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November 23, 2011

Brief Basketball Media Round-Up

Filed under: Basketball,Media — Chas @ 2:44 pm

I’ll get to the Backyard Brawl I swear. Honestly, though, there isn’t much at the moment. Everyone seems to be low-key. I think both sides are doing anything and everything to avoid the bulletin board. In the meantime, some stories from the game last night and a couple others I’ve been meaning to link.

Game recaps focus on the outstanding block by Travon Woodall in the final minute. No one knew Woodall could sky like that. Last year, I recall stories where Ashton Gibbs claimed he could dunk. Still haven’t seen it. After what Woodall did yesterday, I believe Woodall can.

And of course, there was the attention to the turnovers.

La Salle, which had averaged 80 points in its first three games, shot 43 percent and had a hard time scoring against Pitt’s half-court defense. The reason the Explorers were in the game until the final minute was Pitt’s poor offensive execution and turnovers.

The execution had its problems. There was a large stretch starting at about the mid-point of the first half until under 2 minutes in the half, where Pitt only scored 3 points. In that stretch, Pitt had 4 turnovers and shot a dismal 1-8.

The move of Birch to Center seems like a full switch at this point. As Ray Fittipaldo points out, this will give Birch more minutes and should minimize the time Zanna is out there.

Dixon likes the combination of Birch and starter Dante Taylor at center and Nasir Robinson and Talib Zanna at power forward.

Taylor had his best game of the season with 11 points and six rebounds. Robinson had 17 points and six boards. And although Zanna continues to struggle, he won’t have to play major minutes with Robinson as the starter and mainstay there.

Obviously there will be games where Robinson has foul troubles. In those games, I expect Taylor or Birch to slide over to the Four to pick up some of the minutes. The other reason why this switch is better for Birch is that playing center in Coach Dixon’s system is easier than playing at the power forward — on both ends. Birch doesn’t have to try and process as much while still growing into the college game.

This look at the game is all about the youth issue on Pitt’s squad.

After the Long Beach State loss, Dante Taylor was quite the whipping boy — and most of it fairly earned — for his poor performance. This piece is of the opinion that it stems from Taylor still wanting to play power forward.

Regardless, Taylor is starting to resemble Taft, maybe the only player Dixon couldn’t reach in his thus-far tremendous tenure at Pitt.

Taylor, like Taft, has his moments. In a win at West Virginia last year, he was invaluable off the bench. He had seven rebounds against UConn in the Big East tournament.

But he has never been comfortable with his move to center from his more natural power forward. Even as he was preparing to take over as McGhee’s backup last season, his thoughts drifted off to playing the four position in practice.

Taylor has bulked up, practiced hard and listened intently. But, after three years, he still is not sold on the position.

And it’s affecting his work ethic.

I don’t know about that part. His effort on the court has been questioned at times. But the work ethic seems to be pushing.

The rest where he compares Taft and Taylor and wonders if it is partially because Dixon is better suited/prefers coaching the underrecruited/underapreciated  kids. That, I just don’t buy. The first thing is that  the sample size is all of two players. The piece dismisses Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, because in midstream the goalposts are moved from dealing with highly talented and recruited players to adding the issue of lacking self-motivation. Probably because the piece really wanted to make the connection with Taft and Taylor.

Here’s the thing about players that aren’t self-motivated — and really it applies for most people. That means performances are going to be uneven and unpredictable. It doesn’t matter whether the coach is Dixon, Calipari, Roy Williams, etc.  They have to want it as much. Sam Young got it in time. DeJuan Blair knew it immediately. It doesn’t matter the coach. You can find talented players that any coach hasn’t reached. There is no shortage of highly touted recruits who don’t match the hype — whether overrated or having motivation issues.

And on the flip side was this piece on the 2012 recruiting class that is considered a top-10 haul by Coach Dixon.





I don’t know if some of these writers and fans actually watch college basketball. If they did, then they would know that there is no way that Dante Taylor can play power forward at this level. He would not be able to defend the position and he can’t put the ball on the floor.

Comment by omar 11.23.11 @ 3:16 pm

Absolutely Omar. Not even a discussion.
Unless he comes up with miraculous ball handling skills suddenly???

Don’t even know why people would suggest it, and why Taylor would still be thinking it.

Nothing against him either, I wish the best for him, and best place for him, for the team and himself, is under the hoop.

Happy Thanksgiving to you Chas, and to everyone else on the board.

Hail to Pitt, whip the Hoopies!!!

Comment by Dan 11.23.11 @ 3:35 pm

Funny, it seems like the “Taylor wants to be playing power forward” argument is mostly supposition by the author. I haven’t seen or heard anything from Taylor, at least recently, that he is upset about playing center. In terms of work ethic, even Dixon has praised how hard he works in practice, etc. Perhaps it really is just a case of a guy being rated too highly coming out of high school. He clearly has some athleticism, but it looks like the game has never really slowed down for him (another way of saying that he might not have a high basketball IQ).

If they put Taylor and Birch on the floor at the same time, I would have to think it would be Birch playing the 4, rather than Taylor.

Comment by Pantherman13 11.23.11 @ 4:25 pm

To be clear, when I said “supposition by the author” I meant the author of the linked piece, not Chas.

Comment by Pantherman13 11.23.11 @ 4:26 pm

What happens at center next season once the New Zealand guy gets here ? What happens to Taylor ?

I was at the La Salle game and Woodall took a big risk blocking that shot. Pitt had a 3 point lead , once the La Salle player got inside the 3 point line with 8.2 seconds left Woodall should have backed off to avoid the chance of a foul on a layup and a 3 point play. He cleanly blocked the shot but 9 times out of ten a foul is called.

Comment by Spindler's Spirit 11.23.11 @ 6:42 pm

online medical pharmacy link to nextdayshippingpharmacy.com pharmacy brattleboro vt

Comment by Cefeowefs 11.23.11 @ 7:09 pm

with Robinson gone next year, my guess is that Birch will move to the 4, backed up by Zanna. Adams will be backed by Taylor … just a guess

Comment by wbb 11.23.11 @ 7:25 pm

Jamie is doing a great job Birch will patrol the middle blocks and boards

Comment by 63Team 11.23.11 @ 7:57 pm

BYU TELLS BIG EAST THANKS BUT NO THANKS

Comment by FRANKCAN 11.23.11 @ 8:07 pm

according to Zeise, BYU wanted to split tv revenues on their away games but wanted to keep all of them for their home games. To their credit, BE said no way

Comment by wbb 11.23.11 @ 8:16 pm

Hard for me to envision a scenario where Adams comes in and starts at Center over a Senior (Dante)and/or Sophmores (Gilbert, Birch)…unless he is the real deal, Holyfield.

I could see Adams coming off the bench to spell Dante (ala Torree Morris style) at the first TV timeout…with Birch moving from Center this year to primarily PF next year. The wildcards here are Zanna and Gilbert.

Johnson, on the other hand, I believe comesin and starts ASAP over the hodgepodge of Wright, Moore, and Epps. Woodall at point, Lamar at the tweener 3 role, spelling at 2 at times.

Too early to tell, of course, just popping off.

Comment by PaulyP 11.24.11 @ 7:13 am

hi to all bigeastblog.wordpress.comers this is my frst post and thought i would say hi –
thank yous speak soon
g moore

Comment by garrymoore 11.24.11 @ 7:17 am

PaulyP–you may be correct, of course. It is hard to project to the next level. The only thing that makes me think it is possibly otherwise is that Adams put up DeJuan Blair like High School numbers (22 and 20 average with a 37 point 20 rebound game in the mix) at the Addidas Nations. Those are way out of the ordinary numbers even for a typical consensus top 5 McDonald’s All-American type. Unlike Dante and Khem, Adams is already highly skilled offensively, and that makes a big difference, as well.

Comment by pitt1972 11.24.11 @ 8:25 am

I agree with PaulyP on Adams…The proof is in coach Dixons history…True FR don’t start at Pitt…Adams will get a lot of minutes as next season progresses and may even start by the end of the season…but begin the season as the starting center at Pitt…NO WAY!

Comment by HbgFrank 11.24.11 @ 8:38 am

I would think Gibbs and Woodall can dunk. Just maybe not in games. I mean I’m 6’1 and I can dunk and I’m not a scholarship athlete

Comment by Tony C 11.24.11 @ 10:24 am

April 5/7, 2014 – Cowboys Stadium Dallas, TX

Adams, 7’0″ So – Won’t be one and done
Birch, 6’9″ Jr – Naismith candidate
Patterson, 6’5″ Sr – Glue guy, playmaker for studs
D. Johnson, 6’6″ So – Lights out shooter
Robinson, 6’3″ So – Big tough point guard

J. Johnson, 6’0″ Jr. – Either guard spot
Gilbert, 6’11” So. – best backup center in NCAA
Moore, 6’5″ Sr. – NBA body, rec league head
TBD Freshman phenom
Zanna and Wright, if they don’t transfer

Happy Thanksgiving!

Comment by boubacar aw 11.24.11 @ 10:24 am

Didn’t Blair start as a true freshman? If Adams is good enough he will start. Especially if it’s his only year at Pitt

Comment by Tony C 11.24.11 @ 10:26 am

We can make a run in 2013 as well. I would swap D. Johnson and Moore personally

Comment by Tony C 11.24.11 @ 10:27 am

Blair did start as a freshman. But if I remember correctly, there wasn’t another viable option. Cassin Diggs was TERRIBLE, Tyrel Biggs was 6’4″ and McGhee was also a freshman.

For Adams, a lot will depend on how Taylor plays this year. I still hold out some hope that Taylor will have a good year. If he does, he will go into his senior year as the starter. Adams could unseat him at some point, but it won’t start that way.

Comment by boubacar aw 11.24.11 @ 10:46 am

J. Johnson, Gilbert, and Moore are all “starter capable”. And who knows, the light bulb may come on for Moore by then. It took Gil Brown four years.

I like D. Johnson in the starting five because of his ability to knock down three’s. He has a sweet stroke. He gets it off quickly, almost Gibbs like. With Robinson and Patterson making plays and Birch and Adams inside, there will be many opportunities for wide open looks from three.

Comment by boubacar aw 11.24.11 @ 10:59 am

If DeJuan Blair had stayed 3 or 4 years, Jamie Dixon might have had the big NCAA Tounament finish that he’s lacking. The Pitt team 2 years ago, the season after Blair went pro, was picked 8th in the Big East and surprised everyone. No one thought that a team losing Sam Young, Levance Feilds and DeJuan Blair would be any good. It was a breakout year for both Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wannamaker. Could you imagine how good that team could have been with Gibbs 3 point shooting and Blair’s inside game. An awful lot of DeJuan Blairs points came off rebounds that he put back in.

Comment by Justinian 11.24.11 @ 11:30 am

Adams is expected to be a top 5 NBA pick after his freshman year..he wont be back.

Comment by rhyno527 11.24.11 @ 12:15 pm

First of all, we’ll have to see if Adams is half as good as advertised. There will no doubt be an adjustment period. Besides how many players at Pitt have started as freshmen, regardless of the accolades we heard about them. Even if he’s remarkably good, I don’t expect him to be one and done, no matter who makes that prediction in their blog.

Comment by Justinian 11.24.11 @ 3:08 pm

First Tyler Palko starts for the Chiefs and now Aaron Berry starts for the Lions??? Maybe Sensuri will be the next Tom Brady?

Comment by WCSteve 11.24.11 @ 3:20 pm

Fields started as a freshman. It all depends on how “ready” Adams will be. I think we’ve seen that despite the hype and acclaim, we haven’t truly seen a frosh ready to step in and make an impact recently, beyond Blair. Taylor, Birch proving that, although I like what I’m seeing from Khem lately. Dixon will play — and start — Adams if he’s the best option.

Comment by JW 11.24.11 @ 9:46 pm

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving.

Comment by JW 11.24.11 @ 9:47 pm

JW, Adams may very well start as a freshman, after all, Taft and Blair did. However an awful lot of other highly touted players needed time to adjust playing defence at the necessary level. Also players at Pitt typically are brought in gradually over a period of time.

Comment by Justinian 11.25.11 @ 8:06 am

Is there a football game today?

Comment by gc 11.25.11 @ 8:25 am

Yes GC, I believe that there is a football game today. Wouldn’t it be nice for the Panthers to win, possibly the last meaningful game, in the Pitt West Virginia series. The icing on the cake would be to win in in Morgantown.

Comment by Justinian 11.25.11 @ 9:21 am

Blair did start as a FR, but as has been pointed out, there was not a player in line to fill that spot like there is now…Fields did not start as a FR. That was Krauser’s SR year. Fields started a few games when Krauser was hurt. That follows Dixon’s norm…he plays the next guy in;, even when the next guy appears better (such as the Kendall/Young play in year). This formula works for Pitt. It is the secret of our success. We put veteran teams on the floor, with guys who have played together for 3 or 4 years. A lot of our opponents are busy throwing the newest FR phenom out there. We are usually just bigger, older, and tougher than the teams we play. This year may prove to be an anomaly on the toughness scale.

Comment by HbgFrank 11.25.11 @ 10:19 am

HgbFrank, well said. The formula has always worked. The exception this year is leadership and,I couldn’t put my finger on it before, toughness. I see potential with Patterson, Woodall and Birch going forward. The verdict is still out on Taylor and Zanna (not looking promising though). Hopefully, Moore figures it out and is not a bad influence on the freshmen coming in…I still don’t like his body language or comments to the media. I just try to remind myself that Sam Young sulked the same way and then the light went off.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 11.25.11 @ 10:30 am

I’m seeing the basketball game not being on SNY tonight as promised, L’ville instead.

Comment by steve 11.25.11 @ 10:33 am

The verdict on Zanna appears to be in. He has shown zero signs at all that he can play at this level. His hands are terrible, he never seems to be in the flow of the offense or defense, and he gets shoved around on the blocks like a rag doll.

I thought the team looked really good with Taylor and Birch on the floor at the same time, but in the PG the other day Dixon said it would be Birch spelling Taylor at the 5 moving forward.

Comment by Carmen 11.25.11 @ 10:47 am

Who are we playing tonight in football?

Comment by Tony Dews and Dont'ts 11.25.11 @ 11:12 am

Tony–Football season has been pretty written off at this point for many (the majority of?) Pitt fans. A loss to WVU tonight would be the final nail in the coffin for their shattered hopes. An upset win might kindle some slight hope. Winning the next two plus a bowl to finish 8-5 would barely salvage respectability/mediocrity. Anything worse represents a failed season.

Comment by pitt1972 11.25.11 @ 11:30 am

Going into morgantown without our best running back, two best “O” lineman. I’m keeping the faith, Tino buddy, its time to shine.

Comment by alcofan 11.25.11 @ 1:12 pm

Six and six record without completing a ball thrown in the air over 20 yards will actually be pretty darn amazing to me. Let’s go pitt. I wandered over to the wvu message boards and it got me fired up for tonight. I’m not sure we have enough qb play to pull it off but should be entertaining.

Comment by Tony Dews and Dont's 11.25.11 @ 1:14 pm

Football will always get me pumped more than basketball. Don’t get me wrong. I love a winner and Pitt basketball is a fantastic show and attending a game in such an intimate and charged environment is very entertaining. But, football has fed my soul since my early years. Football is America’s pastime these days and when you think sports on the college scene, it is football. That’s why we got the ACC invite. So let’s get fired up for this game. It is the hated Hoopies and a great rivalry. I’ll check in on the basketball game tonight but the tailgate for the football game is beginning now so I’ve got to go. Best of luck Pitt on both fronts tonight. Hail to Pitt.

Comment by TX Panther 11.25.11 @ 1:45 pm

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