Pitt Basketball And Its Impending Irrelevance
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PrintReader 8thlight chimes in with his thoughts on the Pitt basketball program. Write your own Fanpost using the link over to the right and we might publish it here.
Jamie Dixon has been able to rack up regular season wins year in and year out, but have not seen those wins turn into lottery pick caliber recruits or Final Four visits. If Dixon can't eventually land one or the other Pitt basketball will quickly become irrelevant.
With the college basketball regular season being meaningless for your average top 25 program due to the sheer amount of teams invited to the tournament, the Pete can easily start to become a much more tame environment without an exciting player with NBA star potential. Also players of that quality are usually need for legit shots at the Final Four or national titles.
In a city with the one of the best franchises in hockey and maybe the best franchise in pro sports, winning is necessary when you have no history of any note to fall back on. If Dixon doesn't make the tournament this year the honeymoon will soon be over and the Oakland Zoo may begin to look like a petting zoo. If Pitt wants to truly become a top program in the eyes of recruits producing a top pro or a run to the Final Four is mandatory.
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I disagree completely
I think the Khem Birch transfer and the recent struggles have completely changed fans perception of the program.
Remember that before Pitt was considered a big time program, they weren’t getting highly sought after recruits and yet still made the NCAA Tournament and won at least 20 games overall and 10 games in the Big East. Heck, until really the past few years, Pitt’s been having this success with not necessarily top prospects, but those that fit Jamie’s system. Whether or not elite prospects come to Pitt is irrelevant. Dante Taylor is a prime example of that. He was one of the top 20 recruits in his class and he clearly hasn’t panned out accordingly
As for being an average top 25 program, I’m pretty sure a lot of schools would take even a season of the kind of success Pitt has had over the past decade. Even though they’ve increased the number of teams reaching the tournament, it’s still a hard thing to do, let alone reach it for 9 consecutive seasons.
I think we just need to relax and realize that every program goes through these kinds of seasons. Whether Jamie reaches the Final Four or not, I know that the Pitt program has never been closer to it under any other coach and I feel confident that as of right now, Jamie is the best man to lead Pitt to one.
Cardiac Hill contributor
by oaklandzoo12 on Jan 3, 2026 11:28 PM EST reply actions
You're missing the point . . .
Great players can fit into any system. I doubt Jamie is saying that a player is too good for his system and not recruiting him. He’s probably going after top prospects and he’s not getting them. That’s because they want to go to the pros and don’t believe that Dixon can get them there. That’s not a good sign. If you can’t win the big game AND prospects don’t believe you can prepare them for the NBA, you will eventually be in serious trouble.
I never understood how Dante Taylor was a top 20 recruit. I remember seeing him in the McDonald’s All American game and he didn’t seem to even belong on the court with the other players on any level. Chris Taft, DeJuan Blair & Khem Birch were all FAR better than Taylor has ever been. I’m still baffled by his selection to this very day.
I’m not saying that Jamie Dixon is a bad coach or needs to be fired, but I think people need to stop thinking that Dixon is untouchable and an elite coach. He’s a good coach, not a great coach. It’s disturbing to me for a coach to have this much sustained regular success without an improvement in either player quality or post season success.
When the Panthers eventually make the jump to the ACC these issues will be magnified when the elite of the conference (Duke, UNC & Cuse) will all have recently won national titles and or produced NBA stars.
The bar is about to be raised.
https://twitter.com/8sTEOC
http://TheEssentialsOfCool.com/
by 8thlight on Jan 4, 2026 6:33 AM EST up reply actions
When the Panthers eventually make the jump to the ACC these issues will be magnified when the elite of the conference (Duke, UNC & Cuse) will all have recently won national titles and or produced NBA stars.
What makes you think that our “issues” will be magnified going to the ACC? The Big East has consistently been better then the ACC as a whole the past couple years, and Pitt has consistently beat all of the top teams in the conference. We didn’t win every game, but no one did. In 2007, Pitt beat Duke. That year Pitt finished ranked 17th and Duke 9th. This isn’t like Pitt beating up on a bunch of nobodies in the past, and now going to the ACC we will be slaughtered. With Pitt and Syracuse, the ACC is closer talent wise to what the Big East was, probably a small step down due to the talent the Big East had from top to bottom.
The ACC does not signify the bar being raised.
Who knows how the Pitt style of play will translate over a full season outside of the Big East, but when the 10th best team in the Big East last year was Vilanova (21-12) compared to the 10th best team in the ACC being NC State (15-16), i like our chances.
I think alot of people are blowing a poor start to the season completely out of proportion.
by BuccoBrigade on Jan 4, 2026 11:00 AM EST up reply actions
The new ACC will be superior to current Big East
UCONN is the top team in the current Big East. They land the top talent & have the hardware to back it up. The reason why the current Big East is better than the current ACC is because of depth. The current ACC is top heavy. Once Pitt & Syracuse leave for the ACC it will have depth as well.
It’s one thing to be in a conference with one top 5 program its a another when you are competing with 2 top 5 programs. Imagine two UCONNs in the Big East.
I’m not saying Pitt won’t compete in the ACC, but it will be harder to for us to reach the top of the conference going against 2 teams loaded with All Americans when you can’t land one.
We will go from the 3rd best program in the Big East where the gap between 2 & 3 is slight. To being the 4th best program in the ACC where the gap between 2 & 3 is significant.
https://twitter.com/8sTEOC
http://TheEssentialsOfCool.com/
by 8thlight on Jan 4, 2026 11:53 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
ACC
Agreed about the ACC being better once Pitt and Syracuse join, but I think you’re stretching things a bit about the top programs.
UConn is every bit as good as Duke and UNC over the past decade or so. They have three titles since 1999 and Syracuse has one. UNC and Duke each have two. If you want to talk about the history of their programs, that’s one thing - but that doesn’t have any bearing on how much Pitt can compete in the ACC.
The bottom line is that Pitt can compete most years with UNC and Duke. We only have one game to go with - the one where Pitt beat Duke a few years ago in MSG, but I really believe that Pitt won’t have any more trouble in competing in the ACC than they do in the Big East. Pitt has been ranked as high or higher than each of those teams on a regular basis.
I know, I get it - the postseason success. But if we’re talking about winning the conference, Pitt has been pretty good in the regular season.
The other thing is that there’s a really fine line in between ‘top teams’ as you say. Louisville’s an example of a program that hasn’t won a national title recently, but they’ve been to a Final Four and two Elite Eights since 2005. I’ll concede that UNC and Duke may have had more success since then, but it’s pretty close. Having to compete with the Cardinals isn’t much different than playing UNC or Duke.
The bottom line is that Pitt won’t have much difficulty competing in the ACC.
Manager of Cardiac Hill - SB Nation's Pitt Panthers blog
Follow us on Facebook at CardiacHill and on Twitter at @PittPantherBlog
by CardiacHill on Jan 4, 2026 6:34 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t think it’s time to assume a Chicken Little, “the Sky is Falling” attutude. It’s not the end of the world. Jamie Dixon has done very well evaluating talent that many other recruiters didn’t see. He has been outstanding in bringing in players, teaching them, and developing them into much better players. Occcasionally things don’t work even when you are doing the right things. This year he lost his point guard and their big time high school All American recruit and they are struggling. When they get their point guard, Travon Woodall back, it should help. Next year they have a very highly regarded 7’ center, Adams coming in and a 6’4" point guard who fits the Pitt profile of toughness and moxie. There may be few bumps along the road , but they will be ok.
by Justinian on Jan 4, 2026 10:08 AM EST reply actions
I agree, they will be ok
This guy wrote this piece to stir some feelings.
Its a cliche type of writing. Boring.
by H.LandPitt on Jan 4, 2026 12:05 PM EST up reply actions
Pitt Basketball
The guy who wrote this recent piece of work is clueless. I have been following Pitt basketball since the Billy Knight era, and have enjoyed every season, regardless of wins and loses. I enjoy the game, and am an alumnus from Pitt, so I support their academic and athletic programs. I believe that Jamie Dixon is a "great’ coach, considering the context of the league and the players he has been developing. The Panthers have never had 5 McDonald’s All Americans on the floor at the same time!
Dr.D. (1967, 1986 Pitt)
by dennis.spinella on Jan 4, 2026 12:57 PM EST reply actions
I'm an alumnus also ...
You apparently only read the title. I never said Dixon wasn’t a good coach. I just wonder if he has taken us as far as he can.
Butler can go to back to back title games. We have yet to make a final four. Tom Crean was able to take Marquette to a final four and produce/recruit an NBA star in Dywane Wade. Why can’t Pitt?
https://twitter.com/8sTEOC
http://TheEssentialsOfCool.com/
by 8thlight on Jan 4, 2026 2:06 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
really?
Butler’s run was sparked by Shelvin Mack and Gordon Heyward, who immediately became much much much better players AFTER being coached up at the under 19 games. Who was their coach? Jamie Dixon.
U obviously haven’t been paying that much attention
Bees Bees Everywhere
by VoteforPedro on Jan 4, 2026 3:04 PM EST up reply actions
LMAO
Dixon didn’t have a bigger impact on them than their own coach. If so where is that impact on his own team?
https://twitter.com/8sTEOC
http://TheEssentialsOfCool.com/
by 8thlight on Jan 4, 2026 3:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Gibbs
Was also on that team. He also significantly improved as did virtually everyone on that squad
Bees Bees Everywhere
by VoteforPedro on Jan 4, 2026 5:37 PM EST up reply actions
Once the kids get back to school
The Pete will again be a tough place to play. I remember being there for Pitt Wisconsin in 05 on NYE. despite it being a matchup of two top 15 teams, there were no students there.
After yelling at the jaggoffs sitting where the zoo should’ve been for the entire game, they finally stood up and waved their arms on a key free throw attempt with 30 seconds left. Long and short of it is we are usually so muych better than the other teams that it doesn’t matter.
Bottom line is Pitt even with all of it’s deficiencies can rebound well enough to be an elite team. if we can start shooting 30% from the 3, we’ll go 500 in the Big east and make the tournament
Bees Bees Everywhere
by VoteforPedro on Jan 4, 2026 1:07 PM EST reply actions
I agree for this season ...
My concerns are looking forward. I think they will be fine this year. I doubt they will completely miss the tourney.
I’m just concerned about the future of the program.
How much time would you hive Dixon to improve the quality of player or tournament success? I’m not saying he should go. I’m just curious.
https://twitter.com/8sTEOC
http://TheEssentialsOfCool.com/
by 8thlight on Jan 4, 2026 1:58 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sorry Sir/ma’am,
But how did you become a contributor? Can I contribute to CardiacHill?
I mean, you have some valid points and seem knowledgeable, but its really bland and cliche.
“Im concerened about the future of the program”
“Im not saying he should go. Im just curious.”
Just, stop. Now.
by H.LandPitt on Jan 4, 2026 3:22 PM EST up reply actions
For the record...
8thlight isn’t a contributor to the sight - Fanposts can be written by anyone and we sometimes publish them to the front page.
Manager of Cardiac Hill - SB Nation's Pitt Panthers blog
Follow us on Facebook at CardiacHill and on Twitter at @PittPantherBlog
by CardiacHill on Jan 4, 2026 3:58 PM EST up reply actions
You're no Grantland Rice yourself.
Nothing has been more cliche than your reply. lol
https://twitter.com/8sTEOC
http://TheEssentialsOfCool.com/
by 8thlight on Jan 6, 2026 1:04 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Not the end of the world
Yes, Pitt is having a tough season so far, but all great programs have this every once in a while. If I recall, both North Carolina and Duke did not even make the tournament a few years ago. Pitt has been very fortunate to have made it 10 years in a row, and it has to end some time. However, I do think that Jamie Dixon will rebound next year. Jamie is just a great coach that develops players very, very well.
As far as the fan support goes, I think you have to wait at-least two or three more years and see what happens. Pittsburgh sports fans, in general, will tend to support teams less if they are losing. Everybody loves the Penquins now, but no-body remembers their dog days in the early 2000s. The Penquins did not make the playoffs in forever and had one of the lowest attendance figures in the NHL. You see what the Pirates are doing, and I wonder what would happen to the Steelers if they were no better than say the Cleveland Browns on a year-to-year basis. You would see a-lot of empty seats at Heinz Field for sure.
Right now, it’s just way too early to make any predictions on the fan support. But yes, if Pitt has consecutive seasons of not making the NCAA tournament, I would tend to agree with you that the Pete would become much more tame. Here is my bet that Pitt will make a comeback and it won’t happen. Jamie Dixon is just too good of a coach. Don’t let his NCAA tournament downfalls taint you at all on him. You can’t judge a coach or program based on a single elimination tournament. Pitt is the winningest program in college basketball in the last few years and that is remarkable.
by PittGuy on Jan 4, 2026 1:41 PM EST reply actions
Ups and Downs
I agree with PittGuy … All top programs have their down years. And it isn’t Dixon’s fault that:
a) Khem Birch didn’t and still doesn’t have the psychological make up to make it at the top level of college ball. If he expected to have success handed to him on a silver platter rather than having to work his @$$ off to earn it, he was sadly mistaken.
b) that neither Dante Taylor or Khem Birch or, next year, Steve Adams had any chance of living up to the ridiculous expectations the fan base created in their own minds.
You only have to look at what Jaime Dixon has been able to do with the non-hyped stars to know how good a coach he is.
Who would you have replace him?
by whogastim on Jan 4, 2026 7:28 PM EST reply actions
Jim Boeheim
Took 11 years to reach his first final four and something like 25 years to win his only championship.
by whogastim on Jan 4, 2026 7:33 PM EST up reply actions
The BCS is making college basketball irrelevant
The importance of college basketball has been slowly evaporating in the era of BCS big money conferences like the SEC and Big Ten. Even when Pitt was ranked blogs like Pittblather gave it less coverage than football. So the statement that Pitt basketball is slipping into irrelevance because of losses is only part of the truth. It’s slipping because college football is now a year round sport. There are so many loose ends from the season even during the dead period in the summer there is much to report. Pitt fans should be confident about the future of both sports.
by Tony77019 on Jan 5, 2026 6:45 PM EST reply actions
The ACC vs the Big East
The ACC has two powers, two posers, and then bottom eight… the Big East has six quality, six posers, and the bottom four… taking ‘Cuse a quality program and Pitt becoming a poser and tossing them into the ACC isn’t going to instantly make the ACC better than their current conference. The Big East will still, after defections, have more teams that were in the NCAA tourney last year, than any other conference. Not to mention teams on the Big East’s expansion radar for round two (Temple, Memphis, & Southern Miss) are all Top 30 basketball teams as well.
I like sports, movies, and music!
by jmacgregorny on Jan 7, 2026 6:05 PM EST reply actions
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