At last. Sort of. It’s against Howard University, as Pitt finally begins the regular season. Surprisingly enough, the team is kind of banged up.
Senior Mark McCarroll (hamstring) and sophomore Antonio Graves (ankle) did not practice. Starters Carl Krauser (shoulder) and Chris Taft (elbow) just returned to practice Wednesday. In addition, senior Chevon Troutman and newcomer Keith Benjamin have missed practice in recent days because of illness.
Dixon said he couldn’t project who would practice today much less play tomorrow, but he characterized most of the injuries as “nagging.”
“We’ve had some guys out,” Dixon said. “We haven’t had our whole group together I don’t think since we started practice. A lot of teams go through this at this time of the year.”
I’m not too concerned, either. It seems most of the injuries came from practice. This tells me the guys are still getting after it on defense and are raring to go. The only injury I worry over is Taft’s elbow infection. Just the sort of weird thing that could totally submarine a player. Still, he says he’s playing tomorrow.
The Post-Gazette Pitt basketball beat writer, Ray Fittipaldo kicks off the weekly Q&A. Not a lot for the first week since the expectations are high, and the problems look low.
Q: How good of a shooter is freshman Ronald Ramon?
FITTIPALDO: If the exhibition games are any indication, Ramon should be a big plus for the Pitt offense. He made 5 of 7 3-point attempts against CMU and made 2 of 4 against Gannon on Sunday. We’ll see how he handles himself when the games count for real. (Howard visits the Petersen Events Center for the opener tomorrow night). Of all the newcomers, Ramon seems the most comfortable at this point.
A big key to a deep NCAA run. God, it is still a pleasure to type things like that. That it is now an article of faith that Pitt will make the NCAA Tournament. It hasn’t gotten old.
A couple of player puff pieces. This one on Freshman Guard Keith Benjamin.
Benjamin is a natural at shooting guard – a fleet-footed penetrator who loves to score – but he played the point at practice yesterday to fill in for the ailing Carl Krauser (left shoulder) and Antonio Graves (ankle).
By all accounts, he performed well, displaying one of his greatest assets – versatility.
“I played three positions in high school, wherever they needed me,” Benjamin said. “I feel like I can help in a lot of different ways.”
Krauser believes Benjamin has the makings of a star.
“He listens, and he’s a smart kid,” said Krauser, who injured the shoulder while reaching awkwardly for a ball at a recent practice. (Krauser expects to be near full strength tomorrow). “He’s a good outside shooter, and he’s doing everything right right now. The coaches are getting a chance to see that he’s our future.”
Benjamin wouldn’t mind being “the present,” if things work out this season. He understands that he’ll have to embrace his role as a backup to senior Yuri Demetris, sophomore Graves or freshman Ronald Ramon, but that doesn’t mean he plans to sit quietly on the bench.
“I have to make the most of my chances,” said Benjamin, who’s been compared to former Pitt standout Julius Page, a tenacious defender with incredible leaping ability. “I feel like I can score points, get out on the fastbreak and make plays. I’m a scorer.”
In Pitt’s system, though, it is defense first. He may have to learn some restraint, as well. Talking about wanting to get out on the fastbreak is not how Pitt plays. Pitt is a half-court team.
The other is on Chris Taft. Taft is talking about wanting to win it all this year. I like hearing that. Of course, everyone assumes that Taft will be heading to the NBA after this season.
“I look at it as things happen for a reason. I want to win a national championship. I want to win and win and win. After that, I’m going to sit down with my family and go over things. But I’m focusing on the season now — the NCAA. Not the NBA.”
Taft won’t turn 20 until March. He is a happy-go-lucky kid who lives for “the here and now,” according to his mother.
Tareka Taft raised her son to enjoy the moment, and Chris is following that path. There is no pressure for him to leave college early and turn professional. As more and more teenagers forgo college for the NBA, Tareka is encouraging Chris to stay all four years at Pitt.
“I’m not sure about other parents,” she said. “But I’m not looking for him to go to the NBA for what he can do for me. I can provide for myself. I never looked at it like all the millions and what it could do for me.
“My No. 1 goal is for him to get his education. Yes, he’s good, but he also needs to concentrate on school. Christopher and I have a strong relationship, and I’ve always tried to make him understand that he’ll be stronger if he waits.
“Imagine two or three years from now. He’ll be better prepared for the NBA. You want to be strong and be like Shaq or Kobe. You want to make a name for yourself and not just be in the NBA. If, at the end of the season he says, ‘Mom, I want to come out,’ I’ll strongly try to get him to stay another year. I’ll stick with him no matter what he does, but it’ll be a fight.”
It’s nice to read, but I don’t really buy it. You read this stuff every year and every year they still go pro. I won’t fault him. The money is there, and it doesn’t make sense to turn it down.
Mike Prisuta wonders if this team could actually win it all.
Enthusiasm and expectations are running wild, and justifiably so.
The Panthers were ranked No. 3 in the Big East and No. 17 in the nation in the preseason, and there appears to be no limit to what this team might achieve if it can find someone to consistently knock down the three-ball.
Meet me in St. Louis?
Assuming freshman Ronald Ramon is as good as he’s supposed to be, the Final Four may prove to be within the Panthers’ grasp.
Ramon comes in with the reputation of possessing the outside shooting touch the Panthers have lacked, with the potential to deliver from beyond the arc more consistently than the departed Julius Page. But if Ramon is going to deliver as advertised, he must first stop the other guys at the other end.
Junior college transfer John DeGroat, likewise, must “D” it up before he fills it up and establish himself as an offensively superior alternative to Jaron Brown.
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And while it’s been offense that’s kept Pitt from advancing past a hat trick of Sweet 16s, it’s been defense and rebounding that has taken Pitt to such heights. And it’ll be defense and rebounding that Dixon and has staff will demand from the newcomers.Defense, rebounding, ball-handling and more consistent outside shooting.
Probably in that order.
Last year, there were questions about Krauser and Taft. Whether they would want to play D. They embraced the defense. I see no reason the new recruits won’t come around. They won’t see the minutes if they don’t play defense first. That is the way Dixon coaches and runs the team.
As I keep saying, the defense isn’t a concern to me. It will be played at a high level. My big question will be how Dixon uses a deeper bench. How will he rotate the players. Will he rest his starters more?
