Pitt endured an embarrassing loss to Louisville Monday Night at the Pete and Pitt is showing the same flaws they have had for the past 4-5 years. Pitt is being exposed as having to many blue collar players and not enough Blue Chippers. The problem with Pitt once again is they lack that special player that can dominate a game. People in this town will say why should we want a McDonald’s All American when they will bolt after 1 or 2 years. Well the more players you draft into the NBA, the chances of recruiting top talent is greater. Pitt is labeled as a program that can make a marginal player into a college basketball star but being a college basketball star doesn’t guarantee NBA status. Just ask Brevin Knight, Jaron Brown, Julius Page. Programs like Marquette, Louisville, Cincinnati find that special player on a regular basis so why doesn’t Pitt get lucky here and there. Nothing against Jamie Dixon but the type of defensive style he runs doesn’t intrigue potential NBA players who are about what benefits their selves not the team. The programs i stated above play run and gun basketball and is a big reason they land a player like a Dominic James and Pitt is stuck with the Charlie Hustles of the world.
When is Alan Faneca goes to learn just to be quiet. Faneca, a nine-year starter, displayed disappointment over the weekend that neither of the two candidates on the staff, Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt, were hired to replace Bill Cowher when he resigned. “I wanted Russ to get the job,” Faneca said from Honolulu, where the Pro Bowl was played Saturday night. “It’s a guy we know, and a guy I’m experienced with. I hoped Russ would get that opportunity, but it didn’t work out. “When Cowher retired, everybody in the league wanted two of our guys, so you’d think we would want at least one of them.” Faneca is entitled to his opinion but he should have just kept his feelings to himself. Let’s remember this is the same guy who said the Steelers wouldn’t win with a rookie quarterback at the helm when Faneca’s boy Tommy Maddox went down with a injury. Well that rookie quarterback only let you guys to the AFC championship game.
The Montreal Canadiens continue their losing ways falling to the Florida Panthers 1-0 Tuesday night. Don’t be surprised to hear the Kovalev rumors starting up league wide as the Candiens have made it known to all 30 teams they are willing to listen to offers for the underachieving winger. The only problem for them is the chance of someone trading for Kovalev is slim to none considering he is owed 4.5 million for 2 years.
