Probably not many do, but I do at least some.
Clemson Game @ Littlejohn & Other Dribbles ...
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I thought Fede was fine for what he is last night. He played good defense and limited their Offensive rebounds with good blockouts and didn't make any egregious turnovers. Basically what I said he was when he was recruited. A backup 5.
GDG has a unique talent for his size. But can anyone recall him making any of his 3's in a BIG moment? Ye, when up 7, when up 10, when up 15, he can pile it on. But we needed one of those to go down last night in a crucial moment, and if hes not making those shots he's useless in there because he's gonna get bullied, he won't rebound, he won't play good enough defense.
The proble is theyre both backup 5's. And I saw Papa the other night while he was standing beside me at PR Lebo. He is a stick figure. He needs a great weight program this offseason.
Pitt played a good team tough in their house and lost and there’s no shame in that .
Losing Dior and Papa no one knew what to expect this season , no matter how this season ends they’ve exceeded my expectations.
Pitt might just be better off in the NIT , where they could make a run at the championship . I do believe the core of this team returns next season and they can use it as a building block . Adding a space eater and a shooter is a must .
Losing Dior and Papa no one knew what to expect this season , no matter how this season ends they’ve exceeded my expectations.
Pitt might just be better off in the NIT , where they could make a run at the championship . I do believe the core of this team returns next season and they can use it as a building block . Adding a space eater and a shooter is a must .
I can’t believe that: neither of these guys can yet shoot with their off-hand; and they don’t have ONE move when the get the ball 2 feet from the bucket. Yea, GDG probably never played the 5 before coming to Pitt but when he was moved to the 5 they should have had the guy develop a couple of moves…he has zippo in the way of inside moves.
Fine by his standards just isn't adding a whole lot to this team. As you said, he's a backup. When he doesn't completely suck, it's like we're all content with that. Just adds very little value, and I think that becomes magnified in these games against teams that do have valuable "plus" guys down low. I think our issues at the 5 are more of a macro perspective than anything specific that he did last night.
And I agree with you on Kante. I've seen him on tv a few times and didn't think much of it, but then when I went to a game a few weeks ago it was really noticeable how thin he is. And I could be wrong, but he did not look 6'10" either. I know he's the excuse a certain someone on this board likes to cling to, but I can't imagine a guy of that build being much of a factor against anyone with girth down low.
We're letting our guards down if we don't acquire someone who can at least catch the ball and finish down low this offseason. Reminds me of when Johnson and McGowens would beat someone off the dribble and the help defense would shift over. The choices were to go up strong and hope you draw a foul (sometimes resulting in a black eye in the case of McGowens) or bounce once off Brown's hands, basically. We need a five who plays like a 5. I don't care if GDG can knock down some threes just like I didn't care if Terrell Brown had a decent midrange shot.
Man, if this happened 15 years ago, I would be trying to look at next year and ask how we adjust with losing Blake and who will pick it up with the remaining guys. But under portal and NIL, you just cannot even really think “we will win this game next year because the frosh will be better”. For me, this is why a loss like this is pretty disheartening, because the chances really seem to disappear. The first half felt funny even though we seemed in control.
That is true, but you also have no guarantee you will see your team even resemble what is currently on the floor so why not enjoy it for a game or two more now?
Sad that we are talking about a lock to the NIT this far into Capel's Pitt coaching career. Should be better.
He's about 6'8' or 6'9. And he's extremely slight. I couldn't believe it next to him. Sadly, at 5'9 I may weigh more than him. He needs to be on my see-food diet. One of the nicest young men to talk by the way and I thought it was very cool he went by himself to the game to support ADHL's kid. Probably very talented. But he would've been eaten alive by those two MEN last night. We need some MEN.
I don't love Lowe's decision making but you need his scoring ability in a tight game.
I do believe Carrington and Lowe will both be back next season, but the problem I see is the potential to take one step forward and one step back, with Hinson being such an integral part of this team. And then if we don't win big next season, are Lowe and Bub going to come back for a third season? Highly doubt that.
He is one of the two players who consistently puts pressure on the defense by getting downhill. The other being Leggett.
I would almost like to see Legget with the ball in his hands setting up some offenses sometimes. I think he has a pretty good basketball IQ and is more experienced.
It looked like the moment and the physicality of Clemson was a tad too much for young Jaland last night. Not his best performance thus Jeff choosing to go another direction late.
That checks out with what I saw. He was standing next to Fede and was noticeably shorter and had much more of a Manute Bol-esque physique than I realized.
To me, this is why you have to cut bait with the twins. You can't have Kante and Ndiaye on the roster basically developing and then also have three more 7ish-foot guys who are mostly underwhelming... and then go out and try to get another 5 (as we need to do) on top of all that.
I have said the same RE: twins and get consistently killed for it.
So true. Many of these players won't even be here next year. There is a real possibility that neither Lowe nor Bub will be here. Hinson will be gone. And I'm sure others will leave. It won't resemble the team we have this year, and that could be a bad thing. For all its warts, this year's team is a hard-working team and they seem to enjoy playing together.
Jaland did pretty well in the first half. Not great, but he did well. Why would Capel pull his clutch player from the game for a good bit of the second half for.....I don't know a reason. What he gave as a reason was lame.
I wish I was as optimistic as you are about Lowe and Carrington being back next season. I hope at least one of them is back, preferably Lowe, but I have my doubts. Money talks and they'll be getting offers from the big boys in the off season that we probably can't match. I think we have to make it a priority to match those offers and do whatever it takes to keep both, if possible. Take NIL from football. That program is stuck on mediocre.
Next seasons lineup will be interesting. Feels like we're in no man's land on so many positions, but maybe I'm just being too dramatic. I know I want Lowe, Bub, Leggett, and Austin back... but I definitely want Austin coming off the bench. Will he be willing to do that? And I'm not sure how I feel about a starting 1-3 of Lowe, Bub, and Leggett... I guess it's okay, but that's kind of contingent on finding some better options at the 4 and 5.
Then I'm fine with GDG as a backup at the 5, but I don't think he's quick enough to play the 4, and I don't like JDG as anything but an end of the bench guy. And if we're going to be redshirting Ndiaye while developing Barnes (if he stays) and Kante... well, that's a lot of non-contributors when already considering that Fede should be backup.
Ideal realistic situation in my eyes would be....
Starting:
Lowe
Leggett
Bub
Transfer
Transfer
Bench:
Cummings
Austin
Fede
Kante
?
?
?
Redshirt:
Ndiaye
To me, if those three question marks are Barnes, JDG, and GDG it's going to be kind of a disappointment.
Yes, I agree. And with Hall, Clark and Schieffelin and being tall and beefy, trying to match that with three guards might have been difficult.
I’m not jumping off the ledge yet. I still think that if we win our next three we are back on the bubble.
We will still need to win in the ACC tournament in some winnable matchups. But all is not lost.!
We will still need to win in the ACC tournament in some winnable matchups. But all is not lost.!
You're gonna start him over Leggett, Lowe or Bub? He plays WPIAL basketball. His expectations for next year should be kept in check. If his last name was Smith instead of being Nelly Cummings brother, would he be seen as an instant contributor?
Yeah, the Cummings hype feels like it's because of his last name in conjunction with what the two freshmen are doing this season. But we're not talking about some one and done lottery pick here.
Cummings' best path to playing time is definitely going to be if Bub kicks to the 3 (Lowe at the 1 and Leggett at the 2, obviously). But if we're able to find some sharpshooter at the 3 and keep Lowe and Bub at the 1 and 2, things become interesting. Not sure Cumming would be more than a 15 mpg guy under those circumstances... if even that.
Cummings' best path to playing time is definitely going to be if Bub kicks to the 3 (Lowe at the 1 and Leggett at the 2, obviously). But if we're able to find some sharpshooter at the 3 and keep Lowe and Bub at the 1 and 2, things become interesting. Not sure Cumming would be more than a 15 mpg guy under those circumstances... if even that.
I think we got 2 points from Fede and GDG, when they get a pass inside it has to be perfect and uncontested- or they're toast. GDG sometimes can drive to the hoop if there's a wide-open lane. Fede if he gets the ball by a pass or rebound close to the basket with anyone nearby, he has exactly ZERO POST MOVES, or reliable shots of any kind if it's not a wide-open flush. The 2 of them get rebounds near the basket and are 7 footers yet seem powerless to stick in a put back and they seem to know that and don't even try and always look to pass it out and don't even consider going up strong to the hoop even from within 2-3 feet.
We were up a lot of the game. We should have won. Once Clemson figured out what we were trying to do offensively over and over and over they slowly took charge. Yeah we missed a lot of shots and easy bunnies but I would like to have seen Capel and the coaching staff make some adjustments in the second half. I mean nothing was working.
And Blake didn't even attempt a damn shot the last 13+ minutes of the game. What kind of gameplan is that?
I do if Pitt is in it, I'll skip the NCAAs and not watch Duke, UConn or Purdue to watch Pitt play a mid-major in the NIT, it's a TV SHOW I like, PITT basketball, not college basketball, wherever Pitt is playing that's what I'll focus on and watch.
Pitt doesn't have any big men, they just have tall guys.
When some of your all time favorite Panthers are Clancy, Troutman and Blair, seeing the current guys being bullied by Ian Schiefflein is very disheartening.
When some of your all time favorite Panthers are Clancy, Troutman and Blair, seeing the current guys being bullied by Ian Schiefflein is very disheartening.
Zeke, I agree; Leggett had just a bit more size and strength than J-Lowe. And with Clemson's size it would've been a problem playing three guards at same time
Pitts guards are true freshman who will only get stronger as they mature and with the professional guidance of a trainer. Both will come back much stronger next season. They have now experienced first hand how their games are just not physical enough and will work their butts off to correct this .
The twins and Fede are just tall and slender body types and giving up 40lbs and immeasurable strength to ACC bigs you will just get pushed around .
Pitt needs a big bodied guy type whose game is 10 ft and in .
The twins and Fede are just tall and slender body types and giving up 40lbs and immeasurable strength to ACC bigs you will just get pushed around .
Pitt needs a big bodied guy type whose game is 10 ft and in .
3-0 + 2 in DC could get us in especially if its a defacto play-in game vs UVa. Chances of this happening? 2%-3% I'd guess.
It was so clear that we needed a big man who could bang down low this year. But I don’t even remember us trying to recruit any? It’s bizarre to say the least.
Everyone (including me) thought Fede was going to take a big step. He was pretty good as a soph and I thought he was on a trajectory to be one of the better bigs in the ACC this year as big guys normally get better with age. Look at Schefflein and Lynn Kidd. But he got worse. He's Terrell Brown.
I’m sure they tried , they’re a little more in tuned to their deficiencies than we are . ( although some on here think they know more than the coaching staff !)
Well we did recruit a big but he got hurt and out for the year. he could have improved over the course of the year as the freshman guards have it would have helped us alot
He weighs 170 lbs soaking wet and is 6’8. He would’ve been eaten alive Tuesday night. Can we stop with this talk that freshmen Papa Kante is the only thing us back from a tourney appearance? It’s an embarrassing narrative at this point and you guys are going to be very disappointed when he definitely doesn’t start next year too
I think papa would have helped at least to give 5 fouls. And with the struggles of the other bigs there would be games where he would be our best big sadly. But we need a guy with some actual thickness who can bang too.
What I’m saying is that we could have had Papa and another big man. We had the scholarship..
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