Game 1: Pitt 80 Mount St. Mary's 48

Pitt opened the season against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers.  The Mount, as it is known, is the oldest independent Catholic college in the United States.  I got a chance to tour their campus in May at the end of a 5 day hike along the Appalachian Trail.  It is beautiful.  I also currently know 3 men in the seminary there.  It's a wonderful institution.

The basketball team has had some success.  They made the tournament in 2008 and even won a play-in game against Coppin State.  Then they ran into Tyler Hansbrough and North Carolina (lost 113-74).  For 49 years they were coached by the legendary Jim Phelan, who over that span accumulated a record of 830-524.  His 830 wins are 7th most all-time and his 1324 games coached is the most. He was famous for wearing a bow-tie on the sideline.

What a boss

There is also a coach of the year award named for him, which Dixon won in 2010.

Jim Phelan Award Winner: Jackie Moon

It's also Dixon's birthday today.  He is 47.  Happy birthday to one of the best coaches in the country.

The Mount came out on fire.  They hit seven of their first nine 3-pointers to start the game and even took an 18-17 lead.  Then Pitt realized that they were better and dominated the rest of the way.  They finished half 18-24 from the field, which was the fourth best shooting percentage for a half in Pitt history.  They would finish 34-48 (70%) and broke the school record, which was set in 1980 vs George Washington and we all remember that game.  What?  You don't remember that game?  It was the last in a season-high 5 game winning streak for the Panthers.  They would lose to Maryland 3 days later.

Every Pitt player shot over 50% with the exception of Lamar (0-2) but more on him later.  They outscored the Mountaineers 58-14 in the paint.

This year, in addition to giving out grades, I will also be keeping track of everyone's gpa for the season.  Let's begin.

Cameron Wright - Before the game, Cam's father, Kevin Wright, passed away.  He decided he wanted to play in this game.  Being blessed enough to still have both of my parents, I cannot even fathom the strength it took Cam to keep from crying his eyes out constantly, let alone play a physically demanding sport.  My prayers go out to the Wright family.  Cam responded with 8 points on 3-4 shooting, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 17 minutes.  His best move came on a runner  in the first half.
Grade A+
Season GPA = 4.00

Steven Adams - Steven Adams is a tall human being.  His strength so far is very clearly defense and rebounding.  He had 8 points 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in his college basketball debut.  There is one play in particular I would like to mention.  In the second half, with the the game well in hand, Adams was posting up.  His man was fronting him and someone (I don't remember who) lobbed an entry pass that was deflected.  Adams followed it all the way, deflected it once more to himself, then rose straight up from directly under the basket and flushed it.  The amount of athleticism displayed in those 3 seconds was unbelievable.  That's a turnover by any other Pitt center in the last 10 years not named DeJuan Blair, including Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaryyyyy.

any excuse to use this shop really

My one complaint on Adams is his tendency to try and grab rebounds with one hand.  Blair would do that all the time, but his girth never made it a problem.  And plus, I wouldn't want to try and fight for the ball after the Grizzly Blair got a paw on it.

Grade A
Season GPA = 4.00

Dante Taylor - To put it bluntly, Adams is a lot better than Taylor.  Pitt is a much better team with the Kiwi Phenom playing the pivot.  Taylor made his only field goal and also attacked the rim another time and made two free throws as a result.

Grade B+
Season GPA = 3.25

James Robinson - Robinson is awesome.  It was the first time that Pitt started two true freshman in a game since January 6, 2004 (Antonio Graves and Chris Taft).  Think Levance Fields with size and a jump shot.  Yeah, he's that good.  The unfortunate thing is I don't remember any specific plays he made, but he did have 6 points.  Robinson and Woodall have the ball in their hands 95% of the time on offense.  This is not a bad thing.  They play well together and Robinson has the size to defend 2's.

Grade A
Season GPA = 4.00

Lamar Patterson - After watching him in the summer league, you'd think Lamar was ready to challenge for 1st team All-Conference.  He still is, however with the arrival of Robinson and a healthy Tray, Lamar is no longer required to run the offense.  He did not score but set up plays on offense and set screens for the two guards.  Expect him to just about equal his scoring average from last season (9.6). This is due to Pitt having a lot of weapons on offense.  I wouldn't be surprised if Lamar exploded for 17 a game as a senior to replace Woodall's scoring.

Grade A-
Season GPA = 3.75

JJ Moore - With Moore, Patterson, and transfer Trey Ziegler, Pitt is loaded at the wing.  There was talk of playing JJ at the 4 which I do not have a problem with at all.  As always, Moore is capable of having dominating stretches, and then disappearing for 10 minutes.  He had a quiet 9 points outside of an impressive jump hook, which appears to be a new move.

Grade A-
Season GPA = 3.75

Tray Woodall - Tray finished with 14 points, 6 assists and made good decisions.  With Robinson at the point, it allows Tray to play off the ball more which is his strength.

Grade A
Season GPA = 4.00

Talib Zanna - Zanna completely dominated with a game high 20 on 10-12 shooting.  If Zanna limits his shot selection to lay-ups and dunks he will be fine.  As a fellow Pitt blogger said, if Zanna and Adams both average around double figures then Pitt's inside scoring problems will be solved.  I have to agree with that.

Grade A+
Season GPA = 4.00

Trey Ziegler - The transfer scored all of his 11 in the second half.  It'll be interesting to see how he fits into Dixon's system.  He's no longer the guy like he was at Central Michigan.  If he can find a role much like Mike Cook did a few years ago after he came over from ECU, then Pitt will have another weapon.
Grade A-

Season GPA = 3.75

John Johnson - Johnson did not play and then he complained about it on twitter.  That was probably a mistake.  Pitt Blather has the full story for those interested.  Both Cameron and Johnson were rushed into big time minutes last year with injuries.  This year with a healthy lineup and Robinson in the fold, you would expect their minutes to decline.  Unfortunately, John did not expect this to occur and is unhappy about it.  If his minutes stay down the whole year, expect a transfer.  He complained last year too so he's probably on Dixon's last nerve.

Grade n/a
Season GPA = n/a

For a game against inferior competition, the Zoo was lively.  I hope they continue it throughout the dreadful non-conference schedule.  That's it for today.  Pitt plays Fordham Monday night at 6 p.m.
I will be there obviously.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.