I think I’ll spare myself (and possibly the rest of you) any big media recap of the actual game. Suffice to say, Coach Dixon put things succinctly.
But when it was over, Dixon contrasted the moods of the two teams. “They’re happy and we’re suffering,” he said. “It’s going to sting, it’s going to hurt.”
It was pointed out that Kevin Gorman and Bob Smizik see part of the problem in Pitt not having enough offensive firepower come the NCAA Tournament. Be it a take-over “man” in crunch time, or simply a need to recruit more players who are shooters even at the expense of defense.
My first thought is that both are essentially ignoring the fact that the Pitt team of the past two years has been much more of an offensive-minded team with good, but hardly transcendent defense. Who was Sam Young but an offensive force when he asserted? Who was Levance Fields, but the general who would get those last clutch shots when needed? Who was DeJuan Blair, but the force on the glass that would clean up everything and get easy putbacks on offensive rebounds? The defense was better than average, but it was Pitt’s offensive efficiency and ability to outscore teams that had them winning games the last two years.
This team was made up of the role players who had to expand their role, and young players still learning. They had to go with their strengths, which was much more emphasis on defense. The job of any coach is to win the games, and win with the talent on hand.
Looking at it a little closer, Gorman seems to be talking about some dominating two-guard or wing forward that can drive and shoot threes to be that man. Even if the defensive prowess/effort isn’t there. Or, if you want to be a little clearer — a more consistent Gilbert Brown. I mean, doesn’t Brown fit that description? When Brown is on his good days, he is exactly that. Didn’t he actually do that abruptly and unexpectedly (and yes, a little too late) at the end of Xavier? Isn’t that what Pitt may have coming in J.J. Moore? Can we agree that Dante Taylor still has big potential to be a very potent offensive force?
As for Smizik’s contention that Pitt needs 3-point specialists who can come off the bench cold and drill 3s. Um, okay. Yeah, that would be nice. Tell me a team that wouldn’t mind that. But maybe it’s because I’ve watched a bombing of 3s philosophy absolutely fail in the Big East (and most other places) — Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, etc. — that it seems a bit silly. The only teams in the Big East that shoot a lot of 3s and have any success — Louisville and Syracuse. They play a completely different style than Pitt, and still they rely on having an inside presence and ability to go to the basket when the shots don’t go down.
My feeling is that that the writers are ignoring or confusing things, and really want to see Pitt play more of an up-tempo style. That’s not going to happen.
Final note. Just for fun, imagine if Pitt did change philosophies. Then imagine what would happen when Pitt hit a patch where they lost several games in a stretch because the defense was not there? Then there would be bemoaning the loss of identity for Pitt. How they are failing on the basics and fundamentals.
This wasn’t just a team that overachieved…it way overachieved!
On a good note, I truly believe that Woodall will become one of the best point guards in the country in the next 3 years.
We are blessed to have the coach and talent that we do. On to next year.
Hail to Pitt
Team exceeded expectations,as a fan that is more than we have a right to expect
Program is run with integrity and Jamie is a class act – Pittsburgh trait
University is becoming a model (not a Wanny fan as a game day coach, but don’t deny he bleeds Pitt and is a class act).
Pride comes from more than simply winning. And I am proud of being a Panther and what these two programs represent.
The upcoming years in both sports are going to be fun to look forward to which I have not been able to say much over the last 20 years.
Personally I hope we join the Big Ten but I understand those who prefer the status quo. I just think it would be good for the football program and I do not think the basketball program would necessarily need to regress (but the New York connection would be problematic)
Thanks for being “the blog” to go to for Pitt stuff
Gorman does seem to be saying that someone – he mentioned Gibbs and Brown in this case – needs to step up bigger at tourney time like Crawford did, rather than this team is lacking something. That’s sort of stating the obvious.
Smizik on the other hand is way off base IMHO. It’s interesting how he can remember a post from two years ago to support his point, yet he forgets this from a 3/24/10 post: “It’s no longer a case of the Panthers just making the NCAA tournament. They’re a threat to win the conference, almost certain to make the tournament and a force to be reckoned with for years to come in college basketball.” Hmm, but all of a sudden they need a big time scorer. I’ve come to the conclusion that Smizik’s job is to be the “sports curmudgeon” for the PG just like Savran is on radio. Helps sell papers. The good thing is that he attracts all the other curmudgeons to his blog so they stay off of this one for the most part. 🙂
drgags and Dan 72: Good points that are intertwined. This was a young team that will stay together long enough to be something special. I’d rather watch a team like this grow year to year than not know what to expect because each year the core players bolt for the money. Look at what Blair’s early exit did. I’m sure when Jamie was recruiting Taylor as a 4, he expected to have Blair and McGhee as his 5s.
Everyone is so surprised by Cornell and Northern Iowa. Why? They’re Senior-laden teams that have played together for 4-5 years, just like George Mason was when they made their “improbable run” to the Final Four. And those teams get the real castoff talent. Just think what Pitt can do with the notch-above talent that Jamie recruits. I don’t think he needs to change a thing. He’s building a sustainable program not a flash in the pan championship run. Talented players are taking note and therefore, he gets more and more of them each year. I repeat: I don’t think he needs to change a thing.
Pitt is not mentioned. I wonder what players did not graduate besides Blair. Is Casson Diggs counted in the “did not graduate”?
I think a lot of that comes with experience. When young players get oppornuties in games for Pitt they usually seem to handle the offense and struggle on defense. That happened with Young and it happened with Blair (who did OK but was foul prone). Fields was one of the few players I can think of who entered as a freshman capable of handling both ends of the floor. The good news is that most players improve on defense under Dixon, and I expect that trend to continue.
“NCAA statistics were used in the study. The Institute reviewed 2002?03 graduation (six-year) rates, with a four class average (freshman classes of, 1999?2000, 2000?01, 2001?02, and 2002?03). The APR data in this study does not include data from the 2008?09 academic performances of the teams, but instead uses the four?year data from the 2004?05, 2005?06, 2006?07, and 2007?08 academic years. This is the second year without the squad?size adjustment for most teams that was in place until teams accumulated four years of APR data.”
Sorry for any choppiness, it was copied from a PDF.
Here’s a link to the actual study for those interested in reading it: link to tidesport.org
The other problem is that the data can become out of date pretty quickly, since the studies oftentimes include time periods from over 10 years ago. For example, is it really fair to judge Jamie Dixon’s program based partially on the performance of Ralph Willard’s recruits? I’m not saying that the historical data is not useful, but I’m not sure that strict punishment guidelines (as has been proposed by the NCAA and others) is proper. I remember a few years ago (during the Dixon era) a graduation rate study put Pitt basketball at a relatively low level, but it turned out the data was all from the 1990’s. My impression is that Pitt has greatly improved its focus on academic success under both Dixon and Wannstedt.
However, Pitt really does need to look closely for some pure shooters. These guys usually arent the most athletic but can absolutely kill you when they get their looks. I always think of the Bulls in their glory days with guys like John Paxson, Craig Hodges, and Steve Kerr. As good as Jordan was, these guys were the dagger.
The trouble is that reporters get these studies and make their own interpretations. Then politicians like US Education Secretary Arne Duncan start screaming for bans and legislation, the snowball effect builds pressure on the NCAA, and you end up with something that makes little sense in the real world.
Pantherman13 is totally correct that this stuff needs to be taken with a grain of salt and within its context, and that we are lucky that Pitt’s administration and coaches are on top of these things.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see next year’s team to open up a bit more, especially if Taylor takes a big step. I think he a big upside offensively and will improve defesnively … just a matter of how much he improves for next year.
Also, Gibbs needs to improve in creating a shot off of the dribble, and of course, Gibert needs to be consistent. Anything Epps can add will be icing.
Tampa T, thanks for your comments. I checked out TIDES web page. ( link to tidesport.org ). I think that their goals are admirable, but apparently they are using an outdated yardstick to arrive at certain conclusions. From one of their 2009 reports:
“The 2008 Racial and Gender Report Card for College Sport showed that NCAA member institutions and their conferences lost ground for both their record for gender hiring practices and hiring practices by race. In fact, college sport had the lowest grade for racial hiring practices in 2008.”
The selection of players on college (and pro) sports teams appear to demonstrate the American goal, i.e. a color blind (and gender blind) process. There apparently are no numbers games. I thought that we got over the hump on the selection of coaches. Not only are colleges willing to hire Black coaches, they are also willing to fire them. It appears that TIDES wants to apply their numbers game to coaches, administrators and support staffs. I assume that they accept the fact that the numbers can be skewed (from what one would expect using binomial statistical distributions) for the racial make-up of players, but apparently they suspect that there must be something evil if any other category appears skewed. Do you think there will ever be a time when these groups will issue a statement saying, “We are disbanding our organization because, just like polio, racial and gender bias has been eradicated in college sports”?
Chas, I thought we were much more up-tempo the last two games. The “Don’t-shoot-until-four-passes” ideology appeared to be chucked out the window after the ND debacles. Obviously Coach makes the decision but I have the sense that the players petitioned for a faster pace.
Pitt needs to continue to let the offense evolve to fit the current personell. However, Taylor and McGhee must develop an offensive game to complement the perimeter players. Neither player will be double teamed early in the year. They have no excuse but to work hard and improve on that end. I really think Taylor has the talent to be a dominant offensive player. McGhee is already a great defensive player. Pitt has both, therefore they should be able to deal with most of the frontlines in the country.
Finally, the fans who are calling out Jamie Dixon are, quite simply, stupid. Since he has been at Kansas, Bill Self has lost to the following teams in the NCAA Tournament: Bradley, Bucknell, and Northern Iowa. This is with the talent at Kansas. He has also won the NCAA title.
The NCAA tournament is a difficult playoff. For all of Tom Izzo’s success at Michigan State in the tournament, he has 1 NCAA title. If the goal is to win the whole thing, then it doesn’t matter if you lose early once in a while. And it certainly doesn’t make Jamie Dixon a bad coach. I am certain that Jamie Dixon will win the NCAA tournament while he is at Pitt. I don’t know when, but I know that he will.
Well said. The program is on solid ground. Furthermore, the talent we are in the mix for is continuing to improve. This year’s freshman class is the most talented class in recent history. It was disappointing losing in the tournament, but this team accomplished much more than any of us thought they would after the loss in the elite 8 to ‘Nova last year. We’ll eventually win the big one.
