Even though Hawaii lost, I'm pretty sure they're okay with it.
I got a chance to interview one of their players after the game. I asked him what it was like to go to school in Hawaii. He showed me a picture of their campus.
I asked him what that bright orange ball in the sky was. He told me it is something that they call "the sun" and that it is used to bring light to the area during hours when people are normally at work. I said that Pitt didn't have this thing called "the sun." He agreed and said that the time spent in Oakland was really bumming him out.
Hilo is also notable because Babe Ruth planted a tree there, and apparently so have a lot of other celebrities.
Babe Ruth also probably got hammered there, so Hilo is kind of like every other place in the United States.
Since, there was a basketball game against a team from Hawaii, the Zoo passed out leis.
-Zoo President Rodney Dangerfield
It was a little weird being in the Zoo this year. Maybe it was because it was a pre-season game and the Zoo wasn't as bumpin' as it usually is. It also could be because I truly don't know anyone (outside of my one friend with whom I watched the game and NotYanni whom I saw at halftime) who still goes to games. During undergrad, I could go to games and I'd see familiar faces. Even if they weren't my friends I'd think, "Hey, that girl's in my calc 3 class," or "I don't know that person but I've seen them at other games before." I did the same thing last night and I knew no one. Hopefully, that feeling of awkwardness will pass once the regular season starts.
Anyway, uhhh basketball yeah.
Pitt jumped out to a 27-4 lead and Hawaii really didn't challenge the rest of the game. Dixon played the entire team except freshmen Chris Jones and center Malcolm Gilbert, who is expected to red-shirt this season much to the dismay of Pitt fans everywhere. I managed to come across the Pitt News' basketball preview. I'll be doing another post in which I make fun of them in some fashion.
A few actual game notes:
-Freshman point guard James Robinson is AWESOME. He actually is a point guard, unlike some previous players we have tried to pass off as point guards. (I'm looking at you Ashton Gibbs).
I feel better now. It really isn't a blog post unless I rip Gibbs.
-John Johnson is making more of an effort to drive this season. He was pretty much a spot-up shooter last season, but he definitely has the quickness to get to the rim. With all these newcomers and a healthy Woodall, though, Johnson's minutes will decrease this season, which is fine by me because has some room for improvement.
-Durand "Peewee" Johnson redshirted last year and didn't do much in this game. He's solidly behind Lamar, JJ, and transfer Trey Zeigler on the wing depth chart.
-Cameron Wright has not yet learned how to shoot a basketball
-Dante Taylor is still sleepy. He got a technical for hanging on the rim for no other reason other than the fact that he is Dante Taylor.
-Steven Adams is a bit soft. He is very raw offensively and missed several shots from close range. His talent alone was enough to get him 6 and 10. That also may have to do with the fact that he is 7 feet tall and the tallest Hawaii player is 6'7". He had a few nice blocks though. He is a big guy and the talent is there, but he needs to bang bodies for a while and develop some toughness. My dream is that Adams stays two years. He's a lottery pick on potential alone right now. Somewhere around January, he is going to start to dominate once he learns the college game. If hey stays two seasons he is an All-American as a sophomore.
-JJ Moore has a solid beard. Lamar is still awesome. Zanna had a lot of layups.
-Trey Zeigler didn't show me much, but he's still a guy who already has 1000 points at the D-1 level.
Pitt opens the season next Friday against Mount St. Mary's.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
"It really isn't a blog post unless I rip Gibbs." hahaha nice
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