Okay, love might be too strong a word, but it has been nice to see things starting to click for Bradley Wanamaker. He has responded to getting extra attention at practice before the last couple games.

“I was really riding him (Thursday) in the walkthrough and the shootaround and in the film room, making sure he was ready,” Dixon said. “He’s kind of a quiet kid, so I tried to pump him up … I think I need to try that again.”

The quiet freshman made a quite a statement Thursday.

Of his career high-tying 23 minutes played, 13 of them came in the second half during some of the most pivotal moments of the game. He even created one with a driving lay up, capping an 8-0 run and putting the Panthers ahead 50-45 with 4:30 to play.

Wanamaker’s seven points also tied his career best. He was 3 of 4 from the field and made his only 3-point attempt. He had two assists, two rebounds and a block that was questionably called a foul late in the game.

In the Providence game he played 19 minutes, 3-4 for 6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers. He has looked more comfortable as he knows he will get a little extra time. It’s a tough thing. Coach Dixon is prone to pull younger players for mistakes. It’s hard to say that is wrong or bad coaching, but clearly some players don’t handle it well. Keith Benjamin and Wanamaker seem to do better with the knowledge that they have some room to screw up.

“We have confidence in him,” Ramon said. “He just hasn’t been believing in himself.”

Ramon said defense is the hardest transition in going from being a prep star to a Big East freshman.

“A lot of players go through it,” he said. “I went through it myself. At the beginning of the year, you don’t feel as comfortable. You want to make sure you do the right things on defense, just so the coach won’t take you off the court. That takes your mind off trying to score and trying to play your game.

“He went through it a little bit, but now he’s feeling more comfortable within the offense and what he has to do in order to play.”

The good game against WVU coupled with running out of players to talk about this late in the season and a few extra days between games meant that Wanamaker got plenty of stories in the local papers.

Dixon said Wanamaker had been going through a typical progression for a freshman. In high school and AAU, star players do not always grasp the little things that it takes to play at the college level. The more games Wanamaker plays, the more he understands.

“He’s seeing it,” Dixon said. “He understands how precise it has to be, how players at this level take advantage of mistakes. The better teams often take advantage of mistakes. What guys can get away with in junior high school and high school is different than what you can get away with now.”

Learning curves. It’s always frustrating when the kids don’t make the impact or grasp the system as quickly as we think they should.