Last night reminded me of youth spots leagues. Where you have the birth certificate for every kid on the roster, and the tournaments are 11, 12, etc. Every once in a while you would get a kid that looked like he didn't belong. Sometimes there would be a protest, or a challenge to provide a birth certificate. I remember playing in a fall ball league against Neil Walker. He was about two years older than me but it was a three year span for the league. Our fastest player took off to steal second in the first inning, and Walker threw him out from his knees. That basically set the tone.
Not sure what to even say about last night. This was another one where the game was decided when Duke got on the bus. They are the most talented team in the league, by a wide margin. Pitt should not have been blown out by any other team in the league, in my opinion. Miami, Notre Dame, Wake, all are in a second tier behind Duke to me. You could have had a bench with John Wooden, Phil Jackson, Pop, etc. last night, and it doesn't matter. That Duke team has two absolute freak shows. Banchero and Keels literally could have done whatever they wanted to. Both of those kids are playing a different sport. As good as Mo has been, Banchero is the first guy to make him look like he was still at Stony Brook. Banchero is a lottery pick at a minimum, and Keels is a first round prospect. You see the gap.
Last night was ugly, but the rest of the season has been the problem. This league is down in such a big way, and this is year 4. Not even competitive. I know that last night was emotional and that there is a strong relationship and all of that, but last night didn't even feel like a game. Just felt like hosting a party for Duke last night. Maybe I am being too harsh, but there wasn't even a minute where it felt like Pitt was competitive. Six turnovers, and I think a couple of those came late with the walk-ons in. At least one of them. Just an absolute clinic.
I felt like the only spot Pitt was even competitive was at the five. It took them 20 minutes to realize John wasn't being doubled. So many times John is MIA for the first half, and then he goes off after the game is well out of reach.
Only six free throw attempts from Pitt, and that was a symbol of the talent gap to me. I remember hearing from a scout that one metric to use when evaluating prospects is fouls. Often times, a sign of dominance and athletic superiority is the ability to avoid fouling. That is a skill and a trait. In other words, a kid like Banchero is so athletic and gifted that he can basically go through the motions and not foul. He can wait until the last second or recover from a lapse and block a shot clean.
Years ago, last night would have been one of the biggest events of the year for the city. People standing on the concourse. Tickets would have been thousands of dollars. I don't know if any of those Pitt teams would have beaten that Duke team last night. But I know they would have shown up and fought.
Not sure what to even say about last night. This was another one where the game was decided when Duke got on the bus. They are the most talented team in the league, by a wide margin. Pitt should not have been blown out by any other team in the league, in my opinion. Miami, Notre Dame, Wake, all are in a second tier behind Duke to me. You could have had a bench with John Wooden, Phil Jackson, Pop, etc. last night, and it doesn't matter. That Duke team has two absolute freak shows. Banchero and Keels literally could have done whatever they wanted to. Both of those kids are playing a different sport. As good as Mo has been, Banchero is the first guy to make him look like he was still at Stony Brook. Banchero is a lottery pick at a minimum, and Keels is a first round prospect. You see the gap.
Last night was ugly, but the rest of the season has been the problem. This league is down in such a big way, and this is year 4. Not even competitive. I know that last night was emotional and that there is a strong relationship and all of that, but last night didn't even feel like a game. Just felt like hosting a party for Duke last night. Maybe I am being too harsh, but there wasn't even a minute where it felt like Pitt was competitive. Six turnovers, and I think a couple of those came late with the walk-ons in. At least one of them. Just an absolute clinic.
I felt like the only spot Pitt was even competitive was at the five. It took them 20 minutes to realize John wasn't being doubled. So many times John is MIA for the first half, and then he goes off after the game is well out of reach.
Only six free throw attempts from Pitt, and that was a symbol of the talent gap to me. I remember hearing from a scout that one metric to use when evaluating prospects is fouls. Often times, a sign of dominance and athletic superiority is the ability to avoid fouling. That is a skill and a trait. In other words, a kid like Banchero is so athletic and gifted that he can basically go through the motions and not foul. He can wait until the last second or recover from a lapse and block a shot clean.
Years ago, last night would have been one of the biggest events of the year for the city. People standing on the concourse. Tickets would have been thousands of dollars. I don't know if any of those Pitt teams would have beaten that Duke team last night. But I know they would have shown up and fought.
