The 3 freshmen remind me of:

[Sean Miller Fan]

Buzz Williams guys, don't they? You know those long, athletic guys he's had at Marquette and VT. Xavier Johnson actually reminds me of Dominic James. Toney totally looks like a VT guy.

If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be happy that we have young guys who have VT potential, I probably would have cried. Thanks Scott.

 

[PittPanther44]

Not sure why u have to turn it to a negative, but pretty fun to watch them so far...and more upside than we have seen in a freshman group in 5 years.

 

[drp1tt]

Not sure why u have to turn it to a negative, but pretty fun to watch them so far...and more upside than we have seen in a freshman group in 5 years.

This team looks so much better and more fun to watch and more athletic than Dixon’s last 3 years here teams ever did. As Steve Adams said, JD did not want quick open shots and didn’t really like to play uptempo which is why he left Pitt after one year.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Not sure why u have to turn it to a negative, but pretty fun to watch them so far...and more upside than we have seen in a freshman group in 5 years.

This team looks so much better and more fun to watch and more athletic than Dixon’s last 3 years here teams ever did. As Steve Adams said, JD did not want quick open shots and didn’t really like to play uptempo which is why he left Pitt after one year.

Dixon ran an "offensive rebounding" offense which you cannot do up tempo. Shots had to come from certain places after moving the defense around. And he was historically successful at that. But he couldn't get kids to play in it anymore.

The thing with offensive rebounding (and defense) is that they don't take nights off. As long as Jamie gets good (didn't need great) players, he will win a ton

 

[Pitt Panther4ever]

Pre injury Dominic James was so awesome

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Kind of remind me of Brandin/Julius/JB a bit. Only these guys, with the exception of Page, maybe all more athletic.

 

[Ski11585]

This team looks so much better and more fun to watch and more athletic than Dixon’s last 3 years here teams ever did. As Steve Adams said, JD did not want quick open shots and didn’t really like to play uptempo which is why he left Pitt after one year.

I wouldn't put too much stock in what Adams said. He was leaving after one year no matter what.

Dixon let his players be open when they had the talent to do so.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I wouldn't put too much stock in what Adams said. He was leaving after one year no matter what.

Dixon let his players be open when they had the talent to do so.

Yeah, I think that was a misnomer that carried with Jamie at Pitt unfairly with both fans and recruiting. The 2009 team scored a lot. I do think some of this reputation was earned by how "tight" we would play in the NCAA and some of those clangfests like against UCF and Wisconsin that one regional (even though we won) and performances against OK State and ETenn State and Xavier in 2009, the Butler loss, etc....

I do think Jamie tended to be tight and overcoach those tourney games.

 

[Ski11585]

Yeah, I think that was a misnomer that carried with Jamie at Pitt unfairly with both fans and recruiting. The 2009 team scored a lot. I do think some of this reputation was earned by how "tight" we would play in the NCAA and some of those clangfests like against UCF and Wisconsin that one regional (even though we won) and performances against OK State and ETenn State and Xavier in 2009, the Butler loss, etc....

I do think Jamie tended to be tight and overcoach those tourney games.

Yeah, I think you're right. Though Wisconsin and Butler made a lot of teams play ugly. But I think it's spot on. Those games all happened in March when EVERYONE was watching and that's what they thought of. Plus, I think people never quite let go of that style they played under Howland too.

 

[Chescat]

Kind of remind me of Brandin/Julius/JB a bit. Only these guys, with the exception of Page, maybe all more athletic.

I like all three of them, and they all have their different characteristics.

Johnson as a pg is relentless. He constantly pushes the tempo, and
he's not only fast, but quick as hell. Offensively he wears down his
defender...this is not typical, it's usually the other way around. He has
no fear getting into the lane and shooting or dishing it off. He makes
an error occasionally with this style, but the pluses outweigh the minuses.

Tony is a surprise to me, better than I thought he'd be. He has an
all around good floor game, can shoot, and is the best rebounder of the
three. In fact he's one of the team's best rebounders.

McGowens is the four star (although Johnson was a 4* IMO) and he
plays like it. He takes it to the hoop like very few freshman guards I've
ever seen. His dunks and acrobatic lay ups are what gave him that
4th* IMO. His floor game is decent, and his outside jumper needs
work, but still it's ok for now.

All three are energetic and are giving that intensity that Capel seemingly
demands. Their defense will improve, but still it's far better than what
the average freshman has.

 

[Drew1208]

I like all three of them, and they all have their different characteristics.

Johnson as a pg is relentless. He constantly pushes the tempo, and
he's not only fast, but quick as hell. Offensively he wears down his
defender...this is not typical, it's usually the other way around. He has
no fear getting into the lane and shooting or dishing it off. He makes
an error occasionally with this style, but the pluses outweigh the minuses.

Tony is a surprise to me, better than I thought he'd be. He has an
all around good floor game, can shoot, and is the best rebounder of the
three. In fact he's one of the team's best rebounders.

McGowens is the four star (although Johnson was a 4* IMO) and he
plays like it. He takes it to the hoop like very few freshman guards I've
ever seen. His dunks and acrobatic lay ups are what gave him that
4th* IMO. His floor game is decent, and his outside jumper needs
work, but still it's ok for now.

All three are energetic and are giving that intensity that Capel seemingly
demands. Their defense will improve, but still it's far better than what
the average freshman has.

In hope Trey develops a midrange game. And I think he will with time. That will put tons of pressure on an opponent.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Kind of remind me of Brandin/Julius/JB a bit. Only these guys, with the exception of Page, maybe all more athletic.

Only in that they are 3 young guys who play those positions and will start together for a long time. But Brandin and X are completely different. Toney has a little bit of the "dirty work" in him, I can see like Brown but Brown's basketball savvy was off the charts. Toney is way more athletic though

 

[mo cheeks]

Kind of remind me of Brandin/Julius/JB a bit. Only these guys, with the exception of Page, maybe all more athletic.

that was more my thought as well.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Only in that they are 3 young guys who play those positions and will start together for a long time. But Brandin and X are completely different. Toney has a little bit of the "dirty work" in him, I can see like Brown but Brown's basketball savvy was off the charts. Toney is way more athletic though

1) Brandin and X. Of course X is way more athletic, but Brandin was a great defensive player, and X looks like he could be. X also gets to the rim, and is quicker, but Brandin was underrated athletically. Remember, he was a D1 caliber football recruit too.
2) JP and McGowens. Pretty spot on. Decent size, great, and I mean great and explosive hops. Neither are natural scorers. JP never was a score first guy, where I think McGowens is. But JP was a great defensive guard.
3) JB and Toney. Both similar sized, versatile. I agree and said Toney is more athletic. JB had great BB IQ but Toney is contributing at a much younger age.

I am not saying these are the exact copy, but there are definitely parallels down to the position, the size and the same class as those 3 who were the building blocks for the resurgence of Pitt BB.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Dixon ran an "offensive rebounding" offense which you cannot do up tempo. Shots had to come from certain places after moving the defense around. And he was historically successful at that. But he couldn't get kids to play in it anymore.

The thing with offensive rebounding (and defense) is that they don't take nights off. As long as Jamie gets good (didn't need great) players, he will win a ton

Offensive efficiency certainly can be up tempo

Good shots were open looks .
Whether that came at the beginning or end of shot clock didn’t matter.

What slowed down our tempo was our passive contest but don’t disrupt defensive strategy under Dixon .

You got it backwards.

We’re playing faster and under capel because a steal for a layup is faster than running a set offense
Break away layups is the most efficient offense there is.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

The fast break is not only exciting to the players and spectators, it is a good way to pick up the high-percentage shot. The fast break often leads to a one- or two-man advantage as the offense approaches the basket. However, even if the fast-breaking team comes down the court three-on-three, the good-percentage shot should be more readily accessible since the defense is not set and waiting. Furthermore, the fewer defensive players in the scoring area, the better the changes for scoring. For example, it is much easier to score in a two-on-two situation than it is in a five-on-five situation. If you have any doubts about this theory, try playing seven-against-seven in practice to see how long it takes for a team to score compared to a normal five-against-five scrimmage.The successful break, especially one resulting from an opponent’s error, can serve to upset an opponent. This may help the fast-breaking team game momentum at times.Although we may lose the ball more often by fast breaking, we feel that the high-percentage shots or fouls drawn through its use more than compensate for lost possessions. For the above reasons, along with the relief from the offensive board, we always have believed in the fast break, even when were not blessed with excellent talent.
– Dean Smith

 

[Pitt79]

It's great to have some athletes, for awhile there we barely had anyone that could even dunk, it looked like rec ball at Trees Hall.