OT: Pitt

[August_West]

Yep, I also remember Khalid silencing them.

KEA was before the Pete. Pete opened in 2002-03.

Poor SJ. Stick to giving Spartacus a hard time.

 

[UConnRock]

Dixon may or may not be a genius, but Pitt was crazy to hire Stallings. He was a joke at Vandy and is just a cold, impersonal coach that is totally disconnected from his players. He took the Pitt job to watch his son play for the Pirates. He has no connection to Pitt’s recruiting hot spots. He will be gone very soon.

 

[superjohn]

Poor SJ. Stick to giving Spartacus a hard time.

Gene Stallings called, he wants to let you know he retired from coaching football 2 decades ago. Stick to stuffing your face with disgusting Arby's lunch meats and not riding The Joker.

 

[August_West]

Dixon may or may not be a genius, but Pitt was crazy to hire Stallings. He was a joke at Vandy and is just a cold, impersonal coach that is totally disconnected from his players. He took the Pitt job to watch his son play for the Pirates. He has no connection to Pitt’s recruiting hot spots. He will be gone very soon.

See thats what gets me though when people on here think we are going to attract some kind of savior here when they get what they want and get KO fired. Who the hell do you think we are going to attract? a Big ACC P5 school with some recent (last 15 years) high ranked teams hired an idiot like Stallings. But somehow people think the best and brightest are salivating at a chance to come to the AAC in Storrs in front of 1/3 full Arenas?

The separation from actual reality from the hardcore Ollie detractors here is endlessly entertaining.

And yes I agree KO needs to do better. Much better. But in the current landscape of college basketball and whats out there and what our fate would be without him, it makes me want to roll the dice on a homegrown guy 3.5 years off a title. Until someone can name someone better who would actually TAKE the job, I will continue to shake my head.

 

[Guapo]

See thats what gets me though when people on here think we are going to attract some kind of savior here when they get what they want and get KO fired. Who the hell do you think we are going to attract? a Big ACC P5 school with some recent (last 15 years) high ranked teams hired an idiot like Stallings. But somehow people think the best and brightest are salivating at a chance to come to the AAC in Storrs in front of 1/3 full Arenas?

The separation from actual reality from the hardcore Ollie detractors here is endlessly entertaining.

And yes I agree KO needs to do better. Much better. But in the current landscape of college basketball and whats out there and what our fate would be without him, it makes me want to roll the dice on a homegrown guy 3.5 years off a title. Until someone can name someone better who would actually TAKE the job, I will continue to shake my head.

That is always a good question to ask when talking about firing a coach (note I do not believe UConn should fire Ollie.)

However, since you asked, I do think UConn is a more attractive position than Pitt.

UConn is closer to better recruiting areas in NYC and Boston and has significant brand equity in both locations and throughout the youth basketball system.

Plus, the basketball training facility is amongst the newest and best in the country.

Conference affiliation means a lot, we know that, however I think for arguments like this we put too much emphasis on it.

Honestly, when we assume any p5 conference job is better than ours then we play right into the hands of the media created narrative that there is a vast separation in quality when there clearly is not.

Schools like Gonzaga, Wichita State, and the top teir NBE schools all manage to play with the power 5 boys, and we can too.

UConn got screwed in conference realignment but UConn has a lot going for it both in the basketball world and beyond.

A lot of us need to a better job recognizing that and cease with the constant fatalism that permeates certain corners of this fan base.

 

[August_West]

Schools like Gonzaga, Wichita State, and the top teir NBE schools all manage to play with the power 5 boys, and we can too.

Watch what happens when Few and Marshall are gone. Especially Wichita St.

Few is 18 years at Gonzaga - Marshall 10 at witchita Ollie 5 at UConn.

 

[Guapo]

Watch what happens when Few and Marshall are gone. Especially Wichita St.

Few is 18 years at Gonzaga - Marshall 10 at witchita Ollie 5 at UConn.

Well obviously the next hire will be very important for them, however I think they've made themselves into the type of program where they can attract a really good coach.

 

[Guapo]

Watch what happens when Few and Marshall are gone. Especially Wichita St.

Few is 18 years at Gonzaga - Marshall 10 at witchita Ollie 5 at UConn.

Honest question, do you think every single Power 5 job is a better job than UConn?

 

[jibsey]

I keep dreaming if we were P5 the type of players we would be getting

 

[Rocktheworld]

Well obviously the next hire will be very important for them, however I think they've made themselves into the type of program where they can attract a really good coach.

So you’re saying they’re gonna be the next Butler?

Except Wichita state is in, well, Wichita KS; and is in the AAC, not NBE

 

[Guapo]

So you’re saying they’re gonna be the next Butler?

Except Wichita state is in, well, Wichita KS; and is in the AAC, not NBE

They have significant fan support, a decent facility, and the limitless pockets of the Koch Brothers.

So, yes I think they'll be fine.

 

[August_West]

Honest question, do you think every single Power 5 job is a better job than UConn?

Not every one. But many. It’s a Herculean task to recruit in our situation and will get worse as the confence money disparity becomes more pronounced.

 

[Guapo]

Not every one. But many. It’s a Herculean task to recruit in our situation and will get worse as the confence money disparity becomes more pronounced.

I understand that, we are all worried.

I don't mean to minimize the situation we are in conference wise, however I think the money disparity is a bigger deal in football than basketball.

There is a long history of basketball programs from smaller schools competing with the big football schools.

Ollie is still landing 4 star recruits and Gilbert was a McD's AA.

Imagine what we could do after a run in the tourney?

As I've stated before, we have the facilities and the brand (though we need successful seasons in the very near future to keep that equity up).

If push ever came to shove, I'm confident that the administration would do everything it could, including making some very hard choices within the Athletic Department, in order to keep funding for the basketball program competitive.

Long story short; it's a challenge but other schools have shown that it is a challenge that can be overcome.

 

[Robertelamin]

Current Pitt roster has only three schollie holdovers, all seniors. Only Luther would possibly crack UConn's roster as a bench player. Other two are useless.

It's kinda weird that the big gripe with Dixon was his micromanagement and not letting offensive minded players play offense. Stallings is a 180-degree in that his teams don't defend well and the offensive schemes are pretty wide open. He had to scramble this year after losing Cam Johnson and Nix. He does have a couple of decent recruits already for 2018, but this season is going to be a disaster, possibly worse than Penn State, which I don't recall has ever happened.

They lost to Penn St. by 31 today...

 

[JonnyRI]

They have significant fan support, a decent facility, and the limitless pockets of the Koch Brothers.

So, yes I think they'll be fine.

You bring up a great point in terms of one of our biggest needs.

UConn needs a gazillionaire alumnus. Gampel needs an upgrade? No prob, he shells out $250mil for it.

Tough for students to get to XL? He hires 3000 Uber’s for every game.

Someone needs to make this happen.

 

[Adios]

You bring up a great point in terms of one of our biggest needs.

UConn needs a gazillionaire alumnus. Gampel needs an upgrade? No prob, he shells out $250mil for it.

Tough for students to get to XL? He hires 3000 Uber’s for every game.

Someone needs to make this happen.

Our student body is nerdy as heck right now. Don't worry, we'll get there one day.

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

That Pitt game last night was absolute comedy. PSU is a solid team this year and they really shot the ball well, but I've never seen a team just look as defeated as Pitt did early on when PSU went up by 10-15. Last year there was a lot of shock when they got waxed by 40-50 by Louisville at The Pete, but I think that may be the norm this year as they get into ACC play.

The local media/Pitt nutcases are ready to run Stallings out now but the rumor is that Pitt athletics were already operating at a deficit in 2016 and it's looking just as bleak for 2017. Stallings has a hefty buyout after this year that drops after 2018-2019, so if the numbers being floated are true (9M deficit last year, on track for at least that in 2017), I really have a tough time seeing them paying out a big sum to Stallings and then dipping back into the coaching pool. If you're in the mood for a good laugh however, search "Pitt" and "Pitino" on Twitter for the lunatic fringe Pitt fans demanding that they hire Slick Rick to save the program.

 

[Guapo]

That Pitt game last night was absolute comedy. PSU is a solid team this year and they really shot the ball well, but I've never seen a team just look as defeated as Pitt did early on when PSU went up by 10-15. Last year there was a lot of shock when they got waxed by 40-50 by Louisville at The Pete, but I think that may be the norm this year as they get into ACC play.

The local media/Pitt nutcases are ready to run Stallings out now but the rumor is that Pitt athletics were already operating at a deficit in 2016 and it's looking just as bleak for 2017. Stallings has a hefty buyout after this year that drops after 2018-2019, so if the numbers being floated are true (9M deficit last year, on track for at least that in 2017), I really have a tough time seeing them paying out a big sum to Stallings and then dipping back into the coaching pool. If you're in the mood for a good laugh however, search "Pitt" and "Pitino" on Twitter for the lunatic fringe Pitt fans demanding that they hire Slick Rick to save the program.

What is this?

I thought all these teams in the ACC were just sleeping on a bed made of money.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Temple has beaten Clemson on a neutral floor
Even Houston beat Wake Forest
If Pitt is worse than them ,the bottom of the ACC is pretty bad

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

What is this?

I thought all these teams in the ACC were just sleeping on a bed made of money.

From their Statement of Expenses and Revenues: In 2016 their Total Expenses were $59,766,389 with Revenues of $51,223,816. In 2017, the projected Expenses are 67,603,289 with Revenue at 58,715,939.

 

[Guapo]

From their Statement of Expenses and Revenues: In 2016 their Total Expenses were $59,766,389 with Revenues of $51,223,816. In 2017, the projected Expenses are 67,603,289 with Revenue at 58,715,939.

That was some #sarcasm for the people around here who think every one of our athletic failures are due to conference realignment.

But thank you for this info, I'm sure some here will be surprised to see UConn athletics has greater revenue than PITT.