I’m still trying to figure out what the hell Zanna was thinking when he launched that three.
There’s that part of my brain that tries to rationalize it. Yes, Pitt isn’t as good as it appeared at the beginning of January. But they still were pretty good. All the losses. Close games except for one. All against teams that are/were/will be ranked in the top-25. And so on.
But last night was a popper. Pitt could not beat a team they definitely were better than at home. It wasn’t an off night. It was just more of the same in how Pitt has been playing.
The inability to finish at the rim. The tentativeness at both ends. Defense that could not find any consistency. And up and until that meaningless flurry of threes, little from the perimeter shooting.
I understand the problems. Durand Johnson being out means very limited three-point shooters. Lamar Patterson’s hand is obviously hurt worse than anyone will say. You don’t go from shooting and passing the way he was to the present that abruptly. Coupled with opposing teams completely zeroing in on taking him out of the offensive equation — putting him in the position of taking a lot more bad shots.
That means teams have increasingly packed it in inside. Daring Pitt to shoot from outside or settle for low percentage mid-range shots. Giving no space inside to get clean chances to finish at the basket. Zanna has been a lot tougher this year inside, but he is still very bothered when he cannot get space to work inside.
No one else other than Cam Wright seems to have stepped up on a nightly basis to help share the burden on the offense.
“Florida State came out here and played hard, but we feel like we beat ourselves,” said Pitt junior guard Cameron Wright, who finished with 12 points. “The last three games, really. … We need to take these couple days that we have, get together and figure out what we did wrong.”
James Robinson is still not a particularly good shooter. Josh Newkirk struggles with foul issues to be in regularly. Michael Young lets his frustrations on offense take him out of rebounding and defensive positions.
Really, for the entire team, the frustration was palpable early.
“This is not what I expected based on our practices this week,” Dixon said. “I was excited about how we worked and how we had played but we didn’t play like we practiced and this is the result. We need to get it right, we need to get better at executing offensively. I think that is really affecting a lot of what we are doing.
“Impatience is a big part of our issue on offense right now. You can point to a number things, they beat us at the free-throw line and while we outrebounded them, you look at the 14 offensive rebounds and it didn’t seem like we had a lot of finishes to go with them.
“We’ve got work to do, I’m saying the obvious, but I really believe we are better than we just played.”
Pitt won on rebounding margin, mainly because they kept missing shots. More opportunities for offensive rebounds. Really, FSU still looked a lot better on the boards than Pitt.
I much prefer looking at stats and numbers to trying to read tea leaves of a team’s psyche, because more often than not it isn’t the team’s psyche you see. It is your own or the fans’ mood in general. That said, it looks as if something is really off right now.
Up until that Duke loss, the team was just a lot more upbeat. There was something approaching a swagger to the way they went into the game. An energy and looseness.
Now, they seem tight from the very start. All the losses are taking their toll and they seem nearly as fatalistic as the fans the minute they struggle.
1. Robinson dribbles past the defender and gets to about the foul line or inside of it slightly. Rather than lean in and force a shot he turns and throws the ball back out to a guarded teammate who then restarts the offense.
The solution….. shoot the ball. Try to draw a foul while doing so.
2.Wright or Patterson are driving to the basket and they have penetrated to the point that they can shoot a lay up, but instead they attempt to pass the ball causing a turnover.
solution…..Once you can shoot a layup do it and try to draw a foul while doing so.
solution…. give him the ball off the roll occasionally and let him shoot from the 10′ to 15′ range
4.We get hammered inside and there is no foul called.
solution… on the very next play let them get it inside and then have Zanna hit the guy trying to score so hard he can’t get up. I can’t remember the last time Zanna fouled out and we are supposed to be tough inside. If you jack up a Parker or a Hood or even a Fair they will call it closer both ways. These superstars will think twice about coming inside too.
As a manager of at least 4 major company’s in my life, it has always been my philosophy to hire good people and let them make decisions on their own that they live and die with. I do not want to be consulted and as long as it’s legal, ethical and you can justify your decision, I will back you 100%. We have a coach who does just the opposite. Imagine, any of you on this post, every second of every day, every decision you make is watched and graded instantly by someone above you with the consequence being you get benched (fired) if it doesn’t work out.
That’s no way to run any organizion except the USMC!
Now what is wrong with that well we have 3 all ready so we only have room for one more so who will Dixon run off to do that one could be the center with the bad leg but who else i have no idea do you?
He mentioned the problem is Jamie only recruits “slashers to the hoop”.
Don’t get me wrong, whoever said it, I agree with you about recruiting shooters and hoopsters.
I do have to wonder though, what “slashers to the hoop” do we have???
What, Patterson a couple times a game?? Ok.
Who else??
We all know what our offense is doing just as fans, every single friggin’ time. You don’t think the other ACC coaches don’t see this on film.
You don’t think we aren’t an easy team to get ready for by other teams.
Seriously, I’m not being flip or ripping Jamie.
Tell me something we do other one guy out top and try and pick and cut. Same thing, every possession, every game, every year. At least the past 2 or 3.
Beatles. #9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9,#9
Mind numbing. Some of you youngsters won’t get the Beatles comment. Actually, they are trans-generational, so maybe you will.
i can not think of any one look at the team i can see no one who can go even the center with the bad leg should not go we knew it was bad when we signed him.
you cant add 6 players if you only have room for 4 players who will he run off.
and if he signs 6 we have just room for 4 so 2 must go i cant see any one we want to lose myself.
Didn’t we beat MD twice?
I know, our wins over MD were a long time ago in a galaxy far far away…
I know Steinbrink knows things but i just dont see it but time will tell.
Speaking of which, I heard today in a post on one of Smazass’s columns ripping Pitt that the season tickets at the Pete are moved around yearly based on giving totals? Is that true? What kind of F’n idiot would make a decision like that?
Oh…….never mind
Pitt plays in the slowest conference in America that has a lot to do with offensive struggles. Add in a streaky at best shooting team and you are bound for some ugly games. Nonetheless, Pitt is still in top half of scoring teams in America and top 100 FG %. A lot if you just don’t recognize that college basketball has turned into a slog fest for everyone.
Dixon doesn’t micromanage. He hasn’t pulled a guy for shooting since Mike Young took a horrible 3 way back. He let Newkirk make plenty of mistakes in VA Tech. You have to tell a young team the mistakes they are making. How else will they get better? Dixon’s coaching has resulted in players like Wannamaker making huge transformations.
But yeah Dixon doesn’t know what he’s doing. While all of you on here who said Pitt would suck this year are the experts.
If you can’t see that CLEARLY this program is not just in a “down” year..I’m here to tell you that it’s not….The past three years have been a down year…and I feel that it could get worse
I’m laughing outloud that you even put us in a 7 vs 2 matchup..that means we would have to win the first game!!…and if we were a 10 seed in the first round matchup…JD would have to do something he’s never done before….beat a higher seed!!
you clearly stated that zanna and Patterson are hurt and we can’t win with freshman and sophmores….so how in the hell are we suppose to win a game in the tourney????
I didn’t expect anything out of this team this year…and ofcourse we breezed through the “pre season” of our non conference schedule…When JD wants to be a real coach and start winning games he’s not suppose to…and adjusting to the 21st century of basketball…then I’ll have time for him….if not…I’m just waiting for the next guy jackass smiles hires and gonna be disappointed losing to teams we should beat
OPEN YOUR EYES…..THIS PROGRAM ISN’T THRIVING RIGHT NOW….AND HASN’T BEEN FOR THREE YEARS!!…AND THE ONLY THING THAT HASNT CHANGED IN JD!!!!!!
Pitt needs to get up tempo, forget about 6 passes before considering a shot. Get tempo. Get balance. And shoot! If Wannamaker referenced duran J as a leader and his loss difficult to overcome, is an excuse. There are plenty of top 20 teams that are missing a starter or two around this time.
Quit whining about it and play!
Great news for Aaron Donald. Would be nice to see three Pitt players drafted this year with the reports on Savage. Looking at measurable, he has a pro style height and weight working in his favor. He may not have a pro mind however…
Is convinced by the magical powers of JD that you can play in front of a great crowd (not really) and in a great conference….that’s it!!
then he sucks all the offense ability out of them and preaches rebounds and defense…and what happens?!…not being able to score the damn basketball is what happens….and tight as hell players with zero confidence to score the ball!!
JD would be a great coach in the Big 10 where the scores are 45-40..
I work goofy hours so unfortunately have to miss some Pitt hoop games. Luckily that’s not the case for football. Yesterday was one of those games I had to work.
Anyhow to your point of players tuning Dixon out, I was talking to my old man and he said the same thing. He said during one particular time out Dixon was drawing plays like a mad man on the board and none of the kids were even looking at him.
None of us can say for sure, but that cannot be dismissed. I think most people would agree Jamie has a tendency to over coach and micromanage. When the results are not there it is absolutely possible the kids have tuned him out.
I DVR’d the game, but can’t even bring myself to watch. Taking Pops word for it. Lol
Go ahead and ask the Atlanta braves fans felt when they were dominant for 10 years….and only won 1 World Series…now they play infront of a half empty stadium with no energy in that building….that’s gonna be us….hell It might already be!!!!
fans are fickle…and we will ALWAYS love pitt..but don’t we all want more??….SHOULDN’T we all want more??…well were losing it…and everyone seems to be ok with it?!….I’m not!!
It’s possible this team can miss the Big Dance 3 of 4 years. I know that’s getting way ahead of myself. We may make it this year and next.
But let’s say we do, how far can this year’s team advance. And for as frustrating as Patterson and Zanna can be, they are big losses for next year. Hell, Patterson at one point was being mentioned as ACC player of the year and Wooden award finalist.
Sorry this team if it makes the dance is an almost guaranteed 1st round exit and does anyone see Artis, Young, Newkirk, and Jones getting that much better next year. You pretty much know what you got in Robinson and Wright.
Next year’s class not too impressive. Sheldon Jeter is decent and Ryan Luther in a perfect world by his junior year can have game like Dirk Nowitzki. Shaq Doorson, great build, but from all accounts a real project.
I do love the Damon Wilson and Mustapha Heron early commits. But they are just that, early verbal commitments. Long time from now til when or if they set foot in Oakland.
I also like love that we are going after guys like Kobe Eubanks, Cheik Diallo, Maverick Rowan, Kassoum Yawke etc.
But if we miss the tourney this year and next do any of these kids end up here??
To quote Billy Joel, ” I’m keepin the faith”
Hail to Pitt!!
By the way I said 3 out of 4 years. I hope you are right and I’m not living in reality..
But, 2 years ago we didn’t make it, that is fact.
This year’s team may very well play their way out. BC just beat Cuse. Notre Dame, home or away, for whatever reason always tough. Clemson I’m sure looking for revenge at home,
Next year, no Zanna or Patterson, add Louisville, the Maui Invatational, and what is bound to be a top to bottom improved ACC, sorry buddy but i don’t think missing the tourney 3 out of 4 years is quite as absurd or not based in reality as you think.
I will concede, and God I hope so, we may make it this year and next, but to act like both are a given, maybe you need the reality check?
We all love Pitt.
Hell, I was born in ’76 and believe it or not, raised in section 22 during the Gottfried-to Barlow scoring that last TD in Pitt Stadium.
We may have sat next to each other, I can almost guarantee you know my Uncle and Dad.
Sit in section 532 every game, proudly since Heinz opened!
We are all bound together by the same cause…
Hail to Pitt!!!
I wanna play
Opposing coaches have a recipe for beating us at the Pete and ACC isn’t sending the Welcome Wagon. Critical juncture for Dixon. Maybe he’ll adjust, maybe he won’t.
I still have this fantasy that we make the tourney as a 16 seed and knock off Syr first game.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
you guys are tiring.
Now to the ACC standings. I did not believe they would finish in the top 5 in the conference but that doesn’t happen in a vacuum. First there is no guarantee this team wins enough of the remaining games to finish in 5th place. 2nd, the ACC is not what it was expected to be at the beginning of the year.
I understand it’s not fun to be in the middle on a disagreement but sometime it’s the reality. This isn’t a disastrous year but they also have not yet exceeded expectations. I have plent of questions about the team this year and in the future but I’d say they are right where I thought they’d be this year. Unfortunately that means they might end up on the bubble…and I am concerned about next year.
ok, i strapped on the pads and donned the mask!
since 2008 pitt has lost 4 out of 5 games in the be tourney in their first round. in those 4 losses they were a higher seed.
in the ncaa’s same time period, they have one elite 8, three one and dones and one first round exit.
this year they are heading towards .500 in conference play. that’s average in my net…
Yes, stock is falling rapidly.
If a reeking at BC happens tmrw nite, it will be the death knell.
I’m looking at the last 5 games, and wondering who it is that we might beat.
Funny, a month ago, I was sending out “screen shots” of the ACC standings from my phone, with Syracuse and Pitt at #1 and #2 in the conference, too friends and family and on Facebook.
Spirit… Like some of your ideas for improving the Offense. Question is… “WHY NOT JAMIE?”
Seriously, this Pitt Offense LACKS some serious CREATIVITY. Really painful to watch.
Dixon is great because we are playing .500 ball with a team that should have either Birch or Adams on it but doesn’t, that is playing 4 freshmen a LOT; arguably its 3 best players (DJ, LP, and TZ) are injured (as well as Jones). I mean really, we have HALF A TEAM LEFT. And yet we can still win. Dixon is great because on average he gets to 50th best recruiting class and teams end up in ranked in the top 20 and even 15. Dixon is awesome because we DO get to the Tourney, virtually every year. Dixon is awesome because we had a down year, and the plan was in place to re-ascend…can you imagine if we still had Adams and Birch? And so now it is a 3 year low.
Now, Dixon is now awesome because he does only get top 50 recruiting classes. Pitt should be able to do better than that at this point. Dixon is not awesome because he has yet to figure out how to finish the season STRONG. Dixon is not awesome in that he is too slow to make adjustments. I would say Dixon is not awesome because he makes his players play tight, but I would argue that that is just the downside of having to successfully (and needfully) over-coach non-top-grade talent.
Its possible Dixon has “seen the light” with regard to recruiting. If so, we could be in the top 10 4 years straight starting in 2, probably 3 years. If so, and if we fail to make the final 8 at least once if not the final 4 in that time, then perhaps it is time to reassess. In the meantime, we will continue to hopefully overachieve with barely above average talent.
God that would have given us a 7 game losing streak!
sir, you completely glossed over my stats that i spent hours on!! lol
your not one of those guys that thinks everybody that participates in a sports should get a trophy are you? pitt should make the tourney just about every year, 64 teams make it. for me, if dixon is such a “great coach”, he needs to produce better results in national tournaments.
i hope i don’t get boarded!
Jones, Zanna and Patterson are hurt…and now JR.
All will need surgery at season’s end.
I don’t care whether you are a rec coach or a college coach making 2MM per year. If what you are doing doesn’t work year in and year out, you better change what you are doing!
Any of you that think we will beat anyone other than BC with THIS team, please send me what you are smoking. Chas has my address!