Not going to overreact to one night. There is no question that it was an extremely disappointing performance at home. Felt like Pitt responded after Florida and would have returned home and played well. They did not at all. Missouri deserves some credit but I think Pitt let them play way over their head. Gates can really coach. I will say that. It is such a unique style. To get that many kids to buy into rotating and playing 100% in small spurts is a really hard sell. It can be tough to sell that to a recruit but he also brings a reasonable floor to all of it because of his energy and presence. 25-9 advantage on free throws and the game never felt in doubt really. That is tough. Not enough effort. Missouri moved the ball better and just had more fun.
The defense is not good right now. Just way to easy for paint points last night. The rotations are slow. I probably would have tried a zone at some point just to mix it up. East got to wherever he wanted to. It seemed like they shot a lot better from three than they did actually. They hit some tough shots but the defense was just not good enough.
The offense is out of sync. Heading into the year, I thought their penetration could allow them to overcome some rough nights from three. Now I am not so sure. There is no offense in the post so when they don't shoot it well from three and Bub/Ish struggle, there is very little chance. 1-12 from three between them and a negative A:TO ratio. If those two do that again on the same night, they aren't going to win.
Let me start with Blake because I thought he played well. He was under control and much more composed. Outside of the missed free throws at the end, can't really knock anything. They probably should have gotten him more shots if anything.
Thought Jaland looked really good too. Not a ton of production and only 12 minutes, but I think he is really coming on. There is still a lot of development there for him but I think he can be a REALLY good college point guard if he can put it all together. Kudos to him for fighting back after a rough start to the season.
Bub is in his own head right now I think. Some of it is simply regression, as we knew he wasn't going to shoot 54% from three this year. With that being said, he just seems to be pressing. For some reason, he seems to be second guessing himself most of the game right now. Not sure if the Florida game shook that rhythm a little, but he has to get back to just playing free and loose. Maybe all the attention and the scouts is part of it. He is an extremely young kid. He plays with his heart on his sleeve so you can just see his head spinning. I'm not all that worried about it. This is where Coach Capel needs to spend his time right now. He has to get the kid right and back in a good mental state. I believe Capel is really good at that stuff so I think we will see him bounce back.
Ish would like to have that one back. We all know that. He still fought like crazy and put up some numbers still. Overall, just a terrible game. I would prefer he hang and shoot through contact than hang and try to kick it out. At least get it on the rim. Not worried about Ish.
Not a ton of thoughts on Zack. The Oregon State game was fun but that is probably the exception. This seems to be about who he will be on this team this year. That is perfectly fine by the way. I do wonder when opponents are going to realize that you cannot attempt a weak transition attempt with him in the picture.
No idea what has happened to Federiko. When I first saw him last year, this was my concern. I wasn't as high on him as some others. I was wrong, as he put together a very nice season and was a lot better than I ever thought. This season, just figured a slow start but he is still blocking everything. Now, I am concerned. Guards are lobbing it up or passing to him near the rim and it's like the first time he has seen a basketball. Missouri was all over the place near the rim and not a single block. The effort on the defensive glass was pathetic. I'm really confused as to what is going on here.
Guillermo was fine I guess. He has to learn how to avoid fouling. There are so many times where an opponent is bailed out because he just can't control himself. These SEC/Big 12, etc matchups are brutal for the twins. They are definitely a bit stronger than last year but it is nowhere near close enough. Even an average forward like Carter last night can just easily move them into the third row without fouling.
If I was coaching, I would tell Jorge and Guillermo that they can't take a three until they grab 3 rebounds. I think there are times where they come in and immediately settle and then confidence starts to dwindle. Then they are getting subbed before they even realized what happened.
The front court has been so disappointing to me. Bub is going to have a night here and there like that because of his age. Ish is not going to be perfect every night. This team needs so much more from those big three. This trio has been taken care of extremely well and provided with everything they need. Excessively. The staff needs some level of physicality and effort. I'm not expecting them all to turn into Dejuan Blair, but just hold up well enough at times that their length can impact things.
This was also my concern with Will. He looks to be a really good defender right now, but he is still almost unplayable in these games where Pitt's guards aren't making shots. When he is out there, it is 4 on 5. Which is fine when the guards are dominating and threes are going down. He made a fine enough move last night and pivoted to a wide open like 8 foot runner. He missed the shot by three feet. That was one of Guillermo's easy ones and it worked out. But we see that too much with Will. There is just zero touch on the offensive end. I'd rather he just attempt a three than a lay up sometimes. In those games where the speed is boosted.
The good news is that this is not college football. The season is not ruined. They can still accomplish whatever goals they have this season. That was just a bad setback last night. You hope they are in a position where it will get overlooked obviously, but I can just see this one sticking out that weekend in March. Wish they could have it back but can't let it beat you twice. Maybe Missouri ends up okay, I don't know.
Now they get Clemson at home. They have to stop squandering leads in a matter of seconds. They have to grow up quickly and pursue the blood in the water. If you are up 4 or 6 points with 90 seconds left in a half, you cannot go into the break down. That is such a momentum killer. Clemson is the only undefeated ACC team. This is what you should want at home. Pitt has seen all of these guys. There is familiarity. You know what each other are going to do. Right now, Pitt has to get everyone right mentally. Pull it all back in and go back to the basics. You can't win a national title in November. The league looks to be down once again.
I'm still optimistic about this team. The only difference for me is that I think their floor is a bit lower than I thought. Still think the same high ceiling is there, but the front court has caused me to lower the floor a bit. That is it. We saw this trio last year and that should have been the baseline. Carrington, Leggett, Austin, Lowe should have been the question marks. Now this program needs those three especially to step up and produce. Maybe yanking them and rotating them like Missouri does could light a fire. Sometimes it depends on personalities, so I don't know. But this staff has to find a way to light a fire there.
The defense is not good right now. Just way to easy for paint points last night. The rotations are slow. I probably would have tried a zone at some point just to mix it up. East got to wherever he wanted to. It seemed like they shot a lot better from three than they did actually. They hit some tough shots but the defense was just not good enough.
The offense is out of sync. Heading into the year, I thought their penetration could allow them to overcome some rough nights from three. Now I am not so sure. There is no offense in the post so when they don't shoot it well from three and Bub/Ish struggle, there is very little chance. 1-12 from three between them and a negative A:TO ratio. If those two do that again on the same night, they aren't going to win.
Let me start with Blake because I thought he played well. He was under control and much more composed. Outside of the missed free throws at the end, can't really knock anything. They probably should have gotten him more shots if anything.
Thought Jaland looked really good too. Not a ton of production and only 12 minutes, but I think he is really coming on. There is still a lot of development there for him but I think he can be a REALLY good college point guard if he can put it all together. Kudos to him for fighting back after a rough start to the season.
Bub is in his own head right now I think. Some of it is simply regression, as we knew he wasn't going to shoot 54% from three this year. With that being said, he just seems to be pressing. For some reason, he seems to be second guessing himself most of the game right now. Not sure if the Florida game shook that rhythm a little, but he has to get back to just playing free and loose. Maybe all the attention and the scouts is part of it. He is an extremely young kid. He plays with his heart on his sleeve so you can just see his head spinning. I'm not all that worried about it. This is where Coach Capel needs to spend his time right now. He has to get the kid right and back in a good mental state. I believe Capel is really good at that stuff so I think we will see him bounce back.
Ish would like to have that one back. We all know that. He still fought like crazy and put up some numbers still. Overall, just a terrible game. I would prefer he hang and shoot through contact than hang and try to kick it out. At least get it on the rim. Not worried about Ish.
Not a ton of thoughts on Zack. The Oregon State game was fun but that is probably the exception. This seems to be about who he will be on this team this year. That is perfectly fine by the way. I do wonder when opponents are going to realize that you cannot attempt a weak transition attempt with him in the picture.
No idea what has happened to Federiko. When I first saw him last year, this was my concern. I wasn't as high on him as some others. I was wrong, as he put together a very nice season and was a lot better than I ever thought. This season, just figured a slow start but he is still blocking everything. Now, I am concerned. Guards are lobbing it up or passing to him near the rim and it's like the first time he has seen a basketball. Missouri was all over the place near the rim and not a single block. The effort on the defensive glass was pathetic. I'm really confused as to what is going on here.
Guillermo was fine I guess. He has to learn how to avoid fouling. There are so many times where an opponent is bailed out because he just can't control himself. These SEC/Big 12, etc matchups are brutal for the twins. They are definitely a bit stronger than last year but it is nowhere near close enough. Even an average forward like Carter last night can just easily move them into the third row without fouling.
If I was coaching, I would tell Jorge and Guillermo that they can't take a three until they grab 3 rebounds. I think there are times where they come in and immediately settle and then confidence starts to dwindle. Then they are getting subbed before they even realized what happened.
The front court has been so disappointing to me. Bub is going to have a night here and there like that because of his age. Ish is not going to be perfect every night. This team needs so much more from those big three. This trio has been taken care of extremely well and provided with everything they need. Excessively. The staff needs some level of physicality and effort. I'm not expecting them all to turn into Dejuan Blair, but just hold up well enough at times that their length can impact things.
This was also my concern with Will. He looks to be a really good defender right now, but he is still almost unplayable in these games where Pitt's guards aren't making shots. When he is out there, it is 4 on 5. Which is fine when the guards are dominating and threes are going down. He made a fine enough move last night and pivoted to a wide open like 8 foot runner. He missed the shot by three feet. That was one of Guillermo's easy ones and it worked out. But we see that too much with Will. There is just zero touch on the offensive end. I'd rather he just attempt a three than a lay up sometimes. In those games where the speed is boosted.
The good news is that this is not college football. The season is not ruined. They can still accomplish whatever goals they have this season. That was just a bad setback last night. You hope they are in a position where it will get overlooked obviously, but I can just see this one sticking out that weekend in March. Wish they could have it back but can't let it beat you twice. Maybe Missouri ends up okay, I don't know.
Now they get Clemson at home. They have to stop squandering leads in a matter of seconds. They have to grow up quickly and pursue the blood in the water. If you are up 4 or 6 points with 90 seconds left in a half, you cannot go into the break down. That is such a momentum killer. Clemson is the only undefeated ACC team. This is what you should want at home. Pitt has seen all of these guys. There is familiarity. You know what each other are going to do. Right now, Pitt has to get everyone right mentally. Pull it all back in and go back to the basics. You can't win a national title in November. The league looks to be down once again.
I'm still optimistic about this team. The only difference for me is that I think their floor is a bit lower than I thought. Still think the same high ceiling is there, but the front court has caused me to lower the floor a bit. That is it. We saw this trio last year and that should have been the baseline. Carrington, Leggett, Austin, Lowe should have been the question marks. Now this program needs those three especially to step up and produce. Maybe yanking them and rotating them like Missouri does could light a fire. Sometimes it depends on personalities, so I don't know. But this staff has to find a way to light a fire there.
