Friday Smorgasbord (as well MLB Playoffs and Week 4 NFL picks)

There has been a lot going on in the sports world these days so there doesn’t seem like a better time than now to have another smorgasbord. Let’s dive right in…

• First off, I decided to not print my Pitt to the ACC column largely because it looks like conference expansion has been put on hold for now and that was largely the gist of the column. That being said, I love the move to the ACC for Pitt. Sure, most of us will miss the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, an event that I have personally attended a few times, but that is a sacrifice the school had to make for the better long term prospects of both football and basketball in the ACC. Besides, having Duke and/or North Carolina coming into the Oakland Zoo every year is a pretty nice trade off.

• The biggest point that I was going to make in my conference expansion column was that I wish we would just get to the four or five super-conferences already and be done with it. I think it is pretty obvious that we are heading in that direction and the constant speculation, rumors and back-office maneuvering is tiresome. This temporary hold on the conference expansion just means that we have to continue to discuss where and what conferences teams are going to end up in.

• Speaking of Pitt, Coach Graham and company got their first signature win last night on national television at home against South Florida…a game in which even LeBron James weighed in on how awesome Ray Graham is. Ray Graham, the RB, might have been in the Heisman conversation if Pitt would have just held on against Iowa. After last night’s win, anything short of a battle with West Virginia for the conference championship would have to be considered a disappointment.

• Mike Wallace is quickly becoming of the NFL’s best wide receivers. He doesn’t have the freakish skills that guys like Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson have but his combination of speed and route running is quickly putting him on those guys level. Wallace reminds me a ton of a young Torry Holt or Reggie Wayne, with possibly even more speed than those guys had.

• After the Steelers first three games, I’m still not sure what kind of team they are. I think we will learn a lot more after this week’s game in Houston. That being said, I was extremely encouraged by the play of James Harrison and Troy Polamalu last week. If those guys are healthy and playing the way they are capable of, this team will be right there in the end.

• If you missed Major League Baseball’s final regular season night on Wednesday, you missed a treat. It was like baseball’s version of March Madness with 3+ hours of top drama as the Cardinals and Rays somehow completed two of baseball’s most unbelievable rallies to pass the Braves and Red Sox for the wild card spots. I tried to be positive there for both the Cards and Rays but really they were two of the worst collapses in sports history by Boston and Atlanta - capped off by dramatic collapses in game 162 by each team.

• The baseball playoffs start today and I absolutely love post-season baseball. Every pitch is filled with so much drama, I only wish they occurred faster than every 30 seconds or so. In the Wild Card round, I’m going with the Yankees in four, Rays in five, Phillies and Brewers both in four to advance and I’m sticking with my preseason prediction of the Yankees winning the World Series. Since Atlanta collapsed and missed the postseason, I’ll take the Yanks to beat Milwaukee in the World Series after the Brewers pull the unexpected upset of Philadelphia for the NL pennant.

• With those picks out of the way, here are my week four NFL picks:

(Home Team in Caps)

DALLAS (-1.5) over Detroit – Continue to go against Detroit…might continue to regret it. It’s not that I don’t believe they are legit, it just comes down to individual games and match-ups.

New Orleans (-7) over JACKSONVILLE – No way the Jags and rookie QB Blaine Gabbert can keep up with this Saints offense.

PHILADELPHIA (-9) over San Francisco – This is the week the Eagles win big and everyone thinks everything is a-ok again in Philadelphia.

ST. LOUIS (+2) over Washington – Be careful going against home dogs.

CLEVELAND (pk) over Tennessee – I think it is going to take some time for Tennessee to adjust to life without Kenny Britt.

CINCINNATI (+3.5) over Buffalo – Again, beware of home dogs. Plus, Buffalo is going to come back to earth at some point.

Minnesota (-2) over KANSAS CITY – Eventually Minnesota is not going to blow a big halftime lead.

CHICAGO (-6.5) over Carolina – Newton has not seen anything like what he will see this week in Julius Peppers and the Bears ball-hawking defense.

Pittsburgh (+3.5) over HOUSTON – Does anyone not think that this game is a complete coin-toss? Give me the 3.5 points before I overthink it.

Atlanta (-4.5) over SEATTLE – I think Atlanta could up being our Jekyll and Hyde team this year…one week they look terrible and the next they look fantastic.

New York Giants (-1) over ARIZONA – So far the Kevin Kolb experience at QB is not working for the Cardinals.

Miami (+7) over SAN DIEGO – I think the Chargers win but the Dolphins keep it close.

GREEN BAY (-12.5) over Denver – Yes it is a ton of points but I can’t see how the Broncos can keep up with this fantastic Packers offense at home.

New England (-4) over OAKLAND – Check Bill Belichick’s record after a loss and this pick makes a whole lot more sense.

New York Jets (+3.5) over BALTIMORE – Think this one comes down to a field goal at the end.

Indianapolis (+10) over TAMPA BAY – I know the Monday Night Football schedule was made up before Peyton Manning’s availability was fully known but still, this has to be the worst line-up of primetime games I have ever seen.

(Last Week: 10-6; Overall: 23-23-2)

Welcome Back Smorgasbord - King James, Terrelle Pryor and More!

The blog, much like LeBron James during the fourth quarters of the NBA Finals, has been on hiatus for a few weeks but we are back now to our regularly scheduled program. I will be back with columns every Wednesday and Friday with shorter posts sprinkled in here and there when thoughts and/or events come up. Since I have not commented on anything in a couple weeks here, what better way to jump back in than with an extended smorgasbord! Here we go…

- Where else can we start other than King James? Just when we thought he had fully arrived after the Boston and Chicago series he follows it up with a complete mental breakdown on the biggest stage of his career. (I must say that I had originally planned to do a column after the Chicago series saying how LeBron had finally arrived and was playing the way we all had envisioned him playing for so long…I’m glad that I didn’t have the time to write that post with how silly it would look just two weeks later!) Make no mistake - that was no choke job by LeBron. He wasn’t bricking foul shots or missing layups. He wasn’t throwing terrible passes or missing rebounds. He simply did not show up mentally following the game two loss for reasons that none of us can understand. Why did he stop attacking the basket? Why did his suffocating defense disappear? What in the world was going through his mind? Whatever it was, it was probably the same “thing” that pushed James into teaming up with Dwayne Wade in Miami in the first place. Whether it is a lack of a killer instinct, an unusual level of self-doubt that we typically do not see with players of his magnitude, or something else that none of us can put our fingers on, it is obvious that eight years into the NBA LeBron still does not have that “it” factor. Will he get there? I don’t know. My guess is that his talent alone will lead him to at least 2 or 3 championships and we will forget about many of these indiscretions. (It will be much the same way that we forget how badly Michael Jordan was criticized, called a gunner and how he couldn’t win the big one before he won his first title. That just sounds silly knowing what we know now.) At this point, however, I think we are close to realizing that he will never reach the absolute peak that his physical abilities call for because of something missing inside.

- Can somebody please explain to me what Cam Newton has that Terrelle Pryor doesn’t? Even if you consider Newton the better prospect, it cannot be the difference between the 1st overall pick in the draft and a 4th or 5th rounder as the reports are saying Pryor will go in the supplemental draft. Personally, I think both have a long way to go to be even a reasonably decent starting quarterback in the NFL and there is a good chance that neither amounts to much at that position. Both, however, have the same incredible upside with their tremendous physical abilities. Heck, I would even guess that as an athlete Pryor will grade out better than Newton. Just weird to me that some teams would value Newton’s upside to be that much more than Pryor’s despite the fact that it was Pryor who was a 3-year starter playing in a pro-style offense and not Newton. I will have much more on Pryor in Friday’s post.

- Game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight and what a crazy series it has been. Vancouver has squeaked out three 1-goal wins at home while losing the three games in Boston by a combined score of 17-3. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver’s goalie, has looked like two different players at home and on the road while Boston has reached this point on the back of its own net minder, Tim Thomas. I like the Canucks to win a close one tonight. You win games like these on the backs of your superstars (hey Penguins fans, Max Talbot is THE SUPERSTAR right?) and the Canucks have more of those players than the Bruins. Either way, I am sure looking forward to the game tonight. Nothing in sports is better than a game seven, and maybe no game sevens match the intensity and excitement of those in hockey.

- Major League baseball is over 40% of the way through its season and the lack of storylines continues to be a trend. Derek Jeter is now on the DL postponing his 3,000 hits bid, which was inevitable anyways. Almost every team in baseball is still alive for the postseason. There are a few players, Jose Bautista and Curtis Granderson come to mind, having fantastic seasons but nobody who is doing something that approaches historical. Scoring continues to be down and there are more pitchers having good years but again, none are doing anything historic. The teams we thought would be good, the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Braves, Rangers, etc. are good and outside of the Twins and Indians, the season has gone pretty much as expected. Really, the biggest story in baseball is the hometown Buccos and their quest to end the streak of 18 consecutive losing seasons. As we sit today, the Pirates are 33-33 and only 4 games out of the division lead. If the Pirates can continue to play at or around .500 I suspect the story will continue to pick up steam nationally.

- Speaking of the Pirates, it will be interesting to see what management does as the trade deadline approaches if they continue to hover around .500 and stay somewhat in contention. From a team building prospective, they should still be in “sell” mode but a run at .500 in August and September, especially if there is no football going on, would be a tremendous financial opportunity for the club and that is part of management’s job as well. I will have a lot more on this next week and my thoughts on what I think the Pirates should do if they continue to play good baseball into mid July.

- Pitt and Penn State have agreed to renew their rivalry on the football field starting in 2016. I know this is a big deal for the alumni bases but sorry, I can’t get excited over a football game five years from now. It is ridiculous that this game has not been played in over ten years and even when it resumes, it will lack the tradition and history the rivalry should have.

- College football is covered in scandal. The NFL is in danger of missing a portion or all of its upcoming season due to labor negotiations. The NBA and NHL have never been more popular. Is this the beginning of the end for football as America’s favorite sport? Probably not, and I suspect that the NFL and the Player’s Association will work something out in time because there is too much money to be lost but with a game that violent and that popular I think it is only a matter of time before the popularity decline begins.

- From my standpoint, the labor negotiations have been this year’s version of the Brett Favre comeback story as the most heavily covered story by the media that the general population doesn’t really care about. Most people could care less about how the two sides split up the $10 billion pie (despite the posturing by the player’s association and the owners blaming the other one) and really only care about whether there will be a season or not. I have kept an eye on the negotiations and court rulings from a general business interest but boy do I get annoyed when I have to listen to the daily updates on Sportscenter or on Mike and Mike when they are talking labor negotiations in mid-May. Despite being force-fed coverage of the lockout for the past four months, it will only be in the next couple of months when the pressure to get a deal done really picks up as fans start to become worried about a season actually being missed and players and owners alike realize that there may not be checks coming in the very near future.

Pitt Loss Becoming a Trend, on Dixon

Before we dive into all of the action from the weekend, I have to address the Pitt loss in some detail. Year after year now Pitt has continued to struggle in the NCAA Tournament. As one very adamant Pitt fan explained in detail to me yesterday, Jamie Dixon has now lost to a lower seeded team in the tournament all eight years since he has been in charge. He has never beaten a higher seeded team. Despite being 11-8 overall in the tournament, that is not a pretty fact. Jamie Dixon supporters, which I am one of, should stop calling him a “great” coach. He is good, not great at this point. Great are guys like Coach K, Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun and Roy Williams. Those guys have won championships, been to Final Fours and achieved great success with a number of teams.

As I mentioned, I am a Dixon supporter and think Pitt should give him a lifetime contract tomorrow if he wanted one. That being said, this loss falls squarely on his shoulders and he deserves all of the criticism being thrown his way this week. More alarming, however, is this trend that is developing with the type of games his Pitt teams have lost and their continued breakdown in close games. A different Pitt fan expressed his concern to me on Friday that he was worried about Shelvin Mack going off because he is the exact kind of player that has killed Pitt in the past. Well, what happened? Mack went off, the Panthers had to rally against an inferior team and then they eventually choked in the end. Dixon’s defensive strategy on great guards like Mack needs to change. Whether it was defensive breakdowns and missed assignments like Gilbert Brown alluded to in his press conference we will never know - only the guys in the room know that - but this has continually happened over Dixon’s career, and that was only part of the in-game strategy that was poor. There were countless other instances of poor coaching and/or preparation including the failure to even get a shot off before the shot clock violation leading by one late in the game.

Further, leaving the guys on the foul line for Gilbert Brown’s second free throw was inexcusable. I said it before the shot to those I was watching the game with, “why are they still on the foul line”. Sure, Nasir Robinson made a boneheaded play but he’s a college kid wanting desperately to be the hero. A “great” coach doesn’t put his player in the position to make that kind of mistake. No, a great coach puts his team in position to win everytime on floor, something Dixon has failed to do come tournament time. Dixon is a good coach and he’s learning on the job with no prior head-coaching experience but at some point he needs to get over his tournament troubles. I think that time will come. If you continually put yourself in position to succeed and he continues to bring in the kind of players he now is, eventually Jamie Dixon and Pitt will break through with a great tournament run. It would be nice though if that time came sooner rather than later.

I will be back a little later today with the rest of my thoughts on the action from this weekend.

Bracket Thoughts

- For those of you that are not long-time readers you probably don’t know that Selection Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year. To check out the piece I wrote about Selection Sunday last year, click here.

- Pitt fans should be thrilled with the Panthers draw. I commented to my brother on Sunday that I do not think Pitt could have received a better region if they had picked it out themselves.

- I have read or heard others who do not think Pitt’s draw is as good as I believe because of their potential second round (I guess it is now called the third round but nobody is speaking in those terms yet) match-up with Old Dominion or Butler and a possible Sweet 16 opponent of Kansas State. Listen…if you are a number one seed and you are worried about a 2nd round game against a non-power conference team and the team you think offers the most potential problems in your region is the #5 seed, you got a damn good draw.

- I would agree that Duke has the second easiest region among the four number one seeds (many of the TV experts think Duke has the easiest). That leads me to the question of what the heck is the committee doing? Ohio State and Kansas are clearly the #1 and #2 overall seeds in the tournament and were named rightly so. How can the committee justify having their regions being the most difficult? I know this is a matter of perception but still, it is pretty clear to even the least knowledgeable college basketball fan that Kansas and Ohio State were not rewarded properly for their overall seeds.

- I guess the actual reason is not the committee’s fault. This whole idea of putting the top seeds in their “pods” and then placing them in the respective regions to keep them close to their fan bases is ridiculous. Line the teams up 1-68 and seed the tournament accordingly.

- Another pet-peeve of mine that has developed is listening to these “experts” calling teams such as Purdue, Louisville and Syracuse a “sleeper”. We need to make some kind of universal ground rules up for what a sleeper is. My suggestion is two-part:

(1) If we are talking about the ability to win the national championship, no team that is a top four seed in its region can be considered a sleeper. If you are ranked in the top 15 or 16 in the country you have a legitimate shot to win six straight games and cut down the nets.

(2) If we are talking about true sleepers, as in a team that people would be at least a little bit surprised if they made the Sweet 16 or better, then a team must be seeded 7th or higher in its region to be considered. No one would be surprised if #6 seeds like Georgetown or Cincinnati make a little run to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. They are not sleepers.

- Speaking of Georgetown, if it is true that Chris Wright is expected back I see a legitimate scenario where the Big East has seven or eight Sweet 16 teams and possibly three of the Final Four teams. Even with that kind of depth, however, I still don’t see a Big East team winning the National Championship. My money today would be on Duke, Ohio State or Kansas…and I am leaning towards Duke after seeing each team’s respective brackets.

- I will make my official picks Thursday morning. We have to see who wins these horrible, nobody really cares about them, play-in games before we make our official predictions right?!? But since you’re reading this today, I’ll take Clemson, USC, UNC-Asheville and UT-San Antonio in the play-in games.

National Title Contenders

Late last week I was halfway paying attention to a college basketball post-game show on ESPNU when they started going over the qualifications, for lack of a better word, needed for a team to win the national championship. Among their qualifications; the team had to have a scoring margin greater than ten points, have at least a 10-game winning streak at some point during the season and finally they must have been ranked in the top 10 to begin the season. Those qualifications narrowed the list of title contenders for this year to Ohio State, Kansas, Duke, Pittsburgh and Purdue.

The hosts of the show said that the last four national champions all fit these criteria. While the sample size associated with these qualifications is pretty much meaningless, it did get me to thinking about which teams are legitimate national title contenders. Taking a quick look at this week’s rankings, I see seven teams with legitimate national title aspirations, another three or four teams that have an outside shot, and with no disrespect to BYU and San Diego State, a few teams that have no shot despite their lofty ranking.

Let’s take a quick look at the teams with legitimate national title hopes and rank them on a 1-10 scale for their likelihood of actually cutting down the nets come the first Monday in April. For comparisons sake on our 1-10 scale, a 1 can be compared to the 1997 Arizona team led by Mike Bibby and Miles Simon (yes, I just wanted to get people reminiscing on that team), the most surprising of the last 15 or so national champions and 10 being 2007 Florida, the most favored champion in recent history entering the tournament.

Ohio State – Anyone who saw Ohio St. dismantle Wisconsin on Sunday saw what was probably the most complete and well-played game that any team has played all season. The Buckeyes have a star in Jared Sullinger on the block, solid shooters around him, a very solid backcourt and experience with David Lighty, William Buford and Jon Diebler; pretty much all of the ingredients needed to win a national title. Ohio State’s one flaw is their lack of depth as they basically play only six guys, meaning Sullinger must stay out of foul trouble and the Buckeyes can’t afford an injury along the way. No team in college basketball is as good or as complete as that 2007 Florida team, but the Buckeyes at their best are the best team in college basketball this season. National Title Ranking: 8.

Kansas – If there is a team out there who can challenge Ohio State at its best it’s the Jayhawks. Kansas has it all; size, speed, shooting, inside scoring, depth, coaching. In my opinion, Kansas has the most well-rounded roster in college basketball in terms of team dynamics. The star power is also there with the Morris twins and freshman Josh Selby to make Kansas my co-favorite to win it all. The one question I continue to have with Kansas is their toughness underneath and on defense. National Title Ranking: 8.

Duke – Can’t help but wonder how good this Duke team would be with injured freshman point guard Kyrie Irving but at this point it is probably safe to assume that the super frosh won’t be back. Still, the Blue Devils are plenty capable of making a national title run with plenty of big game experience and two stars in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler leading the way. The stars do need more help from the Plumlee brothers and Andre Dawkins among others, but with the right draw and continued excellence from Smith and Singler, you have to give this team just as good a chance at the outset of the tournament as the team that won the national championship last year. National Title Ranking: 6.

North Carolina – Pretty hard to believe that the Tar Heels are this high on the list after a very rough start to the season but North Carolina has played as well as any team in America over the past month or so. UNC’s ascension began with the insertion of Kendall Marshall at the point guard position and watching the kid play it is no wonder. Marshall allows Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Tyler Zeller and the rest of the Hells to play within their comfort zones with his incredible passing and fantastic game management skills. In a normal year, this is probably only a fringe national title contender but in an overall down season, the Tar Heels have as good as shot any team outside of Columbus, OH or Lawrence, KS. National Title Ranking: 6.

Pittsburgh – Pitt is every bit as talented as the two teams I rank above them on this list but until the Panthers get over their post-season hump I just can’t put them on equal terms with Duke and North Carolina. I think the key for the Panthers is Brad Wannamaker’s penetrating ability. The Panthers need Wannamaker to create easy scoring opportunities on the inside and open looks on the outside for Ashton Gibbs to be a dynamic offensive team. Without Wannamaker creating these easy scoring opportunities, the Panthers are too reliant on their offensive rebounding and physicality, something that could haunt them if they run into the wrong officiating crew in the tourney. Anything less than a Final Four run, however, would be a disappointment for this team. National Title Ranking: 5.

Purdue – No team in the country has an inside-outside duo like the Boilermakers do with JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore. The qualifications listed at the beginning of this column also represent that this team’s resume is much better than many may have anticipated. The question for Purdue is if it has enough around its two dynamic players to really make a splash. National Title Ranking: 3.

Texas – Texas defends as well as any team in the nation, pounds the glass and plays a physical brand of basketball that most teams cannot rival. Texas’ recent problems have been centered around failing to get the ball inside and relying on too many perimeter shots. If you would have asked me two or three weeks ago this ranking would have been much higher but it is never a good sign when you are not playing well heading into March. Of all the teams on this list, however, a run in the Big 12 tournament would most dramatically boost their stock heading into the Big Dance in my mind. If Texas were to win or make it to the conference tournament finals, I would probably put them back up to the Pitt level but for now: National Title Ranking: 3.

Those are the seven true national title contenders I see. Other teams that could win it that wouldn’t be a total shock include Notre Dame, Syracuse, Florida (who is better than people realize) and a true darkhorse in Georgetown if Chris Wright can get healthy in time for the tournament. But if recent history tells us anything, expect the national champion to come from the group of seven I have ranked above. Remember that when filling out your brackets next week.

Pitt Needs More from Brown

Gilbert Brown has proven over his career at Pitt that he is a fantastic role player. The fifth year senior is a terrific athlete, excellent defender, good rebounder, strong finisher and has even improved his jumpshot to the point that it is respectable. It has also become clear that Brown will never develop into the star some people believed he might early in his career after witnessing one of his incredible dunks or fabulous defensive plays. That does not mean he does not have more to give to this current Panthers team.

For the season, Brown is averaging 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game to go along with his stellar defense. Those are decent, but not great numbers and not all that much different than his numbers from a year ago. Balance is a trademark of Jamie Dixon teams and scoring has never been Brown’s forte but still, a jump in scoring should have been expected for a guy entering his fifth year in the program. What is more telling, however, is that while Brown has improved his free throw shooting, both his three-point and overall field-goal percentages have gone down from last year. Brown’s two-point field goal percentage has dropped significantly. This confirms what my eyes have been telling me in that Brown is not getting the easy baskets in transition and dunks in the half court like he was in the past.

Last year it was inconsistency that plagued Brown on the offensive end where he seemingly scored 20 points or 5 points from game to game. This year, while being a little more consistent, we have yet to see the explosiveness he showed in games last year. Case in point: Brown has scored 20 points only once this season and has scored more than 15 in only two other games while scoring more than 15 in a third of his games just a season ago.

One could say that Brown has taken a back seat to Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wannamaker on the offensive end but even in the three games that Gibbs missed with a knee injury, Brown failed to step his game up, only scoring a total of 24 points over the three contests. The Panthers were able to win those three games without Gibbs, in part because of Brown’s and the rest of the team’s defensive effort, but if the Panthers are going to reach their goals this season, most notably a Final Four appearance, both Brown and the Panthers are going to need to produce a little more firepower in the offensive end.

Pitt is having a fantastic season and is poised to earn a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gilbert Brown’s role as a complimentary piece is a big reason why the Panthers are enjoying so much success but more can be expected of the senior. I am not saying the Panthers need Brown to become a 20 point per game scorer to reach the Final Four, but an offensive outburst here or there could sure enhance their chances.

Weekend Update

As promised, I pretty much spent my entire weekend watching as many sporting events as humanly possible (along with a little Grammy action throw in to mix things up). There are too many opinions floating around in my head to include in just one post so today I am going to limit my thoughts mostly to college basketball. I will save some of my NBA thoughts for the end of the week as they approach their All-Star weekend and have some Penguins and NHL thoughts in-between. Before I get to hoops, however, I do want to touch upon the one big issue both in Pittsburgh and in hockey circles.

The Penguins-Islanders game on Friday night was an absolute disgrace to the sport of hockey. I am a fan of the game. I enjoy watching good hockey, not just the Penguins, and will often find myself watching two Western Conference teams playing when nothing else is on despite hockey coming in a distant fourth in my own sports preference list. I also do not have a problem with fighting and sort of understand its place and history in the game, not to mention enjoy a good fight…BUT what happened on Long Island was not hockey, it wasn’t sports, it wasn’t anything that should be allowed to happen in this country.

The NHL’s response to what happened was an even bigger joke and did nothing to deter similar events from happening in the future. Trying to sucker punch someone from behind, calling up goons for the sole purpose of getting in as many fights as possible and intentionally elbowing someone in the face and then continuing to attack him when injured were just some of the ridiculous antics that took place. These are things that would be illegal and insane at a sanctioned boxing or MMA fight, let alone a hockey game. If the NHL cannot properly handle, punish and stop these events from occurring, maybe it’s time to take fighting out of the game altogether. I will have a little more on this subject, including Mario’s statement, later this week.

Now, on to hoops…

· Pitt continued its Big East run with a second impressive road victory against Villanova on Saturday despite the absence of leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. Many people are beginning to believe that this team is better than the 2009 version featuring Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields. I don't think this team is as good as that team two years ago, but they are close. This version is definitely deeper and more well-rounded but that team had what should have been two first round NBA picks (maybe even two lottery picks based on current NBA production) while this team has zero draft picks at all right now. College basketball, however, isn't nearly as strong as it was two years ago so this Pitt team has a clear opportunity to achieve more than that team. Jamie Dixon’s squad is definitely one of the few favorites to advance to the Final Four in Houston.

· Speaking of the NBA, I had that exact conversation with my Dad heading to the Duquesne game on Sunday. I do not see why Brad Wannamaker and Gilbert Brown couldn't be decent 10th or 11th men in the NBA. They offer flexibility and the ability to defend two different positions well. It will probably come down to Wannamaker’s ability to play some point guard while it will be Brown’s shooting ability that will determine whether they can earn a jersey on the next level.

· Those that watched Kansas State beat up on Kansas last night in their first game as the #1 team saw what had me worried about this Jayhawks team a few weeks back. Despite its talent and depth, Kansas does not play tough enough underneath and has too many lapses on the defensive end. One game on the road in February means little, but for the team I think is the most talented in the nation they need to improve in those areas in a hurry if they want to accomplish a Final Four run.

· While Kansas’s loss showed some of its deficiencies, Ohio State’s loss was pretty meaningless to me. The Buckeyes looked like the best team in the nation for most of the game until Wisconsin got unbelievably hot in the second half. Those things happen in road games, especially to a good team like Wisconsin who is nearly unbeatable at home. Wisconsin did prove themselves as a team that none of the contenders want to see before the regional finals. Their ability to limit possessions, play solid defense and shoot the three-pointer are going to make them an awfully tough out come tournament time.

· The other two top teams I have yet to mention, Texas and Duke, kept plugging along. The Longhorns continue to win impressively and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they won the remainder of their games before the Big XII tournament. Duke, on the other hand, has looked less and less impressive as the season has moved on. Without star freshman point guard Kyle Irving, the Dukies have relied heavily on Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler to carry the load. Despite some decent performances from their secondary guys the past couple of games, it wouldn’t shock me to see Duke stumble in a game or two before the Big Dance.

· Another team that is coming on strong is Georgetown who, after a little mid-season swoon, has won eight straight games including five over would-be tournament teams. The Hoyas feature one of the best backcourts in America with Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jason Clark. Freeman turned his ankle in the Marquette game on Sunday but all indications are that he should be fine. The Hoyas are still lacking in the interior, as being the nation’s 223rd ranked team in rebounding will attest, but we all know that guard play wins come March and nobody has had better backcourt play than Georgetown over the past month.

· I mentioned that I attended the Duquesne Dukes game on Sunday and it was fun to attend a game that meant something for that program for the first time in decades. Sure the Dukes fell to Xavier (a strong sleeper team for your NCAA brackets in about a month if you want some advice) but Coach Ron Everhart has the program headed in the right direction. The game was played in front of a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 people and just goes to show how people in Pittsburgh will get behind a team that has perennially struggled. The game had me thinking: Can you imagine PNC Park in September if the Pirates are even sniffing that magical 81st win? The place would be a sell-out every night.

Pitt Can Salvage Current Embarrassment

By now, everyone knows the story of what has happened to the Pitt football program over the last few weeks. Pitt forced the resignation of Dave Wannstedt after the second most successful three-year stretch in school history, proceeded to allow Wannstedt the choice to coach in the bowl game, hired a new coach in Mike Haywood in what they made seem like a top secret search, this new coach had only been a head coach for two seasons at a MAC school where he had a losing record, the new coach then proceeded to get arrested on domestic abuse charges after both he and Athletic Director Steve Pederson spoke of character and discipline at Haywood’s introductory news conference, the new coach was subsequently fired and all-the-while the former coach had yet to make up his mind on coaching in Pitt’s bowl game. On top of all that, two assistant coaches, including the team’s offensive coordinator, left for new jobs at a conference rival in Rutgers and the once very promising recruiting class of 19 players has dwindled to 6 commitments, at best. Needless to say, there are a lot of red faces over in Oakland right now.

Despite the black eye that the Pitt administrators, namely Pederson and Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, have suffered, all is not completely lost by this bizarre and unfortunate sequence of events. Quite frankly, what has happened to Haywood could be the best thing that could have happened to the program. Haywood’s dismissal gives the administration the time and the reason to use every resource possible to conduct an exhaustive search for the next head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh, something that has become more and more evident did not occur in the hiring of Haywood.

Both the handling of Wannstedt’s departure and the hiring (and dismissal) of Mike Haywood will be forgotten if Pitt is able to hire the right coach this time around. Many probably remember the hiring and subsequent firing of George O’Leary at Notre Dame nearly ten years ago for lying on his resume. Many also probably remember how quickly the story was forgotten about when Ty Willingham came in and won his first eight games as coach of the Irish on his way to a ten win season and a Gator Bowl appearance. Sure, the Willingham era did not finish the way the Note Dame faithful had hoped but his hiring quickly put an end to the embarrassment the school suffered in the wake of the O’Leary fiasco.

Pitt is in a similar circumstance now where they can alleviate the embarrassment of these events by hiring the right coach for the job. I don’t pretend to know if that coach is Kevin Sumlin, Tommy Bradley, Mike Leach, or some other coach out there we have yet to hear about and really nobody can know without knowing the individuals themselves and going through the correct process. What I do know is that Pitt can salvage this terrible sequence of events by hiring the right man for the job. That pressure falls once again on Pederson and Nordenberg and here’s hoping that they get it right this time. After all, that’s the only thing that can make right of the current situation.

Smorgasbord Time!

* Has Sidney Crosby become the best major professional athlete at his particular sport in the world right now? This argument has previously centered on Peyton Manning and LeBron James, with a little bit of Albert Pujols sprinkled in, but with what Crosby has done this year he has eliminated all challengers in hockey as the game’s best player.

* Crosby will look to extend his point streak to 26 games tonight against the Islanders. In case you were wondering, the record is 51 games by Wayne Gretzky at the start of the 1983-84 season. Mario Lemieux holds the team record with a 46 game scoring streak in the 89-90 season. There are only five scoring streaks of 30 or more games in NHL history.

* Did anyone else hear Chris Collinsworth criticize Adrian Petersen’s short yardage running last night? I wanted to jump through the TV and slap him in the face. AP is the best short yardage back in the NFL. I think he has failed to get the first down or touchdown on a 3rd or 4th and one situation approximately three times over the last two years.

* If you watched West Virginia’s offense in their bowl game last night you now know why they decided to hire Dana Holgorsen to run the show.

* Anyone else sick of hearing and seeing Matt Millen these days? Didn’t that guy get fired from the Lions for having no clue how to run a team?

* We are probably going to hear a lot in the next few days about the lack of Steelers who made the Pro-Bowl this year and I must say that I agree. Lawrence Timmons and Mike Wallace most certainly deserved a spot on the team and a strong case could be made for Casey Hampton, LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior and even a small one for Ben Roethlisberger, though I would have chosen the same three QBs who did make it.

* There is a good chance a few more Steelers will be named to the team through the alternate process after many players bow out of the game due to injury or just plain apathy. You can bet, however, that all of the Steelers hope that they will not be able to play in the Pro-Bowl due to a slightly more important game the following week.

* Despite the Pro-Bowl talk, you can be sure that the Steelers have all of their attention focused on the Cleveland Browns this week. They remember what happened last year when they went up there not ready to play and even more is on the line this year with a first round bye and the AFC’s #2 seed there for the taking.

* With Indianapolis needing a win to clinch their playoff spot and Kansas City having virtually nothing to play for, expect Peyton Manning and company to win Sunday and earn the #3 seed in the AFC (with a Chiefs loss to the Raiders). That should make Steelers fans worry. This Colts team is not particularly great, but number 18 can always beat you with his right arm.

* I heard a good bit of talk in Pittsburgh the past couple of weeks that this particular Pitt basketball team was overrated. I think that talk has been silenced for a little while. People have to realize in basketball that sometimes the basket looks like an ocean to the opposing team, and that certainly looked like the case when Pitt was dismantled by Tennessee. It was only one game in a long season, however, and this Pitt team is awfully deep and awfully talented. They proved that on Monday night.

All Things Pittsburgh

In case you haven’t noticed there has been a ton happening around the Pittsburgh sports scene the past couple of weeks that does not involve the Steelers. I have touched on a few of these things here and there but let’s take an all-inclusive look at everything going on in and around the ‘Burgh.

· Just the mere mention of the Penguins (without even writing their actual name) in the blog was enough to end their twelve game winning streak on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. The Pens followed that loss up with an awful 3rd period performance last night and are now on a two game losing streak. Skipping past the long winning streak, despite its impressiveness, and looking at the season as a whole shows that there is a ton to like about this particular Penguins team. The Pens are tied for fifth in the NHL in both goals for and goals against per game. They are second in the NHL behind the Flyers in goal differential. They are second in the league in penalty killing and have the second most short-handed goals. They rank a pedestrian 16th in power play percentage but that unit has look much improved lately and the goaltending of Marc Andre-Fleury has been superb over the past month, month and a half. The Penguins have done all of this without their best penalty-killer and third best offensive forward in Jordan Staal. Getting Staal back at some point will be like making a major trade acquisition without giving anything up. This Penguins team is well positioned to make another run at the cup and at this point I would make them the co-favorites along with Philadelphia and Detroit.

· One streak that has not ended yet is Sidney Crosby’s 20 game scoring streak. Crosby has 39 points in those 20 games and now leads the league in goals, points, and points per game. He is second in assists, ranks in the top 10 of forwards for +/- and is arguably the best face-off man in the NHL. There really are no superlatives to explain his greatness right now. Any argument over who the best player in the world is completely over, not that there ever was an argument in my mind.

· One positive from the past two losses has been the play of Evgeni Malkin. You may remember him being called out right here in the blog just a few weeks ago and the fact that the Pens had no problem winning without him in his four-game absence. Malkin still ranks well below his standards at 40th in the NHL in points per game and the Pens are going to need a lot more out of their other superstar if they are going to make a run at the Cup like they intend to do, but it was nice to see Geno score three goals in these past two games and more importantly, skate and look like the Malkin we remember from two years ago.

· If you did not watch the premier of HBO’s 24/7 Penguins-Capitals last night, make sure you catch one of the encore shows before next week’s second program and follow from there. HBO does a fantastic job with these behind the scenes documentaries and if last night’s premier was a preview of what’s to come, it will be another fantastic series. My only quibble with the show, and there really is nothing HBO can do about it, is the wide array of story lines that are not covered. We are used to seeing these 24/7s focus on two boxers, or in the Nascar case - of one driver, so with so many different and integral people involved with two hockey teams it is impossible to cover every story.

· Pitt has hired former Miami of Ohio coach Mike Haywood as its new football coach. What I do know about Haywood is that he is an excellent Xs and Os coach. He is a former Charlie Weis pupil at Notre Dame and took a talent depleted Miami team from a 1-11 record to a 9-4 season and a MAC championship. I watched probably too many MAC games for my own good this year but I can tell you that Haywood flat-out outcoached many of his colleagues in leading his team to the MAC championship. What I do not know, however, and what nobody can judge unless they know the person, is how Haywood will do with everything else that a head coaching position at a major college entails. That includes recruiting, public relations, schmoozing with boosters, working with administration and many other things that the public does not see. We know that Dave Wannstedt was fantastic in all of these areas, thus my reluctance in firing him. I do not know Mike Haywood and I do not think his time at Miami was enough to judge him on those things so I will withhold any judgment on him until he is given the proper amount of time in the position. The one thing I do know is that AD Steve Pederson does not have a great track record with hiring football coaches that are good at these things. His last two hires, Bill Callahan and Walt Harris, were excellent football Xs and Os guys but both proved to be terrible at the rest of the job requirements. That does not particularly instill confidence in me with Pederson’s choice, given Haywood’s resume and background.

· If Haywood is the excellent game coach that I believe he is, expect Pitt to have a good season next year with a good bit of talent coming back and a very manageable schedule. That could propel Haywood and his staff to continuing on Pitt’s strong recruiting efforts and get the Pitt administration and boosters on his side. This could significantly aid Haywood as he does his on-the-job training toward long term success. If he does not succeed immediately on the field, however, I will not be too confident in his chances going forward. In either case, we will not be able to properly evaluate this hire for at least three, but more likely four or five years down the line.

· The Pirates signed Lyle Overbay earlier this week to be their first baseman next year. I thought Bob Smizik on his Post Gazette blog summed it up best, “Since Overbay is a left-handed hitter and will start at first base, the team is basically replacing Garrett Jones with, uh, Garrett Jones.” Smizik went on to say that the Pirates are not exactly signing the “weapons” that Frank Coonelly talked about in one of his chats on the Pirates website. In reality the four players that the Pirates have acquired are not all that much different from their predecessors. Overbay for Jones/Ryan Doumit, Mat Diaz for Lastings Milledge, Scott Olsen for Zach Duke and Kevin Correia will be added as the 4th or 5th starter to a team that already has plenty of those.

· The Pirates have also made no secret of their desire to trade Ryan Doumit and his salary. Personally, I hope Doumit sticks around. For the Pirates’ signings to make any sense it is imperative that they use platoon rotations at first base and in right field. A platoon at catcher with Doumit facing right-handed pitchers and Chris Snyder facing lefties would also be ideal. I have a tough time believing that the Pirates will stick to these platoon roles, as it seems managers never do, but if the Pirates hang on to Doumit and strictly use the platoon match-ups they could run a halfway decent line-up out there against both lefties and righties. Here they are, with 2010 OPS averages in parenthesis, against those type pitchers:

Vs. Righties: Vs. Lefties:
McCutchen (.784) Tabata (.682)
Tabata (.767) Walker (.809)
Walker (.818) McCutchen (.903)
Alvarez (.858) Alvarez (.644)
Jones (.775) Diaz (.830)
Doumit (.832) Pearce (.964)
Overbay (.779) Snyder (.750)
Cedeno (.647) Cedeno (.767)

· As for all of those number four and five type starters, I have no answer for that. Pirates’ fans can hope that Ross Ohlendorf and James McDonald continue to develop and that Brad Lincoln develops into what management hopes he can become. Even at their peaks, however, those three are no better than good number three starters on a playoff team. No, the Pirates best pitching hope lies in their lower minor league ranks and is still a couple of years away. There is always Charlie Morton with that “electric stuff”.

· With the Cardinals and Reds looking as good if not better for next year, it could be another long season for the Buccos. The positive is that we get to watch the continued development of the young players and actually have some hope for the future.

· Lastly, and we will get into a lot more college hoops after the Bowl Season ends, but this Pitt basketball team has the makings of being the best team in the Ben Howland/Jamie Dixon era. There is no question that this is the deepest and most talented team from one through ten that Dixon has coached, but I am not sure if there is a player the caliber of a Sam Young or DeJuan Blair on the team. The more important question however, as has been with many of the past teams, is will there be a player that can put this team on his back when things are not going right. Pitt has lacked this superstar for much, if not all, of this modern era and it has often been its achilles heel. The closest thing Pitt had to this player was Sam Young from the Elite Eight team two years ago. If this Pitt team is going to match and hopefully surpass that team Brad Wannamaker, Ashton Gibbs or the darkhorse candidate Dante Taylor is going to need to take his game to the next level. We did not see this happen in the Tennessee loss, but the season is still quite young.

Thursday Night Pick

SAN DIEGO (-10) over San Francisco

Cliff Lee (and more) Smorgasbord!

There has been a ton going on in the sports world over the past week or so and it seems like I have done nothing but write about the NFL lately. What better way to cover a bunch of topics around the sports world than a smorgasbord!

· I was listening to Mike and Mike this morning on my drive in to work and many of their listeners were criticizing Cliff Lee for his decision to join the Phillies rather than the Yankees or Rangers who were offering more money and/or the potential to be “the man”. For what it’s worth, I think Lee made a fabulous decision for himself. He gets to pitch in the National League for the next five or six years, something that could allow him to go down as an all-time great while prolonging his career, he’ll join a Philadelphia team that now has to be the favorite for AT LEAST the next three World Series Championships, he obviously enjoyed his time in Philadelphia previously and it is reported that his wife really enjoyed their time, and in the end the difference in money really isn’t all that great when you factor in cost of living, etc. Lee made an informed decision that will make him and his family happy, kudos to him.

· I picked Philadelphia to win the World Series last year and they let me down when they ran into the Giants’ pitching buzz saw. I got a pretty good suspicion this morning that I will be picking the Phillies again next year.

· As a friend said to me earlier today, “I think these guys getting to pick where they live is a quite underrated part of the FA process. “ I couldn’t agree more.

· Another friend of mine is a die-hard Yankee fan and it sounds like New Yorkers are getting just a little bit worried with their inability to sign Lee and the Red Sox’ additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. The Yankees would be foolish to make a panic decision and sign Carl Pavano for too much money or anything of that sort. The Yanks are still the clear favorite for the AL Wild Card and a rotation of CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettite and I’m guessing the rookie Nova or whomever (I still think they should give Joba Chamberlain another shot) will be fine for the first half of the season. The Yankees should wait until the trade deadline and see what's available then.

· I am longing for the days when we can talk about the Pirates big off-season moves! No disrespect to Scott Olsen, Kevin Correia and Matt Diaz, of course.

· Those comparing Lee’s situation to LeBron James’ “decision” are crazy. Lee didn’t pass up a chance to be “the man” in Texas or was scared off by the pressure in New York. Baseball is a totally different sport where very rarely can a player carry his team individually for an extended stretch and especially as a pitcher who can only win the game he pitches every four or five days. Lee’s legacy can perhaps be enhanced by his decision to join the Phillies where LeBron’s will never be the same.

· Speaking of James, I am not hearing much from the Heat bashers these days after LeBron and company won their ninth straight game last night, all by double digits. Those that were jumping on Miami earlier in the season for their lack of a point guard and/or center and saying that LeBron and Dwayne Wade could not play together just do not understand basketball. The Big Three (including Chris Bosh) were simply playing well below their usual greatness. Things are slowly rounding into form and I have never wavered from my stance that this team will be there in the end. I did underestimate how deep and talented Boston is this year, especially with Kevin Garnett looking like he has found the fountain of youth, but I am sticking by my prediction that the Heat are the Eastern Conference representative in the Finals.

· I am sure everyone has heard by now about the New York Jets strength coach Sal Alosi tripping a Miami Dolphins player trying to cover a punt on Sunday and being subsequently suspended for the remainder of the season and fined 25k by the Jets. I think this story is getting a little too much coverage to be honest. For one, it is being reported that teams purposely position these coaches on the sidelines to be in the way of gunners if they happen to be pushed out of bounds. If teams are instilling this mentality, something that I had never thought about before but it says a whole lot about what a cutthroat business the NFL is, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. The guy has apologized, let’s let him take his punishment and move on from the story.

· The coaching dominoes in the college ranks are beginning to fall with Al Golden heading to Miami, Will Muschamp to Florida and Jerry Kill to Minnesota. I do not mind that Pitt is taking its time with this decision, it is an awfully important time and hire for this program. As of yesterday it sounded like Oklahoma State Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgorsen was the front-runner for the job but he has since pulled himself from consideration. Holgorsen is now being linked to West Virginia if Bill Stewart is let go. Some of the names being circulated now, including Miami of Ohio coach Mike Haywood, are not exactly the most inspiring names out there.

· That being said, Pitt should not be trying to find the “most inspiring name” if you don’t mind me quoting myself. Steve Pederson’s job is to find the best man for this job, no matter if he is a current head coach, coordinator or a certain sports blog writer if anyone feels like passing my name on to him.

· Lastly, you may have thought that I forgot about a certain team in Pittsburgh that has won a few games in a row. I have not forgotten about them but I do not want to be the jinx that halts this winning streak by mentioning them in the blog…(damn, I hope this doesn’t count!) I will have plenty to say about the streak and their star player’s own little streak when they come to an end.

Mixed Feelings on Wannstedt Dismissal

On Tuesday, some buddies and I were having our normal email exchange debating things happening around the sports world, mostly dealing with the baseball offseason, when the topic turned to Dave Wannstedt and whether he should be fired at Pitt or not. Some great points were made debating both the pros and cons of such a move and I was a little bit undecided on where I stood. For the most part, I thought Wannstedt deserved the chance to come back for reasons that I will soon get into. At roughly 4pm or so the news broke that Wannstedt would be let go. My initial reaction was “wow, we just wasted a whole day debating this”. In all seriousness, I had mixed feelings on the dismissal. After giving it a day to maul over and reading many of the countless reports, mostly agreeing with Wannstedt’s removal, I came to the conclusion that I am still not sure it was the right move, but I certainly understood it.

I have long been a critic, probably even before most others realized his deficiencies, of Dave Wannstedt’s in-game coaching and strategy. Wannstedt comes from a very defensive-minded, NFL approach to coaching that I can sum up very simply: he coaches not to lose instead of to win. That philosophy works OK in the NFL where the parity and talent distribution is pretty even.

(Although the man that everyone would agree is the greatest football coach in the world right now, Bill Belichick, would disagree and it is partly why he is the best coach in football right now. Belichick will often go against conventional thinking or as I like to call that line of thinking: “wrong”. Belichick routinely puts his team in the best position to win time and time again by playing with the percentages, not with the afraid to be criticized approach. I could go on all day about this, but I will not digress any further.)

That philosophy can work in the NFL but not in college where there is usually some and often times a large talent discrepancy between teams. When you have the talent advantage, you need to be aggressive and put inferior teams away. When you are the team at a disadvantage, you need to take risks and make big plays to make up for this lack of talent. In his six years as the head man at Pitt, this was the one thing that Wannstedt failed to realize.

I could go on about the many reasons Wannstedt was dismissed Tuesday, from his inability to win big games to his failure to make even one BCS Bowl Game despite playing in a sub-par Big East Conference with major advantages over his conference opponents. We know all of those reasons, you can read those in many different places today and they are certainly true. Firing Wannstedt was more than justifiable, but there are many reasons that not only could have been used to keep Wannstedt on board, but that may end up making this one of the biggest mistakes in Pitt football history.

Over the past three years Pitt has accumulated the most talent in the Big East and was showing a discernible advantage going forward. This showed not only in the recruiting rankings where Pitt was finishing on top of the Big East for a few years now, but from the product on the field. Part of the reason Wannstedt is being let go is that it was so apparent that his teams were underachieving. Pitt had a legitimate chance to win the Big East in each of the past three years and came up empty. It was obvious, however, that the Panthers were probably the most talented team in the conference in each of those years, or at the very least comparable with the other top teams. Somehow Pitt never managed to come out on top and that is what ultimately cost Wannstedt his job.

Pitt has an advantage over the rest of the Big East with its tradition, its location and its reputation. Dave Wannstedt seemed to recognize this and was able to tap into these resources and advantages but he never was able to get the program completely over the top. Talent usually wins in the end and I feel eventually that the talent discrepancy would get Wannstedt over that hump and once that happened this thing could really start rolling. I also believed that once Pitt had this program rolling along, a new coach could come in when Wannstedt moved along or retired and really take it to new heights, just the way that Jamie Dixon is doing with the basketball program.

Instead, Pitt decided to go in a new direction and I cannot say that I blame them. They made the decision that Dave Wannstedt would not be able to get this team over that hump and that they needed to bring in a new guy to get there. Let’s just hope that the new guy builds on what Dave Wannstedt has established and not returns the program to where it was when Wannstedt arrived. If that happens, Steve Pederson and the Pitt administration could have made one big mistake. Like I said in the beginning, I have mixed feelings on Dave Wannstedt’s firing.



Thursday Night Pick
Indianapolis (-3) over TENNESSEE

Same Old Pitt

Pitt had a chance to put a stranglehold on the Big East last night and let it slip away. This is the all too familiar story for this Pitt program under Dave Wannstedt. Just when fans begin to get their hopes up the Panthers find a way to bring them back to reality. In what should have been a fourth consecutive Big East win and another notch closer to the Top 25 and a BCS Bowl bid, Pitt was outplayed and pushed around in the fourth quarter on their way to losing to an inferior Connecticut team 30-28. The loss should make Pitt fans angry and disappointed all at the same time.

That paragraph sounds like a bleak analysis of last night’s loss to the Connecticut Huskies, but I am pretty sure that it sums up many of the Panthers fans’ feelings today. After a disappointing non-conference schedule that left the Panthers 2-3 and looking like anything but a BCS Bowl team, the Panthers started to look like the team many, including myself, thought they could be at the beginning of the year. Maybe we had underestimated the integration of a new quarterback and a new interior offensive line that led to the Panthers struggles in the early going but now they were starting to find their stride on the offensive line and quarterback Tino Sunseri’s play had improved dramatically over the past few weeks. The Panthers were not only winning their Big East games, they were winning them convincingly. There was a chance Pitt could run the table in the conference and restore some respect for both the program and the Big East Conference as a whole.

That momentum came to a crashing halt last night. Even if Pitt wins out and manages to win the Big East, something that looks a whole lot more unlikely today, the Panthers will garner no national respect and at 8-4 or 7-5, the Big East BCS representative will spend a month getting ridiculed instead of hyped.

There is no need to go over the details of the game. Everyone saw Ray Graham cough up a costly fumble on the return after Connecticut took the lead midway through the fourth quarter. Everyone saw how the defense failed to make a stand, not only on the pivotal fourth down play (give UConn coach Randy Edsall a ton of credit for making that call, can you imagine Wannstedt ever doing that?!), but all game long everytime the Panthers had a chance to put the hammer down the defense failed to respond. Everyone saw Sunseri make two terrible passes that led to interceptions, the one probably costing Pitt points in the first half. Everyone saw the same old Pitt. The Panthers had a chance to once again establish itself as the premier team in the Big East conference and failed to do so, just as they have the past two years.

Pitt Preview and Season Outlook

Pitt opens their season tonight at Utah amongst a good bit of optimism and high expectations surrounding the team. Everyone knows about the star power the Panthers possess with Dion Lewis, Jon Baldwin, Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard and even Jason Pinkston at left tackle, but as a friend and non-Pitt fan said to me (and I am paraphrasing), “knowing nothing else what would you say about a team traveling cross-country in its first game with a new quarterback, a new middle-linebacker, three new starters on the interior offensive line, and two new starters on the defensive line and at corner playing a team that hasn’t lost at home since 2007?” Well, glad you asked, seems like a perfect way to preview the Panthers opener tonight and season in general. Let’s take a look at Pitt’s potential weaknesses starting with the least concerning moving towards the most concerning.

Middle-Linebacker – Dan Mason, from Penn Hills High School, takes over at MLB as a true sophomore and just oozes with talent. Yes, Mason may make a mistake with some over-aggressiveness typical of a young player, but he will more than make up for it with his play-making ability. Dave Wannstedt has been raving about this kid since the day he stepped on campus and we are about to find out why. Mason could turn out to be the best in a long line of recent Pitt MLBs that include NFL players H.B. Blades, Gerald Hayes and Scott McKillop.

Defensive Tackle – Myles Caragein and Chas Alecxih are the starters at DT and Caragein brings with him plenty of experience as he was the third man in the defensive tackle rotation last season and was very solid during his time on the field. True freshman Aaron Donald, also of Penn Hills, Tyler Tkach and Tyrone Ezell are all expected to contribute at some point during the season as part of the d-line rotation. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the d-tackles as Wannstedt and his staff have proven their ability to recruit and develop defensive lineman time and again. Besides, with the attention that the two defensive ends will garner, solid play is all that is needed from the tackle position.

Quarterback – Here is where some apprehension begins. Tino Sunseri takes over from Bill Stull who surprisingly put together a pretty fantastic senior campaign. The reason, however, that Stull was able to put together that season is the same reason I would not be too concerned with Sunseri: Pitt will not ask him to do more than he is capable of. Sunseri will be asked to handoff, use play-action, throw deep and in general, give his talented receivers a chance to make plays without turning the ball over. Knowing Sunseri’s background, I see no reason he cannot accomplish this. Anything more that he can give would be a bonus. Even if Sunseri were to go down, the Panthers will have veteran back-up Pat Bostick to turn to who brings many of the same qualities.

Cornerback – Now is where Pitt fans can genuinely be concerned. The Panthers will start senior Ricky Gary and junior Antwuan Reed at corner with the third corner spot ultimately going to true freshmen K’waun Williams, an unheralded 3-star recruit out of New Jersey. This development must have been a disappointment to the Pitt coaching staff who were probably counting on the development of talented juniors Buddy Jackson (Jackson is listed at the 3rd corner spot for now, but all indications are that Wiliams will assume this role) and Saheed Imoru. Yes, unheralded three star corner recruits have panned out in the past (anyone ever hear of Darrelle Revis?), but of the three corners expected to see most of the action, only Gary has extensive experience. Wannstedt’s defensive philosophy of dropping seven in coverage and applying pressure on the quarterback with his front four, plus Pitt's experience at the safety position, could allow the Panthers to somewhat hide this weakness on defense. One positive note is that the only team on the schedule that really appears able to exploit the Panthers' CBs is Miami, with their NFL-caliber WRs and Jacory Harris at QB. A herculean effort from Romeus and Sheard will be needed for that one.

Interior Offensive Line – The area that most concerns me for the Panthers is the interior offensive line that will have three new starters and practically no depth what-so-ever. The key to everything the Panthers want to do on an offense focused on the running game begins and ends up front. Left guard Chris Jacobson is talented, has some experience and will be fine but there are certainly questions about center Alex Karabin, a former walk-on, and right guard Greg Gaskins. The good news is that both players are veterans and that the Panthers should be able to give them plenty of help in the form of double-teams, traps and the like because of their talented tackles and fullback, Henry Hynoski. The bad news is that the Panthers line will be tested right from the start. The Utah defensive line is talented, experienced and is expected to anchor what is otherwise an inexperienced defense. If this unit is to become successful at all, they absolutely must stay healthy.

Pitt’s opening game in Utah tonight is interesting to me for a number of reasons. A win would put added emphasis on the Miami game in a few weeks and could very well send Pitt onto some bigger aspirations on the national stage. A loss would refocus the Panthers season back to a Big East championship, but at the same time would once again put doubt in people’s minds about the ability of this program to make the next big step.

I like the Panthers offensive line to hold up just enough for their skill guys to make some big plays against an inexperienced Utah back seven and for Pitt’s defensive ends to make life a bit miserable for Utah’s young quarterback Jordan Wynn. Pitt wins 27-20, sending the Panthers on their way to a 4-1 non-conference record followed by a 6-1 Big East championship season, landing the Panthers in a BCS Bowl Game for the first time since 2005, with a record of 10-2.

Time for Pitt-Wannstedt to Take Big Step

Dave Wannstedt enters his sixth season as head coach of the Pitt football team. After enduring a couple of down years with Wannstedt as the Coach preached patience and his ability to build a program the proper way, it is no secret that the Pittsburgh football program has arrived. Following two seasons where the Panthers fell just short of a Big East Championship and a BCS Bowl berth, it is now time for the program to make that final step into Big East supremacy.

In case people have a short memory, Pitt began the Wannstedt era with three consecutive sub-par seasons of 5-6, 6-6, and 5-7. It was that final game of the 2007 season, however, that marked the beginning of a new era for Pitt football. Pitt defeated West Virginia, as if I have to mention this game in detail, 13-9 in a monumental upset that denied Coach Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers a trip to the National Championship, and potentially changed the landscape of the Big East for the foreseeable future.

Pitt parlayed their upset over West Virginia into a 9-4 season in 2008, a season that saw two losses in particular stand out. The first, in hindsight a game that was essentially for the Big East title, was a 28-21 loss to Cincinnati. It was a game that the Panthers fell behind 28-7 before a fourth quarter rally made the score look closer than it actually was. The second was an embarrassing offensive performance in a 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. The season had to be considered a success, however, after three consecutive losing seasons and set the stage for extremely high expectations for the 2009 team.

The 2009 team, for all of its talent and success, did not accomplish what the Panthers set out to accomplish and that was to win the Big East title and play in their first BCS Bowl since Walt Harris was manning the sidelines. In each of the big games during the 2009 season, and for most of Wannstedt’s tenure (with the notable exception of that WVU game) the Panthers have failed to live up to the occasion. This was most notable in the season-ending loss in what was the de-facto Big East title game against Cincinnati. There is no need to rehash the events of what should have been the biggest win in the Wannstedt era. That loss, however, sets the stage for what should be a no-excuse 2010 season.

It is not often, outside of the usual suspects such as Florida, Texas and the like, to set such lofty goals while breaking in a new quarterback but the talent surrounding Tino Sunseri should make the new Pitt QB’s life that much easier. Pitt returns Jonathan Baldwin, arguably the best WR in the country, as well as sure-handed Mike Shanahan and a host of other talented receivers on the outside. In the backfield, they have a guy you might have heard of in Dion Lewis and a not too shabby replacement in Ray Graham. I cannot see Sunseri being asked to do much besides play-action, throwing the deep ball and hitting crossing patterns to this talented group. Both starting tackles are back from last year as well to protect Sunseri and open holes for Heisman hopeful Lewis. There are some uncertainties on the interior of the offensive line, but as long as the Panthers, namely Sunseri, avoid costly mistakes, this offense should be explosive.

Defensively the Panthers should excel once again. They did lose both starting defensive tackles, their middle-linebacker, and both cornerbacks from the 2009 unit but Wannstedt’s ability to recruit this side of the ball has players just as talented, if not more-so in the case of middle linebacker Dan Mason, ready to step in and fill the void. Mason, along with the supremely talented defensive end pair of Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus should spearhead a defense that had to be somewhat embarrassed by their performance in the Big East finale last year against Cincinnati.

Looking at the Pitt roster and those of the rest of the Big East teams, there appears to be no reason that Pitt should not ascend to the top of the standings this year. Cincinnati lost its coach and is also breaking in a new quarterback. WVU has question marks on defense and at QB. Connecticut and Rutgers do not have the athletes that Pitt does. Simply put, the Panthers have the most talented team in the Conference and the coaches agreed, making Pitt a runaway choice as the favorite to win the Big East.

Pitt does have a great nonconference schedule this year with trips to Utah and Notre Dame and a showdown with Miami at Heinz Field, but those games will not determine the level of success this team has. It is time that Dave Wannstedt and the Pitt football program become the class of the Big East Conference. Anything less would be a disappointing 2010 season.

Same Old Song for Pitt

All year long I have been comparing this Pitt team to the Brandin Knight – Julius Page teams from the early 2000s era. Fittingly enough, the Panthers exited the NCAA tournament in the early rounds in much the same fashion as those early Howland/Dixon teams did. Those Page-Knight teams featured good defense, consistent play and overachievement during the regular season while lacking a true star and the ability to overcome an off game in the NCAA tournament which led to early exits. Yesterday’s loss, and the 2009-2010 Panthers season in general, eerily had the same feeling.

Pitt most certainly did not play its best game of the season yesterday against Xavier. The Panthers shot only 39% from the floor compared to Xavier’s 48%, allowed the Musketeers to shoot 50% from three, and gave up a 16-0 run in the first half. Pitt also got dismal performances from two starters in Jermaine Dixon (1-9, 2 points) and Gary McGhee (0 points, 4 rebounds). Any of these would have been enough for Pitt to lose and yet there were the Panthers right in the game until the very end. The difference, just as it was so many times for those early 2000s Panther teams, was that Xavier featured a star on his way to the NBA while the Panthers were stuck with no one to take over the game in crunch time.

Jordan Crawford, famous for his dunk on LeBron James in a camp last summer, scored 27 points on 9-15 shooting (4-7 from three) and had a number of fantastic one-on-one moves to beat the Panthers’ defense. Pitt’s leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, meanwhile, finished with 19 points on only 6-16 shooting (4-13 from deep) and more importantly scored only 1 point in the second half. This game had the same feeling as the 2003 Sweet Sixteen loss to Marquette when Pitt had no answer for Dwayne Wade. That is the most memorable one but Pitt also lost to Oklahoma State in 2004 when they had no answer for Tony Allen, in 2002 when it was Antonio Gates of Kent State, and 2006 to Bradley and center Patrick O’Bryant. Once again, Pitt had no answer for the opposing team’s star, in this instance Crawford, and thus are left packing their bags earlier than they had anticipated.

I do not want to sound too negative, however, as this season must be classified as a success. Had you told any Pitt fan back in November that this team would finish 25-9, win an NCAA tournament game and finish in the top 20 of the country, I think they would have unanimously approved of such a season. The team, in what was thought to be a rebuilding year after losing Sam Young and DeJuan Blair to the NBA among four starters lost, had a great run and should be able to build on the positives heading into next season. The only meaningful contributor the Panthers lose is Jermaine Dixon and while Dixon was a fine defensive player, I see no reason Pitt should have problems replacing his production. With four starters and the top three reserves returning, the hopeful improvement of Dante Taylor as well as the other freshmen big men, and a very promising recruiting class, Pitt fans should be plenty excited about the 2010-2011 Pitt basketball team.

What is Pitt's Celing Now?

Pitt won for the third time this year against a top five team, this time beating #3 Villanova 70-65 yesterday at Petersen Events Center. Pitt has the trademark of every good team and that is they keep getting better every time out. One game after playing what I thought was their best all-around performance of the year at Marquette; Pitt topped that performance yesterday in a game that is sure to raise the expectation level of the Pitt faithful.

Jamie Dixon and company won yesterday with their typical suffocating defense and their prowess on the offensive glass. Pitt collected 21 offensive rebounds, eight by Gary McGhee, and used their second chance opportunities to offset a poor shooting day (35% on field goals). There is no need to get into the many details of the game as I am sure most people either watched it or have read about it. Pitt did a great job breaking Villanova’s pressure, running their offense, and limiting the very dangerous guard duo of Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher. Ashton Gibbs had 21 points and Gilbert Brown chipped in 16 off the bench, including a thunderous dunk down the stretch that may have saved the game for the Panthers.

So where does that leave the Panthers and their expectations going forward? For now it is sure to vault the Panthers up in both pools, however meaningless they are, and has moved Pitt into 9th in the RPI standings. The remaining four Big East games are all winnable (at Notre Dame and St. John’s, home against Providence and Rutgers) giving the Panthers an outside shot at the Big East regular season title. I do not think Syracuse loses two more, but Pitt should have secured a two-day bye for the Big East Tournament with yesterday’s win. More importantly, without a collapse in their final four regular season games, the win should leave Pitt with no worse than a #4 seed and more likely a #3 seed in the Big Dance, with the opportunity to earn as high as a #2 seed with an extended run in the Big East Tournament. My guess is that the Panthers win out in the regular season before losing in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament and earning themselves a #3 seed in the tourney.

With a #3 seed, or even a #2 or a #4 seed, expectations are going to be high. Anything less than a Sweet Sixteen appearance would be a major disappointment and an Elite Eight appearance could be reasonably hoped for. That, again, is a long way from where this team looked headed back in December. I am not sure how many different ways to say how great of a coach Jamie Dixon is, but this has truly been his best job of his tenure at Pitt. BUT, there’s always a but right, this team reminds me so much of the Brandin Knight-Julius Page era teams at Pitt. That normally would be a good thing, but in this context it is not.

Come tournament time, when it is one loss and done, who is going to score the basketball for Pitt when things are not going smoothly? Who is going to break another team’s run? Who is the go-to guy at crunch time to get his own shot or create a shot for a teammate? All of these things remain major question marks for the Panthers as the tournament approaches. Yes, this team has a wide variety of options just as the Knight/Page teams did. Yes, Ashton Gibbs is their best scorer and player just as Knight and Page were. But just like Knight and Page, Gibbs is not a great creator and is not great at scoring off the dribble. This has been a recipe for early exits and disappointing losses to inferior teams in the past and I am afraid it could be the path this team is headed for as well. With the right match-ups and Pitt playing well in all facets of the game, I can see a run to the Elite 8, but (there’s that word again) more likely I see Pitt running into a team with a dynamic superstar that Pitt cannot match and going down once again in the 2nd or 3rd round to a team they would normally beat. Here’s hoping I am wrong…

TGIF

Nothing beats a Friday and what better way to wrap up the week than with a smorgasbord of thoughts from around the sports world. Yes, I just went smorgasbord on you…

• Last night was an incredible night of sports on TV. We had great college hoops on including Syracuse-Georgetown and Pitt-Marquette among other games. Olympic action was on two different channels including Canada’s shootout game against Switzerland in hockey. Four of the top six teams in the NBA were in action on TNT. I couldn’t flip channels fast enough. I wish every night was like that…then again I would probably be divorced if that were the case.

• Pitt played what I thought was their best all-around game of the season last night with the possible exception of the Syracuse game. Despite getting only two points from leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, the Panthers other four starters scored in double figures and they had solid contributions from Gilbert Brown, Travon Woodall and Dante Taylor off the bench. The Panthers got a host of dunks using dribble penetration (did somebody recommend this just last week!) and pounding the ball down low. If they can continue this, Gibbs should be freed up even more on the outside. The Panthers played great defense as usual and really took it to Marquette giving Jamie Dixon his first win in the Bradley Center.

• With that win Pitt is well-positioned to get a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Sunday’s game at the Pete against Villanova should tell us a whole lot about Pitt’s chances of making a sustained run in the Big Dance. I will be watching this game with a very close eye on how Pitt can defend great penetrating guards, something that can kill you come tournament time.

• Tiger Woods, as the entire world knows, breaks his silence today in another protected, boring press conference. Blah…let me know when he decides to golf again.

• In Olympic action, the American stars have come to shine as Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Shani Davis have all taken home Gold in their respective events. It makes the Games somewhat more enjoyable when you have actually heard of the competitors competing for and winning medals. The U.S. now has a comfortable lead in the medal count with 18 medals (9 Golds), seven more than second place Germany.

• Speaking of making the events more enjoyable; if you want to make it interesting throw a wager down on an underdog in an event and have a rooting interest (if gambling were legal of course). I watched the half-pipe event with my brother who threw a small bet down on Scottie Lago at 10-1 odds. Of course Shaun White was the heavy favorite and put on an unbelievable performance, but that didn’t make it any less fun after Lago had a fantastic run to take the early lead. I never watched a winter event with more enthusiasm. Lago finished with the bronze by the way.

• In hockey action, the U.S. looked solid again posting a 6-1 win over Norway getting a goal and an assist from local boy Ryan Malone. Canada won on a shootout goal from Sidney Crosby and Russia was not as fortunate losing in a shootout against Slovakia. Pool play is not integral to winning the tournament but the U.S. and Canada do square off in an interesting match on Sunday. The winner will receive a bye in the first round of tournament action. Canada and Russia being pushed to shootouts goes to show you that no matter how talented a team is a hot goaltender can be the great equalizer. When tournament play begins and it is one loss and done, the question will be whose goaltender comes up big.

• LeBron James is incredible. He finished last night with 43 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds for his 27th career triple-double. He also chipped in 4 blocks and 2 steals for good measure. (In case you thought these numbers were inflated by overtime LeBron had 37, 15, 13, 4 and 2 at the end of regulation). For anyone that thinks there is even a debate anymore about who the best player in the world is, get with reality. The only question left for me is whether James enters the debate with MJ himself someday as the greatest player ever.

• The Cavs lost the game 118-116 in overtime to the Denver Nuggets by the way. Carmelo Anthony had a fantastic night himself scoring 40 points including the game winning jumper over LeBron with 1.9 seconds left in overtime. Despite the loss, it was a great day for the Cavaliers who added Antawn Jamison in a trade on Wednesday. Cleveland is my pick to win it all this year and give LeBron his first of what will be many championships.

• Pitchers and catchers reported to Bradenton on Wednesday. Hard to believe baseball has begun when we are buried in three feet of snow up here. Spring brings eternal hope for baseball fans, except those that are fans of the Pirates. We will be talking a lot of baseball in the coming weeks, but for now look out for my initial thoughts on the Buccos in the next few days.

• I do not understand why NFL players get upset when they are franchised. I bring this up in light of Vince Wilfork of the Patriots “slap in the face” comment and Casey Hampton expressing similar feelings. The one year salary that franchised players receive is often equal or close to the amount of guaranteed money they would receive in a longer term contract with the added ability of becoming a free agent again the following year. I think this attitude stems from players not being Nobel Prize winners in economics and their agents feeding them propaganda looking for their own guaranteed paychecks.

• Despite many so-called “experts” feeling as though the Steelers biggest need is offensive line, I could not disagree more. The Steelers are built to win now. Any lineman drafted by the Steelers will not start this upcoming season. There are simply no starting jobs available on the line and despite popular opinion, the line performed quite well last year. I hope the Steelers trade up for a defensive back, the position that could make the most impact on the coming season. If the Steelers stay at number 18, I would be an advocate at taking the best player available as they need depth at linebacker, the secondary and both lines.

• Another teaser alert….I will be back in the next few days with more on the Steelers including what my full offseason plan would be were I to wake up the next day with Kevin Colbert’s job.

Great Pitt-WVU Battle

Only one word can properly describe the Pitt-West Virginia game last night; “Wow”! If you did not see the game for yourself I apologize, but I cannot properly do it justice in writing. Pitt erased a 7 point deficit in the final minute of the game, thanks in large part to WVU’s failure from the free throw line and a very costly turnover. West Virginia then rallied in the final seconds of each of the first two overtimes, including a long three by Truck Bryant at the end of the first overtime (why did Pitt not foul in this situation!), until the game was finally decided in the third overtime. My wife and I were actually at the same bar/restaurant that we watched the Syracuse-Connecticut six overtime contest last year in the Big East Tournament and this battle had the exact same feel. It is a shame we had to settle for ONLY three overtimes this time.

Pitt got great contributions from a host of players last night including leading scorers Brad Wannamaker and Ashton Gibbs, but the two who really stood out for me were Travon Woodall and Gary McGhee. Woodall played 31 minutes with Jermaine Dixon fouling out before eventually fouling out himself. Woodall contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and most importantly 0 turnovers. He would have been the hero as well had his fade-away jumper at the end of the 2nd overtime left his hand a split second earlier. If Woodall can contribute like this going forward it would be a huge boost to the Pitt rotation, allowing Gibbs to play off the ball at times as well as getting some meaningful rest during games. McGhee only had 6 points but he was a monster presence down low collecting 12 rebounds and 2 blocks, including a monster one late in the 2nd overtime. I thought Pitt’s defense was shaky for most of the game and overall was not their best performance of the year. However, if they are able to get contributions from the number of players they did against West Virginia, last night could mark the true turning point of the season.

Pitt Struggles

Pitt dropped its fourth game in five contests last night after getting badly outplayed by West Virginia down the stretch. The final score of 70-51 makes the outcome look a little worse than it actually was, but Pitt never posed a real threat to win the game in the final 10-12 minutes. The loss left Pitt 16-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big East. If you told most Pitt fans before the season that Pitt would have that record at this point in the season, all but the most optimistic of the bunch would have been thrilled. Further still, if you would have told the Pitt fan base that the team would have that record after the embarrassing loss to Indiana at Madison Square Garden, one that I was a witness too first hand, most fans would have probably called you crazy. However, five consecutive wins to start Big East play, including three impressive road wins over Syracuse, Cincinnati and Connecticut, had Pitt fans dreaming big once again this year. Looking back on those five consecutive wins, only the Syracuse win seems as impressive as it did at the time. This Pitt team is neither as good as it was during their start to the Big East schedule nor as bad as it has been the past five contests. The team has serious flaws, but their overall body of work should have Pitt fans excited for another trip to the Big Dance and a chance to earn yet another high seed with a return to Pitt’s more conventional play. Instead of breaking down the reasons why Pitt lost last night in a tough environment against a very good WVU squad, not the least of which could be contributed to their 2nd and 3rd leading scorers combining for a whopping zero points, let’s look ahead to what Pitt should do to right the ship.

Yes, Pitt was badly out-rebounded last night but that is only the third time this season they have been out-rebounded and I expect Jamie Dixon and his staff to have that corrected by next game. Yes, the defense has also been somewhat vulnerable lately, but this is another area where we all know the Panthers can and will play more soundly down the stretch. To me, the biggest problem lies in their offense. Pitt has no low-post threat, only one feared outside shooter in Ashton Gibbs, and no players that can take over a game by themselves. It is a recipe that does not usually lead to great offense. This was clearly evident early in the season when Pitt was having an extremely difficult time scoring the basketball. However, with Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown back in the line-up the team has more options than it is exploiting. If I was Jamie Dixon, I would be looking to run more isolation and pick and roll plays with Dixon, Brown and Brad Wannamaker. All three guys are excellent penetrators and can take their man off the dribble. Using the dribble-drive to get into the paint would free up outside shots on kick-outs for Gibbs who has struggled recently forcing shots off the dribble and shooting off of screens. The lack of a post presence could also be hidden by getting the ball deep with the dribble instead of the pass. Right now, Pitt is running numerous screens for Gibbs and when that does not work they revert back to their motion offense that has been so successful during the Dixon era. This team does not have as gifted offensive players as some of the past teams, however, and it’s time to adjust to the talent that is here. Brown, Wannamaker and Dixon are all great athletes that could thrive taking the ball to the hoop. If they are able to get into the paint and pass the ball to either cutting big men or kick it out to the open three point shooters, it would make the Panthers a much harder team to guard. It is the same offense that Duke, Villanova and Kentucky use and have used successfully over the years. Pitt does not have the same caliber of athlete at point guard as these other schools, but they have them on the wings and should use this advantage to spread their offense and get better shots.

Whether Pitt uses my proposed strategy or not, I suspect Jamie Dixon will have these guys playing enough defense, out-hustling and out-rebounding teams the way Pitt teams normally do down the stretch. Ashton Gibbs is too good of a shooter to stay in a prolonged slump as well and this team will win enough games to get into the NCAA Tournament. I expect the turnaround to start this Saturday at the Petersen Event Center when Pitt takes on Seton Hall. That being said, I do not expect a long NCAA tournament run unless this team adapts their offense, plays to its strengths and hides some of the serious flaws it does have.