Terps-Panthers

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Terps-Panthers

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3rd time is the charm. Use this or the first one.

Blue and gold socks: check. Blue and gold pinstripe suit: check. Blue and gold boxers: check. Blue shirt: check. Pitt tie: check. Telling the Judge at the end of my appearance today: Thank you, your Honor, and Let’s go Pitt! Check.

MSG once again, here we go…

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THIS ONE IS RIGHT

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bryan and Chas Rich, Chas Rich. Chas Rich said: Open Thread for the Maryland-Pitt game at MSG is live. link to bit.ly […]

Not a comfortable game but just what the doctor ordered IMO. We won with grit, rebounding and a team effort. Wanamaker and Gibbs aren’t the type of players to dominate every night. Good win in all, I think Maryland might make noise in the ACC if they get guard play.

Illinois-Texas is tied 45-45 at the half right now. Tomorrow will be fun.

I think it was a nice win, but I disagree that Maryland makes noise in the ACC. That is not a very good team. No shooting, not a lot of athleticism. They play hard, and work on defense, but they are not very good. Duke, Carolina and Va Tech are all WAY better than them.

Good win. Especially, we didn’t play that well and still won by 9. Suprisingly, Brown and Wannemaker made a couple flubs. C’mon boys, you’re the leaders. No biggie, I’ll take it.

A win is a win. The best thing about this team is their confidence and ability to gut it out. I did notice a few disturbing trends that I hope don’t continue:

Ashton Gibbs really struggled to defend the ball and the dribble drive. He couldn’t (or didn’t) stay in front of his man.

Gilbert Brown continues to make STUPID plays. He hasn’t been the lock down defender that Jamie wants.

Gary McGhee’s offense hasn’t developed as much as many of us thought (hoped) it would. Pitt is going to need some inside scoring or at least the threat of inside scoring to keep teams honest.

Dante Taylor still looks absolutely clueless when he tries to defend the high ball screen with the hedge.

This team is going to be a lot better in March and these problems are not insurmountable. On the positive side:

Talib Zanna looks like the real deal. He upgrades what was arguably the weakest position for Pitt last year, power forward.

Travon Woodall looks to be improved and will provide pitt a spark off the bench.

Depth, depth, depth….Pitt has a ton of answers to whatever the game situation dictates.

Looking forward to tonight!!!!

I really did expect a little more from McGhee, then again, there is absolutely no effort to get him the ball in the post, or Taylor for that matter. Only so much he can do with so few touches. Developing an interior presence is going to be very important.

Woodall, like Wannamaker, is always good for a few really dumb mistakes each game, and Brown also has caught that disease. Brown continues to perplex. His offensive repertoire is just so limited. I don’t know if that’s a confidence thing or just the state of his game.

Good assessments, Boubacar Aw and Carmen.

Williams is a good tactician and he played to Pitt’s weaknesses on both ends, so the game will provide a lot of lessons to ready the team for BE play.

A couple of things not mentioned:

Good to see Nas back so soon. He brought some energy at an important stretch, and I like him coming off of the bench as someone suggested earlier. I don’t see how you can sit Zanna. Like I said after the RI game, he could develop into a PTP and last night confirmed that.

Agree that they somehow need to develop some low post offense. Last night certainly proved that. Gary still looks awkward in the half-court offense, so I don’t blame the other players for not feeding him inside. They do seem to have some confidence in Taylor based on several attempts to get him the ball. He just needs to finish strong instead of trying to be fancy; more like that put-back slam off of Gibbs’ miss. If he has that same attitude off the dribble, he’ll be fine. On D, he needs to anticipate better on the hedge instead of going right at the opponent. Maybe he needs to take a geometry class. 🙂

Once again, Jamie found a way to take the opponent’s best player out of the game. You have to love the way he game plans.

Finally, I do like the way these guys can clamp down when they have to. They know how to finish a half and start the second half strong. That will pay dividends throughout the season. Many teams would have been buried after Pitt’s 21-4 run, but Maryland was gritty, a reflection of their coach. So again, it was a good teaching experience.

Looking forward to claiming a championship in the Garden tonight. It’s been a while since that happened.

Overall it was an awful game that at least we won… it was kind of weird that we won cause the other team couldn’t shoot free throws. On the positive side I thought Zanna and Taylor showed some promise inside. Taylor still looks bad sometimes but you can see his potential. Those two down low give us more athleticism inside than we may have ever had and IF Taylor can realize some of his enormous potential the two of them COULD form a formidable front line for the next couple of years. Also I’d like to personally thank Jamie and boys for this win since I live in MD and watched it with 6 MD grads. Had we lost I might not have been able to leave my house for a few days

A win is a win, Brown is a senior right?

Last night he made a few really really bad plays, the technical foul and his turnover in the last minute of the game, plus he has still not shown his potential and I hope it comes soon!

Zanna has tons of potential and Gary is Gary, what you see is what you get, space-eater, rebounder but hands of stone.

Texas should be an interesting match up, Peteunit, I get to watch the game with a few UT grads I hope we win because I took a beating last year!

Good win, but more necessary than anything else. I think Maryland is middle-of-the-pack in the ACC, so a loss would have been considered a bad one down the road.

Obviously love what Zanna did tonight, but curious to see what roles Patterson and Moore will play.

I’m convinced Woodall and Taylor are the keys to this team. You know what you’re getting from Gibbs, Wanamaker, and McGhee, to their credit….and Gil will continue to frustrate us all year….but if Woodall can limit the turnovers, and Taylor can get anything going offensively, this team has a real chance. Those two are difference between Sweet 16 and Final Four.

The game wasn’t pretty but I don’t know how much I would read into that. To me, it seemed like both teams needed a while to adjust to finally playing another school from a big-time conference. The speed of the game, the caliber of athletes you’re going up against, the venue/nerves — that takes a little while to adjust to early in the season and I think both teams showed that. But overall, I was pleased with how Pitt finished. What we did learn from last night is that we could win with Gibbs (6 turnovers), Wannamaker (foul trouble), and Gilbert (technical/inconsistent as usual) having sub-par games. I think it’s pretty safe to say that had this scenario took place last season we would have lost this game. As for McGhee, it’s becoming evident his ceiling has been reached, but as long he doesn’t regress then he’s still a vital piece. I think we all know what we have in McGhee, Brown, Gibbs, Robinson and Wannamaker. The key to this season will be how much Zanna, Taylor and Woodall continue to emerge/develop. To me, those three are the key and the early results look promising. And what this team lacks in big-time scorers it can make up for in depth. Pitt may not have a guy that can drop 30, but they’ll keep coming at you in waves, and before you know it six players have scored in double figures. I know it’s early, but this squad has me excited (perhaps more than a grown, 35-year-old man should be)……..

Great assessment from Boubacar Aw, and great posting name as well.

Nice, hard-fought win. I agree that it was important to beat what I think is a well-coached, middle-of-the-pack ACC team. Give Maryland credit, they played hard, pressured the ball and took Gibbs, and to an extent, Wannamaker (perhaps more due to foul trouble), out of their games. Zanna obviously stepped up and played big. A lot of minutes for Woodall which gives me the impression Dixon has plenty of confidence in him. I was a little surprised not to see Moore in the game more. McGhee is an important piece and does some things well but he has not improved his game on the offensive end. Quick recovery from Nas and although his minutes might not be where they were last year, he will still thrive in his role as an energry guy who could care less how he looks as long as he helps the team – I really like that about him. Taylor is getting some confidence but still gets lost on defense at times. I think he will continue to improve and just get better and better. I still can’t figure Patterson’s game out but he makes plays and hit a big three at the end of the first half. All-in-all a very promising team and I’m looking forward to a tough matchup tonight!

Was at the game last night…sloppy play and kind of an oddly officiated game. I don’t feel like one team really had any advantage with the refs, but just too many foul calls.

Anyone else at the game have an impression of the Maryland fans? I was blown away by how terribly obnoxious they were. Winning that game was only made sweeter by the fact that it shut up the crowd of Maryland jackasses I was surrounded by.

Texas is big and athletic, but I think we should be able to handle them. Their freshman, Tristan Thompson, is a really tough player on the inside, but I think our bigs are much more athletic than the guys Illinois threw at them.

Are Pitt fans meeting up anywhere before the game tonight?

I think that it is pretty clear this team is not going to be drawing up any plays for McGhee. They have not made an effort all year move the ball inside to McGhee. This team is driving the ball inside vice passing the ball inside. When it comes down to it, I’d rather have Gibbs, Wannamker, Brown, Woodall, Zanna, etc. shooting the ball than McGhee. Let McGhee be the space eater and great defender his is. He’ll get his shots, we just don’t need to “create” scoring opportunities for him.

Nice win for Pitt. Not a great non-con schedule, therefore this was a necessary win for seeding purposes. I liked the play from the post players and woodall. Gibbs was terrible defensively, just awful. He got beat off the dribble all night. I like him as a player, but he is not good enough athletically to dominate against high major talent. If he is on offensively, then he can be helpful. However, he usually gives everything back on the defensive end. If he is off on offense , then he is a minus player that takes a lot of shots and hurts the team on defense. Woodall should get more pt against athletic teams. Against high major athletes wood all at the 1, wanna maker at the 2, and brown at the 3 is the best line-up.

Thoughts?

I don’t disagree Omar, but Gibbs’ composure on offense is helpful especially when Travon gets a little bit sloppy. Even if Gibbs is off on offense he still puts pressure on the defense.

Also, he may hurt us on the defensive end of the floor but is head and shoulders above Levance Fields and we survived with him…

So early in the season, this is another good win for Pitt. Whether they or in an up or down cycle, it is still Maryland and the name recognition is there. 4-0 with 2 good opponents thrown in there is terrific for building the teams confidence and structure early on. They will be tested again against Texas. Get a win there also and the team should be ready for Dec.

Gibbs, et al will start putting nights together where they all produce. I like seeing the bench where guys are stepping in an producing with solid minutes.

Hail to Pitt!

I agree we do not need to create scoring opportunities for McGhee. However, being able to dump the ball into the post with McGhee’s back to the basket to set up plays for our playmakers would be helpful. It also takes some pressure off the guards when the opposing team applies constant defensive pressure. I played guard (not claiming to have played big-time, D-1 basketball) and it is nice to have a big guy who can atleast keep a defender on his back in order to execute an entry pass so that the other players can run off the ball and create space. With that said, I like McGhee and what he brings to the table.

I’ll take a win. I don’t think the low post scoring option is in the cards for this team. Neither McGhee nor Taylor has any low post moves currently and we just have to hope that Taylor develops some over the next couple years. Let’s just hope these two can combine for 15 a game from dimes and second-chance points.

I just wish this team had a PG so we didn’t have to watch Gibbs dribble around. He’d be so tough if all he had to do was come off screens and score. He could be the set-shot version of Ray Allen.

It is different having Zanna’s size in there. Another long body means a lot and he runs like a deer. Love it, plus it eliminates the whole controversy about Taylor playing forward.

I rarely enjoy Robert Montgomery Knight, but did appreciate his comments about Pitt dribbling too much and not cutting enough. Sure, there were some cutters missed but there were plenty of times when players didn’t cut to the ball or to the hoop.

Looking forward to tonight………..Gibbs can sag off the Turkish PG and help out.

I agree with TJ, Omar. You have to roll the dice with Gibbs on D, otherwise you lose any real outside threat and a guy who knows when to take a clutch shot. I think when he’s challenged defensively, it throws off his offensive game, so Jamie needs to keep rotating to create the best matchups. I think that’s what he tried to do last night.

Pitt is a scrappy team and you saw a scrappy win…this is what this team has been and will be under dixon…he wants defense and rebounds,and good shots. never does he say we want to score 95 a game and look like a machine….he does not concentrate his coaching on that because he knows no matter what if he has defense and rebounding he will always have a chance to win every game…dont compare this team to the flash of other teams….quit worrying about style points and just add up the wins….having said that offensively our guards will be back on track tonight…should face a different style of defense…also pitt in my opinion was a jacked up last night, alot of excitement…nerves will be calmer tonight, and our team should be less tired than the team that went to overtime late last night.

Once again, Jamie builds the brand against BCS caliber and rival conference (in basketball), at MSG, on ESPN2… for that, I am happy and not at all surprised!

I was very happy with Gary yesterday. He is turning into a very good defender in the low post. He makes equal (or better) competitors at the position work for every shot. One frustration foul on a putback dunk, but for the most part, he made the opponent work very hard, take a less than desirable shot (position wise), and earn every point they got.

I do think, however, if Gary is going to be an all-BE defender (as JD hopes)…he needs to start BLOCKING some of the shots coming his way and leading on the defensive rebounding side of the equation.

Our much hearlded guards fizzled big time last night. Gibbs was clearly outhustled, outplayed, and outsized most of the game. I kept waiting for the AG of 2009 that would get to the line early to set the stage for the rest of the game. At times, he channeled his internal Carl Krauser..

Wannamaker was flat out horrible last night. In one 2 mintue sequence, he:

1) Got beat off the dribble and WATCHED the man score with no effort
2) Drove the length of the court and got called for charging
3) Ran back and got burned back door while sleeping on his man
4) Threw a pass from baseline to top of the key, picked off for a turnover, and returned back for a layup by Maryland

I’ve given up on Brown at this point as a 5th year Senior. He will make his blunders– and I attribute those to effort and lack of playing time (due to injury, suspension, and effort).

But Wannamaker has had ample amount of playing time and hand holding…enough with the stupid play at critical moments of the game!!!!! WTF?

I attribute Wanny’s poor play in the second half last night to spending so much time on the pine with foul trouble. There was no groove or fluidity to the game to begin with and I think sitting there, stewing, threw him totally off of his game. I predict he’ll be huge tonight, along with Zanna again.

Even if McGhee or Taylor are not huge offensive threats, at least getting them some balls in the post forces their man to play D, allows the perimeter to open a little bit and, you never know, one or both of them might make a bucket or two, get on a roll, and contribute some real O or, at the very least, draw more fouls on the opponents’ big men. I see little to no downside to getting just a few more balls into the post.

I attribute Wanny’s poor performance in the second half to his refusal to make adjustments and his “dinosaur” like offensive strategy, and could he blitz just one time…Oh sorry, I had some flashback posting come out when I saw the word “Wanny”!…Omar/Hugh…I know most of us that visit here often respect your depth of knowlege on Pitt BB, so I’m glad you both commented on Gibbs at PG…I don’t think we can go into the BE sechdule with Gibbs at the point. He just looks like he struggles with the position…There are plenty of minutes to go around between Woodall, Wannamaker, and Gibbs to keep them all happy. I would just prefer to see Woodall play a majority of minutes per game at the point.