Game Thoughts
Game Ball: This should be obvious, but what a fine game by Justin Champagnie. 20 points and 20 rebounds is more than enough to get anyone excited. But for one of the few times in Justin’s short career thus far in a Pitt uniform, Champ showed up on defense. He was active and physical, challenging shots, initiating traps, not giving up on plays and recovering with help defense, and he hustled all 40 minutes. I hope the fire under his ass stays lit on the defensive side of the basketball game, because it ignited the rest of our team. A complete game for the most part and a warrior on the glass. NY toughness
Game ball assist: Xavier Johnson: For all the wrong X did in the first half including all the layups he missed and his poor decisions that led to turnovers, he flipped the switch and was the absolute catalyst in fueling this comeback. At the 16 minute mark in the 2nd half, Pitt was stuck on 24 points. Then Johnson hit back to back 3’s, then hit a running transition floater, then made a pass for a Jeffress 3, then hit Champ down low for a 2. In 2 ½ minutes time Pitt scored 13 points to pull within 3 and Johnson was involved on all those points. This is the type of playmaking you hope to get out of your point guard and one of your leaders. In the past X would want to try the game winning shot. After 2 years of development under Capel, X made the game winning “play” to Champ with the assist for the dunk. Maturity speaks volumes for him as a player and for Jeff Capel to finally getting through to him.
Game ball assist 2: Femi Odukale. In only 7 minutes time, Odukale had 3 huge second half assists in the final 8 minutes of the game and the biggest defensive steal in the entire game with under 30 seconds in the game on top of the passing assist to Champ to pull Pitt within 1. He also had a DRTG defensive rating of 82, team best. The focus should be on that instead of his one poor turnover that he made in the game. Winning players make winning plays on both ends of the floor. And that is what Femi did. NY toughness and better days are indeed ahead for him. Solid effort
Game ball assist 3: William Jeffress. Like Femi, William made winning plays. His pass to assist Johnson for a 3 or his pass to Big John for a 3 point play were indeed difference making plays late in the 2nd half. I thought Will’s energy was huge. For a 17 year old kid coming back from injury, our team as a unit seemed to rally on defense from his hustle, grit, and determination. While William certainly made his share of mistakes on offense and defense and didn’t shoot well, he brought more than enough to the table to help the “team” win the game. He has a really bright future and I really like his basketball iq and maturity for such a young player.
Key Takeaways
Biggest area of improvement
Great
Toney. Consistency is the name of the game. 4 Straight games with a minimum ORTG of 110+ with great defense. He brings it every game. Another 18 point / 8 board effort.
The average
Coulibaly- Most people are going to focus on the box score and the points and the rebounds. But Coulibaly currently has a DRTG defensive rating of 92 for the season which is getting down to Gary Mcghee levels on defense. He’s active and brings the intensity and the energy every single game. While his constant fouling is a concern, I don’t mind it for now because he is active and challenging his opposition every play with hustle and determination. Unlike most of his teammates that have had significant defensive lapses the first 4 games of the season with wild inconsistency, Coulibaly remains the constant consistent aggressor and agitator on defense and he continues to do a great job sealing his man off while establishing position all over the defensive end of the floor. And he’s only a sophomore. He’s also 3-0 as a starter.
Hugley- A nice 3 point finish in the 2nd half when the team needed it. A nice assist with 3 boards in only 10 minutes. His rebound rates of 15.5 OR and 18.1DR are slightly behind Blair as a freshmen but we are getting small contributions from him when needed. Need him to keep hitting the glass and utilize his passing more as a weapon
Player for Jeff Capel to give extra coaching before next game
Horton- I don’t think Horton was really poor in this game as he got 4 boards and 1 assist in 14 total minutes from him and his defense was ok. But I think he mentally needs a timeout as he just doesn’t look comfortable yet and when the team flounders early on his shooting does too. He needs to keep playing with poise and confidence and needs to shake it off and “just play” without thinking. If the game was over at halftime Xavier Johnson would have finished 1-9 shooting with 3 turnovers. He needs to understand that the game doesn’t end 10 minutes in or at halftime and needs to shake off a mistake like Femi Oduakle did after a bad turnover or how X played in the entire first half vs 2nd half. He needs to realize he is more than a good enough shooter to make shots later on in the game just like X did. Needs a confidence boost but I still think he will be ok in time with more game experience. We could really use Sibande for another option.
ORTG Offensive Power rating through 4 games
Coulibaly-133
Toney-119
X-118
Champ-114.7
Jeffress-95.7
Horton-92.6
The Big 4 is looking really good here and continues to play at a high level from the development from Jeff Capel. The goal is 8 players over 100+ ORTG. The sample size and minutes is still too small for players like Hugley and Femi for mentioning the numbers yet. Jeffress has been better than expected thus far. I believe Horton picks it up as the season continues. And then there is Nike who is tbd…
This is a great win. And it was on the road. Beating any team on the road is a good win and that is especially true against a Power 6 team. I think there are quite a few bright spots to like here. I think we have seen enough in the first 4 games to determine that in "spurts" we can play really well as a team on offense and defense. And I think the light is starting to go on for a number of our older players on the roster. I liked the fight and the toughness this team showed. All throughout the 2nd half I was proud whether we won or lost because of the way we battled, our effort, our tenacity, and our team cohesiveness. Im proud of every member of the team and every Coach on the team for never giving up all throughout the game. Im also really proud we earned the W by clawing our way to victory.
Game Ball: This should be obvious, but what a fine game by Justin Champagnie. 20 points and 20 rebounds is more than enough to get anyone excited. But for one of the few times in Justin’s short career thus far in a Pitt uniform, Champ showed up on defense. He was active and physical, challenging shots, initiating traps, not giving up on plays and recovering with help defense, and he hustled all 40 minutes. I hope the fire under his ass stays lit on the defensive side of the basketball game, because it ignited the rest of our team. A complete game for the most part and a warrior on the glass. NY toughness
Game ball assist: Xavier Johnson: For all the wrong X did in the first half including all the layups he missed and his poor decisions that led to turnovers, he flipped the switch and was the absolute catalyst in fueling this comeback. At the 16 minute mark in the 2nd half, Pitt was stuck on 24 points. Then Johnson hit back to back 3’s, then hit a running transition floater, then made a pass for a Jeffress 3, then hit Champ down low for a 2. In 2 ½ minutes time Pitt scored 13 points to pull within 3 and Johnson was involved on all those points. This is the type of playmaking you hope to get out of your point guard and one of your leaders. In the past X would want to try the game winning shot. After 2 years of development under Capel, X made the game winning “play” to Champ with the assist for the dunk. Maturity speaks volumes for him as a player and for Jeff Capel to finally getting through to him.
Game ball assist 2: Femi Odukale. In only 7 minutes time, Odukale had 3 huge second half assists in the final 8 minutes of the game and the biggest defensive steal in the entire game with under 30 seconds in the game on top of the passing assist to Champ to pull Pitt within 1. He also had a DRTG defensive rating of 82, team best. The focus should be on that instead of his one poor turnover that he made in the game. Winning players make winning plays on both ends of the floor. And that is what Femi did. NY toughness and better days are indeed ahead for him. Solid effort
Game ball assist 3: William Jeffress. Like Femi, William made winning plays. His pass to assist Johnson for a 3 or his pass to Big John for a 3 point play were indeed difference making plays late in the 2nd half. I thought Will’s energy was huge. For a 17 year old kid coming back from injury, our team as a unit seemed to rally on defense from his hustle, grit, and determination. While William certainly made his share of mistakes on offense and defense and didn’t shoot well, he brought more than enough to the table to help the “team” win the game. He has a really bright future and I really like his basketball iq and maturity for such a young player.
Key Takeaways
- +20 on the glass
- Held Northwestern on the road to 36.8% shooting, a big step in the right direction on defense
- Held Northwestern to 4 total second chance points
- We scored 49 second half points and shot 53% in the 2nd half on the road. This alone shows the potential on offense that we have as it wasn’t a fluke
- A road win against a current Top 70 National Team on Pomeroy. Any road win is a big step in the right direction for a young team
- We shot 10-29 on in close “rim” shots and still won on the road. Johnson was 1-6 in this area along with the Jeffress missed dunk. I think it’s a very positive sign that we missed so many easy in close layups and shots and still came away with a W. Those shots will fall in other games
Biggest area of improvement
- Team free throw shooting under 62% again. 3rd time this year the FT shooting has been under this number. This needs addressed and I keep saying it.
- 2 critical turnovers once again off the inbounds play. Ive stressed this point every game since the St. Francis loss. This need fixed immediately.
Great
Toney. Consistency is the name of the game. 4 Straight games with a minimum ORTG of 110+ with great defense. He brings it every game. Another 18 point / 8 board effort.
The average
Coulibaly- Most people are going to focus on the box score and the points and the rebounds. But Coulibaly currently has a DRTG defensive rating of 92 for the season which is getting down to Gary Mcghee levels on defense. He’s active and brings the intensity and the energy every single game. While his constant fouling is a concern, I don’t mind it for now because he is active and challenging his opposition every play with hustle and determination. Unlike most of his teammates that have had significant defensive lapses the first 4 games of the season with wild inconsistency, Coulibaly remains the constant consistent aggressor and agitator on defense and he continues to do a great job sealing his man off while establishing position all over the defensive end of the floor. And he’s only a sophomore. He’s also 3-0 as a starter.
Hugley- A nice 3 point finish in the 2nd half when the team needed it. A nice assist with 3 boards in only 10 minutes. His rebound rates of 15.5 OR and 18.1DR are slightly behind Blair as a freshmen but we are getting small contributions from him when needed. Need him to keep hitting the glass and utilize his passing more as a weapon
Player for Jeff Capel to give extra coaching before next game
Horton- I don’t think Horton was really poor in this game as he got 4 boards and 1 assist in 14 total minutes from him and his defense was ok. But I think he mentally needs a timeout as he just doesn’t look comfortable yet and when the team flounders early on his shooting does too. He needs to keep playing with poise and confidence and needs to shake it off and “just play” without thinking. If the game was over at halftime Xavier Johnson would have finished 1-9 shooting with 3 turnovers. He needs to understand that the game doesn’t end 10 minutes in or at halftime and needs to shake off a mistake like Femi Oduakle did after a bad turnover or how X played in the entire first half vs 2nd half. He needs to realize he is more than a good enough shooter to make shots later on in the game just like X did. Needs a confidence boost but I still think he will be ok in time with more game experience. We could really use Sibande for another option.
ORTG Offensive Power rating through 4 games
Coulibaly-133
Toney-119
X-118
Champ-114.7
Jeffress-95.7
Horton-92.6
The Big 4 is looking really good here and continues to play at a high level from the development from Jeff Capel. The goal is 8 players over 100+ ORTG. The sample size and minutes is still too small for players like Hugley and Femi for mentioning the numbers yet. Jeffress has been better than expected thus far. I believe Horton picks it up as the season continues. And then there is Nike who is tbd…
This is a great win. And it was on the road. Beating any team on the road is a good win and that is especially true against a Power 6 team. I think there are quite a few bright spots to like here. I think we have seen enough in the first 4 games to determine that in "spurts" we can play really well as a team on offense and defense. And I think the light is starting to go on for a number of our older players on the roster. I liked the fight and the toughness this team showed. All throughout the 2nd half I was proud whether we won or lost because of the way we battled, our effort, our tenacity, and our team cohesiveness. Im proud of every member of the team and every Coach on the team for never giving up all throughout the game. Im also really proud we earned the W by clawing our way to victory.
