I plan to day "A Second Glance" article and rewatch it and have a story up about the whole game sometime tomorrow or Thursday, but I did want to mention a few things that I did see tonight.
-- Pitt played hard tonight, and that can make up for talent in a lot of ways. They were jumping on loose balls, making steals, and basically - that's who they have to be. They are giving up a lot in the talent department - they can never get outworked.
-- The rebounding was impressive, and they did it as a team. Brown was the only guy to have more than five rebounds and he finished with 6. Iowa had the size advantage and Pitt still hit the glass.
-- Pitt shut down the Iowa bigs, but Iowa proved they have a nice team because when those guys were held in check they have enough shooters to survive.
-- I don't think Iowa is the 14th best team in the country, but they are a solid team. I think the might be a tournament team, and that's a good thing for Pitt that it could hang with a team like that for 40 minutes.
-- Johnson just does some amazing stuff. But he was shut down in the second half. 18 and 6 is great, but six turnovers...well that's bad. He's a freshman, a really good one, but sometimes he'll run into struggles. It's part of it.
-- Pitt fouls a lot. They just do. You can complain about the refs all you want, but they foul a lot. Wilson-Frame can't sit for that long, he's a rhythm scorer. It's tough to get him going if he's fouling. Johnson is the team's best player - he can never foul out. It needs cleaned up.
-- They survived with Brown and Chukwuka I guess? That's about all they are asking them to do, but it shows you why they are recruiting a lot of bigs. Those guys are playing admirably, but the team needs help inside.
-- The second-half was bad in a lot of ways. I think @rockypanther said the screens weren't crisp, and I noticed that as well. The guys weren't getting anywhere on their dribble drives. The offense was really bad, and it's amazing they kept it as close as they did.
-- Sidy N'dir was a big pickup, they'd be in trouble without him.
-- As for the rotation, I think it'll evolve somewhat. But as I said, I know Ellison isn't playing well right now but if Jeff thought he had a better option right now - he would go to him. That could be Kham Davis someday, or Au'Diese Toney but for now it's going to be Ellison, Johnson, JWF, Chukwuka, and N'dir down the stretch.
-- Pitt needs to play as hard on Friday, because Duquesne certainly well.
-- Pitt played hard tonight, and that can make up for talent in a lot of ways. They were jumping on loose balls, making steals, and basically - that's who they have to be. They are giving up a lot in the talent department - they can never get outworked.
-- The rebounding was impressive, and they did it as a team. Brown was the only guy to have more than five rebounds and he finished with 6. Iowa had the size advantage and Pitt still hit the glass.
-- Pitt shut down the Iowa bigs, but Iowa proved they have a nice team because when those guys were held in check they have enough shooters to survive.
-- I don't think Iowa is the 14th best team in the country, but they are a solid team. I think the might be a tournament team, and that's a good thing for Pitt that it could hang with a team like that for 40 minutes.
-- Johnson just does some amazing stuff. But he was shut down in the second half. 18 and 6 is great, but six turnovers...well that's bad. He's a freshman, a really good one, but sometimes he'll run into struggles. It's part of it.
-- Pitt fouls a lot. They just do. You can complain about the refs all you want, but they foul a lot. Wilson-Frame can't sit for that long, he's a rhythm scorer. It's tough to get him going if he's fouling. Johnson is the team's best player - he can never foul out. It needs cleaned up.
-- They survived with Brown and Chukwuka I guess? That's about all they are asking them to do, but it shows you why they are recruiting a lot of bigs. Those guys are playing admirably, but the team needs help inside.
-- The second-half was bad in a lot of ways. I think @rockypanther said the screens weren't crisp, and I noticed that as well. The guys weren't getting anywhere on their dribble drives. The offense was really bad, and it's amazing they kept it as close as they did.
-- Sidy N'dir was a big pickup, they'd be in trouble without him.
-- As for the rotation, I think it'll evolve somewhat. But as I said, I know Ellison isn't playing well right now but if Jeff thought he had a better option right now - he would go to him. That could be Kham Davis someday, or Au'Diese Toney but for now it's going to be Ellison, Johnson, JWF, Chukwuka, and N'dir down the stretch.
-- Pitt needs to play as hard on Friday, because Duquesne certainly well.
