Last weekend when Vanderbuilt upset Florida in that wacko gym they have down there in Neashville, the fans rushed the court. I didn’t have a huge problem with it and still don’t, even though the media promptly took some shots at the Vandy students; it really hurt that the SEC has a rule against it and therefore they cost the athletic department some money. Vandy isn’t a horrible team (the win was enough to propel them into the Top 25) but it’s not everyday that you defeat the current #1 and defending champion team.

Then on Tuesday, the Michigan State fans stormed the court after #1/2 Wisconsin went down. More people voiced their displeasure.

Finally, yesterday’#1 vs. #1 (sort of) game went down in Columbus. Ohio State beat Wisconsin by one point in a good game that came down to the final shot — and the fans ran out onto the court. To be honest, it was a lazy “should we or should we not” court rushing but it still happened. And it wasn’t like a few dozen dumb kids ran out. There were plenty of people who decided to do it.

Bottom line: Pitt fans, never rush the court. Never. Ever. Over the last eight years, we’ve become one of the best basketball programs in the nation. At some point (speaking in a matter of years, not anytime soon) we won’t be in the Top 25 but if, during that time, we beat a team like UConn or Syracuse that is ranked #1, it is still not enough to rush the court. Thankfully it hasn’t happened during this eight year period because our fans aren’t stupid enough, so let’s keep it that way.

Kevan Barlow, former Pitt running back and local high school player, is out of a job and maybe out of football for good. His season was u-g-l-y.

Kevan Barlow‘s tenure as the successor to Curtis Martin lasted a season.

The New York Jets released the veteran running back yesterday after the least-productive season of Barlow’s career. He ran for a career-low 370 yards — third on the team — and averaged just 2.8 yards per carry.

Barlow, a former Pitt and Peabody High School player, was acquired from San Francisco in August to jump-start a running game that was without an injured Martin. Instead, rookie Leon Washington emerged as a prime playmaker and second-year back Cedric Houston got lots of playing time late in the season.

Barlow started just three of the 12 games he played in for the Jets, although he led the team with six rushing touchdowns.

If you’ll recall, on his way out the door in San Fransisco, he lashed out against his coach and did it Nazi style.

“He walks around with a chip on his shoulder, like he’s a dictator, like he’s Hitler,” Barlow said after he was traded. “People are scared of him. If it ain’t Nolan’s way, it’s the highway.”

Imagine if he ever said that about Wannstedt. Looking at some recent discipline for a perspective on this, I think it’s safe to say that it doesn’t matter if Barlow was across the world — Wanny would find him and punish him with an iron brass knuckled fist.

(Much credit to Mondesi’s House for the links.)

By the way, I can’t help but feel very excited for the game on Saturday against Georgetown. It should be a good one.

Tommie Campbell — the only returning starting linebacker for Pitt — has been suspended indefinitely. According to Dokish, he could be done for good. The obvious cliche, is that this is a developing situation. Speculation can continue to run rampant.
I don’t have any knowledge as to why or what. The reasonable deduction with the suspension coming in the off-season is either relating to academics or to the off-season conditioning program. These days, that’s the good news — since there are no police blotter reports at this time.
I’m leaning towards the off-season conditioning  issue at the moment — just on gut. Not that Coach Wannstedt would slack on the academic side, but I’m not sure he would suspend him like this for that sort of issue. An indefinite suspension this vague suggests more that Campbell took less than an eager approach to workouts and conditioning. As much as Wannstedt is a postive, “players” coach who won’t publicly speak ill of any of the players; he does expect it to go both ways and know they are willing to give as much back to the team.

Pitt was somehow able to overcome this last week. The fat guy dancing during a timeout down in Morgantown as previously mentioned. If I may quote myself…

Thankfully there were no pictures to accompany this story.

Instead we get a full video. Just grand.

Click here to see a fat man do some dancin’.

And take notice how many people put up a backwards “C”.

Rule 3-2-5-e is one you’ve heard of but it’s almost gone after one year. It’s the one that was used by Wisconsin to make JoePa mad. The one that almost no fan, player, or coach liked. The one that said the clock starts on the ref’s whistle, not the snap on a change of possession. On kickoffs, the clock started once the kicker booted it.

Now a committee who finally used their brains decided it might be time to rework that.

“The changes we made last year, overall, did not have a positive effect on college football at all levels,” said Michael Clark, chair of the committee and head coach at Bridgewater (Virginia) College. “Our charge is to protect the game and do what is best for college football.”

The main rules will be returned to their norm from 2005 however the “new and improved” rules are things like this.

Encourage coaches, officials, game management personnel, media partners to manage the game in a more efficient manner.

Woo, I’m down for that.

And as I mentioned that Carl Krauser was missed as a leader, look at who pumps us up before games now: Austin Wallace! Actually, it says that Marcus Bowman did the same job last year, but still, you need someone who actually plays to keep a team pumped up. A red shirt sitting on the end of the bench during the game does not seem like the best leader to have.

Levance, next year you’ll be a junior. Graves, Gray and Kendall will be gone. Please, please, please step up on the court and lead this team; this means both vocally and with your actions. I don’t care if you’re not the one in the middle of the pregame circle but do it when it matters.

I missed this on Monday, and that was probably for the best, but Gray got some love at SI.com.

The most attention Pitt 7-footer Aaron Gray gets comes from opposing coaches. So why isn’t the Big East preseason Player of the Year, who averages 15 points and 10 rebounds, getting the attention of other centers like, say, Greg Oden? Gray’s game may not be aesthetically pleasing, but there’s no denying he’s consistent. And so much of what he does doesn’t translate to the stat sheet. His drawing of double teams allows Ronald Ramon, Levance Fields, Antonio Graves and Sam Young to get open for threes and he gives the Panthers unparalleled experience in the paint. The knock against Gray is he can’t hit free throws (58.5 percent on the season) and he hasn’t improved to the level many expected when he turned down NBA riches to return to Pittsburgh for one final season. But on Saturday against Providence he showed the heady and dependable play that makes him so dangerous. With the Panthers trailing, Gray picked up his third foul with 16:01 to play, but coach Jamie Dixon kept Gray in the game. Gray responded with one of his most effective halves of the season. He played all but three minutes and scored 13 of his 22 points to put Pitt ahead before leaving after a hard fall with 2:37 remaining. The problem with Gray is everyone expects more and his dependable play has gone underappreciated.

Interesting observation about Dixon taking Gray out of the game with foul trouble.

Q: How much is a star player actually worth to his team?

A: To be revealed later this week. But based on the data I have, I found it interesting when Jamie Dixon went to the coaches playbook and pulled Aaron Gray after he picked up his 4th foul against Louisville last night. Sure, Pitt was down by 15 to Louisville, and the game was slipping away anyway. But there was just over 14 minutes remaining, and at that moment, Jamie Dixon conceded a loss.

Mixed feelings. I get what Pomeroy is saying. It was a conservative, safe move. But since Pitt needed him to get to the point where he would matter, there was just as much support to leave him in the game.

This is about as close as Jamie Dixon has ever come to questioning his players performance publicly.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said he still doesn’t understand why his team acted as if they hadn’t seen a zone before when Louisville zoned the Panthers in beating them Monday night at the Petersen Center. Pitt played well against Syracuse’s zone but was befuddled by Louisville. As expected, Dixon said when Derrick Caracter plays well for Louisville that changes their dynamic inside because of his ability to take away some attention from David Padgett.

I know this has been hashed, and re-hashed, but it is a good question. Maybe it was the higher level of athleticism, but Pitt really struggled to create the spacing on the court. Zones haven’t really been a big problem most of the year for Pitt.

Seth Davis at SI.com had a listing of seeds and still had Pitt as a #2 seed.

Elsewhere, I might have bumped Pitt down to a No. 3 after getting shellacked at home by a surging Louisville squad, but the teams on my three line still haven’t done enough to move up. (Marquette, which won at Pitt, would have been an easy choice if it hasn’t lost badly at Georgetown.)

And that was before Tuesday night’s activities. Not to mention on Wednesday with Marquette losing to DePaul.

For whatever it’s worth (and it is of questionable value), Dick Vitale lists some of the future great coaches of college basketball and includes Jamie Dixon in the list along with John Thompson III, Tony Bennett, Sean Sutton and Billy Gillispie.

Dixon, in his own style, has created something special with his players. His Panthers understand how to play on both ends. The only gap on the résumé is the team’s inability to get past the Sweet 16.

Something tells me this squad is ready to make a serious run this year. Pitt has a terrific combination in Levance Fields, a real creator, and the big guy in the middle in 7-foot Aaron Gray. I suspect this team will bring a smile to the Pitt cheering section known as the “Oakland Zoo.”

That would be nice.

Now when WVU comes to the Pete, no gay slurs. Get creative with the insults, but keep it classy.
I have to admit, that I was wondering what exactly the Hoopies were screaming at Aaron Gray. No one wanted to actually say it. I suppose I was expecting something relating a little more to Deliverance. You know, something about making him squeal like a pig or such. Nope not even that original apparently.

On Wednesday night, while the Mountaineers were losing to Pitt, students chanted ”Gray’s a faggot” at Aaron Gray.

Yeah, that’s effective.

I have some theories about Pitt fans and the basketball team. I don’t think Pitt fans are unreasonable, overly negative or anything like that. I’m also hesitant to speak in blanket terms — especially in the immediate aftermath of a bad loss, I generally like to give a 24-hour “getting over it” period. But after the comments here and on the message boards I have to write something. The lack of perspective sometimes gets disturbing.

I think, more and more, that Pitt fans treat the basketball season as a football season. It’s kind of natural. Pittsburgh is a football town, and it’s the mentality. Where every loss is the end of it all. All hope for significant post-season is lost. That all flaws are permanently exposed and will be exploited without doubt from here-on out. That the team is doomed to early failure — again.

The basketball season isn’t like that. There are going to be bad nights, regardless of the talent or the coach. (Hell, ask UConn. There are going to be bad years.) There are going to be nights where the shots don’t fall, the team comes out flat. The energy, somehow, someway is inexplicably lacking.
There are also going to be nights where the other team comes out and does everything right. Where they have so much more energy and their execution is flawless and the ball hits right for them.

There aren’t many teams that can do what Louisville did last night for even a little while, never mind a complete game. Louisville hadn’t done it all season. It’s a team that a week ago lost to Villanova and Georgetown — teams Pitt had previously beaten. Pitino is a Hall of Fame coach with great talent and his team lost at home to Dayton and UMass this year.

Pitt has put away WVU in Morgantown by 13. No other team has beaten the ‘Eers in Morgantown this year. Pitt has beaten DePaul in Illinois where the same Blue Demons beat Kansas, and the Jayhawks also lost to Oral Roberts. Pitt lost to Marquette who lost to ND State and fell at home to Syracuse by 12.

I know that some of the anxiety is all about the NCAA Tournament and the seeding. I understand. I was the one who got annoyed over a mock bracket and the assumptions that led Pitt to being a 3 seed. In a mock bracket. The seeding helps in getting the weaker teams to move closer to the Sweet 16 and hopefully beyond. It is also the prestige issue of seeing Pitt on the #2 or even #3 line.

Yes, I know there are bad match-ups teams that will just make things more difficult to play. Or schemes that will give Pitt problems. That will be there regardless of the seed, though.

The thing is, Pitt could still go out in the first or second round. And you know, so could just about every team listed in the top-25. The #1 seeds may almost be set in my mind, but the field is just unpredictable. This Tournament may not have a George Mason but the difference between the 2 seeds and the 9 seeds seem smaller than ever. Even the 1 seeds don’t look that far superior. It just takes one bad game, or one really spectacular game. Regardless of the talent, the system and the coach.

Sam Young is our best player with the ball in his hands driving to the hoop. I’ll take Young through the lane as much as anyone else in the country. 21 points on 10-12 shooting (with one awesome alley-oop thrown into that mix) adding 7 bounds and one rejection.
So after a great game to beat a rival, let’s hear what Sam had to say.

Young refused to speak with reporters after the game. He brushed past a media throng on his way to the bus not uttering a word.

Not a big deal though. I’m sure it would be a few cliche-filled sentences that wouldn’t make me think twice anyways. Levon Kendall spoke kindly of Young’s game however.

“Sam played big all night,” Kendall said. “Things were going his way, for sure. (His 3-pointer) really slowed the momentum down. They made their run, and he stepped up and knocked it down, and that kind of took the wind out of their sails.”

You didn’t need to have a PhD. in hoops to see where WVU struggled last night.

First was the shooting and their inability to connect from deep. Only hitting on 6-28 from three point range was their killer; most of the shots were bricks hitting part glass-part rim and never hitting the bottom of the net.

They also missed the target in the entertainment department.

Also what is the deal with the morbidly obese student that they drag out during timeouts to rile up the crowd? Is it funny in Morgantown to be on the fast track to heart disease at 19? I’m being legitimately serious, we may not be the classiest student section ever but how does the athletic department let that happen.

Thankfully there were no pictures to accompany this story.

If you need more reactions, glance over the liveblog Chas posted and his thoughts over at the AOL FanHouse.

You know, it’s a good thing I slacked off on some articles the past week. Otherwise, I’d be really desperate for something to write.

Unbelievably bad scheduling by the Big East with this break. Way to ice the highest ranked team in the conference. I know Coach Dixon will publicly say all the positive things and how they planned for it. The players will say the good things. I’m not buying. To start conference play 8-1, and then have a week plus layoff before a road game against a big rival. That’s not a good thing. Mike DeCourcy doesn’t even convince me of this.

Visiting the Mountaineers always is a chore for Pitt, and later in the month there will be trips to Georgetown (Feb. 24) and Marquette (March 7). That’s why the next week is such an advantage. There is the danger the Panthers could get stale during that period, but this is a team that wins on execution and not unbridled emotion.

It’s hard to get by purely on momentum in the Big East, anyway. It sometimes seems nearly every team has its own defensive gimmick. There are conferences where everybody is playing man-to-man, and teams in those leagues can be at a disadvantage if they face some sort of zone upon reaching the NCAA Tournament. Surviving the Big East means getting through the 2-3 zones Syracuse and Providence have been using for years, along with WVU’s complex 1-3-1 scheme and now Villanova’s matchup. Louisville and Cincinnati play a lot of zone, as well.

So each game is its own unique challenge. A little bit of time to think about all that, to rest and to heal, will serve the Panthers well. It’s not a vacation, but it’s a break in more ways than one.

I’m not worried about the emotion. I’m worried about the rust. In conference road games at Syracuse, DePaul and Villanova; Pitt got off to slow, disjointed starts. This was without a week to not play real games. WVU is undefeated at home and it’s the one place where they look really impressive. Pitt has historically struggled at the concrete toadstool, so that is little comfort.

No sir, I just don’t like it.

Hey, not only will Pitt be on Gameday, the newest promotional gimmick will be on display. Oh, not thundersticks, or something loud and annoying things like that. They are a different kind of annoying. The “Rollabana.”

Basically, it is a handheld, roll-up banner. You grab each end, pull and then wave the banner with both hands. Release and it conveniently rolls back.

Judging by the Rollabana website, I’m guessing it has been in Europe for a while and just started hitting the US in ’06. Starting with some baseball teams. The US distributor of the product doesn’t have much of a site, but they do have a message.

Be sure to be “crazed.”

Tonight is the beginning of a totally new season. Conference play is much different from non-con games. You see the teams a lot over the years, know the players, start rivalries, and grow to hate the coaches. (Actually in the case of Boeheim and Calhoun it took about 25 seconds.)

For a team in Pitt’s position, it’s even better to come to the beginning of the “second season”. Losing both of our tougher games, and having them both be rather recent losses too, could only call for a remedy like starting over. As of now, we have a 0-0 record and the players have to enjoy that. I can only hope they won’t let it slip to 0-1 tonight.

Syracuse is excited and it’s hard to not be; hosting a pretty beatable Top 10 team in your own dome is something that doesn’t come around every week.

“It’s the Big East,” Syracuse senior forward Demetris Nichols said. “You know you’re playing the top teams in the country. If you’re not excited to play this game, you shouldn’t be playing.”

(Quote from The Syracuse Post-Standard)

There’s also a discrepancy between number of possessions each team averages per game. We average in the low 60’s per game while the Orangemen average somewhere in the low 70’s. The winning team is likely going to be the one that forces the other to to play a different pace than usual.

If I may also add a little about B.E. foe West Virginia: during the Gator Bowl on New Years Day while the Georgia Tech band was performing on the field, a Mountaineer fan took a little bathroom break…

…in the GT band section. Photographic evidence can be found here. I’m frightened to think that when they say “S*** on Pitt” they might actually be serious.

Remember when Pitt made a run for Luis Colon out of Miami? Instead his AAU coach steered him to his good buddy Bob Huggins. Guess, we know why. He fit the system there a little better.

Kansas State freshman basketball player Luis Colon received an automatic one-game suspension for throwing a punch Wednesday in a game against California in Berkeley, Calif.

The suspension is Big12-mandated. So Colon, who is 6-10, won’t play Saturday when the Wildcats play against Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colo. Colon was ejected with 6 minutes, 39 seconds left in K-State’s 78-48 loss. He threw the punch at Golden Bears’ 6-10 freshman Taylor Harrison.

“Luis actions last night are inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” K-State coach Bob Huggins said in a prepared statement. “This is a tough game, and you have to be mature and maintain your emotions. Luis understands that he made a mistake and there are consequences for his actions. This cannot happen again.”

If it does happen again, the Big 12 has him done for the season.

Huggy-bear made Colon go the Cal lockerroom after the game and apologize directly. K-State lost the game 74-48

Let’s thank Paul Zeise in his latest Q&A for resolving a story I and many others had fallen for regarding the script Pitt logo.

Q: Who owns the trademark to the Pitt script and thus gets the royalties from sales of merchandise bearing it — the University or the athletic department?

ZEISE: Well, it took me less time to read the Old Testament than this question, which I believed I paraphrased to what the fundamental issue is — to settle a long running debate between two factions of Pitt fans regarding why Pitt does not go back to the script. I forwarded this question to the marketing guru of Pitt, Chris Ferris, because I have no idea why this issue is causing such a stir. Anyway, the response I got was very thorough but also complex (which I would expect because Chris has forgotten more about the marketing industry than most people will ever know), but again doing my best to paraphrase it: (1) the Athletic Department gets the royalties from all sales of Pitt script stuff and in fact already sells the stuff online and in the university stores, so it currently is reaping the benefits from sales of it. (2) Because of that, it is an incorrect theory/ assumption that the reason Pitt won’t go back to it is because the university owns the trademark and thus the athletic department wouldn’t be able to benefit from the merchandising of it. That’s just not true. (3) (And this is the marketing guy spin, not mine, so e-mail them to argue, not me) Pitt is now ranked 37th out of 118 schools in the Collegiate Licensing Company Consortium — a few years back (presumably when script was it) Pitt was not even ranked. Apparently that’s all due to the logo changes and not because Pitt from 2000-05 had a top 15 basketball team and a very successful football program, whereas the Panthers pretty much stunk the joint up in both sports during the 1990’s.

But there you have it, hopefully this answer has settled the dispute in a peaceful manner and didn’t cause any states to secede from the union.

Fans for Script should rejoice.

Didn’t need the morning coffee to wake me up this morning. The “defense” of Paul Rhoads pretty much got me going. You want my defense of Rhoads? As a DC, he’s a hell of a secondary coach.

Very nice of Coach Wannstedt to try and take the blame for the defense and absolve Rhoads of his screw-ups and bad teaching and coaching.

Pitt has been shredded for 1,122 yards and 91 points in consecutive losses to Connecticut and West Virginia. Many of the problems that have dogged the Panthers for the past four years — missed tackles, bad angles, poor execution, failure to get key stops — have returned, renewing calls to fire defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads.

One person who hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon is the only person whose vote counts — head coach Dave Wannstedt. Rhoads declined comment yesterday, but Wannstedt came to his embattled defensive coordinator’s defense, saying the criticism of Rhoads has not been fair.

Three things. First, when did the calls to fire Rhoads stop?
Second, the problems pointed out are the primary reason I want Rhoads gone. It’s been something that has driven me crazy about the defense for years — poor fundamentals. The very thing coaching is supposed to be about. You can be creative and run all the schemes you want. It still comes down to players doing the basics — wrapping up, tackling, not hitting or arm tackling. Yes, the players deserve some of the blame. They have to execute, but when it’s been the same s**t and different people over four years it’s more than just “getting the right personnel.”

Third, this is so typical of Rhoads. When things are going well he’s happy to talk to the media and chat up things going right. Let everyone talk up his potential for the future and be at the forefront.Since the defense has engaged in its death spiral or even just the MSU game — no comment. And somehow he is allowed to slide on this. No willingness to face the criticisms. When Harris or Wannstedt refused to actually take responsibility, they at least acknowledged it directly to take the criticisms of “not my fault.” Rhoads won’t even do that much. Go back over the past years, and notice the pattern of Rhoads not on the record about the problems unless absolutely forced to by the head coach. Harris essentially brought him out to talk after the Temple game in 2004. That was about it.

Of course Coach Wannstedt doesn’t think the problem is in the coaching.

“We’re coaching these guys as hard as we can coach them,” Wannstedt said. “Paul does a great job. All our defensive coaches are very good coaches. We’ve just got to keep developing these players. I think for the most part, we’ve done that.

“The last couple weeks, we’ve had some missed tackles and had some extenuating circumstances. I think you have to look at each game and understand what we’re trying to do and not just at the end of the day say, ‘Well, they gave up 300 yards rushing when a quarterback scrambled for 150. The defense stinks. It’s a bad scheme.’ That’s not true. People may want to think that. And that’s fine. Go ahead, think it. I don’t care. That’s not the case.”

Alumni and fans have called for the dismissal of Rhoads after the Panthers’ defense allowed an average of 303 rushing yards and 459.75 yards total offense in losses to Rutgers, South Florida, Connecticut and West Virginia.

The mishaps were magnified when Pitt allowed UConn and WVU to run for 317 and 437 yards, respectively, and score a combined 91 points in the past two games.

“…Some missed tackles and had some extenuating circumstances.”??? WTF!!!??? 1212. Do you know what that is? That is the rushing yards surrendered in this 4 game skid. That is not effing “some missed tackles and some extenuating circumstances!” That is pathetic and lousy run defense.The only reason Rutgers and South Florida didn’t score more points was because USF had a ridiculous number of turnovers and Rutgers kept settling for FGs (and even missing a chip shot). UConn hasn’t scored more than 21 points in a game before or after Pitt. Against Pitt, they got 31 just in the regulation time.

The defensive collapse follows a 2005 season in which the Panthers ranked 94th out of 119 teams in the nation against the run (185.18) but 31st in total defense (338.0). Now, Pitt ranks 105th (183.0) in run defense and 72nd in total defense (350.73) entering Saturday’s game against Louisville, which boasts the nation’s No. 3 offense.

Let’s not forget 2003’s defensive collapse. Remember. The year Pitt was going to make the jump. The year Pitt lost to Toledo. How about the fact that including this year, 3 of the last 4 years the Pitt run defense has allowed 4+ yards/carry (and that one year where it didn’t crack 4 it was close at 3.8). Isn’t that something of an effing trend that points somewhere in the vicinity of what the DC is doing.

And that brings us to Joe Starkey’s column in defense of Rhoads. I generally like Starkey’s stuff but this one doesn’t even come close. I’m going to have to break this one down.
(more…)

So Ron Cook puts the fact that Pitt and other teams that go 6-6 will be going to a bowl at the top of his outrage list for college football. Something that everyone has been well aware since it was announced that they were going to 12 game seasons in CFB and there are just way too many bowls.

Looking for it…

Looking for it…

Searching…

Nope, can’t find the outrage. Can’t work up a lather. Hell, I’m having a hard time working up a lather about the other sins he lists:

Penn State going to the Outback Bowl — big deal. It’s a Big 11 tie-in bowl and that’s where they landed in the pecking order. Why does that make them undeserving? Compared to who else in the conference? They may get creamed by LSU or someone like that, but that doesn’t make them “undeserving” so much as point out how top heavy the Big 11 was. Non-BCS bowls are about money and what schools and conferences can bring the most fans for the games. The Big 11 has among the largest fanbases and has historically traveled to bowls well.

Potential Michigan-tOSU rematch for the BCS National Championship. Wait? You mean the BCS is screwed up? Damn, I thought the system was fine. Again, old news.

It’s the feigned outrage in the column that amuses me. These are old complaints wrapped up in an attempt at mouth-breathing anger. Don’t necessarily disagree with them, but spare me the weak emotional effort.