Reason for Pitt's March Struggles?

[steeldevil]

For the guys that know more about Pitt than I do, why do they constantly fall apart in March? Is it Dixon or what?

[steelpride12]

It's hard to say. Luck, inconsistency in the big games in March, Stupid plays when the game is on the line?

[steeldevil]

Yea all those things are true but it just seems to me that every tear except the one EE year they lose to an inferior team in the first 2 rounds. I'm beginning to think that Dixon doesn't have them mentally prepared for the big stage. But I don't really remember why they lost in the tourney prior to this year.

[Chidi29]

I'm not a huge college basketball guy so take my opinion with a grain of salt but we don't have the explosiveness that the top teams have. It's a collection of hard-nosed, good players but we don't have that one superstar who can take over a game. We haven't in awhile. Gibbs, Krauser, Young, Blair were all very good but I wouldn't call any of them great.

[zulater]

For the guys that know more about Pitt than I do, why do they constantly fall apart in March? Is it Dixon or what?

They don't ever have a genuine go to guyto bail them out when things go bad for one thing. Dixon rarely recruits, or at least gets players who can succeed at the next level. So they get a bunch of B- guys that are willing to play ugly ball. It works in the regular season, but in the tournament you need a player or two that can elevate their game to the situation. He was close a couple years back when they had Blair, and Young, but even those guys weren't big time finishers.

In the end he either needs to scrap the system and find a star to build the team around or maybe Dixon needs to find a city where a star is willing to go?

Regardless I'm sick of these chokers. I'd rather they not even make the tournament than to be a 1 seed and flame out like this. They're Fredo to me!

[steelpride12]

Gibbs and Wannamaker are the leaders of the teams and are great players, but not superstars like a Singler for example. The team has a strong core, but not a player who can take over and win you games. Plus this is a hefty thought, but I think Dixon is gone.

[steeldevil]

Gibbs and Wannamaker are the leaders of the teams and are great players, but not superstars like a Singler for example. The team has a strong core, but not a player who can take over and win you games. Plus this is a hefty thought, but I think Dixon is gone.

Overreaction. How good was Pitt before Dixon? I for one don't know. Probably because they were irrelevant. They won't fire Dixon, because they won't get anyone better.

Well.... Brad Stevens?

He runs a similar system. And apparently is a better tournament coach.

[steeldevil]

Speaking of Brad Stevens.

Rumors going around that NC State wants him bad. If he wants more money and a better job he can get it. He has earned it. But something tells me he is not like that. I think he stays at Butler for a long time.

[steelpride12]

I guess Dixon is worth keeping, but he needs to get his tournament coaching together.