After all, the drama between Kevin Stallings and Cameron Johnson was viewed as a black eye for Pitt Athletics, and represented one particularly large blemish of the Stallings era. And this site is supposed to be a proud space to discuss all things Pitt basketball.
However, the Stallings-Johnson case study from 2017 is once again relevant, as the NCAA this week decided to change transfer rules so that schools can no longer block a student athlete from transferring to a specific school, effective Oct. 15, 2018.
You can be forgiven if you do not recall the specifics of the Pitt case, or if you simply chose to block it from your memory. After all, it did not reflect well upon our beloved Panthers. Despite actually having held on to a number of key players from Jamie Dixon's tenure at Pitt for the 2016-17 season, a bunch of them transferred following his first season as head coach in 2017.
Former top-100 recruit Corey Manigault left for Indian Hills Community College, Justice Kithcart headed to Old Dominion, and a few others backed out of their commitments to Pitt as well. The biggest was Johnson, who led all underclassmen in the 2016-17 season with 11.9 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
For reference, Johnson's points per game would have ranked second on Pitt's 2018 team, his assists would have ranked third, and his rebounds would have ranked first (excluding Ryan Luther, since he played in just 10 games this season). It is clear that Johnson's transfer was a major loss to the program.
When he ultimately decided to transfer, Pitt cited its own Athletic Department policy in prohibiting him from transferring to North Carolina and maintaining immediate eligibility to play. After an inevitable (and reasonable) firestorm, Pitt eventually relented, and Johnson transferred to North Carolina where he averaged 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game this season.
By the time the Stallings-Johnson drama happened, it was clear that Johnson intended to transfer, and there was little to gain by impeding his transfer to North Carolina. It instead hurt Pitt's reputation in the early phase of what became a dramatic and swift fall to the bottom. As a result of the NCAA's recent decision on transfers, schools will no longer be able to make this blunder like Pitt did just one year ago.
All of this, of course, makes Jeff Capel's revival of Pittsburgh basketball all the more dramatic. Pitt's reputation had taken a big hit, and one that had somehow been made even worse by their zero-win ACC slate in 2017-18. Yet Capel has re-energized the program and largely resurrected its reputation in merely a few months, a minor miracle.
Here's to the NCAA's decision to end of a bad university practice, and to a brighter future for Pitt basketball than we would have imagined at this time last year. And I promise to have a cheerier Throwback Thursday next week.
Thanks for reading, we'll have more content soon. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @PittLead and tell your friends!
For reference, Johnson's points per game would have ranked second on Pitt's 2018 team, his assists would have ranked third, and his rebounds would have ranked first (excluding Ryan Luther, since he played in just 10 games this season). It is clear that Johnson's transfer was a major loss to the program.
When he ultimately decided to transfer, Pitt cited its own Athletic Department policy in prohibiting him from transferring to North Carolina and maintaining immediate eligibility to play. After an inevitable (and reasonable) firestorm, Pitt eventually relented, and Johnson transferred to North Carolina where he averaged 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game this season.
By the time the Stallings-Johnson drama happened, it was clear that Johnson intended to transfer, and there was little to gain by impeding his transfer to North Carolina. It instead hurt Pitt's reputation in the early phase of what became a dramatic and swift fall to the bottom. As a result of the NCAA's recent decision on transfers, schools will no longer be able to make this blunder like Pitt did just one year ago.
All of this, of course, makes Jeff Capel's revival of Pittsburgh basketball all the more dramatic. Pitt's reputation had taken a big hit, and one that had somehow been made even worse by their zero-win ACC slate in 2017-18. Yet Capel has re-energized the program and largely resurrected its reputation in merely a few months, a minor miracle.
Here's to the NCAA's decision to end of a bad university practice, and to a brighter future for Pitt basketball than we would have imagined at this time last year. And I promise to have a cheerier Throwback Thursday next week.
Thanks for reading, we'll have more content soon. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @PittLead and tell your friends!
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