Keith Benjamin’s efficiency and being the offensive sparkplug against Cinci gets him a puff piece focusing on his game.
Benjamin was not happy about his performance. On Saturday, after final preparations for the Cincinnati game, senior Carl Krauser and Benjamin had a conversation about staying patient and waiting for opportunities.
Benjamin, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, digested Krauser’s advice and responded with the best performance of his college career. Benjamin scored a career-high 16 points against the Bearcats and was a driving force behind Pitt’s 89-69 victory Sunday.
“Me and Carl sat down [Saturday] and I was a little frustrated,” Benjamin said. “I was like, ‘I can score 20 points in any game we play.’ He said you just have to focus and go out there and play your best and pick your spots. I listened to him and I came out and picked my spots.”
This season has been feast or famine for Benjamin. He has been held without a field goal in four Big East Conference games and has scored in double figures in four others. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said the ups and downs in Benjamin’s game are expected because every reserve has gone through similar things this season. Because of the way the bench players are used, they often take turns in the scoring department.
“We knew when we were going to play three guys at [small forward] that there was going to be a common theme,” Dixon said. “When you sit down and look at it, his game [Sunday] really wasn’t a whole lot different from some of his others this season. His 3-pointers just went in. Sometimes your shots fall, sometimes they don’t. … He’s got the ability to score. He gets open, there’s no doubt about that. And he’s becoming a better shooter. He just has to get more consistent with his form.”
Coach Dixon points out that this was his first full season of being healthy in a couple years to help explain getting more consistent.
To me, Benjamin’s biggest thing is his patience. Late in the non-con, I pointed out how many shots he was taking relative to his minutes — that he seemed overeager to show what he could do — add in is poor shooting percentage and he was heading to even less playing time rather than more. He got over that and started taking his time. In the non-con his FG% was .377 (20-53). In conference play he is shooting .480 (24-50).
Worth noting of course, that the guy he went to for advice and just to talk was Krauser. Krauser likely won’t win any national awards, but his name stays out there.
Pitt senior Carl Krauser is among 30 players named to the mid-season list of candidates for the Naismith Trophy, presented annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the nation’s top college men’s basketball player. Last month, the 6-foot-2 guard was named to a similar list for the Wooden Award, presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to the nation’s top player. Krauser’s team-high 18 points Sunday against Cincinnati marked the 18th time the senior guard has scored in double figures this season and the 72nd time during his college career. Krauser leads Pitt in scoring this year with an average of 15.9 points per game and he ranks 13th all-time at the score with 1,497 career points. He needs 16 more to pass Julius Page (1,512) for 12th on the list.
Aaron Gray gets another puff piece, as Ron Cook seems to be trying to catch up on his Pitt coverage.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you have a dominant 7-footer,” guard Carl Krauser said.
The best is yet to come for Gray, everyone predicted, not exactly going far out on a skinny limb.
It’s pretty obvious the NBA is in his future. You just can’t teach a guy to be 7-foot with quick feet and soft hands.
“You’re either on an upswing or a downswing as a player. Aaron’s been on the upswing since he’s been here,” Dixon said. “I don’t see that changing. He’s going to finish better around the basket. He’s going to play better away from the basket. He’s going to handle double teams better. He’s going to shoot his free throws better … “
I think Gray will come back for his Senior year, but I’m not entirely sure. The trade-off, more and more seems to be that the longer you stay in school the more time scouts and draftniks have to pick apart your game. When you come out too early, there is much more talk about rawness, potential and “upside.” That always seems to get NBA types more excited because then there is more to expect.
Let me hedge by saying that if Pitt makes a deep run in the NCAA and Gray shines, he will likely go (see Andrew Bogut from last year). Of course, I think I’d take that trade-off.
