7pm, ACC Digital Network Extra/WatchESPN
Sorry about light no posting this week. Last week before Christmas/Hanukah weekend, and it has been predictably nuts. Kids going on break. Scrambling to get everything finished at work. And on top of that, a late in the game, cold that I’m trying not to let get worse.
A couple common opponents. The Mavericks have played (and lost to) Eastern Michigan and Rice. They also hung 98 on Iowa in an upset. They play very up-tempo, that counts on attacking the basket. As a result they also shoot a lot of free throws. Nearly 25% of their points come from the line.
One of the things that has surprised me this season has been how much Justice Kithcart has struggled. It seemed, at least in the first few games of the season, that he was going to force a change in the starting line-up. He looked very confident and aggressive on the court, and by the SMU game I was sure that Chris Jones was going to lose his spot to him.
Instead, Kithcart has looked very confused on the court. Some of it, certainly has to do with Pitt going to a zone defense most of the time. Kithcart is a very good defender, but definitely prefers man-to-man defense. In the zone, he has gotten lost and been burned for being too aggressive.
The other part is that his offensive game is no where to be found. Nothing is going for him. He is 1-12 on 3s. Only 6-12 on 2-point shots. And an impossibly horrendous, 2-13 on free throws. The free throw woes seem to be what have sapped his confidence, at least on on offense. He hasn’t made a free throw since the Marquette game over a month ago. But, then he has only attempted 1 free throw in the seven games since.
The free throws are in his head, and it has stopped him from driving to the basket. He doesn’t want to attack as much, because if he gets fouled it means shooting free throws. He’s still getting over ten minutes a game. Clearly Coach Stallings has more confidence in him over any of the other guards on the bench. But he needs to get back to attacking the basket.
And Thompson was Manigault’s teammate last year. I hope that there is some carry-over with chemistry, etc.
Marcus Carr is another guard that I am thinking can make an early impact next year.
Nix would work better under Dixon running his incessant high ball screens and lumbering up the court.
Coach D., FB sucks….who needs Zuckerberg and his Orwellian Ministry of Truth telling us what we can and can’t say? Besides, we wouldn’t know each other. (believe it or not my last name isn’t again.)
I do have a fake FB account and had a Jack Againski FB account until FB decided to kill it. I hate FB and would leave the group if we went there. You must have FB stock or something….the comment bars on Face plant are 1/20 the size we have here and they have only one page whereas we have a page for every topic here. FB pages are slower to load too since you have to load the full content every time.
I guess it is against NCAA rules.
I think that is what Garry Christopher and Ontario Lett are trying to do.
I do hope that Nix does not overindulge over the Christmas break.
😉
I’d like to see Stalling offer the Russian/Georgian big man they’re talking about now, teammate of Carr.
I’m with you Jack, I want no parts of Facebook. They shut down my fake account too when someone complained it obviously wasn’t a real name. I don’t put my business all over the internet.
Nix moves just fine. He shouldn’t start or play a lot of mins, but he can go in & bang for a few mins each half. I think he really could’ve helped in the Duq game.
Big jump from high school to college for some.
Not like Kentucky where they get freshmen that score 47.
Pat Narduzzi ?@CoachDuzzPittFB Dec 21
ACC Pro Bowl selections by school:
Pitt – 3.
FSU – 3.
BC – 2.
Clemson – 1.
Miami – 1.
#Pitt2theProBowl #H2P
As I posted last week, either here or there (lol)…Pitt should have been proactive and canned Herman’s ass, instead of letting him…..walk out on us.
Come on, save some face, we aren’t chumps. Oregon State, is a nobody, who are nobodies in football or hoops. And never were. Unlike Pitt.
“Pittsburgh’s Scott Barnes hired as Oregon State vice president and athletic director”
I keep telling you guys to play/talk nice. These guys are sensitive and don’t really need us.
Could a guy like Wannstadt be smart enough?
But I’m not part of the Athletic administrative Club.
It’s not like he’s going to UCLA or something.
We’re talking about the little brother school in Oregon who has never been nationally relevant in football or basketball.
He will feel right at home though, OSU was 89th in the last Director’s Cup standings.
I hope the Pitt players and coaches are paying attention.
Herman wanted to be AD and Chancellor at Pitt, but Gallagher wouldn’t step down.
There is NO LIMIT to the size of Herman’s Head !
OSU spends 9MM more on their athletic dept than us.
He knows the pro and college game and could enlist the support of our Pro players. Not to just show up for locker room talks, but to host events, meet and greets so staff can get pledges.
In any case we need someone that has the fire to get the job done, not just to hob nob with corporate types. Not a guy that brags about how many season tickets he sold to Penn State Fans, or rely on search firms to do his job.
Look if EJ was any good, he would have been hired away from here by now. If he was ambitious he would have already gone elsewhere for that next step.
As for Barnes, he was a poor fit, saw him at BBall games, only shook hands and sought out the high rollers. Unlike a guy like Pat Bostick who says high to everybody and is extremely approachable, knows how to work the room. He is a guy that is going places. Hopefully not with Barnes.
There is just too much money in this sports time.
It is almost as profitable as politics.
I think it’s applause.
Pulled this from PSN –
“Mathis is Pitt’s first cornerback commitment in this class and their 19th overall commitment. Good thing about getting Mathis is that he’s teammates with 4-star running back A.J. Davis, a player Pitt is in pursuit of.”
Welcome Mr. Mathis, all 5’11” of you. Turn your head and cough – good, you passed the CB physical and you are now eligible for a starting position with the Pitt FB team.
Please also put in a good word to your teammate AJ – make sure he knows our star running back is leaving for the NFL.
New committ D.Mathis had P5 offers from South Carolina, Ole Miss and Minnesota. He resides in Lakeland, FL – Pitt’s 5th verbal from the state of Florida in this class.
Have a Merry Christmas!
And ESPN has him as a 4 star.
link to espn.com