7:00 pm
I really thought that as the kids got older I would start getting some time back. Nope. Just the opposite. Always something else. Somewhere to be. Something to do. Something that costs more money, so keep grinding and working. Ugh. Oh, the self-pity.
Anyways, Pitt is coming off a good win over Troy. A decent Sun Belt team that gave Pitt some issues with rebounding and uncomfortably Villanova-esque free throw shooting. Yet despite that, Pitt never trailed in the game; and after opening up a 7-0 lead to start the game, never let Troy get closer then 5 points the rest of the game.
Tonight’s game is not exactly a toughie. Central Arkasnas is a patsy. Even for a rebuilding team. They have a 2-1 record, but those two wins came against non-D1 teams. That means manufacturing something for the team to use as focus. Take it away Coach Capel…
But Capel knows there is so much more his team must learn, and victory creates another challenge that only a coach might detect.
“This may sound silly, but it’s a reality,” he said. “How do we handle a little bit of success?”
Good question because no one on this team has experienced much of it. The three-game winning streak to start the season is Pitt’s first since former coach Jamie Dixon’s final season (2015-16).
“This is different for the guys in our program right now,” Capel said. “Even the new guys, this is different on this level.
“Success can make you soft sometimes. We can’t be that. We have to be the team that’s hungry. We have go do the little things, the taking charges (on defense), the executing hard, the screening hard, the rolling off the screen hard, sprinting in transition, being the first to the floor.”
To be somewhat fair to Stallings, Pitt started off last season on the road against a mediocre Navy team. The year before, the third game was against SMU — who made the NCAA Tournament and was ranked for part of the year. That’s about the extent of my fairness. If Pitt can win six in a row, he will have done better then Stallings could manage in either season.
Watching this team has been fun, so far. They have obvious flaws. There are plenty of inconsistencies.
BUT…
You can see the potential in the new kids. You can see the growth in some of the players from last year. There’s hope. Real, tangible hope.
And frankly, it’s nice t0 be watching a basketball game once more, without grinding my teeth.
Wow.
Whatever happened to starting your best player at each position? Wilson-Frame needs to start.
We are giving up too many easy inside points. That is partly systemic given the relatively small team we have on the floor most of the time.
It may be wishful thinking…because if it happens, we will be actually a pretty good team I think.
