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January 9, 2007

Whither Gray

Filed under: Basketball,Players,Uncategorized — Chas @ 10:08 am

Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News is a bit concerned.

Defenses have been collapsing on Gray to make it difficult for the Panthers to get him the ball, so production is not as much an issue as efficiency. During that stretch, he is only 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) from the field — after he shot 64 percent over the first dozen games. Anyone who watched Gray in the Panthers’ win over Syracuse had to notice he looked more lethargic than frustrated.

Anyone expecting Coach Dixon to express any concern? Me either.

“I feel very good where he’s at,” Dixon said. “If we didn’t have the margin of the victory that we’ve had, I would be a little bit more concerned.”

The part that concerns me offensively is the misses. He doesn’t seem to be trying too hard to get at the basket. There is some  passiveness from Gray right now. Maybe it’s because Pitt is winning, and he has faith in his teammates making the shots. Maybe it’s because defenses are forcing him to expend too much energy on defense by bringing him out so far from the baskets. It does make me nervous about when he will start to turn it on.





And maybe he’s still sick.

Comment by steve 01.09.07 @ 10:23 am

He has been settling for the baseline jumper quite a bit. That is why his percentage is down. We will have a problem when a team can play Gray one-on-one. He will have to score in that scenario for us to win easily.

Comment by Omar 01.09.07 @ 10:30 am

Everybody please read the article on Keith Benjamin in the Post-Gazette today. This kid is what Pitt basketball is about. You can’t say enough about this kid. Unbelievable.

Comment by Omar 01.09.07 @ 10:37 am

I really hope Dixon gets Benjamin on the floor more. His athleticism will be needed as the competition gets better, especially on the defensive boards. He can outrebound players much taller than him.

Not sure what to think about Gray. Early in the season those little 10-footers were going down, he was making quicker moves and decisions in the post, and he was part of the offense. Since that sickness, he has not been the same player. In fact, he looks like he did at the end of last year, tired and not interested in the game. It can be annoying, but I’d pay $$ to see him express a little of the type of fire that Noah does for Fla.

Comment by Carmen 01.09.07 @ 2:30 pm

I wish Benjamin could get more of Cook’s minutes. I feel bad for the kid — he’s played well in limited opportunities and hasn’t gotten much in return. He rebounds and plays better D than Cook, and against some teams (Syracuse, for instance) could help the team more.

Comment by bobby martin 01.09.07 @ 2:34 pm

I think Gray will be fine.

Comment by Omar 01.09.07 @ 2:53 pm

Any defense can take one player out of the game. Defenses are concentrating on Gray and have paid a price for it. I suspect Gray will be just fine as teams learn that they can’t beat Pitt by neutralizing Gray or feel they can play Pitt stright up. We’ll see.

Comment by TMGPanther 01.09.07 @ 9:25 pm

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