Obviously a huge disappointment, but I think we all could have seen a path to this happening. If this team is one thing, it is unpredictable. They are capable of losing to anyone, and also capable of beating most. Just the reality of the situation. Never know who and how many are going to bring it.
I just want to start with Mo Gueye. What a pleasure it has been to watch him play basketball. Didn't have many expectations for him coming from Stony Brook, other than him being extremely long and altering shots from one of the forward spots. He has been so much more than that. I would argue the best player on this team. The things that he can do, you just don't see very often. He has special, elite traits. I think the kid will be an NBA camp this summer. He means so much to this team. Just unfortunate that they couldn't get it done on senior night, and that he was only here for a year.
John deserves a lot of credit as well. He played well, but just too little too late. I am starting to think that having a big like him in college is just a luxury. It is a great thing to have and you prefer to have one than not. But it just feels like it is basically the running back situation in the NFL. When you look at Howard last night, he played way above his average. But a big like that is good enough. He can run the floor and tap in misses, handle the ball a bit on screens, and alter shots. That is about all you need. We see these kind of bigs all across college basketball. You need guards, and that was the difference yesterday. I've always said that for a school like Pitt, chasing centers should be a secondary target. Reason being, the elite ones are usually blueblood for a year and gone. Or if you get a raw one, it takes time for them to develop and then they are gone the second they can sprint down the floor and make a layup. Not to discredit John, because he is really good. Just saying they need more around him and the emphasis has to be on guard play.
They just didn't have an answer for Georgia Tech's defense and their adjustments. The extended 3-2 or 1-3-1 looks just killed them. Georgia Tech isn't a huge team, but using Howard in the middle with Usher out top really shrunk the court. Against that defense, you have to go 2-1-2 and find a way to complete a pass in the middle. It just became such a struggle.
Without a true point guard, this is where you run into issues. The saying that if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one applies here. In my opinion. Femi is kind of the point guard. Jamarius is kind of the point guard. Neither one is a true point guard though. If the game is on the line and you need one guy to have the ball in his hands, who are you taking? This is tough, because I think Femi is better off the dribble, but Jamarius makes less mistakes. Femi is great at getting past defenders, but he struggles so much with decision making and keeping possession. Jamarius isn't quite as good at penetrating, but he usually gets a shot off or draws a foul.
A team like Georgia Tech doesn't have a true point guard answer either, but Devoe certainly controlled the game. He is so smooth at changing pace and penetrating to either score or assist. Pitt does not have that right now. So in order to be efficient and score points, they basically need to get to the line and make threes. There are not a lot of easy shots being created.
One could appreciate the effort in coming back, but it was just really poor play to get into that deficit in my opinion. There was also some poor decision making down the stretch. Georgia Tech made some poor decisions as well to let Pitt back in, but it is just so hard when you are down that much. You basically need to be perfect on both ends for minutes at a time. All it takes is one three from Devoe. Speaking of that, I thought both attempts were insane but that shows what I know. Pastner took him out after the first attempt and spoke to him. Then put him back in and he takes the shot again in the same situation. Have to wonder if Pastner told him to go ahead and stay aggressive. Normally that shot is the back breaker at the end of the clock, but Tech did not wait for that.
Just a lost opportunity at the end of the day. Three in a row and you have the last place team at home. They came out with no energy. Not sure how that happens. This team should win that game. They are more talented than Georgia Tech in my opinion. Maybe I am crazy. This is why I hesitate to make bold statements after each game. Like after Carolina, this team is on track and going to get there. After last night, he deserves to be fired. You have to take the entire thing into perspective. The entire season after the last game, as well as the entire tenure. This team, and staff, is way too inconsistent to make sweeping judgements after every game. They will get a handful more this season with this current group. About all we know at this point is that we have no idea what they are going to do.
I just want to start with Mo Gueye. What a pleasure it has been to watch him play basketball. Didn't have many expectations for him coming from Stony Brook, other than him being extremely long and altering shots from one of the forward spots. He has been so much more than that. I would argue the best player on this team. The things that he can do, you just don't see very often. He has special, elite traits. I think the kid will be an NBA camp this summer. He means so much to this team. Just unfortunate that they couldn't get it done on senior night, and that he was only here for a year.
John deserves a lot of credit as well. He played well, but just too little too late. I am starting to think that having a big like him in college is just a luxury. It is a great thing to have and you prefer to have one than not. But it just feels like it is basically the running back situation in the NFL. When you look at Howard last night, he played way above his average. But a big like that is good enough. He can run the floor and tap in misses, handle the ball a bit on screens, and alter shots. That is about all you need. We see these kind of bigs all across college basketball. You need guards, and that was the difference yesterday. I've always said that for a school like Pitt, chasing centers should be a secondary target. Reason being, the elite ones are usually blueblood for a year and gone. Or if you get a raw one, it takes time for them to develop and then they are gone the second they can sprint down the floor and make a layup. Not to discredit John, because he is really good. Just saying they need more around him and the emphasis has to be on guard play.
They just didn't have an answer for Georgia Tech's defense and their adjustments. The extended 3-2 or 1-3-1 looks just killed them. Georgia Tech isn't a huge team, but using Howard in the middle with Usher out top really shrunk the court. Against that defense, you have to go 2-1-2 and find a way to complete a pass in the middle. It just became such a struggle.
Without a true point guard, this is where you run into issues. The saying that if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one applies here. In my opinion. Femi is kind of the point guard. Jamarius is kind of the point guard. Neither one is a true point guard though. If the game is on the line and you need one guy to have the ball in his hands, who are you taking? This is tough, because I think Femi is better off the dribble, but Jamarius makes less mistakes. Femi is great at getting past defenders, but he struggles so much with decision making and keeping possession. Jamarius isn't quite as good at penetrating, but he usually gets a shot off or draws a foul.
A team like Georgia Tech doesn't have a true point guard answer either, but Devoe certainly controlled the game. He is so smooth at changing pace and penetrating to either score or assist. Pitt does not have that right now. So in order to be efficient and score points, they basically need to get to the line and make threes. There are not a lot of easy shots being created.
One could appreciate the effort in coming back, but it was just really poor play to get into that deficit in my opinion. There was also some poor decision making down the stretch. Georgia Tech made some poor decisions as well to let Pitt back in, but it is just so hard when you are down that much. You basically need to be perfect on both ends for minutes at a time. All it takes is one three from Devoe. Speaking of that, I thought both attempts were insane but that shows what I know. Pastner took him out after the first attempt and spoke to him. Then put him back in and he takes the shot again in the same situation. Have to wonder if Pastner told him to go ahead and stay aggressive. Normally that shot is the back breaker at the end of the clock, but Tech did not wait for that.
Just a lost opportunity at the end of the day. Three in a row and you have the last place team at home. They came out with no energy. Not sure how that happens. This team should win that game. They are more talented than Georgia Tech in my opinion. Maybe I am crazy. This is why I hesitate to make bold statements after each game. Like after Carolina, this team is on track and going to get there. After last night, he deserves to be fired. You have to take the entire thing into perspective. The entire season after the last game, as well as the entire tenure. This team, and staff, is way too inconsistent to make sweeping judgements after every game. They will get a handful more this season with this current group. About all we know at this point is that we have no idea what they are going to do.
