Turning to old names not the cure

Hindsight is always 20/20.

As Pitt fans, we need to climb out from under the rug that… Hindsight is always 20/20.

As Pitt fans, we need to climb out from under the rug that shields us from reality. We need to break the habit of looking back at old teams and claiming grandiose things like, “Brandin Knight and Ben Howland would’ve done better.”

I know it’s tough. I think about it sometimes, too. But it’s not true. Jamie Dixon has done a magnificent job with the Panthers since his predecessor and mentor left for UCLA.

Under Dixon, the program has sustained the prominence created by Howland’s recruits and his style of play, winning 76 games in three seasons while playing in three consecutive NCAA tournaments.

At some point in a program’s progress, fans start wanting more out of their teams – more Elite Eights, more Final Fours, more five star recruits and more 30-win seasons – but Pitt hasn’t experienced winning enough yet.

One step at a time. First, Pitt needs to recruit two new kinds of players. Currently, the recruiting classes miss some key pieces that could make a good team great.

First and foremost, Pitt needs to find a dynamic wing player, someone between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-7 who plays off the point but handles the ball well, shows some range shooting, slashes and creates his own shot while still defending with the best of them.

Consider the top seeds in the NCAA tournament this year.

Memphis has a 6-foot-7 swingman, Rodney Carney, who can slash and shoot. Duke obviously has J.J. Redick, a 6-foot-4 guard who can put it on the floor or nail dagger after dagger from deep. UConn has Rudy Gay, a 6-foot-9 forward who can do it all. And even Villanova, with all those guards, still has the 6-foot-4 Randy Foye, who rebounds and scores efficiently while defending bigger opponents night in and night out.

Second, Pitt must find a shooter, a two-guard that can create his own shot and torch opponents when he’s on fire. See: Rashad Anderson of UConn.

Now, Pitt fans are under the illusion that somehow Julius Page and Brandin Knight provided this for the Panthers during the Ben Howland era. Don’t get me wrong, they were fantastic basketball players, but they were not lights-out shooters or multi-tooled superstars.

Adding shooting touch and a go-to guy to a lineup filled with athletic and strong supporting players would make Pitt a Final Four contender every year.

Approaching next season, Pitt possesses a heady point guard in Levance Fields, a slew of tough guards ranging from Ronald Ramon to Antonio Graves, an athletic finisher in Sam Young and a post presence in Aaron Gray. Throw in hustler Levon Kendall and potential paint dominator Tyrell Biggs and you can see the nice mix of cast members Dixon already has ready for next season.

The problem is none of these guys are go-to scorers. We saw the glaring problem in the waning minutes of Pitt’s disappointing second round loss to Bradley Sunday. No one could create and hit the big shots when the Panthers needed them most.

But don’t sulk. Don’t fall back into your old mindset. Don’t sink into the old routine with laughable thoughts like, “Chevy Troutman could’ve guarded Bradley’s 7-footer Patrick O’Bryant,” or “Howland would’ve taken this team to the Final Four.”

The fact of the matter is that none of the so-called “greats” from the past six years of Pitt success have won that elusive Sweet 16 contest. This year’s team didn’t do much worse in terms of succeeding in the NCAA tournament than any of Ben Howland’s teams.

So please, quit the unbridled cynicism directed toward this year’s club and remember that Big East coaches picked Pitt to finish in the middle of the pack this year in the conference. They certainly didn’t peg them as Big East Tournament finalists. Heck, Joe Lunardi didn’t include Pitt in his all-telling preseason Bracketology bracket.

Hindsight is 20/20 and if you stare too long, you miss out on what’s in front of you.

Jeff Greer is a staff writer for The Pitt News. E-mail him at jag59@pitt.edu.