Syracuse Game @ the Dome & Other Dribbles ...

[DT_PITT]

** Right after today’s game, I headed out to grab take-out Saturday night dinner for my family. Tonight’s dinner selection came from Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.

** Rock Bottom and Pitt Basketball will always be connected wonderfully in my mind, as the sight of no fewer than a dozen PantherLair “gamewatches,” ranging from numbers of just about 10 Pitt Hoops faithful to the largest of events with a count well over 100.

** Even this week, I noticed a handful of posters on the Lair referencing these gamewatches, wondering if someone such as myself might be up to the task of putting together such a gathering for this year’s Panthers.

** So if nothing else, despite how much this season has already surpassed expectations, for now we must realize our Panthers are not yet “gamewatch worthy.”

** But this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t appreciate them for what they are at the moment.

** What they are is a team full of battlers, but incomplete talents.

** They are a team whose performance today in the Dome should have done nothing to make fans feel any less about our positive future direction.

** They are also a team who does not possess the requisite skills and abilities to successfully attack the Syracuse 2-3 matchup zone in the traditional successful manner.

** That was the gameplan in the first half by Coach Capel. It was a gameplan that in retrospect had little chance of success. But it's was the only obvious way to start.

** It’s not just that the Panthers lack the shooters to defeat such a zone. More importantly, they lack the passers.

** They also lack the necessary post presence.

** I’ve been all aboard with the improved play of Terrell Brown over the last few games. But this game, unfortunately, only reminded us of what he can’t yet do. Sure, he started with a splendid three pointer, but that was his last moment of success.

** Major compliments this day, however, need to go to our lately maligned senior Jared Wilson-Frame. Jared wasn’t great, but provided a winning effort, and even winning production.

** Actually, all of our Panthers provided a winning effort. That’s going to be a theme all year long, I’m certain.

** Folks such as myself have suggested that Xavier might be playing himself toward All-ACC honors. While this still may be true, even I must be reminded that even such a player as X is less than 20 games into his College Basketball life. As such, the subtleties of leading the attack against the complexities of the length of the Cuse zone still need to be obtained.

** I see a different problem for Trey. The problem for Trey is that his team can’t lend him the convenience of having a typical freshman “off game.” Most freshman of Trey’s magnitude on better teams can score just 7, and there are others who can pick up the slack. But the Panthers don’t otherwise have the latitude for letting Trey score just 7.

** When assessing the Panther’s overall game on the offensive end, it should be noted that they finally started scoring effectively when they played five guards, and abandoned any traditional approach to attacking the zone.

** All of these points notwithstanding, a better argument should be made that they Panthers didn’t lose this game because of their inability to beat the zone. After all, we scored 63 points in a game with just about the same number of offensive possessions.

** For the Panthers to be the best team they can be this year, they can’t allow a team like the Cuse to get the number of open perimeter looks enabling 46 second half points.

** And for gosh sake, we allowed Jim Boeheim’s son to score 13 points. I sure hope that he's not a dog we will have to hunt for 4 full years.

** This past week, @Wilver Dornell made a post about his favorite “eras” of Pitt Basketball. I added my own list of favorite eras, and I even thought to add Willard’s first season, 1994-1995, as an honorable mention. That season had its own special value, not just because that team played with a balls-to-the-wall type of game, but there was also the committed promise of talent on its way as a backdrop.

** This team plays much like that team of Willard’s first year, but I do see the future with X and T and A with greater upside. But they need help. And if I’m to believe what I’ve been told as of late, those commitments of help will soon be on their way. But for now, I’ll forgo fuller discussion on that topic to the Vader’s of the world.

** As for my part, I’ll leave myself to the task of helping to mobilize the Panther Hoops faithful toward supporting a team who needs it.

** We don’t need to congratulate the Panthers for the game they played today in the Dome. But we should appreciate them for where they are headed, and support them on their journey.

** After all, PantherLair Gamewatches at Rock Bottom may be back in future for fans 2 or 3 years from now.

 

[PittPoker]

The second half was just a stinker, we trailed by 1 and then Syracuse went on a 22-4 run and at that point was the ballgame. Agree about Trey. When he is held below double digits it will almost be a certainty that we'll lose. Yeah just don't have the shooters to hurt a zone defense and Brown couldn't catch a pass today if his life depended on it.

I'm surprised DT didn't mention Ellison, who imo is not good and hurting the team. He has no touch on his shot, that 2 foot bunny that clanked out kinda sums it up. I'd like to see more of Kham but who knows if that will be happening. And JWF showed up to play today. He was just about the only one.

 

[pittbb80]

Win or lose this team is always incredibly entertaining. Today for the first time all year they hit a stretch where the got frustrated and it showed on their faces and level of play. But they almost willed themselves out of it and played hard down the stretch making things somewhat interesting There are no moral victories but I think that bodes well for the future

What also is encouraging is that JWF appeared to get out of his funk. He said after the game he was putting too much pressure on himself before today to lead the team and help it win

It Would be a huge boost for the rest of the year if he continues to play like he did today

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Terrell Brown reminds me of guys like Cam Wright and Chris Jones in that its not their fault they had to be multi-year starters but the fact that they had to be means your team isnt that good because those guys arent ACC-level starters. All would be nice reserves.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

The second half was just a stinker, we trailed by 1 and then Syracuse went on a 22-4 run and at that point was the ballgame. Agree about Trey. When he is held below double digits it will almost be a certainty that we'll lose. Yeah just don't have the shooters to hurt a zone defense and Brown couldn't catch a pass today if his life depended on it.

I'm surprised DT didn't mention Ellison, who imo is not good and hurting the team. He has no touch on his shot, that 2 foot bunny that clanked out kinda sums it up. I'd like to see more of Kham but who knows if that will be happening. And JWF showed up to play today. He was just about the only one.

Syracuse blocked 10 Pitt shots we blocked only 2. Most of theses were down low in the paint and each block takes away one opportunity to score in close and some (most) are like having turnovers. That block differential may have been worth up to as many as16 points in Syracuse's favor and clearly was the major difference maker in the game's outcome. This clearly points up the recruiting need we have for quality bigs who instead of being blocked will usually either score or get to the FT line.

 

[Smitch8989]

The one thing I miss about Jamie and probably the only thing is beating the cuses ass

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

The second half was just a stinker, we trailed by 1 and then Syracuse went on a 22-4 run and at that point was the ballgame. Agree about Trey. When he is held below double digits it will almost be a certainty that we'll lose. Yeah just don't have the shooters to hurt a zone defense and Brown couldn't catch a pass today if his life depended on it.

I'm surprised DT didn't mention Ellison, who imo is not good and hurting the team. He has no touch on his shot, that 2 foot bunny that clanked out kinda sums it up. I'd like to see more of Kham but who knows if that will be happening. And JWF showed up to play today. He was just about the only one.

Outside of Trey and X nobody is good. Not good enough for this level anyway. Toney certainly has some potential. But the rest is mix and match and hope they can contribute enough to win some games. Or someone has a night. Or two. This team will largely go wherever Trey and X take it.

 

[X2win]

** Right after today’s game, I headed out to grab take-out Saturday night dinner for my family. Tonight’s dinner selection came from Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.

** Rock Bottom and Pitt Basketball will always be connected wonderfully in my mind, as the sight of no fewer than a dozen PantherLair “gamewatches,” ranging from numbers of just about 10 Pitt Hoops faithful to the largest of events with a count well over 100.

** Even this week, I noticed a handful of posters on the Lair referencing these gamewatches, wondering if someone such as myself might be up to the task of putting together such a gathering for this year’s Panthers.

** So if nothing else, despite how much this season has already surpassed expectations, for now we must realize our Panthers are not yet “gamewatch worthy.”

** But this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t appreciate them for what they are at the moment.

** What they are is a team full of battlers, but incomplete talents.

** They are a team whose performance today in the Dome should have done nothing to make fans feel any less about our positive future direction.

** They are also a team who does not possess the requisite skills and abilities to successfully attack the Syracuse 2-3 matchup zone in the traditional successful manner.

** That was the gameplan in the first half by Coach Capel. It was a gameplan that in retrospect had little chance of success. But it's was the only obvious way to start.

** It’s not just that the Panthers lack the shooters to defeat such a zone. More importantly, they lack the passers.

** They also lack the necessary post presence.

** I’ve been all aboard with the improved play of Terrell Brown over the last few games. But this game, unfortunately, only reminded us of what he can’t yet do. Sure, he started with a splendid three pointer, but that was his last moment of success.

** Major compliments this day, however, need to go to our lately maligned senior Jared Wilson-Frame. Jared wasn’t great, but provided a winning effort, and even winning production.

** Actually, all of our Panthers provided a winning effort. That’s going to be a theme all year long, I’m certain.

** Folks such as myself have suggested that Xavier might be playing himself toward All-ACC honors. While this still may be true, even I must be reminded that even such a player as X is less than 20 games into his College Basketball life. As such, the subtleties of leading the attack against the complexities of the length of the Cuse zone still need to be obtained.

** I see a different problem for Trey. The problem for Trey is that his team can’t lend him the convenience of having a typical freshman “off game.” Most freshman of Trey’s magnitude on better teams can score just 7, and there are others who can pick up the slack. But the Panthers don’t otherwise have the latitude for letting Trey score just 7.

** When assessing the Panther’s overall game on the offensive end, it should be noted that they finally started scoring effectively when they played five guards, and abandoned any traditional approach to attacking the zone.

** All of these points notwithstanding, a better argument should be made that they Panthers didn’t lose this game because of their inability to beat the zone. After all, we scored 63 points in a game with just about the same number of offensive possessions.

** For the Panthers to be the best team they can be this year, they can’t allow a team like the Cuse to get the number of open perimeter looks enabling 46 second half points.

** And for gosh sake, we allowed Jim Boeheim’s son to score 13 points. I sure hope that he's not a dog we will have to hunt for 4 full years.

** This past week, @Wilver Dornell made a post about his favorite “eras” of Pitt Basketball. I added my own list of favorite eras, and I even thought to add Willard’s first season, 1994-1995, as an honorable mention. That season had its own special value, not just because that team played with a balls-to-the-wall type of game, but there was also the committed promise of talent on its way as a backdrop.

** This team plays much like that team of Willard’s first year, but I do see the future with X and T and A with greater upside. But they need help. And if I’m to believe what I’ve been told as of late, those commitments of help will soon be on their way. But for now, I’ll forgo fuller discussion on that topic to the Vader’s of the world.

** As for my part, I’ll leave myself to the task of helping to mobilize the Panther Hoops faithful toward supporting a team who needs it.

** We don’t need to congratulate the Panthers for the game they played today in the Dome. But we should appreciate them for where they are headed, and support them on their journey.

** After all, PantherLair Gamewatches at Rock Bottom may be back in future for fans 2 or 3 years from now.

Pitt's s defensive efficiency is now ranked 23rd per pomeroy rankings. Our opponent shooting percentage is 11th best in the entire country. Our DE per team rankings is also 11th best in the country. Come Monday we will have beat 2 ranked teams with 3 freshmen and 1 sophomore starting. We are so far ahead of schedule it amazes me how anyone can put this current roster and team down in any way, shape, or form. Its sad actually.

 

[DT_PITT]

Pitt's s defensive efficiency is now ranked 23rd per pomeroy rankings. Our opponent shooting percentage is 11th best in the entire country. Our DE per team rankings is also 11th best in the country. Come Monday we will have beat 2 ranked teams with 3 freshmen and 1 sophomore starting. We are so far ahead of schedule it amazes me how anyone can put this current roster and team down in any way, shape, or form. Its sad actually.

If our defensive number improved that much, I may have misjudged the number of possessions in the 2nd half. I did a rough count at halftime and got 31. I figured about 35 in the second half.

Therefore, I was guessing 74 points in about 66 possessions, which is not very good. I'll recount.

 

[yourhired]

Trey has had two sub par games on the road I'm sure consistency will come before seasons end

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

** Right after today’s game, I headed out to grab take-out Saturday night dinner for my family. Tonight’s dinner selection came from Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.

** Rock Bottom and Pitt Basketball will always be connected wonderfully in my mind, as the sight of no fewer than a dozen PantherLair “gamewatches,” ranging from numbers of just about 10 Pitt Hoops faithful to the largest of events with a count well over 100.

** Even this week, I noticed a handful of posters on the Lair referencing these gamewatches, wondering if someone such as myself might be up to the task of putting together such a gathering for this year’s Panthers.

** So if nothing else, despite how much this season has already surpassed expectations, for now we must realize our Panthers are not yet “gamewatch worthy.”

** But this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t appreciate them for what they are at the moment.

** What they are is a team full of battlers, but incomplete talents.

** They are a team whose performance today in the Dome should have done nothing to make fans feel any less about our positive future direction.

** They are also a team who does not possess the requisite skills and abilities to successfully attack the Syracuse 2-3 matchup zone in the traditional successful manner.

** That was the gameplan in the first half by Coach Capel. It was a gameplan that in retrospect had little chance of success. But it's was the only obvious way to start.

** It’s not just that the Panthers lack the shooters to defeat such a zone. More importantly, they lack the passers.

** They also lack the necessary post presence.

** I’ve been all aboard with the improved play of Terrell Brown over the last few games. But this game, unfortunately, only reminded us of what he can’t yet do. Sure, he started with a splendid three pointer, but that was his last moment of success.

** Major compliments this day, however, need to go to our lately maligned senior Jared Wilson-Frame. Jared wasn’t great, but provided a winning effort, and even winning production.

** Actually, all of our Panthers provided a winning effort. That’s going to be a theme all year long, I’m certain.

** Folks such as myself have suggested that Xavier might be playing himself toward All-ACC honors. While this still may be true, even I must be reminded that even such a player as X is less than 20 games into his College Basketball life. As such, the subtleties of leading the attack against the complexities of the length of the Cuse zone still need to be obtained.

** I see a different problem for Trey. The problem for Trey is that his team can’t lend him the convenience of having a typical freshman “off game.” Most freshman of Trey’s magnitude on better teams can score just 7, and there are others who can pick up the slack. But the Panthers don’t otherwise have the latitude for letting Trey score just 7.

** When assessing the Panther’s overall game on the offensive end, it should be noted that they finally started scoring effectively when they played five guards, and abandoned any traditional approach to attacking the zone.

** All of these points notwithstanding, a better argument should be made that they Panthers didn’t lose this game because of their inability to beat the zone. After all, we scored 63 points in a game with just about the same number of offensive possessions.

** For the Panthers to be the best team they can be this year, they can’t allow a team like the Cuse to get the number of open perimeter looks enabling 46 second half points.

** And for gosh sake, we allowed Jim Boeheim’s son to score 13 points. I sure hope that he's not a dog we will have to hunt for 4 full years.

** This past week, @Wilver Dornell made a post about his favorite “eras” of Pitt Basketball. I added my own list of favorite eras, and I even thought to add Willard’s first season, 1994-1995, as an honorable mention. That season had its own special value, not just because that team played with a balls-to-the-wall type of game, but there was also the committed promise of talent on its way as a backdrop.

** This team plays much like that team of Willard’s first year, but I do see the future with X and T and A with greater upside. But they need help. And if I’m to believe what I’ve been told as of late, those commitments of help will soon be on their way. But for now, I’ll forgo fuller discussion on that topic to the Vader’s of the world.

** As for my part, I’ll leave myself to the task of helping to mobilize the Panther Hoops faithful toward supporting a team who needs it.

** We don’t need to congratulate the Panthers for the game they played today in the Dome. But we should appreciate them for where they are headed, and support them on their journey.

** After all, PantherLair Gamewatches at Rock Bottom may be back in future for fans 2 or 3 years from now.

-Lacking the passers is very accurate. As of now, this is not a good passing team.
-Terrell has performed much better than expected and is getting better. SU, with their quick leaders is a tough team for him. His hands were bad today and he probably missed 3-4 nice passes from X. He also takes too long to gather and go up and that cost him a few times too.
-JWF had his best game in awhile and hopefully has shot himself out of his slump. If we could get him playing the way he did early in the season, it could easily be worth a few more wins.
-Not so sure the scoring picked up be jade we had 5 guards in, or SU just atarted to relax a bit more due to the big lead. I'd be fine with them playing small for about 10 minutes in our next encounter with the Orange though.
-I still believe that our O was our biggest failing factor today. SU only scored 74 because of all the last fouls. At most, they would have scored in the low to mid 60's and that should be good enough. Overall, the D was pretty good IMO and they did a pretty good job on most guys. I think Boeheim took them by surprise, as he did to me too. Next game he'll be lucky to score any.
-Here is the way I see the rest of the season:
Duke L
at UL L
at Clemson L
SU W
at WF W
NC St W
at BC W
VT L
at GT W
Clemson W
at UVA L
at Miami L
ND W

 

[DT_PITT]

-Lacking the passers is very accurate. As of now, this is not a good passing team.
-Terrell has performed much better than expected and is getting better. SU, with their quick leaders is a tough team for him. His hands were bad today and he probably missed 3-4 nice passes from X. He also takes too long to gather and go up and that cost him a few times too.
-JWF had his best game in awhile and hopefully has shot himself out of his slump. If we could get him playing the way he did early in the season, it could easily be worth a few more wins.
-Not so sure the scoring picked up be jade we had 5 guards in, or SU just atarted to relax a bit more due to the big lead. I'd be fine with them playing small for about 10 minutes in our next encounter with the Orange though.
-I still believe that our O was our biggest failing factor today. SU only scored 74 because of all the last fouls. At most, they would have scored in the low to mid 60's and that should be good enough. Overall, the D was pretty good IMO and they did a pretty good job on most guys. I think Boeheim took them by surprise, as he did to me too. Next game he'll be lucky to score any.
-Here is the way I see the rest of the season:
Duke L
at UL L
at Clemson L
SU W
at WF W
NC St W
at BC W
VT L
at GT W
Clemson W
at UVA L
at Miami L
ND W

I thought the first half defense was quite good, but the second half not so much (as I stated originally).

 

[88Pitt88]

I definitly thought our defense wasn't as good in the 2nd half. We got beat on multiple back door cuts that were not happening in the first half.

I think Syracuse has some really good talent and a complete team. They also have a great combination of length and athleticism to play that zone. How many times was Toney eaten alive inside today on layups and put backs he normally converts? It wasn't just Toney tho, they overwhelmed Terrell today as well and others. Terrell, just doesn't have the strength to catch and finish yet when he is challenged.

This was just a bad matchup for us. I have said before that teams that can score the basketball will give us the most trouble. The Cuse can score. I think they shot over their heads today from three including little Boeheim. We needed to catch them cold, but they were not. That said, even at home, that zone is going to give us fits.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

If our defensive number improved that much, I may have misjudged the number of possessions in the 2nd half. I did a rough count at halftime and got 31. I figured about 35 in the second half.

Therefore, I was guessing 74 points in about 66 possessions, which is not very good. I'll recount.

I'm seeing 70 possessions. That means the defense was OK, Syracuse is averaging an adjusted 108 per 100. But the offense was, well not good. I think we already knew that.

 

[pittjas]

If Jamie recruite

** Right after today’s game, I headed out to grab take-out Saturday night dinner for my family. Tonight’s dinner selection came from Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.

** Rock Bottom and Pitt Basketball will always be connected wonderfully in my mind, as the sight of no fewer than a dozen PantherLair “gamewatches,” ranging from numbers of just about 10 Pitt Hoops faithful to the largest of events with a count well over 100.

** Even this week, I noticed a handful of posters on the Lair referencing these gamewatches, wondering if someone such as myself might be up to the task of putting together such a gathering for this year’s Panthers.

** So if nothing else, despite how much this season has already surpassed expectations, for now we must realize our Panthers are not yet “gamewatch worthy.”

** But this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t appreciate them for what they are at the moment.

** What they are is a team full of battlers, but incomplete talents.

** They are a team whose performance today in the Dome should have done nothing to make fans feel any less about our positive future direction.

** They are also a team who does not possess the requisite skills and abilities to successfully attack the Syracuse 2-3 matchup zone in the traditional successful manner.

** That was the gameplan in the first half by Coach Capel. It was a gameplan that in retrospect had little chance of success. But it's was the only obvious way to start.

** It’s not just that the Panthers lack the shooters to defeat such a zone. More importantly, they lack the passers.

** They also lack the necessary post presence.

** I’ve been all aboard with the improved play of Terrell Brown over the last few games. But this game, unfortunately, only reminded us of what he can’t yet do. Sure, he started with a splendid three pointer, but that was his last moment of success.

** Major compliments this day, however, need to go to our lately maligned senior Jared Wilson-Frame. Jared wasn’t great, but provided a winning effort, and even winning production.

** Actually, all of our Panthers provided a winning effort. That’s going to be a theme all year long, I’m certain.

** Folks such as myself have suggested that Xavier might be playing himself toward All-ACC honors. While this still may be true, even I must be reminded that even such a player as X is less than 20 games into his College Basketball life. As such, the subtleties of leading the attack against the complexities of the length of the Cuse zone still need to be obtained.

** I see a different problem for Trey. The problem for Trey is that his team can’t lend him the convenience of having a typical freshman “off game.” Most freshman of Trey’s magnitude on better teams can score just 7, and there are others who can pick up the slack. But the Panthers don’t otherwise have the latitude for letting Trey score just 7.

** When assessing the Panther’s overall game on the offensive end, it should be noted that they finally started scoring effectively when they played five guards, and abandoned any traditional approach to attacking the zone.

** All of these points notwithstanding, a better argument should be made that they Panthers didn’t lose this game because of their inability to beat the zone. After all, we scored 63 points in a game with just about the same number of offensive possessions.

** For the Panthers to be the best team they can be this year, they can’t allow a team like the Cuse to get the number of open perimeter looks enabling 46 second half points.

** And for gosh sake, we allowed Jim Boeheim’s son to score 13 points. I sure hope that he's not a dog we will have to hunt for 4 full years.

** This past week, @Wilver Dornell made a post about his favorite “eras” of Pitt Basketball. I added my own list of favorite eras, and I even thought to add Willard’s first season, 1994-1995, as an honorable mention. That season had its own special value, not just because that team played with a balls-to-the-wall type of game, but there was also the committed promise of talent on its way as a backdrop.

** This team plays much like that team of Willard’s first year, but I do see the future with X and T and A with greater upside. But they need help. And if I’m to believe what I’ve been told as of late, those commitments of help will soon be on their way. But for now, I’ll forgo fuller discussion on that topic to the Vader’s of the world.

** As for my part, I’ll leave myself to the task of helping to mobilize the Panther Hoops faithful toward supporting a team who needs it.

** We don’t need to congratulate the Panthers for the game they played today in the Dome. But we should appreciate them for where they are headed, and support them on their journey.

** After all, PantherLair Gamewatches at Rock Bottom may be back in future for fans 2 or 3 years from now.

I’m a little surprised the tone of your post is so “down” and seems to some degree give up on any hopes for THIS season.

Not that I think that is necessarily a bad stance to take, but I just don’t think today is the game that should make us give up our (far-fetched?) hopes.

There’s 2 teams in the ACC we simply can’t compete with at all at this point from a talent perspective : Duke and UNC.

There’s 2 more who we really can’t compete with for a mixture of talent/scheme : UVA/Syracuse. Obviously UVA is much better than Syracuse but that zone REALLY poses problems for our squad’s skillset.

So far, we’ve played 2 of those teams and lost... and in our other 3 games (against tourney teams) we’ve won 2 and lost one on the road against a Top 20 team in which we led for much of the game.

Looking at that resume, why can’t we still have hopes to be a middle of the pack squad? Not saying that is the most likely scenario, but it definitely seems possible according to what we’ve done so far in conference play.

I’m still in the hopeful but wait-and-see mode. Once we play Louisville and NC State again, Clemson, VT, then we’ll really be able to tell whether we can really be in that middle tier or whether we’re more on the WF, BC tier.

 

[DT_PITT]

I'm seeing 70 possessions. That means the defense was OK, Syracuse is averaging an adjusted 108 per 100. But the offense was, well not good. I think we already knew that.

Thanks -- but to my point ... defense of 28 points on 31 first half possessions is good, but 46 points on 39 second half possessions is not as good.

And Pitt's offense wasn't good in either half.

 

[DT_PITT]

If Jamie recruite


I’m a little surprised the tone of your post is so “down” and seems to some degree give up on any hopes for THIS season.

Not that I think that is necessarily a bad stance to take, but I just don’t think today is the game that should make us give up our (far-fetched?) hopes.

There’s 2 teams in the ACC we simply can’t compete with at all at this point from a talent perspective : Duke and UNC.

There’s 2 more who we really can’t compete with for a mixture of talent/scheme : UVA/Syracuse. Obviously UVA is much better than Syracuse but that zone REALLY poses problems for our squad’s skillset.

So far, we’ve played 2 of those teams and lost... and in our other 3 games (against tourney teams) we’ve won 2 and lost one on the road against a Top 20 team in which we led for much of the game.

Looking at that resume, why can’t we still have hopes to be a middle of the pack squad? Not saying that is the most likely scenario, but it definitely seems possible according to what we’ve done so far in conference play.

I’m still in the hopeful but wait-and-see mode. Once we play Louisville and NC State again, Clemson, VT, then we’ll really be able to tell whether we can really be in that middle tier or whether we’re more on the WF, BC tier.

I wasn't trying for it to be down. Sorry you saw it so. The only "down thing" about this game is that it should likely quiet the NCAA tournament talk for a while. That should really be the case anyway. It's been a blast to talk about our tournament chances. But that's still such a long shot.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

If our defensive number improved that much, I may have misjudged the number of possessions in the 2nd half. I did a rough count at halftime and got 31. I figured about 35 in the second half.

Therefore, I was guessing 74 points in about 66 possessions, which is not very good. I'll recount.

They were hitting threes with hands in their face. Cuse was hot from deep. Defense was good. Stop with blaming the defense.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Outside of Trey and X nobody is good. Not good enough for this level anyway. Toney certainly has some potential. But the rest is mix and match and hope they can contribute enough to win some games. Or someone has a night. Or two. This team will largely go wherever Trey and X take it.

Take X and Trey out of it, Toney would be the best frosh we've had since???

Toney is really good. Gritty, good defender, great rebounder for his size. Can shoot it a little. He's way ahead of where Jaron Brown was at this stage.

These 3 kids are a Sweet 16/Elite 8 backcourt eventually if they add appropriate talent around them.

 

[WCSordill]

They were hitting threes with hands in their face. Cuse was hot from deep. Defense was good. Stop with blaming the defense.

Except for getting shredded on back door cuts in the second half.

 

[jfk6668]

Hoping your part about the commitments coming soon is right on point.....This was supposed to be a growth year, but I don't think it makes sense to watch expecting losses.....NCAAs are still possibly and I'll give up on that when we lose our 10th ACC game

 

[Fsgolfdr]

The sky isn’t falling in , this is a young team playing without the inside game , outside shooting and overall experience necessary to compete day in and day out in a conference such as the ACC . If anyone told you they’d would beat Louisville and a very good FSU team in Oct . you’d be pleasantly surprised to say the least . No matter how this season progresses W/L wise we’ve learn that these three freshman possess the ability to lead this program back to where the often times maligned JD once had it . We’ve also learned that just as importantly Pitt has a coach who can make it happen . There’s going to be more games like this along the journey back until JC has enough time to add the necessary pieces . Next yr will be better then the following yr will be the yr that I predict Pitt will not only make the NCAAs , but will make a strong tourney run . Until then let’s enjoy the development of the foundation of future success and don’t fret a loss to more talented and experienced teams .

 

[4Mark_Marty]

Except for getting shredded on back door cuts in the second half.

Tru dat. But that’s attention to detail, youth and awareness, not defensive ability or effort as the original poster seemed to imply. It’s more nuanced.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

Thanks -- but to my point ... defense of 28 points on 31 first half possessions is good, but 46 points on 39 second half possessions is not as good.

And Pitt's offense wasn't good in either half.

Please put the bone down. We are a good defensive team. Very tall, long shooters made big shots over our outstretched hands and in the second they slip screened, back doored a few times and shot free throws.

This is the first time this staff with this team faced Cuse in the dome. It will improve. Will Jeff Capel be Jamie Dixon-like, 15-6 vs boeheim? Who knows?

 

[Atch]

If Jamie recruite


I’m a little surprised the tone of your post is so “down” and seems to some degree give up on any hopes for THIS season.

Not that I think that is necessarily a bad stance to take, but I just don’t think today is the game that should make us give up our (far-fetched?) hopes.

There’s 2 teams in the ACC we simply can’t compete with at all at this point from a talent perspective : Duke and UNC.

There’s 2 more who we really can’t compete with for a mixture of talent/scheme : UVA/Syracuse. Obviously UVA is much better than Syracuse but that zone REALLY poses problems for our squad’s skillset.

So far, we’ve played 2 of those teams and lost... and in our other 3 games (against tourney teams) we’ve won 2 and lost one on the road against a Top 20 team in which we led for much of the game.

Looking at that resume, why can’t we still have hopes to be a middle of the pack squad? Not saying that is the most likely scenario, but it definitely seems possible according to what we’ve done so far in conference play.

I’m still in the hopeful but wait-and-see mode. Once we play Louisville and NC State again, Clemson, VT, then we’ll really be able to tell whether we can really be in that middle tier or whether we’re more on the WF, BC tier.

DT is the most positive fan on this board who doesn't know what "down" means. He has the ability to keep everything in its proper perspective.

 

[Atlanta Panther]

I think one of the biggest issues today was that the refs swallowed their whistles ala the old Big East wars. In the earlier games X and Trey were catching fouls when they drove. Today not so much. I’m not complaining because I thought the refs called the game fairly evenly but getting to the foul line is a big part of our game and that didn’t happen in this game.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I think one of the biggest issues today was that the refs swallowed their whistles ala the old Big East wars. In the earlier games X and Trey were catching fouls when they drove. Today not so much. I’m not complaining because I thought the refs called the game fairly evenly but getting to the foul line is a big part of our game and that didn’t happen in this game.

I think you have a point. I remember thinking early to mid first half that the officials were letting a lot of contact go (both ways) without blowing the whistle. I still believe that overall the officiating was balanced. However, we needed a more tightly called game in order to shoot more FTs which is generally what we need to be as successful as we can without having the talented bigs to go to inside.

Swallowed whistles or not, it was very difficult to not be blocked rather than fouled taking it inside on Cuse because of their extreme length in their zone. So that was a good part of it as well.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I definitly thought our defense wasn't as good in the 2nd half. We got beat on multiple back door cuts that were not happening in the first half.

I think Syracuse has some really good talent and a complete team. They also have a great combination of length and athleticism to play that zone. How many times was Toney eaten alive inside today on layups and put backs he normally converts? It wasn't just Toney tho, they overwhelmed Terrell today as well and others. Terrell, just doesn't have the strength to catch and finish yet when he is challenged.

This was just a bad matchup for us. I have said before that teams that can score the basketball will give us the most trouble. The Cuse can score. I think they shot over their heads today from three including little Boeheim. We needed to catch them cold, but they were not. That said, even at home, that zone is going to give us fits.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Getting beat on those back door cuts only came after we changed our defensive emphasis and began to gamble more in an attempt to pressure more on the outside in hopes of creating steals and other turnovers once we got well behind. So, they were mostly the result of scheme emphasis rather than defensive lapses by the players.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Hoping your part about the commitments coming soon is right on point.....This was supposed to be a growth year, but I don't think it makes sense to watch expecting losses.....NCAAs are still possibly and I'll give up on that when we lose our 10th ACC game

Just don't be too disappointed if that 10th loss comes sooner rather than later. IMHO, this teams absolute ceiling was before the Syracuse game, and still is, a maximum of 6 ACC regular season wins (4 more) and maybe 7 total if they can win their first game in the ACC tourney. Maybe they could sneak into the NIT or buy their way into the CBI.

 

[Chescat]

Just don't be too disappointed if that 10th loss comes sooner rather than later. IMHO,

My guess is the other ACC teams will see how we play against a zone. Of
course they won't be able to execute the Syracuse 2-3....but still.
Yesterday we not only had to face the ridiculously "long" players on
the perimeter, but also very long rebounding "trees" inside.
I mentioned in yesterday's post that they'd clog the lane and take away
our drives to the rim. (I'm not bragging, that took no foresight...LOL).
Forcing us to beat them from outside with jumpers was only logical.
We have a lot of fight and tried to attack, but their "trees" were waiting
and literally made us eat and I mean EAT more than a few. That takes
a lot out of even the toughest players. Intimidation on the inside has an
effect.
To Syracuse's credit, they have an All American type in Battle who can do
it all; they have outside shooters, and young Boheim is deadly from
three land. Throw in a pair of trees on the inside and the result was
predictable. It'll be interesting to see what the rest of the league does
on the D end when playing us.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

My guess is the other ACC teams will see how we play against a zone. Of
course they won't be able to execute the Syracuse 2-3....but still.
Yesterday we not only had to face the ridiculously "long" players on
the perimeter, but also very long rebounding "trees" inside.
I mentioned in yesterday's post that they'd clog the lane and take away
our drives to the rim. (I'm not bragging, that took no foresight...LOL).
Forcing us to beat them from outside with jumpers was only logical.
We have a lot of fight and tried to attack, but their "trees" were waiting
and literally made us eat and I mean EAT more than a few. That takes
a lot out of even the toughest players. Intimidation on the inside has an
effect.
To Syracuse's credit, they have an All American type in Battle who can do
it all; they have outside shooters, and young Boheim is deadly from
three land. Throw in a pair of trees on the inside and the result was
predictable. It'll be interesting to see what the rest of the league does
on the D end when playing us.

I’ve been saying this for awhile , that once teams scout Pitt they’ll figure out how to make it very difficult for Pitt to penetrate . To X and Treys credit they still were able to do that successfully until yesterday . Besides the big man Pitt really could’ve used PS . A defense can’t stop everything and with X ‘s and Trey’s abilities that would’ve make PS that much more effective . I’d be willing to suffer a little on defense to get his offense .

 

[Chescat]

I’ve been saying this for awhile , that once teams scout Pitt they’ll figure out how to make it very difficult for Pitt to penetrate . To X and Treys credit they still were able to do that successfully until yesterday . Besides the big man Pitt really could’ve used PS . A defense can’t stop everything and with X ‘s and Trey’s abilities that would’ve make PS that much more effective . I’d be willing to suffer a little on defense to get his offense .

You make a good point about " a defense can't stop everything." We did get
a few from the outside. Frame gave us somewhat of a threat from threeland.
However, even with that, they forced us into a lot of ineffectual drives into
the lane, and too much perimeter passing. As far as PS, I'm probably the one
poster on here who can't think logically when it comes to him.
IMO the one thing that hurt us the most was Brown's inability to hold on to the
ball when the guards created a situation. Had he done that, it would have
given something else for their zone to contend with. If they had to contend
with that, other gaps and seams would have opened for us. That in turn
would have allowed for some kick outs for some open looks from outside.
Even if we had PS, those open looks from the outside wouldn't occur with
perimeter passing. As I know you know, you gotta get the zone to commit;
we didn't or couldn't do that

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

At the end of the day it all came down to inadequate quality bigs to create any sort of inside scoring threat. Ten blocks with all or nearly all down low in the paint because when we got the ball in there by either a guard or to a forward we were too short to finish or even draw fouls--and Brown lacks both sufficient quickness and hops in addition to weak hands so he plays smaller than his height.

The only way we are effective with our lack of height is when we can draw fouls and shoot a lot of FTs. Our only other real offensive asset is our defensive one--our ability to turn the other team over with the press and steals by X and Trey.

 

[gary2]

Syracuse blocked 10 Pitt shots we blocked only 2. Most of theses were down low in the paint and each block takes away one opportunity to score in close and some (most) are like having turnovers. That block differential may have been worth up to as many as16 points in Syracuse's favor and clearly was the major difference maker in the game's outcome. This clearly points up the recruiting need we have for quality bigs who instead of being blocked will usually either score or get to the FT line.

A lot of our blocked shots were taken by non bigs.

 

[gary2]

-Lacking the passers is very accurate. As of now, this is not a good passing team.
-Terrell has performed much better than expected and is getting better. SU, with their quick leaders is a tough team for him. His hands were bad today and he probably missed 3-4 nice passes from X. He also takes too long to gather and go up and that cost him a few times too.
-JWF had his best game in awhile and hopefully has shot himself out of his slump. If we could get him playing the way he did early in the season, it could easily be worth a few more wins.
-Not so sure the scoring picked up be jade we had 5 guards in, or SU just atarted to relax a bit more due to the big lead. I'd be fine with them playing small for about 10 minutes in our next encounter with the Orange though.
-I still believe that our O was our biggest failing factor today. SU only scored 74 because of all the last fouls. At most, they would have scored in the low to mid 60's and that should be good enough. Overall, the D was pretty good IMO and they did a pretty good job on most guys. I think Boeheim took them by surprise, as he did to me too. Next game he'll be lucky to score any.
-Here is the way I see the rest of the season:
Duke L
at UL L
at Clemson L
SU W
at WF W
NC St W
at BC W
VT L
at GT W
Clemson W
at UVA L
at Miami L
ND W

I have to say that is extremely optimistic. I am pretty optimistic too, but I am hoping for 5 or 6 more and realistically expecting less. The next 3 will be extremely tough. If we lose all 3, I hope it will not significantly impact our confidence.

 

[gary2]

They were hitting threes with hands in their face. Cuse was hot from deep. Defense was good. Stop with blaming the defense.

I thought Syracuse scored a
Lot of points off of blocks and missed threes when we were not setup in our half court defense.

 

[gary2]

Except for getting shredded on back door cuts in the second half.

Don't you think we played a little differently because of the score and that contributed to the back door cuts?

 

[X2win]

I have to say that is extremely optimistic. I am pretty optimistic too, but I am hoping for 5 or 6 more and realistically expecting less. The next 3 will be extremely tough. If we lose all 3, I hope it will not significantly impact our confidence.

The bottom of the acc is awful. The 4 worst teams are 3-16 and Georgia Tech and Clemson have not played the meat on their schedule yet to drop to the bottom. Pitt on the other hand has played all the top teams in the acc. Florida St will climb quickly when they beat up the garbage at the bottom of the league in the next 2 weeks. They are blowing out BC right now on BCs home floor. I dont know why its hard to admit the bottom of the acc is lousy outside a win or 2.

 

[DT_PITT]

I thought Syracuse scored a
Lot of points off of blocks and missed threes when we were not setup in our half court defense.

A they left Buddy B open quite often too.