Early in the season, Talib Zanna looked like a lock for Big East Most Improved Player. After the Georgetown blowout, the feeling was that Pitt needed to feed him more. That 9 shots a game was not enough for a player starting to look so dominate — even in the prior two losses, he was strong inside.
Now. Not so much. After 17-26 shooting in the first three Big East games, he is 12-43 in the past five games. It’s been overlooked to some degree because Pitt had won four straight before Monday night’s disappointment.
The biggest problem — at least from my perspective — appears to be that Zanna has stopped going forward on his shots. Instead he is focused on trying to make the short jumpers or take shots that have him fading from the basket. Yes, he has shown that they are part of his offensive moves, but he is relying too much on them. And they aren’t going. Not only does he make it harder on himself to score. He is taking himself away from the basket and any opportunity to follow for a chance at an offensive rebound.
