SP – Thanks in advace for handling the blog tonight. Someone thinks Pitt will win. We are 3.5 favorites in Vegas.

Just watched WVU and Cinncy go into overtime and the officials could easily have called a technical foul on a tie up where the Snake player called a TO but they didn’t have any….but the officials let it go so the game could be decided the way it should be…between the two teams on the floor. Wish we would’ve had these 2 refs at the NCAA’s. Still cannot get over that call!

Chris Webber is punching something right now, Dan.

Line for the zoo is getting long. We’re getting rowdy. Going to be electric tonight. I don’t want a voice tomorrow. Hail to Pitt!

I’m chompin on my briscuit and can’t wait. Go Pitt. On other news, I hear that JoePa is near death. I hope the secrets don’t die with him.

Reports are out that Joe Paterno is about to die…wow !

It was either 1966 or 1967 and it was Jan 1 and Penn State was playing Kansas (I think) in the Orange Bowl. As all of us can remember, the Orange Bowl was always the last of the bowl games and tomorrow meant that it was back to school so we craved every last moment. Anyhow, Penn State had lost and my dad (and family Grandad and 5 brothers all PSU grads)was really pissed at the new Penn State coach, he loved Rip Engel.So,I went to bed and my dad came rushing in to tell me there had been a problem with the extra point attempt…so we all went back out to the black and white TV and saw Penn sTate get a reprieve and win the game. The legend of JoePa had started. My utter hatred of Penn State did not start until a year later when I enrolled at Pitt. It culminated in the 7-6 loss to PSU in 74 when Gordon Jones was running for a TD and instead of running around the defender, he tried to leap over him and tripped and fell at the 21. We missed our 3rd FG of the day (along with an extra point) and I thought we would never ever beat those bastards. I will miss the emotion of the rivalry. It will never be the same. God speed JoePa!

@Dan 72: The 7-6 loss was in 1975. I remember the game well as I was a freshman and froze my butt off at that game in Three Rivers Stadium. My recollection is that Carson Long who missed all those kicks became a father that day and was somewhat distracted. Like you I was so distraught thinking we would never get over the hump. Joy would come in that magical season the following year.

Turk – Let’s hope both our football and basketball teams have one of those seasons upcoming.

I cannot tell you how impressed I am with Chryst and Co. so far. Jamie Dixon is one of the best coaches in the country and just needs a whole lot of talent, especially inside. You are correct Carson (forever known as) Long and wide had just become a father and was playing on no sleep. We kicked PSU’s ass all over the field and won all the stats. It was the single most distraught I ever was after a game.

I hate to keep beating a dead horse, and I know we don’t shoot free throws well anyway, but they went to the line 20 times (shooting 75%) and we had all of 6 free throws. As good as their shooting from the field was, we had one basket more than them and it was a 3. This team played hard, poorly at times but hard. Free throws matter in a game like this and we were kept off the line.

Can’t get to the line if you can’t get to the basket. Our bigs are so bad that no team respects them. They pressure our guards well past the three point line. That should result in a lot of space for our bigs but they can’t catch, dribble, pass, or shoot. When one of our guards does penetrate it is nearly a lock to be a turnover on the dish to one of our bigs.

In a nutshell, here is what is wrong with this Pitt team. In the past, Pitt really has not had great guards or quick guards but because we had a great inside game and dominent inside play, we were able to cover up a lot of guard play mistakes…until the NCAA’s of course.

Now, we have Zanna a raw talent and Taylor a no talent and neither play defense or can score consistently. I say scrap the whole thing and put the kids in to play for next year. Cannot see us winning another game unless we play Pat Skerry’s Towson team.

Just got back from game. We just aren’t very good, unfortunately. Not much more to say…..EXCEPT I have a request. If the guy who sits in section 106 row z at e end reads this: please stay home. Your CONSTANT negative comments about every player on the team and the head coach do nothing but highlight how miserable you are. Thank you.

why not try a small fast line up that presses and transitions a little, i mean we had 18 turnovers again so its not like we could have more going up tempo… oh.. forgot we don’t do it that way at Pitt, and we are busy playing for #1 draft pick!

People need to stop trashing Taylor as if he’s the sole reason our season has tanked. He’s not playing well. Sure. But how about this:

Nasir Robinson has more TOs — 13 more — than anyone else on the team. Further, every BE single game this year Nasir Robinson has lead or tied for the lead on the the team in turn-overs (and maybe all season, too depressed to keep looking further back). Not only that, but just as we sometimes thing of “hockey assists” ie the pass before the assist, we can consider “hockey turnovers” which Nasir has more than anyone by far. (sadly the only person with more TOs per game is Tre. our PG).

Nas lead in Rebs per game, but he only gets 0.22 reb per minute. Taylor gets 0.31 per minute. Zanna is similarly better at rebounding per minute than Nas.

Nas scores .38 pts per minute. Taylor gets .35. Zanna is similarly close to pts per minute. Nas get marginally more pts per minute, sure, but how much more of the offense runs through his hands than Taylor or Zanna?

We all ripped Taylor and Nas for the atrocious performance missing layups against Cuse. But guess who led the team in missed bunnies? Nas.

We blame Taylor all the time for missing assignments, but pay close attention next time and see how many times Nas is implicated in blown defensive plays we like to blame on Taylor.

Maybe if he had a PF to play with that wasn’t undersized and sloppy there would be some many open looks for the opposing offense.

Someone please explain to me why Nas gets so many minutes?

I hate saying it, but we need to stop playing Nas so much. Its a disaster. It’s said Taylor could never play the 4 in NCAA D1. But really, can Nas? We need more Taylor and Zanna, less Nas. If we need to go smaller or quicker, then put in Moore.

Also, if we really want to see Moore drive ever again, Dixon needs to stop pulling him after every minor mistake. Let the freaking kid play. He does not make more mistakes per possession than John Johnson, or Nas, or Wright or Tre. I really don’t get it.

This season is so frustrating.

It’s really very simple. Pitt is just not a very good basketball team. I can’t remember a Pitt team that collectively has such little ball handling skills. They make up for the constant turnovers and lack of offensive flow by playing poor defense. I doubt our boys shoot 70% in the pregame layup drill, yet thats what UL shot in the 2nd half.

Coaching, talent, recruiting, desire, basketball IQ…all of it deserves scrutiny right now.

After 10 years of kicking ass, we are getting ours kicked. Let’s hope it lights a fire under player, coaches, administrators, and fans alike.

Is it just me or are Gibbs and Robinson getting much more playing time than they deserve? They are responsible for most of the turnovers and have been playing week defensively. Maybe it’s time to go back to the two big man approach and play Taylor and Zanna at the same time, with Robinson giving each a break. Maybe it’s time to have Epps backup Woodall and play Wright/Johnson/Gibbs at the shooting guard position. And, against the 2-3 zone, maybe it’s time to put a shooter at the foul line – with Robinson there the defending guards can overplay against the three point shot since Robinson can’t hit a 15 footer. Or, is it just me?

Yeah, my Nas rant was little bit out of frustration (though the facts are correct and speak for themselves).

I was convinced we had the talent, but that we simply weren’t jiving. Now, I’m not sure. The bottom has droppped out.

Simply put, this is devastating.

I hear a lot of people say “Well it’s not Jamie’s fault, he just doesn’t have the talent right now.”

Sorry, no. It’s not like Jamie ventured onto the court one day and was surprised by some players who wandered in off the street.

He’s responsible both for the players he has and for the way they play. He makes, what, $2 million a year? Right now he’s not earning it.

Despite the past wonderful decade of Pitt basketball, criticism of Coach Dixon is well justified right now.

I’m with Dan72, give the kids that we’ll be here next year plenty of court time and hope the two kids coming in next year are the real deal.

I think John Johnson and jj Moore need more offensive freedom. Johnson is the only guard Pitt has that can create his own shot offensively. Moore is too athletic to be standing around the three point kind and taking three threes a game. he needs to look to drive to the hoop. he’d be an ideal slasher but he’s just not aggressive offensively.

what’s wrong with this Pitt team … just about everything.

This kind of reminds me of this past fall. Jamie has to go back to recruiting kids for his system … or change his system.

Vitale gave both Williard and Archie Miller a nice plug. What Miller is doing at Dayton in less than 6 months is amazing. I agree, this all goes on the coach. To recruit these players makes me questions what he was thinking. 3/4’s of these guys are terrible.

panther p ….your rant is justified. I think nas AND Gibbs are the two biggest reasons we are struggling…and it’s not just their level of play. They never change their expressions, pump their fists or do anything to get eir teammates fired up. At least Taylor has som emotions and does his best to get everyone excited. Nas and Gibbs are statues going through the motions. I hav never been this ready for a senior class to get outta here.

First thing Dixon needs to do is get rid of his assistant coaches. These guys seem clueless and as a result the players do as well.
I have watched Pitt bball since the 60’s and this group is the worst team in history at making adjustments. Iwould like to see a listing of the $$$’s each school is paying coaches other than the head coach, my bet is for abig time program we are way below average.
while this team is not the most talented bunch, they are much better tha what we are seeing, and what was once ayn incredible defense now is a joke. The bigs spend way to much time guarding guards 30 feet from the hoop while two passes later a layup or offensive board goes in.
Offensively all you need is to zone us, let the ball go to Naz at the foul line and dare him to shoot. Results, air ball if he shoots, drive into triple team, pass to no one, and one in
times a great play. Could we maybe try someone who might make a jumper in that role?

four a great lay up or pass

Having watched last night’s game, I concur most comments on this board. This Pitt team plays way too casual, hence many passes intercepted or missed layups. This Pitt team has talent but lacks confidence and swagger. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the season and chalk this one up as a lost season. No NCAA or NIT.

Yes, Jamie is well paid for his work. Given the success he has bestowed on Pitt’s basketball program, let’s not park the moving van in front of his house,yet.

HTP!

Dan & Turk – I was at that 7-6 game also and the next night I was walking from my girlfriend’s home in Oakland to my apt in Shadyside and saw Carson Long sitting on a stone wall on Bayard Street drinking a quart of beer. I had a pint in my backpack and sat down with him for about an hour talking about PITT, the city, etc…

I didn’t mention the game as that would have been pretty depressing I thought. As I got up to leave he asked me if I saw the game the day before and I said “Yeah, Dorsett really let us down” (even though he went for 125 yards and went over 1500 for the year that game). He and I cracked up and walked away.

Back to JoePA .. he had 3 undefeated teams (68, 69 and 73) in his 1st 7 years but never won the national title. Then Pitt came around in 76 and won it (legitimately — clearly the best team.) Two years later, a one-loss PSU team played Bama for the title but loss …. but nonetheless, when Pitt became a power, it helped PSU help legitimize PSU as a valid contender. Then in 82, a 1-loss PSU finally won the title.

It had to tee off JoePa to no end that Pitt won the title but then again, we had 3 straight 11-1 seasons (79-81) but only reached No. 2 twice .. and didn’t even get a major bowl in 81.

PantherP, I agree 100%. Last year Nas was a great role player as was Gibbs. With Woodall back Gibbs can go back to what he does best. More offense needs to role through Patterson.

I also agree that Taylor and Zanna are getting better and more physical. JJ Moore need more minutes to get into the flow. We need him and Patterson to drive to the hoop. We seem to get few easy baskets.

Last night on a two on one break Gibbs tried to drive rather than toss it up for a Taylor slam, which would have made the Zoo go crazy and kept up the momemtum. Instead he got blocked.

Robinson and Gibbs are not going to turn the season around. The young guys might. At least it will get them more ready for next year.

It also seems that just when we make a comeback our opponents start making threes and someone is always having their career game against us.

We have no shutdown defender, like in the past. Wright and Epps better work on this part of their game, because neither one looks like they will ever be known for scoring.

Where is the leadership? Stop the turnovers. Let the offense flow through Patterson and not Nas.

hey, does anybody have any scoop on football recruiting? nothing new has popped up for a few days.

Reed – Your story is priceless. Thanks for the memory. Wonder what Carson is doing today? He was one of our better kickers over the years but that game just convinced me JoePa was a god and we would never ever beat PSU again. What a difference a year made. When we finally beat Penn State in the next magical year, I sat in my seat at Three Rivers until 2PM in the morning drinking my Southern Comfort and soaking up the moment (note it was about 18 degrees outside)
A good lesson for all of us Pitt fans after the basketball game (and season) last night and the football follies of the past two years. Things WILL get better….Hail to Pitt!

Don’t understand why everyone is concerned/depressed about this season. It is an abject failure. My concern, however, is NEXT season, for I see Pitt taking a step backwards. Gibbs leaves, Nas leaves. Say what you want about them, but their replacements are even less talented.

OUCH!

Although, I didn’t lose my respect for PSU until this latest debacle. I lost my repect for JoePa many years ago when I realized what a truly arrogant egotistical coward he was. It was in the late seventies or early eighties when he went for a tie ruining the finish of an exceptional game. His remarks about Sherrill and Switzer ruining the game, when all along he was covering up any malfeasonce at Happy Valley. The man was all about his legend, refusing to put players names on their jerseys. The Penn State way.

Refusing to play Pitt was an act of cowardice spoiling the joy of fans on both sides. For years he beat up on William and Mary and Temple amassing his great wins loss record. He could add Temple to his schedule (a team he never lost to), but never Pitt or WVU. He never had to play the great WVU teams. How entertaining would that have been?

When he joined the Big Ten and the world found out what an average coach he was, he was so large that he refused to be fired.

The hubris of covering up child rape, to maintain his image and that of the Penn State Way to continue growing his win record is appalling.

When he passes we will hear all about his greatness, will there be an asterick beside his records? ” I wish I would have done more “

This team will not get better because they cannot get better.They arenot Big East Div. 1 talent,plain and simple…Dixon recruited kids who cannot play at this level and is getting the results he set himself up for. I do not care how good practice was yesterday(how many times have we heard that this season). Practice was good because they are playing against lesser players in practice. Gilbert needs to play…he will be behind Adams next year(hopefully) so he needs to get reps. Nas needs to play less(missed layups,5 footers that bounce 8 foot from the rim,terrible free throw shooter). Dixon is a victom of his poor recruiting….If Woodall continues to be the point guard we will be in trouble(but he is probably the best option)…

Aside from Wannamaker, has anybody in the Pitt program gotten points by driving to the hoop? Krauser, to some extent, but he turned the ball over half the time doing it. Knight to some extent as well.

Do the bigs ever have any kind of demonstrable offensive repertoire? Blair and McGhee got most of their points on rebounds. Gray did as well, but did possess some post offense.

One big problem, IMO, is that the offensive system is such a “system” that it allows no freedom for players to create. And I don’t get the impression that Dixon encourages creativity on offense. As a result, players become stagnant, lose confidence, and settle for jumpers, e.g., Gil Brown.

Particularly with limited talent, there is only so much a Dixon-coached team will be able to accomplish if he doesn’t start to adjust and coach up his players. And please don’t talk about all of the “most improved player” awards Pitt has had. Those were the result, primarily, of individuals taking it upon themselves to become better players. Sam Young did not become the quality player he was by his senior year because of Dixon. He took it upon himself. As did Gray.

I like Dixon and he’s a good coach. But he must change his ways. He must stop having an arbitrary short leash on certain players. He must let younger players develop in games, not practice. He’s got to learn to adapt his system to the situation, e.g., it shouldn’t take 5 straight losses for him to figure out that he at least needs to try taking Gibbs off the ball and play more zone.

And for christ’s sake, he has to lay the freakin’ hammer down on FT shooting.

And I agree on Nas. Right now he is hurting this team more than helping it.

That’s my Sunday morning rant. Enjoy the day.

Never liked Penn St.
Not a fan of JoePA

But…Got to say. RIP JoePA. God Bless his family.

+1, PITT Fan. Didn’t like him, didn’t like to what he did to a great rivalry. But I respect what he did for PSU and how their fans are suffering today.

RIP Joe Pa

Dixon did recruit all of these guys correct? Then why give him a pass?? If the football program was 0 for the big east this board would be going crazy. Dixon brought in these guys they are not big east caliber players and now this program is on the brink of a turn to below average play like Maryland, wake forest, and nc state-guess we do fit in the acc after all!!

gc
great post….quoting the wizard of oz…”the wicked witch is dead”!!

i got on here just to see if anyone was cheering for the death of joepa (some people on this site have been actively wishing his death for years)… and of course there was one guy – congrats pitt-for-life. as pitt fans we can be very predictable.

i hate state penn as much as the next guy, but i never understood the ‘wishing joepa would die’ thing.

now, i do wish this basketball season would die. this thing just has to end so we can get on with 2013. i still can’t believe we’re this bad.

Reed: Great story, Carson and Larry Swider (punter and Carson”s holder) were indeed characters. I had 4 players live next door to me during the championship season. They have provided many stories to entertain friends with over the years. Like Pitt Fan in Atlanta, was not a PSU or a JoePa fan but must say in total respect…RIP JoePa and may God be with his family.

I made my comments before I knew JoePa passed. My timing was bad. No one is all good or all bad.

Since this season has fallen apart, I was thinking last, if you had to create 12 person team of just the Howland/Dixon era, who would you chose? I thought it’d be a fun question to discuss. I don’t know if Chas could maybe make a post about or something, but it seems to be something to take the mind off of the poor season we’re having. Starters:PG-Knight, SG-Wanamaker, SF-Young, PF-Troutman, C-Blair; Bench: Fields, Page, G. Brown, J. Brown, Lett, Gray, Gibbs(basically for shooting). The final spot was hard to pick, it was between a few guys. If anyone else cares to give their choices, I think it could start a fun discussion.

P.S.-This team would be loaded.

After watching the Syracuse and Louisville game in its entirety I am convinced te worst player on the court for Pitt with the least potential is Robinson.

Both teams played zone and one area constantly open was the top of the key where Robison played. He got numerouse easy shots, but he cannot handle the ball, drive to te hoop, or shoot a 10 ft. jump shot. Ifthey had not let Birch get away by playing him at the SF he could convert many of those open looks and he could have provided a defensive prescence downlow.

So he has a different temperment, he is talented. He had the most talent on the team treat him as such. God forbid we make the same mistake with Adams, not let him make early mistakes and ruin his confidence.

Birch is gone so move our best offensive player who could possibly score from that area our drive to the hoop with some possibility of not turning over the ball. Moore or Patterson would be by choice against this defense and play Znna and Taylor at the same time.

Someone has to teach Taylor to keep the ball chest high after an offensive rebound when his back is to the basket so guards do not swope in for the steal. Tell him to go him strong with both hands or fall away for an easy kiss off the backboard.

Jumk the zone to many easy outside shots and they cannot afford to give up any second shots because of their offenssive liabilities. Stop overplaying the passing lanes and cheating to the man with the ball this team is not quick enough to steal paaess in the the passing lane. They do not rotate defensively inside when the guard is beaten.

On offense stop dribbling to the side and passing the ball to your man who is 2 ft from you on the side line who is easily doubled teamed. On the press tell the inbound man that of a score he can move along the baseline he does not have to stand at one spot.

This time has problems on both sides of the court – young guards – Woodall is not the answer Robinson id much better now and Adams will be a prescence nexy year.

A 6’5″ power forward as a key component to the lineup will never cut it. Nas is the type of player you love coming off the bench because of his hustle but he is trying to do too much and is constantly turning the ball over. Why can’t Zanna and Taylor be in the game at the same time? Neither are centers and neither can play with their backs to the basket like a true center. Taylor was asserting himself last night in the second half and then he was replaced with Zanna. I don’t get it. Nas was playing hard but turning it over consistently but still got the majority of the playing time. How many times to we have to watch him get the ball in the key and dribble into a double team and turn it over.

This team is lacking in talent but coaching this year is not up to the past either.

DRW and JP, I think we are watching the same game.

Patterson should definitely be mning the middle, he can make the jumper from the foul line, is a much better passer than Nas and maybe makes a foul shot. Nas has hit his ceiling, he will not stop the TO’s and missed bunnies, driving into trouble etc. The younger guys have more upside. We need to find out who can play, if we are to turn this around next year. Unfortunately, Dixon, as any good coach, thinks he can turn this around this year. I don’t think there is any chance of that happening. Especially if he doesn’t give the young guys a chance over Nas’ 35 minutes.

I agree with having Taylor and Zanna play together. One or both of them will need to play the 4 next year anyway.

Sticking with the system is not going to work this year.

PantherP,

I’ve been thinking the same thing regarding Nasir Robinson. I think because he is a senior and has been a contributor (yes, even in the Butler game last year), Jamie Dixon trusts him. However that trust is misspent. Robinson continually tries to drive against larger back lines like he did several times last night. He gets into trouble and is either tied up or attempts a close-in pass that has little opportunity to connect. In essence he creates turnover opportunities. I’ve seen him frequently be beaten off the dribble this year and I’ve also seen him fail to help. He’s too small to rebound his own position against many other BE teams because he has never been a good jumper. I think it is all worse this year because of his knee problems. He probably feels like he needs to push because he’s been a contributor for so long and is one of the seniors now.

It’s not going to happen, but I still think Pitt needs to go bigger and play Zanna and Taylor in a rotation with Gilbert. That will give them some shot blocking and rebounding. Those three still might be pushed around a bit but at least there will be another big around to help.

Given that Zanna barely played last year after the conference schedule started, he’s probably demonstrated the most consistent upside of any of the front court guys this year.

DRW, agree about Robinson who is trying to do way too much, especially considering his skill set. He is not good enough to be the star or focus of any team but instead is a valuable suporting asset. The trouble is that nobody is taking the lead nor is capable of such

Jamie’s formula for success has been suffocating defense, minimize turnovers, outstanding rebounding and being more physical than your opponent. Oh yeah, and execution.

Other than rebounding, the rest have been dismal. What we miss the most is the D, but the turnovers are the most correctable. Hopefully having Woodall back will help.

Dixon has been going through stretches where Patterson plays the 4 and Moore plays the 3, with either Zanna or Taylor at 5. The guards vary or sometimes he’ll have Wright playing 3 guard. I like this line up. It’s small and not great at rebounding, but usually spreads the court well, is athletic, and can shoot. I don’t think Dixon will not start Robinson, but I’d like to see this lineup for longer stretches. During the one momentum point in the second half that Pitt enjoyed, this was Pitt’s lineup.

Hey guys, I’ve finally given my blog a name.

View from the Zoo

Louisville game recap (I was very angry while writing it)
link to iampittbasketball.blogspot.com
Hail to Pitt,
Jordan

I didn’t like JoePa before he died and I am not changing my mind, but he achieved alot for PSU no doubt about it.

May he rest in peace.