I know, football practices start in a couple days. But I have to do this one first, because it’s been turning over in my head for a while and then there was  great piece in The Athletic yesterday that put a bit of a bow on it.

Over last summer and fall, there were some pieces about the rebuild for Pitt under Jeff Capel. The stressed point was that the wins probably weren’t going to be there. The key was to see improvement.

With all of the potential difficulties this team may encounter, fans may wonder exactly what they should want from Capel’s first season as coach.

The answer is relatively simple. Pitt fans should just expect growth and improvement. They should root for a team that is tough, competitive and getting better each week, crafting the foundation of a culture that will pay off down the road.

I thought that was about right — even if changing/creating/crafting a “culture” is kind of a stock thing when a new coach takes over — for expectations. Maybe a few more wins in ACC play was presumed, but the season was about what could be expected.

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12 pm.

Raycom affiliate syndication.

If you haven’t read the piece on Jared Wilson-Frame, by Craig Meyer, then skip this post and just read that. JWF’s story is a something and sets out some of why and how he to bounce around a bit before getting to Pitt.

Wilson-Frame had the unfortunate timing to be forced to be a focal point on a bad team. In an ideal world, he would be a major rotation player that stretches the floor with his shooting and takes some of the pressure off the primaries.

Instead, on teams that lacked depth, maturity and talent; Wilson-Frame had to shoulder a much larger role. He embraced the leadership aspects in his two years at Pitt; and has done as much as possible on the court.

Jared Wilson-Frame won’t be listed as one of the greats for Pitt basketball; but he should be considered one of the best representatives we could want to have of the University of Pittsburgh.

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8pm.

Slight Raycom syndication or ACC NE/WatchESPN.

Hey, at least Virginia didn’t do to Pitt what it did to Syracuse last night. Yeesh, that second half bordered on obscene.

I dunno, should I just talk about spring football practice instead?

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2pm.

Raycom syndication (almost over. Almost. Over.) or ACC NE/WatchESPN.

There’s always a chance. That’s part of the appeal of sports. And of course, this is UVa. The team that kind-of-sort-of is the object lesson in that with their achievement in being the first #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to lose to a #16 seed. Something that will likely never die (because the rest of the ACC will never, ever let them forget it.).

Still…

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7pm.

Some RSNs.

Been a day. Let’s stick to sports for a couple hours.

Luck in sports statistics is essentially the deviation of wins and losses from the numbers. So a team that wins a lot of close games is considered lucky and a team that loses a lot of close games is unlucky.

Of course, nothing is ever that simple. We like to ascribe characteristics to the teams. The ones that constantly win close games aren’t simply lucky (unless we hate them). No, they are veterans, gritty or just “know how to win.” Teams that are constantly on the other side of the coin are too young, or soft, or have a culture of losing.

Well, your cliche may vary.

Needless to say, Pitt has been in a lot of close games and ended up on the losing end of a lot of them. To the point where Pitt is close to the very bottom of all D-1 teams in terms of “luck.”

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9 pm.

RSNs and ACC NE/WatchESPN.

GT isn’t good. Their head coach has regrets about ghosting Xavier Johnson. But, Pitt is on the road, where; beyond not winning a game in a couple years, has looked really bad to boot. So, who knows tonight.

I’ve seen and read some talk about how this season is more frustrating then last season because Pitt has had more shoulda/coulda/woulda games that were losses rather then wins.

Bullshit.

Absolute and utter bullshit.

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4:30 pm

Various RSNs (including YES, NESN AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh) or ACC NE/WatchESPN.

Even though Pitt has lost three straight to VT. Even though Buzz Williams has done a solid job of building the Hokies out of wreckage into a top-25 team. A team built to sustain success with solid recruiting and development. It is still weird to think of VT as a good basketball team.

Basically they are what Pitt once was.

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2 pm.

Raycom affiliates (if lucky). Otherwise ACC NE/WatchESPN.

This is a “blackout” game so cue up the outrage over the variant unis.

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6pm.

ESPN2.

Home game and Pitt is wearing retro (soon to be the regular) unis.

After getting absolutely destroyed by Clemson this past week, Pitt is going to look to play a little more defense and hope that their opponent doesn’t shoot 3s at a level they had not done the entire season.

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9pm

ESPNU.

Pitt has yet to win a conference road game and it now stretches back to February 8, 2017 at Boston College. That’s 15 straight conference road losses. 1-21 over the last 2+ seasons.

No pressure.

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I didn’t get to watch the Louisville game this past weekend. Instead it was spent at a Boy Scout weekend “Klondike.” As I stood there early that Saturday morning. In 10 degree weather, contemplating the snow that was falling and just how cold I was. There was that realization that just a few degrees can be the difference between the quiet, picturesque beauty of a light snowfall in the forest; and really fucking miserable, cold, bone-soaking drizzle.

It’s not the neatest metaphor for where Pitt basketball is at the moment, but I’m still waiting to get feeling back in my toes.

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9pm.

ESPN.

Big night at the Pete. There may be some subplots that will get cliched into the ground during the broadcast.

I want to say that Pitt will win, but that isn’t realistic. I would like to say that Pitt can win, and while true, is not something I really believe.

Does that mean I won’t hope? That I won’t let irrational excitement overwhelm if Pitt keeps it close? If they come out hot? I’ll be as delusional as I want to be. Hell, I’ll probably have a dark period where I’ll start “what if/if only”-ing the game.

That’s the joy of being a fan. Of what this team has done this year. They have so far to go, but they have moved so far beyond what we saw last year; that I can sort of believe. That there is hope.

Let’s have some fun tonight.

2pm.

Some RSNs, especially on the East Coast. Otherwise, ACC NE/WatchESPN.

Even if Pitt wasn’t 2-2 in the ACC. And instead was 1-3 or even 0-4, I would be thrilled with what I’m seeing from the team and the direction they are heading. The actually winning ACC games makes it easy to love this team and this coaching staff; but what stands out for me is the visible improvements, the adjustments and growth, from game-to-game.

Pitt started ACC play with a complete and utter beatdown at the hands of UNC. The Tarheels forced Pitt outside and the defense — zone, a bit of packline and soft man-to-man that kept the Pitt guards from getting directly to the rim. Knowing Pitt is not a consistently good outside shooting team.

So, what happened the next game? Against Louisville, Pitt was relentless about attacking the basket. There was not nearly so much settling for outside shots. The Panthers kept attacking and it forced the officials to make foul calls. Pitt set the tone the entire way for that game.

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7pm.

ESPNU

When the hope is that Pitt might have a chance because FSU had a quick turnaround from Saturday with a heartbreaking loss to Duke and then a road trip. That’s not much to peg the hopes upon.

Now if you just wanted to say, it’s a Leonard Hamilton team and history has shown they can lose to anyone. Then we’re talking.

FSU is a very talented team — which is something frequently said about Leonard Hamilton teams, but rarely much else. And they are big. They are one of the bigger teams nationally. They have a 7-4 player coming off the bench. Their leading scorer, Mfiondu Kabengele, is 6-10 and averages under 20 minutes a game to get there. They have big men who kind of have to be drooling a little bit after seeing what Funderburk for NC State did. To say nothing of Enoch for Louisville.

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12 pm.

Raycom Network affiliates or ACC DN/WatchESPN.

A little annoyed that the actual Raycom owned station in the Cleveland is opting for Virginia-Clemson for reasons that escape me.

This NC State team is actually good? It seems so strange to type that. I mean we’ve seen bad NC State teams. We’ve seen very talented NC State teams. But a very good NC State team? One that is well-coached, talented and focused? That escapes my memory.

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