I hope.
Mainly because I would rather stab my eyes with knitting needles than watch the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Pitt came into the game with a solid game plan against WVU. On offense, draw defenders further out on the perimeter with good passing and penetration. With WVU’s unconventional 1-3-1 zone defense, the idea was to extend it further to create the space that otherwise would not be there. It took a while for Pitt to execute it, as evidenced by the 1st half rash of turnovers. Still it was a sound gameplan that actually started having an effect on WVU even in the first half. WVU is not a team that fouls much, but in the first half alone they were late to defend and ended up committing 10 fouls. It wasn’t a particularly sneaky or subtle offensive game plan, otherwise Dick Vitale wouldn’t have been able to explain it as he did during the game.
In the second half, the space on the court began to really open up, which allowed Pitt to make better passes and get the ball inside easier. Pitt didn’t launch early 3s, but because they did hit the good shots, it forced WVU to respect the perimeter shooters and Pitt got more comfortable playing the WVU zone.
The defensive game plan was actually quite simple — don’t leave your man. Pitt plays a man defense, but is always eager and ready to help if a player gets loose. In this game, Pitt players didn’t help. The Hoopies are a smart team. A precise team. They are not nearly that quick or athletic a team. They get their open looks by making the extra pass and moving without the ball. By staying with their man, no matter what, Pitt denied the pass to the open shooter and made every jump shot a contested one. The trade-off was allowing the occasional unmolested drive straight to the basket for an easy lay-in.
Coach Dixon prepared this team well, and while they struggled at first, they improved as the game continued. The bench was shortened in this game. While the usual 10 players saw time, only 7 made it to double figures.
Levon Kendall: A quiet but strong game. Did a lot of mucking inside while Gray stayed with Pittsnogle. 6 rebounds, 4 points (2-4) and 2 assists. More importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over. A solid defensive effort. Took a key charge/illegal screen from Frank Young in the final minute to force a WVU turnover.
Aaron Gray: Not a particularly good 1st half on offense. 5 turnovers as he did not handle the double team very well. Still, he stayed aggressive and got to the line several times, which carried over into an excellent second half. His confidence really seemed to grow from his defensive effort as he continued to stifle Pittsnogle.
He attacked the basket and worked through the double teams in the second half. Asserted himself inside. Finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds, though 7 turnovers as well. He still needs work on finishing. Keeps trying to simply bank it or roll it in, rather than throwing it down.
Ronald Ramon: Arguably the player of the game. Stayed tight on Mike Gansey the entire game, preventing him from getting any open looks. You could see Gansey visibly frustrated. Shot extremely well, but not excessively. Never seemed to be streaking or can’t miss. Just kept dropping key buckets throughout the game to help Pitt.
Carl Krauser: Played an unbelievably unselfish game. Out there for 37 minutes but only took 7 shots. He had 7 rebounds, 5 assists and only 2 turnovers. As the most experienced Pitt player against the 1-3-1, he often seemed to be running the offense from the shooting guard position.
Levance Fields: Looked very uncomfortable in the first half. The defense clearly had him worried about being trapped and committing a turnover. As a result, a little too eager to pass away. He grew more comfortable running the offense in the second half as he found space to dribble and time to see the play develop.
Sam Young: Like Fields, it took him a little time to start looking comfortable and understanding how WVU was playing. In the second half, he shot 3-5, scored 10 points (4-6 FTs), grabbed 3 rebounds, 0 turnovers, and 1 block, steal and assist. Like Kendall, he mucked around the basket. Young played 16 minutes in the second half.
Antonio Graves: Played a solid defense keeping after Beilein or Collins, and spelling Fields, Krauser and Ramon at different points. On offense, he only took 2 shots (missing both, including a wide open 8 footer but handled the ball well against the WVU defense. He finished with 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 turnovers over 18 minutes.
John DeGroat: It’s painful to watch him regress over the last few weeks. I’ve never seen such happy feet from a basketball player. He starts to shuffle his feet when he gets the ball, like he is going to do some sort of hesitation dribble-drive. Unfortunately he keeps forgetting to dribble. 2 turnovers in 5 minutes. I feel bad that he is having his minutes falling faster and faster, but he is doing it to himself by being so wound-up when he touches the ball.
Keith Benjamin: There’s being aggressive against the 1-3-1 and then there’s running straight into it without being aware. Benjamin, unfortunately, fell into the latter. Only played 5 minutes in the first half and sat for the rest of the game. He had 2 turnovers in that time. As befitting his high energy, he also had 2 rebounds and an assist, but he simply looked lost on offense.
Tyrell Biggs: Pitt just didn’t have any spare minutes at the forward/center spots last night. At least that’s what it seemed. Biggs took and dropped a nice 15 footer in his 3 minutes of PT. Personally, I’d like to see him get worked into the line-up more often. The problem has been the teams Pitt has played lately are much more guard oriented. Biggs just isn’t quick enough or skilled to handle that on defense.
