Blogs

NEW YORK – Pitt senior guard Ashton Gibbs has been named the 2011-12  Big East Preseason Player of the Year and Pitt was picked fourth in the preseason poll in voting by the league’s head coaches. Pitt received one first-place vote and 188 points, as part of Big East media day today in Manhattan. West [...]

Pitt drags a 3-4 record and two-game losing streak into its off week, with more questions than answers. For all the good that has surfaced around the Panthers this season, there is three times as much negativity. In fact, there are three elements that most need to be corrected — most likely, not until next season [...]

  Seniors Ashton Gibbs, Nasir Robinson and walk-on Nick Rivers and head coach Jamie Dixon will represent Pitt at Big East Media Day in Manhattan on Wednesday. Former Aliquippa star Herb Pope of Seton Hall, and Truck Bryant and Kevin Jones of West Virginia also will attend the event for their respective schools. The annual media [...]

He looked like a big volcano just before it explodes, but give Chas Alecxih credit for incredible self-control after Pitt’s 26-14 loss to Utah today. Frustrated by Pitt’s second consecutive loss and angered by Utah offensive left tackle John Cullen, who he called a “dirty, dirty player,” Alecxih wanted to erupt. He didn’t, but he did offer this [...]

Coach Jamie Dixon met with reporters today to talk about the start of practice for the 2011-12 season. The big news of the day was Nasir Robinson’s knee injury, which will keep the senior power forward sidelined for the next 3-4 weeks. Afterward, the media met with the players in the lobby for interviews. The Big East [...]

Power forward Nasir Robinson will miss the next month after injuring his right knee for the second year in a row. Robinson is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday at UPMC South Side Hospital. He could return for the season opener against Albany on Nov. 11 at Petersen Events Center. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Robinson said he felt a [...]

Here’s a neat stat for the top basketball recruiting classes of 2012. According to ESPNU’s team rankings for the Class of ’12, the top four basketball recruiting classes all have a distinct Pitt flavor. They are coached by, in order, a former Pitt player (and assistant), a former Pitt assistant, a former Pitt head coach and [...]

What happened? I got a better question: What happens next? Yes, the Pitt football situation looks bad after the 34-10 loss to Rutgers, and there doesn’t seem to be any answers on the current roster. But a series of games against Utah, Connecticut, Cincinnati and Louisville (combined record 10-11, but I don’t think they are [...]

I just finished speaking with John Steigerwald on TribLive Radio, and he asked me an interesting question: Would a Pitt loss to Rutgers on Saturday be a disaster for the Panthers? I hadn’t thought about this game in those terms, largely because I don’t expect Pitt to lose. But strange things happen in New Jersey, [...]

Not long ago, there were questions about the depth on the Pitt offensive line. The three seniors — Chris Jacobson, Lucas Nix and Jordan Gibbs — looked to be, far and away, the best players on the line, and left tackle Juantez Hollins and center Ryan Turnley looked like they had a lot to learn. [...]