Gonzaga Game & Other (suspended) Dribbles ...

[UPitt '89]

True, but DT, even though none of us saw any of it, the reports that Pitt acquitted itself well and got the best of Georgetown during that scrimmage, and you add to that the 1st half last night against Gonzaga, while small sample size, it is looking like this team is going to be pretty darn good, an NCAA team and a team that has yet to play a lot together, meaning they should even get better.

Don't want to be overly effusive, but I think we could be in for a very fun year.

And yes, I will be happy to admit I was wrong if this happens.

Don't discount the confidence that last night will give the team. The fact is, they did NOT have that "39-25 second half" to eliminate the good of the first half.

Their feeling as they head home is... rightly so.... "we can compete with anybody, and we're pretty darn good".


Don't discount what that feeling of confidence means to a group of 18 to 22 year olds.

 

[Ski11585]

Totally agree Drunk and I posted and tweeted last night. The past few years, Jamie has been somewhat standoffish, not smiling and making eye contact a lot in interviews, you can see he has a bit of a gleam in his eye. Almost a swagger. I think he knows he got a good team that has a lot of versatility. I am really, really excited for this season. Probably moreso than any since 2008-09. I am not saying we are or will be that good, I am saying this team is a bit of a box of chocolates, but it seems like the chocolates may be mostly the types we like, versus the ones you bite into then toss away.

I posted something similar a few weeks ago. The uncertainty of this season and all the new parts has me unusually excited.

 

[DT_PITT]

Gonzaga averaged 32 possessions in a half last season with a 35 second clock. So take 5 seconds away from each possession - 32*5 = 160 seconds. So in essence the new shot clock will automatically give each team 5-6 addt'l possessions per half.
So Pitt should see an increase of about 10 more possessions a game just due to the new shot clock. Which would make them mid-tempo like Gonzaga.

I think you are overstating this a bit. There wasn't a significant increase in the number of possessions in the NIT games last year.

 

[DT_PITT]

How so?

Also, Cup-O-Stats when?

My understanding is that the Cup-O-Stats has gone pro. But I think we minor leaguers deserves a couple drips of stats from time to time.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Gonzaga averaged 32 possessions in a half last season with a 35 second clock. So take 5 seconds away from each possession - 32*5 = 160 seconds. So in essence the new shot clock will automatically give each team 5-6 addt'l possessions per half.
So Pitt should see an increase of about 10 more possessions a game just due to the new shot clock. Which would make them mid-tempo like Gonzaga.

I think your calculation is potentially flawed because it assumes each of last years possessions were 5 seconds longer than this season's will be. it essentially assumes that the full 35 second clock was used on every possession last season. Actually, I believe that very few of last year's possessions by all teams in college basketball exceeded 30 seconds. That being the case, you really cannot absolutely conclude that the 30 second clock will add 5-6 possessions per game.

Whatever increase in possessions that may occur (and I suspect there will be more early in the season than later as teams adjust) will be due to teams feeling pyschologically more hurried and finishing what would have already been their under 30 second possessions a little quicker. Will that be 5 seconds quicker on average per possesion? Maybe, or maybe not. We will see as the season plays out.

 

[thirteenNINE]

How so?

Also, Cup-O-Stats when?

The short version is that Jamie's defensive approach has always been to defend for the full shot clock, force contested shots and to clear the misses which is a perfectly valid approach although it isn't the mathematically optimal one that I would prefer since it leaves very little margin for error, doesn't create easy transition baskets on the other end and is hard on your player's legs. You saw the downside to Jamie's approach last year as one of the things that contributed to our porous defense was a complete inability to clear the glass which, in turn, led a lot of players wearing down substantially towards the end of games and at the end of the season as well as a lot of easy buckets for the opposition.

Just on the face of it then those extra seconds without exertion are going to help but I also suspect that we'll see something of a trickle down effect as well where team's offensive sets are breaking down more often or they eschew them altogether in favor of more NBA style quick hitter sets (which a growing number of schools were already implementing) both of which should, in my very back of the napkin theory, favor Jamie.

 

[thirteenNINE]

My understanding is that the Cup-O-Stats has gone pro. But I think we minor leaguers deserves a couple drips of stats from time to time.

Hopefully I can make the drips are a little bit more frequent this year too.

 

[Pittbaseball11]

FWIW, after last night there have been about 3.5 possessions more per game than last year.

Edit: I also agree with the poster who thinks possessions will drop as the year goes on. In general, the whole "the ball gets held until the end of the shot clock before a shot goes up" belief is a total farce. To me, the thing that will increase possessions and scoring is enforcing the freedom of movement initiative. That will lead to more room for players to cut/drive for good shots and also increase free throws. It is something that increased possessions for much of the season 2 years back, but eventually the officials reverted back to calling the old style of college basketball.

 

[Scruffy the Panther]

The short version is that Jamie's defensive approach has always been to defend for the full shot clock, force contested shots and to clear the misses which is a perfectly valid approach although it isn't the mathematically optimal one that I would prefer since it leaves very little margin for error, doesn't create easy transition baskets on the other end and is hard on your player's legs. You saw the downside to Jamie's approach last year as one of the things that contributed to our porous defense was a complete inability to clear the glass which, in turn, led a lot of players wearing down substantially towards the end of games and at the end of the season as well as a lot of easy buckets for the opposition.

Just on the face of it then those extra seconds without exertion are going to help but I also suspect that we'll see something of a trickle down effect as well where team's offensive sets are breaking down more often or they eschew them altogether in favor of more NBA style quick hitter sets (which a growing number of schools were already implementing) both of which should, in my very back of the napkin theory, favor Jamie.

I see. Thanks.