Syracuse Game @ The Pete & Other Dribbles ...

[Drew1208]

Getting Horton back should help with Femi. I'm sure they'll both be still be inconsistent so it'll be good to rotate another guard body depending on who is playing well or poorly.

 

[PittMan 72]

Getting Horton back should help with Femi. I'm sure they'll both be still be inconsistent so it'll be good to rotate another guard body depending on who is playing well or poorly.

Hopefully - and we won’t know until we get to see the games - there will multiple benefits of IH’s return.

• Better 3 point shooting (BADLY NEEDED)
• If that happens, the D will have to defend more area
• That will open space; help to create seams and gaps
• Better distribution of minutes to alleviate fatigue

 

[sonofabit]

Pitt also got a few easy buckets off of run outs and live ball turnovers. For a team that in general struggles to score, that was a bonus and very good to see.

3 games Pitt lost by 1 point during IH’s 19 game suspension (Minny, @UVA, ND) so far. Would any of those results have changed with Horton? Will IH be back for Saturday at BC? Will it make a difference? 🤷‍♂️

In lieu of IH in the rotation, don’t you know Jeffress’ defense kept those 3 games close? Read it here on the internet.

 

[Vader_Storm]

You can certainly make a case for Burton. FWIW, Femi, Burton and Eze all played on Femi and all three played him very well after the first four minutes. One of Buddy's threes came in those first four minutes. Two of the other 3 threes he scored in the first half cannot at all be attributed to Femi. One came in transition and the other was very deep off of an offensive rebound.

Burton has been big time throughout the entire ACC Conference schedule. In the game against Syracuse, he had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block.

As I said in the other thread, he has been by far the most consistent and best player on offense throughout the entire ACC schedule thus far and that includes efficiency. He has played at a really, really high level.

 

[PittMan 72]

In lieu of IH in the rotation, don’t you know Jeffress’ defense kept those 3 games close? Read it here on the internet.

 

[PittsburghPanther]

What's going on with Syracuse recruiting? Their best 2 players are Boeheim's kids and Jimmy is a role player at best. Did he stop recruiting outside of his own living room?

Girard was a highly ranked miss similar to Jeffress but that happens. SHU, Rutgers, and Providence have lapped them, not to mention Villanova of course.

Talk about sleazy recruiting. I heard Boeheim banged their mom to get them.

 

[PittPharm2002]

In lieu of IH in the rotation, don’t you know Jeffress’ defense kept those 3 games close? Read it here on the internet.

Keeping Payton on the bench more likely

 

[HailToPitt1985]

Very enjoyable, satisfying win and night for Pitt fans.

My new favorite player is Mo Gueye. Very impressive on both ends of the court and rebounding. We need a few more of him. He's so much fun to watch!

I have no problem with enjoying this one win....a well-balanced win against a team similar to Pitt. This team and we as fans deserve it. We should all enjoy whatever satisfaction we can get this year from this team. But Syracuse is not Duke or even UNC or Miami. I'm happy we won, but I'd like to see some sort of trend here of the type of suffocating defense, hustle, rebounding, and opportune offense we just saw from Pitt last night before getting too excited. And lets do it against one of the better team in the ACC, not Syracuse or BC or GT.

 

[Duneaux Harm]

DT did not say or imply he found some kind of switch. He said we played better, and they did. The 2nd half against the zone was very good. He also said that we still need more studs. Both are true.

Literally he did.

* I don’t exactly know what offensive switch Coach Capel flipped at halftime, b

 

[Duneaux Harm]

I don’t think actually think Capel found any kind of switch. It was simply just a matter of speaking to portray a significant difference from the first half offense and the second half offense (not to be taken anywhere near as literally as you seem to half done).

For me, Pitt hoops is must see, regardless of how bad it gets. I see no harm in trying to enjoy it in any way that one can, which includes pretending Capel flipped a switch.

I think I want him to badly figure out what he did in yesterdays game and previous games through deep introspective thought and work on continuing that. I don’t want his coaching to be as random as my golf game and not be able to figure out what he did from one shot to the next. I have bashed Jamie many times but Daggumit when he was interviewed about a game and he would say we have to work on rebounding and not get out rebounded…then we rarely ever lost a rebounding battle the rest of the season.

 

[New York Panther]

The second half reminded me of how Jamie's teams used to carve up the 'Cuse zone. It was really fun to watch.

 

[Franb]

The second half reminded me of how Jamie's teams used to carve up the 'Cuse zone. It was really fun to watch.

And it is worth noting that 3 of Pitt’s biggest contributors to last night’s win have never played again the Syracuse zone before this season - John, Mo, and Burton. Will had the most experience last year, and he did not play much last night. There is some level of good coaching in play to get these guys to do as well as they did against that zone.

 

[FireballZ]

The “swoon” has been delayed for now. The twitter reaction of the team with Capel in the locker room leads me to believe the team is still with this coach - if you couldn’t tell by the effort on the floor.

Maybe I’m getting overly grumpy as i approach 40, but that celebration video stemming from beating a very bad team made me sad as a guy who attended Pitt during the early glory years from 200-06. But I also really look down on programs that should expect to win storming the court. I saw FSU do it against Duke and I thought, haven’t they been a top 15 program over the past decade?

I dunno. Long way of saying that the celebration video was offputting for me. Maybe that’s just the way you have to get through to today’s youth, so what do i know?

 

[TD_6082]

Good to see some guys knock down some shots last night & play with confidence.

Love Mo Gueye. Such an easy guy to root for.

 

[Mr. Monaca]

** At the first TV Timeout, this one started to look much like the last one. I remarked to my neighbors that we didn’t have a chance for a respectable night if we continued a defensive trend that surrendered 10 points in the first 4 minutes.

** So we came out of that first break with new defensive resolve. But we were still mystified on the other end. The Orange pushed the lead to 9 and Buddy shot a three that would have made it 12. It felt like that might have been the ballgame had it gone.

** But it didn’t. And Mo flew in for a dunk and it was a whole different ballgame instead.

** Nonetheless, the Panthers remained mystified on the offensive end for the remainder of the first frame. But our men didn’t let this impact their defense and they didn’t give the Orange anything easy. This set the stage for a simply brilliant second 20 minutes.

** I don’t exactly know what offensive switch Coach Capel flipped at halftime, but whatever it was it worked. The simplest explanation is that the Panther moved the ball like they haven’t at any time during this entire campaign. It was beautiful. Glorious really.

** The difference can be clearly seen in the numbers. 1st half – 5 assists and 8 turnovers. 2nd half – 10 assists and 5 turnovers. How very wonderfully Un-Capel-like one might think!

** We’ve all got plenty of questions about Coach Capel’s future at Pitt, and they are all deserved. But tonight, we should all be firmly impressed with how he was able to get this solid of a team win out of just four players while scrapping together enough minutes from the rest.

** And somehow, the staff has to get some credit for snagging Mo Geuye from the American East Conference and letting him free to become a real player.

** Mo didn’t just play well. He was exceptional. From the opening tip, Mo soared around both ends of the court with an incredible energy that eventually infected the rest of his teammates. He was easily the player of this game, and it was actually the best overall performance by any Panther this season.

** Two weeks or so ago, I made the case that Eze was the best walk on to ever play at Pitt. I believe it was @Brian Brush Fan though who made the case for, well … Brian Brush. And after going back in looking at Mr. Brush’s work, I succumbed to the point that Brian likely deserved that notoriety. After tonight, I think it’s fair to say the Eze has jumped back into the top spot, despite the fact that he’s earned a scholarship now.

** It wasn’t just Eze’s shooting that made that was difference making. It was his defense. In fact, he was the Panthers best defender, playing with a physicality that posed plenty of problems for the opponents perimeter.

** Eze also made the play the essentially ended the game too, running down what would have been an easy layup for the other Boeheim. Then Big John hit a jumper and the Orange’s day was done.

** Saying Eze was the best Panther defender shouldn’t sell Jamarius short. He was physical too, as was Femi, regardless of his struggles on the offensive end.

** I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention John’s work on the glass. I was pleased to see this kind of production on a day when his offense wasn’t at it’s best.

** For this fan, what was most pleasing was the number of times this game brought my neighbors and me to our feet to stand and applaud.

** I suspect that no one in our group thinks there’s anything to be made of this season in the long run. But the short run of this night, this game -- especially the second half -- was an absolute pleasure to watch. Especially after that almost unwatchable trip to South Carolina a few days ago.

** So for a season that we can only measure in games instead of goals, I’m looking forward to seeing if we can get two in a row on Saturday.

** The formula is simple. Keep the opponent around 50-55 points, and scrap for offense. And on occasion, toss in a half or so of hot shooting and this team can even fall into a category one might call respectable.

Mo was great, but I really think Burton made the ultimate difference on the defensive end.

 

[DT_PITT]

Mo was great, but I really think Burton made the ultimate difference on the defensive end.

What's greater is being able to debate such a point, even if for just one game.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Talk about sleazy recruiting. I heard Boeheim banged their mom to get them.

Bought her a house too !