The Pitt Panthers overwhelmed Radford 96-56 on Monday night at the Petersen Events Center to start off the new season with an emphatic victory. Pitt turned things up a notch near the end of the first half and ran away with it after the break. The Panthers are 1-0, so what stood out from game one?
How it’s supposed to look
If this Pitt team is going to have the type of season some believing they are capable of having, then the driving forces are obviously going to be Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe. The Panthers have several talented players, but what can separate this team is elite guard play.
On Monday, the dynamic Pitt backcourt lived up to the preseason hype.
“Yeah, well, those two guys have the ability to make plays with scoring and with passing and creating for others,” head coach Jeff Capel said of his backcourt’s performance. “It's great to have that two experienced veteran…Jaland’s, I guess you would say he's a veteran, but just good guards.”
Those two good guards combined for 40 points, 17 rebounds, nine assists, and five steals on Monday, and both of them were thriving in the areas you would expect. Lowe played with confidence. He has one of the quickest first steps in college basketball, and when he wanted to go to the rim that is exactly what he did. The star sophomore finished with a career-high 21 points, six assists, three steals, and no turnovers.
Leggett looked even more comfortable in his game than he did last season. The senior went for 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Leggett is so good at contorting himself around the basket and making tough layups. In the 40-point win, the 6-foot-3 senior also got up for the play of the night on a putback slam.
“Legs just feeling good,” Leggett said of him highlight dunk. “Yeah, legs just feeling a little better today.”
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How it’s supposed to look
If this Pitt team is going to have the type of season some believing they are capable of having, then the driving forces are obviously going to be Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe. The Panthers have several talented players, but what can separate this team is elite guard play.
On Monday, the dynamic Pitt backcourt lived up to the preseason hype.
“Yeah, well, those two guys have the ability to make plays with scoring and with passing and creating for others,” head coach Jeff Capel said of his backcourt’s performance. “It's great to have that two experienced veteran…Jaland’s, I guess you would say he's a veteran, but just good guards.”
Those two good guards combined for 40 points, 17 rebounds, nine assists, and five steals on Monday, and both of them were thriving in the areas you would expect. Lowe played with confidence. He has one of the quickest first steps in college basketball, and when he wanted to go to the rim that is exactly what he did. The star sophomore finished with a career-high 21 points, six assists, three steals, and no turnovers.
Leggett looked even more comfortable in his game than he did last season. The senior went for 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Leggett is so good at contorting himself around the basket and making tough layups. In the 40-point win, the 6-foot-3 senior also got up for the play of the night on a putback slam.
“Legs just feeling good,” Leggett said of him highlight dunk. “Yeah, legs just feeling a little better today.”
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Three-Pointers: Guards start strong, a big lineup, and more
Three thoughts from Pitt's 96-56 win over Radford
