wbb:

i feel differently than you do. i thought gilbert brown played better than mack and howard on saturday. he had a higher shooting percentage, rebounded, and assisted. he also made a free-throw to tie the game with 1 second left. he hit several big shots and was phenomenal. he was also playing with foul trouble.

we can disagree, but that doesn’t mean you are right and i am wrong.

You mean the same Butler that lost TWICE this year to UW Milwaukee, not to mention both Youngstown and Wright States (don’t get it, neiter are “states”), and Valparaiso (let alone Louisville, Duke, and Xavier)?

Howard is a tool — all the people on this board and elsewhere who dog Pitt for not having “NBA talent” — I don’t see how Howard even enters the discussion. I’ll still take Gibbs over Mack, even if he got outplayed in one game and showed some defensive weakness (more noticeable post mcl injury mind you).

1988 — Pitt squad had not one, but 2 1st round draft picks (including lottery selection Charles Smith) on a 2 seeded team that failed to survive the 2nd round.

Thank God the sun came up Sun and I can look at the events of Sun as clear headed as I ever will. HTP!

Chas – I would like to send you some money for this site. It has kept me sane many times and been a wonderful tool for sharing our Pitt feelings. Why not have a get together before the Spring game somewhere where we could drop off some $$. Love to meet you and the rest of the inmates.

Last,last but not least. I have been T’d up late in a game early in my coaching days and cost my team the game. Never did it again.But,
if I was Jamie Dixon and the ref made that call against me, I would have gone after that official until they had to put handcuffs on me. To alter the outcome of a game with what amounts to a judgement call when it could be settled in OT on the floor still is a disgrace. Jamie seemed stunned the entire last 4 minutes of the game.

Don’t agree on the T — Howard did have to sink a FT — he could have missed 2. As bad as the foul calls may have been, at least they occurred between the whistles — Dixon would have sealed the game from the sideline, which is ultimately unfair to your players.

I respect Dixon for setting a good example for his players and representing Pitt with class. I wouldn’t say the same about Stevens or Butler.

Agree with a lot of what has been said here – the good and the bad. And the more I hear, the more I blame Jamie for the loss. And I don’t think for a second anyone should entertain getting rid of him. Class guy, class program, does it the right way. And the program has become VERY profitable for Pitt under his guidance.

The call on Nas WAS DEFINATELY a make-up, which is ANOTHER reason no one should have been in the blocks on the second shot. By and large, you may try to get a tap. But this was a special circumstance.

Jamie has kept the program at a high-level, and he is to be commended. The only time you fire someone for poor NCAA tourney performanec is when the school has established itself as a big-time tourney team and they don’t deliver (Steve Lavin at UCLA for example, who’s firing is a big reason why Jamie is head coach here). Just make some sound decisions at crunch time, something Jamie has repeatedly failed to do.

Very painful loss…feel for Naz…no one played harder or with more heart this whole season…although it felt like it at the time, it is not the end of the world…its just a game and they had a great season…they won their conference, an attainable goal and there is always next year to look forward to…Gibbs will be back, Woodall, Naz, Patterson, Taylor, Khem Burch will be here…a lot to look forward to…no road to the top of the mountain is a straight line…we will get to the top though and just think of how sweet it will be when we do…

Omar is spot on here. Brown was the best player on the floor. Look at stats instead of having a pity party about how Pitt isn’t talented. Mack is a mediocre 3 point shooter who got hot. Brown shot at a higher percent had more assists and more rebounds. But lets keep on believing old arguments that don’t apply.

Brown and Wanny are projected to be second round draft picks this year. Gibbs and Mack are both projected to be second round picks next year. You know who isn’t projected to be drafted? Howard. I bet the least talented regular Pitt player has more talent than the number 3 guy on Butler. Talent had NOTHING to do with the loss.

from Matt Howard

When asked whether he was confident he’d make his first of two free throws, Howard joked, “I was trying to bargain for three, just in case.”

He thought he could sell that heave as a legitimate shot. In a single motion while grabbing the defensive rebound he was positioning himself for 92 foot shot with his back to the basket. I’m glad justice was served and all, but I wish Nas smacked him harder and more in the face area.

Goes to show you how much ridiculous nonsense talk there is leading up to the selection show about seeding. We were in the easiest bracket right, easiet road to the final four ehhh??? Good thing we got that 1 seed!!!!

Chas, excellent job all season!! Allthough my blood pressure has returned to normal, I find myself more ticked today about losing to Butler in the second round. I still find that hard to believe, that we actually lost to Butler in the second round. I had parties set up for Thursday and Saturday!!!!! Good effin’ grief!!!!!!

Actually, come to think about it, must of had my own doubts, as I told my wife, “no, don’t get anything for next week until the Butler game is over!” She said, “Butler?? I’m working next week, if not this morning, then i’m going tomorrow (Sunday) morning”. Needless to say, saved a bunch of money!!

7. had he called a time out and ensured a shot, another 4-5 seconds would have ran off as the ball bounced around before being secured… or PITT WOULD HAVE GOT THE REBOUND AND WON

Comment by DeVanzo 03.21.11 @ 12:15 p

This is THE most important point, by failing to call a timeout on Pitt’s final full possession and setup a play. They lost NOT ONLY the opportunity to score and put points on the board.
They ALSO lost the opportunity to rebound a missed shot and either run the remaining seconds off the clock or they get fouled by Butler and go to the FT line to add points to our 1 point lead.

The worst possible and most unlikely scenario unfolded, unbelievably. Pitt took neither a shot(which might have went in), there was no rebound to contest from a missed shot with the clock still running AND 3RD, THE SHOT CLOCK VIOLATION STOPPED THE CLOCK FROM RUNNING PERIOD. Just an unbelievable coaching gaffe.

It still boggles my mind.

There are people who can think on their feet and there are people who can’t.

Making no adjustments during a half, and only at halftime suggests the latter is the case.
Pitt usually comes out of halftime a Tiger, overcoming 1rst half deficits or expanding leads.
Then the other team adjusts and we don’t. We’ve seen this time and time and time again over the years. So given the time that halftime provides, adjustments are made that work, but none seem to be made while ‘on the fly’. Our Coach has many strengths, adjusting or making decisions ‘on the fly’ does not appear to be one of them. I am not suggesting we get rid of Dixon, but I would like to see him hire someone, like an older sage coach who can suggest to him during the game or remind him of strategies, etc., that one can forget,(sometimes just momentarily) in the heat of battle. Someone to slightly nudge him with an elbow and say, ‘we might want to do this, we might want to that”. We do not have that type of assistant on the bench now, I believe Tom Herrion is/was that type of an assistant. Well hopefully you all know he left to become Head Coach at Marshall, where he led them to over 20 wins in his 1rst season. All of Jamie’s assistants appear to be ‘Yes’ men. I suggest he hire another Tom Herrion type if available.

wbb Brown was the best player on the floor for Pitt in that game and probably in the game. You could argue for him or Mack overall as the best. But Omar claiming he was the best player on the floor does not prove bias. Kid play one helluva game and carried Pitt on his back.

melvinbennet,
I think Dixon did a tremendous job of adjusting at the half and even throughout the second half. Watching the game, Pitt far outplayed Butler the entire second half. I don’t think it was close. A freak ending kept them from losing in spite of the horrendous officiating that kept them from opening a large lead. That was one of their best played halves of the year.
The post about Boeheim and tournament success was great. The same could be said for many successful coaches. People need to relax on Dixon. The guy is a terrific coach.

Two days and I’m still in shock and it’s still not getting better. I have buried myself in work to keep from dwelling on it. It was apparent to anyone with basket ball IQ that we got the stop we needed, we’ve got 46 seconds to play it smart and Dixon wet his pants. By failing to manage the situation the situation managed us. Put up a shot with 4-5 seconds left on our shot clock and if there’s a rebound it gets battered around and if Butler gains possession they’ve got a mere 2-4 seconds to score. You just know Dixon has watched the tape and has figured out after the fact what he should have done to control the outcome. A big time program deserves better coaching but the conundrum is you can’t find a better man in college basketball than Dixon. We have to wait; for Dixon to figure out how not to freeze and at the same time to have the horses and be in the same position he was 48 hours ago.

Oh and hopefully an asst. who can teach other types to defenses to use when the situation dictates.
Like a Triangle and Two would have been perfect against Butler, since Mack & Howard scored 65% of Butler’s 71 points. But you have to have someone who knows how to teach that defense BEFORE you can use it. You can’t just say in the huddle, we’re going to play a Triangle and Two or a Box and One as I’ve read some posts that think you can, you actually have to practice it. You saw on Sat. how Butler took Gibbs totally out of the game. They obviously practiced that defense before to stop a team with only one 3 point shooter. Thankfully for us Brownie decided to play like it was his last game for Pitt and played like we all knew he was capable of. Funny enough (well not really) Nas also had one of his best offensive games (16 points) of the season as well. Quite ironic that despite that they were involved in two plays that will forever be the memory of this game. I feel really bad for those two guys, they will have to live with that.

Something to note, the Top 4 seeds of the Southeast Region all made it to New Orleans, except for us.

Triangle and two would get slaughtered in a college game. More people would play it if it was a good defense.

Agree Old School Panther, as I seem to usually do with your posts. Our experience helps us see things that others do no apparently see and that is very natural, both in sports and in business and in life. Why baseball teams have old men coaching them, they have seen everything and have experienced pretty much every situation, nothing rattles or fazes them. Why people seek Warren Buffet’s(80 yrs. old) or Carl Icahn’s(75) advice? Why Presidents usually surround themselves with older more wiser men who have been there and done that, dozens of times. Well I could go on & on.

More people eat at McDonalds does that make it a good place to eat? OntarioLett

Actually I thing it’s a lot easier to confuse college teams of today with multiple defenses than it ever has been. Pitt for example can see a zone press or a man to man press and never seem to get use to it. As they continually never try to exploit the press after beating it, but hold the ball and attempt to beat the defense a 2nd time.

Which is why Louisville gets them their toughest game every year, yet they pretty much use the same style of press every year.

in addition to a the great first half, Pitt led by Brown came back and went out to a 5 pt lead with about 6-7 minutes left in the game…. and who stopped the run … it was Mack with a 3 pointer. Pitt looked like again it was going put the game on ice with a bout 1:30 left, and again it was Mack with a 3 pointer that put them right nack into it.

Mack had a greater 1st half than either Ignns or Brown, and in the 2nd half, he came thru with the two shots when Butler needed them the most

I don’t know what to think of Jamie anymore. I know that he has done so much for this program, but I worry if he can ever get an elite PG like John Wall or Kemba Walker. I think Dixon does a fantastic job at developing talent, but honestly I wish we would have got Calipari. The blue chip kids want to play for him and he just brought in what ESPN calls the best class ever. I’m just skeptical that this program can ever do damage in the tourney with this style of play.

if Pitt went to a triangle and 2, Butler’s other players would have started hitting threes (they are a good shooting team), also the Big guy would have gotten a lot more inside, plus, it wouldn’t have stopped Mack from drilling long range 3’s (they were already playing in Man to Man).
Not sure about the McDonald’s analogy, plenty of crap restaurants close because nobody eats at them. Nobody plays a triangle and two because it is garbage, that is why nobody plays it. It doesn’t make much sense.

A big time program deserves better coaching? Ah, wasn’t it Dixon who made it a big time program?

Triangle and two would get slaughtered in a college game. More people would play it if it was a good defense.
Comment by OntarioLett’sGoPitt 03.21.11 @ 7:22 pm

More people eat at McDonalds does that make it a good place to eat? OntarioLett
Comment by melvinbennett 03.21.11 @ 7:30 pm

I’ll explain the analogy. you were suggesting that because a lot of people (teams) don’t play a Triangle & Two, that was the reason it wasn’t any good. That reasoning would suggest on the flip side that because a lot of people eat at McDonald’s it suggest McDonald’s is a good restaurant. (which of course it isn’t)
Further, because a lot of people shop at Walmart does that make it a good place to buy clothes. And more, because a lot of people smoke cigarettes, it is wise to do so. The fact that a lot of people do something, whether it’s not using a Triangle & Two or eating at McDonald’s, or smoking cigs does not make it a good or correct decision.

Now back to the Triangle & Two, this is a specialty defense, you do not exclusively use it.
You use it on occasion and only when the situation dictates it. It’s meant to limit teams that have two dominant players which Butler does, Mack & Howard both averaged around 16 ppg this year, no one else was in double digits ppg. And on this particular occasion against Pitt, they were taking over 60% of the shots and scoring over 65% of Butler’s points. Object should have been to limit their touches, as Butler did with Gibbs. If you had practiced a Triangle & Two, this would have been a situation where you could have used it. At the very least, you give them a different look, it can interrupt their rhythm, which is what you’re trying to do, to take them off their game. You force Butler’s other players to beat you. You have no clue if their other players would have started hitting three’s or not. Certainly their other 3 players being guarded by the Triangle would have included their 6’11 Center who hasn’t attempted a 3 all year and their 6’7″ F who attempted two 3’s the whole year.
So scratch those two off of who else is going to be “hitting threes”. The other 6’0″ guard who played 28 minutes on Sat., Nored only averaged taking one 3 pg and made less than 33% of them. So I take my chances with him beating me.

Again the object is take them out of their game, give them a different look, confuse them for a few possessions. In a close game, as we saw, it only takes a few outcomes of a few possessions to change the outcome of the game.

Chas, when can we send you cash?

I think a lot of people need to chill out and realize this is a game. That Pitt has gone from a laughing stock to one of the best programs in the Big East in the past decade and much of that has to do with Dixon. The tourney is a crap-shoot. If it wasn’t, then a No. 1 seed would win the title every year. Would you rather be St. John’s? Louisville? Providence? It wasn’t Dixon who decided to hold the ball and then pass to the post with 3 seconds left on the shot clock with a 1-point lead. (It was Wanny). It wasn’t Dixon who missed a game-winning FT. Pitt was down 8 at halftime, Dixon made adjustments and it was Pitt’s game to lose – and they did. Coaching basketball is combination of thousands of decisions a game. One decision doesn’t lose or win a game. And I completely disagree with people saying this is Pitt’s worst loss ever? Really. Two years ago, Pitt was an overtime away from a Final Four and had the talent to win it, and lost on a buzzer-beater. And it’s not like Butler was a slouch.

[…] or my own, had Butler fallen in the same way the Panthers did.  I can’t imagine the actual disappointment of losing in that fashion, though I’m certain all of you had a small taste of what it would […]

One thought – Pitt should get rid of Jordan Marks. They need as many basketball minds to assist Dixon. Patronage hires won’t cut it.

One bad decision at the end of the game can certainly cause you to lose a game. Whether it’s a bad coaching decision (Dixon) or a player (Nas).
You can overcome bad decisions or play in the 1rst half (as Pitt did). You can’t overcome bad decisions at the END of GAMES, nycpanther.

We can always make excuses of, oh well it was Dwayne Wade after all or Antonio Gates and he must have been great because he was all-pro in the NFL. (funny though he wasn’t even drafted by the NBA)
Or it was a great play by Scottie Reynolds, Kemba Walker, Patrick O’Bryant, Drew Neitzel (yes Drew Neitzel !!), Shelvin Mack or whoever soon to be forgotten michael jordan for a day who happened to beat us that day. Bottom line this team folds when push comes to shove. The Pitt players change, the opponents in the NCAA’s change as well, there is only one constant in all these program defining losses. And we all know what that constant is.

Agree with Omar…this “we can’t win in the NCAA tournament because we don’t have NBA talent” is just BS…So we won a very tough Big East, the Coaches and Writers consistently had us ranked in the top 10, the selection committee made us a #1 seed, but we don’t have the talent to win it all? I’ll write again…BS! That is just a losers mentality. Omar has it correct. We need more players like Fields. That kid stood on the FT line and hit two FTs with the tournament on the line, only to have Reynolds have his big moment in the sun. That was by far for me a worse loss than this one. We were so close to the Final Four. This years team did not even get a whiff of the Final Four. The talent was there, but they just blew it down the stretch.

HbgFrank: IMHO, it’s not that you can’t win without NBA talent, it’s the NBA-level talent increases your odds of winning. So, instead of having some future NBAer go off on your team, he’s on your team. To get to the Final Four and win it all, at some point, your team will have to go against a team or teams with several of those guys on it – a Duke, a Carolina, a Kentucky or a Kansas.

As far as Fields, yeah, little guy, big onions. However, he also had two guys on his team who currently start for their NBA teams. He knew that if he missed a shot, Blair was usually there to grab and put back the miss. He knew that he had a guy in Young who could hit from the outside or take it to the hoop and posterize people. Can you honestly say we had guys as good as them on this year’s team?

Now, NBA level talent doesn’t guarantee anything either. Just ask Self or Calipari. But I do think Jamie has gotten the program into a position to attract those guys, and Skerry seems to be a good enough salesman to help land a few. Given what Jamie’s done with the talent he’s had, I can keep the faith that better days are ahead.

wbb- mack’s shots weren’t about talent, they were about balls. he had the courage to take the shot. no educated basketball person is going to argue that mack is more talented than brown, wannamaker, or gibbs. i will say that he isn’t afraid to win the game. however, his idiotic foul almost cost his team the game.

levance fields isn’t as talented brown, wannamaker, or gibbs and neither is travon woodall. however, fields and woodall do have a fearless attitude. sometimes you need that. saturday was one of those times.

First, thank you Chas for all your work on this blog. A great read to enjoy and ponder.

Second, thanks to Brad, Gilbert and Gary for your hard work and 111 wins. I will cherish memories of your play.

Third, thanks to Coach Dixon for the best 8 years in Pitt basketball history. I waited 20 years see the Panthers win the Big East tourney and you did it again right away. I waited nearly 30 years to win a 3rd game in the NCAA and you brought that home. Keep working hard – most fans truly appreciate what you have meant to this team.

Fourth, I could care less about who the better player was overall or on Saturday. The only thing that matters is the final score. But if you really think Gibbs, Brown and Wanamaker are 2nd round picks, I don’t know what to say. I don’t see any of those 3 getting drafted.

Fifth, I think the coaches and players deserve to be praised for playing far above their expectations these last two years. Some stupid mistakes this weekend killed us.

Sixth, if you’re going to blame Dixon for not making adjustments on the fly, you better give him credit for being the best halftime adjuster in the game based on the 2nd half of this year.

Seventh, I can’t wait until next year. It will be the highest rated recruiting class since Brian Shorter’s and it will be the quickest, most athletic Pitt team (maybe exception of 2009)since Lane, Gore, Smith, Martin and Porter.

Eight, if Pitt is ever stupid enough to fire Dixon, I hope he goes to Penn State or WVU and wins multiple championships at our expense. (I just threw up a little in my mouth typing that, but that’s how stupid we would be.)

Ninth, after a loss like this, I always force myself to go look at the box scores that I copied and saved from the 2001 BE tourney. Pitt made an improbable run to the final before being routed by BC. I will never forget the joyful time I wasted at work checking the scores online during Pitt’s run. It was the first time since joining the BE that Pitt had done so. Now, we take that for granted. Thank you, Ben. Thank you, Jamie. We’ve come a long way.

Hail to Pitt!

Long-time reader, first-time poster. Like everyone else, I’m hoping that writing a comment will be a useful outlet for emotional distress.

I don’t know if this will provide solace to anyone, but I would rate at least three other NCAA losses as more devastating.
Worst by far is the 1988 loss to Vanderbilt. In fact, my biggest complaint about Saturday’s game is that it reminds me that I have never really gotten over 1988. That was a seven-player team, all memorably talented: Charles Smith, Jerome Lane, Demetreus Gore, and the four freshmen: Jason Matthews, Bobby Martin, Sean Miller, Darrelle Porter (pre-injury). My recollection is that the four freshmen were already performing at close to their peak levels that year – for instance, I think that Darrelle Porter scored several key baskets against Vanderbilt.

To me the difference between 1988 and 2011 is that the 1988 team dominated opponents on a player-by-player basis. The only obvious problems with the team were connected: (1) Brian Shorter wasn’t eligible; (2) with too many guards and not enough forwards, Demetreus Gore had to play mildly out of position at small forward. Even so, I still can’t fathom the loss to Vanderbilt and I still sometimes lose sleep at night thinking of ways that the game could have ended differently. (What if Charles Smith just threw the ball straight up in the air after catching the inbounds pass with 5 seconds left rather than letting himself be fouled for a one-and-one with a one point lead and 4 seconds left?)

Maybe this year’s team had the potential to advance through the tournament, but they weren’t clearly ahead of the competition in the way that the 1988 team was.

Others have mentioned the 2008 loss to Villanova. What about the 2002 loss to Kent State? In this 10 year NCAA streak, that stands out as a loss to a much-inferior opponent.

Dwyane Wade or not, I also put the 2003 loss to Marquette as more devastating than this year’s loss. It stunned me that Brandin Knight didn’t find a way to will his way to the Final Four.

I retain high hopes for the upcoming teams of Adams, Birch, and others. But for now, I’m up late at night wondering why nothing more came out of the four years of Smith and Gore.

all I know is te folowing:

– Butler beat Pitt

– Wannamker. Brown & Gibbs have a much better supporting cast than Mack & Howard

so, just how are Mack & Howard inferior?

Listen, we have watched Wanny, Brown & Gibbs grow and improve thru the years and win a lot of games, so it is only natural that you develop a special feeling for these guys and put them on a pedestal

cnavery, the biggest shame in 1988 was that Mike Gorman decided to transfer before the year and Rod Brookins was ineligible, thus, Pitt with Lane, Smith and Gore wouldn’t have had to depend on an all-reshman backcourt plus frosh 6th & 7th men (Porter & Martin).

It just seems Pitt is always snakebitten in basketball … whether its that kid from Vandy hitting thse two treys, Wade coming of age the same time that Zavakas takes off his shoes, on up to Mack hitting 3 or 4 shots from 24 feet

Pitt brethren,

I am a Pitt dad grad. Daughter graduated in 2010. Oldest daughter went to Florida (Gators). So I write this in a chronological order as therapy. I played baseball thru college at (JU) Jacksonville University. JU lost to UCLA 80-69 in NCAA championship game in my freshman year. I was in Cole field house for final 4 at Univ of MD. You can look up the year. I will never forget that game or the 25-16 lead that JU had. Wooden changed his defense and triple teamed Artis Gilmore. I wanted to go down and coach the team as our coach never adjusted. In 2006 I had my demons exorcised when the Florida Gators beat UCLA. Early Saturday the Gators beat UCLA for the 3rd straight tournament win. The last two led to Gator titles. I tell this for a few reasons;

1. I never forgot the loss years ago.
2. Revenge is sweet.

Pitt has lost more excruciating ways in the past 5 years and it has to stop. I re-watched the video of the last two minutes and Dixon had players together at bench but released long before officials returned from setting clock after Gilbert was fouled. Coach should have brought players back to bench.

1. How could he allow Gilbert to stand at 3 point line with an a-hole in his face. Did Dixon not see that? No coach saw that?
2. After first shot went in I was screaming at TV to remove our players from key. What was coach thinking? Or not thinking?
3. By the way anyone think that Gilbert Brown was fouled trying to shoot a 3? 3 foul shots?

Memories like this last forever. Check out JU loss to Western Kentucky 104-103 year after JU lost to UCLA. A JU player was tying his shoe when a lob pass was scored for the loss at the buzzer.

We need to get some closure. We need to get some crazy good 3 point scorers. The NCAA should move the 3 point line out to NBA distance. The line is too close!! I miss the inside game. Pitt needs to adjust. Kemba is Big East only hope to go deep. Look at how most of these teams run like rabbits and shoot 3’s. Change or we will never see the final four. The goal is to win a title not reach the final four.

I could not watch much after the loss but next year is another year. Have a good Summer.

I still feel devastated by the loss and will never forget it for the fact that I was just a few rows away watching it all collapse in front of me…I don’t blame Gil nor Nasir. They both played their hearts out in that game. I do however blame Dixon for not pulling the guys off the line…But my anger was really fueled in the 2nd half towards one particular referee!!!!!! I don’t know the basterds name but he was horrid! I’m not complaining about the last fouls…I’m complaining about the sissy fouls he had called to help bring Butler back into the game when we were finally ready to pull away…..F%#^ that ref!!! I know we aren’t supposed to blame refs but F&#$ him anyway….this is D-1 Basketball…the F%$*ing NCAA tournament!!! and this is how u call a game!!!! If I didn’t care for life, I would’ve rushed the court after this guy to make a statement!!!

I haven’t read all of the comments, so I don’t know if anybody’s covered this, but people need to stop using “we keep losing to lower seeds in the tournament.” Well, if you’re a #1 seed twice, and a #2 seed another time…you’re not really gonna be ABLE to lose to higher seeds, especially not before the Final Four. The NCAA tournament is about skill but also luck. If Mack isn’t hot, if one of those shots is just an inch one way or the other…and you could say if Gil’s miss goes to the right side of the basket, Howard gets a clean rebound…shit happens. It’s entirely possible, statistically, that the only thing wrong with Pitt over the last few years has been crappy luck. Boeheim and Calhoun each needed over a decade, and the skill of Jamie’s recruits is getting higher and higher every year. IT WILL HAPPEN.

Seeing Nasir, Wannamaker, McGhee, and Gil after the game in the stadium during the Uconn/Cinci matchup made me feel even more depressed…the looks on their faces was really saddening…but I suppose we all have to move on someday, with or without our dreams coming true. F&%* the refs!!!

P.S. What happened to a coach accepting blame and protecting player..Naz? I can not believe that Dixon left him out to cry?

Sad….

Just saw the talking heads on sports show tonight who said dixon does agood job with the players he has but he just does not have the talented players togo to final 4 and they dont want to play for him because of the system he runs .his system doesnt want a star and the great players want to be a star.

Ok, here we go…

I am finally ready to look at the bright side. So look at this possibly awesome scenario for next year:

-Khem Birch comes in and is a freshman phenom.

-Dante Taylor makes “the leap” that a lot of Dixon coached guys do in their Junior year

-Nas remains a great defender and continues to progress on the offensive end (notice his offensive improved immensely between his soph and jr years)

-Travon progresses and becomes a true starting point guard, something Ashton really isn’t.

-Ashton switches over to the 2, and knocks down shot after shot.

-Zanna and others are healthy and have another year of experience under their belts, so we retain depth.

So, we have depth, a much better inside presence so that teams can’t just shut down Ashton, and we have the senior Gibbs nailing shots from the outside.

Plus, in Birch we may have the top flight NBA prospect that’s been missing for the past decade.

Honestly, if Birch is good, and Dante makes the leap, this is what WILL HAPPEN next season.

Well, if I didn’t make any of you feel better, I at least made myself feel better.

Nice try Jimbo Covert my Dad but even with KB i think were doomed to lose in the NCAAs second round. but then maybe if KB is for real come to think of it you did make me feel better no on second thought i will stick with were doomed that way i wont be disaponted one more time but thanks.

This “players on the blocks for a rebound or a tip-in” nonsense is just that. Gottlieb? Did he notice McGhee wasn’t out there? Then it wasn’t “one of the leading rebounding teams in the country.” Also, “leave players on the line because it’s what he’s used to.” My oh my. What malarkey. Good thing it wasn’t a technical foul. I guess he would’ve never made a technical free throw withnoone on line. Anyone ever compare regular FT% to technicals? Bet there’s no a dimes’ worth of difference.

McGhee was out there. Still shouldn’t have had anyone there.

Ok let’s talk about next year.

Woodall a starter, that isn’t going to cut it. He’s way too inconsistent and he’s never started, even in high school. Also he’s a poor shooter, 22% from 3 and 36% overall. I like the kid off the bench but another factor to weigh he & Gibbs in the backcourt make for an small guard tandem.
Neither one can penetrate either.

Epps better be the real deal, because there will be no Wannamaker to act as a Point Guard. We all know Gibbs is no PG either. Unless Epps is for real, this position is going to be a real problem. Woodall can also be a turnover machine as we’ve seen in the past as well.

Also the big question mark will be if Sleepy, comes out of his walking coma next year. If he doesn’t we’re going to have to rely on a true freshmen named Khem Birch to be the real deal.
Dixon better exclusively play Birch for 30 minutes a game in the non-con next year and not worry about a loss here and there if Birch is going to be ready for the BigEast conference roughhouse style. I don’t remember any true freshmen in the Howland/Dixon era other than Blair that contributed in a major way. And it was because Blair had a non-stop motor and was built like a beast. Birch is a beanpole.

All of the above is totally dependent on one Jamie Dixon breaking his mold and playing freshmen or redshirt freshmen over more experienced albeit less talented returning players. Good luck with that.

We are losing like 45% of the scoring and an even larger % in rebounding. So rebounding is going to fall to Sleepy, Birch, Zanna & Nas.

Gibbs benefited a lot from Wanny & Brown being able to dribble penetrate and kick the ball out to him. Both of those guys and their ability to penetrate and feed Gibbs are gone. At this point I don’t have a clue who is going to take their place. Whomever it is, it will be somebody who didn’t do it this year. Moore, Patterson, ????
Really didn’t see enough of them to know if they’re capable or not. If not them who??, incoming true freshmen? More bigtime question marks on the wings.

We are going to see how good a coach Dixon is next year and we’re going to see in the non-con season if he’s willing to break any of his conservative molds.

I could care less what Doug Gottlieb says or thinks,
I was playing and watching basketball games before he was a twinkle in his father’s eye. Just because someone is on ESPN or television does not equate that they know anything more than any other avid perceptive basketball viewer. Same thing with these clowns they have on these political shows on the various networks. All it means is they have an “in” with somebody to get that job. Cause it surely isn’t based on their personal knowledge or qualifications. That is clear. My father always told me it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

Pitt’s recent late season (tournament) shortcomings have had more to do with the coaching than the players or referees. In college basketball, it’s all about the COACH! And coaching is about motivating players and putting them in situations where they can be successful. It’s amazing how many coaches can’t recognize the latter.

First of all, let me make it clear that I am an ardent supporter of Mr. Dixon and all Pitt hoop fans should love this guy. He has continued to build a phenomenal program (on the shoulders of Ben Howland-the architect for Pitt’s b-ball renaissance) that all Pitt fans should be very proud of. From what I can see, Dixon recruits good kids that buy into his program, go to class, do the academic work (for the most part), don’t run afoul of the law, and represent the University well. Mr. Dixon gets an A+ for program administration. But everyone has an Achilles heel, and for Mr. Dixon, it’s apparently the X’s and O’s of the game. Simply put, he is not the greatest bench coach, but you would never know that listening to game announcers and writers lavish praise on Mr. Dixon. I, for one, am not drinking the cool-aid.

Exhibit A is the mid-season loss to Notre Dame. ND (on the road) comes into Pitt and can barely field a starting five (plus one) while Pitt supposedly has the deepest bench in the Big East, at least that’s what ESPN’s team of announcers would have us believe. Yet Pitt (on their home floor and ranked #2) allows ND to dictate the slow pace of play? ND runs the same pick and roll play for the final 5-6 minutes of the game, putting Mr. Hansbrough (ND’s best shooting guard) against Mr. McGhee (Pitt’s big and lumbering center) at the top of the circle-25 feet from the basket? No adjustments? McGee was put in a position to fail, which he promptly proceeded to do, allowing Mr. Hansbrough to score at will during the final minutes of a close game.

Exhibit B is the last minute defense against St. John’s (again the same high pick and roll for Mr. Hardy). Do you notice a pattern developing here?

Exhibit C is the last second defense against UConn in the BE Tournament (again a high pick and roll for Mr. Walker). Was there anyone east of the Mississippi that didn’t think Kemba was going to take that shot? And how did Pitt defend him? With McGhee 20 feet from the basket? Again, Mr. McGhee was put into a situation to fail. And this time he failed spectacularly, having his ankles broken (falling to the floor) in the full glare of the media spotlight. Worst of all, he will have to watch that replay for the rest of his life as it will surely be replayed every time the Big East Tournament rolls around. Mr. Dixon (not Mr. McGhee) is the one who should be embarrassed.

Exhibit D is the nearly ridiculous end of game strategy against Butler. Pitt’s last two possessions showed they had no idea where to attacked that vaunted Butler defense (ranked 42nd in the nation), unable to get a good shot off on the penultimate possession and incurring a 35 second shot clock violation on the last possession? That’s hard to do. And even worse, Pitt had no idea of how they wanted to defend Butler’s last possession (Butler got a layup in less than 6 seconds). I won’t even address the foul line situation.

In each of these cases, Mr. Dixon did not display the ability to look out on the floor and
1. recognize favorable match-ups and take advantage of them to get a good shot
2. recognize or anticipate unfavorable defensive match-ups and mitigate their consequences
This is the essence of good coaching and I’m afraid to say that I have not seen anything to date that would indicate that Mr. Dixon has the right stuff. At the very minimum, he has to get someone from somewhere on the BENCH who can recognize what is going on during a game and provide good sound advice to a coach who too often looks like a deer in the headlights during end of game situations.

I wonder what Jamie Dixon’s state of mind is right now? I’m sure he’s struggling to keep it in perspective but on some level it has to be devastating.

What if HE’S reached the conclusion that 1) no matter what he does, neither he, nor ANYBODY, will ever be able to consistently attract the necessary talent for Pitt to take the proverbial “next step,” or 2) the program is just flat-out jinxed.

Maybe HE’S sick of the stench of bitter defeat (and Northeast winters), and is quietly laying plans to get the heck outta there.

I don’t think I’d blame him. He’s been here almost a decade and sometimes a fundamental change is what’s needed and you simply can’t keep banging your head against the same wall.

I’m just sayin’. While a very few have floated the ridiculous notion that Dixon should be run out of town, he may already have the car warming up in the driveway.

Catching up. Great PG’s like Wall and others would never stay 4 years, their departure leaves a void. Dirty programs like KY simply re-load with another 1 to 2 year talent. These kids want quick stop in college, no academic responsibilities and the NBA. Calaperi is a dirtbag, runs a dirty program. Tubby left KY because he’s a good man and wanted to stay clean. Pearl is a great coach, another lying dirtbag. Dixon is a honorable, ethical man. Kids with great talent frequently end up in programs where there is booster cash and perks. Dixon is not going allow that, ever. A coach has to teach the kids basketball but also has to teach them foundational values. When their ball skills have eroded they need those values to survive. Calaperi couldn’t give a crap if the kids go to class or if they’re begging food when they’re 35. Dixon just has to figure out why fear immobilizes him.

I’m a golfer like many Pitt advocates on this board. When I hit a poor tee shot, my buddies tell me to hit another tee shot. I decline saying, there’s no guarantee that my second tee shot will be better than the first errant tee shot. For those chastising Jamie’s coaching acumen, there’s no guarantee that the next coach will be better. Jamie has Pitt’s basketball program in its best shape in many decades. He also runs a clean program. And I’m sure Jamie is hurting more than we are. In spite of our disappointments in Pitt’s showing in NCAA tournaments, let’s remember that Pitt is a great institution not because of it’s sports teams but because of it’s academics and it’s alumni. Every time I see the Cathedral of Learning on TV I get a big (proud) smile on my face. Hail to Pitt!

Many of you need to either take a sedative or quit watching Pitt basketball. What is Dixon supposed to do with the talent he has?

He made it to the Elite Eight with two go-to guys on the team. They almost made it to the FF. The moral of that story is you need both luck and better supporting players.

AS for this year’s team, how the he** were they supposed to even get to the promised land with no true PG, no consistent inside threat/scoring, one consistent scorer and many other weaknesses?

Jamie has pulled a rabbit out of his hat for eight years. The rabbit was built upon toughness, rebounding and defense. Where were the great athletic, skilled players at. I can think of two Blair and Young.

As far as Gilbert is concerned, yes freakish athleticism but erratic at best and just downright inconsistent.

I knew at the beginning of the season that without an inside presence, no true pg and only one dependable consistent scorer they had a likely chance to get to the 16 but not the Elite 8. Plain common sense told me that.

You all watched this team many times. How many times did they start out slow, fall behind and have to play….many. How many times did they have to pass it around the perimeter due to lack of a inside scoring threat (which by the way negated most attacks of the basket of the dribble)…many.

It is what it is and was what it was. But for me and my house, we support Jamie and the team. We will do this because Pitt is our team win or lose.

Hail to Pitt!!!

Am I wrong to think that reffing set the game up as a systematic disadvantage to PITT? And I’m not talking about the last 2 seconds of the game. I’ve heard pundits suggest that reffing was overall good. I’m not sure. The Butler flops and 8 (or so) PITT offensive fouls, I thought, were pivotal. In such a close game, perhaps even, a less-than-talked-about crushing factor.

There is almost no chance that Birch will live up to the hype next year. And the reason why will have nothing to do with him. He will have a hard time getting enough minutes.

Dixon and Nasir Robinson won’t allow it. Jamie will never, ever start a freshman over a senior who has shown the attitude, hustle and productivity that Robinson has shown.

The only reason Blair started as a freshman was that Dixon had no other option. Cassin Diggs was terrible, McGhee was a freshman and Tyrell Biggs was 6’4″.

Had Aaron Gray still been at Pitt, the much more talented Blair would have been on the bench.

I see the same thing happening next year. Birch won’t be heavy enough to play center and Zanna/Robinson while less talented, both are going to be more effective early because of their experience.

Jamie will never put his team at even a small disadvantage in a game in January just to be better prepared for March. He’s never done it and never will.

As far as Epps is concerned, I don’t expect much from him next year. Woodall will be the point guard (see above). If Epps had shown Jamie anything last year, he wouldn’t have redshirted him. The only time I have seen Epps play basketball was the Blue/Gold game. Honestly, he looked like he didn’t belong in D1. Obvioulsy, that is a ridiculously small sample size and I am really hoping that my impression was wrong.

I said the same thing about Woodall 3 years ago. But I think Woodall now is about the ceiling with Epps. Hearing great things about Johnson (speed and athleticism), but again, don’t expect much from him next year.

With so many excellent coaches (posting on this blog) who have the “right stuff”, could have coached Pitt to victory over Butler, recruited NBA caliber talent, etc lets can JD now!…he evidently cannot get us “to the next level” so lets not wait…lets strike while the iron is hot so we can grab one of these guys before someone else does!!!

Come on Leaseman, that’s no fun. If all the armchair coaches were prohibited from posting, this comments section would be really boring.

Wow, there are some nutty opinions out there, especially on a blog where we want to hear some educated hoops opinions.

My take:

*You don’t pull your rebounders. You have to give yourself a chance at a put-back in a tied game. Also, that foul rarely gets called and this one only got called because Howard was smart enough to spin and try to heave the ball.

* The whole thing about pulling Brown back so he doesn’t have to listen to Mack talk smack is ridiculous. He made the first shot, folks. He missed the easy one…….the second one. Having guys talk smack to you on the line is what you want, especially if you’ve been around as long as Brown has.

*The whole point about talent vs balls is kind of meaningless when you consider that neither Pitt nor Butler is an especially talented squad. 2 guys are pretty good on one team, 3 guys are pretty good on the other and who can tell which is which? Neither team has the talent to take this thing…….

*Pitt had zero chance of getting past Fla anyway. I certainly thought they’d beat Butler (and cover the spread), but the Fla/UCLA game opened my eyes. I repeat, zero chance of Final 4.

*It was pretty easy to watch the BE this year and get a sense of how mediocre it was. (Syracuse? Really? With those guards?) (ND — anybody who thought they had a chance against FSU shouldn’t watch any more hoops) (G-town, even with Wright?) (I will admit I thought Nova would have been much better, but even I had to admit they stunk by year-end) (UConn — have to admit, they’re tougher than I expected, but mostly because Lamb is soooooo tough for a freshman. Hard to see that coming…..) The conference overflowed with mediocrity; lots of average to halfway decent teams and when your conf is that big, lots of halfway decent are going to get into the big dance. Not something to be proud of…….

*I have major apprehension about next year, for two main reasons. No PG and no muscle. I don’t care who’s a McDonald’s whatever. You have to have a PG and you have to have some size and beanpole recruits and Taylor don’t count as size. Wanamaker covered up their lack of a PG this year because he handled the ball a lot and passed well. No masking the problem next year. Either Epps or J.Johnson has to step up; Woodall’s not a starter.

*I agree with the Jan/Feb overachievement vs March underachievement characterization. What Dixon does, by running his system, in terms of winning Big East games with upperclassmen is amazing and I like being competitive every year in a good league and beating teams with lots of heritage like Syracuse, G-town and Nova. I’m satisfied with that. I’m not sure Dixon is ever going to adjust that approach or is even capable of doing so. So, fine. Let’s be happy with winning the Big East and quit whining about it. Leave March to the big name programs and the snake oil salesmen (sometimes the same thing, like at Kentucky) and enjoy a program that achieves success via consistent performance and getting the most out of its players.

Sorry, boubacar…after reading 130 of these things, I just couldn’t help myself!…

Hail To Pitt!

Leaseman: You said what I’ve been thinking for a few days now. Pederson doesn’t have to look far if Jamie does decide to bolt for greener and more supportive pastures. He can just ask Chas for the email addresses of some of the experts here who surely given their experience of playing some form of organized amateur ball and watching it on TV know more than people who actually get paid for it.

hugh green: Well put and brutally honest as usual. Don’t always agree with you but certainly respect your knowledge. Same for many of the other regulars here who I try to compliment when possible.

Some of you though, well, all I can say is LOL and GET REAL!

My last opinion on this subject, because we lost. Can’t change that no matter how much it’s discussed.

If there is a fatal flaw in Jamie’s gameplan, it’s that he always plays the percentages:
– that a team comprised of juniors and seniors on average win 60% of their games while a team comprised of freshmen and sophomores win 48%, so you want kids who will stick for 3-4 yrs.
– that on average a team will shoot around 34% from 3-pt range and 47% overall, so you design your defense to give a little on the perimeter in order to stop easier shots and limit the opponent to one possession.
– that a play that you’ve rehearsed hundreds of times and used successfully in 25+ games will work over a play that you draw up on the sideline during a timeout.
– that you’ll need your last timeout to change your defense on the opponent’s final possession rather than burn it to change the play you already called in an if-they-miss/if-they-make discussion during a timeout 30 seconds earlier.
– that a two-year starter knows what 10 seconds feels like in a possession.
– that a 78% free throw shooter was perfect so far and is probably due to miss.
– that a little rebounding pressure will take time off the clock while zero pressure won’t.
– that a two-year starter knows not to foul on a rebound over 90 ft. from the opponent’s rim.

Playing the percentages helps win the majority of your regular season games and at a better rate than anyone else in your league, but percentages often go out the window in a one-and-done tourney. Hopefully, Jamie will learn to adjust his coaching to account for that.

Time, for me at least, to move on to football and next year’s basketball team. Hope Nas moves on too. Good luck at the next level, here or abroad, to Wanny, Gil and Gary. Thanks for your dedication and hard work.

hugh:

nice thoughts. i also thought ND did not have a snowball’s chance in hell against FSU. however one of your thoughts is kind of hilarious.

*Pitt had zero chance of getting past Fla anyway. I certainly thought they’d beat Butler (and cover the spread), but the Fla/UCLA game opened my eyes. I repeat, zero chance of Final 4.

i love this after the fact. how much do you want to bet that florida doesn’t get to the final 4?

Balls mean everything in the NCAA tournament. Erving Walker is 5’5″ tall. He has a pair and that is why Florida beat UCLA (very, very mediocre by the way).

Pitt will be fine next year.

I forgot that Butler is a big name program. Since they are in the sweet 16 for the third time in 5 years and were in the championship game last year, I assumed that they were. Based on your logic that only big name programs win in March.

Thank you Omar. I knew there had to be a limit to the lovefest you hugh had this season.

Omar: So are you saying Jamie needs to recruit more little guys with big balls? 🙂 I can tell you that the Florida fans have sometimes wished that Walker’s balls weren’t so big.

boubacar aw: Obviously, Birch screwed up Jamie’s plan a bit by coming a year ealier than expected. It will be interesting to see how he manages that. Maybe he will surprise us.

Tampa- I’m not saying that Pitt needs Erving Walker. I am saying that Dixon needs to teach some fearlessness or recruit a few players that already have it.

You can’t be afraid to make a play in the NCAA tournament. I think this year’s Pitt team was a little scared at times.

Agree, Omar. I was just messing with you.

Wanny looked particularly out of sorts, but someone wondered if his wrist was worse than anyone knew. Made me wonder the same because I always thought of him as pretty fearless.

Gilbert was a pleasant surprise. Funny how he always seemed to have his best games in Pitt losses. Xavier last year comes to mind. Truly an enigma.

Pitt isn’t jinxed; the referees weren’t bad; and Howard didn’t flop his way to victory. Pitt lost to one player who got hot and shot out of his mind. They did a better job in the second half but the kid hit some really tough shots.

Wanny’s wrist was definitely bad — his first four or five shots were all way short. It wasn’t until the adrenaline got flowing did he play better.

I love Dixon. Our program is the envy of 95% of college teams out there. I have no problem with him keeping the guys on the lane, or with Pitt’s defense on the Butler hoop. I do have a problem with him NOT calling timeout when it was obvious Pitt was not going to get a good shot with 10 seconds left. That was a killer.

Farewell Brad, Gil and Gary…thanks for a great four years. Don’t sweat it Nas — one of the most likeable, hardest working players Pitt’s ever had. And the future is bright.

Why is no one talking about the missed call at the end of the game? the refs made every “right call” with 2 seconds left, but failed to acknowlege the tauting of Gilbert Brown before he final free throw. All the refs were hudled at the scorers table, gil was getting taunted everyone in the verzion center saw it and was yelling at the refs. There should have been a technical called on butler… GIl takes hius two, then we bring out gibbs for the tech shots, then we get the ball game over. That is the call the refs blew

Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.