It’s the kind of cold, wet, rainy March in Cleveland that plain sucks. Way too much symbolism on the day after a loss.
For only one team does basketball season end as a complete good thing. For everyone else, pain. Or frustration. Or anger. That time is now for Pitt.
If you want to think Pitt choked. If you want to think that Pitt had no business losing that game, I doubt anything will convince you otherwise. Not the stats. Not the Vegas line. Not all things going into this game that screamed toss-up.
The Curse of Kelvin Sampson continues for another year (in my mind). Former Indiana recruit, Jordan Crawford, and Indiana transfer, Terrell Holloway, combined for 40 points (13-22), 9 rebounds and 4 assists. I am so sick of seeing his former assemblage of talents get dispersed then come back to bit Pitt on the ass. (And on that note, please let Devin Ebanks turn pro early.)
A 71-68 loss. Coming back more than once from double-digit deficits. It wasn’t enough. That one stretch in the first half when things went all Xavier’s way. Every ball for them found the bottom of the net, every drive and shot by Pitt wouldn’t fall, or a turnover to make it another empty possession.
This Pitt team didn’t quit. They played hard, aggressive and well throughout the second half. Strong surges and the kind of play that we have enjoyed all season. Frustratingly, like in the second loss to Notre Dame or that loss at Seton Hall, things never quite all the way there. Xavier had just enough to answer and survive.
Pitt got chances at the end. As Gil Brown spent the first half and most of the second half being fitted for goat horns for yet another on-and-off game performances. He suddenly found his stroke in the waning minutes to help Pitt comeback (5-5 including 3-3 on 3s). Xavier missed some key free throws. But this time the game-tying three would not fall from Wanamaker or Gibbs. Not like it did against WVU. Not like it did versus Louisville. No game-winning shot like Providence.
Instead we find ourselves pondering the missed chances. If Jermaine Dixon had not had a horrible night. If three more free throws would have gone down. If Gary McGhee wasn’t as ineffective, as he was assertive the previous game. If Ashton Gibbs could have made a couple shots in the second half. If Gilbert Brown could have gotten on track sooner. If some of Wanamaker’s drives to the hoop had gone in, instead of rimming out. If a couple calls had been made that went Pitt’s way. If anyone other than Wanamaker and Gibbs could have shown any offense in the first half. If the defense could have gotten a couple stops. (If someone could have taken a crowbar to Jordan Crawford’s shin.)
Nope. A tight tough loss to a team that had a strong troika in Love, Holloway and Crawford that combined to get 54 of the 71 points and 17 of the 31 rebounds to drive the Musketeers. You have to tip your cap to the way each controlled their aspect of the game and dominated their spot. Love inside, was strong and unyielding. Holloway — especially in the second half — controlled things for Xavier and directed the team to explot its one-on-one strengths.
Then there was Crawford who is making the opening weekend of the NCAA a declaration of his presence as a big time player. Not Joe Crawford’s little brother. Not the guy who got a dunk on LeBron James. A star talent that Xavier hopes to have for one more year.
The ride ended too soon — again. More was wanted. It felt like there should have been more. There’s no satisfying ending.
Then again, it never ends. Only two players leave this team. The group will work to get better. We know that they are upset and frustrated. That they want to put this behind them and not let this happen again.
The expectations return quickly. The optimism is already there. Improvement from the players throughout the season. New blood and talent on the bench and coming soon. A coach that demands strong, unselfish play — and knows how to coax it out of a team.
Next season can’t get here soon enough.
Couldn’t agree more, Chas. A few of us had some fun a few weeks back dreaming and debating the returning guys taking another step forward, the redshirts getting their shots to contribute and the new recruits bringing great potential. I can’t wait for season to begin again, so I hope to get up there to check out some Summer play.
This year was a pleasant and unexpected ride even though it ended sooner than anyone wanted. I can still hold my head high as a Panther fan and wear my PITT gear proudly thanks to this year’s effort.
Hail to PITT!
I was surprised to see how much attention the late scramble got. Ultimately Pitt couldn’t consistently get stops until < 1 min in the game, and that’s why they lost. Xavier made some tough shots, but they also got way too many open looks and benefited from too many lapses. The team defense was not up to Pitt’s standard.
As much as seeding goes out the window, it’s still frustrating for Pitt to get bounced yet again by a lower seed. I console myself by rationalizing that our 3 was inflated by a few big wins, but Pitt was easily among the top 20 in D-1 and had a better overall year than Xavier.
That said, I’m excited for this team going forward but hope to see bigger steps on D for next year, especially from Taylor and Gibbs. Gibbs is tough because he always knows where to be but lacks the quickness to be a lockdown defender. Taylor has the tools but really struggled to understand where he needs to be at all times. Hopefully there’s even more room for this team to grow. I suspect there is.
Pitt had to rebuild on the fly this year and did so amazingly with winning 20+ games and making the tournament, something UNC and UConn didn’t this year. Bottom line Pitt lost 67% of it’s scoring from last years team, you can’t just magically replace it. The only thing I can think of is that maybe Jamie Dixon shouldn’t have redshirted Patterson. He made a couple big threes in the Texas game and would have been the scoring Pitt lacked at times. Postive he still has 4 years of eligibility left. And really if Jermaine shoots 3-9 instead of 1-9 Pitt wins. Inspite of all this still a great year.
I believe next year’s team will be awesome.
Let’s break it down, Dr. Jack style:
PGs Woodall, really showed strides toward the end of the year and I felt the offense looked better when he ran the point. Epps, top 100 PG recruit and should be more than servicable at PG.
SG: Gibbs, a legit scorer who will be better not having to worry about the point and just having to worry about scoring. Cameron Wright, really atheletic top 100 recruit. JJ Moore , if he qualifies, has been dominating recently.
Forwards: Gil Brown, will be more consistent and hopefully won’t miss the start of the year. Wannamaker, does a little bit of everything and has improved every year. Patterson, looks like he can score. Nasir, instant energy hopefully he can improve his shot.
C’s. McGhee, great defender. Taylor, should be a beast next year, I saw him starting to get how to play towards the end of the year and a whole year of condition he will be much stronger. Richardson, if he improves like most big men at Pitt improve then he will give solid minutes.
On the game, 2 eyeball 3’s by Crawford was the difference. Dixon could not defend better and the man just made the shots. That was the difference.
next year should be fantastic….hopefully gil steps up on offense and becomes the go-to guy…..as long as someone replaces dixon as the lockdown defender, we should be even better….
All things considered, I had fun this season- much more than I expected going in. The Louisville and WVU games were games for the ages. I’ve settled on visiting the ‘Burgh for one game a year and was lucky to witness last year’s UConn win and that WVU tri-overtime victory this year. Among other points of enjoyment was witnessing the emergence of Gary McGhee as a “serviceable center”, watching Ashton Gibbs blossom, the positive development trajectories of Nasir Robinson and Trevon Woodall, and the tantalizing potential of Dante Taylor, understated, as Carmen noted, by a baby hook in the second half yesterday. Also of note is how Brad Wanamaker has emerged from a deer in the headlights freshman I saw at MSG two years ago, to a tough, well-rounded Big East combo guard. The enigma of Gilbert Brown made for a lot of frustrating fun as well. Jermaine Dixon had an interesting, brief, but eventful career here. He was more guts and sweat than talent, but we owe our success over the last two years, partially, to his contributions. Above it all, I’m just so grateful for having Jamie Dixon at the helm of our program. There will be no banners from the ceiling from this season, but what a job he’s done with what he had- which others have well noted. What I love best is that no game is ever over for Coach. He’s not perfect in managing late game situations, but the three magical last minute comebacks this year and the two final looks we had at the basket yesterday are reminders that Pitt’s tenacity extends from his never-give-in mentality. I wish more of the Pitt faithful on this blog and the livechat would have the same qualities sometimes….Looking forward to next season. I’m excited about seeing all the returnees, checking out our new recruits, and jumping into the thick of things with plenty of early out of conference challenge at the Coaches for Cancer tourney in November. I’m proud of the years that both football and hoops had. We came up short in both, but it was an interesting ride. And we were in the thick of everything for both sports- which is more than you can say about most schools.
Hail to Pitt. Hail to Chas. Hail to Beer.
The fact that there is continued criticism of a program that competes and almost always reaches the Sweet 16 each year for the past decade, only emphasizes just how high Coach Dixon has elevated the expectations of this program.
I personally can’t wait for next season.
BUT WHEN IS DIXON GOING TO STEP UP HIS GAME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT? WHY CAN’T PITT EVER BE THE ‘MAKE AN UNEXPECTED LONG RUN IN THE TOURNEY’ TEAM? WHY CAN’T THEY EVER, EVER, EVER OVER-ACHIEVE ON THE BIG STAGE?
Is no one else desperately frustrated by that? What’s the point of all of these regular season wins – which have been wonderful over the course of the past decade – if you don’t show up in the Championship of the whole sport, huh?
Maybe because most of us recognize that there is no magic wand that can be waived to make things perfect by Coach Dixon. Maybe because many remember the wasteland that Pitt basketball has been in for much longer than this great run. Maybe because we are tempering the disappointment with reality. Maybe because, especially this year, complaining about not going beyond post-season expectations — with a very balanced tournament, and a young team that exceeded all expectations to raise that hope — seems shortsighted.
These same questions are being asked in Texas, Wake Forest, and many other places after this weekend — including Kansas. Think of all the great coaches and how long it took. Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams, Jim Boeheim and others. Then think of some that seemed to scale the mountain quickly — Bob Huggins with 2 Elite Eights and 1 Final Four from 92-96, followed by only getting to the second weekend once in the next 9 years — only to be living off that past glory.
There are exceptions like an Izzo, but those are much rarer than you seem to think.
What many of us have realized is JD gets the most out of his players throughout the course of the year…and that usually is taking an average/good team overall with average/good offensive skills–preaching def & reb, and acheiving above average/great results throughout the course of a season. Unfortunately, with teams less tenured, your going to see flashes of brilliance and periods of ineptitude. The X game showed that in it’s full glory. Unfortunately, it bit us.
We should be proud that Jamie is taking our team, coaching them up, and getting us back to the dance year and year out. But to expect a deep run, sorry…it takes elite offensive talent…and at this time, we do not have it. I would argue that last year’s team was the best in JD’s tenure (2 NBA players), and we were a shot away from the FF. Jamie will have that in a year or so, but right now he is building a strong team of players that will peak in two years when some elite offensive talent is added to the mix.
With all due respect to our current players, the next batch will be even better.
Hail to Pitt.
You gotta enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Doesn;t mean we don’t want to see banners in the gym, it just means that you have to enjoy the lead up because most of the times, at the destination, you end the season with a loss…
1) Lack of presence in the post during the 1st half, thwarting any of our drives to the hoop. Love didn’t even attempt to guard McGhee, he simply moved to the driver.
2) Dixon thinking he was Levance. As my buddy says, the only Levance on this team is Wanamaker.
There, now I’m moving on. I hate baseball, but maybe the Rangers will make the playoffs.
Hail to Pitt!
link to grfx.cstv.com (PDF file)
What was going on with so many haters posting on the liveblog thread immediately after the game? It was like they were just waiting to pull the trigger. That said, just in case there was a WVU hickster in the mix…13-9 buddy…13-9. Enjoy your ‘almost’ football championship and lame coke zero commercial link to youtube.com
I can only assume they used actors, because there aren’t any apparent couches set on fire.
HTscriptP
Great summary. I couldn’t agree more. It was a wonderful, wonderful year.
As to those who were disappointed, I recall a Jim Boeheim interview a couple of years ago in which the coach told Pitt fans to just be patient. Dixon is too good not to take us to the promised land. Don’t forget, it took both Boeheim and Calhoun a long time to win a title, and look at them now–already in the Hall of Fame. It is never easy, but I believe it will happen for us.
Furthermore, it is clear that we do not always get the best talent. But we do play with heart and never give up. Sure, it’d be nice to root for UNC and get top 5 recruits every year and win a title here and there. But I’d never trade the identity Coach Dixon and his players have forged here the past decade–toughness, a commitment to improvement, and a never-say-die attitude–for anything, even a banner. I am proud to be a Pitt fan because they embrace what a true team and program should be!
Hail to Pitt!!
9 and 3 and a bowl game
Sweet 16 or thereabouts.
College ball is about the money. It’s not about the game. Another spring, another dead horse.
I have been trying my level best to convince Chancellor Nordenberg to support Pitt joining the Big Ten Conference, unfortunately, to no avail. Accordingly, I’m appealing to you to convince your honorable chancellor to support Pitt to join the Big Ten Conference. Maybe the collective voice of Panthers Nation would persuade Chancellor Nordenberg that Pitt should become the 12th member of the Big Ten.
I understand Chancellor Nordenberg’s reluctance to leave the Big East, a conference with a rich history and stature that speaks for itself. Indeed, the Big Ten would like to have all the members of the Big East join if that were possible. The Big Ten, however, would gladly settle for the Big East’s crown jewel, the University of Pittsburgh.
One needs to look no further than recent history for evidence that Pitt would be an incredible asset to our conference. In 2009, the Panthers basketball team was mere seconds away from a trip to the Final Four, were it not for an incredibly athletic layup by Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds to finish the game with time running out. While the basketball team was carving-out its place in college athletics lore, the Panthers football team followed-up its riveting 3-0 loss to a powerful Oregon State University team in the Sun Bowl with a win against ACC monster North Carolina in the Car Care Bowl. (It is no secret among football pundits that had Pitt scored against OSU, it would have had a chance to win the game.) Finally, Pitt breezed through the first round of the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball tournament only to be stopped by Atlantic 10 Conference runner-up, and lower-seeded Xavier University in the round of 32. (While deep runs into the NCAA tournament don’t come often for the Panthers, we at the Big Ten admire Pitt’s ongoing commitment to rebuilding!)
I could go on for days listing reasons why the Big Ten conference would be the luckiest conference in the U.S.A. if Pitt were to join, but, of course these reasons would be old news to you. I also wouldn’t want to run the risk of overlooking one of Pitt’s many accomplishments!
For these reasons, and many others, I appeal to you, Panthers Faithful, to please convince your chancellor that Pitt should join the Big Ten Conference.
Very Truly Yours,
Jim Delaney
Here is some food for thought first from Smizik @ the Post-Gazette
link to community.post-gazette.com
Here is some more food for thought from Gorman @ the Tribune
link to pittsburghlive.com
Notice some similarities?