Not going to be (or at least shouldn’t be) a lot on basketball this week. Should be a liveblog tomorrow for the Robert Morris game (right, Luke?), but then focus on football and the Backyard Brawl. Hopefully tonight I can get some of my thoughts from the two games posted.
Lots of stories from the Friday event as you would expect. Travon Woodall was named to the all-2K Tournament team. Woodall had a solid performance in both games. While he missed that crucial free throw at the end, he more than made up for it by showing defensive smarts on Corey Joseph.
“He’s a freshman, so I was trying to get him out of control a little bit,” Woodall said. “At the end of the game, I kind of had an idea that he would try to take the shot because he hadn’t gotten (much), so I just tried to get up in there and bother him.”
Now keep in mind that Joseph isn’t just a random freshman forced to start. Joseph was one of the top guard recruits in the country. High basketball IQ (allegedly) and very likely will be jumping to the NBA before is eligibility is up. Pitt shut him down all game and then in the end, Woodall stayed with him and forced him to curl away from the basket rather than letting him drive. He stayed between him and the basket the entire time. Joseph was not prepared to look for anyone else by that point and hoisted a poor, poor shot.
Why? Becuase he has learned and listened to what his coaches told him about the player and he knew the situation.
“I knew since I missed the shot, I couldn’t just hang my head,” said Woodall, who finished with seven points and five assists. “I said I have to stand here, make this defensive stop and give my team the win.”
“Coach kept telling me that he wanted to drive left,” continued Woodall about the play. “At that moment, I saw somebody on the right side, so I knew he wanted to take me one-on-one and try to get the layup. He didn’t have a chance to get into a groove, so I just took him and tried to force him into a bad shot.”
Then there was the Tournament MVP — Ashton Gibbs. Gibbs had the monster second-half that gave Pitt the win.
Then Gibbs knocked down a 3-pointer of his own. Followed by a couple free throws … followed by a jumper … followed by another 3. In a span of 119 seconds, interrupted by two Texas free throws, Gibbs rattled off 10 Pittsburgh points.
“I just knew that it was time,” Gibbs said. “It was time to step up.”
The Panthers now led 49-40 — but the Longhorns had another run left in them. Texas narrowed the margin to a single point once more, 63-62. Pittsburgh had possession, with less than 90 seconds left.
Take a guess who took the shot — and buried it.
He stepped up and carried the team when it needed him on offense. But what got most media folks who hung around for the postgame honors was what Gibbs did then.
After Ashton Gibbs was named Most Valuable Player of the Coaches vs. Cancer event at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, he motioned for his entire team to join him at midcourt.
Officials from the Gazelle Group wouldn’t let his fellow Panthers come with him to receive the award, but Gibbs’ effort spoke volumes.
“It’s a team game,” the junior guard from Scotch Plains, N.J. said after scoring 19 of his team-high 24 points in the second half as No. 5 Pitt downed Texas, 68-66, in the championship game.
“I wouldn’t have done it without my teammates. They screened for me and they looked for me in open spots. They got me the ball. It’s a team game. I’m a team player first and then individual awards come with it.”
To say he does Pitt fans, students and alum proud is putting it mildly.
Pitt’s inside game is still something of a question mark. Zanna’s performance against Maryland was encouraging. And I thought Dante Taylor looks a lot better than he did last year. He still has a tendency to be a little weak going up for close scores. Choosing to shoot too low and making it easy to block rather than going stronger. But his footwork is better, especially on defense. Some thought the inside for Pitt is better than expected, while others see it as a continuing concern.
Despite winning with 79 points on Thursday, since Pitt scored 68 and held a Longhorn team that wants to run and gun in check, the typical “blue-collar” grinding defense, beat-em-up Pitt stereotype was in force. Make no mistake, Pitt can and will play a tough defense, but this team has a lot more offense and ability to run than in the past. The fact that Pitt can alter its style and tempo accordingly to make it harder on a team — like Texas is just another one of this team’s strengths.
Jason King at Yahoo! nails it.
Still, each time Pittsburgh defeats teams stocked with bigger, faster, more athletic players who are months away from becoming future millionaires, Dixon hears the same comment.
The Panthers, people like to say, win ugly. Dixon smiled when the refrain surfaced again.
“I guess that’s better than losing pretty,” he said, and in some ways it was hard to tell if Dixon was amused or annoyed.
“Offensively, we’re one of the most efficient teams in the country year in and year out,” he said. “We outrebound people. We don’t turn it over. To me, those are pretty good stats. I don’t know what adjective you want to use.
“All I know is that we have good kids that play hard and believe in each other. That’s what helps you win.”
Dixon’s philosophy couldn’t have rung any truer in the Garden, when Texas did everything it could to overtake Pittsburgh’s 10-point second-half lead. Three times during the final six minutes, the Longhorns pulled within a possession of Pittsburgh – only to see Dixon’s squad answer with a clutch shot on the other end.
These rest are all well worth reading for the warm glow of team. All are strong on the team concept of Pitt along with the greater than the sum of their parts stuff.
Whether it is the fact that this team is well-disciplined and low-ego:
Yet, a team with one likely surefire NBA guy just came out on top over a Texas club that could feature a trio of first-round picks.
“They understand their roles,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said of Pittsburgh. “And they play hard.”
Those are a pair of compliments that rank about as high as you’ll get via an opposing coach.
They defend, screen for their teammates and don’t have much flash or sizzle.
In a day and age where style usually wins out over substance, Dixon’s somehow managed to flip that with his players.
Dana O’Neil at ESPN.com has the piece that really pushes that storyline.
Yet when Dixon went out to evaluate them, he wasn’t merely measuring their vertical leap and checking out their crossovers; he was looking for guys willing to check their egos at the door, searching for a kid who might have been a high school phenom but was content to average 12 in his college career.
In other words, these are guys just like him.
Dixon is different from many of his peers. He is not a preening promoter yearning for the spotlight. He wants to coach, not shill, sell, Tweet or boast.
And he’s not about to let his players act any differently.
“He gets his point across,” Gibbs said. “He yells. Oh yeah, he yells. If you don’t play defense and rebound, you don’t play. It’s pretty simple.”
Dixon, though, is hardly a modern-day Bob Knight. Demanding? Yes. But he’s not interested in breaking his player’s will. Rather he gets players with the right kind of will to begin with.
That was a lesson J.J. Moore had reinforced against Texas. He was in for barely a minute late in the first half, and that was it. Why? Because right after he got in, he tried to do it all himself on offense. He got the ball and tried to force a wild shot. He never even looked around for open teammates. He was trying to show he should be out there. Instead, he showed why he wouldn’t return. Coach Dixon did it with plenty of other freshmen who didn’t think of the team. Whether it was Keith Benjamin, Woodall and now Moore. Moore was more interested in trying to score by himself than in the team. It was a mistake, and I’m sure Moore will learn and be better from it.
By the way, did anyone see how Jaime Dixon expressed no emotion after his team won. What a jerk-off, shouldn’t he be proud of his kids??
Just Kidding!
Woodall played a great tournament, but he needs to hit that free-throw. He also needs to pass more, dribble less. If he continues to play smart basketball, then Pitt will be a much better team.
Nasir Robinson and Talib Zanna are a great duo at the 4. Two diverse players with completely different bodies and playing styles. Zanna is athletic, long, and tall. He gets off the floor for rebounds and put-backs. Robinson is under-sized, sneaky athletic, and plays position rebounding and defense. Robinson has an off the dribble game that is helpful at the 4. These two complement each other very well. Jamie Dixon now has the luxury of playing the match-up at the 4.
Wanny has been steady. He needs to finish those drives and play under control. His defense has been great this year. He is having a very nice start to the season.
Taylor has really played well the last few games. I like what I see out of him. He is an elite offensive rebounder. Needs to finish more often, but he has certainly improved. McGhee has been a great player on one end and iffy on the other. He should get better on offense.
Patterson is struggling mightily on defense. He is struggling so much that Dixon is having trouble keeping him in the game. At least that was the case against Texas. Moore hasn’t played much against the higher level teams. Hopefully Jamie sticks with him. Freshman tend to get much better as the season progresses and can help win a game in March.
Great start to the year. Pitt basketball is a blast. MSG was awesome on Friday. If you haven’t already, try to make a trip up to the garden for a game. It is a lot of fun.
Who’s our surefire NBA guy? Taylor? Zanna? Not Brown or Wanamaker, right??
I think Pitt has to fix two things to move forward in the dance this year. We must have a post presence on offense and start running plays to and for our centers….Woodall must improve his offense. He is the single most critical player against the tough guard oriented teams we play…Nova, Marq.etc.and frees Gibbs at the 2 to shoot. Think his defense has improved massively. Needs to make his FT’s obviously.
I love this team and this coach. Gil Brown aside, he cannot play any worse. Love Zanna.
There were a lot of very tired legs agains Texas.
Playing these tough teams early is a lot better than going 16-0 against patsies. Cannot wait for Bobby Mo!
Also, I think our guards are pretty must what they are — which is fine and good. Brown, Wannamaker and Gibbs are at their ceiling which is a decent ceiling. Woodall’s play may get more consistent, but I think we know what his ceiling is (again a decent ceiling). The X factor, in my mind, is how are Zanna & Taylor going to develop over the year. They’re both showing promise and I don’t think anyone knows what their ceiling is but however much improvement they make I think is going to translate into how far we go in the tournament.
Great, solid wins. Some non-conf warm ups and I think we’re ready for Big East play.
On another subject: Did anyone notice that they were playing the hedge differently, particularly when Taylor was in there? It looked like they were rotating the PF over on Thompson when he rolled off the high ball screen instead of having Taylor chase him back. Not sure if that was to compensate for Taylor’s struggles on that or to compensate for Thompson’s quickness, but I don’t recall seeing that before.
I look forward to a game where the halftime analysis won’t inlcude all the easy shots that were missed.
It seems that tat Dixon’s biggest problem may be trying to keep everyone happy .. but then again, apparently he is not in the position to try to talk anyone out of leaving.
TampaT: I think you’re right. Jamie has to see that it is easier for Gibbs to get shots when both Wanny and Tray are on the floor.
Now if we can only get Mr. Brown going. He has had a tough start to the year. Odd considering this is his 12th year. I’m sure he will come around and have a few big game this season. Hopefully they are in march or April.
Every single media guide since he’s been at Pitt has him listed as “an athletically gifted and talented” forward.
Yet he really isn’t that quick, his long strides notwithstanding.
And have you ever seen him drive to the left? He might start left, but quickly switches to the right. Defenders will overplay him right.
Now I love Gilbert’s enthusiasm and effort, don’t get me wrong. But maybe we’re expecting too much from him.
I won’t argue his offensive game, because I think the bad outwieghs the good….but you can’t argue with the stats, the drive kicks for open 3s for our guards, or his rebounding (which I think is very good). His erratic drives, turnovers, and poor decisions in key situations are simply mindnumbing for a senior that has played this long.
In one sequence against Maryland, he gave up a layup to a better guard (off the dribble), turned the ball over on a charge, fell asleep on his man back door for an easy jam, and threw a pass that was intercepted for an easy layup.
We were up 7 at the time and the lead evaporated to 3 in less than 1 minute.
I’m not saying the kid is garbage, so hold off on the Wanny loving…just simply, his play has not been excellent in my opinion…especially against tournament teams on away or neutral courts.
Really looking forward to how this season unfolds.
The Maryland game was Wanny’s worst of the year. He still ended with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. He was in foul trouble and never got into the flow.
I’m not sure, I think Wanny is the best player on the team and has been for 2 years now. He can get to the rim on anybody he wants, rebounds like a forward, passes the ball, plays solid defense, can start, run and finish a fast break, and is a great leader. Honestly, I think Wanny is one of the most underrated players that we have had in the last 10 years. Great kid that has improved every year and made some big plays to win games. I am a huge fan of #22.
But, you are correct. He did not have a good tourney. I think it’s like steve said, you have to take the bad with the good with each of these kids, but overall there’s enough good to offset the bad. It will all come down to Jamie creating the best match-ups.
I have to wonder if Birch coming in early means we may actually get to see him for 2 years instead of 1. With Birch, Taylor and Zanna, Pitt may not have a true center, but three 6’9″ athletic forwards could be very interesting.
but, as my point to Omar was simply that I’m not ready to say he had an excellent tournament…
Wanny will make some key plays this year that will make me sing his praises, I’m sure of that. But his bad plays seem to happen against big time competition during critical points in the game.
I was just hoping that this year he would have that “calming effect” on the court when the team has a lead. That effect requires smart decisions in key situations. I see that more and more with Gibbs (at the line) and Nasir (in the paint).