Ever since Levance Fields graduated, the concern coming into any season has been who will be the point guard. Pitt hasn’t had a true point guard since. Woodall was thought to be the guy once upon a time. Then Epps. Heck, John Johnson hasn’t even taken part in team practices yet, and most have written him off as a point guard for Pitt.
I made this point at the end of last week, there just aren’t a lot of good, pure point guards in college right now. If there was, Ashton Gibbs wouldn’t be a lock to help run the point for Team USA in the upcoming World University Games.
Coach Jamie Dixon doesn’t deny that the issue of point guard is up in the air coming into the season.
Jamie Dixon will bring in arguably the most heralded recruit in his 11 years at Pitt — Khem Birch, a 6-8 shot-blocker from Canada and a McDonald’s All-American. That will bolster an already-loaded frontcourt that includes another former McDonald’s All-American in 6-9 junior Dante Taylor, as well as promising 6-9 sophomore Talib Zanna, who missed the final seven games last season with a broken thumb.
The biggest question will be at point guard, where Dixon will have to find a suitable replacement for the graduated Brad Wannamaker. Travon Woodall, a 5-11 junior, has come off the bench at that position in the past, and senior Ashton Gibbs has also spent time there, but there is no clear incumbent for the position. “Last year we had things in place. We knew where we stood,” Dixon said. “This year some things have to play out.”
For all his regular-season success at Pitt, Dixon has still not had that breakthrough run to the Final Four. The Panthers’ second-round loss to Butler might be the most memorable since it ended with that odd foul-and-free-throw sequence. A lot of coaches decline to watch video of such wrenching losses, but Dixon told me he did watch that game to learn what went wrong. “You learn by watching wins and losses,” he said. Dixon also said that game no more painful than any of the other postseason losses his team has suffered. “The more you win, the bigger the loss,” Dixon told me. “We’ll never be happy just to make the tournament. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”
Coach Dixon’s refusal to complain about the bitter losses. To try and put them in perspective and, (at least publicly) remain even-keeled about it both increases my appreciation of him and enrages me.
I appreciate him being a grown-up. Saying, that you have to deal with it. You learn from it. You hopefully get better. You keep striving. I like that and am glad that the coach of my school says rational things. But there’s the other part that goes all cap:
AHHHHH!!!!! AUGGH!!!! COME ON AND ADMIT YOU ARE PISSED!!!! ANOTHER GUT WRENCHING LOSS!!!! GET A LITTLE ANGRY!!! SWEAR. CURSE. PISS OUT OF THE 36TH FLOOR OF THE CATHEDRAL!!! ADMIT SOME LOSSES HURT MORE THAN OTHERS!!! SOMETHING!!! ANYTHING!!!!
Better now.
And getting back to the point guard issue. More specifically, Ashton Gibbs. There is no question that after getting the draft feedback, Gibbs is focusing on being more of a combo guard this season. Running point, looking to distribute more and even creating his own shot. All points that SPiNYC made in his summer school post on Gibbs. It was why Gibbs went to the Deron Williams Nike Skills Academy for point guards.
Basketball Prospectus, while ranking him the 16th best player in college basketball has the concerns.
It’s not a great sign for the Big East that Gibbs is my pick for preseason conference Player of the Year. There’s not a strong argument for anyone but Gibbs as the best returning shooter in the country, though John Jenkins and Kevin Foster should probably at least be mentioned. That said, Gibbs isn’t a great defender, doesn’t have much of a slasher game, and wants to use this year to demonstrate to NBA scouts that he can be a true point guard. Talib Zanna, Dante Taylor, J.J. Moore, and Nasir Robinson may be a good enough surrounding cast for Gibbs to make Pitt a tough team again in a weaker Big East. That is a team, though, that needs Gibbs to be both a featured scorer and a successful distributor. If he can adjust to getting open shots with Moore and Robinson getting him the ball (instead of a great passer like Brad Wanamaker), he could have an incredible season. But I still have unanswered questions.
It becomes an important question. While there is no doubt that Gibbs being a more well-rounded guard that can attack the basket and distribute more effectively is vital for his future, does it help Pitt? Pitt’s offensive efficiency, in no small part, has been directly related to Gibbs’ scoring (Insider subs).
His transition to a complete guard is cause for concern, though, considering Gibbs has fed primarily off the dishes and kickouts he’ll now be partly responsible for making.
According to Synergy Sports, more than half of Gibbs’ plays last season were spot-ups or screens, and nearly 50 percent of his jumpers were of the catch-and-shoot variety. In other words, Gibbs wasn’t generating a ton of points for himself or for others on his own. So Big East teams would be foolish not to double every time he crosses half court, meaning those reserves and blue-chip recruits Dixon keeps stocked better be ready to produce.
That kind of efficiency from Gibbs is why Pitt’s 3-point efficiency was 12th nationally — Gibbs was 102-208 on 3s while the rest of the team was 100-304. Gibbs made 49% of Pitt’s 3s, while attempting 40.6% of the total 3PA. Can that happen without Wanamaker being the distributor and with the younger players trying to set screens for him?
Gibbs has one of the quickest releases from when he catches the ball. He will need to show he can do that off of a dribble with a man guarding him. Just typing all of that out really strikes me of just how much will be asked of and expected of Gibbs. I don’t see how he shoots 49% on 3s this year. Especially when you realize that he shot 43.9% on 2-point baskets (68-155).
As much as I expect Dante Taylor to take a big step forward this year. As much as Nas will still be his consistent, gritty self. As much as Birch will have an immediate impact inside. To give them room to work inside, the defenses need to fear more than just Gibbs on the perimeter. They need to know that someone else will be able to hit a jumper or get to the rim.
The bigger and most important issue will be the guard and wing players. Can a solid and consistent rotation be found amongst Moore, Patterson, Woodall, Wright, Epps, Johnson & Johnson? If yes, the pressure comes off of Gibbs a bit as he can trust his guards to move the ball and make shots. If no, then Gibbs will face pressure and double teams without fail everytime he even glimpses at the ball, while defenses will stay at home on the frontcourt.
Anyone who writes off on John Johnson is making a huge mistake.
He is tough, gritty, competitive and has speed to burn. He also has a ton of basketball skill. He can drive, finish at the rim and shoot, both long/mid range. He showed some ability to be a decent on ball defender (quick and tenacious).
It remains to be seen if he can fit his game into what the Pitt coaches need quickly enough to make an impact this season. But it is POSSIBLE that he’ll play significant minutes coming off the bench this year. And if he does, Pitt will be much better off.
While it may not be this year, his future at Pitt is certainly bright.
This still requires the point guard to feed the low post at the right time … but at least, for the first time in a while, our offense is based on in-and-out passing and not entirely on dribble penetration (certainly not one of Gibbs’ strengths) or perimeter passing.
Woodall has shown an ability to penetrate but has also has made many bad decisions including throwing up some prayers. It remains to be seen how much Epps and J Johnson will able to contribute.
Long story short .. I can see an offense this year with much more variation than in recent years .. that should get better as the year goes along when the players get more in sync.
Wannamaker was never the PG, but he ran the offense and is getting NBA looks at PG. I think Ashton should be able to demonstrate his abilities as a distributor and ball handler even with Travon in the game.
The way I see it, Ashton demanding a double team means that Pitt is winning big. If a team feels the need to double-team a 6’2″ spot up shooter with “limited athletic ability” then that team is in trouble.
This year will be interesting as far as who gets minutes and where. Always a good problem when you have too many quality players. Can’t wait for the season.
I personally don’t expect a giant leap forward. He is somewhat limited from a size, speed, skill perspective. Another year in the program won’t fix those issues. BUT If he can show an incremental (not giant) improvement in his decision making, shooting and on-ball defense then Pitt will be much better off. He is most likely a starter this year, for Pitt to get where they SHOULD, they’ll need him to be better.
On the other hand, yu may recall that Pitt did very well when Gibbs was hurt and Travon started at PG.
(Dixon does not play freshman). What if Dixon had played Gibbs his freshman year perhaps losing 4 to 5 more although I do not believe they would have lost any more games and by March Gibbs coming of a pick my Blair at the top of the key would have been double poision – release to stop Gibbs a deadly shooter or allow Blair to roll free to the basket that would be scary. Fields could not defend and certainly he was aliability on offense. In my opinion despite Fields not because of him they were one man away from a national championship.
I think that you might be crazy. Who is Anderson? I think you mean Jermaine Dixon. Jermaine dribbled into that double-team all by himself and then compounded the problem by fouling. Levance Fields did go to the line and connect on 2 free throws to tie the game a few minutes later. Levance was the most clutch player at Pitt in the last 10 years. He had a great ability to penetrate and finish. He was not afraid of taking and making a big shot. He never gave up (two broken feet and surgeries in 10 months) and left everything on the court. He was not a good defender. That is true, but he was an amazing player at Pitt.
Ashton Gibbs did play in the NCAA tournament. He played important minutes against Oklahoma State in the second round. He played in the Villanova game and missed a wide open three. He is not a good defender by any stretch and should not have played more minutes than Levance. Period. Pitt lost against Villanova because of terrible defense as a team and a heroic effort at the free-throw line by the opponent.
I still can’t believe Pitt lost to Butler last season. I just rewatched the game on CBSSports on Sunday. A few terrible defensive possessions in the first half doomed the Panthers. Shelvin Mack was left open for 5 deep threes in the first half. Close out on a couple of those and Pitt wins the game going away. Gilbert Brown was simply awesome in that game. He really came to play. Nasir was having a fantastic game as well.
I hope Coach Dixon extends the perimeter defense. If Pitt can play more aggressive defense on the perimeter, then I believe the team wins a few more games in March.
Our squad this year does not have to be etched in stone early, there seems to be many potential contributors. They can have fun trying out different combos the first 20 or so games. And they can run…run…RUN.
I don’t care who passed Jermaine Dixon the ball. He unnecessarily dribbled into a double team and then gave up a three point play. On the press, a player is taught to swing the ball from side to side to make the defense move. That is what Levance did. Jermaine did not need to dribble into the double team. He didn’t need to dribble. He should have passed the ball back to Levance, as the team had been doing all game.
I don’t need to check the stats. Levance was a mid-30% three point shooter. So what? He did a lot of other things well, played through injuries, led Pitt (and he was the heart and soul of that team) to it’s deepest finish in the NCAA tournament. He was an awesome player at Pitt.
Don’t forget to mention his “lucky” shot and steal against Xavier either. Levance was the man.
They’re either midgets or they can’t play D. Dixon’s the only exception and that seemed like more of a JUCO fluke; he was strong and played serious D.
You could extend a defense with Gibbs and Woodall and the opposing team might not even notice.
At least John Johnson looks like he’s going to play hard on D and Wright has some size and athletic ability, if not much else………….but Dixon historically just hasn’t recruited the type of guards who could put any pressure on anybody.
Here’s a thought:
Assume Gibbs, Woodall, Patterson, Robinson and Taylor start (ugh). That would leave J. Johnson, Wright, Moore, Zanna (Birch) and Gilbert (Birch) as the second unit. That second unit is the fastest, most athletic five (six) Pitt has EVER put on the court at the same time and that’s not even debatable.
Why not turn that second team loose? Have them press all over the court and run, run, run. Even if the guys in the backcourt get beat, you have at least two big time erasers (shot blockers) to clean up any messes.
Talk about tough to prepare for…what a change of pace. The first unit plays “pitt ball”. And then at the five minute mark, wholesale substitutions, and all hell breaks loose. That would be brutal on other big east coaches, very tough to prepare for.
It’ll never happen, but it would be fun wouldn’t it?
Give me some credit, SPinNYC – at least I tried to add a new twist to a tired old theme – go with a platoon system and press with the second unit.
I missed the media conspiracy in the above, but maybe the media removed it in order to suppress dissent. You can’t be too paranoid.
Pitt basketball usually gets the criticism that we are “blue collar”, this sure would change that. I’m all for it. Hope Jamie reads these blogs.