The Sports Monitor

I've heard some moaning and groaning about the immediate future of the Pitt basketball program. Center Steven Adams announced Monday that he was leaving for the NBA draft. Good for him, I thought. Go pursue your dreams. Then, I immediately thought of Chris Taft. He was another touted Pitt basketball player who had dreams of the NBA. It didn't work out for him. I'm not sure how well it will work out for Adams. Adams is a project, so some team likely will take a chance on him, hoping his raw skills will develop. I wasn't worried about the future of the basketball program. Yes, they're short-handed right now going into their inaugural season in the ACC. But there's still time. Jamie Dixon can recruit, although it is late in the game. I just didn't see Adams as someone who oozed talent, someone ready to play in the NBA. If he did, maybe the Pitt basketball team would still be playing in the NCAA tournament. I wish him the best. I don...

The rumor mill is churning and Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is the one being tossed about. USC reportedly is after Dixon, who just suffered another early exit in the NCAA tournament as the Panthers' coach. If Dixon does go, would it help Pitt? It's a tough question to answer. Pitt has had some good regular seasons under Dixon. They are an annual choice for the Big Dance, too. It's when the postseason comes around that Dixon has his troubles. It's hard to imagine that his teams haven't been able to live up to their billing at tourney time, so it would stand to reason that finding a new coach could change this. I'm not opposed to seeing Dixon leave, but I don't think it's an easy answer. When Ben Howland left Pitt for UCLA, people around Pittsburgh thought the Panthers would be able to get a big-name coach to fill the vacancy. To their surprise, they couldn't. They had to promote Dixon, then an assistant. It worked out, but it also shows ...

Is anyone shocked that Pitt lost the opening game of the NCAA tournament Thursday? Well, maybe if you believe everything you read in some of the newspapers. I've argued in the past that the Pittsburgh media has a homer complex when it comes to Pitt basketball. Either that, or they really can't objectively watch the game. Leading up to the tournament, we heard that Pitt could be seeded as high as third but probably would settle for a sixth seed. Try eighth. And they didn't even play like a No. 8. The Panthers lost to Wichita State 73-55. Another disappointment. Their staunch defense slipped (Malcolm Armsted had 22 points and averaged 10.4 this season). They found no go-to scorer when they needed it. And they lost to a team they were supposed to beat. Steven Adams led Pitt with 13 points and 11 boards, but that was it. Trey Woodall let the Panthers down, committing five turnovers and having only one assist. Let the excuses begin.

Every spring you can count on a handful of things: the return of baseball, preparation of taxes, a wild party on St. Patrick's Day and, of course, the Pitt collapse in the NCAA basketball tournament. Saturday was the latest chapter in Pitt sports history where the eighth-seeded Butler Bulldogs crushed the hopes of Pitt fans with an unbelievable 71-70 win in the NCAA tournament. It was the second time in three seasons that the No. 1-seeded Panthers failed to make the Final Four. And this time, they failed to make the Sweet 16 under coach Jamie Dixon. The ending proved to be typical Pitt. It also proved my theory with the Panthers: They will break your heart. The Panthers failed to get a shot off with a lead, giving Butler the ball with less than 10 seconds left. Butler scored to take the lead, beating the so-called tough Pitt defense. With less than 2 seconds left, Pitt's Gilbert Brown was unbelievably fouled. It was a so-so call, but it was the gift Pitt needed. Bro...

I've always had this theory that Pitt athletics will break your heart. This year's basketball team lived up to that saying once again. By all accounts, the Panthers overachieved this season. They reached the top 10 in the polls at one point, they finished second in the Big East and they received a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. All great accomplishments. Yet it means nothing when you lose in the second round of the NCAA tournament against a team your supposed to beat. But that's Pitt basketball. It seems every season they fall about one round short of what they're supposed to do. Here's their recent history: 2009: 3-1: They lost to Villanova in the regional final. 2008: 1-1. They lost to Michigan State in the second round. 2006: 1-1. They lost to Bradley in the second round. 2005: 0-1. They lost to Pacific in the first round. The Villanova loss last season was a tough one to take. But as a No. 1 seed, Pitt was a better team than Villanova...