Each week during the 2018-19 season, Craig Meyer, the Post-Gazette’s Pitt basketball writer, will answer fan and reader questions about the Panthers. And some other stuff, too.
If you want to submit a question, you can email Craig at cmeyer@post-gazette.com or hit him up on Twitter @CraigMeyerPG.
What one former Pitt player, if added to the current team, could make them an NCAA tournament team (if any)?
— chadgiron (@chadgiron) February 13, 2019
Craig: A big man of some sort is the biggest (no pun intended) need. This Pitt team’s two centers combine to average 9.7 points per game, which doesn’t provide the Panthers with an offensive threat down low, putting an inordinate amount of pressure on its guards. The most searing indictment of Terrell Brown and Kene Chukwuka, though, is their rebounding ability, as they average a collective eight rebounds in more than 35 minutes per game. That’s bad.
So which big man is it? With all due respect to Don Virostek, who averaged an absurd 20.2 (!) rebounds per game in 1953, as well as Sam Clancy, Charles Smith and (though he was more of a wing) Billy Knight, I’m never missing out on an opportunity to geek out over DeJuan Blair’s career.
His final season at the school, he got offensive rebounds on 23.6 percent of his team’s missed shots while he was on the court, the highest mark of the KenPom era. A team that struggles shooting would instantly have someone to clean up those misses and get excellent scoring opportunities close to the basket. While others like Smith and Clancy have more impressive career stats, it’s important to consider this: Had Blair replicated his sophomore year stats over the final two years of college basketball he never ultimately pursued, he would have left Pitt as the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder (with 1,633, almost 300 more than Clancy’s current record and 646 more than Smith, who is second on that list). Hell, he’s just 26 offensive rebounds out of first place on that career record and he only played two years of college ball!
Blair’s my pick.
Do you think recruits care about the Pitt record?
— Alex Neuman (@Alexneuman984) February 13, 2019
Craig: I don’t think so. Recruiting is so relationship-based that I think it mostly matters what sort of rapport and comfort these prospects are able to develop with Jeff Capel or a specific member (or members) of his staff. Obviously, winning helps, but losing could have its own benefits – it shows just how needed talented players are right now and what kind of opportunity to make an immediate impact awaits should they choose the Panthers.
What should Pitt fans be realistically expecting from Pat Narduzzi, and what should they be expecting from Mark Whipple?
— Pitt Recruiting (@PittRecruiting_) February 20, 2019
Craig: With Pat Narduzzi, I think it’s in line with what’s reasonable to expect from Pitt as a program. To me, that’s being a bowl team annually, maybe missing out once or twice a decade, depending on how adventurous you are with your non-conference schedule. Over four-year stretches, I think that translates to winning maybe six games one of those years, seven or eight in two of them and making a run at nine or even 10 wins in the final one, the kind of year where everything comes together and a legitimate run at a division (and maybe even conference) title is made.
As for Whipple, he obviously comes with a resume of coaching quarterbacks who produce some gaudy stats, but given the identity of the program Narduzzi seems to want, I wouldn’t expect this to become a pass-heavy offense overnight, if ever at all. If he can elicit something from Kenny Pickett we seldom saw last year, even if it’s just making him a capable pocket passer who seems comfortable other than when he’s rolling out, that would make for a solid hire.
Have you ever visited Ludacris’s restaurant in the Atlanta airport? If you have what were your impressions?
— The Arthur Corporation (@AWMueller) February 20, 2019
Craig: I didn’t know there was one until yesterday, when I had already left the airport, but I’m definitely checking it out today. God bless that man.
What would you predict the spread to be if Pitt played The Golden State Warriors?
— Cody (@LutzCody182) February 20, 2019
Craig: I’ve written about sports gambling before, but I know almost nothing about the practical facets of it, so don’t put any value in this. I’ll say 60, though Capel would have some insight on neutralizing Quinn Cook, who we all know is Golden State’s most dangerous option.
Overall, Pitt’s record is probably what most would’ve predicted pre-season. They’ve taken an odd path there though, first raising expectations a ton then lowering them significantly. How does the outlook of this team going forward compare to what you thought it’d be pre-season?
— Avallano (@Avallano3) February 20, 2019
Craig: It feels strange to say given all the excitement that surrounded this team a month ago, but they’re not far from where I figured they’d be 14 games into conference play. I would have guessed they would have gotten three ACC wins and because of what is now a 10-game losing streak, it looks like they just may get there. Still, even if they don’t win a game the rest of the season, they would have increased their conference win total by two and overall win total by four. That’s progress, even if it’s that because the bar they had to surpass was so absurdly low.
Would AD Lyke try to increase student participation at football games with massive tailgate parties, Corn Hole tournaments, Pitt’s Got Talent” contests, maybe a service activity. I was a student in the 80’s. We had fun. Has to be a way to transport the fun to Heinz Field? H2P!
— @joansmeltzer (@skjdad4) February 20, 2019
Craig: I’ve advocated for this on Twitter, but I say you ditch the weird Pitt legends race that features, among others, Chia Pet Dan Marino, and replace it with a corgi race. Nothing attracts crowds quite like dogs with four-inch legs trying to outrun each other over 100 yards.
Has Pitt's recruiting(bball) been disappointing thus far?
— 5⭐️PROSPECT (@dasteelers724) February 20, 2019
Craig: Capel’s first class exceeded virtually any expectation. Landing two top-150 players in five weeks to a last-place program is pretty remarkable and when the one non-top-150 recruit is a guy who broke the program’s freshman scoring record, you’ve done okay. As for the current class, it’s still a little early to judge since it’s far from fully formed. The first two pieces he got, especially Gerald Drumgoole, are guys who seem like they’ll be incredibly helpful and impactful. For this year and beyond, it will be interesting to see how perceptions of Capel change. Right now, he’s still the guy who helped piece together some of the best recruiting classes in the history of the sport at Duke, which I think created some unrealistic expectations for what he could do at Pitt.
I respect that Craig. Perhaps I’ll reword: how many more scholarships do you expect to open up? I constantly see people referencing this possibility but I don’t get it. Do you think there could be reason for a smaller-scale exodus, or is it all general speculation?
— Kyle Saxon (@ksax45) February 20, 2019
Craig: I think a lot of that is just speculation, but hey, that’s what we do this time of year. Even as the losses have mounted up, it’s pretty easy to identify the guys Capel brought in versus the ones he inherited (Jared Wilson-Frame notwithstanding). When four of your top five scorers are in their first year with the program, it’s clear there’s a large-enough segment of the roster that isn’t making an impact now and, with another recruiting class on the way, it’s reasonable to think they’ll have an even less prominent role next season with another injection of talent.
Pitt has three scholarship openings now. This is purely guesswork, but given the transient nature of college basketball rosters, and the fact two other players have already transferred, I’ll say two other spots open up.
Capel has already gotten two strong commits in Coulibaly and Drumgoole. Can the 2019 recruiting class put Pitt back in the tournament for the first time since 2015-2016?
— Collin Dreher (@collin_dreher26) February 20, 2019
Craig: This is admittedly a cop-out, but I think it really depends on who the other pieces are. Right now, I would say no, if only because this team is losing a good piece in Wilson-Frame and though there has been improvement, this program still has a ways to go before it starts flirting with more than 20 wins in a season. It’s far from glamorous, but maybe an NIT berth should be a safe, not-quite-as-likely-to-disappoint goal for next season.
Craig - which player has been the biggest surprise this season?
— Barry J (@BarryJ23) February 21, 2019
Craig: Xavier Johnson. I didn’t expect quite as much from him given his recruiting profile and even after I heard rave reviews about him from offseason workouts, my expectations were still relatively modest. It’s safe to say he has exceeded all of that and some.
Alright Craig, it’s finally Oscars week, the end of awards season. What’s your favorite of the nominees this year?
— Corey Cohen (@CoreyECohen) February 20, 2019
Craig: It’s been a weird year for movies. I’ve seen a lot I liked, but I also don’t feel like there’s one big standout from this field I wholeheartedly would pick as the best. I’ll make a quick note that three of my favorite movies last year – RBG, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and A Quiet Place – all didn’t get nominated for best picture. And I haven’t seen Bohemian Rhapsody (and probably never will) or Roma. As for my rankings:
1. Green Book – I understand a lot of the criticism surrounding it, but I really enjoyed it.
2. BlacKkKlansman – How it took until 2019 for Spike Lee to get a best director nomination is beyond me.
3. Black Panther – Strong movie with an amazing soundtrack.
4. Vice
5. A Star is Born
6. The Favourite – It was good. I also fell asleep for like 20 minutes of it.
Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyerPG
First Published: February 21, 2019, 3:30 p.m.
