| Pittsburgh Sports Report November 2009 |
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| Getting with the Program Yes, Scottie Reynolds broke a ton of hearts last March when his three-quarter-court dash not only resulted in pay dirt but denied a great Pitt team a place in the Final Four. Reynolds, whether he realizes it or not, will now haunt anybody with a connection to Pitt basketball in perpetuity. Why? Because anytime an advertisement for March Madness is broadcast anywhere in the world it will now include Reynolds' shot. And for anyone that felt pain that afternoon -- players, fans, coaches -- they'll feel all over again just from watching television. That wound will be re-opened and that feeling of emptiness returned. Or, was this merely a nice run with several good teams in a row? Dixon believes his program will continue to have success. In fact, he expects it, even in this season that so many others are calling a "rebuilding" year for Pitt. "On paper I know what it looks like, and I understand we'll be picked lower, but we've always been picked lower and finished higher. That's something we've done pretty consistently," said Dixon. "We've always had guys elevate their games, we've always had guys surprise people and I anticipate the same thing happening again. I think they're ready. We've had challenges in the past and this year it's four starters (to replace), but you know we've got good players in the program and they're ready to go." Dixon's very calm as he talks about this season and his confidence in his players is unwavering. That confidence comes from knowing the way he does things has always worked. It comes from being a defensive breakdown away from reaching the Final Four, from going through that process of being on the brink and having it yanked away. From taking the experience, good or bad, and learning from it. Dixon coached a team of mostly college freshmen and sophomores to a World Championship this past summer. The team, not surprisingly considering their ages, was made up of guys that played roles last season for their college teams. Ashton Gibbs played point guard for the team after averaging 10 minutes a game for Pitt last season. The experience was, according to Dixon, one that each used to improve. "Ashton's experience was very good and I think it will help him. Coaching in the summer and coaching against the different styles is going to help me," Dixon explained. "I think we're going to do some things that we did there here, things we haven't done in the past, especially offensively because we won't be running every play for Sam and DeJuan like we did last year. One of the staff members making sure they work hard is Brandin Knight, who learned the system as a player and is now amused at the perceptions formed about the program, particularly when it comes to recruiting. "I think where we do a good job in recruiting is we recruit guys who we like and not necessarily guys that someone else told us to like," Knight said. "What I've found now, is even guys that might not be as highly touted, is that when we start recruiting them all the other big schools start recruiting them. They've probably seen what we've done with guys like Sam and DeJuan and Chevy [Troutman] and how they became impact players here." Knight's points are spot on, particularly with Blair and other schools jumping on kids that Pitt shows interest in. When Blair was in high school, one D-1 head coach told me that if he didn't lose weight he'd be an average MAC-level player, never mind the Big East. But Blair didn't really lose that much, if any, weight while at Pitt, yet he was a dominant force - a consensus First Team All American and Co-Big East Player of the Year. Cameron Wright is a member of the 2010 Pitt recruiting class and was once a part of Ohio State's plans until an injury, and the coach recruiting him leaving OSU for a head job, caused the Buckeyes to ignore him until he got the picture. Pitt jumped on Wright soon after the summer evaluation period started, and the athletic combo guard soon had offers from Michigan State and Indiana, as well as Wisconsin. Wright is now considered a better guard than any in Ohio State's class. Dixon and the staff have a formula for recruiting and they don't deviate from it - the talent has steadily improved but the mold they work from has stayed the same. "You've got to recruit guys that fit your style and your program, and we want guys that are going to work hard," said Knight. "Defense is the other half of the game so you have to play it." Dixon believes this freshmen class will turn out to be the best he's ever had. Think about that for a second because that's a bold statement. The class includes three big men and a wing - including that elusive five-star recruit and Mickey D's All American Dante Taylor. A class that might answer the "how do we get past this?" question when all is said and done. "We're not looking for a one-year hit," said Dixon. "But just to continue to build and make people proud of our program and proud of our players and keep the seats filled. When you start replacing players, that's the sign of a program and I think we've obviously gotten to that point." 
INSIDE THE PETE
Head coach: Jamie Dixon, 7th Season (163-45)
Ashton Gibbs, SO, PG, 6'2" - Led the Big East in 3-point shooting (.439) coming off the bench Key Stretch: Jan 2 - 20
@ Syracuse In a five game stretch the Panthers play four elite Big East teams; going 3-2 during this stretch would be a major positive. Pitt By The Numbers
0 - Wins over a No. 1 ranked team prior to last season (94 seasons) |
The
only thing that can soften it is if future success makes it but
a painful speed-bump on the way to the promised land. So the thought
of "how do we get past this" now becomes the focus for the Pitt
basketball program (and their fans). More specifically, has Jamie
Dixon built this monster to the point that it is now a "program"
capable of absorbing the loss of NBA guys like De Juan Blair and
Sam Young-not to mention a great college point guard like Levance
Fields-and keep rolling? 
"That's
why I went there, to become a better coach… Everything we do in
our program we try to learn from. I think Ashton learned a lot
and I think he got better. I think you'll see a different player.
He's much quicker as a lot of these guys are. Travon Woodall is
stronger, Nasir's (Robinson) quicker. They're all working hard."
Probable
Starters | Copyright © 1997-2009 Pittsburgh Sports Report [PSR] |