Don’t lie. You read the articles on the pro-am games last night. You try to tell yourself to take it all with a grain of salt. To keep perspective. And yet…
Derrick Randall looks different.
He’s got a different aura about him this June. Physically, he’s night and day from last summer with a stronger, leaner frame. The rising senior has more energy as he sprints up and down the floor.
But it’s more than just the physical appearance, because Randall has a different feeling about him. He walks upright with his head held high and a smile on his face. It’s a far cry from the quiet, reserved – at times isolated – junior from last summer.
It has showed on the court, too.
Randall recorded his first double-double of the summer Monday night when he played opened at the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am summer league at Montour. His 22-point, 15-rebound performance keyed a PGT 110-87 victory over Shaler Attorneys.
Teamed with Josh Newkirk, who had 34 points and 8 assists, they were a force.
Or how about Cameron Johnson — the final signee for the 2014 class going for 24 points. He is certainly going to redshirt, but you see those numbers and start to wonder.
Hell, Joseph Uchebo had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
You see the scores and how how nearly every Pitt player went into to double figures and feel those hopes creep into the background of your mind. Unbidden. Completely meaningless. And still, I’m smiling just a bit more.
Speaking of smiles. For Sheldon Jeter, it was a bigger deal.
Sheldon Jeter couldn’t hide his smile when he took the court Monday night for his debut in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am Summer League at Montour.
It was a long time coming for the former Beaver Falls star, who sat out this past season when Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings refused to sign off on his transfer to Pitt after his freshman season.
“Whenever it happened, I was not happy one bit about having to sit out,” said Jeter, the 2012 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Player of the Year after leading Beaver Falls to the WPIAL Class AA title and PIAA final. “I learned it was what I had to do, so I had to take it on the chin. … It’s been a long year. God will take you through hell to get you to heaven.”
…
“Time is good,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, who watched Jeter from the stands. “He was a young high school senior. I think he got some stuff done on the court, in the weight room and in the classroom. The reality is, he’s now a sophomore as old as most sophomores.”Jeter averaged 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.5 minutes as a freshman at Vanderbilt but will have to battle fellow sophomores Jamel Artis and Chris Jones for a spot in the rotation.
“He’s a good kid, a good teammate, and he can shoot it,” sophomore center Mike Young said of Jeter. “He comes in every day with an open mind. I tell him to be aggressive and play hard. Sheldon does have experience, so he knows how hard you have to play. But the ACC is better competition than he’s played, especially after a year at junior college. Right now, he has the learning curve as if he’s a rookie.”
James Robinson was a no show for the first night. He was at the Nike Skills Academy in NJ. The skills academies are invitation only camps for top college and high school players. This one was for point guards.
“With Randall running the floor, Newkirk threw up a perfect lob. Randall grabbed the pass through traffic, slammed it home through a foul and converted the and-one. Randall returned the favor a few minutes later, leading the fast break after a defensive rebound and tossing an alley-oop to Newkirk for a jam.”
It does make me optimistic!
Great to read about Jeter, 6’8″ 223 is the size playe you can’t have enough of. What a sophomore class.
A little disappointed in Boubacar’s take on Jones, but great that he is playing. Was his hand tape free?
Hopefully Haughton and Doorsen turn up in September, If Haughton can play Uchebo probably is odd man out. Still hope Uchebo comes around and can play somewhere if not here.
Need Doorsen to redshirt to stockpile a big guy.
A redshirt year for Johnson means he will be ready when needed.
No mention of Smoke being in attendance, hopefully he is on the road finding more big men.
And I don’t mean for that to sound so harsh. Personally I think Pitt BBall has surpassed expectations as much as failed to live up to them (see March tournament).
Anyway, I completely fall into the irrational optimism category and I know it! Optimism that Uchebo bounces back (not looking good). Optimism that at least two players really, really surprise us in the fall and improve dramatically from last year (given our track record, highly likely…seems to happen every year).
Go Pitt!
There are a bunch of examples of players who lit it up in summer league and then did nothing during the season, think John Johnson. Or vice versa, James Robinson showed me nothing in Greentree, then ended up starting every game as a freshman.
But there are also tons of examples of players who showed big improvements during the summer and were then able to carry some of it into the season, Lamar Patterson two years ago, Cam Wright last year, Talib Zanna the last two years are all examples.
Newkirk will be really interesting to watch. He started to play very well at the end of his freshman year. Most players see the biggest jump from freshman to sophomore year. He has a ton of talent, speed, and athleticism. That talent should allow him to excel this summer.
The question will then be, how does that skill fit with the team in the fall? Dixon values experience, defense, low turnovers, safe steady play over speed. And James Robinson is the incumbent.
Will he get the minutes? Will Jamie adjust the offense to suit Newkirk? Will Newkirk be able to use his talents to their maximum ability in an offense more built for a guy like Robinson?
Given the rest of the talent on this year’s roster and the way the game is played in the ACC, I would like to see Jamie make some tweaks towards Newkirk. But that’s a conversation for a different day.
I really don’t think that there is a question of which will play — Robinson or Newkirk. Both have shown that they are good enough to start.
As you point out, Newkirk’s improvement over the course of the season last year was dramatic. By the end of the year he was under control in his drives and was hitting his foul shots and even his three point shots.
I’m expecting that both Robinson and Newkirk will play starter minutes this year. Dixon already showed the flexibility to play two point guards at the same time during Robinson’s first year when both Woodall and Robinson started.
If true, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for him to go to a Prep school for a year. Unlike Mostella (who, face it, is just not meant to be a student), I would think Doorsen’s issue would either be with language or foreign credits to qualify.
Despite Randall’s play last night, I still would welcome Haughton with open arms
Given that Pitt is already over the scholarship limit and Shaq, by all accounts, is a project, this probably makes sense.
Also, Slice was the guy pushing for Shaq.
Smoke better get out there and find some bigs!!!
Obviously nobody was playing defense and these were similar to up & down NBA All-Star games of the past.
When matador defense was a given and big smiles were had by all (like Magic & Isiah).
Doorson from what I saw, was a much bigger project than Gary McGhee and who knows if he would have ever panned out.
Figured he would have been reclassified anyway as long as Haughton passes his summer class.
So no huge loss there.
Go get Diallo !
H2P
Miracles sometimes work in the same place more than a couple times. (see Lourdes)
247: **
Only other D1 offer seems to be from Bowling Green.
Highlights: link to youtube.com
So maybe there is really no dearth of QBS.
Oh well. Heading back to watch some summers games on Thurs. Most interested in Uchebo.
JD is easily sucked into ‘slogball’ when the other team, such as Cincy would rather play that way.
The only way you can avoid that is by having a defense that can create turnovers with aggressive pressure defense. It doesn’t have to be a full court press, a double teaming trapping half court defense would produce lots of turnovers as in the Colorado game. 17 turnovers resulted in 28 mostly transition points.
This is what you work on in the non-con against the rent-a-wins. Then those games.. actually can be beneficial.
“He was in my ear,” Nelson told Scout.com two weeks ago. “He was telling me a little about Pitt. He was telling it’s a good opportunity if I want to get to the next level because, No. 1, they share the same facility as the Pittsburgh Steelers, and you get interaction with NFL players.
“No. 2, (linebacker) coach (Matt) House was coaching for the Carolina Panthers and the (St. Louis) Rams, so he has NFL experience. I feel like out of all the coaches, he has the highest expectations for me.”
Louisville, Syracuse & Boston College also offered this kid.
He would be a ‘good get’.
Is there any chance Patterson or Zanna will get picked in the NBA draft Thursday?
That’s unfair criticism of someone you’ve never met. Jaron Brown was a prop 48 kid — was he “too stupid” to play basketball?
They’re kids and they’re allowed to make mistakes. He could be working harder than hell to get into Pitt and it may mean more to him than anybody you’ve ever met.
But by all means, go ahead and make assumptions about a kid you don’t know or can’t relate with.
College, even Junior College can be tough for many, unless you go to UNC, and I’m sure a few others. The educational system passes a lot of students along that really have not made the grade (especially athletes). It eventually catches up with them. Another reason to appreciate Jamie and his philosophy.
Unless you are Calipari with all one and dones, a major challenge is to get these kids to graduate. Most of them will not earn a living at the game. Guys like Jamie recognize the greater need to survive and advance in life.
“stupid is as stupid does” Forest Gump, Alabama running back circa 1967
Chris Dokish speculated that if Young is really 6’9.5″ then pitt’s trouble at 5 is solved.
And Kevin Gorman referred to him as a center in the Jeter article.
Randall is the only viable option at the five TODAY and he’s facing legal issues and a likely suspension. If Haughton doesn’t work out, I guess Young is the only option.
Young looks to be doing everything he can to dissuade Dixon from that notion by losing 15lbs of muscle and spending all night last night hanging out at the three point arc. He really looks like he’d rather play the 2 than the 5.
It may piss you off. But, you are hiding it well. 🙂
H2P
But great job landing the kid whose only other scholarship offers were from I-AA schools.
I like your idea of Pitt playing more of a take-away game with traps this coming season. I think Dixon has the same idea, too.
He was moving in the direction of a trapping game late last season with Pitt’s traditional hedges turning into something new — traps. I hope that the team continues to develop the trapping game this coming season.
I’ve always liked the 1-3-1 zone trap defense. If I remember correctly, Pitt coach Roy Chipman used to play it. Is Dixon inventing something new — the hedge-trap?
I read that Gorman piece and completely missed the reference to “sophomore center Mike Young.”
One of my guesses could turn out to be true! I’ve been predicting that Pitt would play small this season:
5. Young
4. Jeter
3. Wright
2. Newkirk
1. Robinson
With Durand Johnson in his role as the 6th man providing energy off the bench.
This lineup would give the maximum playing time to Pitt’s best athletes. It would be a fun team to watch!
Rivals: ***
Rest: No stars
Seems like his other offers were from Ohio and Toledo. He was previously committed to the Bobcats. Looks like he camped in Morganhole recently. He must not have liked it there.
Your point re: “attract adequate talent at the 5” is well taken. Meaning, who since Charles Smith really? Aaron Gray? I think he was a project when recruited. Adams? Seems so random Dixon had that connection. Birch maybe…. The point is, I do not think Pitt has had a highly recruited 5 in 20+ years (I am certainly forgetting someone though).
Looks like WV and Kentucky were interested. Has looked good in the camps.
Still waiting for those D -Ends and Linebackers.
Watched the Dane Jackson video, the kid can flat out play. Nice speed, breaks tackles, has a good feel for the game. They want him at CB, but looks like he could be a receiver as well. My guess is if he wants to, he will be an excellent special teams guy when he is a freshman.
Let’s go get ourselves a couple 4 stars to round out the class and have it average a 3.0. Good day Panthers!!
Yea I think we having a lot of players that have approx. the same body length and playing ability, this would be the perfect season to play the hedge/trap.
Also because this group could have some problems scoring in half court sets, as we did last year whenever Lamar and/or Z were off the court.
We really need to create more turnovers to set up easier opportunities to score in transition or early in the shot clock.
I think it was more Tim Grgurich who used the 1-3-1 trap. He had much more quicker kids on the wings(Carlton Neverson, Lennie McMillan, Terry Knight), although the 1980-81 Round of 32 team(lost to NCAA Runnerup UNC), Chipman’s first, had mostly all the same players as Gurg’s did and they certainly played the 1-3-1.
Can’t exactly remember if the Clyde Vaughn led teams played the 1-3-1 or not.
PMDH2P @ 3:35 – LMAO
another DL from Ohio, probably a good thing
Chris Taft and DeJuan Blair were both highly recruited as was Sleepy who ending up playing the 5.
Young with only 3 rebounds and from what I read, almost allergic to the blocks, is not going to be the answer at the 5, I don’t believe. Plus I think Boubs said he lost 15 pounds and looks like a stick.
But hey we did beat out two more MAC schools for the kid from Quaker Valley. Yeah !
I said before, if everyone is healthy and now if Haughton comes, assuming Randall is reinstated before conference play, we have doubles at every position with very little difference between starters and back-ups.
5. Randall, Haughton, Young
4. Young, Artis, Jeter
3. Jeter, Johnson, Jones, Wright
2. Wright, Newkirk, Johnson, Jones
1. Robinson, Newkirk
Jamie has more options than ever before. I think we will see a lot of combinations. We also have guys that can really run the court. We have the depth to play full court defense and uptempo offense. He can change 5 guys at a time if he wants to, without a significant depreciation of talent. Practices should be awesome.
Check it out, he was a starter in the EuroBasket League for a Swiss team. Avg’d about 14 ppg and 9 rpg.
We have traditionally got lots of points off of missed shots (offensive rebounding). Last year Z was a beast in a lot of games doing that, we he didn’t we generally lost.
I don’t see anyone on this team, who has that kind of tenacity or strength, as of now. Even though Z got stripped a lot and went up weak sometimes, he was by far the strongest we had.
Maybe Randall tore it up last nite, because the competition inside was so weak. Heck even gimp legged Joe had a double/double.
Think we better pray Haughton passes his course.
If you have the Pitt app from iTunes, there’s a where are they now article in the men’s basketball section. I was very surprised at how many former Panthers are playing pro hoops abroad. Zavackas, Degroat, Biggs, Cook, & a bunch of others have been playing all over the globe. We just need to see more in the NBA, only Adams, Blair, & Gray.
Nice to see the young men making some cash for their basketball talents. Since the NBA has some sort of anti-Pitt bias with some rare exceptions.
Guess they couldn’t pass on Adam’s potential with him being a lean & mean 7 footer.
Also, glad that Jeter is looking good with a great attitude .. I think he will be a valuable commodity off the bench this year. And how about Cam Johnson being the real deal? Did any of us ever hear bout him as recent as this past March, even though he is local?
Randall will not average a double-double this year, not even close … but if he is able to make a Gary McGhee style leap from one year to the next, then our Panthers can be very good.
If nothing else, we will have the most fearsome array of 6’6 to 6’8 players around — Young, Artis, Jeter, DJ, Jones and Johnson