One of the things that people seem to be debating is when it all started going south. Hindsight is on full blast.
Pointing to that failure to advance past the Villanova in the Elite Eight. Or that Butler game. Those are moments. Losing to Wichita State? Those are games.
Things became problematic when Pitt had back-to-back disastrous recruiting classes. That put Pitt in a hole that Jamie Dixon had been trying to get out of for a while.
2010 Recruiting Class
- Isiah Epps – G
- J.J. Moore – F
- Cam Wright – G
2011 Recruiting Class
- Khem Birch – F
- Malcolm Gilbert – C
- Durand Johnson – G/F
- John Johnson – G
I was just going to point to the 2011 class, but given how bad Epps really was and J.J. Moore never coming close to what was thought to be his ceiling. It really is astounding. Also because of how good they actually looked at the time. Moore was considered a steal of a late get.
The 2011 class had Khem Birch reclassifying from the 2012 recruiting class, resulting in Pitt forcing out top-100 commit, Jaylen Bond. Also creating some real animosity among Philadelphia area coaches for doing him like that. It damaged Pitt’s recruiting in Philly — which became another problem.
The 2011 class was ranked as Pitt’s best under Dixon. This was the one to show the fruits of all the building and Pitt’s rep. A second McDonald’s All-American in 3 years with Khem Birch. Gilbert, Johnson and Johnson were all ranked among the top-100 players by Scout.com.
There is a cruel irony that a coach like Dixon. Regularly crushed by his own fanbase for not being a great recruiter. His best recruiting class was truly the worst
One starter out of all that. Six transfers — and on top of it, none of those transfers turned out to be that good for the schools that got them.
And that was with top recruiting assistants like Tom Herrion and Pat Skerry.
Any. ANY program would struggle with a series of misses like that. With the exception of Kentucky under Calipari, every program needs at least a couple of guys to develop over three to four years. When you only have one guy out of two straight classes. When you don’t even have stiffs on the bench. That’s going to hurt.
And for a coach like Dixon that really depends on developing players over the course of a few years. Who counts on the upper classmen to lead the way. This was especially devestating.
Dixon and the coaching staff resorted more and more to JUCOs, transfers (regular and grad) to try and plug the holes, the last few years. But even if you hit on each hole you try to fill, that would have still been a two year period to try and cope.
Obviously Pitt wasn’t able to plug those holes as well as needed. Coupled with the big recruiting misses (at least at the time) of big centers like BeeJay Anya and Chieck Diallo, the problems remained.
The only other alternative would have been to take some real lumps on the court without trying short terms fixes. Take flyers on players with potential, but would need some time to develop. That’s hardly a guarantee either. Meanwhile the howls would have been even louder if Pitt had missed the NCAA Tournament two straight years.
So you must have nothing to do and be very very old.
Me…… I run a business.
Chas must be pretty happy you’re posting so much.
No recruiting hurt us especially in the middle.
…I’m not talented enough to have fans on this blog like you do… Also, glad you liked my line so much that you re-posted it.
I am very happy you run a business; your mommy must be proud.
Explains the mommy comment.
I just wish it didnt smell
Not to mention the 20 HC’s we had in football in 6 months. haha
…and for the ones that really thought Dixon needed to go, you should realize that although you hated a lot of his basketball decisions thru the year; Dixon and you were in complete agreement that it actually was time to leave Pitt now.
Milo – Emel owns 34 clubs across the US. He still owns “The Cricket” for Nostagia.
Emel – If Hilary wins can we move to Cuba?
I dispised Dixon for his floor coaching and his lack of even trying to recruit. I love Tony Bennet and have actually attended one of his clinics. He is an offensive genius who happens to coach great defense. Without the offense, the defense is worthless… Just like Jamie’s !
Last 5 years Pitt who before then was better than Villimanilli……is decidedly not anywhere close to Villi….now.
Hired a couple of the cheerleaders for Summer Jobs !
Since we’re a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Got to keep in good graces.
Dixon’s quick exit is much like any other of the same variety.
He got out of Dodge too quick to cover alot of his tracks. Now we see his true colors… Some good some bad.
I just hope his house sits on the market forever just to piss off his wife and fat son.
Tony, Tony, Tony…what were you thinking !
Being from B’klyn you know basketball like the guys from Western Pa. know football.
Please nothing personal in my remarks. I’m a little melancholy, sad, and concerned over PITT’s BB future.
It’s obvious Dixon saw a poor future for PITT short term.
Look, I liked Jamie as much as anyone, but this was the best for both sides. Jamie leaves on good terms and Pitt hits the “refresh” button with a good nucleus of players on the roster.
I know many players are rumored to be leaving. Let’s let the admin guys do their thing first before we jump off a bridge and make our own “splash”.
Patience…
Knight was a great player and has been a loyal Pitt man. He has earned an interview and Barnes owes him that much out of respect. That being said I don’t care how many players past or current recommend him. He hasn’t shown any ability to recruit or develop anything resembling a top guard so we can do better.
If anyone chooses to leave cest lavie
But……. Who did he really recruit that was a super star? I love the Jersey kids we got. I can relate to them. But did we end up with the best or were there guys left on the shelf we should have gotten?