Pitt Coaching Candidates: AD Scott Barnes wants more up-tempo pace of play

Pitt's athletics director Scott Barnes is looking for a new head coach with Jamie Dixon moving on to TCU. 93.7 FM The Fan was able to get him for an interview on Tuesday and Barnes talked a little about the type of coach he was looking for.

The interesting thing discussed? Barnes wants to push the pace of play:

“What are we looking for in a coach? We need to broaden our perspective on how we recruit,” Barnes said. “We have now before us this footprint that is the ACC footprint, and there are a lot of really good basketball players in the ACC footprint…I’m not married to one system. I’m not married to one specific style. But certainly, when you think about the upside of where we want to go, that style of play has to do with the ability to track certain folks.”

“Some coaches have different systems, and you can recruit to a system, as well. But overall, we want a little more of an up-tempo style, we want to really get it done on defense, and see where we go.”

Without speaking directly for him here, Barnes' main point seems to be that Pitt wants to play a style that will attract recruits. That should be news to many fans' ears as some have pointed out Dixon's more plodding offense as a reason the team couldn't land top recruits.

To his point about recruiting, that might be easier said than done. Sure, Pitt wants to be able to recruit in the ACC footprint. But the reality is that in going up against North Carolina, Duke, Louisville, etc., it's no easy task. The Panthers will probably not only need a dynamic recruiter but also have actual success on the court before they start stealing the best kids from the top programs with any regularity. To be fair here, though, Barnes is really talking about the abundance of kids in the footprint and not so much beating out those schools for the best of the best. His point that there is a lot of talent in the footprint in general is well understood.

Be sure to check out that full article - lots of good stuff there.

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