Duke Game & Other Dribbles ...

[DT_PITT]

** I’m going to write most of this entry this evening pretending the game ended at the under 8 timeout of the second half.

** That is because I honestly don’t know what the heck happened in the last 8 minutes. Allow me to suggest however, that we didn’t consciously stop playing.

** It appeared to me more like we completely ran out of gas. Bone dry.

** So we looked around for a ride and found ourselves all alone in the middle of a desert heated by the Dukies sizzling 55% three point shooting and Coopers back to back posters.

** Had Beebah hit that wide open three at the 7 minute mark that would have cut the lead to 8, perhaps that would have somehow added a little more to the tank. But no.

** I say we ran out of gas because for most of those first 32 minutes, we were using all the energy we could to battle the Dukies.

** And we did battle. We just didn’t play very good basketball against a very good basketball team.

** I think what can be said is that for most of the game, the Panthers tried to replace composure with energy, attempting to make plays before the masterful Blue Devils size and talent could get to them.

** And with that, they really never let this game come to them, they rushed too much and missed some plays they often make.

** This was certainly true of both Jaland and Ish. They were both really trying to bring it. They were likely even trying too hard. But as we know, the results were often kinda ugly.

** I’m not worried about Ish and Jaland though. I appreciate the relationship they have with their Coach. I know he’s going to work with them about decision making and trying to involve others.

** I’m not attempting to suggest that the Panthers really had much of a shot in this one after half time. But some of our defensive work in both halves gave us opportunities, even on fast breaks, which we rushed or didn’t convert.

** There’s no doubt that our Panthers were truly troubled by the size of the Dukies. I believe they tried to adjust in the second half and instead they just kept trying tougher and tougher shots instead of moving the basketball.

** My only wonder about this one is the overall offensive game plan. It was clear that Capel wanted to spread out and let Ish and Jaland play iso to create. Maybe he thought this was the best way to attack Duke’s size. From early on however, this didn’t look like a good plan.

** It’s telling that we didn’t have a single trip to the line in the second 20 minutes.

** Still I do believe it’s noteworthy that we are watching the continued progression of Cam Cohren. This was the kind of performance that will help the Panthers win plenty more games.

** His embarrassing move with 30 seconds left notwithstanding, Damien showed us he’s ready to help. This comes at a good time.

** I’ll close by reminding all Panther Hoop fans that perhaps they can take some solace in the thought that this 29 point defeat was not the worst of the evening. That honor goes to the 30 point boat race the #1 team in the county received from the teeth of the Florida Gators.

** At the 7 minute mark of that one, the same mark when we were shooting to cut the lead to single digits, the Vols were losing by 32.

** I hope both our Panthers and Panther fans can move on and pick things up back up with a full tank of gas against the Cardinals at noon on Saturday. I think we will!

 

[4Mark_Marty]

I’ll be there.

 

[Chairman Moe]

** I’m going to write most of this entry this evening pretending the game ended at the under 8 timeout of the second half - we still would have lost (but only by 11)

** That is because I honestly don’t know what the heck happened in the last 8 minutes. Allow me to suggest however, that we didn’t consciously stop playing - the team didn't quit until the under 4 time out

** It appeared to me more like we completely ran out of gas. Bone dry - why? Duke didn't

** So we looked around for a ride and found ourselves all alone in the middle of a desert heated by the Dukies sizzling 55% three point shooting and Coopers back to back posters - this was as dominant a loss against a pretty good Pitt team that I can recall since my senior year (1974) when we were shellacked by South Carolina, late in the season

** Had Beebah hit that wide open three at the 7 minute mark that would have cut the lead to 8, perhaps that would have somehow added a little more to the tank. But no - yes, and let's not forget the end of the first half when we went four straight trips with no points when we were within 7

** I say we ran out of gas because for most of those first 32 minutes, we were using all the energy we could to battle the Dukies - once again, Duke never let off the gas pedal. Credit goes to them

** And we did battle. We just didn’t play very good basketball against a very good basketball team - there were moments but we did NOT have to lose by 30 points

** I think what can be said is that for most of the game, the Panthers tried to replace composure with energy, attempting to make plays before the masterful Blue Devils size and talent could get to them - DT, we watched a different game together. I did see brief moments of ball energy but we were totally outmanned and outclassed

** And with that, they really never let this game come to them, they rushed too much and missed some plays they often make - Duke did not have anything to prove last night, and yet they did make a huge statement

** This was certainly true of both Jaland and Ish. They were both really trying to bring it. They were likely even trying too hard. But as we know, the results were often kinda ugly - whatever plan Capel had for our guys was quickly dismissed

** I’m not worried about Ish and Jaland though. I appreciate the relationship they have with their Coach. I know he’s going to work with them about decision making and trying to involve others - they need to put this behind them as quickly as they did the MS State loss

** I’m not attempting to suggest that the Panthers really had much of a shot in this one after half time. But some of our defensive work in both halves gave us opportunities, even on fast breaks, which we rushed or didn’t convert - I thought our defense looked good until the team stopped playing the last 5-1/2 minutes

** There’s no doubt that our Panthers were truly troubled by the size of the Dukies. I believe they tried to adjust in the second half and instead they just kept trying tougher and tougher shots instead of moving the basketball - I totally agree. The team forced too many shots and had too many turnovers

** My only wonder about this one is the overall offensive game plan. It was clear that Capel wanted to spread out and let Ish and Jaland play iso to create. Maybe he thought this was the best way to attack Duke’s size. From early on however, this didn’t look like a good plan - well, it got Flagg into foul trouble, which just pissed Cooper off. This kid is once in a generation. And he just turned 18? GMAFB!

** It’s telling that we didn’t have a single trip to the line in the second 20 minutes - I noticed the huge foul disparity in the second half, too, but Duke was not committing any fouls; they were playing suffocating defense

** Still I do believe it’s noteworthy that we are watching the continued progression of Cam Cohren. This was the kind of performance that will help the Panthers win plenty more games - Cam had a good night as did Dunn in his first game back

** His embarrassing move with 30 seconds left notwithstanding, Damien showed us he’s ready to help. This comes at a good time - if he knew he was going to be embarrassed I wish he would've hit the guy harder, TBO.

** I’ll close by reminding all Panther Hoop fans that perhaps they can take some solace in the thought that this 29 point defeat was not the worst of the evening. That honor goes to the 30 point boat race the #1 team in the county received from the teeth of the Florida Gators - I kept seeing the UT v FL score scroll across the screen during the game and thought it was a mistake. And while yes, a large UT loss notwithstanding, we are a long way away from matching Duke in our league. I'd bet that UT would beat FL in their gym

** At the 7 minute mark of that one, the same mark when we were shooting to cut the lead to single digits, the Vols were losing by 32 - ouch!

** I hope both our Panthers and Panther fans can move on and pick things up back up with a full tank of gas against the Cardinals at noon on Saturday. I think we will! - We'll need the Zoo and some home cooking for sure. The Cameron Crazies made sure there'd be no repeat of last year's embarrassment when we beat them. So glad we don't have to play Duke again until maybe the ACCT

comments above

 

[TD_6082]

Spot on with the comment "Pitt didn't play very good basketball against a very good basketball team".

I still maintain the Vols are offensively challenged & are no better than the 5th best team in their league. Possibly even further down the pecking order.

 

[DT_PITT]

comments above

Clearly you weren’t able to subscribe to my axiom of pretending the game ended at the final under 8 timeout! lol

 

[MorningCoffee13]

Missed the game due to flu. Is it me or was Cooper Flags poster dunk just okay but my god espn has to over dramatize everything when it comes to Duke so it’s the greatest dunk since John met Jesus.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I think if Pitt played this Duke team ten times I think Duke wins them all unless Pitt shoots lights out and Duke shoots 30% or has severe foul trouble . They’re that good !

Incredibly their lineup is loaded with freshman . It’s a good year if you’re a Duke fan . They’re only going to get better .

Ish , Jalen and Zac struggled and Pitt was still hanging tough for awhile . This is a GOOD Pitt Bb team , they’re just not as good as Duke .

Being a blue blood with a nice NIL fund builds you a roster like this .

I’ve never understood some peoples distain for one and dones . How great would it be to have Flagg wearing a Panther uniform even for one year !

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

** I’m not attempting to suggest that the Panthers really had much of a shot in this one after half time. But some of our defensive work in both halves gave us opportunities, even on fast breaks, which we rushed or didn’t convert.

** My only wonder about this one is the overall offensive game plan. It was clear that Capel wanted to spread out and let Ish and Jaland play iso to create. Maybe he thought this was the best way to attack Duke’s size. From early on however, this didn’t look like a good plan.

these are the two important points for me. It was a horrid looking score and the 18-0 run to end the game is a debacle, but honestly Pitt did enough good things that gave them an opportunity to win the game. That sounds stupid to say in hindsight but it’s true

As far as the second point goes, I’m guessing it will be more of the same (iso ish, iso Lowe) against Louisville, just like it was a lot of iso against Stanford and cal and everyone else.

 

[AllegeneeGenacGenac]

I think if Pitt played this Duke team ten times I think Duke wins them all unless Pitt shoots lights out and Duke shoots 30% or has severe foul trouble . They’re that good !

Incredibly their lineup is loaded with freshman . It’s a good year if you’re a Duke fan . They’re only going to get better .

Ish , Jalen and Zac struggled and Pitt was still hanging tough for awhile . This is a GOOD Pitt Bb team , they’re just not as good as Duke .

Being a blue blood with a nice NIL fund builds you a roster like this .

I’ve never understood some peoples distain for one and dones . How great would it be to have Flagg wearing a Panther uniform even for one year !

This is a good Pitt BB team that didn't play very well yesterday.

I don't think Duke wins 10/10 games, but they do win the majority. If Ish, Jalen, and Zac (and others) just make a reasonable number of open shots, it's at least competitive last night.

Corhen hurt us as well. As has been the case for the last couple years, our lack of any consistent inside presence is going to doom us against top teams that are playing even reasonably well.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

This is a good Pitt BB team that didn't play very well yesterday.

I don't think Duke wins 10/10 games, but they do win the majority. If Ish, Jalen, and Zac (and others) just make a reasonable number of open shots, it's at least competitive last night.

Cohren hurt us as well. As has been the case for the last couple years, our lack of any consistent inside presence is going to doom us against top teams that are playing even reasonably well.

What I saw last night was a team far more talented with a size advantage . They’re extremely young and how they’d react in a nip and tuck game on the road I don’t know . Could Pitt beat them , sure , but it would have to be with Pitt playing its absolute best game against their subpar game .

 

[DT_PITT]

Missed the game due to flu. Is it me or was Cooper Flags poster dunk just okay but my god espn has to over dramatize everything when it comes to Duke so it’s the greatest dunk since John met Jesus.

I'd say it was a good bit more than just OK but wasn't as great as ESPN made it out to be. Also, he doubled dribbled.

Hope you feel better.

 

[Rupart33]

This is a good Pitt BB team that didn't play very well yesterday.

I don't think Duke wins 10/10 games, but they do win the majority. If Ish, Jalen, and Zac (and others) just make a reasonable number of open shots, it's at least competitive last night.

Corhen hurt us as well. As has been the case for the last couple years, our lack of any consistent inside presence is going to doom us against top teams that are playing even reasonably well.

I thought Corhen was actually one of the few bright spots. Sure he had some struggles against their size, but overall brought more energy than I have seen from him. He was active inside with blocks as well that hasn't been a part of his game. He was pretty far down the list of issues in this game. Now the coaches just need to figure out how to get this effort consistently.

 

[AllegeneeGenacGenac]

I thought Corhen was actually one of the few bright spots. Sure he had some struggles against their size, but overall brought more energy than I have seen from him. He was active inside with blocks as well that hasn't been a part of his game. He was pretty far down the list of issues in this game. Now the coaches just need to figure out how to get this effort consistently.

Maybe my expectations are too high, but I regularly saw him getting pushed out of the way by people smaller than him and generally failing to protect the paint on a number of instances. He did block a few shots, but we need a lot more from him each possession to compete with teams like Duke.

Basically, if this is the best he can be, we're not going to reach the potential I thought we had.

 

[pittbb80]

I thought Cohern played is most physical game of the year which is encouraging.

While the Panthers lost their composure in the last 8 minutes I saw enough from them to make me far more encouraged than I was after the MIss St game

I was wondering why G didn’t get much time after he got posterized.

If they learn from this game I think the Panthers can be pretty good heading into March

 

[Protes]

This is a good Pitt BB team that didn't play very well yesterday.

I don't think Duke wins 10/10 games, but they do win the majority. If Ish, Jalen, and Zac (and others) just make a reasonable number of open shots, it's at least competitive last night.

Corhen hurt us as well. As has been the case for the last couple years, our lack of any consistent inside presence is going to doom us against top teams that are playing even reasonably well.

We don't have the Jimmies and Joes to beat a team like Duke unless everything goes absolutely right for us. Therefore, it's on the coach to figure out the x's and o's. And as much as JC has proven a lot of us wrong the past couple of seasons, I don't know that he has it in him to out-coach other coaches. He doesn't employ the type of system like we had under Howland/Dixon that so often allowed us to be better than the sum of the parts thanks to excellent execution and working for good shots. He's relying on the guards to make things happen. And our guys aren't good enough to do that against the likes of Duke. When that doesn't work, we start forcing and have no other answers. We don't have any set plays to get guys open, let alone isolate a big to get a basket in the interior. For the most part, we just expect our big to rebound and get put backs.

 

[pittchagg]

We don't have the Jimmies and Joes to beat a team like Duke unless everything goes absolutely right for us. Therefore, it's on the coach to figure out the x's and o's. And as much as JC has proven a lot of us wrong the past couple of seasons, I don't know that he has it in him to out-coach other coaches. He doesn't employ the type of system like we had under Howland/Dixon that so often allowed us to be better than the sum of the parts thanks to excellent execution and working for good shots. He's relying on the guards to make things happen. And our guys aren't good enough to do that against the likes of Duke. When that doesn't work, we start forcing and have no other answers. We don't have any set plays to get guys open, let alone isolate a big to get a basket in the interior. For the most part, we just expect our big to rebound and get put backs.

We tried to force the issue to Corhen posted up in the block a few times last night, but that’s tougher than it sounds when Duke has a 7’2 Sudanese kid with a 7’5 wingspan. At least one of them ended with the ball harmlessly dribbling out of bounds. Another one or two resulted in Corhen midrange jumpers that didn’t hit.

I think we had the right plan to give us the best chance to win. Compete like hell defensively, make them work and hope they have a subpar shooting night. That mostly worked, except for a few little runs where Knueppel hit some threes in transition - keep in mind that Duke has one of the most effective transition offenses in the country, which is aided by the number of live ball turnovers and misses that their excellent defense creates. The only thing they didn’t really do defensively was force live ball turnovers where we could get out in transition, except for those couple by Cummings. And if you let Duke’s defense get set, you’ve lost the battle.

Offensively, we needed to win a war of attrition, get them into some foul trouble (which we did in the first half), hope that our guards can get into the teeth of their defense and either convert at the rim or hit tough shots, and hope that we get enough timely shooting and contested conversions to keep us in it. We didn’t make those shots - last year we needed Blake Hinson to ludicrously go 7/7 from three on a bunch of ultra-contested NBA range three’s to win in Cameron, and this Duke team is much better than last year’s. Ultimately you need guys to hit tough shots against good teams, and we didn’tdo that.

 

[Protes]

We tried to force the issue to Corhen posted up in the block a few times last night, but that’s tougher than it sounds when Duke has a 7’2 Sudanese kid with a 7’5 wingspan. At least one of them ended with the ball harmlessly dribbling out of bounds. Another one or two resulted in Corhen midrange jumpers that didn’t hit.

I think we had the right plan to give us the best chance to win. Compete like hell defensively, make them work and hope they have a subpar shooting night. That mostly worked, except for a few little runs where Knueppel hit some threes in transition - keep in mind that Duke has one of the most effective transition offenses in the country, which is aided by the number of live ball turnovers and misses that their excellent defense creates. The only thing they didn’t really do defensively was force live ball turnovers where we could get out in transition, except for those couple by Cummings. And if you let Duke’s defense get set, you’ve lost the battle.

Offensively, we needed to win a war of attrition, get them into some foul trouble (which we did in the first half), hope that our guards can get into the teeth of their defense and either convert at the rim or hit tough shots, and hope that we get enough timely shooting and contested conversions to keep us in it. We didn’t make those shots - last year we needed Blake Hinson to ludicrously go 7/7 from three on a bunch of ultra-contested NBA range three’s to win in Cameron, and this Duke team is much better than last year’s. Ultimately you need guys to hit tough shots against good teams, and we didn’tdo that.

A lot of that is because we default to dribble-drive, one-on-one offense. We don't really run an offense like we did under Ben and Jamie that can make up for lesser talent.

Earlier in the season, I wanted to see us run some sets to get Corhen good looks down low. Needed to do that against lesser teams so we could go to that when we needed to at this point of the season. We didn't do it. Can't expect to get baskets in the post if you don't make a concerted effort to have that as part of the arsenal.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

A lot of that is because we default to dribble-drive, one-on-one offense. We don't really run an offense like we did under Ben and Jamie that can make up for lesser talent.

Earlier in the season, I wanted to see us run some sets to get Corhen good looks down low. Needed to do that against lesser teams so we could go to that when we needed to at this point of the season. We didn't do it. Can't expect to get baskets in the post if you don't make a concerted effort to have that as part of the arsenal.

I think we needed to shoot more threes. Not get Corhen involved. Threes were the only way we beat them. It's live or die, but it's our only shot.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I think we needed to shoot more threes. Not get Corhen involved. Threes were the only way we beat them. It's live or die, but it's our only shot.

Pretty much correct. Had to shoot like 14/30 from 3

 

[pittchagg]

I think we needed to shoot more threes. Not get Corhen involved. Threes were the only way we beat them. It's live or die, but it's our only shot.

Yeah, I definitely do not think that a bunch of low-efficiency post ups was going to get it done yesterday, especially against Maluach. Might have had more success when they went smaller with Brown at the 5, but Corhen could have had 25 points last night on post ups and the result would have been similar.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

A lot of that is because we default to dribble-drive, one-on-one offense. We don't really run an offense like we did under Ben and Jamie that can make up for lesser talent.

Earlier in the season, I wanted to see us run some sets to get Corhen good looks down low. Needed to do that against lesser teams so we could go to that when we needed to at this point of the season. We didn't do it. Can't expect to get baskets in the post if you don't make a concerted effort to have that as part of the arsenal.

True. That's what frustrates me the most....that we just rely on one-on-one dribble drives with no system and set plays that helps to alleviate the difference in raw talent. If a team can rebound and play really good defense, and combine that with an efficient passing offense and transition, the lesser talented team has a much better chance of winning. That's how it worked in the Howland/Dixon years.

 

[Pittisit4me]

True. That's what frustrates me the most....that we just rely on one-on-one dribble drives with no system and set plays that helps to alleviate the difference in raw talent. If a team can rebound and play really good defense, and combine that with an efficient passing offense and transition, the lesser talented team has a much better chance of winning. That's how it worked in the Howland/Dixon years.

Lol. You act like Dixon had a bunch of cripples out there. We were not always the less talented team.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Lol. You act like Dixon had a bunch of cripples out there. We were not always the less talented team.

LOL! That's not what I said. Pitt fans...SMH.

 

[Protes]

I think we needed to shoot more threes. Not get Corhen involved. Threes were the only way we beat them. It's live or die, but it's our only shot.

That may well have been the right way to go yesterday. But there are times in games when you need to go inside to get an easier deuce.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

That may well have been the right way to go yesterday. But there are times in games when you need to go inside to get an easier deuce.

I agree, but nothing is easy inside against Duke.

 

[USAF Phantom]

This is a good Pitt BB team that didn't play very well yesterday.

I don't think Duke wins 10/10 games, but they do win the majority. If Ish, Jalen, and Zac (and others) just make a reasonable number of open shots, it's at least competitive last night.

Corhen hurt us as well. As has been the case for the last couple years, our lack of any consistent inside presence is going to doom us against top teams that are playing even reasonably well.

You right about the number of open shots—they just weren’t dropping. Also, I think we had three 1 and 1 opportunities in the first half and missed the front end.

 

[Atilla Cosby]

I think what happened is Scheyer called the TO up 11 and reminded them of Blake and last year's game there. They responded. We peed the bed.

 

[Dointhatrag]

Pitt really struggles when playing larger stronger guards. Of lowe and ish can’t slash to the rim our offfense becomes completely stagnant. I don’t know how many times I saw ish going in off balance trying to throw up a prayer and duke’s tree just out out their hands and block it. At someone point you have to drive in like that and think about kicking it out as they collapsed to the paint all night.