Bradley Wanamaker has taken a lot of criticism in his limited minutes. I suppose it’s because there were more expectations for him.
Q: I have been very disappointed in the play of Brad Wanamaker thus far. I thought he was a heralded point guard. I find his play to be quite sloppy and his shooting to be atrocious, especially at the foul line. He has shown minimal improvement. For next year, how do the incoming guards look to back up Levance, and who would be the shooting guard?
FITTIPALDO: Wanamaker was a shooting guard in high school. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon tried to make him into a point guard in the early part of the season, but Wanamaker struggled and that experiment was aborted.
If Wanamaker finds a niche at Pitt, it will be at shooting guard. Wanamaker and incoming freshman Nasir Robinson (Chester, Pa.) will likely battle for the starting job at shooting guard next season. Another incoming freshman, Travon Woodall (St. Anthony’s, N.J.), is likely the backup point guard.
Sometimes, the light goes on later rather than sooner for players. Wanamaker has struggled this season, but he came to Pitt as a top 100 player. I’m sure the coaching staff is hoping that his freshman year is an aberration because the Panthers have a big hole to fill at shooting guard next season with the departure of Keith Benjamin and Ronald Ramon.
First impressions last. I’ve mentioned the Antonio Graves comparisons. Not in terms of talent. I’m talking about development and I might as well throw in perception. Some never forgot Graves as a raw, nervous freshman forced to play because of no depth at the guard spots. Wanamaker will be up against that as well.
I did expect more from him, but I also see flashes and hints of what could be. It’s just not going to be this year.
Of course, he is going to face competition from Nasir Robinson who gets the usual positive reviews that include “tough” and/or “gritty” every time he competes in something. This from the “Primetime Shootout” in Philly.
Nasir Robinson is headed to Pittsburgh next year to play for Jamie Dixon. Nasir has a motor that never stops. He plays hard every time he hits the floor and is an undersized combo forward. Nasir brings that Philly toughness to the floor every night. He dominates on the inside grabbing up everything around the rim. Nasir has a nice feel for the game not only does he play strong on the inside, he sees the floor and makes the big play when needed.
Eric Hall at the Beaver County Times hits a rare daily double with two pieces in a week that state the obvious, even if the answer isn’t: Pitt needs to make free throws and shoot better. Throw in Ron Cook’s piece about Pitt needing to score more points, along with the shooting slump story. The problem is, that there isn’t a good answer. I’m reasonably certain that the coaches and players are aware of the issue, and would like to provide a solution.
Think Pitt and Coach Dixon will get to escape silly coaching carousel speculation this year? Think again.
No more John Brady at LSU means LSU needs a new coach, and the first place the school will look is Southern California’s Tim Floyd. It’s no secret LSU has always been Floyd’s dream job because he’s from the area. But living in Los Angeles — and coaching in the new Galen Center — is kinda dreamy too, and the early word out of Baton Rouge is the school might not be willing to pay the type of money it would take to lure Floyd from the sweet situation he’s enjoying.
If LSU won’t pay, Floyd probably won’t move — in which case some obvious targets are Virginia Commonwealth’s Anthony Grant, Ole Miss’ Andy Kennedy and Washington State’s Tony Bennett. But for the sake of argument, let’s pretend Floyd does move to LSU because that’s when things could get really silly.
Would Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon then take the Southern California job?
(Perhaps. But I’m not sure he’d want to battle UCLA’s Ben Howland).
Would Xavier’s Sean Miller then move to Pittsburgh?
(Definitely. He would move to Pitt in like 1.2 seconds)
So yeah, the speculation is endless and head-spinning and tiresome.
Sigh.
“I’ve already talked to the Big East, and we’re not ever going to play at home on Friday. And if it works into the schedule, maybe a Thursday night, but we want it to be a game of magnitude. And if we have control of the game time, if there aren’t TV commitments, we’re going to play later in the day or early into the evening. That’s our preference, 3:30 (p.m.) or beyond.”
I have never gotten the feeling from Dixon that he was shopping for bigger and better. Guys like Calhoun, Boeheim and Coach K probably faced many of the same concerns early in their careers.
I would be really surprised if Dixon left. That doesn’t mean he won’t. But he seems to be building something here. He has an emotional attachment to his players that seems rare (such as crying on camera about Cook’s injury). He also gets along well with Steve Perderson, which is a bonus.
I am also not willing to look forward to Sean Miller, or any other coach, as though I would willingly part with Dixon. Dixon is the reason we are all excited about Pitt basketball. There are no guarantees with Miller or anyone else that that would continue.
