I love the enthusiasm the Greentree Summer League generates. That it gets fans excited for basketball as early as June. I love that Pittsburgh has a a summer league to give the local college players (read: Pitt) a reason to stay in the Burgh over the summers. Rather than face the choice of going home to play in some more competitive games or stay in Pittsburgh and take classes. It has become even more important now that the NCAA allows some instructional practices with the coaches during the summer.

Now for the caveat. It is still just summer league. It is not a mere pick-up game. It is also not even at the intensity of a pre-season exhibition game. It is rather casual. The talent level is decent and no one really wants to lose. But, no one should be killing themselves at it.

So this game marked the debut of sorts for Steven Adams in Pittsburgh.

Pitt five-star recruit Steven Adams was surprised to see fans standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the tiny gym at Greentree Sportsplex.

“For real, people standing up?” he said. “What the hell? It shows you how committed they are.”

Or they should be.

/rim shot

The summer league is also in a nice sweet spot for timing. Obviously no hockey or football. Not even mini-camps for the Steelers. Heck, even the Pirates were off last night.

Soooo. How’d he do?

Playing against mainly West Virginia 6-11 center Pat Forsythe and [Dante] Taylor, Adams went 2 for 8 from the field and
2 for 4 from the foul line. But in between, he showed some of the skills that have him ranked as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 mock draft, according to NBADraft.net.

“I definitely see a bright future for him,” Taylor said. “He has a knack for rebounding, just certain things that you can’t teach a player.”

Adams, who played prep ball last season at Notre Dame (Mass.) Prep, remains his toughest critic.

“Me, personally, I don’t think I’m doing too well,” he said. “(Taylor and junior forward/center Talib Zanna) know a lot of technical things that I still have to learn. I’m still kind of raw.

“I just want to make sure I bring a positive kind of energy just so other teammates can feed off it. I’m not looking to do anything extra. I just want to do what Jamie Dixon says and what the team wants me to do. I just want to win, really.”

According to twitter feeds from those at the first game, there was a stretch where Lamar Patterson and Durand Johnson essentially kept going at each other and trading shots. Patterson ended up scoring 24 in the game, while Johnson had 14. Dante Taylor also had 14. Patterson and Adams’ team took the game. Coach Dixon made it for the second half.

“Everyone wants to see the first game,” Dixon said. “I remember the first game last year with the new guys. The new guys will be built up. That’s how it works. It’s fun. People enjoy it. They come out and watch. Everyone wants to project.”

One big difference between Adams and Khem Birch, a freshman everyone wanted to see a year ago, is Adams’ physical stature. Since coming to America this winter, he has put on 33 pounds and weighs a solid 248 without any noticeable body fat. Birch came to Pitt frail and stayed that way until he transferred to UNLV midseason.

Adams credits strength and conditioning coach Tim Beltz for his physique. He also has become a solo advertising campaign for some of the local eateries, where he sometimes consumes three meals in a sitting.

Adams’ favorite spot is the Fuel and Fuddle in Oakland, where he takes full advantage of late-night, half-price specials. He usually goes for a steak burger, a turkey burger and a small pizza.

“The [workouts] are just so intense I can eat whatever and just run it off,” he said.

Ah, to be young and have a metabolism that moves beyond a snail’s crawl.

Adams seems to be getting along very well with his teammates so far. It helps that he has been genuinely nice and very willing to admit he doesn’t know everything.

“Me personally, I don’t think I’m doing too well skill-wise,” Adams said. “They know a lot of technical things. I still have to learn that. I’m still kind of raw. I used to be able to rely on my size. Now that I’m versing bigger and stronger dudes, I have to get my footwork right. Talib, he’s amazing. He’s a good player. He’s been teaching me. He’s a real good team player, too. He’s been teaching me all the basic stuff I need to know.”

As for any goals for the upcoming season, Adams said he is all about the team.

“Just to make sure I bring a positive energy and have my teammates feed off me,” he said. “I’m not looking to do anything extra [special]. I’m just going to do what Jamie Dixon says and what the team wants me to do. I just want to win.”

For some more on the games beyond simply Steven Adams, Panther-Lair (Rivals.com) has a free review of each game. Learned that Keith Benjamin was playing last night as well.

This review of the composition of each team, noted that “UPMC” might be the most offensively challenged of all the squads with Malcolm Gilbert and Cam Wright as part of the team. And indeed, they were the lowest scoring squad of the night in their 5-point loss. Gilbert got blocks, and Wright started out strong offensively before cooling down. Wright was attacking the basket, though, which is something he needs to do given his shooting touch.