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This is No Fluke

Chescat

All Conference
Jul 5, 2001
5,538
3,530
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Pre season I didn't think
I'd be seeing this. What
this team (Capel too) is
doing is amazing. My
take is experience,
maturity, decent (not
elite) talent and great
cohesiveness. They
not only want it, they
go and get it. UVA did
not have an off night,
we simply outplayed
them. The second half
Capel's players ran a
clinic on both ends of
the floor. They handled
one of the top defenses
in the country. This is
beyond our expectations.
KEEP IT UP!!
 
A lot of resolve and determination with this group.

I love, what they are doing on BOTH ends of the court. They took it to Virginia both offensively and defensively in the second half.

Really like to see the look in their eyes when it’s coming down the stretch recently. These veteran players are doing a great job of finding ways to get it done and win games. Extremely impressive. Have to keep it going.
 
A lot of resolve and determination with this group.

I love, what they are doing on BOTH ends of the court. They took it to Virginia both offensively and defensively in the second half.

Really like to see the look in their eyes when it’s coming down the stretch recently. These veteran players are doing a great job of finding ways to get it done and win games. Extremely impressive. Have to keep it going.

I actually like the
"resolve" and how they
seem to hang tough.
They don't give up,
don't get over excited,
and stay with what they're
doing. To me, that is
experience, and maturity.
They're men, not boys.
As you said "veteran
players....finding a way to
get it done."
 
Pre season I didn't think
I'd be seeing this. What
this team (Capel too) is
doing is amazing. My
take is experience,
maturity, decent (not
elite) talent and great
cohesiveness. They
not only want it, they
go and get it. UVA did
not have an off night,
we simply outplayed
them. The second half
Capel's players ran a
clinic on both ends of
the floor. They handled
one of the top defenses
in the country. This is
beyond our expectations.
KEEP IT UP!!
It is not a fluke. I knew we would be better and loved many of Jeff’s pickups, but didn’t think Hinson and Fede would be this good. I figured 17-14 or 18-13.
 
We don’t have a deep bench but the core group of 6 play well together, compliment each other with their skill sets and are all contributing.
 
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Really like to see the look in their eyes when it’s coming down the stretch recently. These veteran players are doing a great job of finding ways to get it done and win games. Extremely impressive. Have to keep it going.
In other words, quite a lot like the way we used to do it under JD. Having seasoned upperclassmen makes a big difference.
 
In other words, quite a lot like the way we used to do it under JD. Having seasoned upperclassmen makes a big difference.
Absolutely. Anxious to see how far this this team can carry things this year.

It’s how UVA has been doing it now. Clark and some others are older guys who have been through the wringer and know how to win. Made Pitt’s win tonight even more impressive.
 
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I’m shocked they’re doing this with a hodgepodge of only six guys with zero from the two problem childs.
 
It is not a fluke. I knew we would be better and loved many of Jeff’s pickups, but didn’t think Hinson and Fede would be this good. I figured 17-14 or 18-13.

I thought Hinson would
be good once the rust
was gone. Fede, I saw
him as a longer version
of Collier, but that he
had a good upside. I
never thought they all
would jell this well, and
what I really wanted
was improvement and
a few more more wins.
I never saw 4-0 at his
point in the ACC with
road wins and winsagainst UVA and UNC.

I posted that I would be
"elated" with 10-10. So
far I'm ELATED.
 
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I actually like the
"resolve" and how they
seem to hang tough.
They don't give up,
don't get over excited,
and stay with what they're
doing. To me, that is
experience, and maturity.
They're men, not boys.
As you said "veteran
players....finding a way to
get it done."
It seems the difference between these guys and Jeff's previous projects is that the previous ones felt happy they were playing in the acc whereas these guys feel they belong to be playing in the acc. Nelly is exhibit a
 
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Again, just like the Carolina game, we fell behind, we didn't shoot particularly well (who does against UVa) and we came back to win. And you can say our defense led the comeback!

When we bombed Northwestern, we could have beaten Gonzaga or Kansas or anyone shooting like that. It is when we just beat Carolina and UVa not shooting our best gives me belief this is real and sustainable this year.
 
It seems the difference
1. They all have offensive talent
2. The culture that was brought here from the other places they played has taken over and it is an underdog mentality. We saw glimpses of it last year with the new guys.
3. Team leadership is mature enough to know that without winning there is generally no respect , so they fight as a team to win.
------------------------------------------
4. With the absence of 2&3 above Capel's approach led to disaster, but now, with an exciting, mature team his approach may help draw players in as he really does not have a doghouse, etc. so to speak, the word gets out and the the portal , which looked to destroy teams like Pitt, may be a great way to put final touches on each year's class. The more Pitt wins this year ( beating #11 Virginia was no fluke) the better chance to springboard the whole thing into a sustainable situation for a long time, one would hope.
 
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1. They all have offensive talent
2. The culture that was brought here from the other places they played has taken over and it is an underdog mentality. We saw glimpses of it last year with the new guys.
3. Team leadership is mature enough to know that without winning there is generally no respect , so they fight as a team to win.
------------------------------------------
4. With the absence of 2&3 above Capel's approach led to disaster, but now, with an exciting, mature team his approach may help draw players in as he really does not have a doghouse, etc. so to speak, the word gets out and the the portal , which looked to destroy teams like Pitt, may be a great way to put final touches on each year's class. The more Pitt wins this year ( beating #11 Virginia was no fluke) the better chance to springboard the whole thing into a sustainable situation for a long time, one would hope.
Pitt has been a tough sell , but somehow JC has found gold in the portal this yr and the incoming freshman appear to be Pitts best class in ages . Mix in a couple of portal guys next yr with the young guys already here (Fede ,Dior and the twins ) this could be sustainable. Exciting times ahead for Pitt bb .
 
Pitt has been a tough sell , but somehow JC has found gold in the portal this yr and the incoming freshman appear to be Pitts best class in ages . Mix in a couple of portal guys next yr with the young guys already here (Fede ,Dior and the twins ) this could be sustainable. Exciting times ahead for Pitt bb .
Don't forget Blake will be back if he so chooses.
 
I actually like the
"resolve" and how they
seem to hang tough.
They don't give up,
don't get over excited,
and stay with what they're
doing. To me, that is
experience, and maturity.
They're men, not boys.
As you said "veteran
players....finding a way to
get it done."
Just need to still work on a solution for inbounding the ball against the press.
 
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Just need to still work on a solution for inbounding the ball against the press.

I'm sure they're working on
it. There's only so many
things you can do. Pics,
criss crossing the guards,
bring the forwards down
and send the guards long,
big to the middle, etc etc.
The other team knows all
of this and practices
against it. More often than
not it's simply which team
executes better
 
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It is not a fluke. I knew we would be better and loved many of Jeff’s pickups, but didn’t think Hinson and Fede would be this good. I figured 17-14 or 18-13.

I was thinking the same thing, John. 18 wins this year would have been the ceiling. But now and considering we're still in a difficult part of the schedule and we will be playing easier games at some point, I'm thinking 20 wins is not out of reach which includes the ACCT. In fact, it's likely. And that, to me, is indicative of the experience, maturity and grit of this Pitt team. They play some very good defense, they rebound well, they share the ball and communicate, and they have 4 players averaging double figures in scoring. That's a formula for winning a lot of games.

I give Jeff Capel a lot of the credit for getting this team to buy into this philosophy and for motivating them to never quit.
 
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I'm sure they're working on
it. There's only so many
things you can do. Pics,
criss crossing the guards,
bring the forwards down
and send the guards long,
big to the middle, etc etc.
The other team knows all
of this and practices
against it. More often than
not it's simply which team
executes better
Yep. Agree. But one thing about setting a pick. The defense doesn't know who's setting it and what way the recipient of the pick is going to go, if the pick is set properly in the middle around the free throw line. And all you need is a second or two for the defenders to hesitate and players who have good instincts should know which direction to cut and be open. I also agree that it's too bad they can't use Fede Fede to help out. He seems to be a decent passer with pretty good instincts but you need someone with strong hands and his free throw shooting is a question mark.
 
I love the changes Capel made last night. Defense was ramped up and they came out the second half and took it to Virginia. Great adjustment. "Brick by brick" is optimistically returning to its intended meaning!
 
I really hope the Diaz twins can give us 10-15 minutes per game so these guys dont wear down. They are active but just not strong with the ball. They just need to play hard and not try to do too muhc. Maybe Santos can get some minutes if we can build some big leads against the Louisvilles of the conference.
 
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