Do Pitt fans regret pushing Jamie Dixon away yet?

[BuffOrange]

Dixon had turned down many jobs to stay at Pitt over the years, including TCU. The last two years all you would read from Pitt fans is how much Dixon needs to be fired. There's no question in my mind this had a little something to do with why Dixon decided now was the time to leave. He wasn't appreciated there. That's not conjecture.

That and they waived his massive buyout.

 

[cuseinseattle]

Stallings didn't exactly inherit very much. Dixon's recruiting was terrible and put them in a really bad position. They can't exactly pull rabbits out of a hat like we can when we miss on players.

Didn't inherit much? They have Young and Artis back.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think Pitt fans regret a lot of things.

 

[AZcuse77]

I think Pitt fans regret a lot of things.

building the tower of ignorance?

 

[TheGov3304]

Young and Artis could start for most ACC teams.

Yes, and no one else would start on an ACC team.

And no, Johnson and Jeter would not start. They are bench players at best.

 

[TheGov3304]

I think Pitt fans regret a lot of things.

Agreed, #1 regret is being a Pitt fan I would imagine

 

[MSOrange]

Not sure if they necessarily regret getting rid of Dixon, but replacing him with Stallings is something they should definitely regret.

 

[SU2NASA]

I'm sure Pitt fans miss the glory days

 

[jncuse]

Somehow Pitt is hanging with UNC on the road.

Down 2 with 13 seconds left.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Somehow Pitt is hanging with UNC on the road.

Down 2 with 13 seconds left.

Trap game for UNC before Notre Dame and Duke.

 

[jncuse]

That should have been a 3 shot foul on UNC.

 

[Cusefan0307]

That was worse than the Lydon play against Wake.

 

[690West]

Trap game for UNC before Notre Dame and Duke.

UNC was favored by 19. Wow

 

[adk(roc)CUSE]

Horrible final shot

 

[realorange]

Refs missed the clearout in the key after Pitts last made shot. Guy went right on his back.

 

[Cusefan0307]

UNC was favored by 19. Wow

I'll never take a team favored by that much in a P5. They rarely cover.

 

[jncuse]

I heard the announcers say last night that Pitt was a senior laden team.

This team is going to get worse before it gets better.

 

[realorange]

I heard the announcers say last night that Pitt was a senior laden team.

This team is going to get worse before it gets better.

That may be one reason it was easy for Dixon to leave.

 

[Millhouse]

There is 0 talent at Pitt. I've been to a few of their games and they have exactly one player who can score.

Imagine trying to play with four Roberson's on offense and Battle.

you're saying that like it's a change

their only talent was implementing buddy ryan's politically incorrect european country defense to take advantage of refs who don't want to blow a whistle every 5 seconds

 

[jncuse]

That may be one reason it was easy for Dixon to leave.

At the same time, a senior laden team is usually a good time to mutually agree for a coach to leave and a new one to come in, because the administration won't look to bad the first year.

I can't say I follow them enough as to why an older team sucks so bad, other than say its Pitt.

 

[CIL]

you're saying that like it's a change

their only talent was implementing buddy ryan's politically incorrect european country defense to take advantage of refs who don't want to blow a whistle every 5 seconds

You could run point. I don't think I am joking.

 

[OrangeZeus]

As a Pitt student, but die-hard Syracuse basketball fan, I can say that a lot of the students/fans were calling for Jamie Dixon's head midway through the season last year. I kept telling all my friends that letting Jamie Dixon go would be a big mistake for the program, but not many of them listened.

Once Dixon went to TCU (his alma mater), a lot of Pitt fans wanted Brandin Knight to get promoted to Head Coach. Jamie Dixon even told the AD, Scott Barnes, that he thought Knight should replace him. He was Dixon's top assistant, he is one of four Pitt players with their number retired, and he has good recruiting connections in PA, NJ, and NY as far as I can tell.

But Barnes brought in Kevin Stallings instead, while Knight took an assistant position at Rutgers. It was a pretty bizarre move for Pitt, especially considering the fact that Stallings blocked Sheldon Jeter's initial attempt to transfer out of Vanderbilt so he could play closer to home at Pittsburgh. Suffice to say, the fans didn't like the hire and I can't imagine Jeter liked the hire regardless of what he said to the media afterwards.

Now Pitt is at the bottom of the standings and fell to Clemson last Saturday in what the local news station dubbed, "The Battle of the Basement." To make matters worse, Scott Barnes is leaving Pitt for Oregon St. on February 12, and leaving the basketball program in worse shape than he found it mainly due to Stalling's six year contract.

Michael Young and Jamel Artis combine for 42 points per game, but Young is just 21-65 from the field in his last five games. He's been playing with a face mask on for these last five or six games or so and I think that may be part of the reason why he's shooting 32.3% from the field in this stretch of the season. Artis is playing out of position at point guard and only getting 3.2 apg (the most on the team). It's literally a two-man team and once they graduate, it's only going to get worse. It's shaping up to be a two-man team again next year, only next year the two-man duo will be Cam Johnson and Ryan Luther instead of Michael Young and Jamel Artis. Pitt does have a five man class coming in, but all five players are three star recruits. The way things are shaping up, I don't see Stallings getting any four or five stars during his time in Pittsburgh. That's something Pitt at least had the chance to do with Jamie Dixon as the head coach.