4pm
ESPNU
During the ESPN College Basketball Game Day, they asked whether Pitt would break 45 points against Virginia today.
Have to be honest, I thought they had the line a little high. Perhaps it was so they could all go under, but if I was trying to gauge the O/U line, 40 seems like the sweet spot. 1 point per minute of game. Not too low to be absurd, but with Pitt’s offense, Virginia’s defense and both sides’ slow tempo; just enough to make you unsure.
Any talk of basketball today is overshadowed by the leaks from the FBI investigation.
I have to admit being a little underwhelmed by the first leak from Pete Thamel and Yahoo! Sports.
Documents and bank records obtained in discovery during the federal investigation into the underbelly of college basketball detail in meticulous fashion the expenditures of prominent former NBA agent Andy Miller, his former associate Christian Dawkins and his agency, ASM Sports. They include expense reports and balance sheets that list cash advances, as well as entertainment and travel expenses for high school and college prospects and their families.
It was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate business expenses with meeting with players and their families (dinners, hotel stays, etc.) and outright payments and loans. But all of them involved the players and their families alone. Nothing tying the schools or coaches to it. Yes, the schools can/could still face consequences, but this seems like small potatoes in the potential scandal.
No, the big deal came late last night from ESPN.com.
FBI wiretaps intercepted telephone conversations between Arizona coach Sean Miller and Christian Dawkins, a key figure in the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption, in which Miller discussed paying $100,000 to ensure star freshman Deandre Ayton signed with the Wildcats, sources familiar with the government’s evidence told ESPN.
According to people with knowledge of the FBI investigation, Miller and Dawkins, a runner working for ASM Sports agent Andy Miller, had multiple conversations about Ayton. When Dawkins asked Sean Miller if he should work with assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson to finalize their agreement, Miller told Dawkins he should deal directly with him when it came to money, the sources said.
Can I express some sadness over this? I know Sean Miller had no interest in the Pitt job when it opened, but he’s still a Pitt grad. I was in school when he played, and he laid it all out there when he was on the court. So to see him appear to have gone that far to the darkside is still a sad and disappointing thing.
Having said, that, dude has an agent that more then earned his commission.
If Miller is fired for cause, his contract is written in such a way that he would still receive more than 85 percent of the money he is owed through May 31, 2022. However, he would lose a longevity bonus of an undisclosed amount, which Arizona was due to pay him in May 2020.
Miller’s contract provides that even if he is fired with cause, the university would have to pay his base salary. The contract defines his base salary as his salary plus his peripheral salary. That adds up to roughly $10.3 million through May 2022. The only part that Miller wouldn’t be entitled to is $1.7 million from Nike and IMG that is due to him if he completes his contract.
Damn. Even Scott Barnes isn’t that stupid. If you don’t think this part doesn’t further incentivize Arizona to fight to somehow clear Miller, well then you aren’t following the money.
It took until just after 3 pm for Arizona to even leak that Sean Miller will not be on the sidelines tonight for Arizona-Oregon.
Fun times ahead.
You know, the bitter irony of all this is that if the FBI blows up the 20 or so teams potentially indicated in this mess, it ultimately leaves even FEWER candidates for the Pitt job.
Of course, it might also mean a few might suddenly have an unexpected interest… but PiTT might have to wait for some of them to clear bail.
Strange days…..
I have always believed in my heart that Dixon would have gone back to his winning “slogball” formula. We will never know.
Personally, I LOVED slogball. It was PITT. We won our way. We stuck it to people.
Hats off the VA for what they have done.
It’s ugly – there are no easy answers. The next coach is going to have to virtually reinvent Pitt basketball to make it more relevant – both to fans and recruits.
I know I can’t spare any cash, the University can’t spare any cash and we have no deep pocket donors that have lost their minds to give up Ten Million bucks. Therefore, Stallings will be here next year.
Accept it and get over it.
Firing KS for “cause” and hiring an assistant outside the FBI 20 is a possibility –
Keeping Stallings and plugging our noses for 2 more years seems to be the course Pitt will take.
At the moment hiring any coach at any level could be dicey. No one knows just how deep this FBI rabbit hole goes. Right now it might be hard to determine who’s tainted and who’s not. Lots of allegations. Not a ton of facts at the moment. The next few weeks may well change that, but until it settles out, it might be deemed safer to sit back and take a wait and see approach. Those who were hoping for Heather Lyke to appear mid-court at the end of the Notre Dame game in a Grim Reaper costume pointing the sickle at Stallings may have to adjust their expectations 🙂
He’s been a dead man walking since Lyke refused to publicly defend him beyond we’ll review when the season ends … and that was when the team was showing a few signs of life … it’s only gotten worse since.
“rumored/leaked boosters have enough to buy him out”. Really, now your dreaming…. You must be watching CNN. ?? LMAO.
At that point go after a younger coach who knows how basketball is played and can get players.
Golden will be a rookie big man … they, generally, struggle at first and he’s 3 star ranked 202nd in the class by Rivals. With the way Brown played the 2nd half of the season, I doubt Golden would supplant him. If Stallings leaves, he’s most likely released from his commitment anyways.
Malik Ellison is a former 3 star recruit that shot 39% from the floor, 33% from 3 and 62% from the free throw line. He’ll probably be better than those number but, realistically, by how much. He was a sophomore among freshmen with a year’s experience in the Big East. I’d have expected he’d stand out at practices.
Pitt would be better next season, but we’re still talking 3-4 wins in the ACC at most without much upside moving forward.
I wouldn’t count on many players coming back if we fire Stallings. That’s the one downfall. It’s anticipated that a rules change will allow players to transfer without penalty if a coach leaves, as long as they don’t follow the coach to the new school.
Pitt wasn’t great but JWF, Carr, Stewart, Stevenson and Brown will all get poached. They all showed they can play D1 basketball. Of course this depends on who is hired and if he can sell them on the program. With the attendance issues, I wouldn’t anticipate them feeling much love here or desire to stay. Obviously, pure speculation.
Pitt is stacked with a roster of player in the range of 100-300 with most in the 200’s. Even Dixon generally had players ranked 75-125.
Dreamer – All I can say is that you’re not paying attention. That bum DK is reporting that Pitt has already entered into negotiations with Stallings to reduce the buyout. You can make a CNN joke, but you don’t even believe actual descriptions of responsibilities on Pitt’s website. Even with links and direct quotes provided.
My point with Luther and Ellison was that if you add these three (included Golden) to the current group, you instantly have a better team.
Granted, if Lyke fires the HC, some may leave. But, if she doesn’t fire KS, some may leave.
IMO – a coaching upgrade is needed before the player upgrade happens at Pitt.
I don’t argue your sources for the Pitt web site etc. , It’s your interpretation.
Why in the world would a guy accept a contract change to reduce his payout? It makes no sense at all, he has nothing to lose here , except his job. Do you think that out of the goodness of his heart he will decide to take less of a payout. Of course none of us have access to his contract to see the real terms but I just don’t believe he would just tear up his agreement.
As far as the boosters are cencerend, and where they were at other times when money reared it’s ugly head, that’s down to human factors. There were boosters that liked (and partially funded) some past coachers – football and basketball. Some were likely angered at various points along the way and refused to contribute to certain causes. Imagine if you were a big Wanny supporter financially. Booster money doesn’t help with hiring or extending nearly as much – at least not in most cases because you can’t count on that money every year, long term. When it comes to Stallings, it’s feasible that the majority of boosters want him out and are willing to dig deep. There are boosters that could write the whole check themselves – I’ve sat in a box a few times with one of them. A guy like that can turn it into $5M instantly if he really wants to. And Pitt has more money that it let’s on. They cry poor and are habitual under-spenders, but if the math says that another year or two of Stallkings costs them more than his buyout – they can scrape something together.
Again, I think most of it comes down to just how much of a hard line Stallings is willing to take and if he’s willing to go to court over it. Pitt would rather avoid that – having an ex-caoch out in the periphery suing the University for non-payment isn’t exactly good PR for the next potential coach. Which brings me to my next point:
If and when Pitt does hire it’s next coach, WHO does the hiring? Is it the board? The chancellor? Is it Lyke? Does another search firm or committee get involved? We’ve all given a lot of thought to who the next coach might be or at least what qualities they might possess, but I know I haven’t given much thought as to HOW that person gets here. At most schools, it’s a no brainer – at Pitt you can never be too sure. IMO it’s Lyke’s decision, but I wonder how long the leash will be.
I am nervous about the scandals and uncertainty, but it may also mean that there is some good talent looking to scramble out of a bad situation. You almost need a private investigator, but if Pitt could find someone clean at a program under pressure, it could open up the field to include some better talent. Yeah, that might be a stretch, and Pitt can’t afford another coaching mistake, but is the fan base patient enough for an unknown to come in and struggle for a couple years? I guess we’ll find out.
Last I saw, Stone re-classified to 2018 (from 2019).
If Pitt keeps Stallings (and current roster), there is no room for him this coming year.
I do not see them keeping this entire roster in tact, even if Stallings stays.
With or without Stallings and roster upheaval, it is going to be difficult to recruit well.
… And of course Pitt would enter negotiations to reduce the buyout before paying him his full buyout. Do you think they’d just hand him the money? And believe it or not Pitt does have leverage. Have you ever had a bad job? Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much they pay you. He’s going to walk away with millions regardless. He’s separated from his family who still live in TN, the fans hate him, the boss who hired him left and the new boss doesn’t want him, and next year is not going to be much better.
Trust me, there’s incentive.
I feel like you like to argue just to argue.
Heather Lyke will be on the Fan sports show at 7:00 AM Tuesday and will confirm that Stalling will continue at least next year. I got that from several reliable sources. ( the bus driver, usher, student intern, the Pitt guy who sells T-shirts on the street corner).
Tune in to the fan at 7:00 on Tuesday morning, see if she addresses any coaching issues. Don’t forget, womens basketball is a shambles also, she may address both at the same time.
BTW, can you imagine the hissy fit Nard Dog would throw if Pitt handed over $10 MM over to KS, and not put another $10MM into football??!!
It’s crazy thinking about this right now. But if Stallings stays and the roster holds, I be more inclined to keep George and ask Peace to move on to open the spot for Stone.
If Stallings goes, all bets are off.
SP: I guess they could tear down the Cathedral. Put in one of those “Tower of Terror” drop rides, where you can plummet to the earth faster than Pitt basketball for $5.00 a pop. You know you’d show up…. I know I would …. 🙂
Any more word on our boy out in AZ? I’m too lazy at the moment to check other sources…..
