Pitt thanks Zoo for wild behavior

Pitt Athletic Director Jeff Long is no Ronald Ramon, but on Wednesday, he showed that his… Pitt Athletic Director Jeff Long is no Ronald Ramon, but on Wednesday, he showed that his skills from beyond the arc were comparable, especially since he wasn’t even looking at the basket.

Long, decked in blue basketball shorts and an Oakland Zoo T-shirt, dribbled to the 3-point line and, with his back to the basket, threw the ball over his head.

Swish. Three points.

His shot summed up the Oakland Zoo meeting on Wednesday night. It brought together about 300 fans in the Petersen Events Center in the administration’s gesture to thank the students for all of their support.

Head coach Jamie Dixon was also on hand, as well as Pitt players Chevon Troutman, Carl Krauser, John DeGroat and Keith Benjamin, and even football star Darrelle Revis. Ramon walked in late and got a standing ovation from the fans.

“They’re all freshmen,” Troutman joked, giving a reason as to why the crowd applauded Ramon and not the other players.

The night included free pizza and drinks, along with shooting contests for video games and T-shirts.

“I think it was great,” Dixon said after signing a few autographs.

Students who showed up received free Oakland Zoo T-shirts, several of which were handed to Dixon along with a Sharpie. Like Terrell Owens, Dixon quickly signed his name, to the delight of the students.

Dixon spoke earlier in the night to the students, thanking them for all that they have done for Pitt’s basketball program.

“The success we have really comes from you guys,” he said. “It’s great that you guys are here on the floor. You guys make it a great, great home court for us.”

Dixon then commended Matt Cohen, president of the Oakland Zoo, for his leadership. Cohen displayed his true leadership earlier in the night when Dixon took the microphone and the crowd of fans applauded in their seats.

“Stand up! Stand up!” Cohen shouted, giving Dixon a huge round of applause. The Zoo rose to its feet, getting even louder.

Dixon went on to describe how the Zoo was created. Cohen and vice president Jon St. George, along with Zach Hale, were the original three.

Dixon reminisced about when it all started, a long time ago, as he joked, saying Cohen and St. George have been at Pitt for six years.

“Oh, come on,” Cohen shouted. “Five years ago, give us some credit!”

“We weren’t real good,” Dixon said of the Panthers’ performance when the Zoo began. He explained that Cohen and St. George came into his office looking to start a new tradition. Cohen, a Philadelphia native, told Dixon of the old days of Villanova basketball and how the crowd would react, and that he wanted to create a special student section.

And they did. At the next home game, there was a Zoo in the crowd.

“It was literally three guys standing,” Dixon said, laughing about the first time the Zoo made some noise.

But those three guys standing have turned into several hundred fans standing.

“Those guys have done a great job,” said Dixon of the original three Zoo members.

And as joked before, they’ve been at the University for a long time.

“We’re getting old,” St. George explained to the crowd, letting them know that the Zoo is in search of a new president, vice president and treasurer.

The Oakland Zoo is now backed by the University, and Cohen and St. George explained how the Zoo was looking to grow and raise funds to take the crazed group of fans on the road. Bus trips and pep rallies are all in the future of the Oakland Zoo.

“You go to other schools, and they have signs that say, ‘Screw you, Zoo,” Cohen said of the national recognition that the Zoo has gained.

And the Zoo has plans to get more fearsome toward its opponents. Cohen would like for there to be special chants set up for each game. They’re looking to set up Zoo meetings bi-weekly to create chants for each game — all efforts to try and make it better for the Zoo and harder for the opponents.

Long and Dixon recognized all that the Zoo does, but they, too, want to do more.

“I want blue hair!” Long shouted, speaking of the few fans who wear blue ‘fros.

“What if I show up in blue hair?” Long proposed to a couple of students.

“That’d be awesome,” one fan remarked.

Long never said he would show up with blue hair, but he also did not rule out the possibility. He pointed out that he might surprise the fans, saying that the administration is going to do what it can do to make the Oakland Zoo the best student group in the nation.

Dixon is happy with any additional madness.

“Any added excitement or craziness is always appreciated,” he said.

Long plans to set up signs with motivational phrases written on them in the hallway that students walk through to enter the court. He also wants to add some motivational posters or signs along the walls.

“We think you’ll like it,” Long said, addressing the students.

After the meeting, students stormed the court — slowly — grabbing basketballs and shooting. Some were trying their best to stop Troutman as he posted up on them. Krauser tried shots from the baseline and behind the basket.

Zoo members approached Dixon and asked him to autograph their Zoo shirts. Others just merely introduced themselves and thanked him for what he has done for Pitt.

Dixon accepted their thanks and thanked them back for their support, and unlike a disinterested coach, he fired back with questions of his own.

“So you guys getting As in your classes?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” a student replied.

Cohen asked, “Will the Zoo start showing up early for games?”

He would like to see students out at the game at 10:30 a.m. for this Saturday’s Seton Hall game.

“Be there at Seton Hall, be there at Syracuse and be there chanting ‘Small!'” Cohen said, referring to the chants that come in the final minutes of a blowout.

Cohen was pleased with the turnout. However, he mentioned that if 300 Zoo members showed up, that would leave 1,100 who did not.

Long was pleased with the turnout as well.

“It was great,” he said with a slice of plain cheese pizza in his hand. “That’s great, to come out on a Wednesday night without a game.”

Cohen and St. George will be accepting names for a possible president, vice president and treasurer. Cohen can be reached at mlc7@pitt.edu and St. George can be reached at jds187@pitt.edu.

Pitt plays tomorrow at noon against Seton Hall, and both George and Cohen urge students to come early and come psyched.