Just so brutal. Feel for these kids. To lose two consecutive games like that, it is rough. Going to be a tall task to keep them engaged and confident, but they have done it thus far. That is not a good Virginia team, but this team is responding. They should have won the game, just couldn't close it out. A lot of encouraging signs really. To at least suggest that it may not be quite as bad as we think. As long as they stay together and work.
I know Will is going to catch a lot of the heat, but I don't know if I can go there. Obviously he should have called a timeout if he didn't feel comfortable. Nothing was open until he took off to his left. Maybe he should have moved sooner, but it just didn't happen. Coming out of a break, have to wonder if it was stressed to him that he had a timeout. Everyone needs to be aware in that situation. Call it early if you have to. No sense in risking it. Thought it was a slightly quick whistle maybe. It definitely felt like 5 but it wasn't excessive to me and that whistle is not always blown in that situation. Similar to foul calls.
Outside of that play, you can't commit a foul and allow a conversion. John Hugley was the strongest player on the court. The first issue was a wide open lane to the rim. But John has to either foul hard or let him go. Cannot be in between there in that spot. Virginia's out of bounds plays hurt Pitt all night. On top of that, another chance to grab a rebound off of a missed shot and you can't close out the possession. Sometimes that is how fine the line is. The good news is that all of these things are in your control. The bad news is that all it takes is missing one of these plays and it can result in a loss.
So yes the lack of an entry pass was obviously killer, but there was a lot more to it in my mind. Several big issues down the stretch. Which is usually the case when you blow a lead like that. You have to do the little things in crunch time, especially when you are playing Tony Bennett.
The encouraging news is that I didn't think they could shoot it like they did against Minnesota again, but they did. Even better. It is not going to be a good shooting team, but they just went 8-16 at Virginia from deep. So there should at least be flashes and games like this. The tough part is that you feel like that effort was wasted. But maybe they do have the potential to at least make some shots on an inconsistent level. That is better than I had anticipated.
Outside of John's rough shooting night, you could argue that everyone played well. Even John had a lot to deal with due to the aggressive double teams. He was rushed and out of rhythm, but those were tough doubles with size from Virginia. A lot of guys stepped up. Onye may be the best walk on that I can remember. He is very solid. Can handle, gets you into offense. Tough kid. There are some limitations, but the kid can play. Felt like guys were hyper focused with Femi out maybe. Sometimes when a guy is out, it forces a special kind of focus. Not a knock on Femi, just saying that guys stepped up. It can be a good thing. Femi gets to watch a game from the side and recharge and get healthy. The team can take some confidence without him, and now should feel even better when he returns.
Will is the other one that stepped up. That is him at his best. A spot up shooter, 3 and D guy. I don't know how many threes he will make this season, but that needs to be his game. When he shoots like that with confidence, he is an asset. The defense and rebounding will always be there. Any offense is a bonus.
This team is different with Mo on the floor. He makes some winning plays and his length is devastating. I think they just have to deal with some of the negative plays to keep him on the floor. Between him and Oladapo, they have guys that can make plays. Thought Dan was really good in his minutes.
Again, extremely disappointing, but there was a lot to like. This team played the exact game and style they wanted to. They matched Virginia as far as patience and toughness. The last 30 seconds was basically the difference. For that to be true after what we have seen this season is very impressive. Now the question is - is it another wasted effort or is this team figuring it out? That is what we have to track and see.
I know Will is going to catch a lot of the heat, but I don't know if I can go there. Obviously he should have called a timeout if he didn't feel comfortable. Nothing was open until he took off to his left. Maybe he should have moved sooner, but it just didn't happen. Coming out of a break, have to wonder if it was stressed to him that he had a timeout. Everyone needs to be aware in that situation. Call it early if you have to. No sense in risking it. Thought it was a slightly quick whistle maybe. It definitely felt like 5 but it wasn't excessive to me and that whistle is not always blown in that situation. Similar to foul calls.
Outside of that play, you can't commit a foul and allow a conversion. John Hugley was the strongest player on the court. The first issue was a wide open lane to the rim. But John has to either foul hard or let him go. Cannot be in between there in that spot. Virginia's out of bounds plays hurt Pitt all night. On top of that, another chance to grab a rebound off of a missed shot and you can't close out the possession. Sometimes that is how fine the line is. The good news is that all of these things are in your control. The bad news is that all it takes is missing one of these plays and it can result in a loss.
So yes the lack of an entry pass was obviously killer, but there was a lot more to it in my mind. Several big issues down the stretch. Which is usually the case when you blow a lead like that. You have to do the little things in crunch time, especially when you are playing Tony Bennett.
The encouraging news is that I didn't think they could shoot it like they did against Minnesota again, but they did. Even better. It is not going to be a good shooting team, but they just went 8-16 at Virginia from deep. So there should at least be flashes and games like this. The tough part is that you feel like that effort was wasted. But maybe they do have the potential to at least make some shots on an inconsistent level. That is better than I had anticipated.
Outside of John's rough shooting night, you could argue that everyone played well. Even John had a lot to deal with due to the aggressive double teams. He was rushed and out of rhythm, but those were tough doubles with size from Virginia. A lot of guys stepped up. Onye may be the best walk on that I can remember. He is very solid. Can handle, gets you into offense. Tough kid. There are some limitations, but the kid can play. Felt like guys were hyper focused with Femi out maybe. Sometimes when a guy is out, it forces a special kind of focus. Not a knock on Femi, just saying that guys stepped up. It can be a good thing. Femi gets to watch a game from the side and recharge and get healthy. The team can take some confidence without him, and now should feel even better when he returns.
Will is the other one that stepped up. That is him at his best. A spot up shooter, 3 and D guy. I don't know how many threes he will make this season, but that needs to be his game. When he shoots like that with confidence, he is an asset. The defense and rebounding will always be there. Any offense is a bonus.
This team is different with Mo on the floor. He makes some winning plays and his length is devastating. I think they just have to deal with some of the negative plays to keep him on the floor. Between him and Oladapo, they have guys that can make plays. Thought Dan was really good in his minutes.
Again, extremely disappointing, but there was a lot to like. This team played the exact game and style they wanted to. They matched Virginia as far as patience and toughness. The last 30 seconds was basically the difference. For that to be true after what we have seen this season is very impressive. Now the question is - is it another wasted effort or is this team figuring it out? That is what we have to track and see.
