The Pitt football beat writers all swear that Coach Paul Chryst is a nice, engaging guy. Very smart. That he has a dry, wry sense of humor. And that he is friendly enough individually. They also acknowledge that he absolutely does not show any of that in press conferences.
And man, did that show up in his ACC and then ESPNU interviews.
At 2pm the ACC streamed his press conference, after which Chryst moved to the ESPN truck for his interview on ESPNU.
Paul Chryst’s ESPNU interview 7/22
Quick! Which division is Pitt in? Atlantic? Coastal? Coastal? Atlantic? Bzzzzp! Time’s up.
The correct answer is… (flips to preview guide) Coastal. Yes, of course. Coastal. Knew it all the time. Just like I already know who is in what division without question.
Okay, it’s going to take a while. But if I can learn to type Krzyzewski without double-checking I can master this.
Okay, the ACC media made their picks for the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions.
Pitt was placed in a solid fifth in the Coastal Division.
Sorry. Busy weekend, and we had a big deluge that kept internet access wonky. Completely out for the last 12 hours, aside from my cell service. But it’s back now, and it will be catch-up time with recruiting, good stories and the whole ACC Media Days.
This, though is worth sharing right away.
Pitt & Syracuse will receive full shares 1st year in ACC; in 2012-13 made $3-4M w/Big East; in 2013-14 gets $20M w/ACC
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 22, 2013
Huge. Most of the time — and it was so for BC, VT and Miami when they joined — you don’t get a full share right away. They slowly give you the cut. Like…
Pitt & SU get full share 1st year in ACC; WVU & TCU don't til 4th year in B12; Md. & RU don't til 7th year in B1G
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 22, 2013
Louisville will also get a full cut when they join next year.
I would have hoped people would understand this after the last ten years of the Big East, but now I have to put on a condescending tone and talk down to people. Not really. No. Well… maybe a few.
Bowl games are meaningless. There are so many now that they have lost their meaning. They are just exhibition games. Unless it’s a playoff/BCS bowl, who cares. I think we all know old man complaints. But woe unto the coach that doesn’t get their team into a bowl game. And by god, it better be one in a good location. So, yes, bowl games have reproduced to absurd levels when over half the 1-A programs go bowling. Yet they still matter despite the contradictions and complaints. So be it.
Among the — now — 5 major conferences, it is not unreasonable to say that the ACC has the weakest bowl line-up. Here’s the reality. There is nothing the ACC can do about it.
There’s an article today about Pitt’s most recent QB commit, Wade Freebeck. Primarily how, for his senior season, he will be playing at a new school that is a notable step-up in power.
What Pitt coaches are eager to see is how Freebeck responds to the dramatic upgrade in competition this season. Freebeck transferred from Western High School to St. Thomas in Ft. Lauderdale after last season.
“He needs to have this year under his belt to gain experience at the highest level,” said Congemi, who quarterbacked St. Thomas’ first undefeated team in the early 1980s.
St. Thomas won its seventh state championship last season in Florida’s second-highest classification. It is No. 16 in MaxPreps’ preseason national rankings and has scheduled games this year at two NFL venues. The first will be against Miami Northwestern at Sun Life Stadium, home of the Dolphins, before St. Thomas ventures into the Superdome in New Orleans where the opponent will be defending national champ John Curtis (La.) Christian.
“There is a lot of pressure at St. Thomas,” coach Rocco Casullo said.
Even at a lower level school, Freebeck managed to be classified a 3-star QB. So his stock could rise.
When Elijah Fields first came to Pitt, there was never any disputing his talent or potential. Anyone and everyone spoke glowingly of that aspect. It was the other stuff that gave people pause. The academics. The people with whom he stayed tight. Questions of how much he actually cared. Those were the things that could derail him. And eventually they did.
He missed time for academic issues. He missed time for “violating team rules.” He would make mistakes on the field because he was solely relying on his natural ability.
A week after Pitt freshmen check out the Mel Blount Youth Home for a bit of reality checking, a piece on Elijah Fields trying grow-up and make the NFL.
“I was 19, 20 years old back then and I know I made some real bad decisions and did some dumb things, but that was a long time ago,” said Fields, who was dismissed from Pitt’s football team in the spring of 2010 before his senior season.
“You go through stuff, you grow up, you mature and you have to move on. I’ve learned a lot through it all, I’m just ready for what is next for me.”
Fields was suspended several times and in the coaches’ doghouse many times at Pitt for various violations of rules. He was late for meetings, had a poor attitude and used marijuana.
But Fields, 25, said he has been on the straight and narrow for three years and recently completed an excellent season with the Green Bay Blizzard of the nine-team Indoor Football League. He hopes his performance will lead to an opportunity to achieve his ultimate dream: playing in the NFL.
To say Fields was a mess off-the-field is putting it mildly. He was suspended for the entire 2007 season after being suspended during spring practices. He gave Pitt no choice but to give up on him by the end. It wasn’t the immediate wake-up call. As sadly expected he couldn’t get his academics in shape enough to qualify at California University of Pennsylvania or North Alabama. Instead he began his minor league football career.
He’s said the right stuff before.
Three years later he may get a chance to at least try for that opportunity in the NFL. I hope he makes it. Even more, I hope his words of maturing and being focused are more than just words this time. He’s had the chances before, but blown them. For a football career, there isn’t much time left.
The ACC is yet to officially announce its bowl line-up for 2014 and beyond. But it isn’t hard to see what it is going to look like:
Explanation on some of these deals below.
Just some of the topics in the basketball notes.
Still no official word on the full men’s basketball schedule. Typical I know, none of the major men’s basketball programs have announced a full schedule yet. And for most, not even the non-con. Instead there are the trickles. Like ESPN announcing some of their non-con tournaments. Including the Legends Classic that features Pitt at the Barclays Center:
Nov. 25: Pittsburgh vs. Texas Tech (7:30 p.m., ESPN2); Stanford vs. Houston (9:30, ESPN2)
Nov. 26: Consolation game (7 p.m., ESPN3); Championship game (9:30, ESPNU)
If this goes as hoped — and 5 of the 6 pundits ESPN listed for this think so — Pitt will play Stanford on Tuesday night for the Championship. Important because Stanford is the only other program (aside from Pitt) that will have any expectation of being an NCAA Tournament team. Not to mention being on ESPNU beats being an internet broadcast every time.
At long last Pitt has updated the football roster for the 2013 season. Confirmations really of what was expected. Arthur Doakes who everyone knew was not going to be back with Pitt is gone. He has transferred to Stony Brook in New York.
Dan Mason is also gone. Suspended for the spring for “off the field issues,” all rumors said that he was not going to be returning. And indeed he is not. Obviously there is the “what might have been” before his gruesome injury a few years back against Miami. But his other issues detracted from what was such an inspirational effort on his part to rehab and get on the field last year. My hope is that Mason did enough to earn his degree during his 4 plus years.
Players who had/have legal issues leading to still on-going suspensions are still on the roster. Tra’von Chapman and Khaynin Mosley-Smith are still unclear regarding their chances of playing this year.
I know some other heartwarming stuff. A new recruit. I’ll get to the football side, but I have a bunch of basketball links I just want to get off the browser.
Steven Adams has been playing in Orlando in the NBA Summer League. Coach Jamie Dixon has been down there to watch him a couple times in between hitting the various AAU Tournaments. Good puff piece on Adams.
Adams understands where he is in his development, which is why he’s taken to coaching with such enthusiasm.
“Whatever they say, I’ll do because they know what’s best for me,” Adams said.
During breaks in Orlando, Adams sat next to Thunder assistant coach Mark Bryant near the end of the bench. Bryant provided non-stop instruction, and Adams listened intently.
By the end of the week, Adams had begun raving about Bryant and the rest of the Thunder’s staff like a child who had just met his heroes.
“They’re legit,” Adams marveled. “They are awesome.”
For now, the Thunder wants to keep everything simple with Adams. His job is to defend, rebound, run the floor and set good screens. Adams said he is focused mostly on improving his pick-and-roll defense. Everything else, he said, is “just a bonus.”
…
When cutters attempted to get to their spot during summer league play, Adams instinctively would step in and give them a little nudge with his shoulder. When matched up against low-post players, Adams bodied up to them and consistently bumped them off their spots.
“That’s one of the things that we’re going to require out of Steven is that he play physical basketball,” Kalamian said. “Luckily for us, he likes to play that way.”
Not sure if that’s all instinctive. That reads like the basics he would be taught at Pitt to play in the Big East.
Kind of teased this out during the week as I have been focused on tempo and pace. This past year, Pitt played at its slowest adjusted tempo since Jamie Dixon became the head coach.
Time to look at the numbers, history, memes and possibly a way too simple answer.
So let’s take a look at Pitt’s adjusted Tempo in the last 11 years (since that is as far as KenPom.com goes).
Year —– Pitt’s AdjT ——— Rank ——- Highest AdjT ———– Lowest AdjT
2002-03 66.8 ———– 259/324 —— 78.7 – App. St. ———- 55.2 – Air Force
2003-04 61.6 ———— 313/326 —— 75.8 – Campbell ——— 53.7 – Air Force
2004-05 65.1 ———— 250/330 —— 76.0 – Ga. Southern —— 54.2 – Princeton
2005-06 65.5 ———— 230/334 —— 76.3 – Campbell ———- 54.3 – Princeton
2006-07 63.4 ———— 292/336 —— 90.9 – VMI* ————- 52.9 – Princeton
2007-08 65.4 ———— 222/341 —— 80.1 – Texas St. ———- 56.4 – Samford
2008-09 66.0 ———— 186/344 —— 80.6 – VMI ————- 57.4 – Denver
2009-10 62.6 ————– 321/347 —— 84.1 – VMI ————- 57.7 – Samford
2010-11 63.1 ————– 313/345 —— 77.6 – Alcorn St. ———- 57.9 – Denver
2011-12 63.1 ————- 297/345 ——- 76.0 – Seattle ———– 58.0 – Wisconsin
2012-13 60.7 ————- 337/347 ——- 72.8 – Neb-Omaha ——- 57.9 – Western Illinois
* VMI was a real aberration. The #2 AdjT team in 2005-06 was Northwestern St. at 75.6. So, yeah.
Just watch in awe.
This 2004 commercial has haunted my dreams since Pitt to the ACC was announced back in 2011. Thanks so much to HokieTapes for sharing.
What I can’t decide is if I want a remake for 2013 or if I fear such an event.
#goacc
ACC Media Days are closing fast. Oops, sorry. It’s actually called the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff. In just ten days. (Man, do I need to finish with all the old links and stuff.)
The ACC released the list of players who will be in attendance. Two per team is the rule. No surprise that for Pitt it will be Aaron Donald and Devin Street. These are the two best players on each side of the ball. Both are seniors. Both are needed/expected to be team leaders.
The ACC also announced that they have a deal in place to have YES in the NYC market to carry football and basketball for the upcoming season.
The YES Network, the most-watched regional sports network in the country the past 10 years, has reached an agreement with FOX Sports Media Group by which YES will televise live Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball and football games and Big East basketball games beginning this fall.
As part of the deal, YES will televise up to 10 ACC football games and up to 23 men’s ACC basketball games, as well as select women’s basketball and Olympic sports.
I like the chances of more Pitt games showing up in this package.
Locally, Pitt football games will be on WTAE (ABC) as well as some of the basketball games. Root Sports also has a deal in place to show Pitt/ACC games.
It’s looking like it won’t be too difficult to find Pitt on TV even with the Raycom factor.
On the football side of things, I don’t think anyone disputes that Pitt and Syracuse (and Louisville next year) are taking a step up in football competition. Or in the case of Syracuse and Pitt it is more akin to a restoration to the level of competition they faced at the start of the millennium.
The basketball side, however, is not the same deal. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski has pushed a meme in recent weeks:
“I love what’s happening with our conference,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re going to be a 10-bid conference. We’re going to be the best conference in the history of the game. It’s exciting to be part of that.”
Since the words came from Krzyzewski, the mainstream acceptance has been predictable. There has been some small pushback from writers that use tempo-free stats more to at least say, “we’ll see about that.”
And finally, a little bit of a pushback against the whole “history of the game” thing.
Good article today on Pitt’s options at shooting guard.
Dixon has no fewer than five options to choose from when deciding who will replace Woodall, the team’s leading scorer last season (11.5 points per game) who moved to off-guard upon the arrival of Robinson.
There is junior Cameron Wright, who has 11 games of starting experience under his belt. There are three freshmen — redshirt Chris Jones and incoming players Josh Newkirk and Detrick Mostella.
And then there is a reserve small forward who would like an opportunity to prove he can win the job as well.
Yes, Durand Johnson envisions himself as being in the mix.
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