Before I begin talking about the beating that took place at the Pete last night, I want to mention this article from ESPN. John Gasaway wrote a column ranking the 25 best college basketball players. It is important to note that he is not talking about NBA potential or career accomplishments. His list is the 25 best players based on what they've done this season. Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart are 1 and 2 respectively, but guess who comes in at number 3. Since some of you might not be ESPN Insiders (seriously it's worth $1.50 a month) I'll paste it here.
3. Lamar Patterson, Pittsburgh Panthers
McDermott was a first-team All-American last season, but who could have possibly foreseen the senior year that Lamar Patterson is having for Pittsburgh? Patterson wasn't even honorable mention All-Big East in 2012-13.
Jamie Dixon's star should poll a little stronger than that in the ACC this season. In fact it's conceivable that by the end of the season Patterson may rise to the top of this list as my national player of the year. His start has been that strong, as he has been both a 6-5 scoring wing and, in effect, a second point guard on the floor alongside James Robinson. We've seen point forwards before, but I can't recall another player who combined assists and scoring at the wing in quite the way that Patterson is doing it.
Lamar Patterson - National Player of the Year? Pinch me.
Pitt won this game by 33, and it wasn't even that close. This team beat Duke somehow. The Pens are on so I want to finish these grades quickly.
Lamar Patterson - He's just so solid. He had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, made all his free throws, and hit 3 three pointers without even breaking a sweat. Okay, maybe there was a little bit of perspiration, but not much. His 4 turnovers were the only negative.
Grade: A-
Talib Zanna - Zanna made his first 8 shots. Then he missed one, so he is a bum. At one point, Zanna had 18 and Clemson had 24 as a team. This was almost halfway through the SECOND HALF. He finished with 22 points in 21 minutes, which is insane.
Grade: A+ (MVP)
Michael Young - Young is just there. He made a jumper in garbage time, but didn't do much else. He is very raw offensively. Young starts because Pitt has no one else. It's almost an even split between Artis and him. He played 21 minutes, and Artis played 18. Artis is better right now.
Grade: C-
Cameron Wright - Cam made another 3. If Cameron Wright gets a jump shot, the Player of the Year for the 2014-2015 season has already been decided. I'm kidding of course, but shooting is the only flaw in his game. Putting the ball in the basket is important in basketball, so we'll have to hold off on the All American talk for Wright...for now. Oh, he also had 12 points in this one.
Grade: A
James Robinson - Oh you know, just 9 points 8 assists and zero turnovers. Robinson shot 66% from 3, but only 50% from the line (1-2), which is just bizarre.
Grade: A
Jamel Artis - He missed both of his shots, but made two free throws.
Grade: B-
Chris Jones - Jones has 9 rebounds and 3 assists in his Pitt career. He had 6 rebounds and 3 assists in this one. He wasn't particularly impressive, but anytime someone almost equals their career assist and rebounding numbers in one game I have to give them an A.
Grade: A
Derrick Randall - He made his only shot, and blocked another.
Grade: B
Joseph Uchebo - He had 3 rebounds in 4 minutes, and his knees are still holding up.
Grade: A
Josh Newkirk - He scored 10 points in garbage time. Actually, the last 30 minutes of this game could be considered garbage time, but I mean it for Newkirk. His points all came in the second half. He did shoot 4-4, but he fouled out in only 15 minutes.
Grade: B-
Aron Nwankwo, Mike Lecak, Joshua Ko - Nwankwo had two turnovers and Ko missed a shot badly, but Pitt played 3 walk-ons for 2 minutes in a conference game. Clemson should just drop basketball.
Pitt travels to Maryland on Saturday for a rematch with the Terps.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
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