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Northwestern Game & Other Dribbles ...

DT_PITT

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Jul 17, 2001
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** These late weekday starts make post game dribbling a little harder to pull off. I mean … a man’s gotta sleep!

** But at least I will go to sleep with a great big smile on my face.

** I hope our young men go to sleep, wherever that may be, with an even bigger smile on their face. They deserve it. And I’m so very happy for them.

** I will avoid any proclamations of what this win means for our Panthers in the long run. Instead, I suggest instead that we appreciate it for what it was.

** This was a patient, tough, courageous and mature win. Our Panthers never panicked, and used each and every second of the game to win it.

** They proved that a game can be won, even when only shooting 35%, if you play a little bit of defense, take care of the ball well enough, and dominate the glass.

** It was also a team win. It took some individual performances, like Xavier’s three point shooting, to get the Panthers back in the game. But the whole team pulled together down the stretch to make plays, especially in the face of Xavier and AKC’s foul trouble.

** It’s unfair to bypass Justin for the game ball because he rebounded spectacularly. But we’ve given game balls to him before. Allow me to suggest that we pick someone new.

** My game ball goes to William Jeffress. This young man’s energy soured through the Panthers all game long.

** He made two wonderful plays that keep our Panthers in the game including a spirited offensive rebound that eventually led to a Toney three, and a perfect dish to Big John for the flush.

** Sure, he missed most of his shots. But he scrapped and dove and flew around the court in an infectious way. He looks like he’s having fun and his teammates took notice.

** So when the Panthers finally started hitting some shots, we all started having some fun.

** But there was still the matter of that deficit which looked like we would never erase.

** With 50 seconds left, I woke my sleeping wife to tell her in my disappointed way that we were going to lose. I just didn’t know we had a trick or two up our sleeves, or should I say along Femi’s long arms.

** Femi didn’t necessarily impress in Xavier’s foul trouble absence. At times he held his own, along with a really bad turnover. And it wasn’t so much his steal that was the play of the game, but the cool pass to Justin afterward that was most impressive.

** But then there we were with 10 seconds to go with the chance to win the game and the ball in Xavier’s hands. We have been in that situation about a half dozen times or more during X’s days at Pitt.

** In every other time, it’s come down to a Xavier shot for the win or the loss. There was one time I believe he drove and scored. I remember more when he drove and missed.

** But I never remember him driving and dishing for the win.

** Good for you young man. Great play.

** Tomorrow we can talk about the other problems this team has, such as at the two and five spots. Maybe then we should also talk about how it took us the whole 40 minutes to eek by a not so good Northwestern Team.

** But that’s tomorrow. Tonight, let’s all go to sleep happy!
 
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Out here in Portland I had to wait through the Florida State OT win before our Panthers were on...even though our shooting woes were horrible in the first half, I never felt we were out of it...and when there were five minutes left in the game, I felt good about our chances, because we showed heart, and kept hustling and DOMINATING the boards. I was surprised to see we often played with three freshmen on the court (when X was out with four fouls) and they held their own, didn’t back down and played to win...let me repeat that again, they played to WIN!

Hail to PITT!
-al-
 
Nice report, DT. This was the first game I was able to watch this season and while the beginning certainly was ugly, there are more positives to take away from this than negatives.

Loved seeing the progression from guys like Johnson and Champagnie, as well as some promising play from guys like Jeffress. You can tell this is the most talent we’ve had in quite a while, but they’re still young and flawed. However, it looks like they grew a little bit tonight.

Definitely needed this win, especially after the season opening loss to St. Francis. Hopefully they can use this to build some momentum as the season rolls on. H2P.
 
Out here in Portland I had to wait through the Florida State OT win before our Panthers were on...even though our shooting woes were horrible in the first half, I never felt we were out of it...and when there were five minutes left in the game, I felt good about our chances, because we showed heart, and kept hustling and DOMINATING the boards. I was surprised to see we often played with three freshmen on the court (when X was out with four fouls) and they held their own, didn’t back down and played to win...let me repeat that again, they played to WIN!

Hail to PITT!
-al-

Not only did we play down the stretch with three freshman, didn't you get the feeling that we were feeding off their energy?
 
I don’t follow northwestern basketball at all but apparently this is a trend under Collins. I was ragging on them last night and they may not have a good year, but they have a lot of really good players. So while they may not be a great team, there was still a lot of talent on the floor that we found a way to beat
 
I don’t follow northwestern basketball at all but apparently this is a trend under Collins. I was ragging on them last night and they may not have a good year, but they have a lot of really good players. So while they may not be a great team, there was still a lot of talent on the floor that we found a way to beat
Yeah, to add to this, Northwestern’s strengths seemed pretty much tailor-made to attack what have been our weaknesses in the early going: shooting the three at all five positions, and length/size at the 5. I thought we handled both of those pretty well tonight.
 
I will piggy my Owt Takes onto your dribbles.

1) First off, this was one of the most enjoyable and satisfactory wins I have seen in many of years. Wow. I was on a high after that game!!!
2) And to add to that, it is why I try not to do in game posting on threads, because no doubt I would have looked like an idiot, especially in the first half. But honestly, I just feel you lose more typing on a key board your thoughts and emotions that just sitting back and watching the game. JUST WATCH THE DAMN GAME as some angry old man has said.
3) The refs. Sucked. They called it too close, but especially it seemed against Pitt, Pitt could not even think about a hint of contact while drawing a foul. I am not saying the refs were biased against Pitt (they were, at least they called it tighter against us) but I am saying I am of the "no harm, no foul" and when an offensive guy jumps into a defender, there does not need to be a whistle every friggin time.

Now onto the players. Let's go down the list, shall we??
0) Ithiel Horton. Notice, there are 3 "0's" there? Very disappointing. As someone in my text group posted "Northwestern transfer from William and Mary, 12 points, Pitt transfer from Delaware 0-5, 3 fouls and 0 points". We haven't had a transfer who has been a factor since Mike Cook. Can't wait for Nike Sibande to be eligible, I am sure the rest of the team and Capel is thinking the same.

1) X Johnson. 1 is a good number, he is the PG and leader and he took over. Despite some horrendous fouls, he led us back. I have come to terms he is a maddening player, but he is a talent and you got to take the good with the bad. I can live with missed layups because they will go down more often than not. But last year he would dribble to dribble and mostly into trouble.

2a) Trey McGowans. What? He's no longer here. But I did watch Nebraska last night, and I saw the same Trey. Chippy. But mostly stationary along the perimeter, not shooting well, not moving, really not creating anything with or without the ball. Maybe the right guy did stay.

2b) Femi I really think he is going to be a good player, he does remind me so much of Brad Wanamaker at this stage of their career's. Not saying he will be as good, but he has the same size and traits.

3) Noah Collier. 7 minutes, 3 fouls, our "enforcer". Just kidding. He had some nice energy and he is not needed right now to score. Will be an energy guy.

4) Drumgoole. Well, I hate to say this but I saw nothing from him last year. Truthfully, I saw little from the games I saw when he was at La Lumiere in high school. I think he was misrated and evaluated and alot of that happens and wouldn't be surprised next year to see him somewhere like Canisius or Siena, closer to home. He has been recruited over and his position is where Pitt is strongest and deepest. This spot can be better utilized.

5) Toney. He's like the glue guy. Quietly he went about getting 18 and 8. It is almost now you expect at least 15 and 5 from him every game. He's not flashy, but he is very efficient and effective.

11) Campagnie. He's a man. Strong down low. Good in transition and body control. He knows and loves to score. I can't fault that. We, even on some of our best teams, lacked guys who seemingly loved to score. Like I said the other day, he develops a better outside shot, he's Sam Young.

12 AKC. How about the steal, drive, fumble but still had the presence and effort to knock the loose ball off of the Northwestern guy? I still think eventually Hugely will usurp his minutes and starting role, but he is definitely a good role player with a decent IQ. He just lacks that explosiveness you would like to see under the hoop.

13) Aiden Fisch. "Aside from all the other girls in Niagara Falls, how many girls have you dated here Brian Johnson?" Who knew our bench guy is Anthony Michael Hall from Breakfast Club.

21) Terrell Brown. 1 minute. Ugh, really disappointing because he has had flashes, you would think with better daily practice competition it would bring more out of him. Unfortunately the reverse seems to have happened and his laid back attitude has just caused him to be a bit player. Which is a shame as he is the one big who can consistently block a shot a dunk a layup.

22) Nike.....to be determined....

23) John Hugely His flush and foul was one of the plays of the game. And I am hoping this will go a long way to getting him confidence. I think his game will evolve throughout the year. Still, just not that explosive athlete, I do think he will bring that refined "old man" big game and will be able to step out for some jumpshots.

24) William Jeffress. 2nd youngest player in college BB. Wow. He has "it". High BB IQ, great body control, he's only and won't turn 18 until next summer. So he has growing and filling out. But he has a great handle for the size, good recognition, everything will come to him, he will get stronger, he could be a star.

35) Big Max Incomplete.

I am not sure what kind of season this will be, I would love to see us go close to .500 and if there is one, at least make the NIT. I think, especially if Sibande breaks our transfer trend and becomes a factor and we do get Efton Reid, I think this is going to be a pretty good team next year.
 
I will piggy my Owt Takes onto your dribbles.

1) First off, this was one of the most enjoyable and satisfactory wins I have seen in many of years. Wow. I was on a high after that game!!!
2) And to add to that, it is why I try not to do in game posting on threads, because no doubt I would have looked like an idiot, especially in the first half. But honestly, I just feel you lose more typing on a key board your thoughts and emotions that just sitting back and watching the game. JUST WATCH THE DAMN GAME as some angry old man has said.
3) The refs. Sucked. They called it too close, but especially it seemed against Pitt, Pitt could not even think about a hint of contact while drawing a foul. I am not saying the refs were biased against Pitt (they were, at least they called it tighter against us) but I am saying I am of the "no harm, no foul" and when an offensive guy jumps into a defender, there does not need to be a whistle every friggin time.

Now onto the players. Let's go down the list, shall we??
0) Ithiel Horton. Notice, there are 3 "0's" there? Very disappointing. As someone in my text group posted "Northwestern transfer from William and Mary, 12 points, Pitt transfer from Delaware 0-5, 3 fouls and 0 points". We haven't had a transfer who has been a factor since Mike Cook. Can't wait for Nike Sibande to be eligible, I am sure the rest of the team and Capel is thinking the same.

1) X Johnson. 1 is a good number, he is the PG and leader and he took over. Despite some horrendous fouls, he led us back. I have come to terms he is a maddening player, but he is a talent and you got to take the good with the bad. I can live with missed layups because they will go down more often than not. But last year he would dribble to dribble and mostly into trouble.

2a) Trey McGowans. What? He's no longer here. But I did watch Nebraska last night, and I saw the same Trey. Chippy. But mostly stationary along the perimeter, not shooting well, not moving, really not creating anything with or without the ball. Maybe the right guy did stay.

2b) Femi I really think he is going to be a good player, he does remind me so much of Brad Wanamaker at this stage of their career's. Not saying he will be as good, but he has the same size and traits.

3) Noah Collier. 7 minutes, 3 fouls, our "enforcer". Just kidding. He had some nice energy and he is not needed right now to score. Will be an energy guy.

4) Drumgoole. Well, I hate to say this but I saw nothing from him last year. Truthfully, I saw little from the games I saw when he was at La Lumiere in high school. I think he was misrated and evaluated and alot of that happens and wouldn't be surprised next year to see him somewhere like Canisius or Siena, closer to home. He has been recruited over and his position is where Pitt is strongest and deepest. This spot can be better utilized.

5) Toney. He's like the glue guy. Quietly he went about getting 18 and 8. It is almost now you expect at least 15 and 5 from him every game. He's not flashy, but he is very efficient and effective.

11) Campagnie. He's a man. Strong down low. Good in transition and body control. He knows and loves to score. I can't fault that. We, even on some of our best teams, lacked guys who seemingly loved to score. Like I said the other day, he develops a better outside shot, he's Sam Young.

12 AKC. How about the steal, drive, fumble but still had the presence and effort to knock the loose ball off of the Northwestern guy? I still think eventually Hugely will usurp his minutes and starting role, but he is definitely a good role player with a decent IQ. He just lacks that explosiveness you would like to see under the hoop.

13) Aiden Fisch. "Aside from all the other girls in Niagara Falls, how many girls have you dated here Brian Johnson?" Who knew our bench guy is Anthony Michael Hall from Breakfast Club.

21) Terrell Brown. 1 minute. Ugh, really disappointing because he has had flashes, you would think with better daily practice competition it would bring more out of him. Unfortunately the reverse seems to have happened and his laid back attitude has just caused him to be a bit player. Which is a shame as he is the one big who can consistently block a shot a dunk a layup.

22) Nike.....to be determined....

23) John Hugely His flush and foul was one of the plays of the game. And I am hoping this will go a long way to getting him confidence. I think his game will evolve throughout the year. Still, just not that explosive athlete, I do think he will bring that refined "old man" big game and will be able to step out for some jumpshots.

24) William Jeffress. 2nd youngest player in college BB. Wow. He has "it". High BB IQ, great body control, he's only and won't turn 18 until next summer. So he has growing and filling out. But he has a great handle for the size, good recognition, everything will come to him, he will get stronger, he could be a star.

35) Big Max Incomplete.

I am not sure what kind of season this will be, I would love to see us go close to .500 and if there is one, at least make the NIT. I think, especially if Sibande breaks our transfer trend and becomes a factor and we do get Efton Reid, I think this is going to be a pretty good team next year.
I think the Femi comparison is pretty good. I would say that Femi is more composed than Brad at this age. Brad was a ball of nerves his first year and most of his TO's were made be said he was so jittery.
 
Yeah, to add to this, Northwestern’s strengths seemed pretty much tailor-made to attack what have been our weaknesses in the early going: shooting the three at all five positions, and length/size at the 5. I thought we handled both of those pretty well tonight.
I was reading northwestern fans thoughts on the Twitter machine after the game “we’re young” is on the post game bingo much like “we’ll watch the tape” with Narduzzi
 
I would just add that throughout the game, Xavier was very intense but managed it perfectly with being a perfect teammate and helping to rally his teammates during dead ball times and time outs. He chose his spots and didn’t overly force things. Stayed confident and focused and his 3pt shot follow through is looking better. But that unselfish pass was a huge step forward to Champ. This may be the new and improved X 2.0 we have been waiting on.

We clearly have big problems at the 2 and 5. I think Jefress can play minutes at the 2 which also makes us better rebounders. We are still playing 4 on 5 offensively most of he time but hopefully we keep taking steps to ward progress which is all I can hope for as a Pitt fan.
 
Femi’s steal and pass! Cool pass is a great description. Nice presence there.

One other comment. Loved to see the guys get on the floor. Jeffress and one other player at the end to go after a loose ball.
 
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Femi’s steal and pass! Cool pass is a great description. Nice presence there.

One other comment. Loved to see the guys get on the floor. Jeffress and one other player at the end to go after a loose ball.

Jeffress is ALWAYS the first to the floor for a loose ball.

I would have loved to have seen a head to head contest with William against Tray Woodall in a best of seven for loose balls.
 
Jeffress is ALWAYS the first to the floor for a loose ball.

I would have loved to have seen a head to head contest with William against Tray Woodall in a best of seven for loose balls.
I would say I would take the 6'7" guy but then I realize the 5'11" guy is closer to the floor.
 
Re: the 1st half. The offense actually seemed to have good movement. We weren't just passing the ball around the perimeter. The lack of zone being thrown at us had something to do with that, but we've been stagnant at times otherwise and that wasn't the case last night. The problem was we were either settling for too many 3's, or when we did penetrate and get closer to the hoop, the shots we were taking were still a high degree of difficulty. In the 2nd half we were just better, while some of those tougher shots went down.
 
Tray did make an all-big east team
He’s one of those guys who was continually undervalued

2nd Team All Big East in fact. Indeed undervalued. William can pass him by in time for sure. That would be a great thing. But for now, it's not close yet.
 
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I will piggy my Owt Takes onto your dribbles.

1) First off, this was one of the most enjoyable and satisfactory wins I have seen in many of years. Wow. I was on a high after that game!!!
2) And to add to that, it is why I try not to do in game posting on threads, because no doubt I would have looked like an idiot, especially in the first half. But honestly, I just feel you lose more typing on a key board your thoughts and emotions that just sitting back and watching the game. JUST WATCH THE DAMN GAME as some angry old man has said.
3) The refs. Sucked. They called it too close, but especially it seemed against Pitt, Pitt could not even think about a hint of contact while drawing a foul. I am not saying the refs were biased against Pitt (they were, at least they called it tighter against us) but I am saying I am of the "no harm, no foul" and when an offensive guy jumps into a defender, there does not need to be a whistle every friggin time.

Now onto the players. Let's go down the list, shall we??
0) Ithiel Horton. Notice, there are 3 "0's" there? Very disappointing. As someone in my text group posted "Northwestern transfer from William and Mary, 12 points, Pitt transfer from Delaware 0-5, 3 fouls and 0 points". We haven't had a transfer who has been a factor since Mike Cook. Can't wait for Nike Sibande to be eligible, I am sure the rest of the team and Capel is thinking the same.

1) X Johnson. 1 is a good number, he is the PG and leader and he took over. Despite some horrendous fouls, he led us back. I have come to terms he is a maddening player, but he is a talent and you got to take the good with the bad. I can live with missed layups because they will go down more often than not. But last year he would dribble to dribble and mostly into trouble.

2a) Trey McGowans. What? He's no longer here. But I did watch Nebraska last night, and I saw the same Trey. Chippy. But mostly stationary along the perimeter, not shooting well, not moving, really not creating anything with or without the ball. Maybe the right guy did stay.

2b) Femi I really think he is going to be a good player, he does remind me so much of Brad Wanamaker at this stage of their career's. Not saying he will be as good, but he has the same size and traits.

3) Noah Collier. 7 minutes, 3 fouls, our "enforcer". Just kidding. He had some nice energy and he is not needed right now to score. Will be an energy guy.

4) Drumgoole. Well, I hate to say this but I saw nothing from him last year. Truthfully, I saw little from the games I saw when he was at La Lumiere in high school. I think he was misrated and evaluated and alot of that happens and wouldn't be surprised next year to see him somewhere like Canisius or Siena, closer to home. He has been recruited over and his position is where Pitt is strongest and deepest. This spot can be better utilized.

5) Toney. He's like the glue guy. Quietly he went about getting 18 and 8. It is almost now you expect at least 15 and 5 from him every game. He's not flashy, but he is very efficient and effective.

11) Campagnie. He's a man. Strong down low. Good in transition and body control. He knows and loves to score. I can't fault that. We, even on some of our best teams, lacked guys who seemingly loved to score. Like I said the other day, he develops a better outside shot, he's Sam Young.

12 AKC. How about the steal, drive, fumble but still had the presence and effort to knock the loose ball off of the Northwestern guy? I still think eventually Hugely will usurp his minutes and starting role, but he is definitely a good role player with a decent IQ. He just lacks that explosiveness you would like to see under the hoop.

13) Aiden Fisch. "Aside from all the other girls in Niagara Falls, how many girls have you dated here Brian Johnson?" Who knew our bench guy is Anthony Michael Hall from Breakfast Club.

21) Terrell Brown. 1 minute. Ugh, really disappointing because he has had flashes, you would think with better daily practice competition it would bring more out of him. Unfortunately the reverse seems to have happened and his laid back attitude has just caused him to be a bit player. Which is a shame as he is the one big who can consistently block a shot a dunk a layup.

22) Nike.....to be determined....

23) John Hugely His flush and foul was one of the plays of the game. And I am hoping this will go a long way to getting him confidence. I think his game will evolve throughout the year. Still, just not that explosive athlete, I do think he will bring that refined "old man" big game and will be able to step out for some jumpshots.

24) William Jeffress. 2nd youngest player in college BB. Wow. He has "it". High BB IQ, great body control, he's only and won't turn 18 until next summer. So he has growing and filling out. But he has a great handle for the size, good recognition, everything will come to him, he will get stronger, he could be a star.

35) Big Max Incomplete.

I am not sure what kind of season this will be, I would love to see us go close to .500 and if there is one, at least make the NIT. I think, especially if Sibande breaks our transfer trend and becomes a factor and we do get Efton Reid, I think this is going to be a pretty good team next year.
Toney is really interesting— he’s playing at a really high level yet seems to somehow put up a quiet 18-8. His put back late and getting to the rim and the line were key down the stretch. He’s just really good.
 
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Re: the 1st half. The offense actually seemed to have good movement. We weren't just passing the ball around the perimeter. The lack of zone being thrown at us had something to do with that, but we've been stagnant at times otherwise and that wasn't the case last night. The problem was we were either settling for too many 3's, or when we did penetrate and get closer to the hoop, the shots we were taking were still a high degree of difficulty. In the 2nd half we were just better, while some of those tougher shots went down.
First half we seemed to be in hurry to launch the first available 3 after missing so many layups... they started to panic similarly to SFU. The difference was our defense and rebounding were very good the whole game - gave us a chance .
 
My thoughts on the game

1 - We will go as X goes.

2 - Capel was a plus in this game - He kept the team playing and his substitution patern was good.

3 - I like Femi - other than the bad turnover, thought he played well - he has played well for his role and experience

4 - Jeffress seems to be gaining confidence - really liked how he methodically moved from the corner to obtain an easy shot jump shot head on

5 - Coulibaly and all our players had trouble at the rim in the first half - either swallowed up, shot blocked or blew easy bunnies

6 - Horton might be a pure shooter - going to be streaky, a lot of them are

7 - looks like decision has been made on value of Brown, Collier played ahead of him

8 - a DNP for Drumgoole - see above about Brown

9 - gotta believe disparaging remarks after game one concerning Justin were unwarranted

10 - Nike will help
 
Jeffress is ALWAYS the first to the floor for a loose ball.

I would have loved to have seen a head to head contest with William against Tray Woodall in a best of seven for loose balls.
I’ll take BK over both of them. He is the kind of guy who would do loose ball drills for the fun of it.
 
My thoughts on the game

1 - We will go as X goes.

2 - Capel was a plus in this game - He kept the team playing and his substitution patern was good.

3 - I like Femi - other than the bad turnover, thought he played well - he has played well for his role and experience

4 - Jeffress seems to be gaining confidence - really liked how he methodically moved from the corner to obtain an easy shot jump shot head on

5 - Coulibaly and all our players had trouble at the rim in the first half - either swallowed up, shot blocked or blew easy bunnies

6 - Horton might be a pure shooter - going to be streaky, a lot of them are

7 - looks like decision has been made on value of Brown, Collier played ahead of him

8 - a DNP for Drumgoole - see above about Brown

9 - gotta believe disparaging remarks after game one concerning Justin were unwarranted

10 - Nike will help

Two things. I'm having some trouble completely understanding Capel's viewpoint on Terrell. I agree with you that it looks like a decision has been made, and I'm not contesting this decision. But it's a little unusual the how Capel inserts Brown for such a short time without much of a chance to make a play, plus OR minus.

In his minute or so, his minus play was a weak attempt at a finish in close (nothing new for TB unfortunately), but AKC and Big John also had trouble at the rim. I can understand the thought that maybe Capel already knows what he can get from TB. But if this is where he is, why play him at all?

And all of our discussion and debate and babbling on about everyone, especially from folks such as me, maybe it is as simple as a X goes, the team goes (for better or for worse).
 
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Two things. I'm having some trouble completely understanding Capel's viewpoint on Terrell. I agree with you that it looks like a decision has been made, and I'm not contesting this decision. But it's a little unusual the how Capel inserts Brown for such a short time without much of a chance to make a play, plus OR minus.

In his minute or so, his minus play was a weak attempt at a finish in close (nothing new for TB unfortunately), but AKC and Big John also had trouble at the rim. I can understand the thought that maybe Capel already knows what he can get from TB. But if this is where he is, why play him at all?

And all of our discussion and debate and babbling on about everyone, especially from folks such as me, maybe it is as simple as a X goes, the team goes (for better or for worse).
He played him at the right time defensively. He protected the rim pretty well. Made a guy alter his shot. Then get out of there. Go to the bench big buddy.
 
I think the Femi comparison is pretty good. I would say that Femi is more composed than Brad at this age. Brad was a ball of nerves his first year and most of his TO's were made be said he was so jittery.

I'd like to see how they look with Femi at PG and X at SG for a few minutes per game. Probably won't happen much or at all, though, when Nike becomes eligible and if Jeffress becomes a replacement for Horton. Horton might become a good shooter coming off the bench, but he just doesn't look like a good starting SG so far.
 
One other thing I didn't mention. We were calling for Capel to get a T and he did. It was a 7 point game. They made 1 free throw, then we turned them over and Jeffress missed the dunk, but we made another stop, Toney hit a jumpshot then we exchanged 3's and the game just really tightened up and we took care of the ball and played great D.
 
Interesting cause the new guy on the pay board says something different. What schools are you hearing? Or G League?
Houston lives down there so may have different sources than I do. I talk mostly to college staffs and HS/AAU coaches. UVA feels confident in their chances in landing him.

A place like IMG doesn’t help us. I’m surprised more underarmour teams aren’t involved, especially Maryland. Mac was given that job based on his relationship to Maryland. If he goes to Pitt, does that help IMG’s brand of elevating kids?? Just my thoughts

I honestly didn’t even know he was considering Pitt til I read that. 247 doesn’t list Pitt as a contender either.
 
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It looks like Horton struggles on the defensive end, so hopefully Nike is the real deal. However, I do not have much confidence left in the Pitt football and basketball transfers who are hyped due to practice performance. I still think he will be a contributor, but I won't fall for the overhype again.

As others have mentioned, Jeffress plays like the son of a coach. A lot of fundamental plays, which is important for a team that has not had much of that for several years. Over time, with a little more strength, he looks to be a really solid ACC player.

I was quite surprised they got a hoop on that last possession. Xavier has done very poorly in last shot scenarios, whether end of game or even last possession of first half.

The foolish fouls by Xavier remains an issue. At this point that will probably not change.

The number of missed layups by Pitt in the game was astounding. Team confidence at times seems low, and I blame that on there being no knock down perimeter shooter who you can count on to hit a shot when things get rough.

Xavier seems to shoot much better off the break. His mechanics are not good. It seems to me that his natural athletic ability takes over off the bounce, but he thinks too much about the open, set feet, threes?
 
Houston lives down there so may have different sources than I do. I talk mostly to college staffs and HS/AAU coaches. UVA feels confident in their chances in landing him.

A place like IMG doesn’t help us. I’m surprised more underarmour teams aren’t involved, especially Maryland. Mac was given that job based on his relationship to Maryland. If he goes to Pitt, does that help IMG’s brand of elevating kids?? Just my thoughts

I honestly didn’t even know he was considering Pitt til I read that. 247 doesn’t list Pitt as a contender either.
Seems like most of the public chatter for the last few months was with Ohio State and Michigan, and Michigan landing Diabate throw a wrench into the mix.

Brian Snow from 247 said in an article a few days ago that Reid is probably the most “wide open” recruitment in 2021 and, while he didn’t mention Pitt, he did say that “schools such as Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky, and previously Virginia” were mentioned with him...which is phrased to indicate that maybe Virginia’s out? But I don’t think anyone has a clue right now.
 
Seems like most of the public chatter for the last few months was with Ohio State and Michigan, and Michigan landing Diabate throw a wrench into the mix.

Brian Snow from 247 said in an article a few days ago that Reid is probably the most “wide open” recruitment in 2021 and, while he didn’t mention Pitt, he did say that “schools such as Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky, and previously Virginia” were mentioned with him...which is phrased to indicate that maybe Virginia’s out? But I don’t think anyone has a clue right now.
I talk to Snow quite a bit. Could reach out and see what he thinks
 
I talk to Snow quite a bit. Could reach out and see what he thinks
There’s also a paywalled 247 article by Travis Branham from a week ago about undecided 2021s that’s significantly more positive about Pitt and Reid. Won’t get too deep into paywalled content, though.
 
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There’s also a paywalled 247 article by Travis Branham from a week ago about undecided 2021s that’s significantly more positive about Pitt and Reid. Won’t get too deep into paywalled content, though.
Well instead of paywall you got me lol. His mom wants him to go pro. I got the indication mom is why many of these teams backed off
 
Well instead of paywall you got me lol. His mom wants him to go pro. I got the indication mom is why many of these teams backed off
I could see Capel as being the type who’d be good (or believes he’d be good) with the parents and wouldn’t back off because of it.
 
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