I asked Jeff Capel after tonight's game about Guillermo Diaz Graham and how he's taking different kinds of shots this year from what he took last year.
I think his answers to these two questions were interesting and insightful, for a lot of reasons.
In his role this season, is Guillermo getting different types of shots from what he got last year?
Capel: "Yeah, he's getting definitely different types of shots.
"You know, one of the big things with him - look, he's struggling right now. He's struggling shooting the basketball. He's doing some other things well, but he's struggling shooting the basketball, and as long as he's taking good shots, I'm okay with it. But I know that he's struggling. I know what it's like to be him and I feel for him, but I believe in him. His teammates believe in him.
"Even though he struggles shooting the basketball, he has six rebounds today. He had some key defensive possessions against Virginia Tech. He had a huge three against Virginia Tech, and he had two free throws when we were down two with under two minutes left, so he's done some really good things for us this year.
"The shots are different because he's not as still as he is when he was at the five, and so what we've really tried to work with him on and show him the past couple of days leading to this game is his shot preparation. That's one of the biggest things. He has to be able to get his feet set quicker and get power into his shot where he's stepping into it. When you have more time, you have more time to do that.
"Teams are also playing him different because of how he shot the basketball last year, especially when he was a 40% three-point shooter, but he's struggling.
"He's going to be good for us. I believe it. We believe it. And he's doing some other stuff that really, really helped winning, but certainly he didn't play his best tonight.
How have you seen him fight through, trying to stop the shooting performance from bleeding into everything else that he does?
Capel: "Yeah, well, one of the biggest things at times as a player is that you have to get outside of your own head, and you have to block the noise.
"You know, Guillermo - and Jorge, but we're talking about Guillermo right now - Guillermo has been as important as any guy in this program the last three years. You know, our program changed when he got here. He was a part of a group, but he was a big part of it, he and his brother's energy and what they bring to our program every day.
"There's no one on our team that's beloved more than Guillermo. The thing that I appreciate is that I know that he's struggling, but I see him show up every day with an unbelievable attitude.
"I see him work before practice. I see him work after practice, and it's just a matter of time before the floodgates are open and he starts shooting the basketball like we know that he's capable of shooting. But one of the biggest things for him right now - I've talked to him about this. I'll talk to him more because I know this from experience; it happened to me, really, my senior year - he’s got to block the noise out because I'm sure it's a lot of noise.
“You know, my big thing is that if you're a Pitt fan, then you should cheer for the kid. You shouldn't judge him, you shouldn't be negative. It's easy to pile on someone when they're down, but my thing is that if you're a fan of our program, you're a fan of Pitt basketball, then you're a fan of all of Pitt basketball, not just when someone's doing well, and we need everyone to rally around him because we need him to be at our best.”
I think his answers to these two questions were interesting and insightful, for a lot of reasons.
In his role this season, is Guillermo getting different types of shots from what he got last year?
Capel: "Yeah, he's getting definitely different types of shots.
"You know, one of the big things with him - look, he's struggling right now. He's struggling shooting the basketball. He's doing some other things well, but he's struggling shooting the basketball, and as long as he's taking good shots, I'm okay with it. But I know that he's struggling. I know what it's like to be him and I feel for him, but I believe in him. His teammates believe in him.
"Even though he struggles shooting the basketball, he has six rebounds today. He had some key defensive possessions against Virginia Tech. He had a huge three against Virginia Tech, and he had two free throws when we were down two with under two minutes left, so he's done some really good things for us this year.
"The shots are different because he's not as still as he is when he was at the five, and so what we've really tried to work with him on and show him the past couple of days leading to this game is his shot preparation. That's one of the biggest things. He has to be able to get his feet set quicker and get power into his shot where he's stepping into it. When you have more time, you have more time to do that.
"Teams are also playing him different because of how he shot the basketball last year, especially when he was a 40% three-point shooter, but he's struggling.
"He's going to be good for us. I believe it. We believe it. And he's doing some other stuff that really, really helped winning, but certainly he didn't play his best tonight.
How have you seen him fight through, trying to stop the shooting performance from bleeding into everything else that he does?
Capel: "Yeah, well, one of the biggest things at times as a player is that you have to get outside of your own head, and you have to block the noise.
"You know, Guillermo - and Jorge, but we're talking about Guillermo right now - Guillermo has been as important as any guy in this program the last three years. You know, our program changed when he got here. He was a part of a group, but he was a big part of it, he and his brother's energy and what they bring to our program every day.
"There's no one on our team that's beloved more than Guillermo. The thing that I appreciate is that I know that he's struggling, but I see him show up every day with an unbelievable attitude.
"I see him work before practice. I see him work after practice, and it's just a matter of time before the floodgates are open and he starts shooting the basketball like we know that he's capable of shooting. But one of the biggest things for him right now - I've talked to him about this. I'll talk to him more because I know this from experience; it happened to me, really, my senior year - he’s got to block the noise out because I'm sure it's a lot of noise.
“You know, my big thing is that if you're a Pitt fan, then you should cheer for the kid. You shouldn't judge him, you shouldn't be negative. It's easy to pile on someone when they're down, but my thing is that if you're a fan of our program, you're a fan of Pitt basketball, then you're a fan of all of Pitt basketball, not just when someone's doing well, and we need everyone to rally around him because we need him to be at our best.”
