Monday, January 27, 2014

Gameday: Pitt vs Duke Blue Devils

#18 Pitt 18-2 (6-1 ACC) vs #17 Duke 16-4 (5-2 ACC)
7:00 pm

Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA

This is it.  This is the game everyone looked at when Pitt's ACC schedule was released.  Yes, the Syracuse game in a few weeks will be nice, but we've played them before.  Duke is coming to the Pete for the first time.  It's going to be a dandy.  Duke was picked to win the ACC this year, and while they already have four losses, one was to #1 Arizona and another to a very good Kansas team.  They have wins over #10 Michigan and Virginia, whom Pitt plays on Sunday.  Duke is still Duke.  Krzyzewski is still their coach.  They still have McDonald's All Americans at every position.

Pitt has Lamar Patterson.  I like our chances.

Player to watch: Freshman Jabari Parker is a force.  He's Lamar's biggest challenger for ACC Player of the Year.  He's so good that ESPN has his stats on their college basketball home page under "Freshmen Focus."  The other five players listed are Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid from Kansas, Julius Randle from Kentucky, Aaron Gordon from Arizona, and Tyler Ennis from Syracuse.  Screw Tyler Ennis.

ESPN has all kinds of articles about this game.
These are the two highest scoring teams in the ACC (Pitt #2, Duke #1).

Prediction:  Pitt 82  Duke 75

Levance Fields forever.



Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Game 20: Pitt 83 Maryland 79

With two huge home games against Duke and Virginia next week, Pitt avoided the letdown by getting another ACC road win.  Maryland came out inspired and tried to run Pitt out of the building.  They led 9-2 early.  Pitt settled down and took their first lead at 17-16 on Patterson free throws with 8 minutes left in the half.

Lamar Patterson - Lamar is finally getting a little NBA draft love.  Draft Express has him going #55 overall to the Clippers.  Also David Titus of Grantland put Pitt at #12 in his power rankings.  That's nice, but what's really interesting is that Titus says Lamar has the greatest jump shot he's ever seen.

"I know that Pitt’s best win this season was a close loss at Syracuse, I know the Panthers scored 43 points in a game against Cincinnati in December, and I know that on a neutral court Oklahoma State would probably beat them eight out of 10 times. But Pitt is getting the Cowboys’ spot in the most powerful power rankings in college basketball this week. Why?  Two reasons: (1) Marcus Smart’s flopping has reached critical mass and this is my way of protesting his shenanigans, and (2) I can’t go another week without writing about Lamar Patterson’s jumper.

Let me be up front: I would make sweet, sweet love to Patterson’s jump shot. Patterson is a fifth-year senior who has been a solid 3-point shooter his entire career, so I’m not sure why I haven’t noticed his jumper’s flawlessness until this season. But now that I have, it’s like the clouds parted and angels started singing Enya songs. Actually, as someone who prides himself on his rainmaking abilities, watching Patterson shoot a basketball for the first time was more like Patrick Bateman looking at his colleagues’ business cards. Look at that subtle elbow placement. … The tasteful way he squares his shoulders. Oh my god — it even has a perfect off-hand and follow-through.

Ray Allen is the best shooter in the history of basketball and he’s often praised for having perfect shooting form. Well, Lamar Patterson makes Ray Allen look like Shawn Marion or Bill Cartwright. Compared to shooting icons like Larry Bird and Reggie Miller, Allen’s form is a thing of beauty, but he still uses his left thumb to help push the ball and he often puts so much emphasis on a quick release that his shot resembles a catapult. Patterson has an aesthetically perfect jump shot. He squares his body, he keeps his elbow in, he loads his shot just above his right eye, and his left hand remains so obnoxiously still during the follow-through that it’s borderline taunting. Every youth basketball coach in America should show their players slow-mo replays of Patterson’s game, specifically that stretch in the second half against Syracuse when he hit three 3s in a little over a minute."

Lamar Patterson > Jesus Shuttlesworth

I am contemplating making this exclusively a Lamar Patterson blog.

This game wasn't really as close as the final score would indicate.  Pitt kept making 1-2 free throws down the stretch to let Maryland back in it.

Instead of grades, I just want to point out a few things.


  • Lamar had 28 pts 7 assists 7 rebounds and 4 steals.  Just wow.
  • Young was the only starter not to score in double figures.  He only had 2 points.
  • Jamel Artis continues to make me think he should start over Young.  He had a huge 8 points and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes compared to Young's 2 and 5 in 28 minutes.
That's it for Maryland.  Pitt's playing Duke in 20 minutes.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Game 19: Yikes: Pitt 76 Clemson 43

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.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Game 18: Pitt 54 Fruit 59

I will say it right now.  Pitt has no bench.  They are now officially a 5 person team.  Pitt did some things well.  They got 19 second chance points (to 2 for the Cuse) from 16 offensive rebounds.  However, they shot 13-23 from the line and allowed Syracuse to shoot 52%.  The media will say how Pitt proved it was a contender by hanging with the #2 team in the country on the road, but it was still an opportunity wasted.  After trailing in the 2nd half by 10 points on numerous occasions, Pitt finally took a 52-49 lead on some Patterson free throws with 4:41 left.  If you do the Math, that means Syracuse ended the game on a 10-2 run.  Credit their defense.  Pitt could not get anything going inside as Syracuse's length caused all kinds of problems.  The Orange blocked 7 shots.  I'm complaining about Pitt's lack of depth, yet Syracuse had 3 guys play 40 minutes.  They are also dealing with injury as center DaJuan Coleman is out for the year.

Pitt plays Clemson in an hour so I need to hand out some grades.

Lamar Patterson - Syracuse took control in the first part of the second half.  A three-pointer from Tyler Ennis pushed the lead to 10.  Then Patterson did this over the next minute.

Seriously, here's the last of those triples.
"From Downtown!"

Oh and he made another 3 to give Pitt the lead, and the two free throws to extend it to a 3 point advantage.  Pitt played Syracuse tight all game, but there was that stretch when the Orange threatened to pull away.  Patterson wouldn't let them.  He eventually cooled off and missed some shots down the stretch.  Also, Boeheim decided to foul Patterson rather than let him tie the game with a 3 in the closing seconds.  Patterson would have to make the first and miss the second.  I told my dad, "I bet he misses the first."  He missed the first.  He purposely missed the second, Syracuse got the rebound, and two more free throws finished the scoring.

Grade:  A-

Talib Zanna - Zanna did some nice things.  He had 12 points and 11 rebounds, but Rakeem Christmas basically made him his bitch.  Christmas shot 4-4, mostly on Zanna.

Grade:  C+

Cameron Wright - Cameron Wright made a three pointer (announcers said he was 3-20 on the year), but didn't record a steal.  I'm submitting this to Sports Illustrated so it can be included in their "Sign of the Apocalypse" feature.

Grade:  B-

James Robinson - Robinson made 3 jumpers in the first half, but he picked up a crucial 3rd foul early in the second half with Pitt only down 2.  When he came back, Pitt was down 10.  He has to stay out of foul trouble.  He also had a turnover, which stinks because they're so rare.

Grade:  B-

Michael Young - The kid is a pretty clutch free throw shooter.  His two free throws were the only 2 points Pitt scored in the final 5 minutes.  He did miss one a few moments before that, though.  Other than the free throws he was non-existent and contributed to Pitt's poor interior defense.

Grade:  C

Chris Jones -  With Pitt down 4, he missed two free throws.  That's all I remember from his 7 minutes.

Grade:  D

Josh Newkirk - He turned the ball over once in 5 minutes.

Grade:  D

Jamel Artis - He made a nice hook shot in the second half to cut the lead to 4.

Grade:  C

Derrick Randall - He had an assist, a rebound, and a steal in his 3 minutes.  He missed both of his shots, but he did not commit a foul, which is always a pleasant surprise.

Grade:  C+

That's it.  Pitt and Clemson are about to tip off.

Prediction:  Pitt 63 Clemson 57

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Gameday: Pitt vs Syracuse Orange

#21 Pitt 16-1 (4-0) ACC vs #2 Syracuse 17-0 (4-0 ACC)
4:00 pm

Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York

It's finally time for Pitt to play a worthy opponent, though Cincinnati just keeps winning.  Syracuse was picked to finish 2nd behind Duke in the ACC preseason poll.  Allow me to introduce friend and Syracuse fan @theblumandonly to talk a little bit about his team.

Welcome back to the Carrier Dome Pitt in this Big Eas...I mean ACC battle of the top teams in the conference. The conferences may have changed, but this is still easily one of my favorite college basketball rivalries. So anytime Pitt loses it's a great time.  Last time these two teams met it was the Big East tournament and  thankfully the Orange held on and won thanks to Michael Carter-Williams free throws 62-59 http://espn.go.com/ncb/playbyplay?gameId=330730221

Syracuse hasn't exactly been a dominant team for being ranked 2nd in the country. Boeheim said it best, "we could have easily lost a few of those games". This can't be more true since this team doesn't like to have leads in the 1st half and seems to prefer the 2nd half of contests. Maybe a team like Pitt can get lead big enough and sustain it, but just ask the Hurricanes, BC Eagles, and Tarheels about that. 

Now it's a different time James Southerland and MCW are now gone, but Cuse has reloaded with sophomore guard Trevor Cooney and the great Canadian recruit Tyler Ennis (no not the one that plays for the Buffalo Sabres). Cooney averages 14 points a game and Ennis is also averaging 11.6 points a game, but he's growing into his role.  The main guy to look out for on the Orange is senior forward C.J. Fair putting up 17 a night. 
lolPitt.

Since 2001, Pitt owns a 14-5 record vs. Syracuse. Since Jamie Dixon became head coach, Pitt is 10-4 vs. Syracuse and 5-1 vs. the Orange in Syracuse. In games played against SU at the Carrier Dome, Pitt has won four of the last five and six of the last eight meetings. That span also included a five-game Pitt win streak vs. Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.  Speaking of the Carrier Dome, for the longest time I thought it was just a name, like Three Rivers Stadium was a name.  Apparently, the air conditioner manufacturer Carrier bought naming rights.  Fun fact, the Carrier Dome is not air conditioned.  That would be like the Steelers serving Huntz ketchup at Heinz Field.

Player to watch:  C.J. Fair was the ACC preseason player of the year.

Pitt has a habit of ruining Syracuse's perfect seasons.

2010 - Syracuse would win its first 13 games of the season before falling to unranked Pitt 82-72 at the Carrier Dome.  Syracuse would earn a #1 seed in the tourney that season before losing in the Sweet 16.

2011 - Syracuse won their first 18 games before losing to 5th ranked Pitt 74-66 at the Pete.

2012 - Syracuse finally broke through as they improved to 20-0 by beating by far the worst Pitt team since the 1990s.  Even then, they only won by 8 at home.  Here's what I had to say.  Syracuse was so shocked about not blowing their undefeated season against Pitt that they promptly laid an egg against Notre Dame a few days later.  They would again earn a #1 seed in tournament before losing to Ohio State in the Elite Eight.

2013 - Syracuse actually lost two games before losing to unranked Pitt at the Pete again 65-55.  They would make the Final Four as a #4 seed.

In short, Pitt has dominated Syracuse in the regular season, but they have lost the past two times the teams have met in the Big East Tournament.  As Justin mentioned, Syracuse eliminated Pitt last season.  The Orange also beat Pitt in the 2006 final.  Stupid Gerry McNamara.

This game is in the regular season.

Prediction:  Pitt 72 Syracuse 69




Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Game 17: Bring on the Orange: Pitt 81 Georgia Tech 74

There is nothing wrong with a road conference win, no matter how ugly it looks at times.  The first half was tight with 7 ties and 11 lead changes.  The Panthers trailed at the break for only the third time this year.  Turnovers killed Pitt in the first half.  They were getting great shots when they attempted them.  Zanna had a layup off a great pass from Robinson to open the game, and the next possession Patterson found Wright on an alley-oop.  Georgia Tech just hit a few threes and Pitt gave away too many possessions.  In the second half, Pitt took care of the ball and continued to dominate the glass.  The Panthers held a 38-18 edge in rebounding. shot 57% (to 46% for GT), and still only won by 7.  Georgia Tech made up the difference by making 8 threes to only 2 for Pitt.

Pitt came out on fire in the second half, which is something we've seen from them throughout conference play.  A 9-0 to start the half gave them the lead for good.  Georgia Tech, and by Georgia Tech I mean Trae Golden, made it close at the end, but Pitt made free throws.  Seriously, I have to give Golden credit.  Pitt was leading 72-62 with 90 seconds left, and Golden scored the last 12 points without missing a shot from anywhere on the floor until the final few seconds.  He's a very good player, but this isn't a Georgia Tech blog so let's grade some Pitt players.

Lamar Patterson - Patterson had probably the worst half of his Pitt career to start this game.  He didn't score in the first half and had 4 turnovers.  The first 18 minutes of the second half were much better for Patterson.  He made a 3, completed a 3 point play and took care of the ball.  Unfortunately, he turned the ball over three more times in the final 2 minutes, which allowed Georgia Tech to get back in the game.  Patterson is so good that he can sometimes make up for poor shooting nights (4-13) with his other play (7 rebounds 7 great assists), but the 7 turnovers cannot be ignored.  This was easily his worst game.

Grade:  D

Talib Zanna - Zanna was a monster.  The man is on a mission to dominate conference play.  He had 22 points and 9 rebounds on 8-10 shooting.  He should have gotten a double double but I guess he decided to stop rebounding the last 13 minutes of the game.  Oh well, he was still incredible.  He was aggressive down low and finished around the rim.

Grade:  A+ (Co-MVP)

James Robinson - Robinson carried Pitt in the first half.  He had 13 of his career high 16 before the intermission.  He shot 5-7 from the field with 5 assists and 4 steals.  He made his first bad pass in about a month that resulted in his only turnover, but other than that it was an absolutely flawless performance.

Grade:  A+ (Co-MVP)

Cameron Wright - Wright bounced back with 14 points (12 in the second half).  He finished a couple of great looks from Patterson, but I don't really remember much from him in this game.  Robinson, Zanna, and Patterson were the stories.

Grade:  B+

Michael Young - He was only 1-4 from the field, but he had 7 rebounds and made all 4 of his free throws in the final minutes of play when Georgia Tech was making their run.  The freshman did not wilt under the pressure.  I worry sometimes that Young tries to do too much.  This is probably due to him starting, but Artis and Newkirk seem to understand their roles better.  The kid is going to be special, though, and his free throw-shooting (85%) for a big man is HUGE.

Grade:  A

Jamel Artis - He made 2 of his 3 shots, and that's all I have for him.

Grade:  B

Chris Jones - He didn't score but committed two fouls in his 4 minutes of play.  I don't think he's ready for big-time minutes off the bench.

Grade:  C

Derrick Randall - He had a layup and scored another on a basket interference call on Georgia Tech.  However, he was beaten badly on defense once, causing color commentator Len Elmore to chastise him for it.

Grade:  C-

Josh Newkirk - Newkirk made his only shot, but played an otherwise quiet 12 minutes.

Grade:  B

Pitt's starters average about 135 minutes during the season, and they played 153 last night.  This will be the norm for the rest of the season with Johnson out.  Foul trouble and fatigue will be huge concerns.  Pitt visits the Dome on Saturday.  It should be a dandy.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Gameday: Pitt vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

#21 Pitt 15-1 (3-0 ACC) @ Georgia Tech 10-6 (1-2 ACC)
9:00 pm

McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Georgia

The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech finished 16-15 last season but only 6-12 in the ACC.  They were the were the worst 2-point shooting team in the ACC as well as the worst free throw shooting team.  Their leading rebounder, Sophomore Robert Carter Jr., blew out his knee 3 games ago.  Since then, they've been blown out by Maryland and Duke on the road and beaten Notre Dame at home.  They were picked to finish 11th in the ACC this season, but this team will be an ACC bottom-feeder with the loss of Carter.

Having said all that, this is still a road conference game, and Pitt's depth will be tested now that Durand Johnson is out for the year.  Pitt makes its debut in both polls this week.  The coaches placed them at #21 with the writers putting them at #22.  For the purpose of this preview, we'll call them #21 because it's higher.

Player to watch:  Transfer Trae Golden played the past three seasons for Tennessee.  He scored 2 points in a Tennessee win over #3 Pitt at CEC in 2010 and 12 points in a Pitt win in Knoxville in 2011.  This marks the second straight game a transfer for an ACC opponent has already played Pitt in his career.  Golden is Tech's leading scorer.

Prediction:  Pitt 77 Georgia Tech 63

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Game 16: Pitt 80 Wake Forest 65

Pitt jumped out to an 8-1 lead and never looked back.  The Demon Deacons were not complete strangers to the Pete.  Guard Coron Williams played 4 years at Robert Morris before transferring to Wake as an immediately eligible graduate student.  This was actually his third time facing Pitt at the Pete.  He scored 8 points as a Redshirt Freshman in 2010 and 19 a year later.  He had 10 this time around.  Also side note, Demon Deacons is the best nickname in college sports.  Also relevant from this game was Wake forward Travis McKie flying into the Zoo and breaking a laptop.  Let's grade some people because I have to be over at Lady J.O.'s place at 4:30.  The injury bug bit the Panthers in this one.  Durand Johnson's knee buckled in the second half.  He's out for the year with an ACL and meniscus tear.  Sadness.

Lamar Patterson - Oh you know, Patterson just had 27 points on 10-17 shooting with 5 rebounds and 6 asssists.  I'm running out of adjectives to describe his play this season.  It has been magnificent, stupendous, outstanding, top-notch, phenomenal, incredible, super, scintillating, sensational, sparkling, and just plain good.  Wake Forest came out on fire after the second half began.  Lamar answered.

First 6 minutes of second half:
Wake Forest:  5-7 FG (1-2 3pt), 4-4 FT, 15 points
Lamar Patterson:  3-3 shooting (2-2 3pt), 1-1 FT, 2 assists, 9 points

Adding in Zanna's 6 points that Lamar wasn't involved in, and instead of Wake making a game of it, Pitt's lead ballooned to 19 points.

Grade:  A+ (MVP)

Talib Zanna - He had a man's performance with 16 points 12 rebounds (5 offensive) and 4 blocks.  He had a really nice tip-in in the first half off a Robinson miss and also completed a 3 point play in the second off a feed from Wright in transition.

Grade:  A+

James Robinson - He shot above 50%, made all of his free throws and didn't turn the ball over in 30 minutes.  Seriously, how spoiled are we getting to watch him run the point?

Grade:  A+

Michael Young - He had 4 points but also committed 4 fouls in 14 minutes.

Grade:  C

Cameron Wright - Wright has struggled in conference play as he has struggled to score in double figures in all three games.  He had 8 in this one.

Grade:  B-

Durand Johnson - He only made one basket (a three naturally) but he still scored 11 points off the strength of 8-9 from the line.  He was fouled shooting a three in the first half (made all 3 FT).  In the second half, Durand drove down the middle and got stuffed in the lane.  Wake Forest went the other way.  This is relevant because Durand did not give up on the play, ran the guy down, stole the ball back, saved the ball from going out of bounds, and Zanna's 3 point play came on the ensuing fast break.  Sadly, it will be Durand's last game this season.

Grade:  A+

I might be a little generous with the A grades this time, but seriously I was impressed with them yesterday.

Jamel Artis - He didn't score but he rebounded a three point miss by Durand and found Patterson for a sick 3 point play.

Grade:  B-

Derrick Randall - He made a free throw and had a steal.  He also had 3 fouls in 6 minutes so I get to use this again.
Grade:  C-

Joseph Uchebo - He scored his first career basket AND grabbed two rebounds.

Grade:  A because unless he directly causes Pitt to lose, I'm giving him an A every game his knees do not explode.

Chris Jones - He had a layup and three rebounds.

Grade:  B

Josh Newkirk - He was 0-4 from the field, but did redeem himself a little with 4 assists.

Grade:  B

Mike Lecak - The walk-on missed a three.  He had a chance to score in the closing seconds when he drove uncontested to the hoop, but somebody yelled, "Don't be a jerk."  He then pulled the ball out as time expired.

Grade:  n/a

I love that conference play has started and the walk-ons are still playing.  Haha, suck it ACC.

Pitt should be ranked on Monday.  They play at Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Game 15: Pitt 79 Maryland 59

Pitt opened ACC play at the Pete in style with an easy 79-59 win over Maryland.  Pitt pulled away from the Terps in the second half as they shot 53% for the game to Maryland's 36%.  The Panthers also shut down Dez Wells whose only two baskets of the game came on two consecutive jumpers midway through the first half.  Maryland got a boost from the return of injured sharpshooter Seth Allen, who was playing in only his 4th game of the season.  Allen led Maryland with 18 points off the bench including 4 three-pointers.  Pitt had a super sub of its own as Durand Johnson finished second on the team with a career high 17 points.  Here are the grades.

Lamar Patterson - Another ho-hum performance from Lamar.  He scored 19 points on 8-12 shooting.  In today's issue of "Obscure Stats I Just Made Up," Patterson is 4th in the country in field goal percentage among players 6'5" or shorter who play in major conferences.  Could I have just told you that he's 73rd in all of college basketball, yes, but that's no fun.  For starters, Lamar is a perimeter player, and field goal percentage leaders are usually reserved for big men who dunk a lot.  Secondly, he plays against much bigger players.  A 6'3" guard from Colgate can shoot well because his competition stinks and at 6'3" he might be one of the bigger guys on the floor.  Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Patterson is awesome and we should give him a key to Oakland.  Actually, Tyler Boyd can have one too.

Grade:  A+

James Robinson - Speaking of stats, James Robinson leads the nation in assist to turnover ratio with 5.17 assists for every turnover.  Let's go back in time and compare this to great Pitt point guards of the past.

Assist to Turnover Ratio in Sophomore Seasons
1. James Robinson 5.17
2. Levance Fields 2.4
3. Brandin Knight 1.8

A typical James Robinson game should consist of 2-4 shooting (4-4 FT) 5 assists 1 turnover and maybe a steal.  He came close to this, but with a missed free throw and 2 more assists.

Grade:  A+

Cameron Wright - It was a poor shooting night for Cam (2-10).  He also missed 3-5 from the line.  Just not a good offensive effort.

Grade:  C-

Michael Young - Young was a non-factor, only scoring 3 points and grabbing 2 rebounds in 18 minutes.

Grade:  C-

Talib Zanna - Often criticized for disappearing in conference play, Zanna scored in double figures again with 13 points to go along with 9 rebounds.  He's picked up his defense recently as well with another 2 blocks.

Grade:  A

Durand Johnson - I already mentioned his 17 points.  Perhaps equally impressive were his 3 assists (just one off a career high).  Johnson is Pitt's X-Factor.  On a given night, Pitt is probably a top 20 team.  If Durand plays like he did against Maryland, they're top 10 material.

Grade:  A+ (MVP)

Jamel Artis - He shot 2-3 for 4 points in 10 minutes.

Grade:  B

Josh Newkirk - This was one of Newkirk's better offensive games.  He had 8 points and made both of his three point attempts.  The first brought Pitt back after Maryland built a 12-8 lead, and the second helped bury them after they closed to 8 at 52-44.

Grade:  A

Derrick Randall - He had a layup in garbage time.

Grade: C

Chris Jones - He missed a shot in garbage time.

Grade: C-

Joseph Uchebo - He made his Pitt debut and grabbed a rebound, but his knees are basically ticking time bombs.  He can barely run.  It's sad, really.

Grade:  B because he did not hurt himself.

Joshua Ko, Mike Lecak - They didn't register any stats.

Grade:  n/a

Pitt will play and probably beat Wake Forest 80-65 on Saturday.  I feel good about that prediction.  That recap will come shortly.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.




Sunday, January 5, 2014

Gameday: Pitt vs Maryland Terrapins

Pitt 13-1 (1-0 ACC) vs Maryland 10-5 (2-0 ACC)
7:00 pm

Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA

ACC basketball comes to Pittsburgh for the first time.  Maryland was picked to finish 6th in the ACC this season, one spot ahead of Pitt.  Maryland went 25-13 last season and lost to Iowa in the semi-finals of the NIT.  After an opening game loss to Kentucky, Maryland took advantage of a soft schedule to win their next 13 before being exposed as a pretender in ACC play.  Like Pitt, Maryland also had a inconsistent big man leave school to be a lottery pick.  Sophomore Alex Len was drafted 5th overall by the Phoenix Suns last summer.  He stinks and has bust written all over him.

Last meeting:  Maryland 89 Pitt 57, November 28, 1998
Pitt upset #13 Xavier and defending champion #4 Kentucky on their way to the finals of the Puerto Rican Shootout.  Then they ran into a buzzsaw of Steve Francis, Laron Profit and Maryland.  The Terps had a 20-0 run in the first half.  Six of the players from that team would eventually be drafted, which was impressive in those days.  Since I've been watching Pitt basketball (16 years approximately) there have only been two games where I've seen Pitt be thoroughly manhandled and more closely resemble a Division II team.  This is one, and the other was Pitt's 22 point loss to Boston College in the 2001 Big East Championship, which did however serve as a springboard for Pitt's return to prominence.


Player to watch:  Despite Len's presence, the Terrapins leading scorer last year was guard Dez Wells.  Wells likes to drive as an astonishing 50% of his field goal attempts are taken at the rim.  For comparison, Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State (a player of the year candidate) takes only 26% of his shots at the rim.

Prediction:  Pitt 72 Maryland 62

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.

Game 14: Pitt 74 NC State 62

Pitt's inaugural ACC game was a tale of two halves.  A Michael Young jumper tied the game at 2 in the first couple minutes.  After that the Wolfpack went on a 15-0 run highlighted by 9 points on 4-4 shooting by ACC leading scorer and former McDonald's All-American TJ Warren.  Everything was going NC State's way.  Patterson was throwing passes into the stands.  On one NC State possession they lost track of the shot clock, but Warren burried a deep 3 anyway.  A layup by Newkirk broke a 5 minute scoreless drought.  Pitt took control from that point on.  They played NC State even the rest of the half and went into intermission trailing by 8.  A 28-10 run in the first 9 minutes of the second half gave Pitt a lead they wouldn't relinquish.  After starting 4-4, Warren shot 4-18 the rest of the way.  Here are the grades.

Lamar Patterson - Patterson took control in the second half, scoring 17 of his team-high 22 after intermission.  He also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists including a nifty pass to a cutting Wright that cut the NC State lead to 2 early in the second half.  Patterson is an All-ACC performer, and Pitt will go as far as he takes them.

Grade:  A (MVP)

Michael Young - Young had a career high 13 points on 4-7 shooting, which was encouraging given how poorly he has shot for the season.  He even made his only three pointer.  He's only 3-10 from long range for the year.  It was early in the shot clock, but Young was trailing the play, and nobody came out to guard him.  Shoot the rock, young fella.  He did have an uncharacteristically low 2 rebounds, though.

Grade:  A-

James Robinson - Robinson didn't do much this game.  He picked up his 3rd foul early in the 2nd half.  Robinson absolutely has to stay out of foul trouble.  Newkirk has improved, but he is still a freshman point guard.  This was also the second game that Robinson failed to get to the line.  His only two baskets came in succession as he had a layup, stole the ball on the ensuing NC State possession and then had another layup.  He had 0 turnovers in 27 minutes, though.

Grade:  B-

Cameron Wright - Wright shot poorly (4-12) but his 3 point play gave Pitt its first lead of the game.  That play was of course off an assist from Patterson.  He also had his usual three steals to along with his 9 points.

Grade:  B

Talib Zanna - Zanna had a miserable first half.  He seemed passive, which seems to happen every year when conference play starts.  He also missed his first 3 free throws.  He did eventually settle down, making 7-8 from the line after the first three misses.  His final line (15 points 9 rebounds 4-6 shooting) is what he should be putting up every game for Pitt to be successful.

Grade:  B+

Josh Newkirk - Newkirk had the layup that broke the long scoring drought and also hit a 3 in the first half.  He didn't make any huge mistakes, which is all you can hope from him at this point.  It's insanely early, but it wouldn't shock me if Newkirk transferred at some point.  He's going to sit behind Robinson for three years, and neither one of them is a good enough shooter to warrant starting both of them in the backcourt like Gibbs and Woodall a few years back.  Also, Pitt has a ton of shooting guard recruits coming in the next few years.  Maybe I'm bitter from all the recent transfers Pitt has dealt with, but it would't shock me if Newkirk left at some point to be the starter at another school.

Grade:  B

Jamel Artis - Artis had all 6 of his points in the first half, including a nice put-back.  Pitt got 24 points from its three true freshmen, which pleases me.

Grade:  B+

Durand Johnson - The box score says he played 8 minutes, but he didn't attempt a shot and didn't do much else.  He's in a big time slump right now, and guys like Artis are outplaying him.

Grade:  C-

Chris Jones - He played only 4 minutes in the first half, but he did have two steals in a span of 30 seconds as Pitt was trying to get anything going offensively.  He did not score.

Grade:  B-

Derrick Randall - The only thing I remember from his 9 minutes was him getting a rebound over Warren, having Warren fall to the ground, and yet still being tied up by Warren to keep possession for NC State.  Frankly, how you have the ball knocked away from you by a defender who is lying on the ground is beyond me.

Grade:  D

This was a good win for Pitt.  NC State isn't a tournament, but coming from 15 down in a conference game on the road and winning comfortably is great to see.  They also managed to shut down a future NBA first round pick in Warren for the last 30 minutes.  Now Pitt just has to work on not falling behind by 15 points in the first place.  Their next game is Monday night against Maryland at the Pete.

Hail to Pitt,
J.O.



Saturday, January 4, 2014

Game 13: Pitt 58 Albany 46

Albany made 5 of their first 6 shots to start this game.  Pitt fell asleep for the first 10 minutes or so of the game.  Albany led 18-16 with 8 minutes left in the half, but then they decided to play like Albany.  They didn't  make another basket until 6 minutes were gone in the second half.  By that point it was 36-20 Pitt.  DJ Evans of Albany hit 3 three pointers in the second half to keep Albany close, but the contest was never in doubt.  Cameron Wright flirted with a triple double.  He had 14 points 8 rebounds and 8 assists to go along with 3 steals.  Apparently the only player to do that in Pitt basketball history was a woman named Laine Selwyn who did it twice the early 2000s.  The bench of Artis, Johnson, Randall, and Newkirk combined to shoot 4-14.  Johnson couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat at this point.  He was 1-7.  Pitt already beat NC State in their ACC opener at the time I'm writing this so that recap will be posted shortly after this one.  Here are some highlights of the Albany game:


Hail to Pitt,
J.O.