Same Team as Last Year, Except...

[Zaratoughda]

Except...

* Sterling Smith replaces Cam Wright. This *SHOULD* be a step up, in 3ball shooting, which this team dearly needs, and possibly on the defensive end.

* Maia replaces Randall and Nix replaces Uchebo. This also *SHOULD* be a step up, with Maia a proven player while Randall had not progressed in 2 years at Rutgers, and Nix not having a bad knee.

* Slim should be available. Given the need for 3ball shooting, this could be a significant plus.

* Last year there was the trip to the Bahamas and then the trip to Hawaii, and then the team totally ran out of gas at the end of the season. This season, none of that and things should be much more normal.

Open Problems....

* Can Dixon get reasonable play from Wilson or Newkirk spelling Robinson to the point that James does not get played too much and his game does not go downhill??

* Can Dixon get an inside rotation going to the point where Mike Young is not getting worn down and is typically scoring 22 points a game like he did 3 games in a row near the end of the season??

* Can the team play defense?? Went from regularly a top defensive team to being a bottom dweller in defense this past season. With Young and Robinson getting worn down, Dixon went to all sorts of BIZARRE defenses last year so hopefully he will return to the man-to-man with hedging that has worked so well in the past.

Bottom Line...

* With the year of experience with these players plus the additions noted above, this coming year's team SHOULD be much better (mainly more consistent), and in fact an NCAA team. If Dixon can answer some of the open problems noted above effectively, then we should be able to compete with the big boys in the ACC.

No???

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Except...

* Sterling Smith replaces Cam Wright. This *SHOULD* be a step up, in 3ball shooting, which this team dearly needs, and possibly on the defensive end.

* Maia replaces Randall and Nix replaces Uchebo. This also *SHOULD* be a step up, with Maia a proven player while Randall had not progressed in 2 years at Rutgers, and Nix not having a bad knee.

* Slim should be available. Given the need for 3ball shooting, this could be a significant plus.

* Last year there was the trip to the Bahamas and then the trip to Hawaii, and then the team totally ran out of gas at the end of the season. This season, none of that and things should be much more normal.

Open Problems....

* Can Dixon get reasonable play from Wilson or Newkirk spelling Robinson to the point that James does not get played too much and his game does not go downhill??

* Can Dixon get an inside rotation going to the point where Mike Young is not getting worn down and is typically scoring 22 points a game like he did 3 games in a row near the end of the season??

* Can the team play defense?? Went from regularly a top defensive team to being a bottom dweller in defense this past season. With Young and Robinson getting worn down, Dixon went to all sorts of BIZARRE defenses last year so hopefully he will return to the man-to-man with hedging that has worked so well in the past.

Bottom Line...

* With the year of experience with these players plus the additions noted above, this coming year's team SHOULD be much better (mainly more consistent), and in fact an NCAA team. If Dixon can answer some of the open problems noted above effectively, then we should be able to compete with the big boys in the ACC.

No???

Good post and welcome back by the way. I enjoy your posts. I do think this team will be better next season but so will almost the entire ACC. We'll probably be picked around 11th or 12th but I think this team is capable of going 10-8 and finishing somewhere around 8th or 9th but getting an at-large bid because since the league will be a lot better, we'll have many more opportunities for good RPI wins. The biggest difference between last year and this year is I think the defense will improve (if only marginally) simply because the players are older and have another year in the system.

 

[Jeffburgh]

It is mostly the same as noted, with one affirmative factor I will get to.

I do agree that it is POSSIBLE Smith is an improvement over Cam. I liked Cam a little more than most, but he was a limited player, and his glaring weakness (outside shooting) make it extraordinarily hard to put a balanced team together given the other issues it had.

I am skeptical that Nix will be anything beyond Randall and Uechebo, am somewhat hopeful that Maia CAN provide a LITTLE more than them. It won't take much to help in a small, but meaningful way.

Guard is super shakey now with Newkirk's injury and Wilson questionable. This smells like mid 80s/early 90s roster stuff, being so out of wack.

I think the one thing that might be most hopeful for this team is the core is transitioning from underclassmen to upper classmen. However it looks, there is a real possibility that they hit that junior year bump, physically, mentally, emotionally. Young, Artis and Jones in particular. We can break it down in 100 different ways, but winning lies primarily in the maturity these kids have on the court in key moments, CONSISTENTLY.

We will see if these kids have the work ethic and maturity to gut out wins night in and night out.

 

[thebadby2]

It is mostly the same as noted, with one affirmative factor I will get to.

I do agree that it is POSSIBLE Smith is an improvement over Cam. I liked Cam a little more than most, but he was a limited player, and his glaring weakness (outside shooting) make it extraordinarily hard to put a balanced team together given the other issues it had.

I am skeptical that Nix will be anything beyond Randall and Uechebo, am somewhat hopeful that Maia CAN provide a LITTLE more than them. It won't take much to help in a small, but meaningful way.

Guard is super shakey now with Newkirk's injury and Wilson questionable. This smells like mid 80s/early 90s roster stuff, being so out of wack.

I think the one thing that might be most hopeful for this team is the core is transitioning from underclassmen to upper classmen. However it looks, there is a real possibility that they hit that junior year bump, physically, mentally, emotionally. Young, Artis and Jones in particular. We can break it down in 100 different ways, but winning lies primarily in the maturity these kids have on the court in key moments, CONSISTENTLY.

We will see if these kids have the work ethic and maturity to gut out wins night in and night out.

Agree with that last sentence. The real maturity barometer is learning to find a way to win close games at the end, as opposed to finding a way to lose them. This is where our lack of playmaking from the backcourt just kills us. I was as big of a JROB supporter as there was until last season played itself out, now I am convinced that he is nothing more than a weak-defending game manager. Has he ever stepped up to win one for us, in his three years as a starter?

 

[Las Panteras]

Many of my Pitt friends say that had Durand been available....Pitt makes the tourney.

I think that may have been likely until I watched Pitt fold up like a cheap suit down the stretch.

But....if you buy in to the Durand=Tourney theory......then the shooting of Slim and Smith should get them there.

 

[Scruffy the Panther]

Agree with that last sentence. The real maturity barometer is learning to find a way to win close games at the end, as opposed to finding a way to lose them. This is where our lack of playmaking from the backcourt just kills us. I was as big of a JROB supporter as there was until last season played itself out, now I am convinced that he is nothing more than a weak-defending game manager. Has he ever stepped up to win one for us, in his three years as a starter?

You have to have some pretty heavy amnesia to not remember that. He also made a miraculous 4 point play last year against Virginia Tech I believe to send the game to overtime and allow us to win. He made a steal and then a tough layup against Virginia last year in the ACC tournament and SHOULD have been given the opportunity to tie the game at the free throw line.

I'm disappointed with Robinson's lack of progression, particularly this year, but he's the player I want with ball in his hand in end game situations.

 

[Jeffburgh]

Agree with that last sentence. The real maturity barometer is learning to find a way to win close games at the end, as opposed to finding a way to lose them. This is where our lack of playmaking from the backcourt just kills us. I was as big of a JROB supporter as there was until last season played itself out, now I am convinced that he is nothing more than a weak-defending game manager. Has he ever stepped up to win one for us, in his three years as a starter?

Me, too. I spent two years saying I expected JROB to have a real nice junior year breakout.

But, he spent the whole season mostly playing in a fog like he had the prior two seasons.

Not as mentally tough as I was hoping.

 

[Zaratoughda]

One more thing I would like to emphasize here after thinking about things a little... and that is the biggest problem last year was not the offense but rather the defense.

We did not have a bad offense last year and with the year of experience as well as the additions of Smith and the return of Cam Johnson, should be better this coming year.

But, on the defensive side someone posted something a while back showing that last year, we went from being a regular top 50 defensive team to being a bottom 50 defensive team... and there was the matter of regularly blowing 10 point leads down the stretch and the comebacks that never made it due to other teams being able to come down the court and score at will.

And you can talk about the individual lackings of the players defensively and that is a concern for sure.

But then there is the fact that in the past, we played mostly man-to-man with hedging, with the zone on occasion, but last year Dixon was playing all sorts of bizarre defenses... the switching off 1-5, the bizarre defense where our guard would play to the screen side of his man with our big only coming out half way, and then lastly just putting Newkirk out there and having him go in front of the screens with no hedging help at all (and he got nailed with this on more than one occasion).

The point here is that defense is more of 'not making a bad play' than it is on making a good play, and if Dixon continues to tinker with all sorts of bizarre stuff we may continue to look as ragged next year as we looked this past year, unable to stop anyone particularly when it counts the most down the stretch.

What Dixon needs to do is to get back to playing the man-to-man with hedging defense that we played in the past and continually work with the players until they are good at it... and not spend any time at all with the bizarre stuff as it makes things worse.

So, when the season opens six months from now, this is one thing I will be sure to be watching, particularly down the stretch, and IMO it will be a significant indicator as to how well we will or will not do next season.

 

[thebadby2]

View embedded media

You have to have some pretty heavy amnesia to not remember that. He also made a miraculous 4 point play last year against Virginia Tech I believe to send the game to overtime and allow us to win. He made a steal and then a tough layup against Virginia last year in the ACC tournament and SHOULD have been given the opportunity to tie the game at the free throw line.

I'm disappointed with Robinson's lack of progression, particularly this year, but he's the player I want with ball in his hand in end game situations.

Can;t argue with that--unfortunately i wasn't able to watch that game.

Robinson driving to the hoop in a critical moment while well-defended? Where was that the rest of the year?

I just kept waiting for him to become the player I thought he would be as a three year starter, and it has not happened. Maybe his 4th year will be the one. It's not like it's just a few critics on this board that have the view that in many games we are playing 4 on 5 offensively with James out there as a non-threat. That was stated by more than one analyst last year.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Z--I generally agree with your thesis on the approach to defense. What it doesn't fully address is why Dixon took the approach he did last season. I am convinced it was not something he wanted to do. There are various possible explanations. The following four (and combinations of them) have been discussed on this board--

1. The players on the roster weren't athletic enough to play the good hedging man to man effectively.
2. Lack of a defensive presence inside of even the Gary McGhee or Talib Zanna talent level.
3. Our guards and wings were poor perimeter defenders allowing open 3s and too much dribble penetration by opposing guards.
4. Our players didn't like playing defense and so didn't play hard on defense.

I am inclined to place most belief in the second because it goes hand in hand with the relatively weak defensive rebounding exhibited by last year's team from the get go in the OOC schedule.

I am hopeful that Maia and Nix in some combination will fix this problem sufficiently to allow a return to an effective traditional Pitt hedging man to man.

 

[NTOP]

Can;t argue with that--unfortunately i wasn't able to watch that game.

Robinson driving to the hoop in a critical moment while well-defended? Where was that the rest of the year?

I just kept waiting for him to become the player I thought he would be as a three year starter, and it has not happened. Maybe his 4th year will be the one. It's not like it's just a few critics on this board that have the view that in many games we are playing 4 on 5 offensively with James out there as a non-threat. That was stated by more than one analyst last year.

There's one factor that seems to be lost in the haze of losses....we have NO ONE who sets screens in the lane. I recall one play where someone drove down the right side of the lane...and Michael, who was standing on the blocks, just turned to get out of the way. McGhee, Gray....even Talib would have just rooted there, and the path to the rack would have been clear. Instead, the trailing defender blocked the layup from behind. James drives into the lane and finds himself effectively doubled a lot because we don't screen near the basket.. Robinson needs a scorer beside him to create room, too. Hopefully, Smith will provide that....or Matt's mystery guest. Changes the whole dynamics. DJ was my hope for that....

 

[Delpanther]

Agree with that last sentence. The real maturity barometer is learning to find a way to win close games at the end, as opposed to finding a way to lose them. This is where our lack of playmaking from the backcourt just kills us. I was as big of a JROB supporter as there was until last season played itself out, now I am convinced that he is nothing more than a weak-defending game manager. Has he ever stepped up to win one for us, in his three years as a starter?

A spot on evaluation of his ability by the staff would have led to his being recruited over 2 years ago. Any team, regardless of how many scorers there are in the lineup will not be as effective with a PG who can't penetrate and is no threat to score. Robinson 's defender simply ignores him and provides help defense on another Pitt player. He's a liability, particularly late in games when you you want your PG to be aggressive and decisive and make something happen

 

[heybandguy]

Except...

* Sterling Smith replaces Cam Wright. This *SHOULD* be a step up, in 3ball shooting, which this team dearly needs, and possibly on the defensive end.

* Maia replaces Randall and Nix replaces Uchebo. This also *SHOULD* be a step up, with Maia a proven player while Randall had not progressed in 2 years at Rutgers, and Nix not having a bad knee.

* Slim should be available. Given the need for 3ball shooting, this could be a significant plus.

* Last year there was the trip to the Bahamas and then the trip to Hawaii, and then the team totally ran out of gas at the end of the season. This season, none of that and things should be much more normal.

Open Problems....

* Can Dixon get reasonable play from Wilson or Newkirk spelling Robinson to the point that James does not get played too much and his game does not go downhill??

* Can Dixon get an inside rotation going to the point where Mike Young is not getting worn down and is typically scoring 22 points a game like he did 3 games in a row near the end of the season??

* Can the team play defense?? Went from regularly a top defensive team to being a bottom dweller in defense this past season. With Young and Robinson getting worn down, Dixon went to all sorts of BIZARRE defenses last year so hopefully he will return to the man-to-man with hedging that has worked so well in the past.

Bottom Line...

* With the year of experience with these players plus the additions noted above, this coming year's team SHOULD be much better (mainly more consistent), and in fact an NCAA team. If Dixon can answer some of the open problems noted above effectively, then we should be able to compete with the big boys in the ACC.

No???

I agree with a number of points you make here regarding next year, but I cannot commit to the idea of them being a tourney team for a couple of reasons:

1) Newkirk may not hit stride after surgery until well into the season, and there are still questions about Wilson even getting to Pitt due to academic problems at OSNA. While questions concerning Wilson (to my knowledge) have not been confirmed - they haven't been eliminated either which is concern.
2) I think Pitt has the front court depth it needs to improve rebounding and play tougher interior defense. I am still concerned about their ability to stop dribble drives, make rotations, and close out on shooters. Pitt will have new bigs defending the pick and rolls, and a backcourt that has defenesive questions. While I believe Smith is an upgrade on both ends, the backcourt quickness was exposed (stop dribble drives & close outs) periodically last year.

I agree the team (at least on paper) can play with more consistent effort because of the upgrades address their needs and (at the moment) align with JD's expectations on both ends. I think the OOC schedule will be handled better without any let downs (even against Purdue). However, given who the top tier ACC teams are returning, recruiting, or getting to transfer there and the improvements at FLA St (long & athletic next year) they will be pushing to get 10 conference wins. I think the NIT is a lock, but I hope that I am REALLY wrong on this and things go much better than my estimation above.

 

[DT_PITT]

Many of my Pitt friends say that had Durand been available....Pitt makes the tourney.

I think that may have been likely until I watched Pitt fold up like a cheap suit down the stretch.

But....if you buy in to the Durand=Tourney theory......then the shooting of Slim and Smith should get them there.

This is THE question about next year. Would Durand have made the difference needed? A case can easily be made for both sides of this thought. It's easy to think how Pitt beats Hawaii with Durand, and maybe a game such as Va Tech on the road.

But like you said, we looked absolutely terrible in our final five games.

Anyway, the answer to whether Durand would have made a difference just cannot be answered. BUT, the corollary you have drawn abut Slim and Smith for next year certainly makes tons of logical sense.

One thing that you haven't addressed is whether Durand this past year, or the additions for the coming year would have/will make a difference in regards to how we play defense -- or more specifically, our ability to stop dribble penetration. That will be the biggest tell as to whether we get to the NCAA tournament this coming year in my opinion.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Z--I generally agree with your thesis on the approach to defense. What it doesn't fully address is why Dixon took the approach he did last season. I am convinced it was not something he wanted to do. There are various possible explanations. The following four (and combinations of them) have been discussed on this board--

1. The players on the roster weren't athletic enough to play the good hedging man to man effectively.
2. Lack of a defensive presence inside of even the Gary McGhee or Talib Zanna talent level.
3. Our guards and wings were poor perimeter defenders allowing open 3s and too much dribble penetration by opposing guards.
4. Our players didn't like playing defense and so didn't play hard on defense.

I am inclined to place most belief in the second because it goes hand in hand with the relatively weak defensive rebounding exhibited by last year's team from the get go in the OOC schedule.

I am hopeful that Maia and Nix in some combination will fix this problem sufficiently to allow a return to an effective traditional Pitt hedging man to man.

DC.... I here what you are saying and IMO it is more a matter of having a very inexperienced team that they were not playing good hedging defense.

But, the switching-off 1-5 was hideous. Dixon would only use it down the stretch and THAT is when we were giving up the big leads we had. Mercifully, Dixon finally abandoned that, and hopefully we won't be seeing that again this year.

Another item here, is I have watched Mike Young playing the hedge in the past and he was not great but was not that bad. But, there is the matter of him getting worn down and maybe he was doing a bad job of it down the stretch. Thus the need to get some physical bod in there that can wear the opposition down a bit.

When we beat Cuse in the dome I was watching and down the stretch it seemed to me that we were playing defense like we used to. THEN I realized Boeheim was not running the high ball screens.

I would prefer that Dixon REALLY got on the players going into the season to start playing some consistent defense, and we went back to the hedging defense full time and Dixon stopped experimenting with the bizarre stuff that was disastrous last year.

I am concerned that the hedging defense was really Howland's and Dixon does not do a good job in teaching players how to play it. He has had problems before with this... Blair... McGhee... etc. And thus the reason to try the stuff he tried last year.

Uh... I guess we just gotta wait and see which direction Dixon goes on this come the start of the season.

 

[JS School]

There's one factor that seems to be lost in the haze of losses....we have NO ONE who sets screens in the lane. I recall one play where someone drove down the right side of the lane...and Michael, who was standing on the blocks, just turned to get out of the way. McGhee, Gray....even Talib would have just rooted there, and the path to the rack would have been clear. Instead, the trailing defender blocked the layup from behind. James drives into the lane and finds himself effectively doubled a lot because we don't screen near the basket.. Robinson needs a scorer beside him to create room, too. Hopefully, Smith will provide that....or Matt's mystery guest. Changes the whole dynamics. DJ was my hope for that....

I agree with this. Despite being the team's best players, I'm not sure that Young and Artis did the little things well enough that help teams win games. Maybe there will be an improvement in that area in their third seasons. There was one game where Newkirk scored the game winning lay up because he got a nice screen. Robinson and Newkirk might be better getting to the hoop if that happened more often.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

No doubt Young and, especially, Artis need to improve from their SO to JR seasons here. I expect it. Hoping they take some nice leaps on D. And, Artis needs to improve his drives to the hoop. Young needs to set better picks.

And, of course, Jeter and Jones should improve as well and have a long way to go.

Having Maia should take some pressure off of the other front court players and will likely excel at the little things. Hoping for something like Kendall. And, Smith should help with the guards. Along with Cam Johnson, he will provide a much needed sniper from the outside.

 

[NNFAN]

Except...

* Sterling Smith replaces Cam Wright. This *SHOULD* be a step up, in 3ball shooting, which this team dearly needs, and possibly on the defensive end.

* Maia replaces Randall and Nix replaces Uchebo. This also *SHOULD* be a step up, with Maia a proven player while Randall had not progressed in 2 years at Rutgers, and Nix not having a bad knee.

* Slim should be available. Given the need for 3ball shooting, this could be a significant plus.

* Last year there was the trip to the Bahamas and then the trip to Hawaii, and then the team totally ran out of gas at the end of the season. This season, none of that and things should be much more normal.

Open Problems....

* Can Dixon get reasonable play from Wilson or Newkirk spelling Robinson to the point that James does not get played too much and his game does not go downhill??

* Can Dixon get an inside rotation going to the point where Mike Young is not getting worn down and is typically scoring 22 points a game like he did 3 games in a row near the end of the season??

* Can the team play defense?? Went from regularly a top defensive team to being a bottom dweller in defense this past season. With Young and Robinson getting worn down, Dixon went to all sorts of BIZARRE defenses last year so hopefully he will return to the man-to-man with hedging that has worked so well in the past.

Bottom Line...

* With the year of experience with these players plus the additions noted above, this coming year's team SHOULD be much better (mainly more consistent), and in fact an NCAA team. If Dixon can answer some of the open problems noted above effectively, then we should be able to compete with the big boys in the ACC.

No???

Regarding Sterling Smith #24... have watched some video/games of him (and his team) on YouTube. Observations: Boy did he play on a crappy team this past year, his teammates didn't involve him much on the offensive end (lot's of selfish play by his team and they turned the ball over a ton). Sterling, IMO, is clearly a good outside shooter, but doesn't create his shot (must be set). He doesn't handle the ball much (3 guard offense), plays solid (but not great) defense, is not super quick or athletic. I didn't see him turning the ball over or making stupid decisions like his fellow guards. Nice player that will be a welcome addition, but won't stand out. Not as good on D as Cam Wright. Plenty of video of him on YouTube, including the entire game against Michigan. I wish some day Pitt could sign a lightning quick point guard that can penetrate the lane and pick your pocket on the defensive end. When was the last time we had that kind of PG?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Regarding Sterling Smith #24... have watched some video/games of him (and his team) on YouTube. Observations: Boy did he play on a crappy team this past year, his teammates didn't involve him much on the offensive end (lot's of selfish play by his team and they turned the ball over a ton). Sterling, IMO, is clearly a good outside shooter, but doesn't create his shot (must be set). He doesn't handle the ball much (3 guard offense), plays solid (but not great) defense, is not super quick or athletic. I didn't see him turning the ball over or making stupid decisions like his fellow guards. Nice player that will be a welcome addition, but won't stand out. Not as good on D as Cam Wright. Plenty of video of him on YouTube, including the entire game against Michigan. I wish some day Pitt could sign a lightning quick point guard that can penetrate the lane and pick your pocket on the defensive end. When was the last time we had that kind of PG?

Is he basically a stand-still shooter? That seems like you're describing. Maybe in the mold of say, a Micah Mason-type. Believe me, I always have said that we need a "designated shooter," but preferrably somebody who can do more than JUST shoot. But, it sounds like Smith is pretty much JUST a shooter. Not that that's a bad thing for this Pitt team but I was hoping he can do more.

 

[NNFAN]

Is he basically a stand-still shooter? That seems like you're describing. Maybe in the mold of say, a Micah Mason-type. Believe me, I always have said that we need a "designated shooter," but preferrably somebody who can do more than JUST shoot. But, it sounds like Smith is pretty much JUST a shooter. Not that that's a bad thing for this Pitt team but I was hoping he can do more.

Yes... stand-still shooter (with good size), based on the videos I saw. Not sure how well he handles the ball because he always gets it to the PG immediately after a rebound or turnover. No coast-to-coast plays. They play three guards, with the other two splitting time forcing bad passes and shots. Never saw him hurt the team with a bad decision.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Yes... stand-still shooter (with good size), based on the videos I saw. Not sure how well he handles the ball because he always gets it to the PG immediately after a rebound or turnover. No coast-to-coast plays. They play three guards, with the other two splitting time forcing bad passes and shots. Never saw him hurt the team with a bad decision.

We need a guy like that, even if he has no other game but the 3 ball. However, I wonder how many looks he'll get in our offense since Robinson doesn't create anything and we have don't push the ball so there's no transition 3's.

 

[Zaratoughda]

We need a guy like that, even if he has no other game but the 3 ball. However, I wonder how many looks he'll get in our offense since Robinson doesn't create anything and we have don't push the ball so there's no transition 3's.

Well, if other teams collapse to the inside to try to cover Young and Artis, then the open 3ball shots will be there.

Yeah, would be nice if we had two or three good 3ball shooters on the perimeter at the same time and, we can do that with Smith and Slim. Jones also is not a bad 3ball shooter.

People complain about Robinson but IMO if we had somebody that could hold his own and spell him, Robinson would be getting less worn down and put in a higher percentage of his 3balls.

In any case, if we have players that can hit the 3ball on the perimeter (unlike Cam Wright), then it forces the other team to cover them and that leaves a lot more space for Artis and Young to operate.

 

[phijo]

If the defense does not improve, I don't think there is much of a chance to see measurable improvement in this teams record, or post season chances. The failures of last years team wasn't offense, it was that they could stop almost no one. We have not picked up a shot blocking center, which helps hide deficiencies in perimeter defense. The real question is will the core of the team that is returning, embrace playing good, perimeter d. My feeling is, there are players that embrace and enjoy trying to shut down the opposing player. Right now, I am not sure I see that kind of mentality on this team.

 

[DT_PITT]

If the defense does not improve, I don't think there is much of a chance to see measurable improvement in this teams record, or post season chances. The failures of last years team wasn't offense, it was that they could stop almost no one. We have not picked up a shot blocking center, which helps hide deficiencies in perimeter defense. The real question is will the core of the team that is returning, embrace playing good, perimeter d. My feeling is, there are players that embrace and enjoy trying to shut down the opposing player. Right now, I am not sure I see that kind of mentality on this team.

This is the first, second, third (and on and on) most important question for next year's team.

I think they will get better. Who knows how much though, and how much of a difference will be enough.

The bottom line is that teams who finish above #200 in college hoops in defensive efficiency don't make the NCAA tournament.

 

[Zaratoughda]

If the defense does not improve, I don't think there is much of a chance to see measurable improvement in this teams record, or post season chances. The failures of last years team wasn't offense, it was that they could stop almost no one. We have not picked up a shot blocking center, which helps hide deficiencies in perimeter defense. The real question is will the core of the team that is returning, embrace playing good, perimeter d. My feeling is, there are players that embrace and enjoy trying to shut down the opposing player. Right now, I am not sure I see that kind of mentality on this team.

Phijo... I couldn't agree with you more.

What Dixon as to do is DRILL his players in the man-to-man with hedging until they start playing it good... and continue drilling them in it as the season progresses.

On the other hand, if he continues to experiment with all the bizarre defenses we saw last year, we are probably gonna be just as bad defensively next year as we were last year, and if we end up with similar results as last year, then the 'Dixon must go' talk will start getting serious.

 

[rgross83]

One more thing I would like to emphasize here after thinking about things a little... and that is the biggest problem last year was not the offense but rather the defense.



But then there is the fact that in the past, we played mostly man-to-man with hedging, with the zone on occasion, but last year Dixon was playing all sorts of bizarre defenses... the switching off 1-5, the bizarre defense where our guard would play to the screen side of his man with our big only coming out half way, and then lastly just putting Newkirk out there and having him go in front of the screens with no hedging help at all (and he got nailed with this on more than one occasion).

The point here is that defense is more of 'not making a bad play' than it is on making a good play, and if Dixon continues to tinker with all sorts of bizarre stuff we may continue to look as ragged next year as we looked this past year, unable to stop anyone particularly when it counts the most down the stretch.

What Dixon needs to do is to get back to playing the man-to-man with hedging defense that we played in the past and continually work with the players until they are good at it... and not spend any time at all with the bizarre stuff as it makes things worse.

So, when the season opens six months from now, this is one thing I will be sure to be watching, particularly down the stretch, and IMO it will be a significant indicator as to how well we will or will not do next season.

I believe that JD would have loved to play solid man to man last year. The tinkering and changing up was because the man to man was a sieve. The man up D was failing miserably and he was throwing sh*t against the wall in hopes of some of it sticking. I give him credit for not standing pat with a sinking ship. When what you are doing isn't working and you can't fix it, try something else.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

When what you are doing isn't working and you can't fix it, try something else.

No, no, clearly the solution when things aren't working is to simply DRILL the team more. Jamie Dixon's problem is that while he does drill the players, for whatever reason he doesn't seem to want to DRILL them. Quite frankly, I don't understand it.

 

[rgross83]

No, no, clearly the solution when things aren't working is to simply DRILL the team more. Jamie Dixon's problem is that while he does drill the players, for whatever reason he doesn't seem to want to DRILL them. Quite frankly, I don't understand it.

Perhaps you are correct.
Maybe I made a poor assumption.
I assumed that JD knows how to coach D and DRILL his players since he always had very good to great defensive teams since becoming head coach. I assumed that he pushed every button imaginable trying to get his team to respond defensively last year. When he exhausted all options and still the team didn't respond, he started experimenting and trying to find a way to get some stops.
As I said, maybe I'm wrong.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Perhaps you are correct.
Maybe I made a poor assumption.
I assumed that JD knows how to coach D and DRILL his players since he always had very good to great defensive teams since becoming head coach. I assumed that he pushed every button imaginable trying to get his team to respond defensively last year. When he exhausted all options and still the team didn't respond, he started experimenting and trying to find a way to get some stops.
As I said, maybe I'm wrong.

Look at your quote in his post.
It's funny, nothing more.
rgross83 said: ↑
When what you are doing isn't working and you can't fix it, try something else.

 

[BigZeke]

Except...

* Sterling Smith replaces Cam Wright. This *SHOULD* be a step up, in 3ball shooting, which this team dearly needs, and possibly on the defensive end.

* Maia replaces Randall and Nix replaces Uchebo. This also *SHOULD* be a step up, with Maia a proven player while Randall had not progressed in 2 years at Rutgers, and Nix not having a bad knee.

* Slim should be available. Given the need for 3ball shooting, this could be a significant plus.

* Last year there was the trip to the Bahamas and then the trip to Hawaii, and then the team totally ran out of gas at the end of the season. This season, none of that and things should be much more normal.

Open Problems....

* Can Dixon get reasonable play from Wilson or Newkirk spelling Robinson to the point that James does not get played too much and his game does not go downhill??

* Can Dixon get an inside rotation going to the point where Mike Young is not getting worn down and is typically scoring 22 points a game like he did 3 games in a row near the end of the season??

* Can the team play defense?? Went from regularly a top defensive team to being a bottom dweller in defense this past season. With Young and Robinson getting worn down, Dixon went to all sorts of BIZARRE defenses last year so hopefully he will return to the man-to-man with hedging that has worked so well in the past.

Bottom Line...

* With the year of experience with these players plus the additions noted above, this coming year's team SHOULD be much better (mainly more consistent), and in fact an NCAA team. If Dixon can answer some of the open problems noted above effectively, then we should be able to compete with the big boys in the ACC.

No???

Nice post and I feel with the solid additions Pitt has made in the offseason we should be right back in the NCAA Tourney and setting up for a big 2016 haul.

 

[Zaratoughda]

With the thing with Dixon and defense... IMO Dixon got the man-to-man with hedging... from Howland and Howland's team's here at Pitt were very good at it.

But that was Howland, and Dixon continued with that but has had problems over time with his bigs not being Chevy Troutman when it comes to hedging. Blair and McGhee come to my mind. Maybe Dixon just isn't Ben Howland when it comes to teaching bigs how to hedge I dunno.

So, last year, with the problems we were having defensively, Dixon decided, what the heck, lets try some other things.

But, the OTHER things proved to be disastrous, particularly the switching off 1-5.

The thing is... if you remember... we had a LOT of cases where we had 10 point or so leads down the stretch and then lost the lead and then in some cases lost the game.

Don't tell me the mtmwh was that bad. If it was then we wouldn't have had the 10 point leads in the first place.

But, down the stretch Dixon was changing over to the so1-5 and THAT was when we were losing those leads.

The fact that this went on for a while and then seemed to stop... was because Dixon finally stopped doing the so1-5 down the stretch. Of course, there was other bizarre stuff that he tried instead.

Dixon is simply a very poor end of game manager. There were the various cases recently of him calling time-outs to set up his defense and then the other team comes down and hits a buzzer beater... or the case where he called a time-out when Patterson was about to put in the game winning layup. Dixon tries to micro-manage things down the stretch and it is proving to be a big minus so he has got to stop doing that.

For me, come next season, I will be watching what he does down the stretch and if it is causing us to lose games we should have won... then that will be the alarm going off for me.

 

[jaygeekray]

JRob is a really tough dude and proven winner. When he first arrived, we all looked at his body, strength, confidence, handle and started hoping he would become our Deron Williams. In retrospect, that was unreasonable.

Is JRob a take over the game in the final two minutes guy? Absolutely, not. Is he the guy you want running the point at crunch time in a tight game? Yes, definitely. Do I trust his decision making at critical moments? YES, I feel that he will make the play for this team.

I don't think he was in a mental fog all season, but I do think he was dealing with some big time dings and dents the last few months of the season. Not sure if his major issue was a back, knee, ankle, quad or hammy issue. But he definitely lost the bounce in his step and ability to anticipate and beat the dribbler to the spot. Hoping he has a healthy Senior campaign, we need him at 95-100%, all season.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

we had a LOT of cases where we had 10 point or so leads down the stretch and then lost the lead and then in some cases lost the game.

Please make a list of all the games that we had a ten point lead down the stretch and then lost the lead. Since it happened a LOT it should be relatively easy to do.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Perhaps you are correct.
Maybe I made a poor assumption.
I assumed that JD knows how to coach D and DRILL his players since he always had very good to great defensive teams since becoming head coach. I assumed that he pushed every button imaginable trying to get his team to respond defensively last year. When he exhausted all options and still the team didn't respond, he started experimenting and trying to find a way to get some stops.
As I said, maybe I'm wrong.

For the record, you aren't wrong. My post was a jab at the moronic notion that if Jamie Dixon would just DRILL his players on defense everything would have been all right.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Defense hasn't been Dixon trademark, frankly... It's all rep but little evidence.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I am going to disagree--I think you may be experiencing a little "immediacy bias" based on last season, particularly, and likely the CBI season of painful recent memory in concluding that that Dixon is a very poor end of game manager. There have been particular individual games that stand out as anecdotal evidence because we lost; but, I don't believe the stats would be there to support the thesis that he is a very poor end of game manager if his entire tenure as head coach would be analyzed. IMHO roster talent and makeup has had more to do with last season's end of game problems than Dixon's coaching down the stretch in games .

 

[DT_PITT]

I am going to disagree--I think you may be experiencing a little "immediacy bias" based on last season, particularly, and likely the CBI season of painful recent memory in concluding that that Dixon is a very poor end of game manager.

Immediacy bias?

On this board?

Never!

 

[Pittbaseball11]

Defense hasn't been Dixon trademark, frankly... It's all rep but little evidence.

It's the eye test, Souf. That's all the evidence I need.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

It's the eye test, Souf. That's all the evidence I need.

He'd I'd love for us to reflect even a bit of the old Howland Bullyball defense..but more often than not, it's the reason we lose games...just can't get stops down the stretch.

 

[Pittbaseball11]

He'd I'd love for us to reflect even a bit of the old Howland Bullyball defense..but more often than not, it's the reason we lose games...just can't get stops down the stretch.

I agree with you, the sarcasm might not have come through -- which is maybe a poor reflection on the current state of the board.

The defense has been an issue for several years, but oftentimes that critique or observation has been met with people plugging their ears and insisting that it's the offense holding them back because it's what their eyes are telling them. Potentially with a JIG accusation thrown in for good measure.