A very unsatisfying article talking to Pitt’s DC Paul Rhoads about stopping the run (or Pitt’s failure to do so in key games).

The Pitt Panthers (6-2, 1-2) will play South Florida (5-3, 1-2) Saturday at Tampa, Fla., and the Bulls operate out of a spread formation that features an option-style rushing attack mixed with conventional power rushing plays.

Traditionally, that’s the kind of offense that has caused the Panthers fits. A common theory is the Panthers don’t “run blitz” enough and they need to use more stunting and line games. By extension, the Panthers’ philosophy of staying in a base defense and trying to win individual battles up front instead of committing extra players may be sound, but it isn’t practical because they don’t have the players to do that.

Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said such a theory is based on the incorrect assumption that the Panthers haven’t been mixing it up or applying pressure.

Now, I may be being purposefully dense, owing to my bias against the DC, and I’m willing to concede the possibility, so please correct me in the comments if you disagree. Perhaps he means more than just “run blitzing” and such when he means “applying pressure.” Perhaps, his definition of “applying pressure” is meant to include putting more men up to stop the run.

I just don’t see it in the entire discussion. My sense is that the entire focus of the article is more about run blitzing and attacking. There seemed to be nothing about just committing ot put 8 or more men in the box to stop the run. Nothing.

Instead, Rhoads just talks of applying pressure in key points. That it has worked fine for 6 of the games. Just not the two where the team had a good rushing attack made to look like they were a juggernaut.

And god help us, he was quoted as saying, “Overall, we were bending but certainly not breaking…” in reference to the Rutgers game. Mainly in reference to the first half. A half, where I felt that Rutgers hurt itself at the end of drives more then Pitt stopped them. A half where Rutgers held the ball for more than 18 minutes. You know, something that might have contributed to wearing down the defense in the second half.
I have to take my daughter to class around noon. If Zeise is doing his online chat today, someone ask him to clarify this. Whether Rhoads was claiming that “applying pressure” included bringing more players closer to the line to stop the run.

Pitt apparently wasn’t messing around last night. They didn’t even let CMU think there was going to be a chance, even in an exhibition game. It was 16-2 Pitt with barely 5 minutes off of the clock. It was such a lopsided affair, that the only thing that seemed worth discussing was who actually started.

Jamie Dixon unveiled a starting five for the first time last night in an exhibition game against Carnegie Mellon. And, while it is far from set in stone, the lineup he started was different from what many had expected.

Dixon started seniors Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall at center and power forward, junior Mike Cook at small forward, senior Antonio Graves at shooting guard and junior Ronald Ramon at point guard in an easy, 103-45 victory against the Tartans at the Petersen Events Center.

Coach Dixon downplayed the whole thing, saying he has no real decisions about the starting lineup for the regular season. He made it very clear that just because a player starts doesn’t mean he will have the most minutes (see, DeGroat, John, 2005-06). Still, the noted that Dixon’s history suggests he favors starting the upperclassmen even if they don’t play too much.

There were plenty of substitutions.

All told, 10 players saw action in the first 10 minutes of the game, and Dixon used seven different lineup combinations in the first 11 minutes. No one played more than 23 minutes. Eight players saw at least 17 minutes of action.

“We spread the minutes out,” Dixon said. “Everybody got to get comfortable out there, which was good. There were a lot of good things out of it, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

Three other players saw at least 10 minutes of action and walk-ons Geoff Rizk (1-1) and Maurice Polen (0-5) each got 5 minutes.

Only thing of any concern was poor 3-point shooting in the 1st half.  Still, it was a nice warm-up and no one was injured.

I’d be completely frazzled if my dad spent a month living in my place.

Ricardo Ramon, Ronald’s father and a former professional basketball player in the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Brazil, moved in for a month in August. It was a month Ronald and Keith will never forget and one that could have a big impact on Pitt’s season.

“It’s funny,” Ronald Ramon said. “When you leave home, you don’t have anyone in control over you anymore. When he was in the house, he was trying to tell us what to do. He definitely put the rules down.”

He was there to help his son get his conditioning back after having to take 3 months off from shoulder surgery. Seems he basically took it upon himself to coach and practice most of the team during the summer.

So for four weeks it was basketball boot camp. Ricardo Ramon put Ramon, Benjamin and other Panthers through three-a-days. In the mornings, they would go to Schenley Park for a morning run. In the afternoon, it was weight lifting. In the evenings, it was basketball drills and pickup games.

“I took all that time off and I needed to get back in shape,” said Ramon, who is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. “I was going to go home, but we had all the facilities here for us. It helped me a lot. I got back into shape, back where I want to be. It was a big confidence boost for me because I couldn’t play for two or three months.”

Senior center Aaron Gray, who returned to Pitt for his senior season after entertaining thoughts of going to the NBA, said the workouts were some of the hardest he has gone through.

“He was killing us,” Gray said. “But it was real good. It made us better.”

Not surprisingly Coach Dixon and the Panther coaches had no problem with this. NCAA rules prohibit them from doing much team coaching in the off-season, so this can only help.

Still, having your dad there for the month. You know he took some serious grief for that.

Courtesy of Jman:

It’s November. Just a couple weeks until the first real game of the season. Tonight, though, is the first of two exhibition games. Division III CMU ambles down the Forbes Avenue tonight.

A couple years ago, Pitt struggled against CMU badly. It also struggled against IUP for a time last year. So, no panicking if the team doesn’t blow them out of the Pete in 5 minutes or less. Granted, even the Tartans own coach doesn’t like their chances.

Wingen said there is no comparison between this year’s CMU team and the one that hung with Pitt for nearly 30 minutes two years ago.

“That team two years ago, they were very talented and a confident bunch of guys who had a lot of experience,” Wingen said. “They weren’t intimidated by the atmosphere or the opponents. We’re a little different team now. Pitt is a little different, too. They are better.”

The best thing to read, the students are already juiced for the season.

People in the Pitt ticket office compared the demand for student tickets as similar to a typical Big East opponent.

“They said it’s about even with a Connecticut and Syracuse game,” Dixon said. “I find it hard to believe. I asked him to repeat it. I didn’t think I’d heard it right.”

Of course it may just have something to do with making fun of Carnegie Mellon.

Coach Dixon plans to use the exhibition game to also give the freshmen a chance to experience the Pete (without blowing their redshirts).