After reading through several of the posts following the NC State debacle, I sorta had an epiphany of sorts regarding our 2015-2016 Panthers BB team.
What I and I'm sure others have observed, is that when they've faced teams with a strong inside presence - i.e., big men who are not only large in stature and girth but who also have game - they cower and give up easy points and rebounds (Purdue and NC State).
Second, they had a major lapse when playing a highly physical-defending team (Louisville), in that when relying on their offense to produce, it was clearly negated by a stronger defense. Sorta like the old baseball adage that "good pitching will overcome good hitting". And since this Pitt squad guards on defense much like the Steelers DB's guard WR's in their Tampa 2, the recipe is there for legitimate scorers to "go off", and score at will (as Cat Barber did the other night, and the guard from BC did [#3] the previous game).
In sizing up each player, by position, it doesn't appear to this fan that we have a team of players who can provide the skill set needed to off set their foibles. Our biggest big men can rebound OK, and defend, at times, but are not a strong asset for us. Skills are lacking for both scoring and pure strength at the 5 position. Mike and Sheldon at the 4 offer us the best combination of offense/defense when they are focused on their game. But whenever we play a team whose inside game is superior we are likely to lose.
As for guard and small forward play, Artis is obviously our best threat when it comes to offense, but as others have noted, he can get "pouty" when he doesn't score or turns the ball over, and his defense, is well "offensive"! JRob is JRob. I wish he would look for his shot more, finish his drives and either get fouled or score, and just be more confident of his game. As I mentioned a couple of "Moe-bservations" ago, the "underclassman" James has appeared the last few games, and the team does seem to revolve around his play. Not sure about Sterling; he might just be more suited to play at a mid-major level than at the ACC level. He certainly adds experience, but not sure that is enough to overcome our needs at the 2. I do like Cam and CJ and their overall game. They, to me, will be our "wild cards" down the stretch, and hope they can deliver big results in big games.
So the "epiphany" is, that perhaps our 15-3 start is not indicative of what this team will achieve by the end of the ACC season. I haven't even begun to analyze how we would match up against the rest of the teams we have scheduled from now until March. But I don't think this squad is going to make any significant changes to the way they play to affect the outcome of the games ahead. Meaning, this is the Pitt hand that is dealt; we're not going to bluff anyone or beat anyone with a better hand. Not sure what that means with regard to our final record (Wins and Losses); I hope our hand is strong enough to make it to the NCAAT, but we showed a lot of our hand on Tuesday, and the other teams in the ACC and their coaching staff will know how to beat us going forward.
What I and I'm sure others have observed, is that when they've faced teams with a strong inside presence - i.e., big men who are not only large in stature and girth but who also have game - they cower and give up easy points and rebounds (Purdue and NC State).
Second, they had a major lapse when playing a highly physical-defending team (Louisville), in that when relying on their offense to produce, it was clearly negated by a stronger defense. Sorta like the old baseball adage that "good pitching will overcome good hitting". And since this Pitt squad guards on defense much like the Steelers DB's guard WR's in their Tampa 2, the recipe is there for legitimate scorers to "go off", and score at will (as Cat Barber did the other night, and the guard from BC did [#3] the previous game).
In sizing up each player, by position, it doesn't appear to this fan that we have a team of players who can provide the skill set needed to off set their foibles. Our biggest big men can rebound OK, and defend, at times, but are not a strong asset for us. Skills are lacking for both scoring and pure strength at the 5 position. Mike and Sheldon at the 4 offer us the best combination of offense/defense when they are focused on their game. But whenever we play a team whose inside game is superior we are likely to lose.
As for guard and small forward play, Artis is obviously our best threat when it comes to offense, but as others have noted, he can get "pouty" when he doesn't score or turns the ball over, and his defense, is well "offensive"! JRob is JRob. I wish he would look for his shot more, finish his drives and either get fouled or score, and just be more confident of his game. As I mentioned a couple of "Moe-bservations" ago, the "underclassman" James has appeared the last few games, and the team does seem to revolve around his play. Not sure about Sterling; he might just be more suited to play at a mid-major level than at the ACC level. He certainly adds experience, but not sure that is enough to overcome our needs at the 2. I do like Cam and CJ and their overall game. They, to me, will be our "wild cards" down the stretch, and hope they can deliver big results in big games.
So the "epiphany" is, that perhaps our 15-3 start is not indicative of what this team will achieve by the end of the ACC season. I haven't even begun to analyze how we would match up against the rest of the teams we have scheduled from now until March. But I don't think this squad is going to make any significant changes to the way they play to affect the outcome of the games ahead. Meaning, this is the Pitt hand that is dealt; we're not going to bluff anyone or beat anyone with a better hand. Not sure what that means with regard to our final record (Wins and Losses); I hope our hand is strong enough to make it to the NCAAT, but we showed a lot of our hand on Tuesday, and the other teams in the ACC and their coaching staff will know how to beat us going forward.
