** For me, the most wonderful part of Pitt Basketball, and basically sports in general, is the connections it enables one to have with friends for a common cause.
** Tonight, I was able to offer my Kid-at-School ticket to my best friend from high school, who I don’t see nearly enough these days.
** We were joined this night by my regular cadre of seatmates, @Franb, @brdst11 and others who aren’t PantherLair regulars.
** Yet behind us in our own little territory we’ve carved out as we squat in the Club Section were four fine fans I’ve never had the pleasure of sitting near before.
** And they were fine fans for sure, enjoying every positive play for the Panthers, while staying quietly nervous during the tougher times, unlike many of my PantherLair friends.
** One of the things I liked best about my foursome of news friends (other than their enjoyment of adult beverages late into the game – they are taking tomorrow off) were the fine nicknames they had for our Panthers.
** Early on, I enjoyed listening to them cheering for “Double D,” “Sweet Baby Jaland,” “G,” and “Ishy.”
** I asked whether they had a nickname for Cam and they replied … “naah .. he’s just Cam!”
** I then asked if they had a nickname for Zach, They looked a little perplexed by the question, realizing they didn’t.
** In the final moments of this contest, following dozens of high fives to my new friends as a result of a pair of unbelievable threes and blocks, I turned and yelled – “It’s about time you got a nickname for Zach!”
** For this game, anyway, let’s just go with MVP!
** Let’s look at what Austin did in the game’s last 8 minutes with the Panthers down four (which doesn’t even include his soaring slam near the 12 minute mark of period 2.)
** He scored 8, blocked 2, and grabbed a carom as well. Most of all, he defended everywhere. At the beginning of the stretch, the score as 61-57. When the final buzzer sounded, it was 73-65. Zach was a huge part of that 16-4 swing.
** But let’s give all of the Panthers a nice new nickname for what they were able to accomplish in the second half – the Defenders!
** The Tar Heels aren’t a superior basketball team. But they can score, and holding them to 31% shooting at 21 second half points are both remarkable.
** While our Panthers will likely never be known as “the Rebounders,” for the second game in a row they’ve been “the Caretakers.” Juat 6 turnovers today is another great number.
** More importantly, while our win against the Cuse felt like a survival, in all ways shapes and forms (rebounding excepted of course), this was the first game since January 4th that felt like a legit victory.
** Sure, once again, we went down by at least 9 points in the first half (10 actually) as we have in every ACC game this year. That’s almost impossible to believe.
** But with all the MVP talk we’ve tossed at Zach, let’s not forget that it was Sweet Baby Jaland’s singular 8-0 run to end the half which may have been as important as anything that happened in the second period.
** My high school friend certainly enjoyed himself. Walking out, he asked: “how many blocks did Austin have, 7? I had to look it up to explain, “well only 5 but it felt like 7.”
** I’m not sure when he can join me for a game again this year. But hopefully, he’ll be watching the Panthers a little more passionately this year in our 12 or so games (or more) that remain.
** That is because, like a longtime friend, the Panthers we watched tonight felt much more like a team we can love once again.
** Tonight, I was able to offer my Kid-at-School ticket to my best friend from high school, who I don’t see nearly enough these days.
** We were joined this night by my regular cadre of seatmates, @Franb, @brdst11 and others who aren’t PantherLair regulars.
** Yet behind us in our own little territory we’ve carved out as we squat in the Club Section were four fine fans I’ve never had the pleasure of sitting near before.
** And they were fine fans for sure, enjoying every positive play for the Panthers, while staying quietly nervous during the tougher times, unlike many of my PantherLair friends.
** One of the things I liked best about my foursome of news friends (other than their enjoyment of adult beverages late into the game – they are taking tomorrow off) were the fine nicknames they had for our Panthers.
** Early on, I enjoyed listening to them cheering for “Double D,” “Sweet Baby Jaland,” “G,” and “Ishy.”
** I asked whether they had a nickname for Cam and they replied … “naah .. he’s just Cam!”
** I then asked if they had a nickname for Zach, They looked a little perplexed by the question, realizing they didn’t.
** In the final moments of this contest, following dozens of high fives to my new friends as a result of a pair of unbelievable threes and blocks, I turned and yelled – “It’s about time you got a nickname for Zach!”
** For this game, anyway, let’s just go with MVP!
** Let’s look at what Austin did in the game’s last 8 minutes with the Panthers down four (which doesn’t even include his soaring slam near the 12 minute mark of period 2.)
** He scored 8, blocked 2, and grabbed a carom as well. Most of all, he defended everywhere. At the beginning of the stretch, the score as 61-57. When the final buzzer sounded, it was 73-65. Zach was a huge part of that 16-4 swing.
** But let’s give all of the Panthers a nice new nickname for what they were able to accomplish in the second half – the Defenders!
** The Tar Heels aren’t a superior basketball team. But they can score, and holding them to 31% shooting at 21 second half points are both remarkable.
** While our Panthers will likely never be known as “the Rebounders,” for the second game in a row they’ve been “the Caretakers.” Juat 6 turnovers today is another great number.
** More importantly, while our win against the Cuse felt like a survival, in all ways shapes and forms (rebounding excepted of course), this was the first game since January 4th that felt like a legit victory.
** Sure, once again, we went down by at least 9 points in the first half (10 actually) as we have in every ACC game this year. That’s almost impossible to believe.
** But with all the MVP talk we’ve tossed at Zach, let’s not forget that it was Sweet Baby Jaland’s singular 8-0 run to end the half which may have been as important as anything that happened in the second period.
** My high school friend certainly enjoyed himself. Walking out, he asked: “how many blocks did Austin have, 7? I had to look it up to explain, “well only 5 but it felt like 7.”
** I’m not sure when he can join me for a game again this year. But hopefully, he’ll be watching the Panthers a little more passionately this year in our 12 or so games (or more) that remain.
** That is because, like a longtime friend, the Panthers we watched tonight felt much more like a team we can love once again.
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