he kept it going even after Gray got back.

Of course, the worst thing for Gray was his horrible game in the Big East Championship. Everyone has bagged on him since. Even in his hometown paper.

I think Pitt’s Aaron Gray, the Emmaus product, has to prove himself all over again after that disastrous Big East championship game. And he next faces UCLA big men Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Lorenzo Mata ? both shorter than him, but more athletic. The kind of guys he will see on a nightly basis next year, in other words.

Pitt was able to get to the West Coast a day earlier.

Pitt planned to leave Tuesday for its game with UCLA on Thursday in San Jose, Calif. But a set of circumstances allowed the Panthers to catch a chartered jet one day earlier. The thanks goes to the Florida State women’s basketball team. Florida State played at Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament last night. The plane to retrieve the No. 10 seed team was sent Monday. With an empty jet heading to the West Coast, Pitt offered to hop a ride. “There are not a lot of planes available,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “So we jumped on it and got it for cheap.” The early departure allows Pitt to acclimate itself to the time change and gets the Panthers out of Petersen Events Center, where the Panthers haven’t been able to use their own locker room or main floor due to the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

Every little thing helps. Plus, an extra day on the West Coast in March versus being in Pittsburgh. Hey, I know I’d prefer it.

Howland says his last Pitt team was more physical than his current UCLA team. I’m not sure he actually believes it so much as the usual coaching mind games to motivate his present players to go hard and tough at Pitt on Thursday.

So Keith Benjamin may be right about the premium on scoring.

“We’re definitely trying to take that next step,’’ Benjamin said. “I talked to a lot of the former players … and everybody’s pushing for us to do it. I think it’s going to be a low-scoring game, a great defensive game, unless one of the teams can get some transition points. But neither one of us like to give up those, so it’s just going to be a great game.

“It might be the first to 50, maybe 40 the way they played the other night, but this is the challenge that we have to meet if we’re going to be great. … If anything is going to be done from us in this game, we have to establish Aaron early, from the opening tipoff. And he has to decide what we do, but I think Aaron’s going to do a good job and lead us in this game.’’

Still 36 hours or more away.

In the brief moments when my thoughts turn to spring football practice, I really can’t tell you which chills me to the bone more: a completely new, inexperienced set of linebackers starting and being taught and coached directly by Paul Rhoads or the idea of relying more on the D-line.

The Pitt coach placed the onus not on the linebackers but instead the players forming the front four, where seven of the top eight players in the rotation return.

“It’s important for our defensive line to have a big spring,” Wannstedt said. “We’re going to see if this theory that I believe is real comes true: Would you rather be replacing your whole defensive line or your linebackers? I’d rather be replacing the linebackers.

“We’ve gone through that the last couple years where we’ve had real young defensive linemen and All-American linebackers, and it hasn’t been good enough.”

The back room where my home office is very cold in the mornings. So why are my palms sweating? Ah, I know I’m being too hard on them — old habits die hard when the topic of the D-line is mentioned. And really, that was just prelude. The topic really shifts back to the linebacker corp. Where the emphasis seems to be on just having “football players” at the linebacker spots.

The next came when sophomore Dorin Dickerson switched from tailback to weak-side linebacker. Safeties Jemeel Brady and Shane Murray also were moved to outside linebacker spots. Grayshirt Justin Hargrove, recruited as a defensive end, is playing middle linebacker.

And they are being taught, not by a linebacker coach, but by a guy who specializes in the secondary. Damn that stomach virus I have. That must have been why my stomach just sent stuff upwards.

“If we walked next door to the Steelers and said, ‘Draw me your perfect linebacker,’ they’d draw up somebody with his measurements and speed,” Wannstedt said of Dickerson. “Now, we’ve got to get him caught up with experience. I think the want-to is there. It will be interesting to see.”

Dickerson agreed to the move with the promise that if it doesn’t work out he can return to offense. For now, he’s as anxious as everyone else to see how the transition goes.

“We’ll see what happens,” Dickerson said. “I haven’t tackled in a while, since high school. I’ll see if I can get my form back.”

He sounds fully committed to playing the position.

It it at all matters, almost the entire linebacking group comes from the WPIAL.

It’s an eclectic group, as linebackers go. Rhoads mentioned how Dickerson, being converted from tailback, may be the most athletically blessed of the bunch.

Rhoads said Nix may be the most raw — “wrong on two of three snaps, but he’s going to make a play on one.” He likened Murray to Nix, a pure football player who switched from quarterback to safety to linebacker, even though he “isn’t big enough to play linebacker. He’s not fast enough to play anything. But he … makes plays.”

He compared Webster to Blades in regard to being a “natural linebacker,” though Webster is dealing with Crohn’s disease and “isn’t close to being 100 percent.” He spoke of Scott McKillop owning the most experience and size of this crew.

On the bright side, my expectations are real low, so they may actually meet them.

Other position changes include seeing Derrell Jones move from offensive line (guard) to the defensive line (defensive tackle) after dropping 42 pounds. Freshman receiver Aaron Smith is moving to cornerback.

Talking about the corner spot, obviously Pitt needs to replace Darrelle Revis. Aaron Berry hopes to be that guy.

“I like having that kind of pressure put on me,” said Berry, who also could fill Revis’ role as the Panthers’ primary punt returner. “I know I have big shoes to fill but I look at it like this — I want to be just like him, I want to be a first-round draft pick some day, too, and I am glad I had a year to watch and learn from him.”

[Secondary Coach Chris] Ball said Berry likely benefitted from watching Revis play last season.

“As coaches, we can talk about working hard and push them but that only goes so far,” Ball said. “But when you have a guy like a Darrelle Revis as a role model, then as coaches we can say, ‘You want to be in the NFL, you want to be a high pick, look at him, that’s what it takes to get there.’ That makes a big difference and really leaves a big impression on the younger guys.”

Berry was one of those kids from Wannstedt’s first full recruiting class that is supposed to be a very good player.

On a down note, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Dave Weber is on permanent medical redshirt. He has a knee condition that effectively ends his career before it ever started.

Howland and Dixon have a lot of similar traits. That isn’t surprising. It’s just amusing. Whether it is style of play or how they treat time outs.

Ben Howland consumes timeouts like bottles of water. The difference is that he – or one of his aides – can always get more water.

When Luc Mbah a Moute sprawled into a loose ball pit Saturday, he called time to keep from traveling or being set upon by Indiana Hoosiers. That was UCLA’s final TO of the game. It came with 5:11 left and with the Bruins leading by 12. Howland didn’t raise an eyebrow. He prized the possession more than the timeout.

Then came a series of dominoes that, had UCLA lost, would have sent the Bruins “faithful” into full riot. At the least it would have subjected Howland to some how-comes for the first time in his four years in Westwood.

Indiana decided to quit firing blanks and began a rally that tied the Bruins with a minute left.

…

The typical coach would rather surrender his spleen than call timeout in the first 15 minutes of a half.

Phil Jackson is famous for watching his players flail around and learn to escape the messes they’ve made. Of course, Jackson coaches 82 games in the regular season, and his playoffs aren’t single elimination.

Howland is different. It’s a difference that’s consistent with everything else he does. He’s a “now” guy. He is not going to go down with bullets in his chamber or timeouts in his hands.

I know I’ve seen it enough this season with comments freaking out about how Dixon uses and sometimes burns through timeouts. Generally, I’m okay with how Dixon handles the timeouts. I do find myself startled frequently late in games to see that Pitt is only down to 1 or 2 left, and I don’t even realize how many they used.

This article was one I wanted to post on back in the Big East Tournament when I saw it, but it got swallowed in the ether. Unfortunately it is now behind the stupid NY Times paid firewall. Here’s the summary. It talks about how Ben Howland spends so much time breaking down tapes of opponents in preparation. Trying to find out about everything they do and plan for it.

What struck me about it, was how similar — no surprise — it is to what Coach Dixon does in preparing. Watching tons of video. Trying to figure out everything the opponent will do. Consider this:  in the 7 losses Pitt had this year, only 3 occurred when the winning team did what was expected and the players performed as expected — Oklahoma State and Georgetown twice. In the other losses there were variables of players suddenly doing what they hadn’t.

Wisconsin — Bryan Butch suddenly finding a deep shot.
Marquette (at the Pete) — Dan Fitzgerald hitting shots and Marquette making FTs.

Louisville — Derrick Caracter playing well and the whole Cardinal team finally playing to its potential.

Marquette (at the Bradley Center) — Kinsella dropping the first 3s of his career and David Cubillan stepping up huge in place of an injured Jerel McNeal.

The Wisconsin game especially was what I thought of because of Dixon’s comments afterwards.

“(Butch) was the guy that, I think, kind of stretched us out defensively,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “Him making those shots really gave them a little different (look), another advantage in that area and helped them out.”

The key is the “different look.” Butch came into the game shooting rarely and poorly from outside. Everything else from Wisconsin was expected. It was Butch that threw things off

The good news about teams at this time of the year, especially in the post-season and definitely with UCLA. It is highly improbable that there will be any new wrinkles or player who comes out of nowhere.

I have to admit, I’d rather move to discussing the actual game and what to expect like the cool kids at Bruins Nation have started doing. The problem is there is just a lot of other material to at least link to to stay up to date. I’m hoping this is the big wave of “hey, Dixon and Howland are friends” stories that will subside.

The conference calls were yesterday. Howland spoke well of Pitt as you might expect but the local media did get some surprises.

But that conference call wasn’t all warm and fuzzy. At times, it was downright contentious.

Toward the end of his tenure at Pitt, Howland was tight-lipped about the then-possibility of taking the UCLA job. If his comments yesterday were an accurate barometer, what happened during his final few months at Pitt still rankles him, and he unleashed some scornful words in the direction of the Pittsburgh media.

“The media made it so difficult for any of this stuff to happen,” Howland said of leaving Pittsburgh and going to UCLA. “Really, it was a very, very difficult situation the whole year and [the media in Pittsburgh] was talking about me the whole year and trying to take the focus away from our team. … That is what I remember most about that situation.”

The. Pittsburgh. Media. Made. Things. Difficult? Are we talking the same Pittsburgh media in Pennsylvania? Located in North America? On the scale measuring media toughness with New York City sports coverage being the toughest and North Korean media on Kim Jong-Il’s golf exploits the easiest, the ‘Burgh media usually ranks somewhere south of Chicago Sports covering the first year of a Cubs Manager. All the local Pittsburgh media wants is access. Then it will generally roll over for you. It wasn’t the local media. All media was talking Howland to UCLA the entire season. Boy, I hate having to defend the local media.

Everyone knows they are close friends and will remain BFF. Even if Howland didn’t get UC-Santa Barbara to offer Dixon a scholarship. The one thing to expect is that neither coach expects much different on the court.

Still, as they break down film, each sees what the other sees. Pittsburgh is playing a lot of zone, and Howland laughs, because Dixon didn’t learn that from him. Watching an inbounds play, it looks strikingly familiar.

“There’s a lot of similar stuff, and stuff that’s tweaked,” Howland said. “There are even some of the same calls. There are not a lot of secrets.”

Levon Kendall is the only current Pitt player that actually knew Howland as a coach.

From the ESPN chats, Andy Katz:

Marty Pittsburgh, PA: What about the Pittsburgh Panthers chances against UCLA? UCLA seems undersized in teh front court, and Pitt seems to handle smaller teams.

Andy Katz: I picked UCLA but I do like the advantage Aaron Gray has inside over UCLA if the Panthers can get him the ball. That’s the question. If the Bruins’ pressure the guards well enough that Gray can’t get quality entry passes then he won’t be effective. The homecourt will be a clear advantage to UCLA.

And that’s the $64 Question. You wonder why they aren’t going to double Gray? They believe their advantage on defense is with their guards. If the guards can’t get it to Gray then they will just be passing along the perimeter and forcing Gray to come out on offense simply to set screens.

Mark Schlabach:

alex (New Rochelle, NY): Everyone seems to have UCLA over my Panthers. I actually think the matchup is good for Pitt. They both play the same. What do you think?

Mark Schlabach: Thought Aaron Gray played better in first two rounds than he did at the end of the Big East Tournament. Shot the 3-pointer well in the two games, and Cook, Fields and Graves can stay with Bruins guards.

Glad someone thinks so. Stewart Mandel wasn’t impressed by either team as he looks at the remaining Sweet 16.

UCLA: It’s time to start panicking, Bruins fans. Maybe those two season-ending losses weren’t a fluke after all. In its 54-49 win over Indiana, Ben Howland‘s team did its best impersonation of last year’s Elite Eight game against Memphis as its offense completely disappeared. It also allowed the offensively challenged Hoosiers to mount a late 13-point comeback before holding on.

Pittsburgh: It’s hard to have much faith in a team that, over its past three games, got clobbered by Georgetown in the Big East final and blew a 19-point lead on Saturday against 11th-seed Virginia Commonwealth before prevailing in overtime. Here’s guessing Jamie Dixon has bigger concerns on his mind right now than having to face his mentor.

Or you could note that Pitt has won 4 of its last 5 games against NCAA Tourney teams.

Former Pitt Associate Head Coach, now Manhattan HC, Barry Rohrssen is somewhat torn over who to cheer.

“Obviously, I care about both people and their programs,” said Rohrssen, a Brooklyn native who was the lead recruiter for Dixon. “But there are more variables for me on the Pitt side, having helped with the recruitment of those players. But my respect for Ben is so strong, it makes it real tough.”

…

“Both programs are so thorough in scouting,” Rohrssen said. “But this week, they’re going to find it’s like looking in the mirror. There is just so much familiarity. Obviously, each team’s players have separate skills. But in terms of style and preparation, it’s exactly the same.”

I’ll be getting some of that style/prep stuff later.

Good news for those of you with HD, all the remaining games will be in HD (maybe next year for me).

I don’t hold great animosity any longer to Ben Howland. I used to, but I don’t have the energy. I don’t hold great affection for him either. I’ll try to explain in my usual, concise way.

The Ralph Willard era was pathetic. Willard took too many chances on players with some talent but a lot more issues. Willard was horrible as a coach at Pitt. I don’t care what kind of job he has done or continues to do at Holy Cross, I won’t forget just how bad he was at Pitt. Pathetic in-game coach and even worse in reaching the players. I had the misfortune of attending the two biggest collapses by Pitt under Willard. A loss to Rutgers in February, 1996, 71-70. Pitt had been up by well over 20 points in that game and took the entire entire 2nd half to give the game away — 1000 paper cuts. The other, of course, was that epic collapse in December 1998. A 70-69 loss to UConn that Willard claimed caused the team to suffer a sustained hangover effect as they lost 5 of their next 7. I always have believed that Willard sealed his own fate then. Not by losing to UConn, but by saying the effects of the loss stayed with the team for over a month — essentially conceding he couldn’t get the team past blowing the game.

Howland came in as several of the bad seeds either failed out, left or were kicked out for criminal issues. There’s no getting around it or pretending Pitt may have had some of the seedier collections of players this side of a Jim Harrick team.

The resulting teams for the first couple of years were undermanned; but the team embraced a defense first style, the effort was obvious and the game plans sound. The turnaround wasn’t nearly as sudden as sometimes portrayed — except in attitude. Even the second year, the turnaround wasn’t huge. Pitt finished 7-9 in the Big East, a two game improvement. Then came a tremendous run in the Big East Tournament that got everyone’s attention — mainly because Pitt had never done it before. A team that went no more than 6 deep won 3 straight games (including an OT) to get to the Big East Championship. By that point the team was gassed and toasted by BC by the second half.

I remember that run vividly because I had to go to a nearby dive bar to watch. I had just moved in with my girlfriend and she didn’t have cable (and I still married her). So I spent 4 straight days in a little bar filled with cheap beer and smoke. Intently watching the game on a smeared TV screen in Euclid, Ohio I was able to get them to switch to. Drinking probably a little too quickly and much because of the nerves. It was great.

But now there was real hope, belief and some actual expectations. The next two years were very special.

In the 2002-03 season, it quickly became clear that Steve Lavin was not long for staying in charge of the Bruins. All talk centered on Ben Howland considering all that was happening at Pitt. Locally and nationally, few doubted that Howland would be pursued by UCLA. His Southern California roots, his father still back there, Jim Rome pushing him for the job any chance he could get. As my friends and I debated and discussed whether Howland would leave Pitt for UCLA, I posted (way back on my original blog) some of what worked pro/con in Howland leaving; and what goes into being an elite basketball program. By elite, I don’t mean a top team right now, I mean a team that has sustained success, storied tradition, history and fans with a sense of entitlement. UCLA fit that mold.

As you would expect from most coaches, Howland did the usual coachspeak, denial/non-denial cliches: I haven’t been contacted; I have a job; I don’t want to discuss it… Nothing unusual or unexpected. UCLA didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament and Lavin was gone quickly. That meant heavy speculation on Howland was underway early. There was wishful thinking that perhaps the Bruins would cast their eye on Mark Few at Gonzaga.

It didn’t happen. A few days after Pitt lost to Marquette and Wade in the Sweet 16, Ben Howland was introduced as the new head coach of UCLA. I was not surprised, and really was more concerned about who would take over the job at Pitt. There were plenty of compelling reasons for him to take the UCLA job — from prestige to family and all the stuff in between. Disappointing to lose a very good coach, to be sure.

Then some things came out to sour the feelings. (The stories about why Donatas Zavakas was pulled from the game and appeared to quit on the team — for what he said to Howland about the UCLA job, allegedly — I did not hear for a while. For some this is a reason to hate Howland — being distracted by the UCLA job and a player calling him out on it. For me, since I didn’t hear the story at the time it never really entered into my issues with him.)

It turned out Howland didn’t even want to tell his old players he was leaving. That fell to the Jamie Dixon. After that came out, Howland, belatedly, returned to meet with them. That left a bad taste. Then came reading the story of his introductory press conference.

The day after Pitt lost to Marquette in the third round of the NCAA tournament, Howland had a friend contact Guerrero.

“I knew right away what I wanted to do, which was to pursue this opportunity,” the coach said.

That was the killer for me. All the coachspeak about not looking, and happy where he was just went out the window. He had just stated that as soon as Pitt had lost. The pain hadn’t even receded for the fans, the team, and he was having intermediaries tell UCLA he wanted the job. Howland couldn’t even wait for UCLA to contact him like everyone knew they would. The corpse was still warm. It was open and admitted pursuit and made me along with most fans wonder how much he really cared or tried as a coach in the Marquette loss.

As a Pitt fan, how does that not come off as incredibly cold, callous and just wrong by Howland? How does that not create some very hard feelings in what otherwise may have been an amicable departure?

Yes, Howland did a lot of good at Pitt. He helped — along with the new building and an aggressive AD — change the culture around Pitt basketball. That doesn’t change that he created some hard feelings with the way he left.

There’s was also — and while this is not at all Howland’s fault, it contributed to fan frustration and animosity to Howland’s departure — the piss poor way that Pitt handled trying to decide on a new coach. Pitt was acting at the time with only an interim AD — no excuse for that since it had been 4 months since the former had left (and he gave notice). So you had the school chancellor and an interim AD doing the search. They only interviewed two candidates: Wake Forest’s Skip Prosser and Jamie Dixon.

Prosser was the guy they wanted. It was to the point where they were down in New Orleans for the Final Four and didn’t even contact any other possibilities to at least informally talk about the job. Prosser ultimately turned down the job and chose to stay at Wake Forest. A good deal of which had to do with still not finding a full time AD. After very publicly flubbing the pursuit of Prosser, the school hired Dixon. Now, obviously this has turned out to be a good hire, but the issue wasn’t the hiring. It was the process — or rather the complete lack of planning and thoroughness in searching for candidates. It just has seemed much more luck then skill.

It was one thing to pursue one particular coach hard and strong, but to not get him, and then fall back on an assistant, who at the time was an unknown and the interview seemed like a courtesy to him and the players that wanted him. It wasn’t like Dixon was the “hot assistant” at the time. The highest profile job he had been considered was at Wright State. This was and is no knock on Coach Dixon. It was the reality of the situation.

Well it came off as minor league and a decision that if they couldn’t get the guy they really wanted, the school would take a clear 2nd choice on the cheap. That contributed to fan frustration and more annoyance at Howland leaving.

Is it all logical? Is it fair? No. It also doesn’t matter. Being a fan has very little to do with logic. There’s just too much emotion involved. A coach leaving a team is like a divorce. It doesn’t matter how many good times were had. It doesn’t matter if on side professes to still care after they were the one to leave. The fact is they left and it is the last memory. There’s going to be bitterness.

They come out with new Oakland Zoo tee shirts each year. The next marketing gimmick might be upon us: “postseason shirts”.

The men’s shirt says “Together!” and the women’s has “We Got This!” on it.

If you’re looking for a way to get rid of $20 then click here.

There’s no way the media can stay away from the Dixon-Howland storyline. It’s just too juicy and sits there waiting for them. Tempting them. We’ll be seeing this storyline all the way through Friday (yes, I know the game is on Thursday, but there is still post-game stuff).

UCLA Coach Ben Howland says he’s happy that Pitt and Dixon has advanced even if he never wants to coach against his friend.

“It’s business,” Howland said of the matchup against Dixon and Pitt. “And, really, in reality, I’m happy because that means that they won two and we won two. Obviously, I want to win the game. That’s first and foremost. (But) if I had to lose to anyone in the world it would be Jamie Dixon and the Pitt Panthers.

“But we’re not going in thinking like that. We expect to win.”

So the choice for most writers, get it out there now or wait until later in the week.

Howland and Dixon, who remain close friends and speak on a regular basis, said the only way they would play each other is in the NCAA tournament. Dixon downplayed the opportunity to play his mentor after Pitt beat Virginia Commonwealth, 84-79, in overtime Saturday night, but his players know he is looking forward to getting the chance to play Howland and the Bruins.

“I think coach Dixon is looking forward to it,” Pitt junior Mike Cook said. “He may seem like he’s cool about it, but he’s excited.”

…

In an interview a month ago with the Post-Gazette, Dixon revealed that one of the reasons Howland left Pitt was because he didn’t feel like he could sustain the success he had attained during his four seasons as coach. He felt like he had taken the program as far as it could go.

Dixon made it known that he thought there were greater heights for the program to achieve.

“To be honest, Ben didn’t think we could sustain it,” Dixon said during an interview in his office Feb. 21. “He took less money to go to another job, what most people would consider a better job. I’ve always seen more in [Pitt] than other people did. I have higher expectations than anybody for this job. I know no one thought we could do what we are doing.”

It was a candid moment for Dixon, who had just won his 100th game as Pitt’s coach a night earlier. It was a unique view into the world of Dixon. If that milestone victory did not get him out from under Howland’s shadow, the victory Saturday night surely did.

Gray said he and his teammates are aware that Howland did not believe Pitt could be a successful program in the long run, and said it will serve as some small motivation Thursday.

If you are looking for the original article where that appeared it was here. It isn’t highlighted or sensationalized in the original piece. I have to admit that was not a shock to me. By taking the job at UCLA, wasn’t that what Howland was saying? Simply compare the two programs in terms of natural recruiting areas, population and growth, and history and by comparison it is far easier to sustain a successful program at UCLA than Pitt. There’s also a lot more pressure and expectations — but give Pitt fans a little more time on the latter.

One of the reasons in the last year plus I’ve committed fully to the “Jamie Dixon is the best coach for Pitt” camp is the stuff he’s been doing beyond coaching and recruiting — both of which have improved each year. The stuff that is vital for the success now, but let’s be honest the infrastructure in the ‘Burgh is all football. Dixon has worked to help in the organization and formation of summer basketball leagues that have the local college players along with alumni participating — is one of the most tangible examples. It’s even close to Philly or NYC summer basketball leagues right now, but there was no excuse for Pittsburgh not to have one except the lack of support from Pitt coaches and organization. What he is doing outside of the coaching and recruiting is long-term planning and building that can help Pitt basketball more and more in the future.

Dixon, thankfully, has begun to develop some outward personality in public rather than simply speak in monotone and cliche when he first started. He has continually gone out in the community and done the things coaches today have to do. I am really optimistic for Pitt’s future and present with Dixon.
Mike DeCourcy puts Pitt 12th among the Sweet 16.

The one thing lacking in Pitt’s history and the more recent history is a 3d win in the NCAA Tournament. Like we weren’t all bitterly aware of that point.

Howland’s early plan is to not double Aaron Gray.

“We’re going to be left one-on-one with Aaron Gray a lot because he passes so well,” Howland said. “If you double him, he’s so big he passes out of it. That’s going to be the hardest part, trying to take Aaron Gary one-on-one. He’s an NBA player, first-round draft pick. He’s a big-time player.”

Aesthetics were nowhere to be found when the Bruins and Hoosiers played. Both are strong defensive teams, but participants from each team said they missed plenty of open shots.

The Bruins shot 36.2percent from the field, and Indiana checked in at 32.7 percent.

Given UCLA holds its opponents to 42.8 percent from the field, and Pittsburgh limits its opponents to 40.7percent…

According to Pomeroy, Pitt’s Adjusted Offense and Defense are ranked 13th and 26th. UCLA is 24th and 3d.

When I have some time — hopefully tomorrow — I’ll have my definitive Ben Howland-Pitt post up. It will be the usual mix of history and my own views on things. And yes, lots of links. The UCLA fans who are stopping by, will hopefully gain some context for the feelings towards Howland.

On the West Coast a UCLA student from Pittsburgh finally resolves his identity crisis.

Many would call it a futile attempt. How can I abandon a decade of Pitt fandom? Could I possibly lock myself in my room, here at UCLA, and root against the Bruins? Won’t I see some silver lining regardless of the outcome?

The doubters are wrong. After a moment of deliberation I came to an easy decision.

It’s UCLA: I am 100 percent behind the Bruins.

My memories of Pitt basketball are just that, memories. The love I have for the Bruins today easily overwhelms my history as a Panther supporter.

Now that I’ve committed, I’m desperate for a UCLA victory.

Good. UCLA is your school. They are your team. There should be no doubt. A little overwrought and angsty about it, but getting the angst out of the system is part of college.
I grew up in a Penn State house. Both parents. I was dressed in PSU gear as a child (any photographic evidence believed to be accidentally destroyed a couple years ago). Went to some games. Probably cheered for them, though I don’t recall. Doesn’t matter. The minute I chose to attend Pitt, I had my team and my school.

A friend of mine, Tim Z. (who sometimes comments here), submitted an interesting question to the Post-Gazette basketball Q&A and ended up getting it printed on page two of Sunday’s sports section.

Q: If the Penguins get a new arena here in Pittsburgh, assuming it reaches the seating requirement, would Pitt be able to play NCAA tournament games there? I believe Duquesne would have to be the host, but is it possible?

Tim Z., Pittsburgh

FITTIPALDO: Pitt played at Mellon Arena in 2002 when Duquesne was the host school, so I believe it could happen again that way. Of course, Pitt would have to finish as a high enough seed for the NCAA selection committee to award Pitt with two games so close to home.

I didn’t go when it was previously hosted here but I’d do everything in my power to get to it if they played here in the future (meaning 2010 and beyond).

Speaking of tourney games in the city, I went to three of the four women’s NCAA tourney games yesterday and had a good deal of fun with the exception of suffering North Carolina trample over Prairie View. Nice win for Pitt over James Madison late last night. I’ll be there tomorrow night when Pitt plays #1 seed Tennessee. Fans did a great job of supporting the team and I expect it to continue.

From the official NCAA site, we have a confirmation on Thursday’s game time.

I’ll take it over the 3:00 pm start that places like ESPN and Fox Sports had listed originally. Not sure why they would list what seems like a random time anyways.

Let’s go national for a minute. There isn’t a lot since the storyline desired by many didn’t happen. Luke Winn at SI.com has some on the game, and likes what he saw from the team this time as opposed to last year.

Whereas last year’s Panthers, who lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Bradley, might have bowed out in the face of adversity, this veteran team rallied around it. The first situation arose for Pitt late Thursday night, when the 7-foot Gray, their primary size advantage over the Rams, came down with an illness and couldn’t practice on Friday. “Last night, I felt terrible,” Gray said after Saturday’s game. “I don’t know if it was food poisoning or a stomach virus, but I got maybe an hour and half of sleep.”

As Pitt’s Big Queasy recounted the more unpleasant details of his symptoms in the locker room, he was so exhausted that the only way he could stand was with his hands on his knees. He had been limited to 26 minutes and looked delirious at times, but still managed to score 14 points (his season average) and dish out a team-high five assists. Gray was less impressed with his perseverance, though, than he was how many of his teammates had stepped up while he was nauseous. Cook had scored seven early points to help build a first-half lead, Sam Young poured in a team-high 15, and seven different Panthers finished with at least eight points.

Winn actually writes like he believes Pitt has a chance against UCLA. Something that I suspect will be the minority position.

The Sporting News‘ Mike DeCourcy compliments an excellent comeback.

No, we’re not talking about Virginia Commonwealth’s recovery from a 19-point deficit to tie Pittsburgh and force overtime. We’re talking about Panthers guard Levance Fields, who missed two free throws that could have sealed his team’s victory with 2 seconds left in regulation but returned to play a flawless overtime period, which included a 3-pointer that gave Pitt a four-point lead.

Fields’ OT redemption was a popular storyline.

There have been doubts in the season about Mike Cook and how much he is about himself or the team.  I hope after he was limping in the second half but still argued to get in there, the issue is over.

Dixon inserted Cook into the game in overtime, and Cook made two free throws with 19 seconds left to give Pitt a three-point lead.

“I was happy with it,” Cook said. “I trust my teammates. Obviously, I was limping. As a player you want to stay out there. But it was up to coach. At the end of the game he put me out there to make fouls shots. He had trust in me, so I wanted to come through.”

I can’t believe how many media outlets are focused on the idea of the trap and press of VCU getting Pitt. They keep missing the underlying issue. VCU shot 31% in the first half, and until they started hitting shots, they couldn’t set up their press. This is nothing to take away from the Rams, but their vaunted press doesn’t work unless they make their shots and have a chance to set it up. They had very little of it for the first 28 minutes when the shots weren’t going and Pitt could move up-court off of rebounds.
Now as for the VCU position. Their view is that they would have won — or at least kept playing — if they had more time.

“I’m not one for close calls or moral victories,” coach Anthony Grant said. “You win or lose, and we weren’t able to win today. Like I told the guys, to me, the clock ran out. But the heart, the courage and the character these guys showed, like all year long – like all year long – I’m proud to be their coach.”

And last I checked the clock was part of the game. Good to know that they, uh, know they — what? Lost or just ran out of time? The Rams didn’t show total class at the end with their comments.

“I think it was just us,” Walker said of the big deficit. “In the first half, we weren’t taking very good shots and that led to them getting some easy baskets. You play a team as good as Pittsburgh, you can’t give them easy baskets because they’ll make you pay.”

Apparently Pitt’s defense wasn’t the issue.

Don’t worry VCU, you’ll always have Duke.

So, let me get this straight. A columnist in New Jersey — with Rutgers and Seton Hall — wants to talk about the angst of Pitt basketball fans?

Seriously, I would love to know the logic of spring practice schedules. WVU and UConn were the only ones to start earlier than Pitt. Cinci and Louisville are latest — not for another week and a half or a bit longer. Wisely waiting until after third and fourth round to start practices. I know, some of it has to do with the academic calendar, but still.

The early round of quarterback competition is the lead story starting for spring practices.

For now, their sights are set on winning the starting job. Not since 2004, when Palko and Luke Getsy dueled to replace Rod Rutherford, has Pitt had a wide-open quarterback competition during spring drills.

This derby might not be decided by April 14, when Pitt holds its annual Blue-Gold Game at Heinz Field. With highly touted quarterback recruit Pat Bostick of Manheim Township planning to enroll in May, the position might not be settled until training camp in August.

“The quarterbacks, it’s going to take time,” Wannstedt said. “We’re going to have to be smart with what we can do with those guys and not get ahead of ourselves. … We’re going to have a whole different opinion of that position a month from now than we do today.”

…

Cavanaugh noted that Palko’s indefatigable work ethic rubbed off on Stull and Smith. He said Stull was studying film three hours before practice and that Smith stayed afterward to take extra reps with several receivers.

Both quarterbacks delivered precise passes in drills. Stull zipped a pass to tight end Darrell Strong in traffic and used a pump-fake on a rollout to connect with Pestano on a deep go route. Smith threw a picturesque deep pass that dropped over T.J. Porter’s shoulder on the left sideline, but he later fumbled a snap in 11-on-11 drills.

The sense is that this is battle 1a, the real battle will be in the fall when Pat Bostick arrives. Can he show enough to wrest the job right away?

You know what, though, most Pitt fans will be watching what happens on the lines. Let’s face it, nothing else will matter if the QB can’t be protected, if Pitt can’t get to a QB, if the RBs have no where to run and if the opposition continues to run wild on Pitt.

It also looks like there is some shake-out with players.

Sophomore safety Elijah Fields did not attend practice yesterday and will not be with the team for the foreseeable future because he is suspended for what Wannstedt called a “violation of team policy.” Fields, who is expected to return before the end of the spring, was the third player suspended this offseason. The other two — linebacker Tommie Campbell and defensive tackle Corey Davis — are suspended indefinitely and not expected to return.

I initially thought it was about offseason workouts and conditioning sessions, but I’m now of the opinion that this nebulous suspension is primarily about academics.  The biggest issue for Fields has always been about his academics. Maybe Pitt is using an all-encompassing term, but academic issues seems most likely.

I like that Lowell Robinson will be competing for the starting safety spot. When he was recruited, he was a JUCO All-American at Safety, so not letting him compete there seemed like a questionable overestimation of the depth and talent there (not to mention wasting a year of his eligibility shifting him about).

Maryland and Washington State blew it. UCLA, Pitt, UNC and Ohio State all nearly blew it. Safe to say that it’s better to be in the “almost lost” rather then the “lost” category. So, admittedly, I’m hard pressed to be very negative. It’s single elimination and it doesn’t matter how you won, just that you did.

I mentioned it yesterday after the game and in my AOL post. VCU, for 3 straight games, mounted tremendous late second half runs to get back into games — and in two of them got the win. The part that still impressed me so much about Pitt was that they didn’t quit in the OT. They had lost a 19 point lead. Levance Fields had missed a couple FTs with 2.1 seconds left that could have ended it there. Every intangible and externality was against Pitt. But in the OT — and this was a huge difference from say Xavier — the Pitt players didn’t panic, slump down or give up. They gathered themselves and came out and finished the game.

Now to what everyone else is saying.

Gene Collier’s headline seemed negative about the game, but ultimately the column was about Levance Fields finding redemption in the OT.

For full disclosure, I wouldn’t have given a Buffalo nickel for Pitt’s chances in that overtime. The Panthers were either sick or exhausted or acutely disappointed, if not all three. VCU’s astounding confidence appeared to be climaxing.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Jamie Dixon would find himself saying at the end of that five minutes. “Once we got into overtime, I think we showed our true character and they really had their spirit come out in the OT. I’m proud of them, but I’m not at all surprised.”

That’s one of us.

Pitt started the extra period the way it started the game, pounding the ball low to virus-wracked Aaron Gray, and quickly established a three-point lead that Pellot-Rosa sliced to one with two free throws.

Were Pitt to begin losing oxygen again, it would probably be now, with the VCU press all set. But the Panthers pushed the ball past the time line with maybe a second to spare, and got it into the hands of Fields, who was ready with the second big THUMP!

Fields stepped back from the 3-point line at the left wing (oh you wouldn’t) and fired a signature back-arching 3 over Pellot-Rosa that was about as bashful as the Brooklyn night.

That unlikely shot and all its audacity — the shooter had just missed twice from 15 feet with no one near him — shook VCU for the last time. On the next possession, Fields found Ramon on the right wing for another 3 that made the score 78-71 with 2:11 left, a lead big enough even for a choking victim.

Fields and Kendall both attributed the VCU run to letting up a little soon. I have to say, maybe. It’s good that they take responsibility for nearly losing, but it also detracts from what VCU did. VCU went from 31% shooting in the first half to 50% shooting in the second. Pitt never stopped shooting well in both halves. VCU, when they began hitting those shots — and they weren’t exactly doing lay-ups in that run — then had time to set up their press. Go figure, when they started getting time to get into position, their defensive intensity was able to pick-up.

Of course after the game, Coach Dixon spoke as if it was never a question.

The Panthers will live to see the second weekend of this NCAA tournament. They advance to San Jose to play in the West Regional, but they’ll spend most of the time between now and then trying to catch their collective breath after this superb 84-79 overtime classic, and they’ll wonder how in the world they ever needed five extra minutes to get that done.

“I don’t think there was any doubt in our minds that we’d win the game, even after they made their run,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “It was a group effort picking us back up. Guys really believed in what we were doing.”

The players, naturally reflected that same, “oh, yeah, we knew we’d win,” claim afterwards.

“That’s what this tournament is about,” senior guard Antonio Graves said. “They weren’t going to give up. We never let our guard down. And that showed in overtime. We showed the true character of our team.”
Joe Starkey agrees that the team showed something special in the OT.

Cook came off the bench cold and hit two big foul shots with 19.1 seconds left in overtime to stretch the lead to 82-79. Sam Young (team-high 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks) made two more with 6.6 seconds left to account for the final score – and make it impossible for the scrappy Rams to tie it with a 3.

Pitt led, 58-42, with 8:50 left in regulation, but withered under the Rams’ full-court press and actually trailed, 69-67, with 55 seconds left before Fields whipped a pass to Young for a layup. After B.A. Walker missed a 3-pointer, Fields came back and drew a foul and went to the line.

“The true test of a team, the true character, shows when you (hit) adversity like we did,” said center Aaron Gray, who had 14 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five assists.

After the game, we learned that Gray had been battling food poisoning, didn’t practice on Friday and barely slept. Still he was highly efficient in his time on the Court. Mike Cook suffered a bruised knee near the end of the first half, and was noticeably hobbled in limited action in the second half. And arguably the VCU run may not have happened if Graves hadn’t had to be pulled with his 4th foul.

Maynor shot 2 of 6 for six points in the first half, as the Panthers bolted to a 41-26 lead. Most of Maynor’s points came after Graves picked up his fourth foul with 10 minutes to play in regulation.

Antonio Graves has almost jumped another level in his defensive effort in the post-season. It’s been great to see.