Well it turns out that 1. Being a parent to a toddler with another baby on the way and 2. Not actually owning a tv make it very difficult to write game recaps about Pitt basketball. Frankly at this point I am more knowledgeable about how to make delicious food without dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and wheat (my daughter is highly allergic to all these things) than I am about the 2016-2017 Panthers. I have watched one game in its entirety this year (Marquette) and snippets of a few others. My guess is that Pitt will be NIT bound which is okay. It will at least help me do better in ncaa pools. One day I will return to writing more frequently. Maybe when my kids are old enough to not hurt themselves if I leave them alone for 5 frickin seconds. Anyway, I have a great idea for an interesting post to start 2017 but it will have to wait until I am on my laptop instead of an iPod. Thanks, loyal five readers for not giving up. I will be back
Pitt beat Clemson.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Game 24: Pitt 83 Syracuse 77
I'm back.
Woops. I'm sorry, Mr. Cool James.
My mom sat next to LL Cool J on a plane once. True story.
Anyway, Pitt has been up and down, mostly down, so far this season. They were blown out by NC State, needed a miracle against Boston College, never really had a chance against Duke and Louisville, and somehow lost to Virginia Tech. They also beat a top 10 Notre Dame team because Pitt basketball is not governed by logic. Pitt of course followed that season-saving performance by almost losing to Bryant on Monday night.
Syracuse recently self-imposed a post-season ban on themselves for this season due to an ongoing NCAA investigation for infractions from back in 2007. You can read about what a bush league move that was here.
(Insert joke about Pitt's play being its own post-season ban)
You have to feel for Rakeem Christmas of Syracuse. The guy is having a breakout senior season, and he gets told in February that he won't get to play in any tournament (ACC included). Syracuse is having an off year (despite starting 6-3 in the ACC), but Rakeem is a solid kid who deserved better than this. They could have banned themselves at the beginning of the season to let Rakeem transfer.
So Syracuse is having an NIT type season despite Christmas scoring more points this year in half a season (18.5 avg) than the previous three seasons combined. They're being investigated by the NCAA and possibly facing stiff penalties.
"But guys, guys. We know that we did something bad, but we're gonna fix it. We're going to ban ourselves this year from any postseason so f*** Rakeem Christmas. Also, no need to give us any additional punishment because we took care of that for you."
-Some Syracuse person, probably
What's that? Syracuse has a top 5 recruiting class next year? Oooohhh the plot thickens.
Seriously, I hate Syracuse.
Anyway, there was a basketball game played yesterday. Syracuse led for the first 27 minutes (by as many as 10 at a few points) until Pitt finally got their first lead of the game. The rest of the game was a back and forth battle between two middle-of-the pack ACC teams.
Christmas and Michael "My name is hard to pronounce" Gbinije led the Fruit with 23 points each. Syracuse only played seven guys and the two bench players only played a combined 23 minutes. Four Syracuse starters finished the game with 4 fouls. I was secretly hoping the game would go to double overtime or something so that Boeheim was forced to play 3 walk-ons or something. Pitt was able to hold Trevor Cooney (who really looks like his name should be Chad Michael Cooney) to 1-7 from long-range.
I have to leave in thirteen minutes so let's see if I can give some grades before I leave.
Jamel Artis - Artis has become a star. He's averaging 21 points over the last seven games. Somebody should give him the name of my chiropractor because he's been carrying this team on his back for more than a month. His career-high 32 points on Monday night are the sole reason Pitt did not lose to Bryant. He had 20 and 10 in this one including a dagger three point bomb to put Pitt up by five with a minute to play. He also had several highlight-reel assists from the top of the key. What a player.
Grade: A+
Michael Young - Young also had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, but he was also an uncharacteristic 5-10 from the line. Pitt as a team shot 18-28 which is bad and also typical. Young tried to defend Christmas in the post, but he wasn't very successful.
Grade: B+
James Robinson - Robinson made three 3-pointers in the first half and then disappeared offensively for the rest of the game. He finished with 13 points on 4-11 shooting.
Grade: B-
Cam Wright - He played four minutes before leaving with an ankle injury. This has been a year of bad breaks for Wright.
Grade: I
Josh Newkirk - Newkirk has been bad this year. With Wright's injury Dixon was forced to leave Newkirk out there. He was responded with 1-7 shooting.
Grade: D
Sheldon Jeter - Jeter came out of nowhere to score a career-high 18 points on 7-9 shooting. He was everywhere on the offensive end, even grabbing five offensive rebounds. If Jeter can bottle this game for the rest of the season, Pitt might actually have a chance to go dancing.
Grade: A+
Chris Jones - Jones came off the bench to score 15 points including three triples. All of his three-pointers came with Pitt trailing.
Grade: A+
Ryan Luther - Luther played a minute. It was long enough for him to be abused by Christmas down low.
Grade: C
Derrick Randall - Apparently Randall played three minutes. I didn't notice.
Grade: ?
Pitt plays at Louisville on Wednesday night. It will probably be ugly.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Game 9: Pitt 58 St. Bonaventure 54
St. Bonaventure and Pitt can be bad at the same time, but they cannot be good at the same time. The Bonnies made the NCAA tournament in 2000 (losing to Kentucky in the first round). This was two years before Pitt started their run of ten straight tournament appearances (2002-2011). St. Bonaventure sucked during that time. The year Pitt fell off the map, St. Bonaventure had the A10 player of the year (current NBA player Andrew Nicholson) and won its conference tournament. They lost to #3 seed FSU in the first round (I refuse to call the play in games the first round). They've sucked since. So, it turns out Pitt's entire fortunes are tied to a bottom-feeder A10 team not named Duquesne.
The Bonnies came into this game at 6-1 but they've played the equivalent of the 3rd best team at your local YMCA so far. This game was ugly. Pitt played its six best players for almost the entire game (Robinson, Wright, Jones, Young, Artis, Newkirk) and they still only beat St. Friggin Bonaventure by four at home. I hope this team figures it out.
Cameron Wright - Wright returned to the starting lineup after making a cameo appearance against Duquesne. He played 21 minutes. Unfortunately, he forgot how to play offense. For one night, he regressed back into the awful offensive force that was freshman Cam Wright. He was 0-4 from the field and made 1-2 free throws for his first point this season. Thankfully, he remembered how to defend and that's where Pitt needs him the most. He intercepted a 3/4 court pass when the Bonnies could have tied the game with 3 seconds left to clinch the win. Wright has a few more games against cupcakes to find his offense in time for the ACC. That was probably the plan all along.
Grade: C
Michael Young - He only shot 3-10 but he made his free throws (8-12 for the game) in the final two minutes to keep Pitt ahead. With Pitt behind 47-44, Newkirk hit a three and Artis found Young for a dunk to put Pitt ahead for good. Young finished with 14 points and an absurd 17 rebounds
Grade A
Chris Jones - He had 11 points and 3 blocks, but nothing really stood out to me. His biggest play was probably finding Newkirk for the game-tying three. Of course that play only happened because Jones bricked a three and Uchebo had the biggest offensive rebound of his life to give Pitt another possession.
Grade: B
Jamel Artis - Artis had 14 points on 5-8 shooting to go with 4 blocks. It was easily his best game this season. This was probably in response to me tweeting in the first half that he had "regressed so far I couldn't even see him anymore." I am clearly a master motivator. Dixon should hire me to give halftime speeches. After an Artis jumper put Pitt up 44-37, the Bonnies went on a 10-0 run to regain the lead. Artis made the aforementioned pass to Young for the dunk, and he made two clutch free throws with 27 seconds left to put Pitt back up by four.
Grade: A
Josh Newkirk - Newkirk was having a decent game for the first 36 minutes. He hit that tying three as part of his 9 point night. Unfortunately with a minute left to play, Newkirk's head fell off. Somehow there is nothing in the NCAA rulebook preventing a player from competing without a working brain, so Newkirk was allowed to stay in. After Artis made those two free throws to put Pitt UP by 4, Newkirk fouled his guy in the backcourt to send them to the line. I repeat, PITT WAS AHEAD BY FOUR. They made both free throws and used only 2 seconds of time on that possession. Then with 5 seconds left Pitt ahead by only three, Newkirk fouled his guy attempting a three. Thankfully, St. Bonaventure sucks and his man only made 2/3 free throws. That was Newkirk's fifth foul so he couldn't try to ruin this game any further with a Nasir Robinson type foul at the end.
Grade: F for Foul
James Robinson - He had 9 points and 4 assists but wasn't noticeable.
Grade: B-
Joseph Uchebo - One of only three reserves to play for Pitt. He didn't score in 7 minutes but he had that monster offensive rebound.
Grade: B
Ryan Luther - He didn't attempt a shot in his 8 minutes.
Grade: C
Cam Johnson was hurt, and Sheldon Jeter must have said something about Dixon's mother so he didn't play either.
Pitt plays the Manhattan Jaspers on Wednesday night. I will miss the game because of a dress rehearsal for my choir's Christmas concert.
Fun Fact: Manhattan College is not located in Manhattan, but rather the Bronx. I'm trying to decide if that makes more or less sense than Josh Newkirk's play in the final minutes.
It might be too close to call.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
The Bonnies came into this game at 6-1 but they've played the equivalent of the 3rd best team at your local YMCA so far. This game was ugly. Pitt played its six best players for almost the entire game (Robinson, Wright, Jones, Young, Artis, Newkirk) and they still only beat St. Friggin Bonaventure by four at home. I hope this team figures it out.
Cameron Wright - Wright returned to the starting lineup after making a cameo appearance against Duquesne. He played 21 minutes. Unfortunately, he forgot how to play offense. For one night, he regressed back into the awful offensive force that was freshman Cam Wright. He was 0-4 from the field and made 1-2 free throws for his first point this season. Thankfully, he remembered how to defend and that's where Pitt needs him the most. He intercepted a 3/4 court pass when the Bonnies could have tied the game with 3 seconds left to clinch the win. Wright has a few more games against cupcakes to find his offense in time for the ACC. That was probably the plan all along.
Grade: C
Michael Young - He only shot 3-10 but he made his free throws (8-12 for the game) in the final two minutes to keep Pitt ahead. With Pitt behind 47-44, Newkirk hit a three and Artis found Young for a dunk to put Pitt ahead for good. Young finished with 14 points and an absurd 17 rebounds
Grade A
Chris Jones - He had 11 points and 3 blocks, but nothing really stood out to me. His biggest play was probably finding Newkirk for the game-tying three. Of course that play only happened because Jones bricked a three and Uchebo had the biggest offensive rebound of his life to give Pitt another possession.
Grade: B
Jamel Artis - Artis had 14 points on 5-8 shooting to go with 4 blocks. It was easily his best game this season. This was probably in response to me tweeting in the first half that he had "regressed so far I couldn't even see him anymore." I am clearly a master motivator. Dixon should hire me to give halftime speeches. After an Artis jumper put Pitt up 44-37, the Bonnies went on a 10-0 run to regain the lead. Artis made the aforementioned pass to Young for the dunk, and he made two clutch free throws with 27 seconds left to put Pitt back up by four.
Grade: A
Josh Newkirk - Newkirk was having a decent game for the first 36 minutes. He hit that tying three as part of his 9 point night. Unfortunately with a minute left to play, Newkirk's head fell off. Somehow there is nothing in the NCAA rulebook preventing a player from competing without a working brain, so Newkirk was allowed to stay in. After Artis made those two free throws to put Pitt UP by 4, Newkirk fouled his guy in the backcourt to send them to the line. I repeat, PITT WAS AHEAD BY FOUR. They made both free throws and used only 2 seconds of time on that possession. Then with 5 seconds left Pitt ahead by only three, Newkirk fouled his guy attempting a three. Thankfully, St. Bonaventure sucks and his man only made 2/3 free throws. That was Newkirk's fifth foul so he couldn't try to ruin this game any further with a Nasir Robinson type foul at the end.
Grade: F for Foul
James Robinson - He had 9 points and 4 assists but wasn't noticeable.
Grade: B-
Joseph Uchebo - One of only three reserves to play for Pitt. He didn't score in 7 minutes but he had that monster offensive rebound.
Grade: B
Ryan Luther - He didn't attempt a shot in his 8 minutes.
Grade: C
Cam Johnson was hurt, and Sheldon Jeter must have said something about Dixon's mother so he didn't play either.
Pitt plays the Manhattan Jaspers on Wednesday night. I will miss the game because of a dress rehearsal for my choir's Christmas concert.
Fun Fact: Manhattan College is not located in Manhattan, but rather the Bronx. I'm trying to decide if that makes more or less sense than Josh Newkirk's play in the final minutes.
It might be too close to call.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Game 8: Pitt 76 Duquesne 62
Another year, another win in the City Game for Pitt. Duquesne came into the game leading the nation in 3-point shooting. Pitt gave them a ton of open looks early. Thankfully, Duquesne couldn't make anything.
Here are some quick grades:
James Robinson - He had a career high 23 points, mainly by getting to the line (8-10) and hitting three three-pointers. He supplemented the scoring with 5 assists and 3 steals. Robinson played 38 minutes. He can't keep that up all season.
Grade: A
Derrick Randall - He committed a foul early and Uchebo's surprising play (more on him later) kept him on the bench the rest of the way.
Grade: D
Jamel Artis - He played aggressively, finishing just shy of a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. He got tangled with a Duquesne player near mid-court and seemed to be in pain, but he brushed it off.
Grade: A-
Michael Young - He was 0-3 from the field and was a complete non-factor. Pitt can afford this type of performance from Young against Duquesne, but they need him to be a force in the ACC. He's far and away their most talented post player. He has to stay out of foul trouble (he had 4).
Grade: C-
Chris Jones - I never know what to think of him. He's the type of player who makes one shot, then thinks he can't miss. However, he may be the only player Pitt has who is capable of making a mid-range jump shot. With Duquesne mounting a comeback, Jones hit two jumpers to put Pitt back ahead comfortably. He finished with 12.
Grade: A
Joseph Uchebo - Apparently, Uchebo dominated this year's summer league. Duquesne plays in the summer league. Obviously, Uchebo would dominate them here. He did with 12 points and 9 rebounds in just 14 minutes.
Grade: A+
Cameron Wright - THE CAMBURGLAR RETURNS
Sure, he only played one minute and missed both of his shots, but who cares.
Grade: A+ because the Camburglar photoshop is amazing.
Cameron Johnson - He didn't do much in six minutes of play. The kid needs to get stronger.
Grade: C-
Ryan Luther - Not much more was heard from Luther, either. He had three points.
Grade: C
Josh Newkirk - Josh Newkirk for ACC sixth man of the year. Do they even have sixth man of the year awards in college? *Consults interwebs* They do apparently. JOSH NEWKIRK FOR ACC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR. He had 16 points and 5 assists with 0 turnovers.
Grade: A+
Alright, Pitt gets eight days off before they play the 6-1 St. Bonaventure Bonnies on December 13. Pitt has alternated wins and losses over the last 6 games. That willprobably hopefully end against the Bonnies.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Here are some quick grades:
James Robinson - He had a career high 23 points, mainly by getting to the line (8-10) and hitting three three-pointers. He supplemented the scoring with 5 assists and 3 steals. Robinson played 38 minutes. He can't keep that up all season.
Grade: A
Derrick Randall - He committed a foul early and Uchebo's surprising play (more on him later) kept him on the bench the rest of the way.
Grade: D
Jamel Artis - He played aggressively, finishing just shy of a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. He got tangled with a Duquesne player near mid-court and seemed to be in pain, but he brushed it off.
Grade: A-
Michael Young - He was 0-3 from the field and was a complete non-factor. Pitt can afford this type of performance from Young against Duquesne, but they need him to be a force in the ACC. He's far and away their most talented post player. He has to stay out of foul trouble (he had 4).
Grade: C-
Chris Jones - I never know what to think of him. He's the type of player who makes one shot, then thinks he can't miss. However, he may be the only player Pitt has who is capable of making a mid-range jump shot. With Duquesne mounting a comeback, Jones hit two jumpers to put Pitt back ahead comfortably. He finished with 12.
Grade: A
Joseph Uchebo - Apparently, Uchebo dominated this year's summer league. Duquesne plays in the summer league. Obviously, Uchebo would dominate them here. He did with 12 points and 9 rebounds in just 14 minutes.
Grade: A+
Cameron Wright - THE CAMBURGLAR RETURNS
Grade: A+ because the Camburglar photoshop is amazing.
Cameron Johnson - He didn't do much in six minutes of play. The kid needs to get stronger.
Grade: C-
Ryan Luther - Not much more was heard from Luther, either. He had three points.
Grade: C
Josh Newkirk - Josh Newkirk for ACC sixth man of the year. Do they even have sixth man of the year awards in college? *Consults interwebs* They do apparently. JOSH NEWKIRK FOR ACC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR. He had 16 points and 5 assists with 0 turnovers.
Grade: A+
Alright, Pitt gets eight days off before they play the 6-1 St. Bonaventure Bonnies on December 13. Pitt has alternated wins and losses over the last 6 games. That will
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Game 7: I hope this helps them in March: Pitt 69 Indiana 81
Indiana is the 7th highest scoring team in Division 1 at 87.4 points per game. Of course this was helped by a season-opening 116-65 win over Mississippi Valley State, but still, the Hoosiers can score. Pitt can't defend, so you knew this one would be ugly.
I dissed Chris Jones after a missed shot, turnover, and foul early. To spite me, he turned into Steph Curry at the end of the half. Pitt was down 13 before Jones scored 11 points in 2 minutes (3 three-pointers and two free throws). Cameron Johnson followed that with another three before halftime. That barrage of threes would probably be enough to bring Pitt back, but unfortunately every single three by Jones was matched by an easy basket for Indiana. After starting 5-8 (3-4 from 3) in the first half, Jones turned back into Chris Jones and was 1-9 (0-4 from 3) in the second half.
Indiana shot 54.1% to become yet another team to shoot above 50 against Pitt. To give you an idea of how poor Pitt's defense has been across the board, here are the shooting numbers for every Hoosier.
Starters
4-6 8 points
5-10 10 points
4-7 11 points
5-14 13 points
2-4 6 points
Bench
3-5 7 points
6-6 15 points
1-1 3 points
0-2 0 points
3-6 8 points
8 players shot above 50% and the bench shot a collective 65%. The 6-6 guy was a 6'7" freshmen forward named Emmitt Holt, who's had a rough year. He's only played 17 minutes total in the first six games of the year, and he didn't even play at all in four of them. Naturally, Pitt couldn't stop him at all.
Pitt returns to their regular scheduled cupcake non-conference schedule with the City Game on Friday then five more also-rans before the ACC schedule starts. If Pitt loses any of these games, they won't make the tournament. Pitt also begins the conference slate with 5 winnable games (@NCST, @BC, Clemson, FSU, GT) before embarking on a month of hell from January 19 to February 21. In that span Pitt will play 5 teams ranked in the top 12 of the poll (3 on the road) and that doesn't even include playing Syracuse twice. It's going to be an ugly month. Please come back Cam Wright.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
I dissed Chris Jones after a missed shot, turnover, and foul early. To spite me, he turned into Steph Curry at the end of the half. Pitt was down 13 before Jones scored 11 points in 2 minutes (3 three-pointers and two free throws). Cameron Johnson followed that with another three before halftime. That barrage of threes would probably be enough to bring Pitt back, but unfortunately every single three by Jones was matched by an easy basket for Indiana. After starting 5-8 (3-4 from 3) in the first half, Jones turned back into Chris Jones and was 1-9 (0-4 from 3) in the second half.
Indiana shot 54.1% to become yet another team to shoot above 50 against Pitt. To give you an idea of how poor Pitt's defense has been across the board, here are the shooting numbers for every Hoosier.
Starters
4-6 8 points
5-10 10 points
4-7 11 points
5-14 13 points
2-4 6 points
Bench
3-5 7 points
6-6 15 points
1-1 3 points
0-2 0 points
3-6 8 points
8 players shot above 50% and the bench shot a collective 65%. The 6-6 guy was a 6'7" freshmen forward named Emmitt Holt, who's had a rough year. He's only played 17 minutes total in the first six games of the year, and he didn't even play at all in four of them. Naturally, Pitt couldn't stop him at all.
Pitt returns to their regular scheduled cupcake non-conference schedule with the City Game on Friday then five more also-rans before the ACC schedule starts. If Pitt loses any of these games, they won't make the tournament. Pitt also begins the conference slate with 5 winnable games (@NCST, @BC, Clemson, FSU, GT) before embarking on a month of hell from January 19 to February 21. In that span Pitt will play 5 teams ranked in the top 12 of the poll (3 on the road) and that doesn't even include playing Syracuse twice. It's going to be an ugly month. Please come back Cam Wright.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Games 5 and 6: San Diego State Abuses Pitt, Pitt Abuses Kansas State
Okay, I have two games to talk about before Pitt plays Indiana tonight.
Last Tuesday, Pitt was outclassed in every way against San Diego State. They turned the ball over 17 (to 9 for SDSU) and shot a measly 37.7% while allowing the Aztecs to shoot an incredible 58.7%. That makes the 3rd game in row that Pitt allowed an opponent to shoot above 50%, which is just awful. They were lucky that Chaminade is such an awful rebounding team or they might have lost that one too. Thankfully Kansas State ended the streak, but more on that one in a minute.
The long bright spot was James Robinson, who had a game 17 points. Unfortunately, he supplemented that with a career-high 17 turnovers.
Pitt led 2-0 on a jumper by Young. San Diego State tied it on the ensuing possession, Robinson missed a layup, San Diego State scored again, and the Panthers never got any closer the rest of the game.
When Pitt was an underdog against highly ranked teams in the Big East (namely Syracuse and UConn), you knew Pitt always had a chance because of familiarity. Dixon had seen them enough times to counter-act the talent disparity. Pitt frequently fails when playing a high-level non-conference opponent (in the regular season or tournament). The game against San Diego State reminded me a lot of the game against Florida in the tournament last year. Florida was so much bigger, faster, and stronger than Pitt that it seemed like they were playing two different games. San Diego State was the same way. Now, UConn won the national championship last year and beat Florida along the way. Pitt lost to Florida by 16 in the round of 32 and Florida was average in that game. If the brackets were switched, and Pitt ended up playing UConn in the round of 32, the outcome would be much different. Pitt still probably would have lost because they are Pitt, but it would have been closer than 16 points. Why? Because Pitt had played UConn the past three years as members of the Big East. Dixon would have three years of game type to figure out how to stop Shabazz Napier. Granted, Napier took his game to another level that year, but Dixon has shut down high-scoring UConn guards before.
What is the point of this rant?
The point is that Pitt needs to continue to schedule tougher non-conference games like this one. Yes, it was part of a tournament, but BYU would have tested Pitt as well had they won earlier. Getting more exposure to talented teams outside of your conference prepares a team to face different styles in March. The move to the ACC was a great thing for Pitt. They mastered the Big East, and now it's time to expand.
Last Wednesday, Pitt destroyed Kansas State. A three point game at the half, Pitt dominated the Wildcats in the second half to finish 3rd at Maui. Every Panther scored except Randall (of course) and walk-on Aron Phillips-Nwankwo. Joshua Ko hit a buzzer-beating three to score in his home state. The star of the game was Ryan Luther, who was excellent defensively while also scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting. He has improved by leaps and bounds in the four months he's been with Pitt. He played 24 minutes and I'd like to see his minutes stay in the 20-25 range the rest of the season. The kid will be good.
Pitt plays Indiana tonight in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Jamie Dixon faces off against his old Big East nemesis Tom Crean. Tom Crean recruited, coached, and is still friends with Dwyane Wade. I hate Dwyane Wade so I hate Tom Crean.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Last Tuesday, Pitt was outclassed in every way against San Diego State. They turned the ball over 17 (to 9 for SDSU) and shot a measly 37.7% while allowing the Aztecs to shoot an incredible 58.7%. That makes the 3rd game in row that Pitt allowed an opponent to shoot above 50%, which is just awful. They were lucky that Chaminade is such an awful rebounding team or they might have lost that one too. Thankfully Kansas State ended the streak, but more on that one in a minute.
The long bright spot was James Robinson, who had a game 17 points. Unfortunately, he supplemented that with a career-high 17 turnovers.
Pitt led 2-0 on a jumper by Young. San Diego State tied it on the ensuing possession, Robinson missed a layup, San Diego State scored again, and the Panthers never got any closer the rest of the game.
When Pitt was an underdog against highly ranked teams in the Big East (namely Syracuse and UConn), you knew Pitt always had a chance because of familiarity. Dixon had seen them enough times to counter-act the talent disparity. Pitt frequently fails when playing a high-level non-conference opponent (in the regular season or tournament). The game against San Diego State reminded me a lot of the game against Florida in the tournament last year. Florida was so much bigger, faster, and stronger than Pitt that it seemed like they were playing two different games. San Diego State was the same way. Now, UConn won the national championship last year and beat Florida along the way. Pitt lost to Florida by 16 in the round of 32 and Florida was average in that game. If the brackets were switched, and Pitt ended up playing UConn in the round of 32, the outcome would be much different. Pitt still probably would have lost because they are Pitt, but it would have been closer than 16 points. Why? Because Pitt had played UConn the past three years as members of the Big East. Dixon would have three years of game type to figure out how to stop Shabazz Napier. Granted, Napier took his game to another level that year, but Dixon has shut down high-scoring UConn guards before.
What is the point of this rant?
The point is that Pitt needs to continue to schedule tougher non-conference games like this one. Yes, it was part of a tournament, but BYU would have tested Pitt as well had they won earlier. Getting more exposure to talented teams outside of your conference prepares a team to face different styles in March. The move to the ACC was a great thing for Pitt. They mastered the Big East, and now it's time to expand.
Last Wednesday, Pitt destroyed Kansas State. A three point game at the half, Pitt dominated the Wildcats in the second half to finish 3rd at Maui. Every Panther scored except Randall (of course) and walk-on Aron Phillips-Nwankwo. Joshua Ko hit a buzzer-beating three to score in his home state. The star of the game was Ryan Luther, who was excellent defensively while also scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting. He has improved by leaps and bounds in the four months he's been with Pitt. He played 24 minutes and I'd like to see his minutes stay in the 20-25 range the rest of the season. The kid will be good.
Pitt plays Indiana tonight in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Jamie Dixon faces off against his old Big East nemesis Tom Crean. Tom Crean recruited, coached, and is still friends with Dwyane Wade. I hate Dwyane Wade so I hate Tom Crean.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Game 4: Pitt 81 Chaminade 68
Pitt avoided embarrassment and did not become the 8th team to lose to the Chaminade Silverswords in the Maui invitational. The Division II school has a record of 7-82 in the tournament. Is that bad? It ain't good.
On December 23, 1982, the #1 Virginia Cavaliers, led by 2-time reigning National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson (he would be a 3-time POY by the end of the season) traveled to Hawaii to play NAIA Chaminade University of Honolulu. The Silverswords were only in their 8th year of existence but came into the game with a 10-1 record. Virginia had originally wanted to play Hawaii but got Chaminade instead. Chaminade (who would go 33-2 that year) defeated the Cavaliers 77-72 in the greatest upset in college basketball history. After the game, Virginia coach Terry Holland congratulated the Chaminade athletic director and suggested that he start a Hawaii tournament. Two years later the Maui Classic was born.
The eight Maui Invitational participants usually consisted of one team each from the Big 6 conferences (ACC, Old Big East, SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac-12) a bonus team from a different conference and host Chaminade. There is a loser bracket so every team is guaranteed to play three games. By beating Chaminade in the first game, Pitt can finish no worse than 4th in the tournament.
The 2014 participants are:
Pitt (ACC)
Arizona (Pac-12)
Missouri (SEC)
Kansas Sate (Big 12)
Purdue (Big 10)
BYU (West Coast)
San Diego State (Mountain West)
Chaminade (Pacific West, DII)
The results from the first round are as follows:
#3 Arizona 72 Missouri 53 - Arizona is far and away the best team in this tournament. They'll win unless TJ McConnell transfers back to Duquesne today. Actually, he could leave and they'd still be the favorite. They'll play Kansas State at 7:30 tonight in the first semi-final.
Kansas State 88 Purdue 79 - Kansas State is a decent enough team, but they'll lose to Arizona. Joe Lunardi had them as an 8th seed in his pre-season bracketology (Arizona is a #1 seed btw).
#15 San Diego State 92 BYU 87 2OT - In the best game of the night, San Diego State outlasted their former Mountain West rivals. The Aztecs will tip-off against Pitt around 10 pm this evening.
Okay, now that the background is covered, we can talk about last night's game.
The big takeaways from this game are that Chaminade rebounds worse than my 3rd grade rec team and that Pitt let another team shoot over 50%. The Camburglar's return will help, but their defense is a concern. Wright should hopefully be back sometime in early December.
Now here are the grades:
Michael Young - Simply put, Young has taken a HUUUUUUUUUUGE leap forward. After only scoring in double figures five times his freshman year, he's averaged 20 over the last three games. He had a career high 27 points and 15 rebounds (his first career double double). He's shooting an absurd 67% (up from 41% last season). That will naturally fall as the competition gets better, but Zanna shot 58% last season and I imagine Young will be around that number this year. He has been working mostly inside this season and it's hard to argue with the results. Jamie should make him do 20 push-ups every time he attempts a 3 in practice. He's not a bad long-range shooter (10-28 last season) but he can be an All-American inside.
Grade: A+
Derrick Randall - There have been about 385 games played in the Maui Invitational the last 30 years and no player ever had more rebounds in a game than Derrick Randall had last night. He put his own spin on a triple double with 11 points, 10 offensive rebounds, and 11 defensive rebounds. He was shining glass all night. Randall is only relevant when the competition is awful. Remember he had 12 and 12 in the season opener against Savannah State in 2013 and then only scored in double figures once more the rest of the year. I predict he will turn back into a pumpkin tonight, but for now he is THE WINDEX MAN!
Grade: A+
Joseph Uchebo - He missed a layup, committed a foul and didn't return after only one minute of action. He is the John DeGroat of this year's team in that he would start the game and then disappear seconds later never to be seen again. DeGroat started 26 games in 2005 for reasons still unknown to Pitt fans.
Grade: Incomplete
Pitt is trying their hardest to keep Young from having to play center, but with Randall's lack of improvement, Uchebo's limited mobility, and Tyrone Haughton being nowhere near ready, Dixon may have to eventually go with Young at the 5. This would force Jeter and Artis to play power forward, which is probably a bad thing.
Chris Jones - Jones has alternated good games and bad games so far this season. After being the lone bright spot against Hawaii (19 points, 5 threes) he missed all four of his shots and didn't score in this one. If the pattern continues he'll probably score 15 tonight in a Pitt win.
Grade: D
Jamel Artis - After averaging 13 in the first two games, Artis has somehow gone ice cold in Hawaii. he didn't score against the Rainbow Warriors and had only 4 points tonight. He's shooting 1-10 the last two games.
Grade: D
So let's see, three of Pitt's starters combined for 4 points. I'm no mathematician (wait, yes I am) but that is not good.
James Robinson - Lost in the shuffle of Young and Randall's rebounding effort, Robinson had a quiet 17 points on 5-12 shooting. He did have 4 turnovers, but two of those came in the last 90 seconds after he had already played 37 minutes. When Wright returns both of them should play around 30 minutes a night with Newkirk somewhere around 20-25. Jones will return to the bench.
Grade: A
Ryan Luther - He made his only shot (a 3-pointer) but committed 3 fouls in only 11 minutes. He'll get better with Dixon.
Grade: C
Sheldon Jeter - He played three minutes and didn't do much other than commit three fouls. He was held scoreless for the first time this season.
Grade: D
Josh Newkirk - Newkirk had a very solid game with 10 points and 8 assists. I could see a smaller lineup of Robinson, Newkirk, Wright, Artis and Young being very effective in short bursts.
Grade: A
Cameron Johnson - He scored nine points (all on 3's) and has been a pleasant surprise so far this season.
Grade: B+
Joshua Ko - Playing in his home state, Ko missed his only shot attempt.
Grade: C
Mike Lecak - He did not register any stats.
Grade: I
Alright that's it. San Diego State is next.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
On December 23, 1982, the #1 Virginia Cavaliers, led by 2-time reigning National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson (he would be a 3-time POY by the end of the season) traveled to Hawaii to play NAIA Chaminade University of Honolulu. The Silverswords were only in their 8th year of existence but came into the game with a 10-1 record. Virginia had originally wanted to play Hawaii but got Chaminade instead. Chaminade (who would go 33-2 that year) defeated the Cavaliers 77-72 in the greatest upset in college basketball history. After the game, Virginia coach Terry Holland congratulated the Chaminade athletic director and suggested that he start a Hawaii tournament. Two years later the Maui Classic was born.
The eight Maui Invitational participants usually consisted of one team each from the Big 6 conferences (ACC, Old Big East, SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac-12) a bonus team from a different conference and host Chaminade. There is a loser bracket so every team is guaranteed to play three games. By beating Chaminade in the first game, Pitt can finish no worse than 4th in the tournament.
The 2014 participants are:
Pitt (ACC)
Arizona (Pac-12)
Missouri (SEC)
Kansas Sate (Big 12)
Purdue (Big 10)
BYU (West Coast)
San Diego State (Mountain West)
Chaminade (Pacific West, DII)
The results from the first round are as follows:
#3 Arizona 72 Missouri 53 - Arizona is far and away the best team in this tournament. They'll win unless TJ McConnell transfers back to Duquesne today. Actually, he could leave and they'd still be the favorite. They'll play Kansas State at 7:30 tonight in the first semi-final.
Kansas State 88 Purdue 79 - Kansas State is a decent enough team, but they'll lose to Arizona. Joe Lunardi had them as an 8th seed in his pre-season bracketology (Arizona is a #1 seed btw).
#15 San Diego State 92 BYU 87 2OT - In the best game of the night, San Diego State outlasted their former Mountain West rivals. The Aztecs will tip-off against Pitt around 10 pm this evening.
Okay, now that the background is covered, we can talk about last night's game.
The big takeaways from this game are that Chaminade rebounds worse than my 3rd grade rec team and that Pitt let another team shoot over 50%. The Camburglar's return will help, but their defense is a concern. Wright should hopefully be back sometime in early December.
Now here are the grades:
Michael Young - Simply put, Young has taken a HUUUUUUUUUUGE leap forward. After only scoring in double figures five times his freshman year, he's averaged 20 over the last three games. He had a career high 27 points and 15 rebounds (his first career double double). He's shooting an absurd 67% (up from 41% last season). That will naturally fall as the competition gets better, but Zanna shot 58% last season and I imagine Young will be around that number this year. He has been working mostly inside this season and it's hard to argue with the results. Jamie should make him do 20 push-ups every time he attempts a 3 in practice. He's not a bad long-range shooter (10-28 last season) but he can be an All-American inside.
Grade: A+
Derrick Randall - There have been about 385 games played in the Maui Invitational the last 30 years and no player ever had more rebounds in a game than Derrick Randall had last night. He put his own spin on a triple double with 11 points, 10 offensive rebounds, and 11 defensive rebounds. He was shining glass all night. Randall is only relevant when the competition is awful. Remember he had 12 and 12 in the season opener against Savannah State in 2013 and then only scored in double figures once more the rest of the year. I predict he will turn back into a pumpkin tonight, but for now he is THE WINDEX MAN!
Joseph Uchebo - He missed a layup, committed a foul and didn't return after only one minute of action. He is the John DeGroat of this year's team in that he would start the game and then disappear seconds later never to be seen again. DeGroat started 26 games in 2005 for reasons still unknown to Pitt fans.
Grade: Incomplete
Pitt is trying their hardest to keep Young from having to play center, but with Randall's lack of improvement, Uchebo's limited mobility, and Tyrone Haughton being nowhere near ready, Dixon may have to eventually go with Young at the 5. This would force Jeter and Artis to play power forward, which is probably a bad thing.
Chris Jones - Jones has alternated good games and bad games so far this season. After being the lone bright spot against Hawaii (19 points, 5 threes) he missed all four of his shots and didn't score in this one. If the pattern continues he'll probably score 15 tonight in a Pitt win.
Grade: D
Jamel Artis - After averaging 13 in the first two games, Artis has somehow gone ice cold in Hawaii. he didn't score against the Rainbow Warriors and had only 4 points tonight. He's shooting 1-10 the last two games.
Grade: D
So let's see, three of Pitt's starters combined for 4 points. I'm no mathematician (wait, yes I am) but that is not good.
James Robinson - Lost in the shuffle of Young and Randall's rebounding effort, Robinson had a quiet 17 points on 5-12 shooting. He did have 4 turnovers, but two of those came in the last 90 seconds after he had already played 37 minutes. When Wright returns both of them should play around 30 minutes a night with Newkirk somewhere around 20-25. Jones will return to the bench.
Grade: A
Ryan Luther - He made his only shot (a 3-pointer) but committed 3 fouls in only 11 minutes. He'll get better with Dixon.
Grade: C
Sheldon Jeter - He played three minutes and didn't do much other than commit three fouls. He was held scoreless for the first time this season.
Grade: D
Josh Newkirk - Newkirk had a very solid game with 10 points and 8 assists. I could see a smaller lineup of Robinson, Newkirk, Wright, Artis and Young being very effective in short bursts.
Grade: A
Cameron Johnson - He scored nine points (all on 3's) and has been a pleasant surprise so far this season.
Grade: B+
Joshua Ko - Playing in his home state, Ko missed his only shot attempt.
Grade: C
Mike Lecak - He did not register any stats.
Grade: I
Alright that's it. San Diego State is next.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Game 3: Lolpitt: Hawaii 74 Pitt 70
The University of Pittsburgh Men's Basketball team lost a heart breaker to the University of Hawaii Jeff Gordons early Saturday morning by a score of 74-70. Yes, the same University of Hawaii who lost at home four days earlier to High Point, best known for being the alma mater of one Snoop Dogg.
This game was not on television or radio. I asked twitter where I could view the game, and I got response about an app called livewire. Seeing as how I am one of the .00034% of people in my 20s without a smart phone or tablet, this did not help me.
In honor of this debacle (but more because I have no idea what actually happened), I'm going to countdown the top 12 most disappointing things to happen in Hawaii.
12. Saved By the Bell: Hawaiian Style - In terms of the two made-for-tv Saved By the Bell movies this one pales in comparison to the wedding in Las Vegas.
11. The Pro Bowl - The NFL Pro Bowl represents the closest we've come to actually implementing
Randy Marsh's Sarcastaball rules.
10. The 2010 Maui Invitational - Kemba Walker scored 900 points in three games to lead UConn to victory and ensure that Pitt fans would have to listen to how great Kemba Walker was a full five months before he forced Gary McGhee to retire from basketball.
7. The Movie Battleship - They should have made a movie about minesweeper instead.
6. Pitt's Performance in the 2014 Maui Invitational - Yes, I know this hasn't happened yet, and I'm not saying they're going to lose to division II Chaminade in the first game...
5. Hawaiian Punch Polar Blast - Am I reaching on this list? Maybe.
Much like Pitt this list failed to reach the Final Four.
The Maui Invitational starts on Monday night. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
This game was not on television or radio. I asked twitter where I could view the game, and I got response about an app called livewire. Seeing as how I am one of the .00034% of people in my 20s without a smart phone or tablet, this did not help me.
In honor of this debacle (but more because I have no idea what actually happened), I'm going to countdown the top 12 most disappointing things to happen in Hawaii.
12. Saved By the Bell: Hawaiian Style - In terms of the two made-for-tv Saved By the Bell movies this one pales in comparison to the wedding in Las Vegas.
11. The Pro Bowl - The NFL Pro Bowl represents the closest we've come to actually implementing
Randy Marsh's Sarcastaball rules.
10. The 2010 Maui Invitational - Kemba Walker scored 900 points in three games to lead UConn to victory and ensure that Pitt fans would have to listen to how great Kemba Walker was a full five months before he forced Gary McGhee to retire from basketball.
9. This Game - I'm sure Pitt Pitted all over the place.
8. William Pitt Kalanimoku - He was a High Chief who was was kind of like the prime minster of the Hawaiian Kingdom at the beginning of the 19th century. He took his name from William Pitt the Younger, most famous for riding the coattails of his Western Pennsylvania city name inspiration William Pitt the Elder.
7. The Movie Battleship - They should have made a movie about minesweeper instead.
6. Pitt's Performance in the 2014 Maui Invitational - Yes, I know this hasn't happened yet, and I'm not saying they're going to lose to division II Chaminade in the first game...
5. Hawaiian Punch Polar Blast - Am I reaching on this list? Maybe.
Much like Pitt this list failed to reach the Final Four.
The Maui Invitational starts on Monday night. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Game 2: Pitt 63 Samford 56
The Samford Bulldogs are a bad college basketball team. They went 13-20 last year and are picked to finish last in the Southern Conference this year. They fired their coach Bennie Seltzer because 14 players transferred in his two years as coach. That has got to be an NCAA record. They lost five of their top six scorers. Leading scorer and first team All-SoCon forward Tim Williams left for New Mexico. SoCon Freshmen of the year guard Isaiah Williams left for Georgia State.
They opened the year with a 40 point loss against a shoddy Purdue team picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten just ahead of Rutgers and behind Penn State. So let's see here, Pitt is playing a home game against a low-major team with a new coach trying to replace 5 of his top 6 scorers from a 20 loss team who just lost their opener by 40 points to a team that is barely better than Rutgers.
Obviously, Pitt would find a way to be in a one-possession game against this team with half a minute to play because Pitt.
The Southern Conference might be for Pitt basketball what the MAC is for Pitt football. In the 2009 season opener Pitt trailed Wofford the majority of the game before eking out a 63-60 victory. However, that Wofford team won 26 games and made the tournament. This Samford team will struggle to win 26 games the next two years.
The good news is that Pitt shot 51% from the field to Samford's 32%. The bad news is that Samford had 13 offensive rebounds with every one of their 9 players grabbing at least 1. Here are some thoughts.
Michael Young - Young didn't have much of a post game last year. There were times when he would get the ball underneath and not know what to do with it. That has changed a lot. Young scored every which way inside today. There were dunks, layups, reverses, everything you'd expect from a high-level big man. Young needs to have a huge year for Pitt to have a chance at the Sweet 16. He had a game high 20 on 10-13 shooting.
Grade: A+
Jamel Artis - He led Pitt in scoring with 14 against Niagara. He had 12 today. Two games into the season and he is already halfway to his 2013 season total of 8 three-pointers made. He's 4-6 from long range so far this season. He slimmed down and is almost unrecognizable from last year.
Grade: A
Chris Jones - He missed a bunch of shots and will soon be relegated to backup duty when Wright returns.
Grade: C
James Robinson - Tell me if this stat line seems familiar. 2-6 shooting 4-4 from the line, 8 assists, 2 turnovers. Typical Robinson for better or for worse. I do think he'll eventually break out, but it hasn't happened yet. He did have 6 rebounds and 2 blocks which was a nice surprise.
Grade: A-
Joseph Uchebo - Two games in and no exploded knees. That's a good thing.
Grade: C
Derrick Randall - He didn't commit a foul! He didn't commit a foul!
Grade: A because although he only scored once (a layup off a great feed from Young) he automatically gets an A any game he does not foul someone (even if he only played four minutes).
Sheldon Jeter - He made all 3 of his shots including an alley-oop. Jeter is a transfer who played one year at Vanderbilt before sitting out last season. He's from Beaver Falls. If you grow up in Beaver Falls, there is approximately a 59% chance your last name is Jeter.
Grade: A-
Josh Newkirk - He had surprising 7 assists off the bench, but 3 turnovers and 4 fouls prevent a higher grade.
Grade: B
Cameron Johnson - He bricked a three after getting a block on the other end. That was his only shot in 13 minutes. The Niagara game might have been an aberration.
Grade: C
Pitt heads to Hawaii for a road game against the Rainbow Warriors on Friday before the Maui Invitational November 24-26. Pitt gets to play an extra game because an NCAA rule states you get an extra non-conference game if you play a road game in Hawaii. That games starts at 11:59 pm so I will probably not liveblog it.
Probably.
So basically, Pitt is going 41-0 and breaking the record for most wins in a college basketball season. The 2011 Baylor Brittney Griners and 2013 UConn Women went 40-0.
Okay, maybe they will win less than that.
Maybe.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Game 1: Pitt 78 Niagara 45
Well, the 2014-2015 college basketball season is underway, and I am more excited than Frank Kaminsky in a dance off.
A lot has changed since I last joined you. I got married in August, which was awesome. Since my wife is one of like five people who read this, "Hi, you are sleeping right now, and your husband is posting gifs of white player of the year candidates dancing on his blog."
Anyway back to Pitt, wait hold on...
Okay, I'm done. I promise.
Pitt opened their season with another slaughter of some cupcake school, this time the part of sacrificial lamb was played by the Niagara Purple Eagles. They went 7-26 last year out of the MAAC, and they are awful. But hey, in 2007 they made the tournament AND beat Florida A&M in the play-in game (back when there was only one). Then they lost to Kansas by 40. Pitt was the #3 seed in that region so what I'm saying is we were only 3 historic upsets (and one Pitt over UCLA win) away from this game being a 2007 West Regional Finals rematch.
Pitt probably would have lost.
Players who have attended Niagara actually have scored more points in the NBA than players from Pitt. The score is currently 37,779 to 37,244. Help us, Steven Adams, you're our only hope.
That stat is misleading though, since Niagara got almost half its output from the hall-of-famer Calvin Murphy, who is the shortest NBA player in the basketball hall of fame. Apparently, Calvin Murphy was also a world class baton twirler who won the 1977 Texas State Men's Twirling Championship. You know, in his time off from averaging 25.6 points per game for the Houston Rockets that year.
At this point, you may be wondering, did I even watch this game? Well, I could not get ESPN3 to work until the first half was almost halfway over. When I finally turned it on, the first play of the 2014-2015 Pitt basketball season was a Derrick Randall committing a foul. There might not be a more perfect play to start another year of this blog.
Pitt was up 32-6 with six minutes to play in the first half. Speaking of having six points, I went to a game my senior year of high school against Auburn. I think at one point Pitt was up 40-6 and of course, the Zoo chanted, "You have six points!"
Honestly, I did not watch enough of this game to give accurate grades. Here are a few things I noticed which may or may not be hyperbole.
<FONT FACE ="sarcastica">
A lot has changed since I last joined you. I got married in August, which was awesome. Since my wife is one of like five people who read this, "Hi, you are sleeping right now, and your husband is posting gifs of white player of the year candidates dancing on his blog."
Anyway back to Pitt, wait hold on...
Okay, I'm done. I promise.
Pitt opened their season with another slaughter of some cupcake school, this time the part of sacrificial lamb was played by the Niagara Purple Eagles. They went 7-26 last year out of the MAAC, and they are awful. But hey, in 2007 they made the tournament AND beat Florida A&M in the play-in game (back when there was only one). Then they lost to Kansas by 40. Pitt was the #3 seed in that region so what I'm saying is we were only 3 historic upsets (and one Pitt over UCLA win) away from this game being a 2007 West Regional Finals rematch.
Pitt probably would have lost.
Players who have attended Niagara actually have scored more points in the NBA than players from Pitt. The score is currently 37,779 to 37,244. Help us, Steven Adams, you're our only hope.
That stat is misleading though, since Niagara got almost half its output from the hall-of-famer Calvin Murphy, who is the shortest NBA player in the basketball hall of fame. Apparently, Calvin Murphy was also a world class baton twirler who won the 1977 Texas State Men's Twirling Championship. You know, in his time off from averaging 25.6 points per game for the Houston Rockets that year.
At this point, you may be wondering, did I even watch this game? Well, I could not get ESPN3 to work until the first half was almost halfway over. When I finally turned it on, the first play of the 2014-2015 Pitt basketball season was a Derrick Randall committing a foul. There might not be a more perfect play to start another year of this blog.
Honestly, I did not watch enough of this game to give accurate grades. Here are a few things I noticed which may or may not be hyperbole.
<FONT FACE ="sarcastica">
- Robinson bricked a couple threes which means he still cannot shoot and thus has not gotten any better. Ames Robinson will probably lead the ACC in assists anyway.
- Michael Young only scored 7 points so all predictions of him having a breakout year were stupid.
- Durand Johnson will be the most important player for Pitt this year.
- Derrick Randall will set the NCAA record for fouls in a season.
</FONT>
By the way, Pitt announced they were suspending Johnson for the entire season about thirty minutes before tip-off, which sets a new record for fastest a Pitt athletic's season has gone up in flames. They did not yet reveal the reason for the suspension, but this might be the last chance I get to post this for a while.
Seriously though, pretty much every player on Pitt played well. Freshman Ryan Luther did not play, and he'll probably red-shirt. Walk-on Mike Lecak scored his first points as a Panther. The biggest surprise was probably freshman Cameron Johnson scoring 11 points in his debut. The pride of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School seemed comfortable, and he receives bonus points for inspiring the best tweet of the night.
Pitt plays Samford on Sunday at 1. I promise I will actually talk about it.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Game 31: Pitt 83 Clemson 78 OT
It finally happened. Pitt did it. They finally caught a break, and it was everything I hoped it would be. K.J. Daniels gave Clemson an early 19-17 lead. This continues the recent trend of Pitt giving up a lot of points to players who go by initials ending in J. Pitt's season will inevitably end at the hands of T.J. McConnell and Arizona...or Tyler Ennis somehow. Daniels had 24, but he had to work for it (18 shots). The entire game was a blur. Clemson led comfortably for the majority of it. Pitt did tie it at 56 on a Patterson jumper, but Clemson took control again. With 13 seconds, Clemson hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 5. The game was all but over for Pitt. They'd need a miracle. They got one. Robinson dribbled down the court and threw up a leaning, contested three-pointer that barely got the rim. The ball was knocked out by Clemson with 4.4 second left.
Pitt is down 5 with 4.4 seconds left. They have the ball, but even if they were fouled shooting a 3 and made the free throw, they'd still lose. Pitt's season was hanging in the balance. The NIT wolf was lurking. A loss to Clemson would force Pitt to have a very good ACC tournament to get an at-large bid.
Pitt is down 5 with 4.4 seconds left. They have the ball, but even if they were fouled shooting a 3 and made the free throw, they'd still lose. Pitt's season was hanging in the balance. The NIT wolf was lurking. A loss to Clemson would force Pitt to have a very good ACC tournament to get an at-large bid.
"I don't believe that's going to be enough time," said the announcer. Robinson inbounds to Patterson who quickly buries a three with only two seconds going off the clock. Pitt called timeout. They couldn't let Clemson inbound the ball because with one dribble the game would be over.
AKDJKLGFAJDLGJEOIDAJGDLIKGJADLKGJDLKJGF1#^$@$#^l#$KJlhj
I yelled so loud whenever that shot went in. My fiancée might actually be partially deaf right now. I'm sorry. On a side note, finding the accent mark to type fiancée is a pain in the ass. You know what's easier to type? Wife. I assure you the ease with which this new title can be typed is not the only reason I'm getting married. Anyway, being the cynical Pitt fan that I am, I managed to convince myself that it was still in his hands after the first few replays. Pitt's lost twice on last-second shots by the other team so it only seemed fitting that they would lose because they themselves couldn't get off a last-second shot in time. It counted though, and Pitt scored the first seven points of overtime to take control. It was their first lead since early in the first half. Clemson pulled to within 3 with under 20 seconds left, but Wright made two more free throws to ice it. Pitt moves to 4-0 in overtime games this season so basically all they have to do is get through regulation tied and they'll be golden. Let's give some grades.
Lamar Patterson - Patterson was huge all afternoon. He had 30 points on 10-19 shooting (5-9 from deep) including the three at the end of regulation and another that opened the OT scoring. He made up for some poor play down the stretch. He had a turnover and missed two shots with Pitt down only 2 (and then 4) in the closing minutes. He still had 30 points, so I can't give him anything other than an A for this effort.
Grade: A
Cameron Wright - Wright had the two game-clinching free throws I mentioned earlier to finish with 16 points. He also had four steals, which means I can bring back this picture.
Grade: A
Michael Young - He had 7 points, but he didn't do anything the last 23 minutes of the game. He also missed two free throws in the final minute of overtime that could have put the game out of reach.
Grade: C
Talib Zanna - He had a double-double, but he didn't score in the second half. He finally reached double figures with a layup late in overtime. He also fouled out.
Grade: C+
James Robinson - I can't complain with 9 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers with 60% shooting. Sure he missed that three at the end, but it worked out alright for Pitt.
Grade: A
Derrick Randall - He made a free throw and committed two fouls in four minutes.
Grade: C-
I am truly busting out all the old pictures for this recap.
Jamel Artis - I don't remember much from him this game. He had two baskets early in the contest. One of them was a dunk off a nice feed from Robinson.
Grade: B
Josh Newkirk - Newkirk came into this game having made 7 three-pointers in a row. He missed his first two threes in this one. He only made one shot all game, but it was pretty important. The pump fake was entirely unnecesary on the final shot, and I'm so glad that he still got it off in time. If that hesitation cost Pitt a tournament bid (and it very well could have) that would have been a tough pill to swallow for the kid. Luckily, it counted.
Grade: A+
Pitt plays Wake Forest in the 2nd round of the ACC Tournament at 2:00 tomorrow. Thankfully, Wake beat Notre Dame in the first round so Pitt didn't have to deal with them again. Pitt's right on the bubble. ESPN has them as a 10th seed, CBS an 11th, and Yahoo a 12th. If they lose to Wake, they're out. They'll probably have to win tomorrow and beat UNC on Friday to clinch an at-large berth.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Game 30: Pitt 67 T.J. Warren 74
Pitt couldn't stop T.J. Warren. He actually only had 41 of NC State's 74, but that was still enough to shatter the Pete scoring record. Chris Quinn had 37 for Notre Dame back in 2006, but Pitt won that game 100-97 in double overtime. I can't even be mad at Warren. Pitt tried everything, and he was just unstoppable. Plus, any time you erase this guy from the record book it has to feel good.
Pitt led by as many as 13 in the first half, but they couldn't pull away. Warren gave NC State the lead for good at 48-46 almost midway through the first half. Pitt got to within one on numerous occasions, but Warren answered them each time. After dominating the glass against Notre Dame, Pitt couldn't buy an offensive rebound. NC State had 16 second chance points to Pitt's 0. Warren shot 16-22 for the game, so it's not like his 41 points came on a barrage of 3's. He made mid-range jumpers, layups, dunks, free throws, and even the occasional 25-foot 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire.
In his final performance at the Pete, Patterson had 17 points on 4-12 shooting. Zanna had 11 points and 9 rebounds but he was a non-factor. The MVP goes to Josh Newkirk who had the game of his life in a losing effort. He had 20 points on 7-8 shooting including 5-5 from long-range. If Newkirk doesn't go nuts like that, Pitt loses this game by 20. Newkirk's offensive game has come around in recent weeks.
That's enough about this game. In the 30 minutes it's taken me to write this post, Warren has scored at least another 18 against Pitt.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
 |
| Aliens? |
In his final performance at the Pete, Patterson had 17 points on 4-12 shooting. Zanna had 11 points and 9 rebounds but he was a non-factor. The MVP goes to Josh Newkirk who had the game of his life in a losing effort. He had 20 points on 7-8 shooting including 5-5 from long-range. If Newkirk doesn't go nuts like that, Pitt loses this game by 20. Newkirk's offensive game has come around in recent weeks.
That's enough about this game. In the 30 minutes it's taken me to write this post, Warren has scored at least another 18 against Pitt.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Game 29: Pitt 85 Notre Dame 81 OT
I am far behind on these recaps, but I wanted to try and get a post for every single game this season. I'm almost there. I didn't get to watch this game so I don't have a whole lot to say about it. I did get to listen to the last few minutes of regulation and overtime so that was nice. Here are some highlights.
- Pitt beat Notre Dame for the first time since 2009 and won in the Joyce Center for the first time since 2005.
- Notre Dame shot 9000% in the first half (really 76%) but Pitt only trailed by 4 because of a huge rebounding edge.
- Notre Dame was down 3 with 17 seconds left. They missed, but got the offensive rebound and made a 3 to tie it. Robinson missed at the other end to win it.
- Pitt held a 38-22 rebounding edge, won the turnover battle (16-9) and made 24-28 free throws. This was just enough to overcome the Irish shooting 54% for the game, making 12-23 threes and making 23-27 of their own free throws.
- Almost all of Pitt's scoring in overtime came on free throws. They were 14-15 in probably their best performance of the season from the line.
- Zanna had 17 points and 14 rebounds including 10 on the offensive end.
- Robinson's shooting was awful (1-8). Patterson wasn't much better (6-17).
Anyway, Pitt played and lost to NC State T.J. Warren on Monday. That post is on its way.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Game 28: Pitt 66 Boston College 59
Boston College was a solid team for the better part of the 2000s. They made 7 NCAA tournament appearances from 2001-2010 (including a Sweet 16 in 2006). They had very good players like Troy Bell, Craig Smith and Jared Dudley. All three had NBA careers and Dudley still plays for the Clippers. Recently, though, they haven't had much success. They already have 21 losses with three more games to play. Unlike Pitt, they actually tried to play people even though they suck. Their strength of schedule is 18th.
Pitt played an unbelievably sloppy game. They had 17 turnovers. I'm not sure if that's a season high, but it probably is. They also allowed the Eagles, particularly Olivier Hanlan, to drive right to the basket. When I say drive right, I mean actually to the right side. I don't think they went to the left side of the court the entire game. On the bright side, they out-rebounded the Eagles 33-18, shot 50% from the field and from deep, and made 79% of their free throws. Pitt seemed very capable of winning this game by 20+. They held double digit leads throughout the first and even held a 14 point advantage early in the second half. Unfortunately, Pitt has a habit of shutting down when they have a lead. We've seen it twice against Syracuse this year and a number of other times. When Pitt gets a second half, their offense changes. They stop attacking. Jim Boeheim even said that Pitt probably would have beaten his team if they continued to attack in the final 5 minutes of both Syracuse games. He's right.
View From the Zoo's Guide to Pitt's offense when they have a lead in the final minutes
1. If you're open in the first 30 seconds of the shot clock, don't shoot. We're trying to burn clock so we can get out of here with a win.
2. Make sure you have the ball 25 feet from the basket when the shot clock gets to five. This is a suitable time to begin running a play.
3. Set a pick for Lamar Patterson who is holding the ball 25 feet from the basket.
4. Lamar has the option to take a contested three-pointer or pass to James Robinson or Cameron Wright for an equally difficult three-pointer. Bonus points awarded if this results in a turnover and no shot attempted.
5. If the shot miraculously goes in, call time-out to set up your defense.
Without further adieu, here are the grades.
Lamar Patterson - He made 4-7 from three, but he didn't do much inside the arc (1-5 on 2pt field goals). As a whole, Pitt only had 10 three-point attempts, which is right where that number should be. They aren't an outside shooting team. His only two-point basket came on a great drive. I wish he would do more of that. He also had 5 turnovers, which is just disgraceful. It was an average night for Lamar.
Grade: C
Talib Zanna - Even when Zanna has a great game, he finds a way to miss opportunities. He shot 7-10 from the field and even made 7-8 free throws (started 6-6). It was Zanna's first 20+ point effort since the Clemson game, which was an eternity ago. When Zanna gets the ball down low, he never goes immediately up for the shot. He pump fakes every time. Dude, you are 6 feet 9 inches tall. If you go up and try to dunk it, they have to foul you. Why must every Pitt big man play below the rim? Sometimes the fake works and Zanna gets fouled, but he usually misses the shot or the free throws. He completed two three-point plays in this one so maybe I should just shut up. Boston College stinks, but if Zanna plays like this the rest of the way, Pitt will win out.
Grade: A
James Robinson - Robinson was invisible. He didn't turn the ball over (good), but he only had one shot attempt (a layup in the final minute which he missed). He also missed the front end of a one-and-one at the end of the game as well. Zero points in 33 minutes isn't gonna cut it.
Grade: C-
Cameron Wright - Wright shot the ball well (6-9) but he also had 4 turnovers. He had a nice put-back off a Zanna miss for Pitt's first points, and Patterson found him on a nice cut for a basket in the second half. He also blew a lay-up in transition, but Pitt retained possession when they were fouled going after the rebound.
Grade: B
Michael Young - He shot 1-5, and his only highlight was a sweet pass to Wright for a lay-up early in the second half. Wright is the best cutter Pitt has. He knows how to get open.
Grade: C
Jamel Artis - He had 7 points and was Pitt's only contributor off the bench. He even made his only three, but he turned the ball over three times, which is about two too many for a forward off the bench.
Grade: B-
Derrick Randall - He made a shot, which was nice.
Grade: B-
Chris Jones - He only played three minutes, but managed to have one turnover for his only contribution to the box score.
Grade: C
Josh Newkirk - Nuke Newkirk had a great drive to the basket for his only basket. He also had 3 assists versus 0 turnovers in his 22 minutes which is always nice.
Grade: B+
Pitt needed this win. It wasn't the prettiest, but they snapped the three-game slide. On Saturday, they face a Notre Dame team that's beaten them five times in a row. Pitt hasn't won against the Irish since 2009. Notre Dame is in the bottom third of the ACC, and their best player left the school in December due to academic reasons. However, Brey owns Dixon, and Pitt hasn't won at the Joyce Center since I was 15 freaking years old. I'll have to watch a replay of the game since I'll be at Pre-Cana until 3:30. Pitt will win because their luck has to turn around eventually.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Pitt played an unbelievably sloppy game. They had 17 turnovers. I'm not sure if that's a season high, but it probably is. They also allowed the Eagles, particularly Olivier Hanlan, to drive right to the basket. When I say drive right, I mean actually to the right side. I don't think they went to the left side of the court the entire game. On the bright side, they out-rebounded the Eagles 33-18, shot 50% from the field and from deep, and made 79% of their free throws. Pitt seemed very capable of winning this game by 20+. They held double digit leads throughout the first and even held a 14 point advantage early in the second half. Unfortunately, Pitt has a habit of shutting down when they have a lead. We've seen it twice against Syracuse this year and a number of other times. When Pitt gets a second half, their offense changes. They stop attacking. Jim Boeheim even said that Pitt probably would have beaten his team if they continued to attack in the final 5 minutes of both Syracuse games. He's right.
View From the Zoo's Guide to Pitt's offense when they have a lead in the final minutes
1. If you're open in the first 30 seconds of the shot clock, don't shoot. We're trying to burn clock so we can get out of here with a win.
2. Make sure you have the ball 25 feet from the basket when the shot clock gets to five. This is a suitable time to begin running a play.
3. Set a pick for Lamar Patterson who is holding the ball 25 feet from the basket.
4. Lamar has the option to take a contested three-pointer or pass to James Robinson or Cameron Wright for an equally difficult three-pointer. Bonus points awarded if this results in a turnover and no shot attempted.
5. If the shot miraculously goes in, call time-out to set up your defense.
Without further adieu, here are the grades.
Lamar Patterson - He made 4-7 from three, but he didn't do much inside the arc (1-5 on 2pt field goals). As a whole, Pitt only had 10 three-point attempts, which is right where that number should be. They aren't an outside shooting team. His only two-point basket came on a great drive. I wish he would do more of that. He also had 5 turnovers, which is just disgraceful. It was an average night for Lamar.
Grade: C
Talib Zanna - Even when Zanna has a great game, he finds a way to miss opportunities. He shot 7-10 from the field and even made 7-8 free throws (started 6-6). It was Zanna's first 20+ point effort since the Clemson game, which was an eternity ago. When Zanna gets the ball down low, he never goes immediately up for the shot. He pump fakes every time. Dude, you are 6 feet 9 inches tall. If you go up and try to dunk it, they have to foul you. Why must every Pitt big man play below the rim? Sometimes the fake works and Zanna gets fouled, but he usually misses the shot or the free throws. He completed two three-point plays in this one so maybe I should just shut up. Boston College stinks, but if Zanna plays like this the rest of the way, Pitt will win out.
Grade: A
James Robinson - Robinson was invisible. He didn't turn the ball over (good), but he only had one shot attempt (a layup in the final minute which he missed). He also missed the front end of a one-and-one at the end of the game as well. Zero points in 33 minutes isn't gonna cut it.
Grade: C-
Cameron Wright - Wright shot the ball well (6-9) but he also had 4 turnovers. He had a nice put-back off a Zanna miss for Pitt's first points, and Patterson found him on a nice cut for a basket in the second half. He also blew a lay-up in transition, but Pitt retained possession when they were fouled going after the rebound.
Grade: B
Michael Young - He shot 1-5, and his only highlight was a sweet pass to Wright for a lay-up early in the second half. Wright is the best cutter Pitt has. He knows how to get open.
Grade: C
Jamel Artis - He had 7 points and was Pitt's only contributor off the bench. He even made his only three, but he turned the ball over three times, which is about two too many for a forward off the bench.
Grade: B-
Derrick Randall - He made a shot, which was nice.
Grade: B-
Chris Jones - He only played three minutes, but managed to have one turnover for his only contribution to the box score.
Grade: C
Josh Newkirk - Nuke Newkirk had a great drive to the basket for his only basket. He also had 3 assists versus 0 turnovers in his 22 minutes which is always nice.
Grade: B+
Pitt needed this win. It wasn't the prettiest, but they snapped the three-game slide. On Saturday, they face a Notre Dame team that's beaten them five times in a row. Pitt hasn't won against the Irish since 2009. Notre Dame is in the bottom third of the ACC, and their best player left the school in December due to academic reasons. However, Brey owns Dixon, and Pitt hasn't won at the Joyce Center since I was 15 freaking years old. I'll have to watch a replay of the game since I'll be at Pre-Cana until 3:30. Pitt will win because their luck has to turn around eventually.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Game 27: Ugh: Pitt 66 Florida State 71
On December 22, 2003, I attended my first Pitt basketball game. My mom took me to the Pete to see Pitt beat Florida State 63-56 behind Mark McCarroll's 13 points off the bench. I had been a fan of Pitt basketball for several years, but somehow I never made it to the Fitzgerald Field House for a game. Then Pitt moved to the Pete, became awesome, and tickets were a lot harder to come by. Both teams were 10-0 coming into that game. The Seminoles had a decent freshman named Von Wafer (real name Vakeaton) who would eventually get drafted in the second round the next year. He had a 200 game NBA career before going to Europe. Reading his wikipedia page, I found this gem.
"During a workout with the Phoenix Suns, Wafer reportedly was frustrated by the physical play from Jan Jagla, and responded by laying an intentional elbow to Jagla's nose, then walked off the court and ended the workout at that point." Jan Jagla was a popular center at Penn State in the early 2000s.
Enough of the history lesson, it's time to talk about the present. Pitt is awful right now. They might lose every game the rest of the year. We should drop basketball, demolish the Pete, and turn it into a giant free parking lot. That way I'll have some place to park in Oakland. I'm kidding, maybe.
In reality, this is what Pitt was supposed to be at the beginning of the season. They teased us with the 16-1 (4-0 ACC) start, but they were still picked to finish 7th in the ACC with a .500 conference record. They're 6th now at 8-6, and with the way they're playing now, that 9-9 mark might be right on the money. They can't shoot the ball. Patterson's unsustainable shooting percentage was carrying Pitt. Once he fell back to earth, Pitt's offense fell back to earth. He's now shooting 45%, and he shot 46% last season. The loss of Durand Johnson also crippled Pitt's outside shooting. Wright, Robinson, and Newkirk are all capable of hitting the occasional 3, but nobody does it well. Robinson and Newkirk actually shot better than Durand, but neither of them is capable of exploding for a huge night offensively. The game before he was injured, Johnson had 17 on 6-8 shooting in a 20 point win over Maryland. His replacement, Chris Jones, just doesn't offer that at this point. Pitt still has some issues, but having Durand's offense late in some of these games might have given Pitt 2-3 more wins.
I haven't given grades for a while so let's do that.
Lamar Patterson - With three minutes left in the game, Patterson was shooting 3-16 (0-7 from 3) and Pitt was down 5. He would score the last 16 points for Pitt, while shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field (4-4 from 3, 2-2 FT), but it was too little too late. Patterson was incredible in those final minutes, but Pitt was just awful for too long of a stretch in the second half. After leading by 6 at the break, Florida State shot 1-11 to start the second half. Unfortunately, Pitt only made 2 field goals themselves during that time period and Florida State never lost the lead. Pitt did tie the game at 42 and 48, but Florida State quickly regained the lead both times. The box score says Patterson had a huge night with 22 points 8 rebounds and 5 assists, but that was all done in a 3 minute span.
Grade: C
Talib Zanna - Zanna was 1-4 from the field with 4 turnovers. Pitt is not going to win any games when their only post presence shoots 1-4 with 4 turnovers. In addition to the complete lack of offense, Zanna made two of the dumbest plays of the year. Patterson hit a 3 with about 1:20 remaining to make the score 60-57 for FSU. It's a one possession game, and there's plenty of time to get a stop. Even if they score at the end of the shot clock, it would be a 5 point game with about 45 seconds to go which isn't insurmountable. Instead, Zanna fouls a 77% free throw shooter 5 seconds into the shot clock. Dixon had just called timeout to set his defense because nobody calls timeouts after they score to set up their defense more than Jamie Dixon. What was the result of this timeout? Zanna committing a foul immediately. Florida State was shooting terribly in the second half, but you know what they were doing well? That answer would be shooting foul shots. They were 27-31 from the line for the game. I swear to God, I hope that Zanna just made a dumb play. If Dixon actually told him to foul in the timeout, it's the final straw. I want Dixon fired. I don't even care if he's the best option we could get. I'm sick of these boneheaded calls. I didn't even mention the 3 pointer Zanna took when Pitt was down 66-60. Florida State actually missed two free throws on the prior possession, but Zanna felt inclined to attempt his first three pointer of the season. He missed by 8 feet. I'm not even exaggerating that. The ball was 8 feet short. Florida State missed another free throw on the next possession. If Pitt gets a quick two there, they might have had a chance to tie in the final seconds. Of course Chris Jones missed a three at the buzzer anyway, but a better shooter might have taken that if Pitt still had a chance to tie.
Grade: F for Zanna, F for Dixon too
Michael Young - He misssed all four shots he took and only had two rebounds. Pitt's inside game is non-existent at this point. In the NCAA tournament, they say the 3 point shot is the great equalizer. It allows teams made up of small guards contend with teams from major conferences because they can get hot from downtown. Generally strong post players don't go to small schools. Since Pitt has no inside game, you could say they are like a mid-major program. Unfortunately, Pitt can't shoot either so they're pretty much screwed. Maybe we can convince the NCAA that DeJuan Blair still has some eligibility left.
Grade: F
James Robinson - He made both of his 3-point attempts, but missed his five 2-point attempts, which is just weird. I can't really get mad at Robinson. He's been so remarkably consistent this season. He has improved in every single statistic from his freshmen year.
Points - 6.1 per game to 8.2
FG% - 36% to 42%
3P% - 31% to 37%
FT% - 79% to 81%
Assists - 3.5 per game to 3.9
Rebounds - 2.1 per game to 2.9
Steals - 1.0 per game to 1.4
Blocks - 0.0 per game to 0.4
Turnovers - 1.2 per game to 1.0
He's missed a few crucial three pointers late in games recently, but I'm willing to ignore that, given his across-the-board improvement.
Grade: B
Cameron Wright - He didn't play a great game, but he was the only starter to shoot even close to 50% (5-11) so that has to be worth something.
Grade: B
Jamel Artis - He didn't do much. He made 1-2 from the field, but only made two of his five free throws. In the first half he had a nice 3 point play, but he followed that possession with a turnover. Then on the next possession he followed a guy who completed a 3 point play on his own. He also had a chance to give Pitt a 49-48 lead, but he missed his second free throw. I'm not sure that one point makes that much of a difference, but perhaps they play differently if they were able to get the lead back for a moment.
Grade: B-
Derrick Randall - He played 10 minutes and didn't take a shot. That's par for the course for him.
Grade: C
Josh Newkirk - He made his only shot and it was a 3. Earlier in the game, Newkirk committed a turnover and then a frustration foul. The announcers talked about how it was a young mistake and that he would soon be taken out of the game. After he stayed in at the next substitution, they said he could make two mistakes but probably not a third. He buried that 3 on the next possession and they raved about Dixon keeping him in. He made the third mistake a little bit later and was finally taken out of the game. I like Newkirk, though.
Grade: B
Chris Jones - He missed that desperation three, but still somehow had 7 points. That's a great night for him.
Grade: B+
Pitt plays at 7-20 (3-11) Boston College on Wednesday night. Boston College won at the Carrier Dome to give undefeated Syracuse its first loss (Syracuse has since lost to Duke as well). The Eagles celebrated that win by losing by 27 to Miami. I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in that one. Pitt could win by 30, lose by 30, win a close one, or lose a close one. I don't know anymore.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
"During a workout with the Phoenix Suns, Wafer reportedly was frustrated by the physical play from Jan Jagla, and responded by laying an intentional elbow to Jagla's nose, then walked off the court and ended the workout at that point." Jan Jagla was a popular center at Penn State in the early 2000s.
Enough of the history lesson, it's time to talk about the present. Pitt is awful right now. They might lose every game the rest of the year. We should drop basketball, demolish the Pete, and turn it into a giant free parking lot. That way I'll have some place to park in Oakland. I'm kidding, maybe.
In reality, this is what Pitt was supposed to be at the beginning of the season. They teased us with the 16-1 (4-0 ACC) start, but they were still picked to finish 7th in the ACC with a .500 conference record. They're 6th now at 8-6, and with the way they're playing now, that 9-9 mark might be right on the money. They can't shoot the ball. Patterson's unsustainable shooting percentage was carrying Pitt. Once he fell back to earth, Pitt's offense fell back to earth. He's now shooting 45%, and he shot 46% last season. The loss of Durand Johnson also crippled Pitt's outside shooting. Wright, Robinson, and Newkirk are all capable of hitting the occasional 3, but nobody does it well. Robinson and Newkirk actually shot better than Durand, but neither of them is capable of exploding for a huge night offensively. The game before he was injured, Johnson had 17 on 6-8 shooting in a 20 point win over Maryland. His replacement, Chris Jones, just doesn't offer that at this point. Pitt still has some issues, but having Durand's offense late in some of these games might have given Pitt 2-3 more wins.
I haven't given grades for a while so let's do that.
Lamar Patterson - With three minutes left in the game, Patterson was shooting 3-16 (0-7 from 3) and Pitt was down 5. He would score the last 16 points for Pitt, while shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field (4-4 from 3, 2-2 FT), but it was too little too late. Patterson was incredible in those final minutes, but Pitt was just awful for too long of a stretch in the second half. After leading by 6 at the break, Florida State shot 1-11 to start the second half. Unfortunately, Pitt only made 2 field goals themselves during that time period and Florida State never lost the lead. Pitt did tie the game at 42 and 48, but Florida State quickly regained the lead both times. The box score says Patterson had a huge night with 22 points 8 rebounds and 5 assists, but that was all done in a 3 minute span.
Grade: C
Talib Zanna - Zanna was 1-4 from the field with 4 turnovers. Pitt is not going to win any games when their only post presence shoots 1-4 with 4 turnovers. In addition to the complete lack of offense, Zanna made two of the dumbest plays of the year. Patterson hit a 3 with about 1:20 remaining to make the score 60-57 for FSU. It's a one possession game, and there's plenty of time to get a stop. Even if they score at the end of the shot clock, it would be a 5 point game with about 45 seconds to go which isn't insurmountable. Instead, Zanna fouls a 77% free throw shooter 5 seconds into the shot clock. Dixon had just called timeout to set his defense because nobody calls timeouts after they score to set up their defense more than Jamie Dixon. What was the result of this timeout? Zanna committing a foul immediately. Florida State was shooting terribly in the second half, but you know what they were doing well? That answer would be shooting foul shots. They were 27-31 from the line for the game. I swear to God, I hope that Zanna just made a dumb play. If Dixon actually told him to foul in the timeout, it's the final straw. I want Dixon fired. I don't even care if he's the best option we could get. I'm sick of these boneheaded calls. I didn't even mention the 3 pointer Zanna took when Pitt was down 66-60. Florida State actually missed two free throws on the prior possession, but Zanna felt inclined to attempt his first three pointer of the season. He missed by 8 feet. I'm not even exaggerating that. The ball was 8 feet short. Florida State missed another free throw on the next possession. If Pitt gets a quick two there, they might have had a chance to tie in the final seconds. Of course Chris Jones missed a three at the buzzer anyway, but a better shooter might have taken that if Pitt still had a chance to tie.
Grade: F for Zanna, F for Dixon too
Michael Young - He misssed all four shots he took and only had two rebounds. Pitt's inside game is non-existent at this point. In the NCAA tournament, they say the 3 point shot is the great equalizer. It allows teams made up of small guards contend with teams from major conferences because they can get hot from downtown. Generally strong post players don't go to small schools. Since Pitt has no inside game, you could say they are like a mid-major program. Unfortunately, Pitt can't shoot either so they're pretty much screwed. Maybe we can convince the NCAA that DeJuan Blair still has some eligibility left.
Grade: F
James Robinson - He made both of his 3-point attempts, but missed his five 2-point attempts, which is just weird. I can't really get mad at Robinson. He's been so remarkably consistent this season. He has improved in every single statistic from his freshmen year.
Points - 6.1 per game to 8.2
FG% - 36% to 42%
3P% - 31% to 37%
FT% - 79% to 81%
Assists - 3.5 per game to 3.9
Rebounds - 2.1 per game to 2.9
Steals - 1.0 per game to 1.4
Blocks - 0.0 per game to 0.4
Turnovers - 1.2 per game to 1.0
He's missed a few crucial three pointers late in games recently, but I'm willing to ignore that, given his across-the-board improvement.
Grade: B
Cameron Wright - He didn't play a great game, but he was the only starter to shoot even close to 50% (5-11) so that has to be worth something.
Grade: B
Jamel Artis - He didn't do much. He made 1-2 from the field, but only made two of his five free throws. In the first half he had a nice 3 point play, but he followed that possession with a turnover. Then on the next possession he followed a guy who completed a 3 point play on his own. He also had a chance to give Pitt a 49-48 lead, but he missed his second free throw. I'm not sure that one point makes that much of a difference, but perhaps they play differently if they were able to get the lead back for a moment.
Grade: B-
Derrick Randall - He played 10 minutes and didn't take a shot. That's par for the course for him.
Grade: C
Josh Newkirk - He made his only shot and it was a 3. Earlier in the game, Newkirk committed a turnover and then a frustration foul. The announcers talked about how it was a young mistake and that he would soon be taken out of the game. After he stayed in at the next substitution, they said he could make two mistakes but probably not a third. He buried that 3 on the next possession and they raved about Dixon keeping him in. He made the third mistake a little bit later and was finally taken out of the game. I like Newkirk, though.
Grade: B
Chris Jones - He missed that desperation three, but still somehow had 7 points. That's a great night for him.
Grade: B+
Pitt plays at 7-20 (3-11) Boston College on Wednesday night. Boston College won at the Carrier Dome to give undefeated Syracuse its first loss (Syracuse has since lost to Duke as well). The Eagles celebrated that win by losing by 27 to Miami. I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in that one. Pitt could win by 30, lose by 30, win a close one, or lose a close one. I don't know anymore.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Game 26: Pitt 71 North Carolina 75
The last time Pitt played a meaningful basketball game against North Carolina was about 9 months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The 1941 NCAA tournament featured 8 teams from all over the country.
Anyway, Pitt held Glamack to only 9 points (he had scored 45 earlier that season against Clemson), and Pitt won 26-20. It remains the lower scoring NCAA tournament game in history. Pitt would lose 36-30 to eventual champion Wisconsin in the next round. That game would be the 3rd lowest scoring game in tournament history. Both North Carolina and Pitt made their NCAA tournament debuts in 1941. Since then the Tar Heels have won 5 National Titles, made 18 Final Fours, and have 44 tournament appearances. Pitt hasn't been back to the Final Four since. In fact, North Carolina's entire NCAA tournament history can be traced back to that disappointment in 1941. If they hadn't suffered such a disappointing defeat to Pitt, maybe they never become the program they are today.
You're welcome, North Carolina.
Anyway, North Carolina would beat Pitt the next seven times they played them (the last in 1996) before yesterday.
Pitt had absolutely no answer for James Michael McAdoo. He had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Marcus Paige, a 31% 3 point shooter, made 5-6 because Pitt. North Carolina broke open a close game and led by 12 with 8 minutes left. Somehow, Pitt didn't quit, probably because they wanted to find a new way to disappoint me. Pitt got within 3, but missed an opportunity to get closer when Wright missed a jumper. A few possessions later, Patterson hits two free throws with 44 seconds left to cut the lead to 4. UNC inbounds and after a few passes, McAdoo is holding it. Pitt tries to steal. For as great a game as McAdoo played, he is still a terrible free throw shooter (52% for the year 2-7 in the game). Pitt doesn't foul him, though, they instead wait until Marcus Paige (90% free throw shooter) gets the ball back. Paige makes 2-2 obviously.
Things started to change for Pitt. Robinson missed a layup, but Artis was fouled. He made both (74-70 UNC). On the inbound, Robinson knocked the ball loose to Artis who was fouled again. He made the first but missed the second. In the scramble for the loose ball, a UNC player stepped on the end line. Pitt ball with a chance to tie. Could the Panthers finally be getting some good luck? Maybe this would be the game where the breaks went Pitt's way?
In a word, nope.
Robinson missed a layup (a frequent occurrence it seems), but Pitt got the offensive rebound. Patterson for threeeeeeeeeeeee...missed. Zanna comes up with the offensive rebound. Oh my gosh, there's still time to kick it back out for one last 3 before time expi- what is Zanna doing? He's trying to get the quick two, there's no time left. He misses a layup. UNC rebounds and is fouled. They missed the first, intentionally probably, because they wanted me to think that Pitt could rebound a second miss and tie the game with an 80 foot heave at the buzzer. He made the second, Dixon calls time-out to draw up a super secret 4 point play that doesn't exist, and there you have it.
Pitt doesn't play again until Sunday night against Florida State. That leaves plenty of time for them to invent new ways to lose.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Game 25: Are you serious?: Pitt 56 Syracuse 58
Pitt led this basketball game for 31 straight minutes. A Josh Newkirk 3 made it 11-8 with 12 minutes left in the first half. With 2 minutes left Pitt led 54-48 at home against the number one team in the country. On the last possession, Patterson threw up a desperation heave to beat the shot clock and Zanna Lorenzo Charles'd it with a putback dunk. It really seemed like this was going to be Pitt's breakthrough win. The Pete was rocking. Ennis and Fair had been contained. Pitt had a +10 rebounding edge.
It would be wise to never assume anything with this Pitt team.
C.J. Fair 3 pointer 54-51 Pitt (1:40 remaining)
Robinson 3 point miss (1:10 remaining)
C.J. Fair jumper 54-53 Pitt (0:52 remaining)
Patterson missed layup (0:15 remaining)
Patterson missed tip (0:15 remaining)
Ennis gets fouled and promptly sinks two free throws to give Syracuse it's first lead in over an hour.
At this point, I'm thinking, "Maybe it's Pitt's time for a huge buzzer beater."
It would be wise to never assume anything with this Pitt team.
Pitt brings the ball down, Zanna somehow gets fouled. He's a 60% free throw shooter going to the line for 2 shots with 4 seconds left. "He probably misses both," I thought.
It would be wise to never assume anything with this Pit tteam.
He makes both. 56-55 Pitt. Syracuse with no timeouts has to get the ball in. The Zoo is out of control, it's hectic. Syracuse doesn't have a play, they'll probably have to throw up a 50 footer, and Pitt's going to win.
DIXON CALLS TIMEOUT TO SET HIS DEFENSE.
What the f*ck?!?
Okay, so let's look back at something.
There's no timeout here. Dixon has nobody guarding the inbounder. Fields is out in no man's land staring at him near the free throw line. What is his job exactly? Is it to deny the catch by Reynolds? Jermaine Dixon is doing a great job of that by just holding him. Reynolds runs past Dixon, the inbounder has a clear shot to get it up to another player who runs a beautiful hook and ladder with Reynolds to allow him to get past another defender (Sam Young). Reynolds is now past the guards in the open floor against two bigs (Brown and Blair). Brown does all he can to not foul, but you know how that ends.
Flashforward to the Syracuse game. Dixon calls timeout this time. He's gonna put a man on the inbounder this time and make the first pass difficult.
Dixon again doesn't guard the inbounder. Josh Newkirk, who is guarding Ennis, backs off him. He wants to keep Ennis in front of him. Cam Wright, who had been guarding Fair near midcourt, allows him to go by. That's okay, Michael Young picks him up, but now Wright is in no man's land. He tries to help on Ennis, who is now dribbling up the court with speed, but he can't foul, so he just stands there and lets him continue to go by. Newkirk is doing a great job staying with Ennis, but a jump stop gives Ennis enough separation to get a shot off. Wright tries to come flying in with a hand, but it's too late. The 35 footer goes in and Syracuse wins.
I will give Pitt a little bit of credit. They did improve their defense slightly. Ennis had to take a shot from 35 foot. Reynolds was able to get into the lane. There was an extra second of time for Villanova, but that shouldn't make up that much of a difference. However, I still do not get the idea of not guarding the inbounder. That extra man gives you the opportunity to double, but the threat of fouling a guard coming with speed is too great. Double teaming becomes useless in this case. I would have put Michael Young on the inbounder, or possibly put Zanna in the game with his long arms. That would have left Young to cover Fair. If Young guards the inbounder, I would've put Patterson on Fair. Fair can still shoot over Patterson (he proved it 30 seconds earlier), but it's close enough. After the inbounds, Zanna's job is effectively done. The play will be behind him in about 1 second, but really that's all you need from him. Rakeem Christmas or Jerami Grant (two bigs) are not taking a last second shot. You only have to worry about Ennis, Fair or Cooney. It starts with trying to deny Ennis as much as possible. He's the only player with enough speed to go the length of the floor in 5.5 seconds. Once Ennis makes the catch and picks up speed, the rest of Pitt's defense is useless because anything close to contact is going to be a foul. He finds a spot and buries the shot.
Ironically, Dixon should know to defend this play because he ran the exact same play with Gibbs.
Gibbs makes the catch, comes with speed, jump stops and buries the shot from almost the exact same spot as Ennis (other side of court obviously). Notice how Providence also didn't guard the inbounder.
The only grade I'm giving is an F to Dixon for his late-game coaching. In the Virginia post, I talked about some previous Pitt games that went down to the final shot. Pitt won some and lost some. That post is a little misleading, however, because I was able to name all the last second shots Pitt has made in the last ten years. Gibbs, Ramon, Fields and Zavackas (if you count the 3 to tie). That's it. On the other hand, I neglected to mention at least ten other times an opposing player has hit a last second shot to beat Pitt. Pitt's defense is superb for 39 minutes. In the last minute, though, they always find a way to throw up on themselves. I'm sick of it. I should really stop caring, but I can't.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Game 24: Pitt 62 Virginia Tech 57 2OT
Virginia Tech might be worse than Miami, even though they did beat the Hurricanes by 1 in overtime in their ACC opener. They came to the Pete yesterday 0 for 2014 with their last win coming against Maryland Eastern Shore on December 31. Pitt was favored by 20.
Folks, that's why they play the game.
I'll spare you the details of this disaster, but know that Pitt shot 37%, was outrebounded by 15, and Patterson was 0-6 with 0 points in regulation. Half of his shots missed the rim completely. Patterson's nursing a thumb injury, and it's obvious it's affecting his shot. Unfortunately, Pitt has zero depth, and Dixon was forced to play Patterson down the stretch of this game despite him being about as useful offensively as some of my rec basketball teams in grade school.
WE GOT NO BENCH. WE GOT NO INSIDE PRESENCE! OUR BEST PLAYER'S THUMBS ARE FALLING OFF!!!
A 7-0 VT run put them up 48-44 with 40 seconds left. It was then that James Robinson made the play of the game. He hit a 3 pointer and was fouled for the rare 4 point play to tie the score. Newkirk stole the ball in the closing seconds to prevent VT from getting a final shot.
In overtime, you thought that Pitt would eventually take control. They didn't. Neither team made a shot, and 4 free throws a piece made up the only scoring. Virginia Tech again had a chance to win it in the closing seconds but Devin Wilson of Montour High School in McKees Rocks missed trying to be the hero in his hometown. He shot 1-9 with 7 turnovers.
Of course, the only person to successfully make a shot in either overtime was the guy who was 0 fer the game up to that point. Patterson made a tough shot driving to his left and shooting in the other direction off the glass. Pitt made some free throws and closed the game out.
The Good - Guards Wright (18 points) Robinson (16) and Newkirk (11) carried Pitt offensively. They also combined for 13 rebounds.
The Bad - Pitt's forwards Patterson, Zanna, Young, Artis, Randall, and Uchebo combined for only 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The ugly - Lamar Patterson's shooting. If his thumb doesn't heal by Wednesday, Pitt is going to get blown out by the 'Cuse.
It was ugly, but Pitt got two wins. Let's hope they fix things by Wednesday. The undefeated #1 team in the country is coming to town.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Folks, that's why they play the game.
I'll spare you the details of this disaster, but know that Pitt shot 37%, was outrebounded by 15, and Patterson was 0-6 with 0 points in regulation. Half of his shots missed the rim completely. Patterson's nursing a thumb injury, and it's obvious it's affecting his shot. Unfortunately, Pitt has zero depth, and Dixon was forced to play Patterson down the stretch of this game despite him being about as useful offensively as some of my rec basketball teams in grade school.
WE GOT NO BENCH. WE GOT NO INSIDE PRESENCE! OUR BEST PLAYER'S THUMBS ARE FALLING OFF!!!
A 7-0 VT run put them up 48-44 with 40 seconds left. It was then that James Robinson made the play of the game. He hit a 3 pointer and was fouled for the rare 4 point play to tie the score. Newkirk stole the ball in the closing seconds to prevent VT from getting a final shot.
In overtime, you thought that Pitt would eventually take control. They didn't. Neither team made a shot, and 4 free throws a piece made up the only scoring. Virginia Tech again had a chance to win it in the closing seconds but Devin Wilson of Montour High School in McKees Rocks missed trying to be the hero in his hometown. He shot 1-9 with 7 turnovers.
Of course, the only person to successfully make a shot in either overtime was the guy who was 0 fer the game up to that point. Patterson made a tough shot driving to his left and shooting in the other direction off the glass. Pitt made some free throws and closed the game out.
The Good - Guards Wright (18 points) Robinson (16) and Newkirk (11) carried Pitt offensively. They also combined for 13 rebounds.
The Bad - Pitt's forwards Patterson, Zanna, Young, Artis, Randall, and Uchebo combined for only 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The ugly - Lamar Patterson's shooting. If his thumb doesn't heal by Wednesday, Pitt is going to get blown out by the 'Cuse.
It was ugly, but Pitt got two wins. Let's hope they fix things by Wednesday. The undefeated #1 team in the country is coming to town.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)