ESPN is doing some sort of top highlights of all time.
Jerome Lane’s backboard breaking dunk is on the list. Since they list by date — Jan 25, 1988 — it is somewhere in the middle of the list.
Vote early and often.
Second, i’d like to remind everyone of what a few posters said yesterday before the game:
“…A point guard with athleticism is James from Marquette not short and slow Fields…” – 0aklandZoo
“…Fields and Ramon. They’re both small and slow. Luckily Fields has a nice handle and that saves him when handling the ball against quicker guards. He’s a nice player, nothing more and certainly not one of the better PGs in the country. (Unless you mean Top 50…)…” – billy c
“Naming 10 PGs better than Fields is easy. I’d take Collison, Lawson, Sherrod Collins (and Russell Robinson), Bayless, James, Harvey, Augustin, Singletary, Vasquez (he’ll get pub by the end of the year), Curry, Ruffin. The list could go on and on…” – billy c
“Whatever you want to call it, PG or lead guard or whatever, the guys I mentioned play PG for their teams…, and I’d take all of them over Fields…” – billy c
0aklandZoo also lists Fields as in the same group with Paulus (ouch – guess you didn’t know what was going to happen last night) and Maynor (guess you missed that game last year)…along with Flynn and Harvey…tell me, which one of those ever lifted their team to victory in a huge game?
AND MY FAVORITE:
“Did I ever say Fields wasn’t a solid player? No, I didn’t. He is solid; he’s just not a game-changing player.” – billy c
link to postgazette.com
Giving away un-earned degrees? Can this school get any more bad press?
Billy C apparently cant tell the difference between a great point guard and a point guard who is too short to be a 2 guard.
Billy C and Oakland Zoo have disappeared. What complete morons! Fields is a player and one of the best point guards in the country, period. Pitt is lucky to have him. I wouldn’t even consider trading that overated hack James for Fields. And to mention Paulus in the same breath as fields is the dumbest thing I have ever read in my entire life.
I’ll never get sick of Pitt-love, but from Lunardi this is especially sweet. Also, the stat about RPI is phenomenal. That should be leading the media guide for us…
1b) “Show Some Class” Chant was very smart after the Duke Chant started with Cooke down.
2) Tired of all this blue collar crap. Why can’t Pitt just be good? Why can’t they be compared to a good NBA physical defensive team that hits clutch shots like the Pistons. Why does Pitt always get compared to Pittsburgh Blue Collar when only one kid since ’91 is from Pittsburgh?
3)Duke flops too much. Would never survive the Big East schedule.
4) Dixon out coached Coach K in that second half.
5) I love Fields. But did he really need to try to jump on the scorer’s table? i understand the emotions were high. He was the man in that moment. Cheer with your teammates and family. Act like you been there before. Chances are with his talent he has. And will again.
The funniest part is that after all that crap about how you’re supposed to play PG, what it came down to was Fields taking it one-on-one for the majority of the last possessions in regulation and overtime.
So the part of his game that I like the most(the playground part) is the part that wouldn’t even come into play if he played PG “your way” is the part that won the game. Hmmmm…..interesting. Wonder what Bob Cousy would say about that.
I did notice that Jay Bilas managed to mention that he now considers Augustin (and Collison) the 2 best PGs in the country. But that’s right, you’ve already decided he doesn’t know how to play and all he did was get in Durant’s way last year. (While he was getting in Durant’s way I’ll bet he was also averaging a couple more assists per game than Fields.)
But that’s just fun debate. None of this needs to be so confrontational. It’s supposed to be fun because we’re all Pitt fans.
Reminds me of little guys in bars who like to chirp a bunch of stuff when there’s a few folks between them and the guy who might take them down.
Go Panthers……for the real fans, not the fired-up wackos.
The loss of Cook is going to hurt more than many on this blog would imagine. Luckily we have the Big East season to groom an heir and get ready for March Madness. Coach K is the master at peaking in March and Jamie needs to work towards the same goal.
I’m still high from the game. Hail to Pitt
To not put Fields on the list of top college PG’s is silly and so off base it’s really not worth discussing..is he the best of course not but he’s on the list.
I’m sure it was electric at the garden. Fields was the man. He deserves to celebrate, but it is December and they are the 9th ranked team in the country. I believe in all the numbers and believe in the program and what they have accomplished. It’s not a fluke they are a very good program and have not hit a ceiling. I’m glad the coach grabbed him before he looked really foolish. We are Pitt not Northern Tennesee State. Save the scorers table jump for the NCAA Finals this year when he makes that shot but don’t do it the next year when we repeat.
Bilas giving us more love.
The kid is tough as nails, handles the ball well, run the offense, WINS HUGE FUCKING GAMES, and he’s still not “elite”? You’re out of your fucking mind. Tell us again how he isn’t a “game changing player.” Better yet, explain how a “small and slow” PG has a GAME HIGH against a top 10 team in the nation and carries his team to victory. Douche has 8, EIGHT, mcdonalds all americans. How is it the best guy on the floor last night was a “short and slow” PG? Please explain to us “not real fans” and “fired-up wackos.”
The only thing billy c knows about basketball is what the mainstream media and the WWL feeds him. They say “this and this and this PG” is the best – billy c just repeats. He says he watches our games – but he just doesn’t seem to understand what went on last night. If fields scores, he sucks, if he shoots he sucks, if he breaks down his man, he sucks, if he passes he sucks…all because he’s “short and slow” – which i guess makes him incapable of being any good.
No, I won’t stop until those two windbags admit they were wrong. I can’t remember the last time anybody was so thoroughly made a fool of and STILL won’t admit they were wrong. I just don’t know what else Fields could have done last night…cure AIDS? World Peace? WTF do you want from the kid?
Pitt is already at #8 in the RPI. And it’ll only go up once we get into the big east schedule…
“Tests in Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament as well as a torn medial meniscus and lateral meniscus, the thick, rubbery crescent-shaped cartilage that rests in the knee between the thigh bone and the shin bone.
The Philadelphia native will undergo surgery in the next two weeks.
It is likely Cook’s basketball career at Pitt is over. The Panthers athletic department could request a medical redshirt from the NCAA, but that would involve Cook receiving a sixth year of eligibility (he sat out 2005-06 following a transfer from East Carolina) after already playing 10 games this season.”
Grays D was suprisingly good on guys like KG, and even on guards on switches. He only got beat badly once, and fouled allen before he got a shot off. His block was when he came over for some weakside help. Also tipped out some balls to some other guys. He got blocked once when he didn’t go up strong enough, but later in the game he had a dunk, and was taking the ball up stronger. He also caused a few TOs on D.
Overall, much better than any of us ever expected from him in the NBA.
Noah looked awful. 3 pts, and 2 of those in garbage time. Good thing he makes 3x as much as gray…
I don’t believe any of the talking heads or the hype…..those of us who grew up before ESPN understand that just because we heard all week how great Pitt and Duke were doesn’t mean a gd thing. Until the final minutes that was a really badly played game (neither team could run an offense and both teams missed a ton of open shots) and I think all we can take from it is that Pitt has some heart.
I didn’t need Jay Bilas to tell me how good Augustin is, nor should you. The talking heads are exactly the reason why you guys don’t realize how many good guards there are out there. College hoops has been a guard’s game for years now (with the 3-pt line and all the big kids going pro early)and all ESPN does is talk about NC and Duke and UCLA and Kansas and the big conferences all year and completely miss all the good backcourt play across the country.
That’s why it’s never a surprise in March when some of the small schools can compete. They generally have great guards who for whatever reason didn’t make it to a big conference. (Who can forget the pain of watching Huffman torture Pitt to go to the Elite 8 in 2002? He was the best guard on the floor that night, but you wouldn’t have known that from watching ESPN all year.)
That’s why all the crap about Fields being Top 5 or Top 10 PG is hard for me to buy. Watch some more games, guys, the country is crawling with good PGs.
And I thought the funniest argument of all was whoever wrote that Fields was supposed to let Nelson go baseline when he whiffed and let Nelson foul Blair out. Anybody ever hear of forcing the dribbler to the middle where you have help? No? Hmmmmmm……….
I do have to admit that run that Augustin and the current NBA ROY made through the tourney last years was quite impress…wait, what? They lost IN THE SECOND ROUND??!?! HOW??!!! Augustin was held to 6 points and 5 assists? Even playing with a top pick NBAer stuck in college for a year? Wow, he must be awesome. Truly “elite.”
I think you need to stop listening to the talking heads….i’m not even saying Augustin isn’t elite, or games very good. But you’re punishing Fields for not being tall and flashy *while driving to the rim.* Its obvious there is nothing Fields can do to impress you short of growing 3″. Give it up.
“…he’s just not a game-changing player.†– billy c
