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December 7, 2016

Take It Out on Buffalo

Filed under: Basketball,Open Thread — Chas @ 6:23 pm

7pm, ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN

After the Maryland win last week, I wrote that this was still going to be an up-and-down season with frustrating losses. I just didn’t think Pitt was going to prove my point the very next game.

You can put an asterisk by this game if you want because Jamel Artis was suspended for the game, but there is no excuse to lose that game. Pitt, as a team, played a really lousy game and never seemed to care that they were. Up until the end when they realized they were going to lose and it was too late.

As a fan, there is nothing more frustrating to watch then when your rooting interest is visibly disengaged.

Just as it has to be maddening to a coach when he could see it coming, but not change it.

Days after beating Maryland on the road by 14, Stallings said he sensed a letdown from his players during the shootaround Friday and in the locker room before the game. As he paced along the sideline in the final seconds, right around when he stared at Artis, he had a message for his players.

“They’re going to rush the floor,” he said, in reference to Duquesne’s students in attendance. “Hope you enjoy this.”

When the final horn sounded, they did just as Stallings thought they would, mobbing the Duquesne players who, minutes later, were handed a trophy their school hadn’t received since Bill Clinton was president.

If this was a young team, it might be excusable. But this team has four seniors that start. Instead, one was suspended and the others couldn’t or wouldn’t lead. And I don’t simply mean scoring the points. Leading the team. Getting them motivated to put the effort forth. It was lacking. Playing up or down to the competition.

But entering the night, Stallings expressed concern regarding how his team seemed to get up for high-profile games early this season (see: Tuesday’s win at Maryland), but played with a lower energy and intensity against lesser foes. Stallings didn’t like his team’s attitude during Friday’s shoot-around.

“There was nothing about our play that was good enough to win,” Stallings said. “We didn’t shoot it well enough, we didn’t do anything well enough, offensively, to win. Our defense was just OK. It’s what you get.”

Stallings has since soft-walked it back a bit in terms of performance to Pitt just having a bad night shooting — which was true. But the team looked like it had assumed the win and didn’t need to try as hard.

I can’t believe they will have a repeat performance tonight (I hope). The real question will be what they do on Saturday.





Buffalo has 4 losses. 4 wins

Got thugged by Xavier by 33 points
Nevada beat them by 5
Creighton clobbered them by 21
St. Bonny beat them by 6.

The Bulls wins were over 2 below .500 teams.
And two D2 teams.

So in other words they stink !

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 7:15 pm

Another large crowd at the $150 Mil Pete.

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 7:28 pm

8 point game with 10 left to play. Hmmm

Pitt’s next opponent, Penn State, losing at home by 4 with 11 to play. Playing at home in front of dozens of fans. Quite a contrast to the cult following at Beaver Stadium.

Comment by Barvo 12.07.16 @ 8:30 pm

This team is garbage, if artis and young can be stopped pitt losses a lot this year

Comment by Keith 12.07.16 @ 8:31 pm

Pitt has 6 guys in double figures and is only up 6.

Comment by Barvo 12.07.16 @ 8:44 pm

What happened to the 24 point lead? I don’t understand. Looks to me in passing that Pitt had hot shooting in the 1st half and Buffalo took that away in the 2nd, and Pitt doesn’t want to go inside, and when they do they fail.

Sound correct? It would also explain losing to Duquense – why does Jeter still shoot 3’s?

Comment by KeyboardKev 12.07.16 @ 8:55 pm

Watched unimpressive win on iPhone but a win is a win.

Comment by MariettaMike 12.07.16 @ 9:03 pm

Can’t wait to see our ACC record come March…

Comment by Jackagain 12.07.16 @ 9:07 pm

Pathetic performance to a garbage team.

Young & Artis don’t look to happy on those pics.

If the game went on longer …we lose.

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 9:07 pm

Hope they’re saving it for the ACC.

Comment by alcofan 12.07.16 @ 9:07 pm

Very sad you have to play your starters till the end of the game against a scrub team.

One player scored off the almost non-existent Pitt bench.

12th or lower is about right in the ACC

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 9:10 pm

Somebody is a ‘poison pill’ on this team.

Anyone have any ideas.

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 9:11 pm

Blow up the Pete. Build an OCS in its place. We are a football school. Our B-ball team/program doesnt deserve a nice home. Especially when Football supports the entire athletic program.

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:14 pm

Artis?

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:14 pm

Young?

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:15 pm

Jeter?

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:15 pm

Am I getting close?

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:15 pm

Why is Jones on the court at the end of the game….or much at all. Guess there is not much alternative. Sure glad we didn’t lose Manigault and Kithcart, at least we have a future to build toward.
WTF? Thank you JD? or whomever all is responsible for this mess. Not entertaining as evidenced by attendance and participation here.

Comment by TVax1 12.07.16 @ 9:26 pm

SAD. UPitt I blame you! However, I still have love in my heart for your PITT loyality.

Also blame Dixon’s poor recruiting the last few yrs.

Comment by Old Pitt Grad 12.07.16 @ 9:28 pm

I dont blame Stallings…yet. These are Dixons players but dammit Stallings needs to recruit some elites or Pitt will become a BC. Stallings may be a decent coach but underachieves. Dixon overachieved but still could NOT reach a Final 4 and more recently Sweet 16’s. Pitt needs a younger coach who buys whores for its players and has tutors take player’s exams. That is the only way to succeed. I will sell my soul for a Final Four. And Like it. 🙂

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:36 pm

This is a weird Pitt team. They just can’t / don’t want to/ hate to go inside. If I were Stallings, I would put in 4-5 set plays to get the ball to the rim and make everyone on the team run em til they puke! A very lazy team who doesn’t seem to want to work that hard!

Still, it has to be hard to go from being overmanaged by Dixon to the freestyle offense of Stallings.

Comment by Dan 72 12.07.16 @ 9:36 pm

~ Tex…..I don’t know, just asking for opinions.

None of these kids appear to be having any fun out there at all. It’s like it’s work for them.

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 9:38 pm

UPitt bet against Pitt in this game. And won money again.

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:38 pm

I dont get this team Emel. I thought they’d actually have more fun under Stallings. Doesnt appear to be the case.

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:39 pm

I was going to call them lazy…Dan72 did. So I don’t have to now 🙂

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 9:39 pm

Can Nard Dog coach basketball? And can Conner play hoops?

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:41 pm

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:42 pm

5 Offensive Rebounds total…tells somewhat of a story.

They didn’t have many against Duquesne either.

You got to work hard to o-rebound.

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 9:44 pm

I am happy that my grad school wasn’t embarrassed. Go UB. Yes I spent 8 years in the Hole. Buffahole.

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:45 pm

Didn’t even know UB had a grad school.

What…..IceFishing ?

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 9:48 pm

Pitt’s lethargy stems from the enormous amount of ‘O’ fries being eaten by the players after bong hits. I’m telling you those late night ‘O’ runs are impacting their hops. Cant jump with all that lard in your belly.

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:49 pm

Business (MBA)…Jacobs SOM
Specialized in Canadian Ballet 🙂

Comment by TX Panther 12.07.16 @ 9:52 pm

Just got home.

Really good ball movement early. Looked like a blow out, a lot like Maryland. Then Stallings put in the second team and Manigault lost Perkins three times in a row, that got him going and Pitt had no answr for the big man underneath. Not good at all.

Then shooting went cold as well as foul shots, and it started to look a lot like the Duquesne game.

At least Cam Johnson had a really good day.

Total different coaching style from Stallings, calls very few time outs. Obviously does not stress offensive rebounding, very few putbacks with no one underneath. Doesn’t jump around and look like he is going to have a heart attack.

Jamie would have had a stroke the last two games.

Comment by gc 12.07.16 @ 9:56 pm

The Pedo’s ended up getting crushed by George Mason in Creepy Valley. 85-66

So they don’t appear to be very good. But today hard to figure how these kids play from one game to another.

Comment by Emel 12.07.16 @ 10:01 pm

From what I have seen the last two games, this team will win when the threes are dropping and lose when they are not. A lot of missed bunnies and tough shots underneath.

Manigault looks the part, but have seen nothing from him so far except he looks like a pretty good passer. Have seen nothing from Kithcart yet, and Wilson is definitely in the dog house.

Comment by gc 12.07.16 @ 10:02 pm

Really funny that Nix seems to have a nice stroke and makes shot after shot in warm-ups. Probably an excellent horse player.

Comment by gc 12.07.16 @ 10:05 pm

GC – maybe Stallings is pulling a “Canada” with Nix. Won’t show that part of the game plan until we get in league play!! (Ha – I wish Nix was good enough that we have to hide him!)

Comment by Savannah Panther 12.07.16 @ 10:32 pm

Well,
Nice to see Jamie “dick”son finally lose at TCU tonigbt, that ass left the cupboard totally bair when he left

This is like a total rebuild, we’re looking at the 90’s all over again if Stallings doesn’t get some kids that can play

Blow the PETE up and rebuild PITT stadium!!!

Comment by Keith 12.07.16 @ 10:41 pm

That bare cupboard made the tourney last year. We know you’re all butt hurt about Dixon, but get over it already. Stallings sucks & his team is poorly coached. No one plays hard & that’s on the coach. There’s a reason he did very little in the garbage SEC & it wasn’t Vandy’s academic standards.

Comment by Nick 12.07.16 @ 11:01 pm

This has NOTHING to do with a bare cupboard.

Nothing.

This IS about chemistry or a complete lack of chemistry between a coach and his players.

The only key person missing from last year’s NCAA Tournament team line up is Robinson.

Stallings doesn’t have the respect of the kids and he doesn’t know how to earn it. He is clueless on how to get THIS team mentally ready to play. He actually derails them DURING games.

They are simply tolerating him. You can see it in their faces. This isn’t fun anymore. They don’t want to play for this guy at all. They are playing selfishly because they are only playing for themselves

You are watching a train wreck happening and it will only get worse as the year goes on.

This team will not make the NIT & Stallings will not be able to right this ship before he is out the door 2 years from now and don’t blame Jamie Dickson he was shown the door here.

Comment by Tony in Harrisburg 12.07.16 @ 11:25 pm

TX Panther, 8 yrs.in that much snow and you live! You don’t have to sell your soul for a final 4. You just have to play off a bunch of people. PITT’s got money let’s do it.

I hear Syracuse is looking to build a new stadium to replace the Carrier Dome. Money doesn’t seem much of a problem.

Comment by Old Pitt Grad 12.07.16 @ 11:26 pm

Tony,

If you think Jamie was gonna right the ship here you are very mistaken

He couldn’t recruit here anymore and the program was in a steady decline for a few years

As for stallings, I have no idea how he’s gonna fair here, he’ll be judged in a few years,but it could get ugly

As for his players right now, I do think there’s a cpl kids that are a giant pain that brings the whole team down, so if it seems like there miserable it’s because they are! I saw the same thing last year when Dixon was here

Comment by Keith 12.07.16 @ 11:51 pm

This team returned 6 of its top 7 scorers from a tournament team last year. 5 of those 6 returning are seniors and juniors. Cam Johnson is a RS Sophomore. The only subtractions are Dixon and JR.

Supposedly the kids were happy with Stallings because he let them play. The implication being that JD wouldn’t let them play.

The narrative had been that Dixon and James Robinson had been holding Pitt back. So the narrative now is that since Dixon and JR are now gone that it’s still Dixon’s fault because of his recruiting failures.

The program was in “decline” because of the 2010-2012 recruiting classes. Two guys, Cam Wright and James Robinson, stayed with the program for all of their eligibility. The remainder transferred, left (Steven Adams) or were kicked off the team (Durand Johnson). Most of the transfers occurred before their sophomore year. Adams left after his freshman year. Durand Johnson was suspended for a year and injured for a year.

Comment by Barvo 12.08.16 @ 5:46 am

I think Dixon’s “recruiting failure” is that he didn’t replace those players that left with credible transfers from other programs.

Comment by Barvo 12.08.16 @ 6:00 am

Tony,
I think you’re spot-on regarding the current state of the team. If there’s one thing that has sapped my interest as a fan (and this was my FAVORITE thing to watch in all of sports- Pitt Basketball), it’s the lack of passion and toughness. And yes, you can see it on the faces, as well as in the body language and hustle. I remember driving out to the football game against Akron back in 2014, and as embarrassing as it was to lose to a bad team at home by a score of 21-10, I think it was the sideline behavior that bothered me the most- it bothered me that I seemed to care a lot more than the players, who looked completely disinterested. I believe this is what we have here, pretty clearly. Will they turn this around and play up to a higher level against better teams? Probably to some extent, but who knows, and maybe to some extent, who cares any more?

Jamie Dixon is a very good basketball coach by all accounts, and seems to be an even better person, but it was clearly time for him to move on, and therefore I have no regrets about his leaving. His glaring problem- recruiting- showed no signs whatsoever of rebounding, and he refused to make necessary changes in the staff, so…. End of Story. The jury is still out on Stallings, we all know he inherited a problem and I’m sure he’ll be given a few years to right the ship. It’s hard to overlook Stallings’ history, which seems to shows that’s he’s a pretty good coach and recruiter, so I suspect that’s what he’ll be here- pretty good. Can the downgrade in coaching ability be made up for with better recruiting? I’ll be rooting for our new coach, but I will be stunned if he achieves a level that gets us close to where we were at prior to our 5+ year slide under Dixon. Really, deep down I think we’re all biding time until Stallings is replaced and Barnes is held accountable for his decision. In the meantime, it’d be nice to at least see some passion return, and that means at the very best, we have to wait until next year.

Comment by 1618mt 12.08.16 @ 8:50 am

I don’t think Dixon was going to right the ship however we are currently treading water with no life preserver and the ship has left.

You never show someone the door unless you have a replacement that has some upside. There is no upside with Stallings.

He is a place holder at best we will not see the NCAA tourney under his direction for the next 3 years.

Comment by Tony in Harrisburg 12.08.16 @ 9:37 am

Guys, these same players played the same way last year for Dixon. As much as he was bashed, JR played with heart and passion – and he was about the only one. He’s gone (and that’s not a bad thing) and the other guys are left playing the same uninspired, selfish basketball. Look at what Artis said about his suspension! And I don’t think it’s that the players disliked Stallings – their words sure made it sound like the really appreciated him at least at the beginning. But now that he’s called a spade a spade and even stepped up and suspended Artis and benched Young – the cry-baby attitude is starting to show again. That’s how I see it anyhow.

Comment by JJ 12.08.16 @ 11:24 am

This team is so boring to watch, most of the time. At points in that first half vs. MD they showed sparks, burying all of those threes. But I was watching some of the Duke v Florida game the other night and the difference in the athletic ability, basketball IQ, and just overall attitude b/w the Duke team and the Pitt team was so stark.

It’s depressing.

I’ll be the first to admit if I am wrong, but Stallings was soooo not the coach this team and program needed. It’s a shame because I really miss being excited about Pitt basketball.

Comment by Praise the Lard 12.08.16 @ 2:29 pm

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