It's Only an Exhibition

[Chescat]

Exhibition vs Slippery Rock was just that....an exhibition only. The scrimmage
vs Maryland might have told Capel more about his team than this exhibition
showed him. It did however, at least give us somewhat of a look at some
important areas.

1. Minutes. Remember the threads last summer on here regarding minutes?
Well last night may have shown us who gets the most playing time (minutes).
As expected X, Trey, and Toney all got the most (over 20), as did Drumgoole
and Murphy. Coulibaly (19), Brown (13), and Hamilton (12) was worth examining.
Those three will probably share playing time. My guess is Hamilton will get more
than Brown if he stays out of foul trouble. The real season minutes of course will
be different, but the distribution will probably be similar to last night.
You can bet that X and Trey will not have minutes in the 20's, but certainly in
the 30 plus range.

2. Rebounding. We're certainly better with the addition of Hamilton and Coulibaly.
It's disappointing to see Brown with only 3 rebounds compared to Hamilton
with 5, and Coulibaly with 8. Brown did get 10 points, but IMO he will see
less playing time if he doesn't improve his rebounding. This is especially true
if Capel goes 1-4 offensively.
Rebounding definitely is better, but still needs to improve. We had poor 1st half
rebounding but picked it up in the second half. You can bet that Capel focused
on this at half time. ACC bigs are a whole other level than Slippery Rock.

3. Foul shooting. Exhibition game or not, 58.3% is awful (21-36). We'll
undoubtedly improve, but this has to be a concern for Capel. It'll be interesting
to see what % we're shooting during the season. What surprised me was
Murphy actually was 2-6 from the line. He was 3-6 shooting 3's, and 3-7 total
from the field. I gotta believe his ft% was not typical for him.

4. Other areas. I didn't see the game, so I can't comment on defensive intensity,
offensive flow, and what player combinations were most effective. However
from a purely statistical examination we have some concerns, but certainly
are IMO a far better and improved team.

 

[JS School]

Not sure how many fouls the big men had between them, but it was a lot.

 

[Chescat]

it wasn't all that bad except for Hamilton who had 4. Coulibaly had 2 and
Brown had 1. I wouldn't be upset if Brown actually had 3 or 4..... LOL

 

[JS School]

it wasn't all that bad except for Hamilton who had 4. Coulibaly had 2 and
Brown had 1. I wouldn't be upset if Brown actually had 3 or 4..... LOL

I'm surprised Brown only had 1. I thought both he and Hamilton each had a short period where they picked up two fouls in quick succession. It could have been someone else, though. I didn't look at the stats.

 

[Chescat]

I'm surprised Brown only had 1. I thought both he and Hamilton each had a short period where they picked up two fouls in quick succession. It could have been someone else, though. I didn't look at the stats.

If Capel goes with a 1-4 (and I expect him to do this most of the time), then
we can afford to spread out the fouls. Last year we had no options other
than Brown and Chuka. With three inside players, Capel at least has the
option to play two bigs if he chooses.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

If Capel goes with a 1-4 (and I expect him to do this most of the time), then
we can afford to spread out the fouls. Last year we had no options other
than Brown and Chuka. With three inside players, Capel at least has the
option to play two bigs if he chooses.

Maybe 4 bigs if Chukwuka returns. Capel mentioned that possibility in his post game. That mention by Capel makes me believe there is a real possibility the guy returns later in the season.

 

[Chescat]

Maybe 4 bigs if Chukwuka returns. Capel mentioned that possibility in his post game. That mention by Capel makes me believe there is a real possibility the guy returns later in the season.

I hope he does return. I could see playing him along side of another big.
IMO he's a forward and was out of place being the only big on the floor
last year. His return would give us even better depth inside. Either way
he graduates this year, and I suspect Capel will land a better big.
Actually the three recruits coming in next year already represent
improvement over Chuka.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Maybe 4 bigs if Chukwuka returns. Capel mentioned that possibility in his post game. That mention by Capel makes me believe there is a real possibility the guy returns later in the season.

If he comes back in early January, ok. But its pretty dumb if he comes back for like the last 10-12 games when he could RS and play next year at Pitt or somewhere else.

 

[Pitt69]

If he comes back in early January, ok. But its pretty dumb if he comes back for like the last 10-12 games when he could RS and play next year at Pitt or somewhere else.

From the Cheap Seats; from the looks of things he would be a non entity at Pitt in 2020. If he can transfer and play somewhere help him do that.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

From the Cheap Seats; from the looks of things he would be a non entity at Pitt in 2020. If he can transfer and play somewhere help him do that.

He is a senior this year. If he plays this season he will complete his eligibility. If he doesn't play this season then he would be able to grad transfer for the 2020-21 season. I believe we can be confident he won't be at Pitt for the 2020-21 season.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I'm surprised Brown only had 1. I thought both he and Hamilton each had a short period where they picked up two fouls in quick succession. It could have been someone else, though. I didn't look at the stats.

That was Hamilton and Coulibaly. They combined for three fouls on the same possession at one point.

 

[Pitt2006]

Exhibition. We talking about exhibition. But, I think the only player who played vs 2017 on both teams was brown. He didn’t have any points in 9 minutes in 2017. So progress?

 

[Jeffburgh]

If Capel goes with a 1-4 (and I expect him to do this most of the time), then
we can afford to spread out the fouls. Last year we had no options other
than Brown and Chuka. With three inside players, Capel at least has the
option to play two bigs if he chooses.

IMO, he is going to default into turning to X, Trey, Murphy, Toney, Drumgoole and JC if his knee holds up most often at the 1 to 4 spots (and even all five spots to close out some games) once the bullets start flying, go with whoever he likes the most at the 5 between Brown, Hamilton and Coulibally, with Coulibally getting some time at PF on the rare moments he goes with two big men.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Just because your cleared to play doesn’t mean your even close to being in game shape .

Doubt that he plays this yr unless he doesn’t care about playing elsewhere else next season .

I’m sure the kind of guy JC appears to be he wouldn’t blow Chewy’s last season unless injuries crippled the frontline guys .

With all do respect for Pitt to continue its improvement they need better players than Chewy .

 

[Chescat]

IMO, he is going to default into turning to X, Trey, Murphy, Toney, Drumgoole and JC if his knee holds up most often at the 1 to 4 spots (and even all five spots to close out some games) once the bullets start flying, go with whoever he likes the most at the 5 between Brown, Hamilton and Coulibally, with Coulibally getting some time at PF on the rare moments he goes with two big men.

Yeah, I could see that happening on occasion. If Capel were to play his
five best, then the three bigs would play far less. However, I believe he'll
go with at least one big on the floor most of the time. It'll be interesting
because one thing is certain...he has options this year that he did not
have last year.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Just because your cleared to play doesn’t mean your even close to being in game shape .

Doubt that he plays this yr unless he doesn’t care about playing elsewhere else next season .

I’m sure the kind of guy JC appears to be he wouldn’t blow Chewy’s last season unless injuries crippled the frontline guys .

With all do respect for Pitt to continue its improvement they need better players than Chewy .

I would ordinarily agree with your very logical analysis on what will happen regarding Chukwuka this current season. However, Capel in one of his most recent interviews that I watched (Slippery Rock post game presser, I believe?), spontaneously spoke like he expects Chukwuka to be back playing this season. And, it also sounded very much more like a “when” and not merely an “if” whether he would be back later this season. Also, Capel seemed to have voluntarily brought the subject of Chukwuka up and not, as I recall, in response to any dIrect question about Chukwuka’s status.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Yeah, I could see that happening on occasion. If Capel were to play his
five best, then the three bigs would play far less. However, I believe he'll
go with at least one big on the floor most of the time. It'll be interesting
because one thing is certain...he has options this year that he did not
have last year.

Thinking the same. Also, tend to doubt we see a Brown-Hamilton pairing if/when he has 2 bigs in the game together. Believe it will be Brown-Coulibaly or Hamilton-Coulibaly in such situations. But, maybe I am wrong thinking that due to picturing Coulibaly as more of a 4 and Brown and Hamilton as more like 5s.

 

[Chescat]

I would ordinarily agree with your very logical analysis on what will happen regarding Chukwuka this current season. However, Capel in one of his most recent interviews that I watched (Slippery Rock post game presser, I believe?), spontaneously spoke like he expects Chukwuka to be back playing this season. And, it also sounded very much more like a “when” and not merely an “if” whether he would be back later this season. Also, Capel seemed to have voluntarily brought the subject of Chukwuka up and not, as I recall, in response to any dIrect question about Chukwuka’s status.

To me it's pretty simple. Based on Capel's comments Chuka will return at
some point this season. He's a senior, so whatever playing time he gets
will finish out his eligibility, and he'll most likely graduate.
The only other scenario that I can see would be if Chuka asked for a
redshirt so he could play next year as a grad transfer elsewhere. I think
Capel would allow that. I don't think Capel would grant Chuka a
redshirt so he could return to Pitt next year. Reason being he'd recruit
a better player.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I would ordinarily agree with your very logical analysis on what will happen regarding Chukwuka this current season. However, Capel in one of his most recent interviews that I watched (Slippery Rock post game presser, I believe?), spontaneously spoke like he expects Chukwuka to be back playing this season. And, it also sounded very much more like a “when” and not merely an “if” whether he would be back later this season. Also, Capel seemed to have voluntarily brought the subject of Chukwuka up and not, as I recall, in response to any dIrect question about Chukwuka’s status.

You wonder if the coach is trying to motivate Chewy to do his rehab . I truly believe if Pitt needs him this yr the season won’t be a very good one .

 

[Tonyt66]

You wonder if the coach is trying to motivate Chewy to do his rehab . I truly believe if Pitt needs him this yr the season won’t be a very good one .

Let's face it he plays ok def but he's really not that good but I guess he could give us some size and fouls. IMO there's really no upside with him being in there.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

You wonder if the coach is trying to motivate Chewy to do his rehab . I truly believe if Pitt needs him this yr the season won’t be a very good one .

The question might not be one of really needing him; but, one of being marginally better with him available.