7pm radio or ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN
Feeling better. Very low key weekend of nursing being sick to maximum sympathy; and to be left alone with sports on TV all weekend.
Let’s start with a lookback on the opening loss at Navy.
If you were hoping this was a young team of old souls, this game should have disabused you of that.
This is a young team. Period.
They struggled defensively. Their shooting was painfully streaky. Rebounding was atrocious. A player lost his cool at the end of the game.
And yet…
Only an idiot was going to expect this team to come out and light it up and be a sound team. There was a relaxing freedom in watching this Pitt team play without expectations. To look for the potential. To consider the possibility of hope down the line.
Jared Wilson-Frame is a pleasant surprise to me. As a JUCO, he was going to be needed to take the load early and he has embraced it. There’s an energy and enthusiasm to him that is infectious. He’s not the point guard, but it was immediately clear that he is a team leader. Now, he just needs to get after some rebounds.
Marcus Carr is this team’s point guard. And he can shoot the 3. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that from a Pitt point guard, so you will have to give me some time to adjust to that (still love you J-Rob).
Parker Stewart is enthusiastic and fearless… And hasn’t hit a damn thing yet. He needs to settle to be the shooter the coaches say he is in practice. Khameron Davis looks good, but that heel/plantar fasciitis issue will limit him for much of the year.
Ryan Luther was much better — at least against Navy. Stunning not to see him pick up a foul until late in the first half.
Jonathon Milligan and Monty Boykins have yet to do anything, which is really disappointing. Simply because they are seniors and really needed to provide some depth and productive minutes.
Shamiel Stevenson looks to be Pitt’s grit guy. Works hard all over the court. Fights for rebounds. And does not like losing. He also needs to control himself. That purposeful elbow to the head of a Midshipman at the end of the game is inexcusable.
The game against Navy could have been Pitt’s if they hadn’t gone completely ice-cold for the first 10+ minutes of the second half. 1 point. 0 field goals. The only thing keeping Pitt in it was Navy was hardly able to light it up. But Pitt took too long to find the offense, and Navy kept control.
Tonight Montana.
Middle-of-the-pack in the Big Sky. They have a good, experienced back court in Ahmaad Rorie and Michael Ogiuine. Rorie was an Oregon transfer from a couple years back and they add another P5 transfer this year in forward Donaven Dorsey from Washington.
Montana is 1-0 after beating the Whitworth Pirates(?). Sure. A D-III school based in Spokane, Washington.
In an urban center like Pitt, you have to consistently roll out winners … and with a franchise like the Steelers dominating the area, you have to appear competent. Pitt and competence are not synonymous.
In football, that means 10 wins seasons. 6-7-8 wins do not count as winning. In basketball it means winning 25 games.
With so many Pitt fans being Steelers fans, it will always be hard to get Pitt fans to buy season tickets to both. There’s just not enough time to allow for both. Basketball season competes with the beloved Pens. How do you convince people to buy season tickets for both?
That’s the advantage that the Penn State’s and Ohio State’s, and these big state schools, have … they don’t compete with professional sports entertainment dollars. Some will call it an excuse but it’s not. It’s reality. Pitt offers a different experience than state schools and you have to sell kids (and fans) on that.
That’s just where Pitt is right now … and has been for decades. Having said that, we are in some uncharted territory not seen since the mid-90’s. The football and basketball programs being this low at the same time hasn’t been seen in a while.
The turnover with coaches, AD’s and the lack of success on the court/field has hurt Pitt’s reputation significantly.
The negativity is overly-dramatic but it’s not unjustified. There are reasons, and most are pretty legit, for why Pitt can’t get butts in seats. Most of the damage is self-inflicted which makes it hard.
I rally against the over the top negativity, and in a sense come across as the polar opposite because I over-compensate with positivity. In reality I’m more in the middle. A bit disenfranchised. For example, I was supposed to attend the UVA game but I let the weather dictate me not making the 4 hour trip with friends and kids to see the game. If Pitt was winning, I would have roughed it out. Same goes for basketball last season. I decided to skip out on a trip to UVA to watch the basketball team in March. The 90 minute trip didn’t excite me.
Having said that, I don’t think Pitt’s circumstances are not as dire as they appear to be. I really do think this is just a transition year in football and Pitt will rebound next season. Not 10 wins rebound but I think 8 wins is doable. And I can see a path to 10 wins in the future. Not everyone can. I certainly understand why.
With basketball, I really do like the kids brought in. I think JWF will be a nice player to bridge the transition from bottom feeders to relevance. I’m not a fan of Stallings but I’ll give him a shot to win me over. If I like the team, I can find enough story lines to bide my time … that doesn’t mean I’ll be venturing long distances to see them tho. They have to earn that back.
In my opinion, it starts with competence. Right now, Pitt does not appear to be very competent. Hopefully that’s just perception and not reality (like a lot here seem to believe) … and better times are ahead.
Otherwise, we’re just Rutgers.
Et tu Tossing?
A team full of young guys that have not learned how to put away an inferior team. (Although Montana is marginally better than Navy)
I don’t think we can expect Milligan to do much. Have to let Carr play through adversity.
Luther has to assert himself.
Stewart needs to keep shooting. But he really struggles on Defense.
I am still looking forward to them playing better in Feb/March. With more experience, and familiarity with each other, they can only improve.
