masthead.jpg

switchconcepts.com, U3dpdGNo-a25, DIRECT rubiconproject.com, 14766, RESELLER pubmatic.com, 30666, RESELLER, 5d62403b186f2ace appnexus.com, 1117, RESELLER thetradedesk.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER taboola.com, switchconceptopenrtb, RESELLER bidswitch.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER contextweb.com, 560031, RESELLER amazon-adsystem.com, 3160, RESELLER crimtan.com, switch, RESELLER quantcast.com, switchconcepts , RESELLER rhythmone.com, 1934627955, RESELLER ssphwy.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER emxdgt.com, 59, RESELLER appnexus.com, 1356, RESELLER sovrn.com, 96786, RESELLER, fafdf38b16bf6b2b indexexchange.com, 180008, RESELLER nativeads.com, 52853, RESELLER theagency.com, 1058, RESELLER google.com, pub-3515913239267445, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
February 11, 2006

Centennial Team, 1st Cut Down

Filed under: Uncategorized — Chas @ 11:52 pm

Okay in case you have forgotten, you have 1 more week to vote on the Centennial Team for Pitt. The 15 greatest players in Pitt history.

I have my choices narrowed. I had 3 no-brainers. The 3 best in Pitt’s history and have their jersey’s retired. Kind of obligatory that they make the list. A brief scan of the Pitt record book makes it even easier.

1. Charles Smith
2. Billy Knight
3. Don Hennon

Then I have (to me at least) 7 sure things. In no particular order:

4. Brandin Knight
5. Clyde Vaughan
6. Demetreus Gore
7. Sam Clancy
8. Sean Miller
9. Carl Krauser
10. Charles Hyatt

Hyatt won’t show up in any of the record books since he played in the late 20s. Only 880 total points for a 13.1 pts/game average. He was however the star on the teams that won national championships in 1927-28 and 1929-30 — he also led the nation in scoring in those years. A 3-time All-American and National Player of the Year in 1929-30. Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.

That leaves 5 spots left. Here were my remaining possibilities, along with a couple I eliminated:

Jason Matthews — 5th all-time scorer, 15.0pts/gm career avg.; best career 3-pt shooter 3FGM and 3FG%; 4th FTM, 5th FTA, 2nd FT%
Ricardo Greer
Vonteego Cummings
Julius Page — Most minutes played in career; 12th (soon to be 13th) leading scorer; 3d in 3FGM;
Jaron Brown
Chevon Troutman — .625 FG%, 1274 points, 711 rebounds.
Jerome Lane — “Send it in Jerome!” breaking the backboard created signature moment for Pitt basketball in the ’80s. 1217 points, 970 rebounds — 13.1 pts, 10.3 rebounds for 3 year career; Named 2nd and 3rd team All-American in career
Brian Shorter — 9th all-time in points; 17.8 pts/gm career avg. (5th best); Best FG% of any Pitt player with 1000+ FGA (.538); Very consistent shooter with 88% of his games being in double figures; 33 games 10+ rebounds; 2nd in career FTA and FTM; 31 double-doubles
Larry Harris — 3d all-time in scoring; all time leader in FGM; 50 20+ points in a game; 17.9 pts/gm career average
Bobby Martin
Jerry McCullough
Darrelle Porter — 1007 pts, 617 rebounds, 1.95 A-TO Ratio

With deep regret I cut Brown. An absolute favorite from the present era. So much of what he did don’t show up in the stats. He just won and was on teams that accomplished more than few other Pitt teams have. Still, these are players, not teams, and there are players that have just done more.

I’m really torn because I don’t think Page and Troutman make the cut together. I think it has to be one or the other. Right now, I’m leaning towards Page. What made Troutman great was the way he improved every year, and maximized his effort and potential. Unfortunately, that may not be enough. Troutman is roughly the equivalent of Bobby Martin by the numbers, and Martin falls short.

Porter was really close. One of only 3 players with 1000+ points and 600+ assists (Miller and Knight are the other 2). He was one of my favorites at Pitt when I was in school. He just didn’t have enough by comparison.

Jason Matthews was a hell of a shooter, but not much else. It’s hard to ignore those numbers, but here are the other career numbers 288 rebounds, 225 assists, 224 turnovers, 109 steals. His job was to be the marksman, and he was. Is that enough? Compared to others, it is not looking good.

I haven’t broken out the numbers for Greer, Cummings and McCullough. All 3 have fantastic numbers, but are almost hurt by how bad their teams were and how much of a load they carried. Do they have the numbers because no one else could? I have to look harder at those.

I’m willing to consider all arguments and anyone you think I am glaringly leaving off the list (Chad Varga and Darren Morningstar don’t count).

Getting Ready For Cinci-Pitt

Filed under: Uncategorized — Chas @ 9:36 pm

Even after the firing of Bob Huggins this was a game I had circled — and not just because the wife is a Cinci alum. This would be a match-up between two teams known for strong, physical defense and general play. If there was really going to be anything beyond contrivance to the “River City Rivalry,” it would start with the basketball teams.

Then of course, after Huggy-bear got fired things managed to keep getting worse. The team had a couple kids not qualify academically (or have issues with law enforcement). The school just brought in a new Athletic Director after the old one retired. Adam Kennedy has the interim head coach label, and knowing he won’t get the job and that recruiting isn’t going to happen, has done a fantastic job of circling the wagons and getting this team not to quit (even more amazing when you contrast that to the St. Bonaventure adventures a few years ago — culminating on the players quite literally quitting the team).

The team has continued to keep playing despite the continuing shrinking of depth — the loss of one of their best players and leader Senior Forward Armein Kirkland to a blown ACL in early January. They now have 2 players from the football team playing regular minutes, and they still have depth issues.

The depth-challenged Bearcats received another blow when Scott Benken suffered an elbow injury in practice requiring surgery that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. Benken, a non-scholarship player at Wake Forest in 2002-03 and 2003-04 prior to transferring to UC, joined the Bearcats as a walk-on on Jan. 17. Two members of the Bearcats’ football program, Connor Barwin and Angelo Craig, joined the team as walk-ons on Jan. 11. Barwin, a tight end in football, has been the most productive.

Craig hasn’t played yet and Barwin averages around 8 minutes a game. Cinci has its five starters averaging a minimum of 24 minutes a game. Only one bench player plays double digit minutes. Heck, a walk-on Freshman actually saw some time in their last game.

On top of that, the other top assistant and recruiter, Keith LaGree, had been busted for drunk driving in the fall. Considering what had gone down the year before with Huggins, LaGree was pressured to resign. This led to breaking in a new assistant, former Bearcat star, Corie Blount.

Cinci won their last game against Louisville at home, but with costs. Two starters — #1 and #2 in scoring — James White and Eric Hicks had to leave with injuries. Hicks is also the leading rebounder and White is #3. Hicks suffered a concussion just before halftime, and White sprained his ankle late in the game. Both had to sit out practices, but both have been cleared and are expected to play.

Before Wednesday’s practice, Hicks passed an impact test, clearing him for practice. He participated in the Bearcats’ light practice, despite suffering from headaches on-and-off since Monday night.

“I passed all the tests,” Hicks said. “They’re tests where you see if you’ve got your memory and reaction time. They give you a list of colors, then make you click on numbers back from 25 and then you have to remember the colors and words.”

James White, who left the game late in the game with a sprained ankle, sat out the practice.

UC coach Andy Kennedy said both should be ready for Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh.

Hicks suffered a sprained ankle last month at Marquette and it has been aggravated several times since then.

“It’s still swollen; what can I do?” Hicks said. “I don’t have time to rest. I’ve got to walk to class. It just needs time to rest, but I’ve just got to deal with.”

White was in the locker room getting treatment before Wednesday’s practice and was unavailable to the media. Hicks said White’s ankle was “as big as a grapefruit.”

“It was like mine was after Marquette,” Hicks said. “Plus he’s so skinny, so it looks bigger. The top half of (my ankle) is still fat.”

Pitt meanwhile is healthy and looking to continue it’s run of perfection at home. Since Kirkland went down for Cinci, the road has been extremely inhospitable. They are 0-5 on the road including the UConn game.

Big East Basketball report favors Pitt, because of the depth, home and the nagging injuries to Hicks and White.

I have to admit a lot of unease. I guess it’s because there is no excuse for Pitt not to win this game. At the same time, it feels something like a trap game. I guess something about the situation feels a bit like the St. John’s game. A tough, physical team with little depth looking to make a statement. Luckily, this game is at home. Pitt is favored by 8.5 points.

Game notes for Pitt and Cinci (PDF).

Networking

Filed under: Uncategorized — Chas @ 6:03 pm

I see more and more in the comments, people living outside of the ‘Burgh trying to find a place to watch the game. Others, suggesting to people that they meet at some bar or go to a place they know has ESPN Full Court. That’s great, and hopefully it is helping people.

I will point out that a couple Pitt alumni groups are gathering to watch certain games. The Boston-based group is planning to watch the Pitt-WVU rematch at the end of February. Next Saturday, the Chicago-alumni are road-tripping to Milwaukee to be at the Pitt-Marquette game. And tomorrow, there will be a gathering in Tuscon to watch Cinci-Pitt.

Unfortunately, that’s it. Or they are the only ones alumni chapters that have posted to the calendar.

So here’s the thing, if anyone is feeling ambitious and wants to try and organize a group or even just a few people to watch in your area. Let me know and I will post information. I will put your e-mail, in the post for people to contact, but not as a direct link to prevent harvesting by spammers.

If an alumni group just never got it on the calendar, and you want to let others know, send me an e-mail and I will put the information out there.

Happy Feelings

Filed under: Uncategorized — Chas @ 11:43 am

Amazing how a win over a top-10 team and the rivalry team can make everyone seem happy. Well, everyone who’s a Pitt fan.

I thought Pitt fans could lose perspective at times. From the letter’s section at the Charleston Gazette:

Dave Hickman’s attempt to put a positive spin on West Virginia’ss loss to
Pittsburgh was pitiful. After building up a fine record over weaker teams, they
have folded. The Mountaineers were outplayed and outcoached by Pitt and,
thereby, embarrassed all West Virginia fans.

Can you imagine what his reaction was when the Hoopies lost to Marshall?

Coach Dixon spent his Friday night attending a high school basketball game. Oh, and it just so happened that Sophomore, and early Pitt verbal, Terrelle Pryor was playing.

A very good Q&A with Ray Fittipaldo.

Q: It seems opposing coaches may be changing their approach to defending against the Panthers. They are double-teaming Aaron Gray more frequently and forcing the Panthers to make outside shots. I think the second half of the Georgetown game showed how effective this can be. What are your thoughts on how the Panthers should respond?

Fittipaldo: That’s a good observation, Mike. I suspect John Thompson III got the Connecticut tape and watched how the Panthers shot from 3-point range in that game. The Panthers were 2 for 20 from behind the arc in that game. They were 6 for 17 against Georgetown, but two of those came in the final 30 seconds when Pitt was attempting a last-ditch come back. The Panthers had been missing a lot of open 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers throughout the second half of that game. I think you have to get the ball into Ronald Ramon’s hands more and have him shoot more 3-pointers. I also think Gray has to be more assertive in those situations and attempt to draw fouls. And if he is double-teamed, he doesn’t have to kick it outside
for shots like he did against Georgetown. Either Levon Kendall or Sam Young should be open in the paint. Gray must find a way to make teams pay for double-teaming, whether it’s by his passing or ability making free throws.

Q: When games are close at the end, as they usually are in the Big East, I never see a press from Pitt like I do other teams. Pitt predictably retreats to a half-court defense and often has to rely on fouling to get the ball back. With a full complement of guards this season why does coach Dixon refrain from this tactic?

Fittipaldo: The press has not been a part of Jamie Dixon’s arsenal since he became head coach. The decision to rely on half-court defense is part philosophy and part personnel. Dixon and Ben Howland subscribe to the theory that tough man-to-man defense in the half-court can be effective in all situations. Most teams that use the press a lot have a big stable of athletic and quick guards who can force the opponents’ guards into mistakes. And while Pitt has a large stable of guards this season, I would not describe any of them as super athletic or super quick. In fact, when Pitt faces teams with quicker and more athletic guards, as they did against St. John’s, it presents some problems for the Panthers.

Ronald Ramon gets a puff piece for his game and being healthy.

Anyone who watched the West Virginia game knows Ramon affected that game in more ways than his shooting. Ramon drew the assignment to defend Big East player
of the year candidate Mike Gansey and held the high-scoring senior to 12 points on 3 of 7 shooting.

Gansey called Ramon “a great defender” after the game.

Shooting the basketball has been something that always has come natural to Ramon. Playing good defense is something he has picked up since coming to Pitt.

“I definitely worked on my defense,” Ramon said. “Coach Dixon came up to me in the summertime and was like, ‘Our focus is going to be on defense this year.’ When a coach tells you that you have to look into it and come back with a different mentality. I knew I had to play better defense this year.”

Dixon said Ramon is only starting to come into his own and has the potential to develop even more later in his college career.

His defense has been solid all season. Really, Ramon has quietly taken a lot of team responsibility this year and responded very well. He is running the point about half the time. He’s drawing the tough defensive assignments. And now as his shoulder and fingers have healed, he is being asked to take more shots. He’s not a team leader this year, but the example he has set will make him one next year.

Of course the team’s leader this year gets his own puff piece.

“He’s the leader of the team,” said Pitt sophomore Ronald Ramon, who scored a season-high 16 points against West Virginia. “He came back with a different attitude to make our team better. It’s working. He came back and he said, ‘If I have to pass the ball for our team to win, that’s what I’m doing.’ He’s still going out there and making plays for his team.”

“Playing with Carl is a big help,” Ramon said. “Him coming back this year and trying to help the team, moving to the two-guard, which was big for him and was a different look, I think was a big plus for us.

“A lot of it was that people were going to come back and try to key up on him, knowing that he was going to be our primary guard trying to score. It helped us a lot. It opened up our big guy (Gray) and our other guards because he’s a driver. He’s a great player. He wants to go in there and make plays for other guys. It helps us a lot from the shooting perspective.”

Following Pitt’s 61-58 loss at No. 15 Georgetown last weekend, the animated Krauser didn’t miss a beat. He was chattering, as usual, upon departing MCI Center in Washington, talking about the importance of team unity and determination.

“I just want to keep the confidence going in the guys, relaying everything the coaches are saying, believing in myself and my teammates,” he said following the three-point setback. “It’s about just keeping everybody together.”

In a season of unanticipated success, Dixon, like all of his players, has no problem feeding off Krauser’s words of encouragement.

“All Carl has ever cared about is winning,” he said. “You can see it out there every time he plays.”

Then there is Freshman Forward Sam Young, who while thunderous at times on offense, has really improved on defense during the season. No longer picking up a couple fouls at a time. He is really starting to figure out spacing on the court and not losing his man.

Associate head coach Barry Rohrssen, had to have the patella tendon in his left knee repaired on Friday from an injury he suffered in practice on Wednesday.

Finally, I happily acknowledge what former Coach Ben Howland did for Pitt. Helping to craft the identity and philosophy of a team-first, tough, physical defense oriented team. I realize Dixon was Howland’s assistant and is his close friend. Still, there has to come a time when the credit for the way this team is now has to stay with Coach Dixon. This is his team. Howland has been gone for 3 years. It’s not like Coach Dixon changed or subordinated his own philosophy and views on how to run the team to fit the system.

I bring this up because this column, ostensibly, about Pitt’s defense sticking to man-to-man rather than playing any zone (like they did for short periods last season), can’t help but go back to the Howland well.

Pitt also is exclusively a man-to-man team again, just as they were under Ben Howland. Last year, Dixon was forced to play some 2-3 zone. His players have no intention of making him do it again.

They haven’t played a second of zone all season, Graves said.

“We definitely take pride in not wanting to go to a zone,” he added. “But we still practice a 2-3”

Certainly, Pitt is better-prepared to deal with WVU this season. The Panthers have more athletes to guard the perimeter and to disrupt passing lanes, and they don’t have to worry about covering for a lazy center like, say, Chris Taft, whose replacement, Aaron Gray, did a bang-up job on Kevin Pittsnogle.

I asked Beilein if his team had seen fewer open looks in any game in the past year.

“No,” he said. “It’s the same rubber stamp of how Ben (Howland) played defense.”

Indeed, it was. And how fitting that the performance came on the night Howland’s UCLA Bruins held Washington State to 30 points, fewest for a Pac-10 team since the advent of the shot clock.

The surprising Panthers (18-3 overall, 7-3 in the Big East) wreck offenses without using a full-court press, without gambling for turnovers. They do it with smarts, athleticism, toughness and superb coaching – all qualities Howland brought here seven years ago.

I guess it bothers me because it seems to be denigratingng the job by Coach Dixon to this point. The first year, it seemed like many acted like he was Phil Jackson with Michael Jordan and the Bulls, rolling out the ball and letting them do it themselves. Last year was a disappointment, and the fingers were pointed at Dixon — especially from me — and the questions about whether he could really handle being the head coach. This year, he’s showing everyone what kind of job he is capable of, and the comparisons go right back to Howland. Even worse, to what he is now doing at UCLA.

Powered by WordPress © PittBlather.com

Site Meter