Pitt fans need to Trust the Proccess
Coming into this season most Pitt fans knew this was going to be an ugly season. After watching this awful season, a lot of Pitt fans are calling for Coach Kevin Stallings to be fired. However, Pitt fans don’t seem to realize that we need him if the Panthers want to be competitive anytime soon. Pittsburgh is in a rebuilding period and it won’t happen over night. Firing Stallings will only make the situation worse. Pitt fans need to stop complaining about Stallings and start supporting the team.
Lack of Support
Immediately after Stallings’ hiring it was clear a large part of the fan base was unhappy. The group of haters only grew last year and is out of control this year. It has become an embarrassing trend this year for the fans to boo Stallings during his introduction. If Pitt was actually going to fire Stallings, why would any coach come here after seeing that?
One main reason Pitt fans should start supporting Stallings is because it’s not all his fault. A lot of the blame can go to Jamie Dixon. The Panthers’ former coach left this team in terrible shape for any coach. The best coaches today would have a similar record with this roster. After joining the ACC, it was easy to see the decline of Pitt basketball with Dixon coaching. A lot of it had to do with the players he recruited. In his final three seasons at Pitt, Dixon’s classes were ranked 87th, 80th, 112th. No surprise those classes were also ranked at the bottom of the ACC. The only player remaining from those classes is Ryan Luther. Panther fans went into panic mode when a majority of Pitt players transferred last year. Now, those players are on teams like Old Dominion, Portland and South Alabama. The only player Pitt wanted to keep was Cam Johnson, who left for North Carolina. Before Dixon’s departure, Cam Johnson planned to graduate early and leave Pitt for another program. Stallings knew he couldn’t win with the players that Dixon brought in, so he ran them out of town to bring in better players. Dixon wasn’t a fan of joining the ACC and he wasn’t a fan of recruiting ACC caliber players. He saw Pitt’s decline and decided to abandon ship.
Why Pitt needs to keep Stallings
1.) After Dixon left, Pitt fans thought we were getting the best coach available. There were rumors that former Pitt player and current Arizona coach Sean Miller was coming home. Well it was clear that turning Pitt around was going to be a tough job and wasn’t a very desirable job. Now after seeing how Stallings is being treated no coach looking for a Power 5 job will want to come here. Stallings was hated before he arrived in Pittsburgh and it has only gotten worse. Right now, Pitt is not a great opportunity for new coaches.
2.) If Pitt wants to get rid of Stallings they would owe him $10 million. Pitt does not have the money like other big programs to pay someone to leave and then pay someone else to come here. If Panther fans really want to get rid of Stallings they need to find $10 million elsewhere.
3.) Lastly, Pitt needs to keep Stallings to avoid another rebuild. If he’s fired there’s a chance the current players may transfer just like last year. Unless Pitt brought in John Calipari or Coach K, it will be several years before Pitt is competitive.
Trusting the Process
With almost a complete roster turnaround fans were expecting to see around 12 wins. The Panthers are currently 8-15 (0-10 in ACC play). There are two realistic wins left in Pitt’s schedule. Later this month they host Wake Forest (9-13, 2-8) and Boston College (13-9, 3-6). Both Wake Forest and Boston College sit at the bottom of the ACC standings with Pitt.
With so many people calling to out Stallings they must have expected a winning season. With a team full of freshmen and first time Division 1 players there is no way they could be competitive in the best conference in college basketball. Just like last year the Panthers are without a leader or a floor general on the court. It was very clear how important a leader is after seeing how much Pitt missed James Robinson last year. Hopefully, we see a Freshman like Marcus Carr fill the role of a leader.
Pitt fans need to allow this team to grow and develop with Kevin Stallings. Next year Pitt will have a better roster with Ryan Luther likely returning and with the addition of St. John’s transfer Malik Ellison. Hopefully, players like Marcus Carr, Parker Stewart, and Terrell Brown can improve their game. Fans need to allow Stallings to bring in players who can play in the ACC, unlike the players Dixon brought in at the end.
Next year, Pitt fans can have higher exceptions for Stallings. It takes a couple of years for a coach to actually develop a competitive team. Stallings came into an uphill battle and should be given the support from the fans. If Pitt isn’t competitive in 2-3 years then Pitt fans would be right to call for a change. Until then fans should support the team and Coach Stallings.
