Here’s what we know.
— Pitt is saying to stay away if you can’t walk to the Pete.
— The Big East Network (ESPN Regional) canceled the telcast for the safety of their contract hires.
— The Big East is still making this game happen. After all, Seton Hall is already here and the refs have been paid for their appearance.
— If you are a student and not in the Oakland Zoo, you can go to the game free of charge as long as you remember your student ID.
— PittPanthers.com is offering a free video feed of the game (allegedly). Check under the “live events” tab to find the game.
— Streaming radio broadcast should be found at 970.
— Pitt really needs this game.
Ricky Jackson (referred to as the guy accidentally as “Randy Jackson” hahaha) and Russ Grimm both got in!
Dick Lebeau also got voted in. I guess putting Dirt Dawson in would’ve been too much ‘burgh for one class to handle!! Maybe he can go in with Bettis another year…. (Once again, sorry for the Steeler rant non-Steeler Pitt fans.)
Pitt up 7 at the half.
Of course, again, the fans who actually traveled to the Pete tonight are on their own.
Hail to PITT!
*If anyone has West Virginia tickets they want to sell, let me know and we can exchange info.
*Great to see my hometown boy Timmy Frye and Nick Rivers get some action
Seriously, I feel a lot better now.
But it was still some really good efforts from Brown, wannamaker, MCGhee and Dixon who were for the most part MIA the other night
Can’t look past Robert Morris on Monday. They’re 10-1 and at the top of the NEC. They’re small (nobody over 6’8″ or 225 lbs.) but they play just about everybody on their roster — a lot. Don’t get trapped heading into Friday’s West Virginia rematch.
PS – This isn’t a shot across Nas’ bow. He’s a great contributor to the team. But, as others have said, at this point, he may be better suited to the sixth man role. We’ve been struggling offensively and Brown is more polished at the moment. Robinson’s energy off the bench would be a great fit.
jermaine dixon’s defense on hazell was phenomenal. just stifling defense. hazell barely got the ball and when he did have an open shot (i think he had one) he rushed it and missed badly. his only points came on a lay-up in transition.
taylor did his best against pope, but herb is a crafty player and can finish a hook shot with both hands. i did like taylor’s effort today. he played really hard. richardson also had a nice game, all out every minute he is out there and got a nice dunk. mcghee was great today. pope couldn’t handle his size and strength.
great win. take care of business against wvu to set up a monster matchup on friday. i think pitt wins on friday.
Seems like Jamie went to Brown a lot sooner. Brown was certainly focused and into the flow. Sure hope that continues. Like Aiken said in his comment, if Brown would realize he’s usually the best athlete on the floor, he could be an All-American.
McGhee looked more agressive in going for the ball, and there seemed to be better effort in getting it to him. Sure he still had those moment like getting blocked several times by smaller guys, but if he has a double-double, I bet we win most of the time.
Nice to see Adams hit a 3 during a key run. When was the last time he even took a shot?
Was surprised to see Miller come in before Richardson, especially after JJ’s play vs the Hoopies. Miller didn’t hurt us, but Richardson sure looks like the best option to spell McGhee right now.
Like Omar said, Taylor played hard. He was just overmatched by a stronger, more experienced player in Pope. Once again though, Taylor was obvious in his support of his teammates during the timeouts. Don’t think there’s an attitude problem with him at all. Probably frustration that he’s not able to contribute more is my take.
Finally, kudos to Omar and the others who braved the weather to support the effort. It was a chilly 55 here in Florida and the wind really played havoc with my golf game yesterday. Sorry, had to rub that in. 🙂
I really liked what I saw from Taylor on the glass, he visibly would seek out his man when the ball went up, he moved toward him, would close out, and got physical with his box out. It was encouraging to see him throw his body around. During this stretch where Pope had a few buckets on him, McGhee spelled Taylor and had problems with Pope also on the ensuing possessions, so I’ll give credit to Pope who was feeling it during that stretch.
I can’t wait to see Dante play when he gets some mojo back.
Back to Bball, and what a total meltdown by Bobby Gonzales. To think, his name was actually mentioned as a successor to Ben Howland.
We really need some bench. Even if he is a total stiff, which I do not think to be the case, give Miller a chance. And Patterson. I just don’t get the redshirt theory. You only have 13 scholarsips. What good does the redshirt do?
Seriously, the fact that all he can do is shoot and that shot alone makes him possibly the best player in the NHL is saying something. I hate the guy, but as a Pens fan, when I see him winding up in the offensive zone I hold my breath.
Ok, enough about hockey.
It’s becoming apparent to me that Gilbert Brown is the best player on this Pitt squad. If he starts consistently dominating, watch out.
I just wish that Gibbs would turn back into the cold blooded killer he was a month ago. If that Gibbs comes back, I think Pitt’s a pretty good team.
And Dixon needs to stay healthy and practice as well. If he doesn’t twist his ankle in the SJU game, we probably beat USF.
Speaking of the Bulls, their streak was ended today. I think it’s clear that nobody is going to be sleeping on Dominique Jones anymore and it’s going to be harder for USF to sneak up on teams if that happens. He’s a very special player.
(BTW, go ahead and insert “Luke Harangody has been in college for 10 years” joke here. Dude’s seriously reaching Gerry Mcnamara levels in that department)
In Zanna’s case, he is very athletic but raw .. and it is evident that he hasn’t played a lot of basketball. Further, he is even less built (especially in the shoulders) than Taylor and don’t think he could have contributed in the BE this year. Hopefully a year of practice and in the weightroom will allow him to be a key reserve this next year .. I definitely see him as a promising key contributor in 2 years.
He is also most definitely the best (sometimes only) offense off the bench. I really think that’s why Coach Dixon starts Robinson. While we all agree Robinson plays better with limited minutes usually, there is no one else on this team right now who can come off the bench and generate offense like Gilbert. Many coaches keep an offensive star for the bench – remember Vinnie Johnson with Pistons, Michale Cooper with the Lakers. Start Gilbert and there is about 2-5 points a game from this bench.
Agreed that if we can get GB and Gibbs going, this team will again be tough to beat.
2) the Pens game was an easy one to predict — I knew the Pens would have trouble maintaining focus after the night they had. Ovechkin sure has the best shot in the game but in both of his 3rd period goals, there were defenders right in front of him that didn’t make plays
Two Panthers are in the final 5: Ricky Jackson and Russ Grimm. They could conceivably both get in.
What the hell does Dermontti Dawson need to do to get in damnit!!??? (sorry, for the pro-Steeler rant there)