Some opening thoughts before Gonzaga

[steel_curtain]

-Jamel Artis is the top returning scorer in the entire ACC play last year, at 16.1 points per g
ame. Mike Young is the 9th best returning scorer in ACC play, at 13.5 points per game. Artis and Young are the 6th and 7th best Top returning rebounders in ACC conference play statistically. Rafael Maia was the top rebounding player in the Ivy league and had the top fg% in the ivy league last year. Ododa was the 2nd best rebounder for Richmond last year. Throw in Ryan Luther, who has shown some flashes and even Nix. Pitt's frontcourt is going to be really good, scoring and rebounding. No concerns here, we are loaded in the frontcourt. Bring it Gonzaga in the frontcourt.

-Pitt was 2nd to last in made 3 balls in the ACC last year, at 4.9 per game. James Robinson and Cam Wright made a combined 32 three balls in the starting backcourt for the whole season. Not only was this was the worst, by a landslide, in the ACC for a starting backcourt, its got to be close to pushing some type of ACC and NCAA all time record for fewest made threes in a season by a starting backcourt. With Robinson shooting 29% and Wright at 21%, Im sure that's a record for worst ever. Putrid. That leaves Wilson who can't shoot, Milligan, Jones, and Smith to try and help out. The good news, if any, it can't be worse than last year. Its not possible. Im interested in seeing just how good this Milligan kid is. Coming off of 18ppg in conference last year, 40% from 3, 80% from the line, some pep in his first step and looks like he can pass, Id like to see what he can do. We know what we have in Robinson, which is to expect next to nothing on offense on a consistent basis.

-The ACC has 4 teams ranked in the preseason Top 6 in the country, and 9 teams total receiving votes in the polls. Pitt doesn't have the most difficult ACC schedule by any means, getting Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech in mirror games. Win or lose to Gonzaga who I think we should give a great game because of matchups, this season will start off on the right foot if we can open 13-2 or better in our first 15 games. Given the fact our first 15 our not that tough, this is doable with halfway decent guard play.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Hmmmm....

* Artis and Young were indeed a top scoring duo inside last year BUT.... their D left more than a little to be desired and they were both worn down by the end of the season. So, Dixon brought in Maia and ANO and has moved Young to PF and Artis to SF (well, maybe not completely).. and it remains to be seen if they can score at a comparable rate in these new positions. Young, when he played PF last year, did not excel there and just got his shot blocked back into his face when he played PF his freshman year. Artis, opened last year at SF and was invisible there... just averaging maybe 6 PPG. So, the jury is still out on whether or not we are gonna lose significant scoring with these moves inside.

* You didn't even mention Sheldon Jeter in you discussion of our bigs... and Dixon says Jeter has been one of the top players in the 16 or so practices they have held so far and... has 'separated himself' from the rest of the bigs. So, looking good for Sheldon as far as PT is concerned.

* Sterling Smith is expected to replace the departed Cam Wright in the starting lineup and Sterling put in 76 3balls last year while Wright put in a grand total of 4. That is what I call a HUGE improvement. Also, Slim Johnson has showed he can be a very good 3ball shooter but was out injured almost all of last season, and now he is back. Then there is possible improvement in 3balls by Jones, Artis, etc. Lastly, James Robinson could well be poised to have an outstanding senior year. So... I wouldn't complain about last year anymore and see how things go this year.

* If we lose 2 of the three games against Gonzaga, Purdue and Davidson (or worse, lose all three), IMO we are NOT doing very good. Dixon has to rebound this season if he is going to start attracting recruits again, and this won't come from beating cupcakes. The opportunities are there for significant Ws so it is up to Dixon to get them.

 

[steel_curtain]

Hmmmm....

* Artis and Young were indeed a top scoring duo inside last year BUT.... their D left more than a little to be desired and they were both worn down by the end of the season. So, Dixon brought in Maia and ANO and has moved Young to PF and Artis to SF (well, maybe not completely).. and it remains to be seen if they can score at a comparable rate in these new positions. Young, when he played PF last year, did not excel there and just got his shot blocked back into his face when he played PF his freshman year. Artis, opened last year at SF and was invisible there... just averaging maybe 6 PPG. So, the jury is still out on whether or not we are gonna lose significant scoring with these moves inside.

* You didn't even mention Sheldon Jeter in you discussion of our bigs... and Dixon says Jeter has been one of the top players in the 16 or so practices they have held so far and... has 'separated himself' from the rest of the bigs. So, looking good for Sheldon as far as PT is concerned.

* Sterling Smith is expected to replace the departed Cam Wright in the starting lineup and Sterling put in 76 3balls last year while Wright put in a grand total of 4. That is what I call a HUGE improvement. Also, Slim Johnson has showed he can be a very good 3ball shooter but was out injured almost all of last season, and now he is back. Then there is possible improvement in 3balls by Jones, Artis, etc. Lastly, James Robinson could well be poised to have an outstanding senior year. So... I wouldn't complain about last year anymore and see how things go this year.

* If we lose 2 of the three games against Gonzaga, Purdue and Davidson (or worse, lose all three), IMO we are NOT doing very good. Dixon has to rebound this season if he is going to start attracting recruits again, and this won't come from beating cupcakes. The opportunities are there for significant Ws so it is up to Dixon to get them.

If Artis and Young were so worn down

1) Why did our scoring and shooting percentage from Artis and Young not suffer?
2) Why did our post defense not suffer?

Young averaged 16ppg and 8 rebounds per game the last 6 games. Artis averaged 14.5ppg and 7 rebounds per game the last 6 games. These are both higher than their season averages.

Once again, you and Harve and several others keep trying to blame the frontcourt. When its Pitt's backcourt that was killing us on offense AND defense every single game. The frontcourt was good all season long, and even better at the end of the season. Pitt's backcourt between Robinson, Newkirk, and Wright stunk. And all 3 still stink. Recruit guards, anyone, that can shoot and play a little defense. My point rests, we had one of if not the worst D1 backcourt in the country last year. And our backcourt got completely annihilated the last 6 games of the season by the opposing team on both ends of the floor.

 

[PittPoker]

Robinson is horrible so expecting a good year from him yet again will be the same expectations everyone had for him the past 3 - not met.

 

[steel_curtain]

Robinson is horrible so expecting a good year from him yet again will be the same expectations everyone had for him the past 3 - not met.

-Robinson, the guy who averaged 4 points per game as our starting point guard the last 8 games of the regular season and shot the basketball at 24% while doing so. Let's not forget his 21% 3 point shooting percentage during this stretch run. Most overrated player in Pitt basketball history.

-Sadly, his backup 1 leg Newkirk was even worse. Newkirk averaged 3ppg, 26% shooting, 8% 3 point field goal percentage. Yes, you read that correctly, 8%. His 6 assists and 12 turnovers during this stretch is also Shaq like numbers, and this was our backup point guard for the season.

-Steering from the truth for just how sad our guard play was to finish the season, you would have to be drunk and be Ray Charles yet you could still see our backcourt was 100% the blame for our late season collapse, not the frontcourt.

-You can't help but laugh to just how bad our backcourt was last season, especially the end of the season. At the end of the day, Jamie Dixon takes 100% blame here. He was the one dumb enough to not only recruit this poorly, but not recruit enough guards to field and ACC team. At least now we have guards on the team. They may not be all that good, but at least we have guard options. For how bad Robinson and 1 leg Newkirk were, we could of inserted Nix into the starting point guard role and have the same result.

-Is Pitt still recruiting Charlie Moore? We desperately need better point guard play. Thank God 1 leg Newkirk and Wright are finished here.

 

[steel_curtain]

-Robinson, the guy who averaged 4 points per game as our starting point guard the last 8 games of the regular season and shot the basketball at 24% while doing so. Let's not forget his 21% 3 point shooting percentage during this stretch run. Most overrated player in Pitt basketball history.

-Sadly, his backup 1 leg Newkirk was even worse. Newkirk averaged 3ppg, 26% shooting, 8% 3 point field goal percentage. Yes, you read that correctly, 8%. His 6 assists and 12 turnovers during this stretch is also Shaq like numbers, and this was our backup point guard for the season.

-Steering from the truth for just how sad our guard play was to finish the season, you would have to be drunk and be Ray Charles yet you could still see our backcourt was 100% the blame for our late season collapse, not the frontcourt.

-You can't help but laugh to just how bad our backcourt was last season, especially the end of the season. At the end of the day, Jamie Dixon takes 100% blame here. He was the one dumb enough to not only recruit this poorly, but not recruit enough guards to field and ACC team. At least now we have guards on the team. They may not be all that good, but at least we have guard options. For how bad Robinson and 1 leg Newkirk were, we could of inserted Nix into the starting point guard role and have the same result.

-Is Pitt still recruiting Charlie Moore? We desperately need better point guard play. Thank God 1 leg Newkirk and Wright are finished here.

-Just to beat this dead horse into the ground permanently on Pitts backcourt last year, Pitt's starting 2 guard Cam Wright, get this, only attempted 2 three balls the last 14 games of the regular season. TWO!!!! Apparently under Jamie Dixon's recruiting and offensive philosophy, the 3 point line did not exist for shooting guards with Cam Wright on campus. To put this into perspective, Pitt's backcourt offense between Robinson, Wright, and Newkirk, was trying to drive on square wheels last year.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I'll say this ... Why does it matter where the treys are coming from?
And would you want cam wright taking more threes ? Me neither .

 

[steel_curtain]

I'll say this ... Why does it matter where the treys are coming from?
And would you want cam wright taking more threes ? Me neither .

It matters because any guard that can shoot and open up the opposing teams defense creates spacing for our frontcourt. If Pitt had anyone that could drill three's from the guard positions, I can only imagine how hard it would be to stop Artis and Young on defense. Those two would be a colossal force on offense together if we had 1 respectable guard that could shoot and score from the outside on a consistent basis.

I don't want Cam Wright playing period. Any guard that shoots 50% from the free throw line, makes 4 three balls for an entire season, and can't play defense and turns the ball over, screams recruit another guard to replace him. How Pitt even got to this type of weak guard talent after 2009 is simply unexplainable.

 

[Zaratoughda]

If Artis and Young were so worn down

1) Why did our scoring and shooting percentage from Artis and Young not suffer?
2) Why did our post defense not suffer?

Young averaged 16ppg and 8 rebounds per game the last 6 games. Artis averaged 14.5ppg and 7 rebounds per game the last 6 games. These are both higher than their season averages.

Once again, you and Harve and several others keep trying to blame the frontcourt. When its Pitt's backcourt that was killing us on offense AND defense every single game. The frontcourt was good all season long, and even better at the end of the season. Pitt's backcourt between Robinson, Newkirk, and Wright stunk. And all 3 still stink. Recruit guards, anyone, that can shoot and play a little defense. My point rests, we had one of if not the worst D1 backcourt in the country last year. And our backcourt got completely annihilated the last 6 games of the season by the opposing team on both ends of the floor.

As far as our bigs being worn down... Dixon keeps saying the team 'got tired' and you can see the moves he made to fix the problem.

So, if you want to disagree with Dixon that is fine... but IMO he knows his players better than we do... and sees them every day in practice which we don't.

 

[PittPoker]

As far as our bigs being worn down... Dixon keeps saying the team 'got tired' and you can see the moves he made to fix the problem.

So, if you want to disagree with Dixon that is fine... but IMO he knows his players better than we do... and sees them every day in practice which we don't.

Dixon and his crappy recruiting classes of late should be on thin ice. It took a miracle local guy like Blair to get us almost to the Final Four. We have underachieved and it's time to hold Dixon accountable.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Good news, wright will get zero playing time.
Sterling is a good shooter, so is slim and artis.

 

[steel_curtain]

As far as our bigs being worn down... Dixon keeps saying the team 'got tired' and you can see the moves he made to fix the problem.

So, if you want to disagree with Dixon that is fine... but IMO he knows his players better than we do... and sees them every day in practice which we don't.

I 100% disagree with Dixon. The guy is getting paid Top 15 money in the entire country and missed the NCAA tournament twice in the last 4 years. And Pitt is predicted to finish 10th in the ACC with another NIT bid, which is 3 in 5 years he missed the NCAA's. The guy straight up didn't even try to recruit guards the last few years, or Pitt would never have had the complete bust of guard talent it had last year. Save the excuses for another day. Practice doesn't mean shit. Wins and Tournament wins carry value.

 

[Zaratoughda]

If Artis and Young were so worn down

1) Why did our scoring and shooting percentage from Artis and Young not suffer?
2) Why did our post defense not suffer?

Young averaged 16ppg and 8 rebounds per game the last 6 games. Artis averaged 14.5ppg and 7 rebounds per game the last 6 games. These are both higher than their season averages.

Once again, you and Harve and several others keep trying to blame the frontcourt. When its Pitt's backcourt that was killing us on offense AND defense every single game. The frontcourt was good all season long, and even better at the end of the season. Pitt's backcourt between Robinson, Newkirk, and Wright stunk. And all 3 still stink. Recruit guards, anyone, that can shoot and play a little defense. My point rests, we had one of if not the worst D1 backcourt in the country last year. And our backcourt got completely annihilated the last 6 games of the season by the opposing team on both ends of the floor.

The worst thing about our team last year... was the DEFENSE... and that was to the greatest degree due to extremely poor defense overall by our bigs in failing to play the hedge correctly (which led to the scoring by opposing guards) and bad defensive play overall (like Artis switching off way to easily). Dixon went to lots of bizarre defenses last year, the switch off 1-5 and that was not all, out of desperation in playing some sort of decent D. This was because our bigs were not hedging correctly, due to being worn down or whatever, and that essentially made the man-to-man D not viable.

So, enter Rafael Maia and ANO... and Luther might be a factor this year inside also.

Also, as far as Robinson is concerned... talk about being worn down... you can look at the schedule and whenever we had some extra rest... like 5 days or so... Robinson would have good games and this would last 1-3 games and then the bottom would fall out of his O. Having Wright next to you was not help sure, as was Newkirk coming off the bench. So, hopefully things will be a lot better this year with Smith, Wilson and Milliigan.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I 100% disagree with Dixon. The guy is getting paid Top 15 money in the entire country and missed the NCAA tournament twice in the last 4 years. And Pitt is predicted to finish 10th in the ACC with another NIT bid, which is 3 in 5 years he missed the NCAA's. The guy straight up didn't even try to recruit guards the last few years, or Pitt would never have had the complete bust of guard talent it had last year. Save the excuses for another day. Practice doesn't mean shit. Wins and Tournament wins carry value.

Silly

 

[steel_curtain]

If you think Cam Wright is still on the team... you are REALLY lost in space.

"-Is Pitt still recruiting Charlie Moore? We desperately need better point guard play. Thank God 1 leg Newkirk and Wright are finished here"

You might want to reread what I wrote in other post.

 

[PittPoker]

When you got Phil the Shill (or a similar impostor) agreeing with you... you gotta believe you are barking up the wrong tree.

Yeah sorry Zara, I have almost 4000 posts so I am definitely not Phil or an imposter. Nice try though but not sure why you are attacking me all of a sudden. Oh well.

 

[steel_curtain]

Silly

What part is silly?

In 2014 we brought in zero guards.
In 2013 we brought in 1 guard, Newkirk.
In 2012 we brought in 1 guard, James Robinson, and 1 combo wing with Chris Jones.

How do you go 3 years and only bring in 2 guards? Again, save the excuses.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

What part is silly?

In 2014 we brought in zero guards.
In 2013 we brought in 1 guard, Newkirk.
In 2012 we brought in 1 guard, James Robinson, and 1 combo wing with Chris Jones.

How do you go 3 years and only bring in 2 guards? Again, save the excuses.

3 guards this year, in addition to slim.

 

[steel_curtain]

3 guards this year, in addition to slim.

That's THIS year, and my response to that, is finally. At least Dixon isn't Ray Charles. He finally saw just how terrible our backcourt was last year and how depleted our talent was in the backcourt last year, and decided to try and do something about it.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

That's THIS year, and my response to that, is finally. At least Dixon isn't Ray Charles. He finally saw just how terrible our backcourt was last year and how depleted our talent was in the backcourt last year, and decided to try and do something about it.

Durand and newkirk transfer out, wright graduate .
3 out 3 in.
Easy math.

 

[steel_curtain]

Durand and newkirk transfer out, wright graduate .
3 out 3 in.
Easy math.

Durand Johnson was never a 2 guard here. Ever. And neither is Slim Johnson at this point. And Newkirk was so bad he had to transfer out. He's terrible.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Durand Johnson was never a 2 guard here. Ever. And neither is Slim Johnson at this point. And Newkirk was so bad he had to transfer out. He's terrible.

So, we are back to the point that if your wings are scoring a lot shootin effectively from distance... Why does it matter if it's a 1-2 or a 2-3??

Newkirk is so awful he transferred to Indiana for Crean.

 

[Zaratoughda]

So, we are back to the point that if your wings are scoring a lot shootin effectively from distance... Why does it matter if it's a 1-2 or a 2-3??

Newkirk is so awful he transferred to Indiana for Crean.

Yeah... LOL... if you look at the game we played against Indiana last year... Newkirk had his best game of the season and Crean... must have been impressed. LOL... the freaking idiot failed to look at Newkirk's performance the rest of the season.

I wish Newkirk well though... was not a bad person he just LOST IT last year after a very promising freshman season... and THEN had the injury which will probably affect his quickness and that is his strength.

Crean though... a 'freaking idiot' if ever there was one... will probably be gone from Indiana in short order. Not sure how they could have ever hired him in the first place.

 

[yc_ballcat]

Newkirk was no doubt pretty bad overall, particularly down the stretch, but let's not forget he singlehandedly won the game @ BC with a series of critical plays. He seemingly lost all his confidence soon after that. In the Indiana game, he had an eye-opening play early 2nd half where he took an inbounds pass off a made IU basket, raced down court, blowing past everyone, and threw down a vicious dunk before anyone knew what happened. He has potential, and 1 year to rehab.

 

[Harve74]

"-Is Pitt still recruiting Charlie Moore? We desperately need better point guard play. Thank God 1 leg Newkirk and Wright are finished here"

You might want to reread what I wrote in other post.

Defense against dribble penetration was horrible, no question. But anyone who watched our defense and didn't see Artis and Young frequently completely lost on defense either wasn't watching or doesn't know what they were seeing.

Wright was never a 3 pt shooter, but both he and JRob averaged 9 ppg, which is respectable. Pitt was short of guards last year, no question, with both our expected 3 point shooters out. Durand was suspended on the eve of the season and Cam Johnson missed all but 8 games. Wright broke his foot in preseason and was slowed most of the year. Newkirk was ineffective all year, after showing promise as a freshman.

Our defense is based on hedging and rotating. Jamel and Sheldon rarely rotated properly and frequently gave up easy lay-ups. Yeah, we need better defense from our guards, but Artis was horrible defensively.

 

[DT_PITT]

I'll say this ... Why does it matter where the treys are coming from?
And would you want cam wright taking more threes ? Me neither .

To some extend Souf, I agree with you. But opposing defenses used to sag back 2 feet under the 3 point line when guarding Cam. This causes problems for your offense.

 

[DT_PITT]

Durand Johnson was never a 2 guard here. Ever. And neither is Slim Johnson at this point. And Newkirk was so bad he had to transfer out. He's terrible.

I think you will find that Slim Johnson is a two guard.

 

[DT_PITT]

If Artis and Young were so worn down

1) Why did our scoring and shooting percentage from Artis and Young not suffer?
2) Why did our post defense not suffer?

Young averaged 16ppg and 8 rebounds per game the last 6 games. Artis averaged 14.5ppg and 7 rebounds per game the last 6 games. These are both higher than their season averages.

Once again, you and Harve and several others keep trying to blame the frontcourt. When its Pitt's backcourt that was killing us on offense AND defense every single game. The frontcourt was good all season long, and even better at the end of the season. Pitt's backcourt between Robinson, Newkirk, and Wright stunk. And all 3 still stink. Recruit guards, anyone, that can shoot and play a little defense. My point rests, we had one of if not the worst D1 backcourt in the country last year. And our backcourt got completely annihilated the last 6 games of the season by the opposing team on both ends of the floor.

I expect the backcourt to be improved for sure. How much? We'll see. I also believe that James Robinson will be a big part of that improvement.

 

[Scruffy the Panther]

I think you will find that Slim Johnson is a two guard.

I dunno. He's a little tall to play guard. In fact, if he keeps growing, he might turn into a true center.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

To some extend Souf, I agree with you. But opposing defenses used to sag back 2 feet under the 3 point line when guarding Cam. This causes problems for your offense.

I openly rooted for wright for years, but had a visceral dislike of his game last year.. So i won't shed tears or miss him.

 

[Scruffy the Panther]

I openly rooted for wright for years, but had a visceral dislike of his game last year.. So i won't shed tears or miss him.

I liked junior year Wright. Senior year Wright, not so much.

 

[DT_PITT]

I dunno. He's a little tall to play guard. In fact, if he keeps growing, he might turn into a true center.

Well played!

 

[DT_PITT]

I liked junior year Wright. Senior year Wright, not so much.

Cam was not suited well enough for the role he was cast to play last year and it showed.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

In fact, if he keeps growing, he might turn into a true center.

Everyone drinks!

 

[Harve74]

Cam was not suited well enough for the role he was cast to play last year and it showed.

He never recovered his full athleticism after breaking his foot pre-season. At one point in his career, he was a fairly decent M2M defender. Last year he was pretty much as bad as everyone else.

As a 5th or 6th guy, Cam Wright was pretty decent. As you say, he was not suited to carry a team and at times he tried to do that.And failed.

 

[steel_curtain]

Defense against dribble penetration was horrible, no question. But anyone who watched our defense and didn't see Artis and Young frequently completely lost on defense either wasn't watching or doesn't know what they were seeing.

Wright was never a 3 pt shooter, but both he and JRob averaged 9 ppg, which is respectable. Pitt was short of guards last year, no question, with both our expected 3 point shooters out. Durand was suspended on the eve of the season and Cam Johnson missed all but 8 games. Wright broke his foot in preseason and was slowed most of the year. Newkirk was ineffective all year, after showing promise as a freshman.

Our defense is based on hedging and rotating. Jamel and Sheldon rarely rotated properly and frequently gave up easy lay-ups. Yeah, we need better defense from our guards, but Artis was horrible defensively.

Those stats are skewed and everyone knows it. Posting big numbers and padding stats against Chaminade, Duquense, and Oakland doesn't impress anyone. Our guards, including Robinsons, stats dropped faster than a boulder would fall in the pacific ocean once conference play began. Do you know how many games Robinson scored over 9 points in ACC play, the conference tournament, and nit? Try 6 times in the last 20 games. His shooting percentage and scoring nosedived much like a kamikaze plane as did Newkirk when conference play began. We got zero offensive firepower from our guards in conference play. Artis, Young, and some nights Jeter, carried the load in ACC play on offense. 9PPG season average certainly seems respectable, until you see Newkirk and Robinson did all their damage against cupcakes in the non conference schedule. Our guards simply could not handle acc conference competition and couldnt score against anyone in the ACC. This isn't shocking, as I posted earlier, Artis and Young's stats along with Jeter all went UP in conference play. The scoring, the rebounding, and shooting percentages, all were better from our frontcourt players. Our meat and power is 100% frontcourt. We have scraps left in the backcourt for offense.

As for defense, our guards couldnt stop a nosebleed let alone dribble penetration. We continuously got torched from 3 against opposing teams guards, only to let other teams drive at will into the paint against our weak guards.

We can agree to disagree. Our guards stunk last year. Artis imo was almost as good as Sam Young on offense in Young's senior year. His acc stats, along with Young in ACC conference play, for 2 sophomores, are downright impressive and good. Scoring, rebounding, and shooting percentages. Expect both to be even better this year. Only if we had just average guard play what this team could potentially accomplish.

As for Slim Johnson, Ill reserve judgement on his 2 skills until I actually see he can handle the 2 in ACC play. Until then, Slim is a 3 in my book.

 

[JS School]

Everyone drinks!

Darn, I missed this last night. Now I'm at work.

 

[JS School]

Robinson is not a scoring PG. He tried to fill the void caused by Wright and Newkirk's poor shooting last year, so that weakness was magnified.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Robinson is not a scoring PG. He tried to fill the void caused by Wright and Newkirk's poor shooting last year, so that weakness was magnified.

Robinson was one of the top three scorers in the B/G game and was one of the top two scorers in the scrimmage against G'Town.

So, we will see if he has a much better year scoring this year than last.

 

[Harve74]

Those stats are skewed and everyone knows it. Posting big numbers and padding stats against Chaminade, Duquense, and Oakland doesn't impress anyone. Our guards, including Robinsons, stats dropped faster than a boulder would fall in the pacific ocean once conference play began. Do you know how many games Robinson scored over 9 points in ACC play, the conference tournament, and nit? Try 6 times in the last 20 games. His shooting percentage and scoring nosedived much like a kamikaze plane as did Newkirk when conference play began. We got zero offensive firepower from our guards in conference play. Artis, Young, and some nights Jeter, carried the load in ACC play on offense. 9PPG season average certainly seems respectable, until you see Newkirk and Robinson did all their damage against cupcakes in the non conference schedule. Our guards simply could not handle acc conference competition and couldnt score against anyone in the ACC. This isn't shocking, as I posted earlier, Artis and Young's stats along with Jeter all went UP in conference play. The scoring, the rebounding, and shooting percentages, all were better from our frontcourt players. Our meat and power is 100% frontcourt. We have scraps left in the backcourt for offense.

As for defense, our guards couldnt stop a nosebleed let alone dribble penetration. We continuously got torched from 3 against opposing teams guards, only to let other teams drive at will into the paint against our weak guards.

We can agree to disagree. Our guards stunk last year. Artis imo was almost as good as Sam Young on offense in Young's senior year. His acc stats, along with Young in ACC conference play, for 2 sophomores, are downright impressive and good. Scoring, rebounding, and shooting percentages. Expect both to be even better this year. Only if we had just average guard play what this team could potentially accomplish.

As for Slim Johnson, Ill reserve judgement on his 2 skills until I actually see he can handle the 2 in ACC play. Until then, Slim is a 3 in my book.

There are two parts to the game, offense and defense. Jeter was benched much of the first part of the season because he freqently lost his man, which is tough to do when playing zone.

Artis was horrible on defense. They tried hiding him by having him guard the opponents' worst scorer and he still got burnt. Dino Gaudio nearly wore out the Telestrater showing how poorly Jamel played almost EVERY screen. Dribble penetration was horrible partly because the bigs never rotated when the opponent penetrated.

Yeah, the guards stunk, but the back line was even worse defensively. Dixon brought in THREE new bigs, which pushes Artis and Jeter out of the paint, which says a lot about where he thought the probem was.

If guys pay lackidasically on defense this year, they'll sit.