I was thinking the Penguins had a nice little turnaround after their early seven-game losing streak. The Steelers had one, too, going from 2-6 to 8-8. But those were minor reversals compared to what's happening with Pitt basketball.
What is happening with Pitt basketball, anyway?
I don't know if I've seen one of our teams go from lost to found so quickly. Which is to say, from keeping company with Alabama State to beating Syracuse, North Carolina and Virginia in succession.
I've reached the point, coming off the 68-65 win over No. 11 Virginia, where I'm going to be surprised if these Panthers (11-4 overall, 4-0 in ACC) miss the NCAA tournament.
I can't believe I just wrote that. And I'm not the only one thinking along those lines.
This tweet came late Tuesday from national basketball writer Jon Rothstein: "Jeff Capel has officially made Pitt nationally relevant. Panthers beat Virginia and North Carolina back-to-back. Panthers are 'in position to be in position' to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016."
This was from ACC Network analyst Dalen Cuff: "Pitt seems to be the real deal. It has staying power. And when I say real deal, it's, 'Can you find a way to get yourself into the NCAA tournament?' As far-fetched as that seemed in the summer, and as far-fetched as that seemed in November when they were 1-3, it's very much a possibility now."
What a joy it was to tune in Tuesday and see the Oakland Zoo hopping like it was 2005 (and I'll bet the rest of the place fills up soon). A mere seven weeks ago, I was writing that if Capel could not save himself, Pitt should hire Brandin Knight next season. It looked that bad.
No, it looked far worse than that. I couldn't have foreseen this. Please don't tell me you could have. Capel came into the season with a 25-53 conference record, a program rocked by off-court issues and basically a brand-new team. He immediately lost to West Virginia and Michigan by a combined 55 points and then to VCU to drop to 1-3. And his next game was shaping up as the low point of his five-year tenure, as Pitt trailed a horrific Alabama State team 34-31 at the half Nov. 20 at Petersen Events Center.
To put that in perspective, ponder this: Rankings guru Jeff Sagarin currently has Alabama State (2-11) ranked 351st out of 363 Division I teams, one spot ahead of Incarnate Word and below the likes of Texas A&M-Commerce (that's a thing), Stonehill and Binghamton.
So, again, please don't tell me you knew better. I wasn't sure Capel was going to survive the 15-minute halftime, let alone the rest of the season.
But suddenly, magically, everything came together. The Panthers crushed Alabama State in the second half, upset a good Northwestern team on the road and have now won 10 of 11. They're off to their best conference start since 2013-14, their first year in the ACC.
What a fascinating team, too. These aren't your older brother's Panthers. The Howland/Dixon teams were mostly built by recruiting undervalued high school players and developing them. This is Team Transfer — and I mean that as a compliment.
Building college teams these days is like drafting NFL fantasy teams: You make a new roster every year. The top six players in Pitt's rotation Tuesday have combined to play at 13 schools. That's more than two per man. Only two of them, Nike Sibande and Jamarius Burton, had played a game at Pitt before this season.
If one play could siginify Pitt's arrival, by the way, it had to be Sibande's flying dunk midway through the second half.
This team does share some of the traits of its accomplished predecessors. Namely experience, grit and togetherness. It fights. It storms back in second halves. It beats teams with smarts and much better shooting than we've seen in recent years. As Cuff pointed out, Pitt is 20th in the country in Division I experience. It's just that most of it wasn't accrued at Pitt
And yes, there's still a long way to go. I'm well aware the Panthers got off to an 8-3 start just two years ago, including a win over Duke. I'm just guessing two of this team's best players won't quit right before the ACC tournament, like two of that team's did.
"I'm happy for Jeff because he's a good man," Virginia coach Tony Bennett told reporters. "He's a good coach, and he's been victim to stuff that has been troubling in terms of losing players."
This feels like an easy team to root for. Hinson is a versatile, 6-foot-7 transfer via Iowa State and Mississippi with some big numbers (17.7 points, 7 rebounds per game) and an even bigger personality. He was great on ACC Network when asked about the growing support for his team.
"Man, I really appreciate this city coming out to cheer us on because we really care, and I can tell y'all care," he said. "It goes beyond this arena, and I really want the fans to hear that. I'm in the grocery store or I'm in the gas station, and, like, I feel the love, and I'm glad they're here to show the love."
Capel has done a remarkable job melding a group of veritable strangers into a cohesive unit. And they have played mostly without their top inside scoring presence, John Hugley IV.
"This group really believes in each other," Hinson said. "Man, it's special. It feels special. I hope it looks special."
It does.
Against all reason and recent history, it actually does.
