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FDU Game & Other Dribbles ...

DT_PITT

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** When this game started with John Hugley taking two three point shots in the first two minutes, and FDU taking an early two point lead, I worried to myself that this was going to be one of “those games.”

** The Panthers have had too many of “those games” of late. And as our much larger Panthers continued to launch three point shots throughout the first half, I even worried that this was going to be worse than one of those games.

** After all, the Panthers shot a way-too-many 16 threes in the first half and went ice cold after an early barrage. It had the feeling of the game that was going to have a one or two possession difference even into the final minutes.

** But alas, in the second half, the Panthers figured out the basic tenet of basketball which is if you are much bigger and stronger than the other team, your comparative advantage is shoot the ball closer to the basket. Cool idea, right?

** This basic plan allowed the Panthers to demonstrate what might have been their best overall half of basketball this season in the second 20 minutes.

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive, I should also remark that I also believe this was not a terrible FDU Basketball team either. Or at least a better team than their #349 Pomeroy ranking would indicate. They had some quickness and some shooters and ran some nice stuff at times.

** But as the game went on, FDU seemed to stop running their stuff. Either the Panthers started making it tougher or they just started to wear down. Maybe some of both.

** And the Knights certainly had absolutely no way to stop the Panthers when we got the ball in the paint.

** What we just can’t really yet know just yet however is whether this performance indicates any real progress and or promise for our Panthers. One good half against an NEC team isn’t really enough to hang your hat on.

** We probably won’t know anymore from our contest against William and Mary either, unless that one becomes a serious struggle.

** One thing we may be learning however is the impact Twin Jorge seems to have on this team. He played his best overall game of the year on both ends of the court. More importantly, the team seems to perform better with him on the court.

** I don’t know if all of the advanced analytics back up this gut feel. Nor can we know just yet how Jorge or his brother will fair against stronger and taller foes. But at least it appears the Coach Capel is finding something he thinks he can build upon.

** To that end, it would also appear that he’s stripping things down a bit, sticking to what looks like his seven best for tonight, and figuring how Fede, Nate and GDiaz might fit later.

** I should also say that it was at least good hear Coach Capel sound a little more encouraged in his post game interview than he has recently. In fact, it felt as if he almost sounded relieved, perhaps with the knowledge that maybe something is indeed coming together for his group.

** Nonetheless, what the second half performance did for this fan is get me truly interested again wondering how good this team can be. Not much of what we saw in our previous four contests spurred this kind of curiosity.

** ESPN’s matchup predictor for Monday against Northwestern gives us about a 25% chance to come away victorious. If it’s a really good game, that’s a good sign. But if it’s one of “those games” … well …

** Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Pitt Hoops fans!
 
Happy Thanksgiving DT to you and your family.

At this point, not trying to sound like a fatalist but a realist, especially considering what has happened OOC to other ACC teams.

I'll take the win. Style points or not. I will take the win.
 
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As Tim Booth would say,

”Get a little wiser,
get as little humble,
Now we know that we don’t know”

I hope only for the best for this team (not knowing what to expect) and hope Jeff is our coach for a long time meaning the team is successful!

Happy Thanksgiving to all and thanks DT for sharing all the time, for sharing is caring. And we do car!

Hail to PITT!
-al-
 
Happy Thanksgiving DT.
And thanks to all the board for keeping me entertained.
 
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** When this game started with John Hugley taking two three point shots in the first two minutes, and FDU taking an early two point lead, I worried to myself that this was going to be one of “those games.”

** The Panthers have had too many of “those games” of late. And as our much larger Panthers continued to launch three point shots throughout the first half, I even worried that this was going to be worse than one of those games.

** After all, the Panthers shot a way-too-many 16 threes in the first half and went ice cold after an early barrage. It had the feeling of the game that was going to be a one or two possession game even into the final minutes.

** But alas, in the second half, the Panthers figured out the basic tenet of basketball that if you are much bigger and stronger than the other team, your comparative advantage is shoot the ball closer to the basket. Cool idea, right?

** This basic plan allowed the Panthers to demonstrate what might have been their best overall half of basketball this season in the second 20 minutes.

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive, I should also remark that I also believe this was not a terrible FDU Basketball team either. Or at least a better team than their #349 Pomeroy ranking would indicate. They had some quickness and some shooters and ran some nice stuff at times.

** But as the game went on, FDU seemed to stop running their stuff. Either the Panthers started making it tougher or they just started to wear down. Maybe some of both.

** And the Knights certainly had absolutely no way to stop the Panthers when we got the ball in the paint.

** What we just can’t really yet know just yet however is whether this performance indicates any real progress and or promise for our Panthers. One good half against an NEC team isn’t really enough to hang your hat on.

** We probably won’t know anymore from our contest against William and Mary either, unless that one becomes a serious struggle.

** One thing we may be learning however is the impact Twin Jorge seems to have on this team. He played his best overall game of the year on both ends of the court. More importantly, the team seems to perform better with him on the court.

** I don’t know if all of the advanced analytics back up this gut feel. Nor can we know just yet how Jorge or his brother will fair against stronger and taller foes. But at least it appears the Coach Capel is finding something he thinks he can build upon.

** To that end, it would also appear that he’s stripping things down a bit, sticking to what looks like his seven best for tonight, and figuring how Fede, Nate and GDiaz might fit later.

** I should also say that it was at least good hear Coach Capel sound a little more encouraged in his post game interview than he has recently. In fact, it felt as if he almost sounded relieved, perhaps with the knowledge that maybe something is indeed coming together for his group.

** Nonetheless, what the second half performance did for this fan is get me truly interested again wondering how good this team can be. Not much of what we saw in our previous four contests spurred this kind of curiosity.

** ESPN’s matchup predictor for Monday against Northwestern gives us about a 25% chance to come away victorious. If it’s a really good game, that’s a good sign. But if it’s one of “those games” … well …

** Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Pitt Hoops fans!
Happy Thanksgiving DT.
And thanks to all the board for keeping me entertained.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family
 
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It’s funny how the early talk about this team was the experienced guards that this team had , but as Hugley gets back into the swing of things the front court is the strength of this team , Hinson is a much better player than I expected and after watching the twins at that practice I attended I’ve been excited to see them included in the rotation . As their strength and quickness improves I believe they will be one of the keys to this season and beyond for the Panthers . You just can’t teach length and when it comes with a shooting range they have it’s a dimension Pitt has never had . Jorge also seems to be a player whose in the right spots a lot . Now Pitt needs Nelly to play better or Dior to be reinstated.

I don’t care who the coach is attendance will only improve when Pitt becomes highly competitive in the ACC . If they move on from JC after this season anyone other than a huge name won’t move the needle much . Pitt has lost its fan base and winning is the only cure .

I hope ( even the negative posters ) have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
 
Last edited:
** When this game started with John Hugley taking two three point shots in the first two minutes, and FDU taking an early two point lead, I worried to myself that this was going to be one of “those games.”

** The Panthers have had too many of “those games” of late. And as our much larger Panthers continued to launch three point shots throughout the first half, I even worried that this was going to be worse than one of those games.

** After all, the Panthers shot a way-too-many 16 threes in the first half and went ice cold after an early barrage. It had the feeling of the game that was going to have a one or two possession difference even into the final minutes.

** But alas, in the second half, the Panthers figured out the basic tenet of basketball which is if you are much bigger and stronger than the other team, your comparative advantage is shoot the ball closer to the basket. Cool idea, right?

** This basic plan allowed the Panthers to demonstrate what might have been their best overall half of basketball this season in the second 20 minutes.

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive, I should also remark that I also believe this was not a terrible FDU Basketball team either. Or at least a better team than their #349 Pomeroy ranking would indicate. They had some quickness and some shooters and ran some nice stuff at times.

** But as the game went on, FDU seemed to stop running their stuff. Either the Panthers started making it tougher or they just started to wear down. Maybe some of both.

** And the Knights certainly had absolutely no way to stop the Panthers when we got the ball in the paint.

** What we just can’t really yet know just yet however is whether this performance indicates any real progress and or promise for our Panthers. One good half against an NEC team isn’t really enough to hang your hat on.

** We probably won’t know anymore from our contest against William and Mary either, unless that one becomes a serious struggle.

** One thing we may be learning however is the impact Twin Jorge seems to have on this team. He played his best overall game of the year on both ends of the court. More importantly, the team seems to perform better with him on the court.

** I don’t know if all of the advanced analytics back up this gut feel. Nor can we know just yet how Jorge or his brother will fair against stronger and taller foes. But at least it appears the Coach Capel is finding something he thinks he can build upon.

** To that end, it would also appear that he’s stripping things down a bit, sticking to what looks like his seven best for tonight, and figuring how Fede, Nate and GDiaz might fit later.

** I should also say that it was at least good hear Coach Capel sound a little more encouraged in his post game interview than he has recently. In fact, it felt as if he almost sounded relieved, perhaps with the knowledge that maybe something is indeed coming together for his group.

** Nonetheless, what the second half performance did for this fan is get me truly interested again wondering how good this team can be. Not much of what we saw in our previous four contests spurred this kind of curiosity.

** ESPN’s matchup predictor for Monday against Northwestern gives us about a 25% chance to come away victorious. If it’s a really good game, that’s a good sign. But if it’s one of “those games” … well …

** Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Pitt Hoops fans!
Thanks again for the dribbles. I was very encouraged from what I saw. A personal commitment meant I watched the first half until the score was 23-20 and then the entire 2nd half. So my perspective made Pitt's performance seem even better than yours. I plan to watch a rerun later today to see what I make of the first half being less good.

Overall from my incomplete perspective I was very pleased that they looked more like a team rether than a group of individuals playing in the park,
 
It’s funny how the early talk about this team was the experienced guards that this team had , but as Hugley gets back into the swing of things the front court is the strength of this team , Hinson is a much better player than I expected and after watching the twins at that practice I attended I’ve been excited to see them included in the rotation . As their strength and quickness improves I believe they will be one of the keys to this season and beyond for the Panthers . You just can’t teach length and when it comes with a shooting range they have it’s a dimension Pitt has never had . Jorge also seems to be a player whose in the right spots a lot . Now Pitt needs Nelly to play better or Dior to be reinstated.

I don’t care who the coach is attendance will only improve when Pitt becomes highly competitive in the ACC . If they move on from JC after this season anyone other than a huge name won’t move the needle much . Pitt has lost its fan base and winning is the only cure .

I hope ( even the negative poster ) have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

This team can be decent if:

- Hugley gets healthy and improves on his game from last year

- Hinson is consistently solid

- Elliot hits shots

- Nelly plays ok

- Defense can at least be average

The ACC is bad enough that if those things happen, we are middle of the pack.
 
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DT, Great post as usual.
Wishing a very Happy
Thanksgiving to all our
posters.
I was happy to see that
perhaps Sibande is
rounding back into form.
The guard play is crucial
to this team. Nelly's
"ceiling" is a lot lower
than what I expected,
but he is not a true pg
as we all know. The
second half gave me a
little more hope for this
crew. Although not
perfect, it at least showed
we're capable of running
an offense, not chucking
up threes, and actually
working it inside. I would
like to see Hinson and
Hugley muscling more
in the interior IMO, they
have the bulk, strength,
and skill to be even more
effective than what they're
showing us.
 
Loved Jorge's help D. How he cut the court in half. Greatly improved.
If he could add some lower body strength for better short area quickness Capel may have something there
 
** When this game started with John Hugley taking two three point shots in the first two minutes, and FDU taking an early two point lead, I worried to myself that this was going to be one of “those games.”

** The Panthers have had too many of “those games” of late. And as our much larger Panthers continued to launch three point shots throughout the first half, I even worried that this was going to be worse than one of those games.

** After all, the Panthers shot a way-too-many 16 threes in the first half and went ice cold after an early barrage. It had the feeling of the game that was going to have a one or two possession difference even into the final minutes.

** But alas, in the second half, the Panthers figured out the basic tenet of basketball which is if you are much bigger and stronger than the other team, your comparative advantage is shoot the ball closer to the basket. Cool idea, right?

** This basic plan allowed the Panthers to demonstrate what might have been their best overall half of basketball this season in the second 20 minutes.

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive, I should also remark that I also believe this was not a terrible FDU Basketball team either. Or at least a better team than their #349 Pomeroy ranking would indicate. They had some quickness and some shooters and ran some nice stuff at times.

** But as the game went on, FDU seemed to stop running their stuff. Either the Panthers started making it tougher or they just started to wear down. Maybe some of both.

** And the Knights certainly had absolutely no way to stop the Panthers when we got the ball in the paint.

** What we just can’t really yet know just yet however is whether this performance indicates any real progress and or promise for our Panthers. One good half against an NEC team isn’t really enough to hang your hat on.

** We probably won’t know anymore from our contest against William and Mary either, unless that one becomes a serious struggle.

** One thing we may be learning however is the impact Twin Jorge seems to have on this team. He played his best overall game of the year on both ends of the court. More importantly, the team seems to perform better with him on the court.

** I don’t know if all of the advanced analytics back up this gut feel. Nor can we know just yet how Jorge or his brother will fair against stronger and taller foes. But at least it appears the Coach Capel is finding something he thinks he can build upon.

** To that end, it would also appear that he’s stripping things down a bit, sticking to what looks like his seven best for tonight, and figuring how Fede, Nate and GDiaz might fit later.

** I should also say that it was at least good hear Coach Capel sound a little more encouraged in his post game interview than he has recently. In fact, it felt as if he almost sounded relieved, perhaps with the knowledge that maybe something is indeed coming together for his group.

** Nonetheless, what the second half performance did for this fan is get me truly interested again wondering how good this team can be. Not much of what we saw in our previous four contests spurred this kind of curiosity.

** ESPN’s matchup predictor for Monday against Northwestern gives us about a 25% chance to come away victorious. If it’s a really good game, that’s a good sign. But if it’s one of “those games” … well …

** Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Pitt Hoops fans!
An observation. I've been wondering if the NCAA has outlawed posting a player up on the low post? You would think a player of Hugley's size and strength would post up once in a while. If teams drop 2 players down on him Pitt seems to have some answers for that this year.
 
There should have been one game plan that we stuck to from the beginning . Running sets and learning to work together to get the ball down low. A win is a win. But a lost opportunity to work on offensive execution in the first half.
 
An observation. I've been wondering if the NCAA has outlawed posting a player up on the low post? You would think a player of Hugley's size and strength would post up once in a while. If teams drop 2 players down on him Pitt seems to have some answers for that this year.
Exactly my point. We should have been working on that and tying hugley go to work or learn to kick and reverse for open shots the whole game. I would also like to see Hinson setting more screens and also posting up more. He will have the strength advantage. We just can’t beat good teams jacking up 3’s.
 
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Since there probably won’t be many, securing the win is important. This team needs to learn how to win together to do anything this season. But as the games go on, having a coherent game plan to go to (IE inside out w Hugley) will be needed and it would be nice if these games were a foregone conclusion and we could just be tweaking things for the important ones. Beggars can’t be choosers I guess.

Thank god for Blake Hinson, our clear best player. He should be the focal point of the offense.
 
Since there probably won’t be many, securing the win is important. This team needs to learn how to win together to do anything this season. But as the games go on, having a coherent game plan to go to (IE inside out w Hugley) will be needed and it would be nice if these games were a foregone conclusion and we could just be tweaking things for the important ones. Beggars can’t be choosers I guess.

Thank god for Blake Hinson, our clear best player. He should be the focal point of the offense.
I have coached over 500 AAU games. There were many games where we were close and then our athletic ability took over. We didn’t play more skilled. Our offensive sets didn’t change. We pressed more and used our speed and sIze better. Them broke the game open.

We didn’t play great the second half last night. I am no more optimistic. They got tired like DT said. How many times did we break their press for a Jorge dunk. How many times on defense did they not rotate quick enough or get in rebounding position well enough? They were tired and we were just bigger and more athletic. We didn’t necessarily run a better offense or tighten up our defense more than in the first half. Meaning we didn’t play the actual game of basketball that much more skillfully than the first half agqinst FD.

A win is a win. Jorge looked good but at his height he better against their size. I still can’t point to any improvements in any area yet. Basically a Capel coached team. We will struggle to win games against any P5 te this year. And in year 5 for Capel that is very sad.
 
An observation. I've been wondering if the NCAA has outlawed posting a player up on the low post? You would think a player of Hugley's size and strength would post up once in a while. If teams drop 2 players down on him Pitt seems to have some answers for that this year.

For the first 16 minutes of this game, you would have thought so. Big John got his first post look around then and an easy basket. He got 2 other nice ones in the second half too. Refs didn't call anything. Hmmm ...
 
For the first 16 minutes of this game, you would have thought so. Big John got his first post look around then and an easy basket. He got 2 other nice ones in the second half too. Refs didn't call anything. Hmmm ...
Should have gone to the post the first 5 possessions.
 
I have coached over 500 AAU games. There were many games where we were close and then our athletic ability took over. We didn’t play more skilled. Our offensive sets didn’t change. We pressed more and used our speed and sIze better. Them broke the game open.

We didn’t play great the second half last night. I am no more optimistic. They got tired like DT said. How many times did we break their press for a Jorge dunk. How many times on defense did they not rotate quick enough or get in rebounding position well enough? They were tired and we were just bigger and more athletic. We didn’t necessarily run a better offense or tighten up our defense more than in the first half. Meaning we didn’t play the actual game of basketball that much more skillfully than the first half agqinst FD.

A win is a win. Jorge looked good but at his height he better against their size. I still can’t point to any improvements in any area yet. Basically a Capel coached team. We will struggle to win games against any P5 te this year. And in year 5 for Capel that is very sad.
Keep in mind that I did say:

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive ...

I think we should know by now that we are never going to be impressed with execution from a Capel team. And I will also say that the look of the second half is inflated a bit by the stink of the first half. The second half had it's share of issues as well. But we certainly improved shot selection though.

Nonetheless, nothing in this particular game gave me any confidence that win can win any more than 5 ACC games. (We will win that many "just because.")

We will learn more on Monday.
 
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** When this game started with John Hugley taking two three point shots in the first two minutes, and FDU taking an early two point lead, I worried to myself that this was going to be one of “those games.”

** The Panthers have had too many of “those games” of late. And as our much larger Panthers continued to launch three point shots throughout the first half, I even worried that this was going to be worse than one of those games.

** After all, the Panthers shot a way-too-many 16 threes in the first half and went ice cold after an early barrage. It had the feeling of the game that was going to have a one or two possession difference even into the final minutes.

** But alas, in the second half, the Panthers figured out the basic tenet of basketball which is if you are much bigger and stronger than the other team, your comparative advantage is shoot the ball closer to the basket. Cool idea, right?

** This basic plan allowed the Panthers to demonstrate what might have been their best overall half of basketball this season in the second 20 minutes.

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive, I should also remark that I also believe this was not a terrible FDU Basketball team either. Or at least a better team than their #349 Pomeroy ranking would indicate. They had some quickness and some shooters and ran some nice stuff at times.

** But as the game went on, FDU seemed to stop running their stuff. Either the Panthers started making it tougher or they just started to wear down. Maybe some of both.

** And the Knights certainly had absolutely no way to stop the Panthers when we got the ball in the paint.

** What we just can’t really yet know just yet however is whether this performance indicates any real progress and or promise for our Panthers. One good half against an NEC team isn’t really enough to hang your hat on.

** We probably won’t know anymore from our contest against William and Mary either, unless that one becomes a serious struggle.

** One thing we may be learning however is the impact Twin Jorge seems to have on this team. He played his best overall game of the year on both ends of the court. More importantly, the team seems to perform better with him on the court.

** I don’t know if all of the advanced analytics back up this gut feel. Nor can we know just yet how Jorge or his brother will fair against stronger and taller foes. But at least it appears the Coach Capel is finding something he thinks he can build upon.

** To that end, it would also appear that he’s stripping things down a bit, sticking to what looks like his seven best for tonight, and figuring how Fede, Nate and GDiaz might fit later.

** I should also say that it was at least good hear Coach Capel sound a little more encouraged in his post game interview than he has recently. In fact, it felt as if he almost sounded relieved, perhaps with the knowledge that maybe something is indeed coming together for his group.

** Nonetheless, what the second half performance did for this fan is get me truly interested again wondering how good this team can be. Not much of what we saw in our previous four contests spurred this kind of curiosity.

** ESPN’s matchup predictor for Monday against Northwestern gives us about a 25% chance to come away victorious. If it’s a really good game, that’s a good sign. But if it’s one of “those games” … well …

** Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Pitt Hoops fans!
Good summary, as always! We did have a pulse last night, but it was a purchased opponent. At least we have a full bench....it's a loooong season. Nice to think it might not be a disaster. Hope reigns!! Best to you and yours.
 
Good summary, as always! We did have a pulse last night, but it was a purchased opponent. At least we have a full bench....it's a loooong season. Nice to think it might not be a disaster. Hope reigns!! Best to you and yours.

My best to you and your also, most certainly including your (much) better half.
 
Keep in mind that I did say:

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive ...

I think we should know by now that we are never going to be impressed with execution from a Capel team. And I will also say that the look of the second half is inflated a bit by the stink of the first half. The second half had it's share of issues as well. But we certainly improved shot selection though.

Nonetheless, nothing in this particular game gave me any confidence that win can win any more than 5 ACC games. (We will win that many "just because.")

We will learn more on Monday.


Is the issue Capel, is the issue the guards / weak point guard play, or, it can certainly be both the past 5 years. We have not had anything close to "average" guard play since Capel has been here. Is Capel a much better Coach with much better guards? Maybe, but the guards are a disaster, again.



Look at these numbers through 6 games on offense. And yes, the sample size is still small.


ORTG offensive power rating

4 frontcourt players

Hugley-117
Hinson-115
Federicko-116
Jorge Diaz-107

All 4 above preseason expectations thus far.

1 guard finally checks in

Burton-106

Then wait for it,

Elliot- 98- which isnt terrible, but way below his 4 year career average in the Big East

Then the nosedive starts

Cummings-85
Sibande-76
Santos-75


Those bottom 3 are beyond terrible, and 2 are from 5th year seniors.



I stand by what I said that Dior Johnson, Lowe, and Carrington are better than are guards right now as freshmen next year. And I think the difference is considerable.

And its not just our guards on offense. They cant stop dribble penetration or close out shooters on defense either.
 
Keep in mind that I did say:

** While I wouldn’t necessarily deem the Panther second half performance as impressive ...

I think we should know by now that we are never going to be impressed with execution from a Capel team. And I will also say that the look of the second half is inflated a bit by the stink of the first half. The second half had it's share of issues as well. But we certainly improved shot selection though.

Nonetheless, nothing in this particular game gave me any confidence that win can win any more than 5 ACC games. (We will win that many "just because.")

We will learn more on Monday.
I was more reinforcing what you said. That was my intention.
 
Is the issue Capel, is the issue the guards / weak point guard play, or, it can certainly be both the past 5 years. We have not had anything close to "average" guard play since Capel has been here. Is Capel a much better Coach with much better guards? Maybe, but the guards are a disaster, again.



Look at these numbers through 6 games on offense. And yes, the sample size is still small.


ORTG offensive power rating

4 frontcourt players

Hugley-117
Hinson-115
Federicko-116
Jorge Diaz-107

All 4 above preseason expectations thus far.

1 guard finally checks in

Burton-106

Then wait for it,

Elliot- 98- which isnt terrible, but way below his 4 year career average in the Big East

Then the nosedive starts

Cummings-85
Sibande-76
Santos-75


Those bottom 3 are beyond terrible, and 2 are from 5th year seniors.



I stand by what I said that Dior Johnson, Lowe, and Carrington are better than are guards right now as freshmen next year. And I think the difference is considerable.

And its not just our guards on offense. They cant stop dribble penetration or close out shooters on defense either.
You classify Santos as a guard? I see him as strictly a forward---a tall "3."
 
That 2nd half was far
from perfect, but it was
a big improvement over
the 1st half. One thing we
did better was move the
ball and engage everyone,
while not only jacking up
threes. They're not great
obviously, but there is
balance and there is depth.
Cummings is trying to do
too much. It reminds me
of Capel's failed pg oriented
offense. 2nd half showed less
of this and more moving the
ball, and getting all five
involved by better passing.
I hope Capel builds on this,
and it wasn't a one time
occurrence.
 
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Elliot- 98- which isnt terrible, but way below his 4 year career average in the Big East


Elliot's issue is that if he isn't hitting threes he doesn't appear to do anything else at even an average level. He's not particularly a good passer. He turns the ball over a lot. He doesn't really draw many fouls (no surprise, given his game). He doesn't defend well at all. I guess he's an OK rebounder for a 2/3.

He has to hit threes to be effective at any level at all.
 
For the first 16 minutes of this game, you would have thought so. Big John got his first post look around then and an easy basket. He got 2 other nice ones in the second half too. Refs didn't call anything. Hmmm ...


Maybe the lesson to learn there is that if you are yapping every time you shoot the ball that you got fouled, to the point that one of the refs walks up to you and tells you to shut up, and then you spend the next possession or two bitching about not getting a call to the point where the ref gives you a technical, maybe next time try just shutting up and going about your game.

If you bitch to the refs about the calls so much and so often that you get both a warning and a technical you probably really shouldn't expect to get many calls.
 
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Maybe the lesson to learn there is that if you are yapping every time you shoot the ball that you got fouled, to the point that one of the refs walks up to you and tells you to shut up, and then you spend the next possession or two bitching about not getting a call to the point where the ref gives you a technical, maybe next time try just shutting up and going about your game.

If you bitch to the refs about the calls so much and so often that you get both a warning and a technical you probably really shouldn't expect to get many calls.

I'm not quite sure what you are responding to here. I believe @wbrpanther 's comment was sarcastic and I know my response was meant that way.

Having said this, both teams did plenty of yapping. There was a pretty neat moment though with Ted Valentine in the first half. FDU's player got called for traveling and the FDU coach FLIPPED out. Many refs would have T'd him for it. But Teddy just gave him an incredibly long and hard forceful stare. It was the kind of stare that made it clear without saying that the coach could not make another move or say another word. And he quickly cooled his jets, and move quietly reproached Teddy. Then they had a good conversation and both walked away with an good understanding. The situation was handled very well. Earlier in his career, Teddy would have T'd him twice. Teddy did a nice job communicating to players last night too. I know most don't like him because he's one of the few they know by name and they think he puts on a show. While that may true, I think he's excellent.

Doug Sirmons called 2 T's I believe. He's also highly regarded but he wasn't putting up with any crap last night.
 
Maybe the lesson to learn there is that if you are yapping every time you shoot the ball that you got fouled, to the point that one of the refs walks up to you and tells you to shut up, and then you spend the next possession or two bitching about not getting a call to the point where the ref gives you a technical, maybe next time try just shutting up and going about your game.

If you bitch to the refs about the calls so much and so often that you get both a warning and a technical you probably really shouldn't expect to get many calls.
He is spending too much time here, reading about how the refs are all biased against Pitt.
 
I'm not quite sure what you are responding to here. I believe @wbrpanther 's comment was sarcastic and I know my response was meant that way.


If you guys were being sarcastic then I missed it. My bad.

It just irritated me so much last night that right after the ref told him to stop yapping that literally on the next possession he was yapping again. He's got to be smarter than that.
 
Is the issue Capel, is the issue the guards / weak point guard play, or, it can certainly be both the past 5 years. We have not had anything close to "average" guard play since Capel has been here. Is Capel a much better Coach with much better guards? Maybe, but the guards are a disaster, again.



Look at these numbers through 6 games on offense. And yes, the sample size is still small.


ORTG offensive power rating

4 frontcourt players

Hugley-117
Hinson-115
Federicko-116
Jorge Diaz-107

All 4 above preseason expectations thus far.

1 guard finally checks in

Burton-106

Then wait for it,

Elliot- 98- which isnt terrible, but way below his 4 year career average in the Big East

Then the nosedive starts

Cummings-85
Sibande-76
Santos-75


Those bottom 3 are beyond terrible, and 2 are from 5th year seniors.



I stand by what I said that Dior Johnson, Lowe, and Carrington are better than are guards right now as freshmen next year. And I think the difference is considerable.

And its not just our guards on offense. They cant stop dribble penetration or close out shooters on defense either.
How can you constantly hype up recruits but once they’re on campus act like you didnt? You can’t have it both ways
 
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Thanks again for the dribbles. I was very encouraged from what I saw. A personal commitment meant I watched the first half until the score was 23-20 and then the entire 2nd half. So my perspective made Pitt's performance seem even better than yours. I plan to watch a rerun later today to see what I make of the first half being less good.

Overall from my incomplete perspective I was very pleased that they looked more like a team rether than a group of individuals playing in the park,
Watched the replay of the piece I missed of the 1st half and beginning of the 2nd. I see why I was more impressed than was probably warranted. However, it was good thing that they were able to adjust to going inside more in the 2nd half. It was also very good that they adjusted to beating the full court pressure much more effectively in the 2nd half, as well.

About Jorge D-G--- He is value added when he is on the wing as a forward with Hugley inside. Much less valuable when he has to sub for Hugley. His lack of weight and strength hurt him when playing the 5--but much less an issue when he is on the wing (just what one would expect). This makes me believe that it would be better if Federiko subs for Hugley and Jorge stays on the wing when Hugley is on the bench.
 
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Let's wait and see what Pitt does when they play a team with a pulse. We already saw the result against wvu and Michigan. Embarrassingly bad. I sure hope that doesn't continue when we play Northwestern and beyond. It just appears that we are grossly overmatched talent-wise and with coaching against most teams.
 
Let's wait and see what Pitt does when they play a team with a pulse. We already saw the result against wvu and Michigan. Embarrassingly bad. I sure hope that doesn't continue when we play Northwestern and beyond. It just appears that we are grossly overmatched talent-wise and with coaching against most teams.
By the way, Northwestern just lost to Auburn by the score of 43-42. That is basketball, not football. And they shot 25% from the filed, 8% from 3. Shapes up to be an exciting game.
 
By the way, Northwestern just lost to Auburn by the score of 43-42. That is basketball, not football. And they shot 25% from the filed, 8% from 3. Shapes up to be an exciting game.

Wow! Our game could be a yawner unless we somehow get hot shooting the ball.
 
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