I don’t know, maybe I’m just not feeling the gravity quite enough. I just have this mental picture of DeJuan Blair making this statement in a Spongebob voice.
“I’m going to say I’m ready, that’s all. I’m READY,” Blair said, emphasizing that last word.
Okay, he probably didn’t, but go ahead, get that out of your mind now. Obviously everyone is excited at the idea of the Blair-Thabeet match-up.
Thabeet has improved so much from last season that Connecticut didn’t even miss Dyson in its 62-54 win at Seton Hall yesterday. He had a mind-boggling day — career highs of 25 points and 20 rebounds to go along with 9 blocks — which prompted Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez to say afterward, “I don’t know who has a better player than him, who is a more dominant guy than him, in the country. He, to me, is the No. 1 player in America … If I was an NBA franchise, I would take him No. 1 in the draft.”
You should have seen Blair’s look harden when told of Gonzalez’s observation. “He hasn’t seen me play yet [this season],” he said, steely.
Blair also has improved from a year ago. He had a relatively quiet game against Cincinnati, yet still finished with 7 rebounds and 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He’s a monster as a rebounder, playing much taller than his 6-foot-7 height. The guess here is Thabeet won’t get 20 rebounds tomorrow night despite his 8-inch edge.
“His heart, his mind, his intensity, his length, his physical skills … Those are what make him the player that he is,” Dixon said of Blair.
Plus, he’s a fun quote.
DeJuan Blair had a funny answer when asked how Pitt was going to prepare for Connecticut’s 7-foot-3 Haseem Thabeet at practice.
“I’m going to try to have Levance stand on Gilbert’s shoulders.”
Getting things out of the way with Cinci was what everyone wanted.
“The stage,” Pitt point guard Levance Fields said, “is set.”
Now, the time to answer the questions that have been asked all week.
As Pitt finished off West Virginia Monday night, talk immediately turned to the impending game against No. 1 Connecticut. The Panthers were inundated with questions about the Huskies and the one-on-one battle between DeJuan Blair and Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet.
The only problem was that Connecticut wasn’t next on the schedule. Cincinnati was, and the Panthers made sure they didn’t overlook the Bearcats.
Pitt shot 67.4 percent from the field and had five players in double digits as they dropped Cincinnati 85-69 on Saturday at the Peterson Events Center.
“I think our guys handled this well,” Panthers coach Jamie Dixon said. “Every question this week has been about Connecticut rather than Cincinnati. Our guys understand that the media’s job is different from our job. But we know what we have to focus on.”
And now everyone can be focused on the same thing. Beating UConn.
As for tonight’s game, I was sort of hoping that Blair/Thabeet *wasn’t* the main focus. I don’t want Blair coming out feeling over-agressive, so much so that he gets into foul trouble trying too hard to assert himself. That’s just a guess on my part though; others probably have a better read on the psychology between the two players.
What will be the key to this game? Does Blair have to play with Thabeet, or can Pitt win another way? Pitt’s offensive efficiency is the best in the nation, but I think that stat is misleading. It’s efficient mostly when Blair is producing underneath.
It’s in the rest of the matchups that Pitt has a chance. Adrien is a beast, but Robinson is unpredictable, Price doesn’t penetrate much and they will really miss Dyson. If Pitt can force UConn to hoist up perimeter shots all night (I’d mix some zone in because Robinson and Price have very little conscience), they’ll have a shot to win.
If UConn’s guards get in the lane much and it turns into a free-for-all on the boards after missed shots, it will be tough to keep Adrien, Thabeet, Robinson and Edwards from getting offensive rebounds.
I don’t think there’s much secret on the offensive end. There are going to be fewer pts available in the paint because of Thabeet. Blair can try to take it to him early and draw fouls, but Blair’s game is too close to the floor to bother the big guy much. Pitt has to play inside-outside and find open weak-side shots and make a high percentage. UConn extends their defense quite a bit in the halfcourt, so Fields will have opportunities to penetrate and dish…..but finishing around the rim will be a much tougher proposition tonight.
If he gets in foul trouble and we go to a zone, they’re really going to miss Dyson.
This is a game that Sam Young needs to take over early and often. There will be alot of NBA scouts watching tonight and I think he’ll be the x-factor
I’ve just seen Thabeet slap away any weakly-tossed shots.
The key in my opinion will be keeping Price and Walker out of the lane. Pitt can’t let Price go off like he did last year. I think Dixon will be able to contain whomever he is guarding, but Fields is going to have to play solid defense tonight. I think he will be up to the challenge.
