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December 9, 2008

It’s very interesting. I think a lot of the media really like Pitt’s team and do see them going to the Final Four this year.

The reason Pittsburgh is a serious Final Four threat is that the Panthers have three All-American-caliber players who excel in different ways. For proof, check out Saturday’s 80-51 victory over Vermont and realize that Pitt had one player score 28 points, another player grab 16 rebounds, and another player get eight assists. The points belonged to Sam Young, the rebounds to DeJuan Blair and assists to Levance Fields. And as long as that trio is operating at that level you can bet whatever you own that the Panthers are about to improve to 10-0 under Jamie Dixon for the sixth consecutive season.

At the same time, the reliance on the trio is why some are nervous along with another reason.

Pittsburgh has as much toughness out of its top three players — Levance Fields, Sam Young and DeJuan Blair — as anyone in the country. But this season is still reliant on Fields working his way back into shape — and staying injury-free. The Panthers also need to find someone who can make shots from the perimeter, even if it’s done by committee.

The perimeter. I’m not so concerned about it. I don’t expect Pitt will be a particularly strong or consistent team from the perimeter. I’m hopeful that Gibbs and/or Woodall might become a consistent threat from outside, but I doubt the coaching staff is relying on that.

Jermaine Dixon is not a 3-point threat. He wasn’t at the JUCO level and that hasn’t changed. Dixon has been getting a lot of praise for his defensive intensity — and deservedly so. I think he should also get praise for mostly playing within the system and being a real team player. As a shooting guard up until he got to Pitt, he has always been the best player on his team and the one hoisting a ton of shots. He has mostly kept it in check so far and been all about the team.

…As for Jermaine Dixon, he does have a tendency to take some shots early in the shot clock and I have noticed that coach Jamie Dixon has been somewhat frustrated by that. However, Jermaine is taking only about seven shots a game, which is fourth on the team behind Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields. Jermaine is the starting shooting guard, so he is going to ample opportunity to shoot. I’m sure every Pitt fan would like to see him a better percentage of his 3-pointers, but other than that he has played pretty well. His worth to the team cannot be measured in his 3-point percentage. He is probably the team’s best on-ball defender and he has the ability to pentrate and get in the lane, which is important because Fields has not demonstrated the same penetrating ability since his foot injury last season.

He is also 5th on the team in average minutes played (30 seconds per behind Tyrell Biggs) and has only taken 5 more shots in the season than Biggs. So considering the amount of time he is seeing, he may occasionally shoot a bit early, but he is not taking shots from other players on the court.

Ray Fittipaldo sees only minimal growth in McGhee’s game this year. I  don’t disagree, but I wasn’t expecting a leap this year. McGhee’s a project and anyone who expected a lot from him from freshman to sophomore was being very optimistic. What I have seen is that his physique is definitely improving from conditioning and diet from last year to this year — strongly indicating how much he is willing to work. He’s still learning about being more than just being 6-11. Like Aaron Gray, you can see the wheels turning as he tries to remember his lessons in positioning and footwork. It’s not instinctive for him at this point. He will have a very up-and-down year. Some games it will almost look like it is clicking, and then others he will just be a stiff out there.

A nice piece lauding Sam Young.

He’s the smoothest operator since Big Daddy Kane (youtube it young bucks) and quite possibly the most overlooked/under-appreciated superstar in college basketball. Young is giving Pitt a guaranteed 20-plus a night while almost never getting 30 minutes of playing time, playing with the skill and production of a first team All American (Young was first team all Big East last year).

Even better, like Bernard King circa 1984-85, Young is starting to impose his will on opponents. He started showing signs of this trait in the aforementioned Big East tournament at the end of last season. He seemed to be a man possessed and that’s carried over to this season. It’s as if Young surveys the pulse of games before deciding the perfect time to dominate. He might go about it quietly, in a business-like fashion, but at some point he insists that everyone on the floor recognize he’s the man in charge. He did it last weekend against Texas Tech when the Red Raiders seemed to be making a statement that they weren’t going to go away quietly. Young hit a three from the corner, absorbed some contact while finishing at the rim with a violent banger, and hit a pair of free throws. Texas Tech went away.

And Coach Dixon is recognizing what Young can do, and taking advantage of it.

Through the first nine games, Young is averaging 20.8 points per game. No one at Pitt has averaged more than 20 points in a season since Brian Shorter (20.6) in 1989-90, and only five players have averaged more points in a season.

“We’re running a lot more plays for him than we’ve ever run for a guy,” Dixon said. “That’s fairly obvious. It’s by design.”

Having a prolific scorer at his disposal has triggered a change in philosophy for Dixon, who won a school-record 31 games in his first season as head coach without a player who averaged 16 points per game. Carl Krauser averaged 15.4 points per game that season and took 19.6 percent of the team’s shots.

Young is taking 25 percent of Pitt’s shots this season. He took 23 percent of the team’s shot last season.

“It fits what we’re doing,” Dixon said. “We play him in different spots. We run a lot of different plays for him. It’s something that works for us. It’s the best way it works for us this year. And it worked last year. You could see it coming. I anticipated that before the injuries last year.”

And for those who believe Young’s scoring average will dip once the competition gets tougher in Big East play, that won’t necessarily be the case. Young raised his game in Big East play last season, averaging 18.3 points per game in conference contests.

It’s one of the things you can see in Coach Dixon as the still improving coach. He has the principles of his game and how he wants things to run, but he is more willing to be more flexible based on the talent and ability of the players. Showcasing and utilizing Young can only help in recruiting. Coming to Pitt and playing for Dixon won’t mean sacrificing numbers and just playing defense. It will get you lots of attention and to the NBA.





Seth Davis at SI is a Jermaine Dixon fan.
“Pittsburgh guard Jermaine Dixon may not be as good an offensive player as his older brother Juan, but he is absolutely sublime on the defensive end. Juan was great at getting into the passing lanes and making steals off the ball, but Jermaine is great both on and off the ball. Vintage glue guy.”

Andy Katz also fielded a few questions about Pitt in his chat today. link to proxy.espn.go.com

Comment by matt 12.09.08 @ 12:47 pm

I’d disagree with your thoughts on Pitt serving as a springboard to the NBA. We actually have a poor record of developing NBA talent. As far as the perception of the program among recruits, I thought this quote from Woodall was most telling.

“You have to have a defensive mindset here,” Woodall said. “You have to be gritty, and scrappy. Get yourself ready to play big games every time you step on the floor. But that playing style suits everyone on our team. No one’s going to get 40 points from night to night. Someone different will step up. It’s really spread out, and that keeps everyone happy.”

link to nypost.com

I think that perception will limit us in the pursuit of coveted Top-25 recruits. I do think, however, that we’re likely to attract more high character guys with this approach. I think I prefer Dixon’s approach. But that might change if we can’t advance past the Sweet 16.

Comment by Dave in Orlando 12.09.08 @ 12:48 pm

Dave, we have a poor record of developing NBA talent because we haven’t got that kind talent in the first place. Pitt is a good place to develop into an NBA player. First off, Pitt is a place where you are constantly in the media. They play so many TV games that scouts can watch every move. It is also in the most competitive conference and arguable the best program in it the past 5 seasons. Secondly, look at the last 9 seasons in the BE. Pitt has won the most improved player award 5 of those years. Pitt is developing their talent, probably better than anyone in the league. They get more out of 3star recruits than anyone in the country possibly. Now that they have gotten some top recruits, I would expect them to serve as a springboard. It isn’t like they are getting NBA talent and not developing it. They are developing non-NBA talent based on HS rankings(eg. Aaron Gray, Sam Young) and putting these guys into position to play in the league because of how they develop players.

Comment by Ontario Lett 's Go Pitt 12.09.08 @ 1:03 pm

In my opinion, Pitt needs a couple of consistent, go-to guys to get them past the Sweet Sixteen. Real play-makers…players who consistently score, and can create plays, if necessary.

In previous NCAA tournaments–like against Michigan St. last year, they couldn’t match the points of Neitzel. Their offense goes flat when they need it the most.

Comment by Colt Convert 12.09.08 @ 1:06 pm

well hopefully we can turn to young when we go flat.

Comment by Snala the Panther 12.09.08 @ 2:20 pm

hey what do you guys think about pitt getting this QB from Texas? Kolby Gray? maybe he is better than everyone we have on our roster…i saw that texas tech and oklahoma were lookin at him..but he is going to pick between pitt and utah…

any news on dominic cheek?

Comment by Jumbo Bobby 12.09.08 @ 2:59 pm

any recruiting news…???

Comment by Marc 12.09.08 @ 2:59 pm

Not basketball… but.. how about the game Antonio Bryant had against Carolina last night. Over 200 yards receiving and a “Top Ten highlight for the season” catch for a touchdown. Another comment thread discusses the Harris vs. Wanny regimes…. I’m in Wanny’s corner but can’t argue with the success of Bryant and Fitz.

Comment by The Turk 12.09.08 @ 3:06 pm

(Wootalyzer is making me crazy.) There has not been a year that I can remember that we have so much talent on the floor and on the bench. McGhee is the only liability and hopefully he’ll be as useful as Gray was. There are no Yuri’s, McCarroll’s, Abel’s, etc. that used to make me cringe. And the kids’ defense has been superb as well. This will be a fun season.

Comment by steve 12.09.08 @ 3:18 pm

We only wish McGhee is as useful as Gray.

Comment by alcofan 12.09.08 @ 3:43 pm

Kolby Gray:

link to footballrecruiting.rivals.com

Looks like Phil Bennett just made a visit

Comment by Rex 12.09.08 @ 3:56 pm

Baffling why a dual threat QB would want to play for pitt, considering that this offense isn’t designed to take advantage of that. if Bennett is doing the visiting, then you’ve got to assume they’re looking at him to play safety.

i’m all for mobile QBs………in fact, that’s one of my main complaints about Stull (he has so little mobility around the pocket), but I want a good thrower who can buy time in the pocket and take off for an occasional first down if nobody’s open, not a guy who’s looking to run.

Comment by ricky jackson 12.09.08 @ 7:01 pm

Ricky, I agree. That said, Gray has thrown for over 3000 while rushing for only a few hundred, so I think his offensive priorities are in the right place.

Comment by Chris 12.09.08 @ 7:11 pm

And back to the hoops thread………..any smart team is going to zone up and pack it in against Pitt and dare the Panthers to beat them.

Dixon’s teams have displayed the patience in past years to pick the tight zones apart by going inside, but I’m not sure their interior passing is going to be as good this year with Blair and Biggs and Young, none of whom is a great “disher” of the ball.

Interior passing is what Lett and Troutman and Brown were so good at and that helped Pitt win a lot even when they had a sub-par perimeter game.

So I guess we have to hope that Fields and Young shoot a better percentage from the outside this year, which could happen. I doubt Gibbs will see much time in the Big East and Gilbert Brown’s shooting is suspect. Woodall’s missed the rim entirely and hit the board a few times in the early going, so his perimeter game looks like a project.

So let’s hope Sam and Levance bust up some zones because they’re going to see a bunch!!!!!!

Comment by ricky jackson 12.09.08 @ 7:11 pm

Those are from the junior year, while the senior year is weighted more towards the run, but his 32:5 TD/INT ration from junior year indicates he can run a passing offense at a high level.

Comment by Chris 12.09.08 @ 7:14 pm

Have you ever noticed how biased the Coaches poll is for the ACC? Last week, VA Tech was unranked, now they are ahead of Pitt.

But here is a much bigger proof of ACC bias — I saw a scroll of top 25 women’s team during PTI (don’t know what poll) but Maryland with 2 losses including a 29 point loss to Pitt is ranked 16th and Pitt is 20th. Pitt’s only loss was a single digit, neutral court loss to 3rd ranked Texas A&M.

I’m not really concerned about bb rankings but the problem is that the Big East doesn’t seem to get big market media support in the Northeast. This was proven when Larry Fitz finished 2nd in the Heisman voting to Oklahoma QB White in both the national poll AND THE NORTHEAST SECTOR.

Comment by wild Bill 12.09.08 @ 7:24 pm

I agree with everything Wild Bill says until he mucks it up with the Larry reference. You’re incorrect on that one, sir. Larry was the first player in NCAA history to win three regions and NOT win the award.
Heisman Voting by Region
Player NE MA S SW MW FW
Jason White, Oklahoma 227 247 236 316 193 262
Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh 229 296 196 221 198 213
Eli Manning, Mississippi 109 112 200 115 76 98
Chris Perry, Michigan 53 47 46 37 99 59

Larry won the NE, MA and MW.

(link to sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

White won the award for one simple reason: too many people voted before the Big XII Championship game, when White was exposed.

Comment by maz. 12.09.08 @ 7:37 pm

And back to the hoops thread once more…our defense will be our edge. I watched the #2 team play defense as an afterthought against Buffalo.

Comment by steve 12.09.08 @ 7:47 pm

maz-

sad thing about larry’s year, is both pittsburgh writers did not vote for him..ercks me to this day!

Comment by hot sauce 12.09.08 @ 10:49 pm

Kolby Gray Highlights:
link to youtube.com

Comment by Patrick 12.09.08 @ 10:49 pm

After watching Villanova play tonight I really hope Cheek does not go there. The complete lack of inside presence means that their guards constantly get pressured. They have good gaurds but they can’t get anything going because their inside game is horrendous. If Cheek wants to go somewhere he can succeed, and step in and be the go to scorer I hope he really considers Pitt. With Blair and Taylor inside, you know there will be a lot of room for him to move around and penetrate and there will be a lot of open looks when people double down. Nova stinks, even if they pull this one out, ugly team.

Comment by Ontario Lett 's Go Pitt 12.09.08 @ 11:55 pm

i would love for cheek to pick pitt.. but it seems “experts” are saying he will go to kansas.

Comment by Snala the Panther 12.10.08 @ 9:18 am

Maz, I stand corrected — I was going by memory and guess I thought a 2 vote win by Fitz over White in the Northeast was not a real win — and was the real reason for his loss. Latest ranking complaint is R Fittipaldo’s ranking of VA Tech (4 losses) as No. 14 in today’s PG diairies blog.

back to bb — Villanova looked pretty undisiciplined on both ends. You can see defensive lapses as well as low percentage shots, although in fairness, much could be contributed to Texas’ defense. Maybe we are spoiled since Pitt seems to play with much more discipline especially on defense.

Comment by wild Bill 12.10.08 @ 9:25 am

Nova looked bad last night because Texas has athletes and size about 10 deep. Nova’s other problem has to do with Scottie Reynolds’ complete lack of quickness and penetrating ability. He’s a smart player who makes up for a lot of his athletic shortcomings, but against Texas his lack of speed gets exposed.

I think Jay Wright would like to have Corey Fisher handle the ball more because he’s way quicker than Reynolds, but so far Fisher hasn’t lived up to his hype.

I’d love it if Pitt had a PG who could pressure Reynolds, but that’s not Levance’s strong suit. Pitt will beat them with better team D and disciplined offense and they’ll have to figure out who’s going to cover Cunningham……..because he’s much improved and can play inside and out. Biggs (if that’s the choice) will have a ton of trouble with him.

Comment by ricky jackson 12.10.08 @ 10:20 am

Ricky,
I disagree. Bennett is probably visiting him b/c he was the coach at SMU in Dallas and probably has some good ties in the Lone Star State. Each coach is responsible for recruiting a certain area of the country, my guess is Bennett is responsible for Texas since he has spent some significant time there.

Did you guys watch his highlights? He looks pretty mobile which would be a nice change up.

Comment by TJ 12.10.08 @ 10:24 am

Cheek, to nova or KU. No matter, the next class is strong regardless. Perhaps Jay Wright’s strong suit is recruting, the team looked bad last night.

Comment by Wally 12.10.08 @ 11:27 am

Did you watch Bosticks youtube video? Looked like a world beater. Youtube videos are garbage.

Comment by Stuart 12.10.08 @ 11:31 am

ricky jackson:

have you always been so positive? maybe coach decides to put jermaine dixon on scottie reynolds to apply the pressure? you ever think of that?

Comment by Omar 12.10.08 @ 11:53 am

i’m also pretty sure that sam young or blair can handle cunningham. the question is: who does nova have that can handle blair and young? answer: nobody.

Comment by Omar 12.10.08 @ 11:54 am

Comparing this Kolby Gray kid to Bostick is an insult. I never watched Bostick’s highlight tape, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say he didn’t move like this kid does. Gray has 4.5 speed in the forty. Bostick would be lucky to run a 5.4

Comment by SC Steve 12.10.08 @ 12:19 pm

Omar — I’m realistic. Pitt doesn’t pressure the ball like Texas did last night anyway. They mostly play great D within the halfcourt set. It was just nice seeing Reynolds get hassled and fold like that….but that’s not Dixon’s style.

By the way, I think Blair or Young would both have trouble with Cunningham. Dixon wouldn’t risk Blair coming out to cover him and getting fouls 18 ft from the hoop and Young would have some trouble with Cunningham’s size/power underneath. He’s a nice, vastly improved player — admitting that doesn’t make me negative.

And you have a good point. Nova has nobody to match up with Blair. They have some good athletes who can/will give Young a battle……but Pena has no business banging with DeJuan.

Nova’s probably a middle-of-the-pack Big East team and they did look bad at times last night……but I mostly attribute that to how tough and deep Texas is.

Comment by ricky jackson 12.10.08 @ 12:52 pm

FWIW, I see that Dokish now thinks Cheek may have changed to Villanova after months of Cheek leaning towards Kansas. That would suck, needless to say.

Comment by Mark 12.10.08 @ 2:23 pm

Texas would lose to Pitt by more than 10 points. More than 15 points if the game was at home or at the MSG.

Comment by Omar 12.10.08 @ 3:09 pm

Omar I couldn’t agree with you more on all your points. Cunningham is not a world beater, he was one of the most awful players inside last year. Yes, he has played much better this year and shot a little better, but that is against teams with not great inside players. Wait until the Big East and he comes back down to earth. I do agree with Ricky that Fields isn’t a pressure the ball type player, neither is he a very good defender period. I just don’t think Reynolds is good enough to carry the team with a mismatch at that spot. Although, Pitt does have some young players who can pressure more, they have been doing some of this this year, along with trapping. I think its a nice changeup.

Comment by Ontario Lett 's Go Pitt 12.10.08 @ 10:16 pm

Omar — nice. You’re already taking the bait and Pitt hasn’t even played a pre-Big East game.

Get real. Your inability to give other teams their due is funny; Texas is obviously very good.

My guess is there are really good teams all around the country, maybe with stud players that you don’t know about, and we’ll find about all those players in Feb/March. All the hype (including Pitt) is BS. Let’s see who lives up to the hype. Right now it’s all BS!!!!!!!

Comment by ricky jackson 12.11.08 @ 1:55 am

I am agreeing with Omar because of where I believe the teams are at at this point in the season. Off all of the games I have seen, Pitt is one of the most impressive teams I have watched at this stage. Top 25: UNC is flat out head and shoulders above the rest. UConn doesn’t look to have it all together, no doubt they will by the end of the year. I think Gonzaga is pretty impressive. Oklahoma aside from Griffin doesn’t impress me at all and unless Blair would get in foul trouble right now I think Pitt could handle. I have not been very impressed with Texas as apparently Omar has not either. They look to have good athletes and can defend but I don’t feel like a great team right now. I think Duke is a solid squad lacking physicality. We match up well with them as we did last year. Tennessee I have not seen play. Xavier I think is impressive actually. Louisville is Louisville and has a ton of talent, but it its not all together now. Wake is talented but young and at this point are a little shaky when I have seen them. Nova I think is unimpressive. ND looks good, but with no Harangody struggles (they will be a very tough matchup and tough out because of how they shoot). UCLA, Memphis, Syracuse, and Purdue don’t really impress me at this point. They all lack in one major area, whether its inside play, offense in general, or team cohesion. (Devendorf I believe was just suspended for his incident. I actually believe this will help the Cuse, when they played Kansas he was killing them with selfish play, turnovers, and missed shots). I’m not going through the rest of the way, but since I have seen almost every team play thus far, I thought I’d give my two cents. Yes, I realize Pitt has played nobody, but I believe that at this point in the season they look much better and further along than almost every team from the top 25 above. Now, this means nothing as to where the season will go, UCONN many times looks sloppy, and then get it together. Some young teams, like Wake I think will get it together. I have to agree with Omar at this point though in the fact that the Big 12 teams don’t really impress me at this point neither does Nova. But, I think Texas can and will get a lot better. At this point I give Pitt an edge. Come tournament time its best to be playing your best basketball in March, not December. Hopefully Pitt can build on where they are at so that they don’t find themselves one and done.

Comment by Ontario Lett 's Go Pitt 12.11.08 @ 9:31 am

You can believe the hype about Texas. When your first offensive option is a 5’8″ shooting guard who shoots 30 times a game and his name isn’t Stephen Curry you aren’t going to do a thing in March. Book it. AJ Abrams ain’t Allen Iverson regardless of what he, or Rick Barnes, may believe. The arm sleave isn’t going to make it true ricky jackson. Jermaine Dixon would put that kid to sleep. Problem is he would still shoot it 25 times and when that happens you get an L.

Comment by Omar 12.11.08 @ 10:02 am

I watch more college basketball than anyone I know. UNC looks good (i don’t think they are the 1990 UNLV Runnin Rebels though), UCONN doesn’t but has the talent, Louisville always loses to some crap team early and comes on late, Michigan State is awful right now, UCLA is struggling, Notre Dame needs to learn that defense counts too, Nova needs to run an offense, Cuse has the talent to make it happen, Purdue will get better, Duke is okay but sorely need a bruiser, Gonzaga is decent and their conference is a lot better and that should help them later in the year, Tennesses isn’t for me (i hate the way they play), Xavier is a nice team and well coached (remind me of Pitt a few years ago). Who else? Pitt can play with every team just mentioned. They would beat most of them and can definitely make it a game with UNC.

Comment by Omar 12.11.08 @ 10:08 am

I hate say it but we need time before we hang with UNC. We are certainly in the top 5 though.

Comment by Wally 12.11.08 @ 12:19 pm

UNC is very scary. There are 4 guys that could be playing in the NBA right now starting for that team. They are incredibly talented, well coached, motivated and on top of that they’re pretty deep.

Aside from them, I think Pitt is just as good as or better than any team in the land.

I do disagree on one point with some of the comments above and that is Texas. I’ve seen them play probably about 5 times this year now and I think they are incredibly athletic, big and play with great intensity. Additionally, they’ve played a pretty tough schedule so far and have come out with some nice wins. I think they deserve more credit. Abrams is very, very good and capable of carrying that team. While I don’t think J. Dixon would necessarily “put him to sleep” I like to think that if Pitt were to matchup with Texas we could do a better job on him than any defense has to date. You can’t deny he can stroke it though.

I like where Pitt is right now. Stay healthy and stay out of foul trouble and we’ll be in good shape come March.

Comment by TJ 12.11.08 @ 1:15 pm

Texas is okay, but I am not an Abrams fan at all. If Barnes can’t get past the second round with Kevin Durant, then good luck trying to run the same offense but with AJ Abrams instead. Ain’t gonna happen. James is their best player and Rick Barnes needs to realize that before they are a real contender.

Comment by Omar 12.11.08 @ 2:56 pm

I hear ya, but I think this is a better all-around team than the Durant team.

Comment by TJ 12.11.08 @ 2:58 pm

Guessing about teams as they play their early season schedules and deciding Pitt would beat all of them is meaningless……….and so are the rankings at this point.

It’s early…..teams are finding their rotations and so many young players contribute nowadays that it’s pretty tough to forecast from Nov/Dec to March/April. Half of the teams you mentioned depend substantially on freshmen and sophomores, and the way those kids play will change appreciably between now and tournament time.

Dixon won’t let Pitt play anybody in the non-conf, so we don’t even know how Pitt would fare against a Top 25 type team, much less a Top 5 type team.

And this Texas team is way better than Durant’s squad. They’ve got size and depth inside, Mason is dependable and Omar is right about how good James is.

I am glad Pitt is an upperclassman-dominated team, so at least we pretty much know what we’re getting and won’t have to wait much into the conference season to see what we’ve got like a lot of these teams will.

Comment by ricky jackson 12.11.08 @ 4:04 pm

as far as i’ve seen it, no one will play Pitt in the non-con… Weren’t we having rumors of playing memphis in the garden this year. That didn’t happen. Dixon has gone on record saying he likes to play the top tier mid-major teams that no one else will play, because it presents a challenge and looks bad if you lose. I’m willing to bet that Dixon would of gladly taken ND’s spot in the Maui invitational, and we would of seen early what this team could truly be

Comment by ryan 12.11.08 @ 8:30 pm

This isn’t 2002. Pitt plays a decent non-con and has for the last few years. This season is a little less stringent, but why kill yourself at this point. Pitt plays underclassmen ricky. Does the name Dejuan Blair mean anything to you? The first guy off the bench is a sophmore and then another sophmore. Two freshman see meaningful minutes as well.

This is a different Pitt team then the ones you are used to. Watch them play a few more times and you will see.

Comment by Omar 12.11.08 @ 8:43 pm

Yeah, this Texas squad is way better than Durant’s squad from two years ago? That team had Abrams, Durant and a kid named DJ Augustine (I think he was the 10th pick in the 2008 draft). Don’t be ridiculous. They should have made it past the second round. Rick Barnes is suspect as a coach. Durant’s team is head and shoulders better than this squad. That team also had a couple of big white dudes who ate up space too.

Comment by Omar 12.11.08 @ 8:46 pm

Saying Dixon won’t let Pitt play any tough teams is false. Ryan is right. Nobody wants to play Pitt is the truth of the matter. Dixon has said that they went to every major program to get a contest at the Garden, ESPN was all set for it, but nobody wanted in. Also, Pitt was originally supposed to be in the Coaches vs. Cancer classic, but then were magically bounced, b/c they wanted to “assure” a UCLA/DUKE final…which didn’t even happen. I think Coach K had no interest in playing Pitt at the garden again and told the Coaches vs. Cancer people that if Pitt was in they were out. Duke is such a big draw in NYC that they could have power in this. I mean wouldn’t it make sense for the people running the tourney to bring in money by having 3 top 10 teams, not just two. So Pitt got bounced. Those were two scenarios where Dixon wanted to play major programs. (Although one note, I know Dixon doesn’t have interest in the tourney’s in Hawaii b/c he wants a chance to play in front of the NY/NJ crowd because they recruit so heavily there. It also gives a lot of his kids a chance to be home for Thanksgiving.) But, I really don’t think they are afraid to play anybody.

Comment by Ontario Lett 's Go Pitt 12.12.08 @ 1:41 am

Interesting that Pitt, certainly a respected but not exactly a household name when it comes to national programs, is the one team nobody will play.

It doesn’t really matter much because the BE season will be plenty tough to battle-test Dixon’s squad. It would be nice to see how they measure up in the pre-conf season, but I’m actually not too worried about that, mostly because we pretty much know how Pitt will play because of the reasons I’ve already mentioned. I only feel bad for the season tkt holders (I hear it from all my buddies) who have to go to the Vermont-type games. Everybody’s psyched to see UMBC this weekend.

Nobody said Pitt doesn’t play underclassmen……that would be impossible in today’s college hoops. They will still get their leadership (and most of their big hoops) from Fields and Young.

On Texas……..college hoops isn’t always about big names and NBA draft positions. Chemistry, balance and ego matter. Durant’s team was ugly to watch — Augustine dribbled around most of the time and Durant took plenty of questionable shots. This year’s team, so far, looks more balanced. Let’s just wait and let the results answer the question. Or I guess we could just take your word for it and not play the games………what the heck, let’s play the season out.

Comment by ricky jackson 12.12.08 @ 11:37 am

Kolby Gray, this HS FB Season, ran for just over 1,000 yards and passed for more than 1,400 yards. I’d say that is reason to be excited if if he commits to Pitt.

Comment by HbgFrank 12.12.08 @ 12:45 pm

Pitt has been in the top-10 every season for 7 freaking years. They are certainly a household name. Ricky you have a very negative view of things.

I forgot to mention that Damian James was on that Texas squad too. Don’t give me this bull about chemistry and cohesion. If Barnes was even a mediocre coach, then Texas should have been in the sweet 16. That team was far better than the Texas team you are fawning over now. We will let the season play out, and unless Texas somehow gets a #1 seed, then it says here that they aren’t getting out of the first weekend.

Comment by Omar 12.12.08 @ 3:08 pm

You mentioned upperclassmen and no NBA talent nonsense when it comes to Pitt as a negative. And then you mention chemistry and experience and lack of NBA talent as a positive for Texas. Tell me ricky, which is it?

Comment by Omar 12.12.08 @ 3:15 pm

When fans across the country think of college hoops, they don’t think of Pitt. They think of Duke, UNC, Kansas and UCLA. Howland and Dixon have built a strong foundation and the profile is rising, but 7 yrs does not a household name make.

I didn’t mention anything about no NBA talent and Pitt. You might want to read a bit closer or figure out who said what before posting.

And I mentioned upperclassmen as a positive.

It was fun arguing when I thought you were lucid. I’m not even sure you’re able to follow the logic in the threads at this point.

Comment by ricky jackson 12.12.08 @ 5:44 pm

Agree with Ricky. As outstanding as we have been the past 8 years or so it takes more than being ranked in the top ten to be put in the category with the Dukes, UNCs, UCLAs and Kentuckys (yes, i know we are probably better than every single one of those teams with the exception of maybe UNC).

In my opinion it takes 2 things to get to that point. 1. success in the tournament, either winning national championships or making the final 4 and 2. tradition.

Unfortunately, we haven’t had great success in the tournament, let’s hope things are different this year. As far as tradition goes, Howland and mostly Dixon have done an amazing job building a real basketball program. The tradition will come.

Comment by TJ 12.12.08 @ 5:57 pm

I didn’t say Pitt is a household name, but basketball fans know who they are. My point is Texas is know better than Pitt.

Comment by Omar 12.12.08 @ 7:44 pm

I didn’t say Pitt is a household name, but basketball fans know who they are. My point is Texas is no better than Pitt.

Comment by Omar 12.12.08 @ 7:44 pm

Pitt is a household name. They have like the 5th best record in the country of the past 7 years. That makes you a household name. Yes, they don’t have the tradition of Duke UNC or KU, and they never will quite frankly. That was built decades ago. But to say Pitt is not a household name currently is absurd. Yes it’s not one of college basketball’s storied programs, but with how much exposure they get, along with being the winningest program in the BE which is the toughest conference currently that makes you a household name.

Comment by Ontario Lett 's Go Pitt 12.12.08 @ 10:03 pm

Winningest in the Big east during that stretch of time I meant.

Comment by Ontario Lett 's Go Pitt 12.12.08 @ 10:07 pm

I meant to say Pitt is not equivalent with Duke, UNC, Kansas or UCLA but they are definitely a “household” name to the folks who follow college basketball.

ricky I have enjoyed your argument as well, but it has gotten a little ridiculous. Texas is a nice team, but they are not even in a coversation with UNC or UCONN for that matter. Watch the games and you will see.

Comment by Omar 12.13.08 @ 1:21 am

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