Kithcart committs to Pitt
- Thread starter NC Panther
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Point guard. Rated 56th best PG in the country. We beat out the likes of Clemson. Charlotte and... Duquense for his commitment. Did not get offers from any of the big boys.
Yeah, recruitment these days is really in the dog house.
Yeah, recruitment these days is really in the dog house.
What is a brief summary of this kid
Height?
Lefty or Righty ?
Is he quick ?
Any kind of shooting accuracy ?
Height?
Lefty or Righty ?
Is he quick ?
Any kind of shooting accuracy ?
Killer defender as one pundit put it! H2P!
Welcome!!
And I have been saying for a couple years now. Forget the rankings! The kid has some offensive game, but if he has that defensive swagger--I am all for it. How a kid defends seems to never be accounted for in the rankings. We have needed perimeter defense since before Gibbs and Woodall.
Welcome!!
And I have been saying for a couple years now. Forget the rankings! The kid has some offensive game, but if he has that defensive swagger--I am all for it. How a kid defends seems to never be accounted for in the rankings. We have needed perimeter defense since before Gibbs and Woodall.
Seems like a tough guard via YouTubE highlights.
Like always.. I'll wait to see how he performs at this level.
Like always.. I'll wait to see how he performs at this level.
I was underwhelmed when the Matt or Chris tuned the pay board into his recruitment about a month and a half ago, but I did my homework and warmed up on him. Yeah, he isn't cassius or Moore. But, those are elite kids.
They had a LOT of offers out to PGs, and this was the kid they pretty much chose to be their second choice after Winston.
Looking at his videos and reading up on him, I see a guy who has good quickness, is really aggressive and plays with some swag, who also has a good work ethic.
I don't think he can get away with driiving into the bigs at the P5 level like he does at the prep level, but I think he looks like a legit point guard who likes the ball in his hands and is a sharp passer.
Fact is, they can't be choosy, they have had two prep commits in the last two years - Wilson and Maginault. They swung for the fences in Winston, and then got the guy they seemed to target after him.
Might not be a see national championship banners kind of guy, but he can back up Milligan his frosh year and develop and be a solid starting PG going into his sophomore year.
If this kid really is a solid defender, I'm guessing that's what caught Dixon's eye. No doubt, JD is not pleased with how the team played defensively last year. We're in the ACC now, as we saw last year we're gonna have to play a more finesse game, at least offensively. But, Coach Dixon will never completely ignore defense. That will always be a huge priority for him.
http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/justice-kithcart
6-1 170 PG from Virginia Episcopal HS in Lynchburg, VA.
6-1 170 PG from Virginia Episcopal HS in Lynchburg, VA.
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I guess offers from Providence, Memphis and Creighton don't count?
If he is as tough as some of you say, I like the pick up. I miss having a nasty, smash mouth attitude. I want the Dookies and and Carolina faithful to constantly talk about how 'dirty' we play.
Neither did Stephen Curry, he did not receive any scholarship offers from major-conference schools. Since his father played for Va Tech and is in their Hall of Fame, Curry wanted to play for the Hokies, but they only offered him a place as a walk-on player!
Right... Under the radar players sometimes turn out to be superstars or elite/good players at the college level.
I bet today Va Tech would be looking back regretting not offering him. But- hindsight is always 20/20.
All in all, he looks like a quality pickup for Pitt.
Agree with this. For Gs in particular, defensive talent seems to have little influence on the rankings.
I will point out the obvious that there is no way to tell how this kid will perform in year 3. But I will say that when Pitt was successful, they had a lot of 3 star recruits, that were mixed in with a couple 4 star recruits and then developed them over 4 years.
Now, will he develop into a high caliber guard after 4 years? Who knows....but the kid obviously has potential. So lets hope that Pitt can go back to what they used to do with these types of players and have them contribute by their 3rd year (or sooner). Pitt got a way from this and it shows. We have all types of holes. It was a lot more fun to be in the top 25 and go to the sweet sixteen often then to squeak into the tournament.
Now, will he develop into a high caliber guard after 4 years? Who knows....but the kid obviously has potential. So lets hope that Pitt can go back to what they used to do with these types of players and have them contribute by their 3rd year (or sooner). Pitt got a way from this and it shows. We have all types of holes. It was a lot more fun to be in the top 25 and go to the sweet sixteen often then to squeak into the tournament.
Welcome aboard! There is still work to be done to round out this class. I like Pitt with a mentally tough PG, who can defend and dish the rock. He's going to get the opportunity to demonstrate this sooner rather than later.
Yeah, I thought the same thing....another lightly recruited guard (Newkirk) from N.C. However, this guy
seems to be more physical and maybe will fill out physically even more than he is now. There was no way
Newkirk could be confused with being physical or strong on defense. Next year when he's a frosh, he'll have
Milligan and Wilson ahead of him, so he won't have to be pushed into a starting role at the point.
What is even more evident to me is, that we are not getting that classic N.Y.C. or New Jersey type of pg like
we had with Fields, Krauser, Woodall, and Knight. We did get Wilson, and I realize our move to the ACC
has probably hurt us with these kind of players, but I would like to see us with that geographical presence
once again. For that matter, Philly too......that's why those two Philly players (one a pg) going to PSU has
to hurt. Hopefully Jamie can reverse this. Knight HAS to be the assistant to help us with this.
seems to be more physical and maybe will fill out physically even more than he is now. There was no way
Newkirk could be confused with being physical or strong on defense. Next year when he's a frosh, he'll have
Milligan and Wilson ahead of him, so he won't have to be pushed into a starting role at the point.
What is even more evident to me is, that we are not getting that classic N.Y.C. or New Jersey type of pg like
we had with Fields, Krauser, Woodall, and Knight. We did get Wilson, and I realize our move to the ACC
has probably hurt us with these kind of players, but I would like to see us with that geographical presence
once again. For that matter, Philly too......that's why those two Philly players (one a pg) going to PSU has
to hurt. Hopefully Jamie can reverse this. Knight HAS to be the assistant to help us with this.
I liked Newkirks video, he clearly was a good athlete, but Kithcart is nothing like Newkirk. Newkirk never had a position, and he was like jj moore, a good athlete trying to'play basketball.
Kithcart is a much stronger, natural ball handler and looks a LOT like a pg. I also think his mentality and toughness are similar to the "NYC" type of kid.
Kithcart is a much stronger, natural ball handler and looks a LOT like a pg. I also think his mentality and toughness are similar to the "NYC" type of kid.
From "Phenom Hoop Report--
"6’2” 2016 Justice Kithcart – Virginia Episcopal (Lynchburg)
True to form, Kithcart was one of the more competitive players in this camp. He was faced with some very intriguing match-ups on the day, and went right at every one of them. During camp, Kithcart showed the ability to consistently knock down the 3 point shot, both off the catch and both ways off the dribble. He also showed good ball handling skills and the ability to get into the lane and finish through contact. Kithcart is a very good on ball defender, using his quickness and understanding of footwork to make life hard on his man."
This is the first time I have seen any mention of his outside shooting ability.
"6’2” 2016 Justice Kithcart – Virginia Episcopal (Lynchburg)
True to form, Kithcart was one of the more competitive players in this camp. He was faced with some very intriguing match-ups on the day, and went right at every one of them. During camp, Kithcart showed the ability to consistently knock down the 3 point shot, both off the catch and both ways off the dribble. He also showed good ball handling skills and the ability to get into the lane and finish through contact. Kithcart is a very good on ball defender, using his quickness and understanding of footwork to make life hard on his man."
This is the first time I have seen any mention of his outside shooting ability.
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Absolutely. This is true. And there are 5000 guys since Steph Curry recruited at that same level who ended up not being Steph Curry. Someone wins the Powerball. They always do. Doesn't mean I am going to or you are going to or 99.99% of us are going to.
Is there anyone out there ever that someone looks at and says "gosh, I really don't like that guy's video"? I mean after all, it's a highlight real. The player isn't going to put on a bunch of clips of him missing shots or getting called for traveling. Which is why those videos are really, really close to worthless.
Why the negativity ? Pitt needed a point guard and they got one . Pitts not going to sign that one and done and they need to go back to the formula of developing players and this sounds like a perfect fit.
Agree, this pickup is making next year's class decent. Two players in the top 150 ranks already. Not bad. Adding one 4/5 *star guy would be nice tho. All in all, looks to be a positive for this program for sure.
Patterson wasn't a lowly recruited player. Was Top 75 when he committed. At one point, he shot up to #15, but then settled around #100 by most accounts.
While I agree that we have recruited a number of players who we hoped would develop (such as a JJR Richardson or Dwight Miller), I don't think Justice Kithcart nor Corey Maginault fall into this category. If you look a how things shake out, the "top 25" type recruits are the more sure things, but the next group up until around top 150 all fall into the same category. Kithcart is sort of on the edge of that group.
It's not that we are not getting any PGs from the NYC Metro and eastern PA areas, it is that we are not getting ANY players at all from those areas. Wilson, is from Atlanta, and the reason Dixon was able to pull him in was because he was willing to work with him re his HS which the NCAA is not very impressed with.
Also, as far as pulling in another PG... we got Wilson who has 4 years of eligibility, and Milligan who has two, so we SHOULD be set for the next two years. If we had brought in Winston, what happens to these two players? Send them both to the bench, or backups at SG, just so this 5 star can start, and not be any better that the other two, just on his way to being an NBA one and doner?
Yeah, better right now to go with a player that has potential to develop as he will probably be sitting on the bench for a year.. and THAT gives him the time to so develop.
Dixon managed to get a full house over the summer and he did that bringing in 3 grad transfers and 2 JUCOs (that is a LOT of players with experience already) so.... one can only wonder if he is gonna continue to do that, come next season. People talk about the kids PSU got but... lemme tell ya, Rafael Maia, ANO, and Sterling Smith, are all gonna be a lot better on the court this coming year than those two PSUers. So, this one is gonna be interesting to watch. Yeah, a lot of it depends on how well Dixon can integrate these players with the players we have already and put them together as a team. THAT is what this coming season is all about (along with Artis at SF).
"The 56th rated PG roughly translates to around the #250 player. Still, he may be a star or the next Newkirk."
Well, maybe, if you assume that there are an equal number of Cs, PFs, SFs, SGs and PGs in the rankings. However, that is not true as the rankings are skewed to include more guards since big men are fewer. He is really in the top 150 as claimed.
Well, maybe, if you assume that there are an equal number of Cs, PFs, SFs, SGs and PGs in the rankings. However, that is not true as the rankings are skewed to include more guards since big men are fewer. He is really in the top 150 as claimed.
What's the point in arguing about how good someone is or whose better when no one has seen any of these kids play. Obviously someone whose a top 25 player is probably better than a top 150 guy, but if their that good their gone after a year. How they develop and how many years they'll stay in school are much more important factors for Pitt . Pitt is not in the running for the top 25 kids and unless there's a major change in the importance of winning athletics at the university nothing will change no matter who the coach is and who his assistants are. Unless Pitt can make in roads in the south in recuirting it's going to be tough to get eastern kids or Midwestern kids interested in playing in the ACC. If I remember correctly one Jamie Dixon wasn't the happiest guy when joined the ACC., maybe he knew something .
Boeheim wasn't happy about it either--for similar reasons. New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania and New England players generaly speaking (with some exceptions) aren't terribly interested in playing in the ACC (unless Duke or UNC comes calling). Serious ACC hoops interest begins south of New Jersey, IMHO.
Rankings are useful information.
I can say this, though in this situation.
They have cast a VERY wide net on pgs this year.
A number more highly ranked than Kithcart.
IMO, they like him better than a lot of the other highly ranked pgs, the way this played out he was possibly their third choice.
Stephans teammate who is ranked a lot higher, they didnt show him anywhere near the attention they showed Kithcart. This is a point I made when he committed to psu, they just did not seem really interested in him.
They didnt lose him and "settle" for Kithcart.
Back when this thing was humming, jd showed a good eye. He lost that as he sort of went away from his formula. There are signs in this class that he is going back to the basics.
Kithcart is like their nyc kids, like Fields with his edge. He also is a strong defensive player.
Tough to get Eastern kids excited to play in the ACC? Tell me what league they are excited about playing in?
