A couple articles yesterday about Carl Krauser playing more at the shooting guard (sort of).
Jamie Dixon isn’t calling Carl Krauser a shooting guard. And don’t expect to hear that terminology from Pitt’s coach anytime soon.
Call Krauser’s move away from the point anything you wish. But through two games, it must be called an unqualified success.
Given the talent faced, I’d be a little less effusive in the praise.
Former Pitt guard Curtis Aiken, who covers the Panthers for FSN Pittsburgh, said the decision to move Krauser off the ball has been a success, but he said the real test will come when Krauser begins to face better teams, with better athletes who are able to keep up with him.
“It’s working now because Carl is being patient,” Aiken said. “It will be interesting to see how he handles things when he’s going against better athletes, when he’s getting denied the ball. What’s going to happen when he doesn’t touch the ball for five possessions down the floor? He’s really going to have to be patient then. That’s going to be the thing to watch.”
That’s a little better.
Krauser, though, is enjoying the challenge of playing more without the ball.
“I really don’t think of (Krauser) as a 2-guard. He’s a point guard,” Dixon said. “But he’s played off the ball before and he’s playing there again.
“We’re going to have two point guards on the floor a lot of this season, and that’s something we’ve talked about. It’s something that’s best for the team because of the personnel.”
To learn more about playing away from the point — his natural position — Krauser has been studying the NBA game and watching in particular the play of Detroit Pistons guards Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups.
“It’s definitely different,” Krauser said. “At the point, you’ve got the ball every time. You can make plays, you can shoot, you can do whatever you want. But when you come off those screens, you’ve got to be ready to shoot the ball, you’ve got to be ready to make plays.
“When you don’t have the ball, you definitely have to play defense and you have to set screens. You have to do a lot of things.”
Putting Krauser off the ball more, means that Levance Fields along with Ronald Ramon are getting more time at the point.
Through two games, he ranks third on the Panthers in scoring (9.0 ppg.) and is shooting 55 percent (6 for 11), including 3 for 4 from 3-point range. He has recorded five assists, including several on ally-oop passes that led to dunks by freshman Sam Young.
“Once you get on the court and play, your game will determine what happens,” Ramon said. “If you get the attention, you get the attention. But that’s not something that should get you down at all. If you don’t get the attention from everybody else — the media, the people around — you should just keep playing and keep working hard. It should be motivation.”
While Ramon is known as a shooter, Dixon is hoping the 6-foot-1 guard can add some wrinkles, such as penetrating the opposing defense and playing some tougher defense of his own.
“He’s such a good shooter and everybody knows he’s a good shooter,” Dixon said. “They’re going to be out on you. You’ve got to be able to create something and get other guys shots.”
Dixon said that, like Krauser, Pitt’s leading scorer (20.0 ppg.), he’s comfortable with using Ramon at either guard spot.
“He can play both spots,” Dixon said. “He’s getting better at penetrating and he’s becoming a better defender on the ball. He’s definitely improved from last year to this year.”
His game should continue to improve this year as his right thumb heals. So far, Ramon has been one of several players coming off the bench to help the team. Tyrell Biggs made his case coming in for Gray, who picked up early fouls.
Freshman Tyrell Biggs came off the bench and scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting while playing 14 minutes during a portion of Gray’s absence.
“Tyrell keeps getting better,” Dixon said. “Defensively, we’ve seen some real strides in him the past couple of days.” On Gray’s performances, Dixon offered: “With any big guy, you’re a little concerned with foul trouble. It’s something that you deal with with every big guy, especially with Aaron, being as big as he is. He hasn’t played long periods of time, so it is an adjustment.”
Like last year, Pitt is hitting the 3s against the weaker teams. Whether Pitt can do so when the defenses improve is a different issue.
Tonight Pitt faces the Black Bears of Maine. Pitt should have a relatively easy win with Maine’s leading scorer from last year still out with an injury.
