Nostalgia mixes with big Pitt victory to get The Pete rocking again
Share this post:
Pitt went to great lengths last week to celebrate the legacy of its basketball program.
First, the school honored Jerome Lane and his remarkable, backboard-shattering dunk from 35 years ago.
Then, coaches and players from the 2002-03 team — the first at Pitt to win a Big East Tournament championship — were welcomed back to Petersen Events Center over the weekend.
Ben Howland on his Pitt team 20 years ago: “All they cared about was winning.” pic.twitter.com/LD0wvrnjIT
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) January 28, 2023
Pitt officials were hoping to use nostalgia to win back their fans, who haven’t cheered for a winning team since 2016.
Who knew there already was the right combination of talent and drive inside the walls of the current team’s locker room to get Petersen Events Center rocking again?
Pitt (15-7, 8-3) has won 14 of its past 18 games, and the past six ACC home games (4-2) have been decided by an average margin of three points.
It’s always a good idea to honor the past, especially when your fan base is composed of people who embrace it. Fans in this town love an old war story.
Also, Jeff Capel is smart enough to realize there was a message to be delivered by the 40-somethings and their coaches, who were part of a time when Pitt went to four Big East championship games in a row.
It wasn’t the first time Ben Howland, the coach, spoke to the current team.
He was back in September, talking more about his players’ character than their ability to put a ball in a basket. Pretty much how Capel talks about his team these days.
“The bottom line is it’s all about playing together,” Howland told reporters Saturday, “being unselfish, being tough, giving yourself up for your team. No one on our team cared who scored the points. All they cared about was winning. It was so fun to be a part of that.”
Here’s what Capel said Saturday after Pitt (15-7, 8-3) defeated No. 20 Miami, 71-68:
“We have guys who are over themselves for the most part,” he said. “They’re about the team. They just want to win, period. They don’t care who gets the glory. They want Pitt to have all the glory.
“I’m grateful we have guys who aren’t in a hurry to get out of here after practice. Just about every day after practice, we have about 8 to 10 guys who are getting extra work on the court … in the training room, in the weight room.”
After being around the team, Howland said he got to know the players.
“I just love their togetherness, their unselfishness,” he said. “They shoot the ball well. They are very well-coached. The coach is doing an outstanding job getting them to mesh together.”
Where will it eventually lead?
Capel doesn’t talk about the NCAA Tournament, but that’s the goal. Pitt hasn’t been invited to March Madness since 2016, the last season of the Jamie Dixon era.
ESPN’s bracketology, released before the Miami game, projected Pitt as a No. 12 seed playing Wisconsin in one of the four play-in games.
When Howland guided Pitt into the tournament in 2002 — the first of 10 consecutive berths — it was the school’s first since 1993, a longer drought than what Capel is facing.
Howland said he left Northern Arizona for Pitt in 1999 because he saw “a great opportunity” for career growth. Especially after Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and athletic director Steve Pederson showed him blueprints for Petersen Events Center.
“Being in the Big East, being in the best basketball league in the country, which at that time — no doubt — was the Big East, really, really exciting,” he said.
He also made a point to repeatedly thank Nordenberg and Pederson for hiring him.
“(Pederson) showed me the plans for this building, which was really exciting to be able to sell that to recruits,” he said.
Donatas Zavackas, who scored 1,099 points from 1999-2003, was among 10 players who returned.
“I remember those days like it happened yesterday,” he said. Noting the passage of time, he said, “When I look at my passport, it says a different number.”
Zavackas was in town all week, attending victories against Wake Forest and Miami.
“I hope these young guys can do it again,” he said, “and the Pitt program will be on top like (it) should be.”