Women's team - ouch.

[MajorMajors]

Women's team played just a horrible game tonight. Lost to Wake 60-49. Pitt was never in the game. Wake is now 3 and 7 in the conference.

Heard Coach Suzie after the game - said she apologized for the performance. Also said she wasn't sure the effort was 100%. Doesn't sound good.

I was at the game and Suzie was not happy from the opening tip. During one timeout the band was playing but I could still hear Coach Suzie giving it to the players. Coach Suzie was kind of shooting daggers with her body language all night. Lots of frustration. Since this year is toast, I think the coaching staff would be better off being more encouraging to this young team, but what do I know.

As far as the game went, Pitt missed a bunch of layups. Scoring around 10 points per quarter just doesn't cut it. On the other hand, I would guess that half of Wake's points were layups - and that's not much, if any, of an exaggeration.

When Pitt went to a full court press, I think they might have gotten two turnovers, but Wake scored a bunch of easy layups when they broke the press.

Coach Suzie subbed early and often but the subs just don't have any offensive juice. The subs played 64 minutes and scored 7 points.

The box score only shows Pitt with 14 turnovers, but it seemed like a lot more. They kept telegraphing their entry passes. One freshmen made an unforced over-and-back pass; and believe it or not, on one inbound play, we passed the ball to a player who was standing out of bounds. I kid you not.

Besides missing a bunch of layups (some easy but rushed; others tough because they didn't go up strong), Pitt went 3 for 17 from 3-point land, shooting 29% overall to Wake's 47%. Wake had a couple of real nice players -- Stephenson who was fun to watch and was the best player on the floor. She shot 5 for 9 including 4 for 7 from 3.

I think Coach Suzie should take a step back and see what can be done to get something good out of the rest of the season. Not wins - because there may not be any - but they need to find a way to help the players improve both individually and as a team.

Go Pitt.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I don't think I've ever seen a team miss as many layups in a game as Pitt did tonight. At the end of the third quarter I was looking at the game stats and Pitt had made 12 baskets (if I remember correctly) and my first thought was "and they've missed at least that many layups". That was simply an awful performance.

The thing about that Stephenson from Wake is that after she sprained her ankle in the first half it was clear that she couldn't move very well the rest of the game, but she was still the best player on the court for either team. I have a feeling that if she didn't get hurt she'd have really gone off on us.

As to the pass to Diop while she was standing out of bounds, she does things sometimes that make me wonder if she's ever played basketball before. She is wonderfully talented, but sometimes she just loses her mind out there. Why on earth would you run out of bounds there? What could she have possibly been thinking? There was also the play where she drove the baseline into trouble, jumped up in the air as if to shoot the ball, and then just came right back down without either trying to shoot the ball or pass it to someone. Again, what could she have been thinking there?

I think part of the reason that it seems like Pitt had more than 14 turnovers is that every time it looked like maybe they could start to make a run they would either miss a layup or commit an unforced turnover. And sometimes both!

 

[MartyInLawrenceville]

I was there as well. In a word; awful. I'm baffled how this team keeps making so many elementary mistakes. They're either overthinking things, or they're playing dumb. And I'll echo the missed layup frustration. On a lot of them, it looked as though they were just throwing the ball up, hoping it would go in. And on the defensive side, the effort was poor. Way too many seemingly uncontested layups by Wake.
I don't get Diop this year. She's a shell of what she showed last year. And Aysia Bugg has been invisible. I like seeing Fred in the starting lineup, and Walsh is starting to look like she belongs. I'd like to see more of Bradley down the stretch.
Suzie is definitely earning her $ this season. It'll be interesting to see her performance down the stretch this year.

 

[oldschoolhoops123]

Women's team played just a horrible game tonight. Lost to Wake 60-49. Pitt was never in the game. Wake is now 3 and 7 in the conference.

Heard Coach Suzie after the game - said she apologized for the performance. Also said she wasn't sure the effort was 100%. Doesn't sound good.

I was at the game and Suzie was not happy from the opening tip. During one timeout the band was playing but I could still hear Coach Suzie giving it to the players. Coach Suzie was kind of shooting daggers with her body language all night. Lots of frustration. Since this year is toast, I think the coaching staff would be better off being more encouraging to this young team, but what do I know.

As far as the game went, Pitt missed a bunch of layups. Scoring around 10 points per quarter just doesn't cut it. On the other hand, I would guess that half of Wake's points were layups - and that's not much, if any, of an exaggeration.

When Pitt went to a full court press, I think they might have gotten two turnovers, but Wake scored a bunch of easy layups when they broke the press.

Coach Suzie subbed early and often but the subs just don't have any offensive juice. The subs played 64 minutes and scored 7 points.

The box score only shows Pitt with 14 turnovers, but it seemed like a lot more. They kept telegraphing their entry passes. One freshmen made an unforced over-and-back pass; and believe it or not, on one inbound play, we passed the ball to a player who was standing out of bounds. I kid you not.

Besides missing a bunch of layups (some easy but rushed; others tough because they didn't go up strong), Pitt went 3 for 17 from 3-point land, shooting 29% overall to Wake's 47%. Wake had a couple of real nice players -- Stephenson who was fun to watch and was the best player on the floor. She shot 5 for 9 including 4 for 7 from 3.

I think Coach Suzie should take a step back and see what can be done to get something good out of the rest of the season. Not wins - because there may not be any - but they need to find a way to help the players improve both individually and as a team.

Go Pitt.[/

Women's team played just a horrible game tonight. Lost to Wake 60-49. Pitt was never in the game. Wake is now 3 and 7 in the conference.

Heard Coach Suzie after the game - said she apologized for the performance. Also said she wasn't sure the effort was 100%. Doesn't sound good.

I was at the game and Suzie was not happy from the opening tip. During one timeout the band was playing but I could still hear Coach Suzie giving it to the players. Coach Suzie was kind of shooting daggers with her body language all night. Lots of frustration. Since this year is toast, I think the coaching staff would be better off being more encouraging to this young team, but what do I know.

As far as the game went, Pitt missed a bunch of layups. Scoring around 10 points per quarter just doesn't cut it. On the other hand, I would guess that half of Wake's points were layups - and that's not much, if any, of an exaggeration.

When Pitt went to a full court press, I think they might have gotten two turnovers, but Wake scored a bunch of easy layups when they broke the press.

Coach Suzie subbed early and often but the subs just don't have any offensive juice. The subs played 64 minutes and scored 7 points.

The box score only shows Pitt with 14 turnovers, but it seemed like a lot more. They kept telegraphing their entry passes. One freshmen made an unforced over-and-back pass; and believe it or not, on one inbound play, we passed the ball to a player who was standing out of bounds. I kid you not.

Besides missing a bunch of layups (some easy but rushed; others tough because they didn't go up strong), Pitt went 3 for 17 from 3-point land, shooting 29% overall to Wake's 47%. Wake had a couple of real nice players -- Stephenson who was fun to watch and was the best player on the floor. She shot 5 for 9 including 4 for 7 from 3.

I think Coach Suzie should take a step back and see what can be done to get something good out of the rest of the season. Not wins - because there may not be any - but they need to find a way to help the players improve both individually and as a team.

Go Pitt.

I was there as well. In a word; awful. I'm baffled how this team keeps making so many elementary mistakes. They're either overthinking things, or they're playing dumb. And I'll echo the missed layup frustration. On a lot of them, it looked as though they were just throwing the ball up, hoping it would go in. And on the defensive side, the effort was poor. Way too many seemingly uncontested layups by Wake.
I don't get Diop this year. She's a shell of what she showed last year. And Aysia Bugg has been invisible. I like seeing Fred in the starting lineup, and Walsh is starting to look like she belongs. I'd like to see more of Bradley down the stretch.
Suzie is definitely earning her $ this season. It'll be interesting to see her performance down the stretch this year.

Defense is a huge part of this game. I watched Wake Forest score layup after layup because of poor defense. It was horrible to watch! Some players are a liability at times. Today, Walsh had just as many turnovers as points and couldn't defend. I feel Yacine and Bugg are playing out of position and cannot adjust. I would like to see more of Gordon.

Basketball is a game of opportunity and adjustments.

 

[wbrpanther]

Women's team played just a horrible game tonight. Lost to Wake 60-49. Pitt was never in the game. Wake is now 3 and 7 in the conference.

Heard Coach Suzie after the game - said she apologized for the performance. Also said she wasn't sure the effort was 100%. Doesn't sound good.

I was at the game and Suzie was not happy from the opening tip. During one timeout the band was playing but I could still hear Coach Suzie giving it to the players. Coach Suzie was kind of shooting daggers with her body language all night. Lots of frustration. Since this year is toast, I think the coaching staff would be better off being more encouraging to this young team, but what do I know.

As far as the game went, Pitt missed a bunch of layups. Scoring around 10 points per quarter just doesn't cut it. On the other hand, I would guess that half of Wake's points were layups - and that's not much, if any, of an exaggeration.

When Pitt went to a full court press, I think they might have gotten two turnovers, but Wake scored a bunch of easy layups when they broke the press.

Coach Suzie subbed early and often but the subs just don't have any offensive juice. The subs played 64 minutes and scored 7 points.

The box score only shows Pitt with 14 turnovers, but it seemed like a lot more. They kept telegraphing their entry passes. One freshmen made an unforced over-and-back pass; and believe it or not, on one inbound play, we passed the ball to a player who was standing out of bounds. I kid you not.

Besides missing a bunch of layups (some easy but rushed; others tough because they didn't go up strong), Pitt went 3 for 17 from 3-point land, shooting 29% overall to Wake's 47%. Wake had a couple of real nice players -- Stephenson who was fun to watch and was the best player on the floor. She shot 5 for 9 including 4 for 7 from 3.

I think Coach Suzie should take a step back and see what can be done to get something good out of the rest of the season. Not wins - because there may not be any - but they need to find a way to help the players improve both individually and as a team.

Go Pitt.

How is recruiting shaping up for the women?

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

In basketball--either men's or women's the two most important positions on the court are the 1 and 5. Last year we had a future WNBA senior PG (1) and a 6-3 defensive post (5) senior who could block shots and rebound and also score points at the other end. The younger ladies just had to be role players and follow the script.

This year, there is no decent post and an enormous drop off at PG and no team leader. Losses pile up and the young kids (freshmen and sophs) become discouraged and start going through the motions instead of playing hard. It is a miracle they have two ACC wins given the circumstances.

 

[gary2]

In basketball--either men's or women's the two most important positions on the court are the 1 and 5. Last year we had a future WNBA senior PG (1) and a 6-3 defensive post (5) senior who could block shots and rebound and also score points at the other end. The younger ladies just had to be role players and follow the script.

This year, there is no decent post and an enormous drop off at PG and no team leader. Losses pile up and the young kids (freshmen and sophs) become discouraged and start going through the motions instead of playing hard. It is a miracle they have two ACC wins given the circumstances.

In basketball--either men's or women's the two most important positions on the court are the 1 and 5: Some one should tell Jamie (he thinks everyone should be a 6-5 to 6-8 tweener)

 

[MajorMajors]

How is recruiting shaping up for the women?

In next year's class, the women's team has two well regarded players - one is Jasmine Whitney, a 3-star 5-9 PG from Virginia, who is ranked 25th at her position by ESPN. The other is Alayna Gribble, a 6-foot guard/forward from Norwin - also a 3-star and ranked 55th at her position. Plus they have a well-regarded transfer PG who is already in school and practicing with the team. She will be eligible starting next January.

What they still lack -- as indicate by DC -- is a tall post player. Pitt's tallest player is the 6-2 Stasha Carey, who is an excellent, athletic player. She can dominate at times, but she also loses her focus at times (she's a true sophomore) and she sometimes has to go against post players a couple of inches taller than her.

So as far as needing to upgrade the PG and Post positions, I think they have options going forward for the PG spot; but there's no help in sight for the post. With the decent recruiting that Coach Suzie has been able to do, the lack of a taller post player remains a stumbling block.

(And it's a stumbling block made all the more frustrating by the presence of the 6'11" Bubbles Anderson, who has been told by doctors not to play anymore because of her knees, but who still comes out with the team (though not in uniform) and sits on the bench during games).

Go Pitt.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

In basketball--either men's or women's the two most important positions on the court are the 1 and 5. Last year we had a future WNBA senior PG (1) and a 6-3 defensive post (5) senior who could block shots and rebound and also score points at the other end.

Monica Wignot didn't play the five, she played the four. Stasha Carey was the five last year, just like she normally is this year. Although sometimes when they used the zone last night they had Carey at the four and Walters at the five on defense.

 

[wbrpanther]

In next year's class, the women's team has two well regarded players - one is Jasmine Whitney, a 3-star 5-9 PG from Virginia, who is ranked 25th at her position by ESPN. The other is Alayna Gribble, a 6-foot guard/forward from Norwin - also a 3-star and ranked 55th at her position. Plus they have a well-regarded transfer PG who is already in school and practicing with the team. She will be eligible starting next January.

What they still lack -- as indicate by DC -- is a tall post player. Pitt's tallest player is the 6-2 Stasha Carey, who is an excellent, athletic player. She can dominate at times, but she also loses her focus at times (she's a true sophomore) and she sometimes has to go against post players a couple of inches taller than her.

So as far as needing to upgrade the PG and Post positions, I think they have options going forward for the PG spot; but there's no help in sight for the post. With the decent recruiting that Coach Suzie has been able to do, the lack of a taller post player remains a stumbling block.

(And it's a stumbling block made all the more frustrating by the presence of the 6'11" Bubbles Anderson, who has been told by doctors not to play anymore because of her knees, but who still comes out with the team (though not in uniform) and sits on the bench during games).

Go Pitt.

Thanks for the update.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Monica Wignot didn't play the five, she played the four. Stasha Carey was the five last year, just like she normally is this year. Although sometimes when they used the zone last night they had Carey at the four and Walters at the five on defense.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Joe,

It really doesn't matter whether Wignot was technically speaking a 4 or a 5. Her shot blocking and rebounding on defense have not been replaced. So she played the role defensively that we normally assign to our 5. And that is clearly the 2nd biggest reason this team has been so awful. The first being no steady nearly turnover free PG drastically contributing to overall sloppy play.

The lack of a strong shot blocking and rebounding presence inside on defense is also Pitt men's team's Achilles heal. They haven't had anyone capable of adequately providing that role since Steve Adams moved on.

Better try harder on the recruit trail coaches to find low post defensive intimadators!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

First of all, I agree with you that Wignot is a big loss and her production hasn't come anywhere close to being replaced. But Wignot most certainly did not play the role defensively of the five. Carey did. When both were on the court Carey ALWAYS guarded the post and Wignot guarded the four. Just because Wignot was a good shot blocker that doesn't mean she played the five.

Also, while Wignot was a good rebounded the fact of the matter is that she was NOT Pitt's leading rebounder last season. And she wasn't Pitt's second leading rebounder either. She ended up Pitt's third leading rebounder, and not only that but she played significantly more minutes than did Pitt's number one and two rebounders, so if you look at rebounding rate she wasn't even really close to being one of Pitt's top two rebounders. The problem is that the two leading rebounders from last season, Carey and especially Diop, are not rebounding the ball at anywhere near the rate that they did last season. Some of that has been alleviated because Brenna Wise also rebounds at a higher rate than Wignot did

Oddly enough, one of the things that this team really misses that Wignot gave them is that she was the team leader in three point percentage last season, and she took well over 100 of them on the season. One of the ways that she helped with rebounding was to force one of the other team's bigs out to the perimeter to guard her where that big couldn't be a rebounding factor.

 

[pierre93]

Suzie will have this team up and running next year. We were supposed to have a down year.

 

[pierre93]

Joe,

It really doesn't matter whether Wignot was technically speaking a 4 or a 5. Her shot blocking and rebounding on defense have not been replaced. So she played the role defensively that we normally assign to our 5. And that is clearly the 2nd biggest reason this team has been so awful. The first being no steady nearly turnover free PG drastically contributing to overall sloppy play.

The lack of a strong shot blocking and rebounding presence inside on defense is also Pitt men's team's Achilles heal. They haven't had anyone capable of adequately providing that role since Steve Adams moved on.

Better try harder on the recruit trail coaches to find low post defensive intimadators!

Enter Rozelle Nix next year.....

 

[oldschoolhoops123]

First of all, I agree with you that Wignot is a big loss and her production hasn't come anywhere close to being replaced. But Wignot most certainly did not play the role defensively of the five. Carey did. When both were on the court Carey ALWAYS guarded the post and Wignot guarded the four. Just because Wignot was a good shot blocker that doesn't mean she played the five.

Also, while Wignot was a good rebounded the fact of the matter is that she was NOT Pitt's leading rebounder last season. And she wasn't Pitt's second leading rebounder either. She ended up Pitt's third leading rebounder, and not only that but she played significantly more minutes than did Pitt's number one and two rebounders, so if you look at rebounding rate she wasn't even really close to being one of Pitt's top two rebounders. The problem is that the two leading rebounders from last season, Carey and especially Diop, are not rebounding the ball at anywhere near the rate that they did last season. Some of that has been alleviated because Brenna Wise also rebounds at a higher rate than Wignot did

Oddly enough, one of the things that this team really misses that Wignot gave them is that she was the team leader in three point percentage last season, and she took well over 100 of them on the season. One of the ways that she helped with rebounding was to force one of the other team's bigs out to the perimeter to guard her where that big couldn't be a rebounding factor.

First of all, I agree with you that Wignot is a big loss and her production hasn't come anywhere close to being replaced. But Wignot most certainly did not play the role defensively of the five. Carey did. When both were on the court Carey ALWAYS guarded the post and Wignot guarded the four. Just because Wignot was a good shot blocker that doesn't mean she played the five.

Also, while Wignot was a good rebounded the fact of the matter is that she was NOT Pitt's leading rebounder last season. And she wasn't Pitt's second leading rebounder either. She ended up Pitt's third leading rebounder, and not only that but she played significantly more minutes than did Pitt's number one and two rebounders, so if you look at rebounding rate she wasn't even really close to being one of Pitt's top two rebounders. The problem is that the two leading rebounders from last season, Carey and especially Diop, are not rebounding the ball at anywhere near the rate that they did last season. Some of that has been alleviated because Brenna Wise also rebounds at a higher rate than Wignot did

Oddly enough, one of the things that this team really misses that Wignot gave them is that she was the team leader in three point percentage last season, and she took well over 100 of them on the season. One of the ways that she helped with rebounding was to force one of the other team's bigs out to the perimeter to guard her where that big couldn't be a rebounding factor.

Diop is not rebounding the ball as much this year because she's playing out of position. They have her playing the 2 guard. Wise is playing in the position Diop played in last year.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Diop is not rebounding the ball as much this year because she's playing out of position. They have her playing the 2 guard. Wise is playing in the position Diop played in last year.

Sometimes yes, other times no. For instance in the last four games the starting lineup has been Bugg, Potvin, Diop, Wise and Carey. In that lineup Diop is most certainly playing the three. And there were times in the game on Thursday when Diop was actually playing the four. It didn't actually help rebounding-wise, because she still wasn't rebounding the ball out of the four either.

At this point it's a tossup as to which is killing the team more, the large decline of the play of Bugg or Diop. It's probably Bugg since as the point she handles the ball a lot more. But on the other hand, Diop has almost as many turnovers as Bugg while not having the ball in her hands nearly as often. If those two don't play better than they have Pitt can't win against most teams.