All the comments so fair represent the interest in Pitt Basketball. Thanks Gallagher, BOT and Heather for the biggest hoax ever put on any University!

Lyke taking candy from a baby. Pitt just giving the ball away.

On offense, no player seems to know how to get open but Carr.

Erie they throw the dumbest passes ever

Pitt – Duke and only 3 in-game posts. Way to ruin a program Pitt…

Sooner than later the beaten wife leaves.

I’d like to think I’d still attend a few games if I lived in Pittsburgh but today I didn’t even make the effort to put the game on the laptop. I had no desire to watch Duke pick them apart and no thought that Pitt could pull an upset. I want to watch them, I want to cheer for them, but my time has at least some value, even on a Saturday afternoon. I like some of kids on this team and think that several would really fit well in spot service with a more veteran team as they grow into starters. It’s a disservice to them to throw them into some of these games when they are so obviously not ready without some more experienced teammates. Interesting situation in Connecticut with Kevin Ollie also and how far their team has fallen -maybe further than Pitt. The break up of the old Big East has not been good for a few schools. Syracuse is not so hot either. Being in the ACC should be an opportunity for Pitt to attract an upcoming young coach. I’d feel much better about giving Stallings a chance if he did anything to make me feel like he cared.

Heather Lyke had nothing to do with the Stallings hire. But she will with his firing. He cannot possibly last another year, young kids or not. If these kids make it to senior status they still will not be able to beat a Duke team or many others for that matter.
This athletic department is in one hell of a mess. Don’t know the answers but I am not the one who gets paid a $ million bucks to make the decision.

Pitt BB is getting smoked in ACC league games and the team does not seem to be close to being competitive. At 0-7 this team’s closest loss is 14 points.

It appears to me that these players never experienced what it is Lyke to play team basketball and they surely aren’t being taught how to play it by KS. They stand around or run next to a defender (never getting open) waiting for another to chuck a brick.

It is painful to watch. And I know, it is a free country and we can turn it off. I think that has happened with the majority of Pitt fans.

Last year’s team had depth with veteran upperclassmen, talent and returning starters. This year’s team has very little depth with freshmen, first year journeymen, raw, underdeveloped talent and no returning starters.

Both teams with losing records, not competitive in ACC games and one common piece. HC Kevin Stallings.

For me, it is clear, the problem with Pitt BB is KS. He’s not showing an ability to coach, teach nor win. Those three things are important in college basketball and KS is not getting it done.

Note to Heather: give Seth Greenberg a call and ask him how much of a discount he would give you to be Pitt’s next HC. Seth was an assistant at Pitt, won 2 ACC coach of the year awards at VT and is rumored to want back in to the coaching ranks. He is a well known TV personality that the young HS stars know of, which should help recruiting.

After you (Heather) talk with Seth, have a sit down with KS. If he is rude or blows you off, fire him immediately for insubordination. If he gives you a minute, ask him to discount his buyout, so you can put out the dumpster fire.

Lyke will make her move when she’s ready!, Pitt basketball isn’t gonna win for the next 2-3 years Anyways

Actually I think they can be a lot better next year, but you know how pitt fans are unrealistic anyways

Keith, what gives? Exactly how are we going to be better? Which player and why? If we aren’t going to win for 2-3 years, why would you be confident in that?

Pitt needs to win now. Look at the Duquesne coach. Things might implode, but he is changing the culture during his first year. Not Power 5 enough? Ohio State has done the same thing.

It’s all doable Keith, if you get the right coach.

well for one, I don’t think they can get much worse

Enough of the comparisons to Duquesne. First, this team beat Duquesne, remember….with Ryan Luther. That’s been a huge loss given the team makeup. Duquesne also has yet to play a ranked team. Let’s compare that to an ACC schedule.

I agree with Keith. Two years of practice, strength training, and conditioning will help big time. Plus next years’ recruits. Next year they will flirt with an NIT bid. Baby steps, but…

LOL. Duquesne was without it’s best player. These kids could get the WWE strength coaches and rounds and it wouldn’t matter. They stink.

Jaime Dixon just beat a top 10 team at home … hmmm … where have I seen that before?

Stallings should take the initiative to get with Heather L. at the end of the season and negotiate his resignation. It’s time for him to be a man, he should not be a coach.

Huff – Good post, and its indisputable. All it takes is a coach, and its a quick turnaround in hoops if you get the right one (football takes a lot longer normally). And let me beat this dead horse, 99% of Pitt fans want Stallings gone, but often we focus on how bad his teams are; I want to point out that his teams don’t seem to be noticably improving either, and this is why, though we beat Duquesne earlier in the year, most of us think they would beat us now, because they got better and we didn’t.

1618, I would nominate four players as having improved. Parker Stewart, Terrell Brown, Kene Chukwuka and Samson George (he went from non-existent to not being a liability).

Peace may be improving but it’s hard to tell when you start out so low. Carr and Stephenson haven’t really cut it in ACC play yet so they’ve hit a wall/I wouldn’t say they regressed.

Milligan is a headache. Some brief flashes but a lot of evidence as to why he didn’t play in previous years.

Keyboard, I think you missed this “noticably improving”. I think only Stewart from your list has demonstrated that. It remains to be seen whether Stephenson is regressing but the trend of the last couple of games isn’t good. Carr has had exactly 1 ACC game that he has shot better than 42% and 4 games where he’s had more assists than turnovers (3 of those by 1 assist). I’d say he is regressing.

Milligan redshirted 2 years ago. Stallings played him all of 8 minutes per game last year. His minutes were limited and in difficult spots (typically foul trouble or blowouts). If Carr played those kind of minutes his game would look a lot different to you. In fact if you were to project Milligan’s production over Carr’s minutes this season you’d see it’s a wash. There’s the future. For example, Milligan managed to score just 3 points less than Carr did against Duke in less than half the minutes that Carr played.

Stewart IMO has not gotten better. He just has more plays run for him now and coach is pushing him to shoot..and thus he is taking more shots.

DD – Stewart has definitely gotten better. It’s not just volume it’s his shooting percentage.

In ACC play he’s shooting 50% from the floor. 53% from 2 and 48.8% from 3 in 31 mins. 68.1% eFG.

Those are good stats in 9 games and it’s not one game. He’s played very well consistently.

To show how bad he was before improving, on the season he’s shooting 41% from the floor, 50% from 2, 38.8% from 3 and 56.6 eFG.

Clear improvement. Not sure how you can argue he hasn’t gotten better.

I don’t have non-conference stats but just look at how much the non-con brings down his overall stats when looking at what he’s done in the ACC.

Guys, I didn’t mean to suggest individual players haven’t gotten better, Parker is much better, and Brown a tiny bit, but Stephenson and Carr are best case breakeven and Wilson-Frame has regressed. More importantly though the team as a whole hadn’t improved. I know Luther is missing, but that doesn’t change the argument at all.

Can you believe that bitch Lyke is putting a Pitt HOF, man she’s the worst….says a few people on this blog..idiots

Keith – lol. Some people are the worst. When the announced it I was like wait how the F did we not have that already. Great move.

Lyke is doing great, and WILL do pitt basketball right, I have full confidence she’ll do the right thing..

Some fans need to realize the howland/Dixon era is gone and we got fucked, we’ll be back..eventually

I just hope the math is so simple that a move has to be made….a buyout of Stallings is equal or less than lost ticket sales revenue.

I know I know…some will say I am a hater not giving Stallings a chance. Fine. I have seen enough. I have said it before, Dixon was a great coach, and I want another great coach and even if Stallings turns out to exceed expectations, that just means he will turn out to be “OK”, and that is not the same as great. Yes I am selfish…I want Pitt to be great.

DD – no issues with not liking or wanting Stallings. There are some kids that can develop into good players on the roster though. They’re just freshmen that should not be playing much let alone starting this early in their careers. Not one was a sub-100 ranked player. Maybe Carr on one scouting service but he wasn’t unanimous. Parker, Carr and Stevenson have all shown enough flashes for me to see them as being really good contributors down the line … just sucks there’s no down the line and they were thrown into the fire this early.