Duke Game @ the Pete & Other Dribbles ...

[DT_PITT]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

 

[gary2]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

Agree with it all.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Good stuff, agreed on all fronts. I did wonder why they started out (and stuck with) the zone, especially since we just shredded Syracuse’s the game before. I’m not complaining, though!

 

[Pitt5593]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

Smiling. Yes we are back!! And I felt like we didn’t play our best game.
What I am trying to say is that there is a lot of upside that we haven’t seen yet!

 

[PittMan 72]

They may have gone to a 3-2. At the very least they extended the front of their zone at times in the 2H to force Pitt to have to start their O from another 5 to 10 feet further out.

The Dookies Johnson is very good. I know I let out a BIG sigh of relief when he got whistled for foul #5 late.

Great game. Great effort. Great win for the Panthers tonight!

 

[Drew1208]

Looked alot like the rare 1-2-2 Zone is the 1st half.
But when they went man at the end XJ blew by his man twice.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

Thank you!! We’re Back!!!!!!

 

[Pittx9]

Champ and Johnson both recently returned from injuries had an epic duel tonight. Champ got the best of him for sure.

But also, a great job defending Hurt tonight. Came in averaging 19.6 on 53.0% shooting and 8.5 boards per game. In 30 minutes, 13 & 6 tonight on 5-13 from the field... I’ll take that every day.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

-Good stuff, DT and thanks for the text. You can bet I knew what the Dribbles were going to be about tonight.

-Just saw last night that the Wooden award was cut to 25 players the other day. My guess is that very shortly, JC will be added to the list. Right now, he should be player of the year in the ACC.

-X was out of control at times and for a bit I was glad that Coach let Femi run point while X was in the game. But when we needed him most, he came up HUGE!

-As opposed to you, I have probably watched more college basketball this year than I have in 10-15 years. My girls are now older and both drive, I am working from home and I just ruptured my Achilles in early October. After one or two games this year, I wouldn't have ranked us in the top 150 because our defense was still pretty bad and our offense was, at best, spotty. The NW game was a huge turning point and we have continued to get better on D, rebounding the ball and just understand of the game. We now are an NCAA tourney team that may even be able to win a game or two. Overall, I am just stoked at the turnaround and it makes basketball SO much more enjoyable.

-Johnson was really great for them tonight and if he continues to play like that, Duke is going to get hot.

-I thought there zone almost looked like a 3-2 or a 3-1-1. It really bothered us for over 10 minutes once they continued to push us out further. And, the ball got sticky in X's hands on a bunch of possessions during that time.

-In to BC, who is much more talented than their record. Let's get another W.

 

[Parkview57]

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

Well, I hate to tell you, you are wrong....I know, I know and yes i agree you are the GOAT of post game Pitt fandom post-game posts but hear me out, had Duke played man and not tried to force a different set of skills to be used by Champ, X and Au’Diese would have crushed them, and Champ would have finished them off, that 15 point lead would have been 22-24 in the second half and would have been to much to even make a run on.

Yes DT, it is a case of not seeing the forest for the trees, you see Pitt has quicker, tougher and in Champ's case better players than DUKE, and Coach K knows it so all he can do is fool around with zones etc.,....let that sink in for a day or two...... unbelievable

 

[Saboteur II]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

Enjoy the ride.
I think we all have a better appreciation of the state of being a “player” again. It’s about the journey.
Jaron Brown was the hardest working, smartest and most enjoyable player I have had the pleasure to watch.
H2P

 

[Mike83]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

“Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011...” - gave me chills when I read that.

 

[levance2]

@Sean Miller Fan exaggerated when he said the ACC was bad, but he was right that there are a lot of similar teams stuck in the middle. Pomeroy has Duke as still the 3rd best team in the conference, and we managed to lead for the majority of that game. If nothing else, it proves we *should* be competitive against almost anyone else in the conference.

Maybe I'm adding 2+2 and getting 5, but it seems to me that our coaching staff has taken advantage of the schedule breaks and really gotten the team focused. One could argue our last 3 games are all some of the best all-around games we've seen in the Capel era. Every team has fluke upsets every once in a while, but consistently winning as a small underdog is hard to do.

#BEATBC

 

[Sam Bam Clancy]

Justin probably played one of the best all-around games in Pitt basketball history, great shooting percentage (he did not force a shot that I recall) 3 pointers, mid range, drives, all those rebounds. He also made some good passes that AKC did not convert.

And, his defense, especially the blocks and boards at the end of the game were HUGE! With AKC out, Capel put Justin on Jalen Johnson and other bigs down the stretch rather than playing Brown or Collier. He defended well at the basket. Justin playing effective defense against Duke's big men (rather than forced to play Brown or Collier) helped the offensive end to stay spread out and helped Johnson to penetrate. With 5 blocks and his 12 defensive rebounds, his defense was an important part of this win.

Capel only played 8 last night, and it paid off as all 8 did their part in some way to bring an important program win.

 

[Upg bobcat]

Well, I hate to tell you, you are wrong....I know, I know and yes i agree you are the GOAT of post game Pitt fandom post-game posts but hear me out, had Duke played man and not tried to force a different set of skills to be used by Champ, X and Au’Diese would have crushed them, and Champ would have finished them off, that 15 point lead would have been 22-24 in the second half and would have been to much to even make a run on.

Yes DT, it is a case of not seeing the forest for the trees, you see Pitt has quicker, tougher and in Champ's case better players than DUKE, and Coach K knows it so all he can do is fool around with zones etc.,....let that sink in for a day or two...... unbelievable

I'm not so sure Champ shoots 12 of 15 from the field if there is a man on him (didn't miss a shot from inside the 3 point line, right?). I have to imagine that we will start seeing more man to man after what we have done to zones the past two games, so we will find out.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

each Of the i guys that played, played well

 

[upj87]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans. Prudent and obviously based on the pandemic. Otherwise we would be booking flights this morning..

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

As pleased as I am with last night's game, and although I think we are a good team, I am not yet convinced this is an NCAA tourney team.

Why? We played a young subpar (by previous seasons' standards) Duke team), our bigs (Brown and Coulibaly) won't be adequate against teams with quality experienced bigs. And, the ACC is down overall this season--more down as a league that last season which will make it only a 4-5 bid league, IMHO; and I am not yet convinced we will be in that group that group at season's end. But maybe so--I will wait a few more games to decide.


1 Virginia, 2. Fla St. 3./4. VA Tech/Louisville, 5/6/7/8, Clemson/Pitt/UNC/Duke/Pitt?

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I am all in once again. I am on the edge of my seat....err couch with every possession. There was a brief period not long ago (KS Era) where I’d watch and want us to win, but it really got to the point that the outcome didn’t matter. I wasn’t emotionally invested. It might not be good for my heart, but I’m very excited Pitt basketball is back. H2P!

 

[PittPoker]

As pleased as I am with last night's game, and although I think we are a good team, I am not yet convinced this is an NCAA tourney team.

Why? We played a young subpar (by previous seasons' standards) Duke team), our bigs (Brown and Coulibaly) won't be adequate against teams with quality experienced bigs. And, the ACC is down overall this season--more down as a league that last season which will make it only a 4-5 bid league, IMHO; and I am not yet convinced we will be in that group that group at season's end. But maybe so--I will wait a few more games to decide.


1 Virginia, 2. Fla St. 3./4. VA Tech/Louisville, 5/6/7/8, Clemson/Pitt/UNC/Duke/Pitt?

I don't know what you are talking about. We are definitely a tournament team and we have most likely the ACC Player of the Year on our squad.

 

[DT_PITT]

As pleased as I am with last night's game, and although I think we are a good team, I am not yet convinced this is an NCAA tourney team.

Why? We played a young subpar (by previous seasons' standards) Duke team), our bigs (Brown and Coulibaly) won't be adequate against teams with quality experienced bigs. And, the ACC is down overall this season--more down as a league that last season which will make it only a 4-5 bid league, IMHO; and I am not yet convinced we will be in that group that group at season's end. But maybe so--I will wait a few more games to decide.


1 Virginia, 2. Fla St. 3./4. VA Tech/Louisville, 5/6/7/8, Clemson/Pitt/UNC/Duke/Pitt?

Caution is wise!

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

This is really so much fun. I have watched MORE college BB this year than the past few years and no doubt part of the reason is we are relevant again. It was hard to watch over the past few years, knowing where we had been and where we are now.

I cannot believe Champagnie, how good he has become. He is unstoppable.

I love the defense we are playing, and I love our rebounding, and we are showing the toughness of the Pitt brand from the 2000's. But where this team is different, is they get a steal or rebound, they turn and burn. And with that you are going to have some TO's and bad decisions (Hi X, Hi Au'diese) but you are going to have to take the good with bad, and there is much more good with this attack the rim mentality.

Another thing that is enjoyable is we are again seeing player development. That seemingly was lost the last 6-7 years. Even last year, where X and Trey regressed. But everyone has progressed this year. Everyone. And seeing guys like Okudale and Jeffress and imagining how they will progress.

I have to give a shout out to Jalen Johnson. As much as I was hoping for him to foul out, he was a joy to watch, a superstar, a definite lottery pick. Duke is such a better program with him healthy. And we beat them.

It is likely the BC game will be postponed/cancelled. So we get UNC next Tuesday at home.

Pitt BB is again fun. Must see TV. The only downside.......is....COULD YOU IMAGINE THE PETE LAST NIGHT IF THERE WAS A CROWD? It would have been back to 2009 insanity and that was great for recruiting.

We are back. With the game being on ESPN, all of the national hoop media was watching.

One other thing, we lost to Louisville, without our two best players. I want them again, with this roster.

 

[mo cheeks]

this team is playing very unselfishly. that has been a big change from last year. they have learned to play as a team and really look like they enjoy it. I think this team is competitive enough to be solidly competitive in the middle range of the Ncaa team. We played a decent amount of small ball last night in crunch time. Justin was our center, femi at the point and X at the 2. that was interesting. Great day yesterday. Pens beat Washington, Pitt Beats Duke. Justin is amazing, as Coach Capel said.

 

[Straight Eye Larry]

As pleased as I am with last night's game, and although I think we are a good team, I am not yet convinced this is an NCAA tourney team.

Why? We played a young subpar (by previous seasons' standards) Duke team), our bigs (Brown and Coulibaly) won't be adequate against teams with quality experienced bigs. And, the ACC is down overall this season--more down as a league that last season which will make it only a 4-5 bid league, IMHO; and I am not yet convinced we will be in that group that group at season's end. But maybe so--I will wait a few more games to decide.


1 Virginia, 2. Fla St. 3./4. VA Tech/Louisville, 5/6/7/8, Clemson/Pitt/UNC/Duke/Pitt?

so we should be punished for being 4-1 in the ACC since it's a down year?

I get playing devil's advocate and trying to stir controversy, but the odds favorite for ACC player of the year is on our team and he's getting better every game. We also have the assists leader + the best defender. IDK what makes you think this isn't a tournament team. That's a pretty outrageous statement at this point.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

Yes indeed, we're back!

Champ was phenomenal. No doubt about that. He is one of the 2 or 3 best players in the ACC. But my favorite player, just because he reminds me so much of hard-nosed players on Howland/Dixon teams, is Au'Diese. I love watching him play as much as I loved watching Chevy, Lamar, and Jarron play.

The players on this team are capable of breaking the zones in a similar fashion to those coached by Dixon. It's as much to do with the scheme as it is the players and their innate basketball IQ's. The current group of Pitt players have high basketball IQ's, and that makes a difference.

This group also is becoming better at playing defense and, of course, the rebounding is right up there with the best of them with Champ and Toney on the team. We score points on offense, but we won't win many games if we can't play defense and rebound. And we are.

 

[H2P-2007]

I was surprised to see that Jeffress didn't log a minute. I wasn't expecting big minutes (maybe 3-5 minutes), but I didn't expect him to ride the pine either.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

Caution is wise!

Let’s not start sucking each other’s @&?$ quite yet. The Wolf

 

[pittzap]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

Great Dribbles again. They are becoming better and better to read as seasons progress and we start winning more games. What I really like is that we now seem to have a "veteran" team. We pushed Duke around in the first half, physically and mentally because we seemed to know how to play. I think we got sucked into making mistakes and trying to go too fast when we didn't need to in the second half; and yes, Jalen Johnson is REALLY good.

I noticed from the get-go that they appeared to be in more of a 3-2 zone instead of a 2-3. I actually texted one of my buddies that when the game started. They seemed to extend it out in the second half into almost a 1-2-2. I think we dribbled a bit too much in the second half instead of swinging the ball around and attacking the zone, which forced us to take some bad shots. You knew Johnson would step up in the second half and you knew Hurt wouldn't continue to miss so many shots.

I though Penny was better that I thought he would be last year. This year, the improvement is unbelievable, especially on offense and rebounding. He is one of the best players in the league. He can score in so many ways and for a team that gets a lot of shots blocked and doesn't always finish around the rim, he DOES. He is so good around the rim, which despite being a close shot, is not easy to do. I will also say that AD's improvement from last year has been great to watch as well.

This team plays hard, this team rebounds, this team can make games ugly, but they are finding ways to win. They are learning "how" to win. Stop me if you have heard this before. This sounds like an early 2000s Pitt team. We may finally start to see the separation from the Stallings era and getting back to one that looked like the Dixon/Howland era. We looked like men compared to Duke, since they are such a young team. But Duke, while young, does have some talent. This Pitt team is tough and they play hard. I'm looking forward (and hoping) that they continue to learn and get better and see how the rest of the season plays out. They can't sit back and celebrate this one too long.

 

[DT_PITT]

Let’s not start sucking each other’s @&?$ quite yet. The Wolf

Indeed.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Indeed.

They’re better than we all thought they’d be at this point in time , but they might not be as good as they appear to be right now . Saying that this is fun !

I actually enjoy watching a team come of age more than watching a team I always expect to win .

 

[DT_PITT]

Let’s not start sucking each other’s @&?$ quite yet. The Wolf

For what it's worth, I did a post last year when the team rose to 6-7 in the ACC that used that exact same quote.

There is something of a difference though. At no point last year did the team look anywhere near this competent.
There's plenty of basketball to be played. Let's hope it continues down the same road it is on now. I think it will.

But, I agree that it should never be the time to celebrate until it's indeed the time to celebrate.

But it's been so long to be able to feel this excited about things that I said "what the heck!"

 

[Pitt2006]

I was surprised to see that Jeffress didn't log a minute. I wasn't expecting big minutes (maybe 3-5 minutes), but I didn't expect him to ride the pine either.

I wonder if that had more to do with PITT doing a good job of not getting into early foul trouble in the first half. If JC, XJ, or AT had 2 quick first half fouls, he likely would have been in the game.

 

[DT_PITT]

Well, I hate to tell you, you are wrong....I know, I know and yes i agree you are the GOAT of post game Pitt fandom post-game posts but hear me out, had Duke played man and not tried to force a different set of skills to be used by Champ, X and Au’Diese would have crushed them, and Champ would have finished them off, that 15 point lead would have been 22-24 in the second half and would have been to much to even make a run on.

Yes DT, it is a case of not seeing the forest for the trees, you see Pitt has quicker, tougher and in Champ's case better players than DUKE, and Coach K knows it so all he can do is fool around with zones etc.,....let that sink in for a day or two...... unbelievable

I guess we can never know for sure if Coach K (or I) was right or wrong with what he didn't do. LOL

What we DO know is that coaches use to zones last year (and the year before) and it simply shut us down. And this year in the past two game against Zones, we have had THE best offensive execution we have seen in Capel's three years here.

 

[Protes]

** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.

** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.

** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!

** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.

** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.

** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.

** @NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!

** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!

** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!

** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.

** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.

** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.

** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.

** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.

** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.

** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.

** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.

** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.

** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.

** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.

** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.

** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?

** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.

** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.

** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.

** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.

** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.

** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.

** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.

** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.

** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.

** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.

** Side question -- @Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.

** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being @17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.

** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!

** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!

** One more time -- We’re BACK!

I'm so glad we are back to being competitive, also. Even if we had lost a close one last night it felt great being able to go tot-to-toe with Duke given where we were a short time ago. HCJC really deserves credit because he has answered the criticism that he was just rolling the ball out there and guys weren't improving. I'm not quite sure what the difference has been or when the switch went off or whatever, but this is just a different team than the past couple of seasons. It's also quieted the "Trey was a big loss" noise. Sometimes addition by subtraction does work and yields a better mix. The only thing about Champ is, he has been so good it's now to the point where we have to worry how much longer we will have him. But first things first: let's get to the Big Dance. Gotta be happy with where we are - no doubt - but there is still a ways to go and this league is still a grind. The BC game, on the road after a big win, feels like a trap game. Hopefully, we will be ready.

 

[thirteenNINE]

As pleased as I am with last night's game, and although I think we are a good team, I am not yet convinced this is an NCAA tourney team.

Why? We played a young subpar (by previous seasons' standards) Duke team), our bigs (Brown and Coulibaly) won't be adequate against teams with quality experienced bigs. And, the ACC is down overall this season--more down as a league that last season which will make it only a 4-5 bid league, IMHO; and I am not yet convinced we will be in that group that group at season's end. But maybe so--I will wait a few more games to decide.


1 Virginia, 2. Fla St. 3./4. VA Tech/Louisville, 5/6/7/8, Clemson/Pitt/UNC/Duke/Pitt?

We keep saying that our center rotation isn't adequate but it's really time to accept the fact that it is, even without Hugley. It certainly isn't the prettiest looking rotation but it's very effective, in fact we dominated that position so thoroughly last night that Duke gave up playing a center in the second half altogether.

Coulibaly/Brown - 10 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers, 54.3% TS%

Brakefield/Tape/Williams - 0 points, 5 boards, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers

Obviously you're not going to take Coulibaly and Brown over Jay Huff, Day'Ron Sharpe, or Manny Bates but they've proven that they aren't overmatched against the rest of the conference because, as you've seen on our schedule, most ACC teams don't have one traditional big at all.

 

[DT_PITT]

I'm so glad we are back to being competitive, also. Even if we had lost a close one last night it felt great being able to go tot-to-toe with Duke given where we were a short time ago. HCJC really deserves credit because he has answered the criticism that he was just rolling the ball out there and guys weren't improving. I'm not quite sure what the difference has been or when the switch went off or whatever, but this is just a different team than the past couple of seasons. It's also quieted the "Trey was a big loss" noise. Sometimes addition by subtraction does work and yields a better mix. The only thing about Champ is, he has been so good it's now to the point where we have to worry how much longer we will have him. But first things first: let's get to the Big Dance. Gotta be happy with where we are - no doubt - but there is still a ways to go and this league is still a grind. The BC game, on the road after a big win, feels like a trap game. Hopefully, we will be ready.

I guess I should say that I was somewhat in the "Trey was a big loss" crowd. But it's hard to contest the notion of addition by subtraction, at least to some extent.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

I guess I should say that I was somewhat in the "Trey was a big loss" crowd. But it's hard to contest the notion of addition by subtraction, at least to some extent.

I was going to make a separate post stating just what you said, but didn’t want it to turn into a bashing Trey thing. He’s a decent player that just didn’t fit here. His attitude was iffy at times and was too one dimensional on offense. His on ball defense was solid and he could beat his man going to his right, but that was basically it. I hope he does well at Neb.

 

[DT_PITT]

I was going to make a separate post stating just what you said, but didn’t want it to turn into a bashing Trey thing. He’s a decent player that just didn’t fit here. His attitude was iffy at times and was too one dimensional on offense. His on ball defense was solid and he could beat his man going to his right, but that was basically it. I hope he does well at Neb.

Agree, good way to state it. Just not a good fit here.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Indeed.

I remember being really positive after Pitt beat ND is 2016 under KS . They played a great game and beat a good ND team in a shootout ....but we all know where it went from there .

The trend is your friend and the trend of Pitt bb is heading in right direction ! Finally !

 

[Straight Eye Larry]

I think the problem with some is that they didn't expect a turnaround so quickly. I've been beating the drum that hoops doesn't/shouldn't take 4+ years to rebuild. It can be done with 2 or 3 recruiting classes. I understand the idea of being cautious, but at the same time I was expecting a leap this year. There's no reason we shouldn't be competing. There's nothing you can point to with our wins or this roster and consider it an outlier. This team is simply good and that's it. Just because some have lower expectations, doesn't mean anything less than a tournament birth would be extremely disappointing.

We came into this season knowing we'd have one of the best PG's, a really good shooter, a very solid defender, and a high motor 4 that showed a lot of promise in his Freshman year. I thought with that makeup + the Nike addition + the Freshman would be able to compete for a tournament birth.

Now you have all of that + the best player in the conference. It's awesome what JC is doing, but if we miss the tournament with this team that'd be a massive disappointment.