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November 9, 2006

Believe it or not, I haven’t forgotten about basketball. It’s just been a little crazy lately. I have taken a look at the various previews that have Pitt anywhere from 4th to 9th in the country. Really they all talk about the team in mostly the same way:

  • Aaron Gray coming back was huge.
  • The team has depth and maturity.
  • Kendall is underrated.
  • Ramon and Fields will do well.
  • Sam Young could break-out.
  • Mike Cook will have a big impact.
  • Dixon’s a good coach who has balanced playing time well.

They also ask some questions that do need to be considered about this team.
— Can Pitt handle the hype?

Let’s face it, this is a big question that nags at the back of most of our minds. In both football and basketball, it seems that Pitt has just never done well when there are big expectations from the team. Forget getting to the Final Four or BCS. The teams seem to struggle to win and not go out in the first round of the NCAA and/or Big East Tournament.

— Can Aaron Gray be the #1 guy?

If media day is any indication, Gray seems at ease with the attention and being the focus of all attention. Carl Krauser took a lot of the focus both positive and negative. How will Gray handle taking the questions when the team loses a game?
— Will Coach Dixon be able to figure out the rotation, and find enough playing time to placate egos?

Pitt is very deep, and could very easily go 10 or 11 deep. There’s only 200 minutes to go around each game. There’s a good chance that all the freshmen could find themselves redshirting. Only Gilbert Brown might break into the roatation.

— What will the perimeter defense be like?

Ronald Ramon is a very good defender, but his size is an issue. He can be shot over. Fields was inconsistent. Graves has shown a propensity to be a step slow with a penetrating player. Cook might be an answer, but that remains to be seen.

— Who will be the “go to” or “crunch time” guy?

Carl Krauser was the guy — for good and ill — now there isn’t that one guy who the team will look to for that shot. The guy who took the ball and was going to get the last shot. Ramon took key shots late in games, but he did not create them. Maybe it will be Fields. Perhaps Cook. Young can penetrate as well. Maybe it’s not a bad thing, since there isn’t one player to key on, but it is a legit question.





The previous time Pitt was in the preseason top-5 they did pretty well. That was the year the Petersen Events Center opened. Brandin Knight was a senior, Julius Page and Jaron Brown were juniors, and Chevy Troutman was a sophmore. If I recall correctly we were in the top-10 all year (even with an early season loss at Georgia), won the big east regular season and tournament and were a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. We would have been in the Elite Eight if not for a spectacular 18 point half from Dwayne Wade.

That team is similar to this years team. We have senior leadership and experience with Gray, Kendall, and Graves. Two talented junior guards in Ramon and Cook. And not one, but two, budding stars in the Sophmore class in Young and Fields. Hopefully we can get a little further in the tourney, but Pitt Basketball has lived up to the hype in the past. The exception was the Chris Taft debacle and look how well he has done for himself.

Comment by Omar 11.09.06 @ 10:29 am

I think kendall is over-rated but just my opinion.

Comment by Rex 11.09.06 @ 11:41 am

Respectfully disagree Rex, if anything Kendall is underrated. He is a very skilled player and has tremendous size. Unlike most college players who are undersized power forwards, Kendall is an over-sized small forward and has a shot at the next level with a decent year. He is one of the keys to a successful season. Hopefully he will become a more vocal leader.

Comment by Omar 11.09.06 @ 1:43 pm

I like Kendall too, but I don’t think he is NBA material. He will most likely play basketball in Europe, and would not be surprised if he hurts us again playing for Team Canada. Kendall and Jaron Brown are the type of players that are missed the most immediately.

Comment by Panthoor 11.09.06 @ 3:12 pm

Kendall is important to the team like Jaron Brown because they do the little things that don’t show up in the box score. However, Kendall is a much more skilled player than Brown and is more physically gifted. Brown was lucky to be listed at 6’4″, Kendall is a legitimate 6’9″ and may be 6’10”. He has perimeter skills and unlike many European players to which he is compared, he excels at playing physical basketball. He needs to improve his range out to the NBA three point line and get stronger. If he were a little bit quicker he would definitely be in the NBA. Many scouts will probably say he is too slow to guard NBA small forwards and not strong enough to guard power forwards, but I still think he has a shot.

Comment by Omar 11.09.06 @ 3:59 pm

I think the biggest point everyone is missing is that at least during the reular season the team has overacheived many times over the last few years. Now this isn’t the first time we have been preseason Top 5 in the last few years, but this is the first time we have had Top 5 talent. With the way Dixon can get the most out of his players I believe it will not take long for them to show that they are the best team in the country.

P.S. Can’t wait til high noon on Sunday.

Comment by Rob 11.09.06 @ 5:05 pm

Be there or be square.

Comment by steve 11.09.06 @ 6:32 pm

I hope Dixon did learn a few lessons last year. Particularly, the need maybe to do some things to change the momentum when need be, and to rest Aaron Gray more when he can. Gray was so tired and weak late in the season last year and I blame Dixon for a lot of that. There were games mid to late in the season where they had leads or he just looked beat and Dixon would leave him in. They have the depth that he should be able to rest Gray a lot so he stays fresh — and, more importantly, uninjured.

I expect to see Ramon take big shots and Levance Fields creating opportunities at big points in the game. I do not think they will miss Krauser. By the end of the season, Fields was clearly comfortable running the offense and they have plenty of scoring options and experience.

My biggest concern is focus and intensity. Last year they tended to lose it, a lot.

Comment by Whigsboy 11.10.06 @ 12:38 pm

We will miss Krauser on defense and feeding the post, at least early. We will not miss his point production at all.

Comment by Omar 11.10.06 @ 2:38 pm

[…] Right, because it’s all driven by clueless fans. Not at all from sportswriters who know better. Not like that question wasn’t being asked in every preview mag. […]


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