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February 9, 2016

Open Thread: Pitt-Miami

Filed under: Basketball,Open Thread — Chas @ 6:06 pm

It has been several years since Miami went out and made the great hire of Jim Larranaga. So even though they have been a good team for a few years, it still seems strange to think of them as a top-15 team (kind of like everyone else felt about Pitt 15 years ago).

This is a 7pm game on ESPNU.

The Hurricanes have a very efficient offense and a solid defense. They have only lost once at home this year. Let’s see… to Northeastern? Okay, that screams fluke. Other than that they have 3 other losses which all came on the road (Clemson, Virginia and NC St.).

They have strong guard play led by Ja’Quan Newton and Sheldon McClellan. Newton actually comes off the bench, but when the sophomore is out there, he is a guy that scores.

Like Pitt, they shoot free throws well and get to the line. Angel Rodgriguez, their starting point guard has been really bad from beyond the arc, but has become even more dangerous driving to the hoop. Both in terms of converting and getting to the free throw line.

 





Jamel 2-10 shooting, 1-6 from 3, 5 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds. Good rebounding, but about his 4th bad scoring game in a row.

Comment by KeyboardKev 02.09.16 @ 9:26 pm

O for what now against quality competition. We crucified Walt Harris for less.

Comment by TX Panther 02.09.16 @ 9:26 pm

Joe – I’m sure it was for me. Send it. I can handle it. 3M a year to constantly underperform.

Comment by Upittbaseball 02.09.16 @ 9:27 pm

Stars need to shine but Artis was a lump of coal tonight

Comment by TX Panther 02.09.16 @ 9:28 pm

@JoeK — I guess I was not watching the same game because I thought Jamie didn’t coach that well tonight in spite of the close loss. Luther was having his best game all season and Jamie sits him down. Miami scores 8 points to Pitt’s 2. Jamie puts Luther back in and Pitt closes the gap because of Luther’s hustle and Robison’s 3 pointers. Luther should not been benched. And that’s on Jamie. Sorry.

Comment by MariettaMike 02.09.16 @ 9:32 pm

just wondering if our guards have outplayed the opposing teams guards in an ACC game this year…our guard play is what is holding this team back on the court

Comment by Jerry S 02.09.16 @ 9:34 pm

And I agree, Artis was lazy tonight and should have been benched.

Comment by MariettaMike 02.09.16 @ 9:34 pm

Wow, Upitt, it actually wasn’t specially for you. Trying to be kinder and gentler like my classmate JK. Aka Pope!
Nope, Upitt, Lock was all you get tonight!

Comment by JoeKnew 02.09.16 @ 9:36 pm

Do you make the NIT if you loss 9 straight to close the season?

I hope not…

Comment by Erie Express 02.09.16 @ 9:36 pm

Pitt will make the NCAA tournament but will be a once and doner.

Comment by MariettaMike 02.09.16 @ 9:40 pm

Marietta many of us are beyond ” kinda disappointed” in Jamie. He loses close games, especially big ones because he has no plan. Just helter skelter substitutions and a little of this and a little of that. Why Luther who played his ass off and is a threat to score late, was sitting, is beyond any of us.

Perhaps he could of boxed out Rodrigiz on that last tip in since JR had missed his.

Comment by Dan 72 02.09.16 @ 9:40 pm

Other than some periods of really bad interior defense, that was an effort by our Pitt team that we can be proud of.

Comment by HbgFrank 02.09.16 @ 9:43 pm

really baffling that luther wasn’t in at end…maybe JD punished him for fouling the 3 point shooter in the 1st half? JD seems to give Luther an icy stair for that one… I really scratch my head about JD’s substitution decisions.

Comment by Jerry S 02.09.16 @ 9:45 pm

Is JD getting [aid big bucks for close losses?

Comment by Jerry S 02.09.16 @ 9:47 pm

@Dan — After all the years of coaching in power conferences one would think that Jamie would learn. I agree with you. I still have a bad taste in my mouth about the game Jamie let Villanova win by letting them driving the length of the court uncontested. But it is what it is, as it goes.

Comment by MariettaMike 02.09.16 @ 9:48 pm

Maybe I’m missing something, but should have Pitt had someone other than its Point Guard down low trying to a rebound with the Game tied and time running out?

Comment by PittofDreams 02.09.16 @ 9:52 pm

Heart breaker. We really needed this one.

Comment by panther94 02.09.16 @ 9:57 pm

Who knew JR’s girlfriend read the Blather…

Anyway, you guys missed a good NCIS….

Comment by Jackagain 02.09.16 @ 10:03 pm

To add to Jamie’s (over) coaching, Luther had the most rebounds tonight for Pitt and Jamie had him on the bench in the closing seconds of the game when Miami went ahead. I just don’t get it. It hurts to be a Pitt fan when they lose like they did tonight b

Comment by MariettaMike 02.09.16 @ 10:15 pm

Marietta …. I too am still steamed over Nova. There’s not a high school or college coach who wouldn’t have positioned a defensive safety at the half court line in case some one got loose on a ” rub” and broke long. Jamie is so busy tensing up and screaming, he loses all thought of what’s going on. I’m sure he has kicked himself over and over for that and not pulling guys off the line at Butler.

Still, this is why you have to have asst coaches you trust, listen too and have a rapoire with. When was the last time Dixon even talked to an assistant during the game. My assistants saved many games during the years I coached and much like in my business career, I gave them all the credit when we won and none of the blame when we lost.

Comment by Dan 72 02.09.16 @ 10:17 pm

I’m with most of you with disappointment in lack of recruiting and disappointment in direction of team. However, way too much grief given to JR. He may not be an all American but he is much better than most of you seem to think. What is point guard supposed to do when he passes the ball to the shooting guard and he doesn’t shoot? What is he supposed to do when the ball is moving around the outside and no one does anything except pass the ball back to him with less than 5 seconds on the clock? He is not a great shooter but why is he the one shooting? Artis has disappeared in every tough game and plays zero defense, young was responsible for the block out on the last tip in and the Miami center was his rotation responsibility on the two easy lay ups. Maybe Luther was on the bench for awhile because he was tired??? He isn’t used to that many minutes. Where was Jeter tonight (again)? Yet, we played the 12th ranked team to a last second game on their court. In other situations we would have been saying good effort.

Comment by AnotherClancyRebound 02.09.16 @ 10:19 pm

Just some frustration Clancy…mostly with Dixon though.

With that handle I’m guessing you’re another old timer like me…welcome to the board.

Comment by Jackagain 02.09.16 @ 10:26 pm

Clancy … Jeter was tired??? Give me a F’n break. He’s 19 years old and played as many as 5 AAU games a day before he came to Pitt. I know his coach.

Other than that I could buy your logic if this game was an isolated anomaly… But it’s the norm and has been for years now. Coaching success is teaching and imparting detail
and having a plan that players buy into. We’ve seen none of that from Jamie.

Comment by Dan 72 02.09.16 @ 10:35 pm

Thanks Jackagain. I am an old timer. Often reader, not so often contributor. I enjoy the difference of opinions as knowledgeable people often see things differently but dislike the criticism without any backup. I understand the frustration, especially with Dixon, but many of the same people who complained about Luther being on the bench are the same people who last week thought he should be playing DII.

Comment by AnotherClancyRebound 02.09.16 @ 10:37 pm

Dan – didn’t say Jeter was tired, said he disappeared again. Said maybe Luther was tired. I agree with you that this team and the last few years players do not seem to be growing or learning and that’s on Dixon. either his teaching isn’t sinking in or these players have poor BB IQ or both. Either way the coach owns that.

Comment by AnotherClancyRebound 02.09.16 @ 10:43 pm

But now for something uplifting….

link to vimeo.com

Comment by Jackagain 02.09.16 @ 10:46 pm

ACR — Not me.

Comment by MariettaMike 02.09.16 @ 10:47 pm

I only speak in song now about Pitt hoops.

link to youtu.be

Comment by Dan 02.09.16 @ 10:47 pm

Clancy…Meant Luther not Jeter. Sorry … It’s late and I’m a very old timer who knows when things are just not right. I love straight fundamental basketball and saw enough mistakes from m Pitt tonite to lose 3 games. Your comments are very welcome. Sorry for being so cranky!

Comment by Dan 72 02.09.16 @ 10:49 pm

@Jackagain, this was always a great one too. Hopefully someone showed the recruits this one along with the new one.

link to youtu.be

Comment by Dan 02.09.16 @ 10:55 pm

Last thing I will say on JR…

In his first year, I thought he was the prototypical collegiate point guard that was going to stay 4 years (because of no NBA potential) and lead a team deep in the tournament. Think Khalid El-Amin or Levance Fields. 4 years later, and I have no confidence that he could even lead a team deep in the NIT. Pitt’s struggles are do in part to poor guard play overall, and JR is the face of the guards given his 4-years as the starting point guard.

While everybody keeps parroting the assist/turnover ratio, the reality is that he does not threaten opposing defenses due to his poor shooting, inability to create his own shot deep in the shot clock, and most importantly lack of penetration. You can have success with a point guard that does not shoot the ball well, but that lack of shooting must be offset by an ability to break down a defense with dribble penetration. JR shoots only 33.3% from behind the arc, and he is very limited athletically when it comes to ACC level guards. While he commits few turnovers in the half court set, Pitt’s offense often finds itself deep in the shot clock because they just throw the ball around the perimeter and settle for low percentage shots.

Furthermore, JR is defensive liability when it comes to the top tier teams in the conference. Annually, I comment on how bad Pitt’s guard play is in the ACC, and it is the same story this year. Tons of 3s and 4s on the roster, but no 1s and 2s to compete with the upper tier of the ACC. You cannot go deep in the postseason without good guards, so I never had any enthusiasm about this squad.

Comment by dallas mike 02.09.16 @ 11:05 pm

Thank u for ur comments anotherclancy rebound!! Ur exactly right !!! And no I am not related to JR or his girlfriend . I am a Pitt BB fan. This kid tries and gives his all in every game . He works hard and does his job which is to distribute the ball to the open man. Again he has the best A/t ratio in NCAA history so he can’t b all that bad!! I’m one of his instructors , if u must know and he’s a great young man with an awesome character!!!!

Comment by Mona 02.09.16 @ 11:16 pm

I agree with all that Mona, and thanks for your work at Pitt….but JR is what we call a stiff. He hit his talent ceiling 5 minutes after hitting the court as a freshman.

His A/T ratio is great because he doesn’t feed the ball inside, he never takes any chances with his passes and only passes the ball on the perimeter.

I’m sure he works hard and is a very fine man and a credit to the university….but he’s a stiff as a div. 1 PG in a Power 5 conference. Nothing personal…

Comment by Jackagain 02.09.16 @ 11:45 pm

Great film Dan. Gotta love 0:36. LOL

Comment by Jackagain 02.09.16 @ 11:48 pm

Piit covered the spread.. Count that as a win and beat ” Ordinary Roy”

Comment by BigB 02.10.16 @ 5:54 am

One observation from what I saw in the 2nd half.. The is a very poor defensive team leaving guys wide open underneath and outside and JD is a proven defensive coach.. Me deduction – this group or many on the team lack a basketball IQ .. Perhaps SAT scores were below incoming freshman average of 1200.. Shortest player on the court with a tip-in over all our bigs to win the game… Come-on man!!

Comment by BigB 02.10.16 @ 6:04 am

The one player who IMO has not improved from last year is Artis. This time last year, he was playing lights out but currently he is just not making it .. and if he is not scoring, then he is a detriment because he’s probably the worst defender on the team.

Comment by wbb 02.10.16 @ 6:55 am

From Dokish: FG% in 5 defeats

Robinson 27.5
Artis 32.4
Young 47.3
Jeter 40.6
Smith 40.0
Luther 59.1
Wilson 27.8
Jones 40.0
Johnson 17.6
Maia 28.6

Comment by wbb 02.10.16 @ 7:14 am

The issue with this team is that there are so many issues. For a long time the only issue with Pitt teams was getting too stagnant in halfcourt sets and going 4-5 minutes without scoring. Luckily our D and rebounding was so good that the opposing team would only go on like a 6-0 run in that time. Now its 12-0, 14-0 runs because the D sucks and the rebounding is almost by accident.

Comment by DD 02.10.16 @ 8:15 am

Here – take your mind off Pitt BB problems for a while.

link to tmz.com

Comment by Reed 02.10.16 @ 4:01 pm

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