Things that bothered me tonight....

[Pitt5593]

1. I never get excited about the people who act like free-throw shooting is the most important part of the game. Give me that good defender like Julius page. Give me the rebounder like Dejuan Blair. They are hard to find. Good free-throw shooter‘s are a dime a dozen. I am not saying that free-throw shooting is not important but there are a lot more important things and being a good basketball player. However, the free-throw shooting on this team is putrid. Eight for 19 tonight. What is that? I am 71 years old. Give me a half hours practice and I will shoot better then what this team has done in seven games. and I was a very mediocre intramural player at Trees in 1971.
2. Xavier Johnson still has not learned how to play under control. He is so important to this team but makes so many stupidest mistakes. He is now an upperclassman it Has to step up.
3. And like everyone else, I am sick about the injuries to our two best players. Feel bad for the kids. And the fans.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

1. I never get excited about the people who act like free-throw shooting is the most important part of the game. Give me that good defender like Julius page. Give me the rebounder like Dejuan Blair. They are hard to find. Good free-throw shooter‘s are a dime a dozen. I am not saying that free-throw shooting is not important but there are a lot more important things and being a good basketball player. However, the free-throw shooting on this team is putrid. Eight for 19 tonight. What is that? I am 71 years old. Give me a half hours practice and I will shoot better then what this team has done in seven games. and I was a very mediocre intramural player at Trees in 1971.
2. Xavier Johnson still has not learned how to play under control. He is so important to this team but makes so many stupidest mistakes. He is now an upperclassman it Has to step up.
3. And like everyone else, I am sick about the injuries to our two best players. Feel bad for the kids. And the fans.

1) Practice Repetition and Focus - 2 things they need to fix to become better FT shooters.

2) Agreed - it’s too bad we couldn’t combine BK’s basketball IQ and XJ’s talent.

3) It sucks for sure.

 

[gary2]

My Observations:

We need X to play well or we are in trouble

Femi looked great at times, but he can't be/is not the go to guy of our offense.

Got to run offense, pass much better. 6 assists and 12 turnovers is not gonna get er done.

Hope Toney is not out too long

Don't understand why Jeffress didn't play more. We need him to play more and be aggressive.

Nike needs to quit deferring. With our lack of offense now, he needs to score.

Horton looks like he will run either hot or cold.

Need to make our foul shots and foul less.

Needed better play from our centers tonight

I know we were short handed and in foul trouble, but the zone was a mistake. They carved us up. Too many easy baskets.

Opportunities were there tonight. We did not play as well as we could.

Losing Justin is really tough. (I guess we can't have nice things) I do think we can pull together and remain competitive most games.

 

[BigZeke]

My Observations:

We need X to play well or we are in trouble

Femi looked great at times, but he can't be/is not the go to guy of our offense.

Got to run offense, pass much better. 6 assists and 12 turnovers is not gonna get er done.

Hope Toney is not out too long

Don't understand why Jeffress didn't play more. We need him to play more and be aggressive.

Nike needs to quit deferring. With our lack of offense now, he needs to score.

Horton looks like he will run either hot or cold.

Need to make our foul shots and foul less.

Needed better play from our centers tonight

I know we were short handed and in foul trouble, but the zone was a mistake. They carved us up. Too many easy baskets.

Opportunities were there tonight. We did not play as well as we could.

Losing Justin is really tough. I think we can pull together and remain competitive most games.

Hugley showed flashes tonight. He just needs to continue to work and have the game continue to slow down for him. Plucky persistent bunch tonight. A lot to like as we move forward.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

1. I never get excited about the people who act like free-throw shooting is the most important part of the game. Give me that good defender like Julius page. Give me the rebounder like Dejuan Blair. They are hard to find. Good free-throw shooter‘s are a dime a dozen. I am not saying that free-throw shooting is not important but there are a lot more important things and being a good basketball player. However, the free-throw shooting on this team is putrid. Eight for 19 tonight. What is that? I am 71 years old. Give me a half hours practice and I will shoot better then what this team has done in seven games. and I was a very mediocre intramural player at Trees in 1971.
2. Xavier Johnson still has not learned how to play under control. He is so important to this team but makes so many stupidest mistakes. He is now an upperclassman it Has to step up.
3. And like everyone else, I am sick about the injuries to our two best players. Feel bad for the kids. And the fans.

Johnson is one of the most inconsistent players in Pitt history, honestly. When he's bad, he's the worst PG in the ACC by far. When he's good, he's as good as any PG in the ACC. Its maddening. I'd settle for consistently average but he's seldom that. He's classic feast or famine.

 

[MajorMajors]

Several times tonight it looked like Horton should have gotten a kick-out pass when X or Femi drove into traffic. That may be Horton’s best bet to get open looks, but it seems no-one is looking to kick to Horton.

Go Pitt.

 

[gary2]

Hugley showed flashes tonight. He just needs to continue to work and have the game continue to slow down for him. Plucky persistent bunch tonight. A lot to like as we move forward.

I just thought Louisville did not have Louisville centers tonight. That gave me hope we would be competitive on the boards and inside play. We really weren't.

Turnovers, fumbled passes, fouls by us, offensive rebounds, second chance points, easy points in the paint against us.

 

[PittFanHere]

My goodness - foul shots, not finishing at the hoop - killed us.

Horton does not bring what we were led to believe

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

There's something there with the new group, but gonna have a hard winning a game without Champagne.
If he misses 10+ games, pretty much resets things back yet another year.

 

[CCHS82]

Several times tonight it looked like Horton should have gotten a kick-out pass when X or Femi drove into traffic. That may be Horton’s best bet to get open looks, but it seems no-one is looking to kick to Horton.

Go Pitt.

True.

This team has not learned how to play inside-out yet. Hopefully, they will. Bigs need to learn it too. That will help Horton and Nike, especially Horton, who can't really create his own three attempt it appears.

 

[Millerton24]

Several times tonight it looked like Horton should have gotten a kick-out pass when X or Femi drove into traffic. That may be Horton’s best bet to get open looks, but it seems no-one is looking to kick to Horton.

Go Pitt.

Yep I agree, the make-up of a good point guard is to know how to get your teammates the ball in areas that are their strong points and where they can be successful.

 

[Ski11585]

Johnson is one of the most inconsistent players in Pitt history, honestly. When he's bad, he's the worst PG in the ACC by far. When he's good, he's as good as any PG in the ACC. Its maddening. I'd settle for consistently average but he's seldom that. He's classic feast or famine.

Gil Brown could give him a run for his money in this category.

 

[BigZeke]

I just thought Louisville did not have Louisville centers tonight. That gave me hope we would be competitive on the boards and inside play. We really weren't.

Turnovers, fumbled passes, fouls by us, offensive rebounds, second chance points, easy points in the paint against us.

Pitt desperately needs another Big to pair w Hugley that can block and/or alter shots. I’m sure the staff hoped Brown was that guy but outside of the occasional block he’s just too timid at this level.

 

[wolf0717]

You

1. I never get excited about the people who act like free-throw shooting is the most important part of the game. Give me that good defender like Julius page. Give me the rebounder like Dejuan Blair. They are hard to find. Good free-throw shooter‘s are a dime a dozen. I am not saying that free-throw shooting is not important but there are a lot more important things and being a good basketball player. However, the free-throw shooting on this team is putrid. Eight for 19 tonight. What is that? I am 71 years old. Give me a half hours practice and I will shoot better then what this team has done in seven games. and I was a very mediocre intramural player at Trees in 1971.
2. Xavier Johnson still has not learned how to play under control. He is so important to this team but makes so many stupidest mistakes. He is now an upperclassman it Has to step up.
3. And like everyone else, I am sick about the injuries to our two best players. Feel bad for the kids. And the fans.

couldn't improve their free throw shooting, because modern kids don't want to learn. They don't want to learn mechanics, they want to be cool just tossing the ball up. Remember when you were taught to bounce it three times, keep the same rythem, and follow throught with the wrist. Nobody does it any more. The problem is not good teachers, it's the stubborness of the culture.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

My Observations:

We need X to play well or we are in trouble

Femi looked great at times, but he can't be/is not the go to guy of our offense.

Got to run offense, pass much better. 6 assists and 12 turnovers is not gonna get er done.

Hope Toney is not out too long

Don't understand why Jeffress didn't play more. We need him to play more and be aggressive.

Nike needs to quit deferring. With our lack of offense now, he needs to score.

Horton looks like he will run either hot or cold.

Need to make our foul shots and foul less.

Needed better play from our centers tonight

I know we were short handed and in foul trouble, but the zone was a mistake. They carved us up. Too many easy baskets.

Opportunities were there tonight. We did not play as well as we could.

Losing Justin is really tough. (I guess we can't have nice things) I do think we can pull together and remain competitive most games.

They actually played better than I expected last night and kept it interesting most of the game. That being said, they need to pass the ball a lot better. Way too much dribbling and individual play. They have been a terrible screening team since Stallings took over.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Gil Brown could give him a run for his money in this category.

I was thinking about GB when I posted that but he alternated great and average on a really good team which he wasnt the focal point. Johnson's bad is much worse than GB and this team simply cannot win if Johnson plays bad. It has little margin for error.

 

[gary2]

They actually played better than I expected last night and kept it interesting most of the game. That being said, they need to pass the ball a lot better. Way too much dribbling and individual play. They have been a terrible screening team since Stallings took over.

Not so much a problem last night but...

This team is horrible on the break. They either never give it up or throw it out of bounds trying to go long. Just head man the ball.

I know defenders will try to sandbag you and steal the ball before the break gets started, but a quick, short strong pass and you are on your way. We never make that pass.

Are there drills to improve running the break?

 

[Seneca_Valley]

I was thinking about GB when I posted that but he alternated great and average on a really good team which he wasnt the focal point. Johnson's bad is much worse than GB and this team simply cannot win if Johnson plays bad. It has little margin for error.

Exactly. Brown wasn't a point guard. Johnson is. And consistency is a critical attribute for the position. I hope for the best, but I'm not sure we will ever see that in him.

 

[JS School]

Something that bothered me? Given the circumstances of last night's game, that someone would gloatingly start a thread titled "Turn Off The Lights".

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Something that bothered me? Given the circumstances of last night's game, that someone would gloatingly start a thread titled "Turn Off The Lights".

He’s a Dick

 

[sonofabit]

True.

This team has not learned how to play inside-out yet. Hopefully, they will. Bigs need to learn it too. That will help Horton and Nike, especially Horton, who can't really create his own three attempt it appears.

Just make them watch film of the Zags inside-out game. They kick it back out — and around the horn to the open man faster than Pitt misses a forced layup or missed jam.