Georgia Tech Game @ the Pete & Other Dribbles ...

[DT_PITT]

** This win against Georgia Tech should really only be summed up with one simple statement: “13-4.”

** We are well past the point in the season where we have to judge ourselves by the size of our wins. Instead, at this point we only need to count the number of them. So 13 ACC wins and 20 wins overall sound like pretty great numbers to me.

** And while I'm not going to try to convince anyone that we offered a high quality performance this night, I do feel the need to at least remind myself that vigorous Virginia just slipped by the Irish by a duce at home, while mighty Miami recently struggled with lousy Louisville at Coral Gables.

** Maybe the only thing I did find troubling was that this appeared to be the second straight game where the opponent seemed to get the better of the Panthers physically.

** Or at least this appeared to be Tech’s game plan. They continued to run stuff to get the Panthers in back to the basket matchups close to the paint. When the Panthers doubled, Tech found open men and they were knocking down the open shots, or basically willing their way under the bucket for dunks.

** So after Tech hit their first three shots of the second half to take a two point lead, Coach Capel called timeout.

** There were a number of PantherLair posters who wanted Capel to make second half adjustments for the struggling Panthers against Virginia Tech. I can’t say Capel made adjustments this time either, but he surely chewed out his Panthers on the bench. We could hear his voice from our seats.

** I’m sure Capel was making it quite clear that we were not matching Tech’s physicality. To be quite honest, they were simply taking it to the Panthers to that point.

** But the Panthers did rise from the bench with one new tactic, which was the employment of a three quarter court press. I believe the point of the press was mostly to cause Tech to take a little more time, while encouraging the Panthers to up their energy level. It took a little while, but I think the move eventually paid off.

** From the 12:18 mark of the second half to the 4:22 mark, the Panthers only surrendered one field goal and seven overall points. In that time, a four point deficit became a six point lead.

** We shouldn’t proclaim that the Panthers were exceptional during this stretch. Instead we can say that during this stretch our men were as focused on trying to play as exceptionally, not to mention physically, on defense as they are capable of doing.

** And that was good enough. Not great. But good enough.

** That pretty much sums up the Panthers offense as well. Not great, but good enough.

** Well … excepting a rough three minute stretch in the first half when he offered a pair of poor turnovers and a duo of missed triples, Nelly was pretty great.

** And while Nelly wasn’t that much better on defense than anyone else during the first three quarters of the game, Capel did recognize that Nelly was bringing the physicality on defense that was needed, especially on the defensive glass. Therefore, Jeff let Nelly play through his little turnover troubles and Cummings paid him off.

** I’m usually one who thinks fans complain a little too much about missed foul shots, but boy is it nice to hit 19 of 20 of them.

** At the top of that foul shot list was our friend Fede, and those of us who watched him at the line during the early season might have expected him to be a guy who might finish the year under 50% on free throws. After an incredible 8-8 night, he’s now sporting a 65% free throw clip. Just another remarkable area of growth for a player who has grown from the beginning of the season as much as any player I’ve seen in my years watching Pitt Hoops.

** We just need to ask him to be a little more careful with the fouls on the perimeter. Sure, he hedges wonderfully but we need him in the game.

** We also need Blake Hinson to simply stop with taking the ball to hoop on the fast break. That is, because as soon as he passed halfcourt in the break with 6 minutes to go in the game, I said out loud “Blake ...please be smart here and don’t charge!” He wasn’t and he did.

** But please also Blake, don’t stop shooting the three ... ever. You’ve changed my definition of a bad shot.

** Before signing off, I just wanted to acknowledge another fun night at the Pete that was packed with VIP’s like Chevy, Billy Knight and Tyler Boyd, who just made a big contribution to Pitt on their Day of Giving.

** But the biggest star was Damar Hamlin. It was a nice moment to recognize him, with most of the crowd standing and applauding him. Even referee Roger Ayers was clapping.

** I hope many more of you will join to applaud our 13-4 and 20-8 Panthers on Senior Day on Saturday. I expect my day will start at Fuel and Fuddle for any posters who want to join. But hopefully, the day will end with the Panthers being 14-4 in the ACC and 21-8 overall. The score won’t matter. These would be the only numbers than would.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

** But the Panthers did rise from the bench with one new tactic, which was the employment of a three quarter court press. I believe the point of the press was mostly to cause Tech to take a little more time, while encouraging the Panthers to up their energy level. It took a little while, but I think the move eventually paid off.

I agree, I thought the point of the press was mostly to get the energy level up. To me, it didn't really seem to work. I mean I guess maybe eventually. But to me that's something that if there really is a cause and effect going on it should happen pretty quickly. And tonight it did not.

** I’m usually one who thinks fans complain a little too much about missed foul shots, but boy is it nice to hit 19 of 20 of them.

That's the difference in the two wins over them. 17-20 versus 0-3 the first game, 19-20 versus 7-10 tonight. They made the same number of threes that we did, and they shot twos a lot better than we did, and made more of them than we did. But they couldn't make up for us making 12 more foul shots.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

** Well … excepting a rough three minute stretch in the first half when he offered a pair of poor turnovers and a duo of missed triples, Nelly was pretty great.

At one point late in the first half we had made 8 baskets. Cummings had made three of them and assisted on four of them. I was wondering if maybe we scored the 8th when he was not on the court, but the odd play out was a Jamarius Burton jumper right before Cummings subbed out at the under 12 timeout.

 

[DT_PITT]

I agree, I thought the point of the press was mostly to get the energy level up. To me, it didn't really seem to work. I mean I guess maybe eventually. But to me that's something that if there really is a cause and effect going on it should happen pretty quickly. And tonight it did not.

I did think the energy level when up a little after that time out, even though it took a few minutes for the results to follow. What I don't know if it was the press or Capel yelling at them that mattered most (or if either mattered at all). But the whole team really did seem to buckle down on defense after going down 49-45.

 

[PittMBA]

I did think the energy level when up a little after that time out, even though it took a few minutes for the results to follow. What I don't know if it was the press or Capel yelling at them that mattered most (or if either mattered at all). But the whole team really did seem to buckle down on defense after going down 49-45.

It also forced Ga Tech to use more clock and energy to get into their 1/2 court offense which forced them to get shots earlier in their sets.

Wasn’t dramatic- but it seemed to break their rhythm just enough and did force a couple of quick shots and a shot clock violation.

 

[PittPoker]

** This win against Georgia Tech should really only be summed up with one simple statement: “13-4.”

** We are well past the point in the season where we have to judge ourselves by the size of our wins. Instead, at this point we only need to count the number of them. So 13 ACC wins and 20 wins overall sound like pretty great numbers to me.

** And while I'm not going to try to convince anyone that we offered a high quality performance this night, I do feel the need to at least remind myself that vigorous Virginia just slipped by the Irish by a duce at home, while mighty Miami recently struggled with lousy Louisville at Coral Gables.

** Maybe the only thing I did find troubling was that this appeared to be the second straight game where the opponent seemed to get the better of the Panthers physically.

** Or at least this appeared to be Tech’s game plan. They continued to run stuff to get the Panthers in back to the basket matchups close to the paint. When the Panthers doubled, Tech found open men and they were knocking down the open shots, or basically willing their way under the bucket for dunks.

** So after Tech hit their first three shots of the second half to take a two point lead, Coach Capel called timeout.

** There were a number of PantherLair posters who wanted Capel to make second half adjustments for the struggling Panthers against Virginia Tech. I can’t say Capel made adjustments this time either, but he surely chewed out his Panthers on the bench. We could hear his voice from our seats.

** I’m sure Capel was making it quite clear that we were not matching Tech’s physicality. To be quite honest, they were simply taking it to the Panthers to that point.

** But the Panthers did rise from the bench with one new tactic, which was the employment of a three quarter court press. I believe the point of the press was mostly to cause Tech to take a little more time, while encouraging the Panthers to up their energy level. It took a little while, but I think the move eventually paid off.

** From the 12:18 mark of the second half to the 4:22 mark, the Panthers only surrendered one field goal and seven overall points. In that time, a four point deficit became a six point lead.

** We shouldn’t proclaim that the Panthers were exceptional during this stretch. Instead we can say that during this stretch our men were as focused on trying to play as exceptionally, not to mention physically, on defense as they are capable of doing.

** And that was good enough. Not great. But good enough.

** That pretty much sums up the Panthers offense as well. Not great, but good enough.

** Well … excepting a rough three minute stretch in the first half when he offered a pair of poor turnovers and a duo of missed triples, Nelly was pretty great.

** And while Nelly wasn’t that much better on defense than anyone else during the first three quarters of the game, Capel did recognize that Nelly was bringing the physicality on defense that was needed, especially on the defensive glass. Therefore, Jeff let Nelly play through his little turnover troubles and Cummings paid him off.

** I’m usually one who thinks fans complain a little too much about missed foul shots, but boy is it nice to hit 19 of 20 of them.

** At the top of that foul shot list was our friend Fede, and those of us who watched him at the line during the early season might have expected him to be a guy who might finish the year under 50% on free throws. After an incredible 8-8 night, he’s now sporting a 65% free throw clip. Just another remarkable area of growth for a player who has grown from the beginning of the season as much as any player I’ve seen in my years watching Pitt Hoops.

** We just need to ask him to be a little more careful with the fouls on the perimeter. Sure, he hedges wonderfully but we need him in the game.

** We also need Blake Hinson to simply stop with taking the ball to hoop on the fast break. That is, because as soon as he passed halfcourt in the break with 6 minutes to go in the game, I said out loud “Blake ...please be smart here and don’t charge!” He wasn’t and he did.

** But please also Blake, don’t stop shooting the three ... ever. You’ve changed my definition of a bad shot.

** Before signing off, I just wanted to acknowledge another fun night at the Pete that was packed with VIP’s like Chevy, Billy Knight and Tyler Boyd, who just made a big contribution to Pitt on their Day of Giving.

** But the biggest star was Damar Hamlin. It was a nice moment to recognize him, with most of the crowd standing and applauding him. Even referee Roger Ayers was clapping.

** I hope many more of you will join to applaud our 13-4 and 20-8 Panthers on Senior Day on Saturday. I expect my day will start at Fuel and Fuddle for any posters who want to join. But hopefully, the day will end with the Panthers being 14-4 in the ACC and 21-8 overall. The score won’t matter. These would be the only numbers than would.

Interestingly Capel said after the game they haven't practiced much lately due to upcoming games happening quickly and some players hurt or sick. He says since that happened he's noticed a dropoff defensively. He also said that these past 2 games show that although the players like to act like they are 10 year vets, they obviously aren't and Capel is going to make sure they practice. He was implying that maybe because of the 6 game win streak he wasn't as assertive as he needed to be in getting the guys to practice iirc.

So hopefully these practices that he wants will reinvigorate our guys to play tough defense again throughout the entirety of a game and get Pitt back to playing with the energy and intensity they had for most of the season. Definitely a gutsy win.

 

[DT_PITT]

It also forced Ga Tech to use more clock and energy to get into their 1/2 court offense which forced them to get shots earlier in their sets.

Wasn’t dramatic- but it seemed to break their rhythm just enough and did force a couple of quick shots and a shot clock violation.

Right ... that's what I meant by "take a little more time." And like you said, it wasn't dramatic, but they were starting with 18-20 seconds instead for 22-23 on the shot clocks. It definitely helped at least a little bit.

 

[DT_PITT]

Interestingly Capel said after the game they haven't practiced much lately due to upcoming games happening quickly and some players hurt or sick. He says since that happened he's noticed a dropoff defensively. He also said that these past 2 games show that although the players like to act like they are 10 year vets, they obviously aren't and Capel is going to make sure they practice. He was implying that maybe because of the 6 game win streak he wasn't as assertive as he needed to be in getting the guys to practice iirc.

So hopefully these practices that he wants will reinvigorate our guys to play tough defense again throughout the entirety of a game and get Pitt back to playing with the energy and intensity they had for most of the season. Definitely a gutsy win.

I didn't hear that -- thanks.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Capel said after the game they haven't practiced much lately due to upcoming games happening quickly

And that part doesn't really make much sense. We've been playing two games a week since the beginning of the year. Just like everyone else. Just like we, and everyone else, does every year.

It's not like we are some NBA team playing four road games in six days or something like that. Since the beginning of the calendar year we have played on either Tuesday or Wednesday every week, and we have played on Saturday every week except the one where we had our scheduled empty space.

 

[pittjas]

And that part doesn't really make much sense. We've been playing two games a week since the beginning of the year. Just like everyone else. Just like we, and everyone else, does every year.

It's not like we are some NBA team playing four road games in six days or something like that. Since the beginning of the calendar year we have played on either Tuesday or Wednesday every week, and we have played on Saturday every week except the one where we had our scheduled empty space.

He doesn’t mean practice in the literal sense, more like they haven’t actually practiced at a high energy level lately.

 

[Fredact]

One glaring difference in this game and the Ava Tech game was how the game was called. Tonight, guys from both teams were getting clobbered underneath with nothing called.

 

[Protes]

Big-time nail biter tonight. Felt like when your team is in a pennant race and struggling to beat the last place team in the division. Have to give GT credit, though. Our D wasn't good, but they played well and kept hitting shots.

Specifically, they did a good job attacking the hedge and exposed it multiple times. One time Fede was frozen expecting a handoff pass, only for the GT player to fake it and get a dunk. Fede's 8-for-8 at the foul line may have saved us, though 3 of his 5 fouls were silly and avoidable. Can't have that from him going forward.

Not sure what's happened with Burton lately, He's going to still get his points by being on the floor most of the game, obviously. But he was invisible for parts tonight and hasn't had a big game in a while.

Additionally, the lack of contributions from the bench lately has been concerning. Sibande had one big bucket down the stretch; we got zilch from everyone else. Understandably, we're going to ride our horses coming down the stretch, but we need a little more from our second team than we've been getting.

Ultimately, a gritty win. This one easily could have gone the other way and been a serious blow to making The Big Dance. Here's hoping there's no nail biting this weekend against the 'Cuse! #H2P

 

[Chairman Moe]

Big-time nail biter tonight. Felt like when your team is in a pennant race and struggling to beat the last place team in the division. Have to give GT credit, though. Our D wasn't good, but they played well and kept hitting shots.

Specifically, they did a good job attacking the hedge and exposed it multiple times. One time Fede was frozen expecting a handoff pass, only for the GT player to fake it and get a dunk. Fede's 8-for-8 at the foul line may have saved us, though 3 of his 5 fouls were silly and avoidable. Can't have that from him going forward.

Not sure what's happened with Burton lately, He's going to still get his points by being on the floor most of the game, obviously. But he was invisible for parts tonight and hasn't had a big game in a while.

Additionally, the lack of contributions from the bench lately has been concerning. Sibande had one big bucket down the stretch; we got zilch from everyone else. Understandably, we're going to ride our horses coming down the stretch, but we need a little more from our second team than we've been getting.

Ultimately, a gritty win. This one easily could have gone the other way and been a serious blow to making The Big Dance. Here's hoping there's no nail biting this weekend against the 'Cuse! #H2P

What Sibande lacked in scoring was more than made up for with his defense and energy

 

[Drew1208]

And that part doesn't really make much sense. We've been playing two games a week since the beginning of the year. Just like everyone else. Just like we, and everyone else, does every year.

It's not like we are some NBA team playing four road games in six days or something like that. Since the beginning of the calendar year we have played on either Tuesday or Wednesday every week, and we have played on Saturday every week except the one where we had our scheduled empty space.

Capel admitted in his presser that he thinks he may have been too soft on them. Seemed obviously pissed about the D.
I think they're in for a real practice soon.

That's one thing that always bothered me about Capel. He vocalizes universal issues often as if his team is in this magical vacuum. And it is just a loser attitude to me. But hopefully his anger gets results

 

[Drew1208]

Big-time nail biter tonight. Felt like when your team is in a pennant race and struggling to beat the last place team in the division. Have to give GT credit, though. Our D wasn't good, but they played well and kept hitting shots.

Specifically, they did a good job attacking the hedge and exposed it multiple times. One time Fede was frozen expecting a handoff pass, only for the GT player to fake it and get a dunk. Fede's 8-for-8 at the foul line may have saved us, though 3 of his 5 fouls were silly and avoidable. Can't have that from him going forward.

Not sure what's happened with Burton lately, He's going to still get his points by being on the floor most of the game, obviously. But he was invisible for parts tonight and hasn't had a big game in a while.

Additionally, the lack of contributions from the bench lately has been concerning. Sibande had one big bucket down the stretch; we got zilch from everyone else. Understandably, we're going to ride our horses coming down the stretch, but we need a little more from our second team than we've been getting.

Ultimately, a gritty win. This one easily could have gone the other way and been a serious blow to making The Big Dance. Here's hoping there's no nail biting this weekend against the 'Cuse! #H2P

I'm not sure about Burton but it's hard to tell if it's him or other teams playing him much better. Probably a combo of both.
But he's been D'd up really good lately. Then he starts to press and force.

It'll be interesting to see how he is against cuse.
Last time he had good assists but poor from the floor

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

** This win against Georgia Tech should really only be summed up with one simple statement: “13-4.”

** We are well past the point in the season where we have to judge ourselves by the size of our wins. Instead, at this point we only need to count the number of them. So 13 ACC wins and 20 wins overall sound like pretty great numbers to me.

** And while I'm not going to try to convince anyone that we offered a high quality performance this night, I do feel the need to at least remind myself that vigorous Virginia just slipped by the Irish by a duce at home, while mighty Miami recently struggled with lousy Louisville at Coral Gables.

** Maybe the only thing I did find troubling was that this appeared to be the second straight game where the opponent seemed to get the better of the Panthers physically.

** Or at least this appeared to be Tech’s game plan. They continued to run stuff to get the Panthers in back to the basket matchups close to the paint. When the Panthers doubled, Tech found open men and they were knocking down the open shots, or basically willing their way under the bucket for dunks.

** So after Tech hit their first three shots of the second half to take a two point lead, Coach Capel called timeout.

** There were a number of PantherLair posters who wanted Capel to make second half adjustments for the struggling Panthers against Virginia Tech. I can’t say Capel made adjustments this time either, but he surely chewed out his Panthers on the bench. We could hear his voice from our seats.

** I’m sure Capel was making it quite clear that we were not matching Tech’s physicality. To be quite honest, they were simply taking it to the Panthers to that point.

** But the Panthers did rise from the bench with one new tactic, which was the employment of a three quarter court press. I believe the point of the press was mostly to cause Tech to take a little more time, while encouraging the Panthers to up their energy level. It took a little while, but I think the move eventually paid off.

** From the 12:18 mark of the second half to the 4:22 mark, the Panthers only surrendered one field goal and seven overall points. In that time, a four point deficit became a six point lead.

** We shouldn’t proclaim that the Panthers were exceptional during this stretch. Instead we can say that during this stretch our men were as focused on trying to play as exceptionally, not to mention physically, on defense as they are capable of doing.

** And that was good enough. Not great. But good enough.

** That pretty much sums up the Panthers offense as well. Not great, but good enough.

** Well … excepting a rough three minute stretch in the first half when he offered a pair of poor turnovers and a duo of missed triples, Nelly was pretty great.

** And while Nelly wasn’t that much better on defense than anyone else during the first three quarters of the game, Capel did recognize that Nelly was bringing the physicality on defense that was needed, especially on the defensive glass. Therefore, Jeff let Nelly play through his little turnover troubles and Cummings paid him off.

** I’m usually one who thinks fans complain a little too much about missed foul shots, but boy is it nice to hit 19 of 20 of them.

** At the top of that foul shot list was our friend Fede, and those of us who watched him at the line during the early season might have expected him to be a guy who might finish the year under 50% on free throws. After an incredible 8-8 night, he’s now sporting a 65% free throw clip. Just another remarkable area of growth for a player who has grown from the beginning of the season as much as any player I’ve seen in my years watching Pitt Hoops.

** We just need to ask him to be a little more careful with the fouls on the perimeter. Sure, he hedges wonderfully but we need him in the game.

** We also need Blake Hinson to simply stop with taking the ball to hoop on the fast break. That is, because as soon as he passed halfcourt in the break with 6 minutes to go in the game, I said out loud “Blake ...please be smart here and don’t charge!” He wasn’t and he did.

** But please also Blake, don’t stop shooting the three ... ever. You’ve changed my definition of a bad shot.

** Before signing off, I just wanted to acknowledge another fun night at the Pete that was packed with VIP’s like Chevy, Billy Knight and Tyler Boyd, who just made a big contribution to Pitt on their Day of Giving.

** But the biggest star was Damar Hamlin. It was a nice moment to recognize him, with most of the crowd standing and applauding him. Even referee Roger Ayers was clapping.

** I hope many more of you will join to applaud our 13-4 and 20-8 Panthers on Senior Day on Saturday. I expect my day will start at Fuel and Fuddle for any posters who want to join. But hopefully, the day will end with the Panthers being 14-4 in the ACC and 21-8 overall. The score won’t matter. These would be the only numbers than would.

Just win the game. By 1 or 50. Style points not needed. Get in tourney. Win games.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

I usually love Drew, Poker and Joe’s posts but about practice I’m gonna have to disagree with you. As they noted on the broadcast last night, we have a starting 5 that’s older than the Oklahoma City thunder and it’s almost March. Coach should be using most practices to fine tune. Compete some days but only go for about an hour. They’ve been at this for almost 8 months. No tough practices please. Go hard but not long or get in and just walk thru and shoot!!!

 

[rockypanther]

I usually love Drew, Poker and Joe’s posts but about practice I’m gonna have to disagree with you. As they noted on the broadcast last night, we have a starting 5 that’s older than the Oklahoma City thunder and it’s almost March. Coach should be using most practices to fine tune. Compete some days but only go for about an hour. They’ve been at this for almost 8 months. No tough practices please. Go hard but not long or get in and just walk thru and shoot!!!

They know how to play by now. Need to use practice to keep shooting reps up, keep working on small things like defending high picks, rebounding positioning, offensive sets. I am a runner. You don’t add more at the end of training. You fine tune and actually cut back and focus.

 

[rockypanther]

I usually love Drew, Poker and Joe’s posts but about practice I’m gonna have to disagree with you. As they noted on the broadcast last night, we have a starting 5 that’s older than the Oklahoma City thunder and it’s almost March. Coach should be using most practices to fine tune. Compete some days but only go for about an hour. They’ve been at this for almost 8 months. No tough practices please. Go hard but not long or get in and just walk thru and shoot!!!

Hey message me @Bballinsider

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

Hey message me @Bballinsider

I have no idea how to do that

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

This game reminded me of an old Big East game due to its slow pace/late shot clock possessions. It just had a weird flow. GT had like 0 or 1 turnover until midway through the 2nd Half. The difference between this game and the old Big East though is the offense. Offense just seems so much better now. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me but guys seem to be better shooters (and FT shooters) now. It seemed like points per possession were very high for this game.

 

[pittchagg]

I usually love Drew, Poker and Joe’s posts but about practice I’m gonna have to disagree with you. As they noted on the broadcast last night, we have a starting 5 that’s older than the Oklahoma City thunder and it’s almost March. Coach should be using most practices to fine tune. Compete some days but only go for about an hour. They’ve been at this for almost 8 months. No tough practices please. Go hard but not long or get in and just walk thru and shoot!!!

I wonder if this is an adjustment they made with the new S&C coach. Seems like in the past we’ve run out of steam down the stretch, and I wonder if part of that isn’t because we practiced hard in between games even into February.

I wonder if the new staff is emphasizing more load management type stuff in between games than we did in the past. Seems like Capel’s been listening, but I’m hoping that he doesn’t go back to the old ways because we’ve had a few rough games defensively.

 

[Dointhatrag]

I think the three quarter press was also an attempt to wear down a team that was basically playing only 5 players the whole game. Make them exude effort on both sides of the ball

 

[AlFromDadeville]

It’s hard to beat a conference opponent twice in the same season. GT came in with a lot of motivation. It wasn’t pretty but we got it done and that’s what matters. Closed very strong. Hoping for the best environment they’ve had in years Saturday and a blowout win to go with it.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I have no idea how to do that

You can’t. Rocky appears to be a paying member so he’ll need to start the conversation.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

It’s hard to beat a conference opponent twice in the same season. GT came in with a lot of motivation. It wasn’t pretty but we got it done and that’s what matters. Closed very strong. Hoping for the best environment they’ve had in years Saturday and a blowout win to go with it.

Hinson said Pastner did a great job in the post-game switching things up completely from the 1st game. GT seemed to be running sets almost every possession and was having great success, especially with the high-low, resulting in layups. At one point, they were something like 14-21 shooting 2s. I think the press was an attempt to get them out of their sets and make them freelance more.

 

[bobfree]

I usually love Drew, Poker and Joe’s posts but about practice I’m gonna have to disagree with you. As they noted on the broadcast last night, we have a starting 5 that’s older than the Oklahoma City thunder and it’s almost March. Coach should be using most practices to fine tune. Compete some days but only go for about an hour. They’ve been at this for almost 8 months. No tough practices please. Go hard but not long or get in and just walk thru and shoot!!!

Totally agree.

 

[bobfree]

I think in general we give coaches to make praise and too much blame. Sometimes players got to play. Georgia tech wanted this game and for most of it they wanted it more than we did. I have a feeling we were looking a little ahead to Saturday.

 

[UPitthoops]

Great point about Hinson on the fast break. It always results in either a charge, blocked shot or turnover. I am yelling at the tv as he is pushing it up court “give it up, give it up, give it up, give it up.” And then another charge. Painful.

 

[Pitt5593]

Big-time nail biter tonight. Felt like when your team is in a pennant race and struggling to beat the last place team in the division. Have to give GT credit, though. Our D wasn't good, but they played well and kept hitting shots.

Specifically, they did a good job attacking the hedge and exposed it multiple times. One time Fede was frozen expecting a handoff pass, only for the GT player to fake it and get a dunk. Fede's 8-for-8 at the foul line may have saved us, though 3 of his 5 fouls were silly and avoidable. Can't have that from him going forward.

Not sure what's happened with Burton lately, He's going to still get his points by being on the floor most of the game, obviously. But he was invisible for parts tonight and hasn't had a big game in a while.

Additionally, the lack of contributions from the bench lately has been concerning. Sibande had one big bucket down the stretch; we got zilch from everyone else. Understandably, we're going to ride our horses coming down the stretch, but we need a little more from our second team than we've been getting.

Ultimately, a gritty win. This one easily could have gone the other way and been a serious blow to making The Big Dance. Here's hoping there's no nail biting this weekend against the 'Cuse! #H2P

Burton will get in the middle of the Syracuse zone on Saturday and send them home with a loss!!

 

[Fsgolfdr]

This is a good bb team fueled by veteran players , but it’s not great team loaded with NBA talent with a deep bench . When the ball is going in from three they can look like a great team and when it isn’t the impressive thing is they still manage to win .

It’s like someone got inside Blake’s head and told him he needs to show he has an inside game and the ability to take to the ball to the hoop . What he showing right now is that he’d be a great tight end ! Blake stick to your strengths and use the off season to expand your game .

Elliot needs to either commit to putting the ball up when he drives to the hoop or stop doing that . He gets stuck down low to often.

An area that needs practicing is inbounding the ball . Is Elliot your best man to inbound the ball ?

Fede really came through at the line last night and he has a beautiful stroke , but like the twins he really need to get physically stronger this off season so he can make some of his shots through contact and take his game to the next level . His ceiling is quite high .

The last few years this game would’ve been a loss this team has players that just want to win . This team has sweet 16 potential !

 

[Upg bobcat]

Great point about Hinson on the fast break. It always results in either a charge, blocked shot or turnover. I am yelling at the tv as he is pushing it up court “give it up, give it up, give it up, give it up.” And then another charge. Painful.

Haha I know the feeling. I'm saying to the TV "a fast break 3 isn't a great shot when you have numbers, but I'd rather see you do that than go to the hoop."

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

"We also need Blake Hinson to simply stop with taking the ball to hoop on the fast break. That is, because as soon as he passed halfcourt in the break with 6 minutes to go in the game, I said out loud “Blake ...please be smart here and don’t charge!” He wasn’t and he did."

LOL....I said the same exact thing on that moment. Hell, I would rather Hinson pull up for a 28 footer than drive to the hoop. He is a charge waiting to happen.

 

[Protes]

What Sibande lacked in scoring was more than made up for with his defense and energy

Fair point, for sure, Moe!

 

[Protes]

"We also need Blake Hinson to simply stop with taking the ball to hoop on the fast break. That is, because as soon as he passed halfcourt in the break with 6 minutes to go in the game, I said out loud “Blake ...please be smart here and don’t charge!” He wasn’t and he did."

LOL....I said the same exact thing on that moment. Hell, I would rather Hinson pull up for a 28 footer than drive to the hoop. He is a charge waiting to happen.

Agree about Hinson -- but I still think that was a block last night.

 

[Rupart33]

This game reminded me of an old Big East game due to its slow pace/late shot clock possessions. It just had a weird flow. GT had like 0 or 1 turnover until midway through the 2nd Half. The difference between this game and the old Big East though is the offense. Offense just seems so much better now. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me but guys seem to be better shooters (and FT shooters) now. It seemed like points per possession were very high for this game.

Agree. Early in the second half it was starting to bring back bad memories of the old Notre Dame "burn" or whatever they used to call it, where they would run the clock down every possession and somehow get a layup at the end of the shot clock. Kudos to Capel for the timeout and move to 3/4 court press. It didn't create turnovers but seemed to change the pace of the game enough to make a difference. Our defensive intensity definitely picked up after the TO.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Haha I know the feeling. I'm saying to the TV "a fast break 3 isn't a great shot when you have numbers, but I'd rather see you do that than go to the hoop."

Its dangerous to drive to the hoop nowadays because there's always someone waiting to flop. You're almost better off pulling up from 3.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Agree. Early in the second half it was starting to bring back bad memories of the old Notre Dame "burn" or whatever they used to call it, where they would run the clock down every possession and somehow get a layup at the end of the shot clock. Kudos to Capel for the timeout and move to 3/4 court press. It didn't create turnovers but seemed to change the pace of the game enough to make a difference. Our defensive intensity definitely picked up after the TO.

I was thinking of the ND burn during the game. I have since listened to Capel's presser and he said the press was to limit their cutting so they didnt have to defend as many cuts. That is exactly what I thought. GT was running their stuff to perfection. Our D can allow opposing offenses to run layup drills at times. That's the knock on this team. Really not very good defensively and would be way worse without Fede. This is 2 poor defensive games in a row.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Capel admitted in his presser that he thinks he may have been too soft on them. Seemed obviously pissed about the D.
I think they're in for a real practice soon.

That's one thing that always bothered me about Capel. He vocalizes universal issues often as if his team is in this magical vacuum. And it is just a loser attitude to me. But hopefully his anger gets results

Yes, exactly. That play where Cummings made a turnover in the Pitt end, became upset and put his head down and didn't move while Georgia Tech ran up the court right past him for an easy layup. Capel should have read the riot act on Cummings there, called a TO and get him out.

Oh well, alls well that end well, but the D was a problem and that play by Cummings was pretty bad.

On a plus, the foul shooting has been outstanding and a big improvement over any version in the Dixon/Howland era. I can't remember it ever being this good.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Its dangerous to drive to the hoop nowadays because there's always someone waiting to flop. You're almost better off pulling up from 3.

Yeah I was going to say this. We all talk about lack of fundamentals vs "the good old days" but all things, players are better shooters today. But playing and watching basketball for 40+ years now, I don't remember the charge/block fouls as much as there is in today's game. People played defense, but there wasn't this constant flopping and constant tries to draw a charge. It is like hockey and blocked shots. Teams now block 20-30 shots a game, that never happened. The charge call has almost be come as ubiquitous as the "illegal block in the back on any kick/punt return".

I think there needs to be more of an onus on referees to just eat the whistle on 50/50 calls.