College Football News has its 2007 Pitt Preview. As I read through it, then the Defense preview and Offense preview, I could picture Pitt winning 7 or 8 games. The problem was that I could also picture Pitt losing 7 games.

Wannstedt sees progress, particularly along the lines, but that might just be coach-speak from a man reeling from a wildly disappointing couple of seasons. The perfect remedy for the Panthers would be for the team to manufacture seven wins and a bowl invite, but that’ll require a number of first-time starters on both sides of the ball to grow up real fast. On the plus side, those young players have tremendous upside as Wannstedt has upgrade the talent level in a hurry (at least according to the recruiting types). More realistically, Pitt will have a decent year setting the table for 2008 when all the new stars from the past two Februarys have some experience on their résumés.

I don’t think fans and myself are setting the bar too high. All I want to see is that the team on the field is making progress in strides to match what we’ve seen in recruiting and what the coaches have been telling us since 2005.

The talent is there. I don’t doubt it. I actually feel very good about the offense as long as things get cleared up with the O-line and who the center will be (stunning and disturbing that McGlynn might have to be converted because there simply isn’t anyone who can even match the distinctly average work of Joe Villani).

McGlynn moving to center, solidifying the position while getting Pinkston into the lineup. Wannstedt desperately wants to get his five best linemen on the field at the same time, and this is a move that would certainly address that desire. McGlynn has played center before and is the team’s long snapper so he’s no stranger to this role.

The depth and potential for the running backs is exciting, but they still need room to run. That doesn’t simply mean that the O-line has to be good. They also have to be healthy all season. The O-line still lacks much depth. Especially if McGlynn is at Center. If Pinkston is starting, then Pitt will have to get incredibly lucky with injuries on the line.

The Receiving corp is arguably the deepest in the Big East (Louisville offers a better top-2 in Urrita and Douglas), so the potential to do 4 WR or 3 plus the TE to really open things up makes me smile.

Then it comes back to who will be the QB and will he have time to throw? Last year, we saw that the adjustment any semi-competent team made against Pitt was to start bringing pressure. Sure enough, they could blow right through the O-line and keep the play from ever happening.

Yes, Pitt will have more balance with the run, but it still depends on the O-line to give the QB time. Regardless of who the QB is, he will need time. He will be a first-year starter.

Defense. I’m just scared. The write-up on CFN is typical in that a bad D-line last year will be better this year based in part on another year of experience. There’s more depth, yes, but I’m not sure that I feel great that the starters from last year still couldn’t be unseated.

Once everyone gets healthy, the defensive line will better than last year, but still not where Wannstedt needs it to be. While it’ll improve on last year’s 21 sacks, problems with the run defense won’t go away overnight.

I actually believe the run defense will be better statistically, by simple virtue of the fact that it will be hard for it to be much worse. Also, teams will be more willing to throw — challenge Aaron Berry and likely Kennard Cox.

The Defense will come down to whether Pitt can stop the run at even an average rate. The Offense will score. And I really think it will improve during the season. But to have the offense Wannstedt wants the defense needs to hold a lead. Something they haven’t been able to do against average teams or better in the first two years.

I’m working my way through the various preview guides that have been released to date: Athlon, Lindy’s, The Sporting News and Phil Steele. The one thing that jumps out at me is that they all have Pitt pegged for about the same spot in the 1-119 rankings.

• Athlon — #55
• Sporting News — #55
• Phil Steele — #56
• Lindy’s — #60

Expectations are not particularly high and there isn’t any sense that the team will go out and steal a win or two — since they have yet to do so. Essentially, the belief is Pitt will win the games they should and lose the games they should.

From the Athlon Pitt preview (p. 125)

But maybe this is precisely what the Panthers need. When expectations have been high, they’ve traditionally failed to meet them. This season there is no pressure. No preseason ranking. No nothing.

This is not good for the football program. It isn’t a big deal that the national pubs all basically shrugged and slotted Pitt in the same spot that expecting a roughly .500 record from a BCS school deserves. It’s that most Pitt fans have similar feelings.

Just a shrug. By the end of last season and through the offseason, the rumble is that 2008 is the year. The problem is that has tamped down interest in 2007 before it even happens. It makes the underlying theme to 2007, “it’s development towards next year.” Yippee.

That follows the retroactive themes to 2005 — “The adjustment from the pros;” and 2006 — “It’s Walt’s fault.”

Good news during the slow news time. College football previews are getting released. In the last two weeks, Lindy’s and Athlon have been released. This week could be the big one. Phil Steele’s college preview might hit the newsstands.

So far, Pitt has been “ranked” at #60 and 55 in the two pubs that have been released. In other words, lower half of the BCS teams and middle of college football overall. Not too surprising there.

Pitt is being picked for 6th in the Big East behind Cinci. Now that just hurts.

Last week’s NBA Draft Lottery was a huge surprise. I was about as shocked by that as I’ll get for anything related to the NBA. With all of the teams set in their draft spots (and as I write this I’m laughing at the Celtics), it’s much easier to accuartely predict where draft prospects will go once the order is known. Teams with needs at a certain spot who draft higher will allow a player to rise a few spots.

With that, it’s time to look at where old friend Aaron Gray is predicted to go. With the draft about a month away, he rose from the mid-late 2nd round all the way to the first pick of the second (and final) round. That pick belongs to Seattle, who is either going to land Greg Oden or Kevin Durant based on who Portland takes. Simply put, if Durant goes first and Oden falls to the Sonics, Gray won’t being their second round pick. Chances are, however, that Oden goes #1 and Seattle picks up Durant who will be playing the small forward spot in the NBA.

Again, this is all speculation and guesswork. It’s pretty safe to say he won’t be going Top 10 though, like some thought he might before the 2006-07 season tipped off.

Something that just happened. The way too early 2007 top-25 predictions have already begun trickling out. Luke Winn at SI.com only does a top-10 but then lists a slew of “on the fringe,” including Pitt (at about #25). Andy Katz has his for ESPN.com and puts Pitt at #20:

Why: The Panthers are losing their big man in Aaron Gray and his sidekick Levon Kendall, but when is the last time the Panthers really slid under Jamie Dixon? How about never. The Panthers will still be in the thick of the Big East race and a top-20 team throughout the season with the core of their guards returning and incoming freshman center DeJuan Blair to fill the role.

This is a new thing. Pitt will have lost 3 starters. The face and focal point of the team is departing (arguably the second straight year of that with Krauser and now Gray) along with the team’s best perimeter defender in Graves.

Despite that. Despite a lot of unknowns about next year — will Sam Young’s knees be better? Who will be at center? Which freshmen (redshirt and actual) will crack the starting line-up and the rotation? Gilbert Brown? DeJuan Blair? And that’s just a superficial scratching the surface of the issues.

Despite all of that, the team has earned a reputation as one that does not slip very far. The expectations are, that this team will put in the right players and they will continue to still be a nationally ranked team.

Next year will be a very different team and I don’t exactly know what to expect. It could be more of a struggle then expected (just look at UConn), it could be a bubble-team season, or even better. Pitt, though, has earned a benefit of the doubt.

The games have gotten underway. A couple hours or so until tip. I’m not ready to start the open thread, but here are just a few more stories — quick hitter — to read if you need to pass the time.

Seth Davis at SI.com went with UCLA. I’m not shocked. Look, Pitt hasn’t won in this round. It’s a generally safe bet to go with that trend. Add in that it’s against UCLA, and there is no reason for most pundits to pick Pitt.

The whole getting past the Sweet 16 issue.

UCLA will try to get Aaron Afflalo going early. He’s struggled lately, but isn’t concerned. Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News, however, is.

Oh, you bet it’s missing. It’s missing almost three-fourths of the time lately. A 39.5 percent 3-point shooter heading into the final weekend of the regular season, he is at 27.6 percent over the past five games. He does not look as confident in his shot, and this has had a devastating effect on the Bruins’ offense. They had a 3-2 record in that stretch, and, perhaps even more foreboding, averaged 59.4 points.

The Bruins’ attack depends on Afflalo being a force. The Bruins are not making it out of California if he struggles in these next two games. Presuming there are two more games. It’ll be hard for UCLA to beat Pittsburgh without a significant Afflalo contribution.

It would be nice to keep him down and struggling.

Some are disappointed with the second year output of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
Washington Post story on Dixon-Howland.

Nebraska (and former Pitt) AD Steve Pederson will be pulling for Pitt and recalls the recruiting of Jamie Dixon to come on as an assistant.

Former Stanford and Golden State Warrior HC Mike Montgomery picks UCLA for the game (shocking, I know).

The question is, can you get it all worked out in four days of preparation? If people don’t have the skills to make those kinds of plays against a defense as intense as UCLA’s, you’re not going to learn it in a week.

Now, I would guess that same game plan is also what Pitt runs. I think the key for UCLA is Collison. He creates off the dribble. If Pitt controls Collison, and Afflalo and Shipp don’t have good games, then UCLA is in trouble. They’re not going to score enough points to win.

But I’m going to pick UCLA because, if nothing else, they might do what they do better. Also, the Bruins are at home, so to speak. Every UCLA alum I know is trying to get tickets.

No kidding. It’s in the state and under 350 miles from LA.

While screwing around on Facebook on Monday and filling in a bracket for one of the polls hosted there, I pressed the “randomize” button to see what it would give me. The first time I clicked it I got this.

The champions (over Albany in the final) are your Pittsburgh Panthers.
We also have the ESPN Insider projections.

Now I don’t know how they got these percentages or what they mean. The might have simulated it on a video game or let a monkey pick the winner out of a hat 100 times.

What does this all mean for Pitt’s chances Thursday? Absolutely nothing.

First off, let me begin by going back to the game on Monday in Philly. Big time congrats to Villanova’s game day entertainment department. The lettuce throwing competition during a media timeout was pure gold. I think it was mainly a ploy to get ‘Nova a free timeout so Jay Wright could go tanning. Personally, I would have gone with a water gun fight.

However, moving forward into this unnecessary break we have from Pitt hoops…After picking up a win over in Eastern PA, we bring our season total to 20 wins with a ton of room to pile on more. Only seven or eight years ago, we would be very happy with 20 wins. That’s especially true with the type of attention and expectations that were given to any Pitt hoops team; it was pre-Pete, pre-Oakland Zoo, pre-Ben Howland recruiting, and so on.

Then the ultimate goal for any NCAA basketball team at that stage becomes “Hey, let’s try to make the Big Dance as an at-large bid,” which we managed to accomplish in 2001-02, also knocking out the goals of winning the Big East Tournament, making the NCAA tournament as a conference champion, and reaching the Sweet Sixteen. All of that in the same year; expectations were on the rise.

Now the next goal is getting over the Sweet Sixteen hump and reaching the Final Four and winning a national championship. We went three straight years to the Sweet Sixteen, then only the first round in 04-05 and the second round last year. All of this culminates by asking the final question: when will Pitt basketball fans be satisfied?

At this point through both conference and non-con games we have a pretty solid gauge of where this team stands. We’ve seen them against horrible teams, decent teams, top 25 teams, and even a top 3 team in Wisconsin.

Another Sweet Sixteen year is expected from this team for sure unless someone very important gets injured. Getting to the round of eight would be no surprise from this team at all. They could go all the way (notice I never said they would or that they have the best chance of anyone else to do it) and no one would think twice.

So is the Sweet Sixteen a failure? Or is it the Elite Eight? Should we be satisfied if we don’t make it to Atlanta and the Final Four?

Then there’s also the Big East tournament to throw into the mix. If we run through the three (or four, however it’s unlikely) games needed to win it and then go out in the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament then is it something we should be happy with? If we bomb up at MSG then how far do we need to get to make this season worthwhile?

Personally, I don’t think this team can be happy with anything less than Elite Eight, especially if they don’t manage to win the conference tournament. This is the type of team than can get to the Final Four and it’s possible for some to think that anything less than even that is a failure.

I’m sure everyone has their own separate answers to all of those questions depending on what you thin “success” means for this current Pitt team. What are yours?

A couple ESPN Insider looks at the conference favorites and such as conference play gets under way from Fran Fraschilla:

Built in the mold of recent Panthers teams in the Howland/Dixon era, this team has no McDonald’s All-Americans but it does have a lot of depth, toughness and balance. Is there a style of play in the country that is a better fit for a city like Pittsburgh?

Doug Gottlieb:

What we know: The Big East will be a much-hyped conference, but this is clearly a transition year for the league. Gone is just about every star from last season. No more G-Mac, Quincy Douby, WVU’s Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey, Steve Novak, Taquan Dean, UConn’s five draft picks and Brandon Bowman. We are left with Aaron Gray, Roy Hibbert and Dominic James as the exceptions, so a drop-off was to be expected.

Pitt is the favorite because of its depth, but the Panthers do not have real star power, unlike some of the younger teams in the conference.

What we think: Georgetown, Notre Dame and Marquette seem like the best bets after Pitt to be consistent winners in the Big East, with Georgetown’s guards the biggest key in its ability to win the conference.

What we wonder: Is UConn any good? Is Doug Wiggins a better point guard for the Huskies than A.J. Price? Over the last eight games, Price is averaging 12 points per game in 27 minutes per while Wiggins is scoring 13 points in just 23 minutes. Yes, Price is averaging more assists but also more than twice as many turnovers as Wiggins. With Jerome Dyson and Marques Johnson as UConn’s go-to guys on the perimeter, maybe Wiggins is a better fit because of the lack of scoring punch that Hasheem Thabeet gives the Huskies?

He also wonders about Louisville and DePaul.

I have to admit that at this point, the Big East definitely seems down this year. That can change by Tourney time, but right now the Big East looks a little down.

Of course you can also say that about the Big 11, Big 12 (especially the Big 12) and the ACC as well. The drop-off after the top few teams seems steep. Right now the SEC and the PAC 10 are looking like the deepest conferences this year. This doesn’t make them the best or where the national championship is coming from. It’s just where the competition seems especially strong and deep.

Oddsmakers aren’t stupid. They haven’t released the line on the Pitt-Wisconsin game with Gray’s availability even slightly in question. We all know this should be a close game, the teams are evenly matched. It’s also the college basketball game of the weekend.

Game worth flying to see in person: Nothing like an early Saturday game between a pair of top 10 teams to get the weekend started, and that’s exactly what we’ve got when No. 2 Pittsburgh visits No. 7 Wisconsin for a contest scheduled to tip at noon ET. The matchup will feature two of the best coaches in the business (Jamie Dixon and Bo Ryan) and two of the best seniors in the nation (Aaron Gray, who might not play, and Alando Tucker). Hard to say which way it’ll go, but it’s worth noting Wisconsin has won 11 straight games at the Kohl Center and is 80-5 at home under Ryan. Just take that for what it’s worth.

That homecourt edge is what makes a difference for Seth Davis as well.

If this is a toss-up, I have to say the coin comes up Wisconsin primarily because the game is being played in Madison, where the Badgers have lost just five times under Bo Ryan and are 42-3 against non-conference opponents.

I can’t say this has me too worked up. For a big game like this on the road, I’d rather be the underdog. What does annoy me is superficial intros to breaking down the match-ups like this.

But there is one glaring difference. Only one has proven worthy of its high ranking.

The Badgers beat in-state rival and No. 17-ranked Marquette 70-66 last week.

The Panthers haven’t played a ranked team yet. They had to come from behind to escape with a 70-67 win over a 6-4 Buffalo team in their last game.

See, I thought this was the game to prove which team was “worthy” of its ranking. It’s 10-11 games into the year. It’s not like Pitt won’t be playing Marquette later this year. Both teams have beaten Delaware St., FSU, and Auburn as well. That said, read the article for some of the match-up discussion.

Mike DeCourcy is also looking forward to it.

Must-see hoop TV: Pitt at Wisconsin, noon Saturday, ESPN. Panthers star center Aaron Gray missed practice Thursday because he was ill, and the team isn’t certain he’ll play against the Badgers. His absence would remove some of this game’s impact, because it’s hard enough to win at Wisconsin even with all of your best.

Whether or not Gray plays, it’ll be interesting to see how Pitt defends small forward Alando Tucker, who shredded Marquette in a big Badgers victory last weekend. Levon Kendall might be the best man-to-man defender in college hoops, but can a 6-10 guy keep up?

This will be my first TiVO test. I have to do something that will likely run into the early afternoon tomorrow (moving a lot of crap I was supposed to do last week, but the rental truck fell through and it absolutely has to be done at this point). So, I’ll be on a little time lag, before I can sit down and watch it.

Well, not my fault, they only put it on the net yesterday.

I’m stunned, everytime I see a list of top impact transfers for this season and Mike Cook omitted. Seth Davis at SI.com at least got it.

Mike Cook | 6’4″ | jr. | G-F | PITT
Began at East Carolina and did the unusual: moved to a higher-profile program. Will make a difference once he learns to play Big East D.

He seems to be playing rather good D right now, but there is a wait and see on that aspect until at least Saturday.

Sports Illustrated college B-ball preview puts Pitt at #10. Behind G-town (#7) and Wisconsin (#9). Washington is listed at #14. The team preview is rather stock, focused on Gray.

The Sporting News puts Pitt at #5 in its preseason rankings and has the preview for them up.

This is Pittsburgh we’re talking about. This is the place that Herb Sendek, Skip Prosser, John Calipari and at least one sportswriter you might know departed so they could move up a little in the basketball world. This not only is 100 percent Steelers country, but also is a place where winters mostly have been occupied by hockey talk. It is amazing the city has come so far so fast in adopting basketball as a favored pastime.

There is one final step, though, for Pittsburgh to become a true basketball town.

Get the Panthers to the Final Four.

They’ve won the Big East regular season. They’ve won the Big East tournament. They’ve advanced to three Sweet 16s. All these were moments of profound joy for the few basketball-loving folks around long enough to remember when the city high schools turned out the likes of Maurice Lucas and Kenny Durrett and the only really big hoops night of the year was the Friday in April when Sonny Vaccaro staged his Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. To engage the entire town, though, Pitt stepping into the Final Four would be the golden ticket.

…

Some teams appear deep because they have a lot of veterans with established credentials and/or young recruits with lofty reputations. Pitt’s a little different. What Pitt can do that few others can is search through its pile of talent for the right component that fits on a given night.

The trick if find that component early enough in the game.

Over at ESPN.com they have their 9 “experts” pick their Final Four teams. Two of them pick Pitt in the FF.  Fran Fraschilla is one of the people picking. The other might be something of a stunner (it was to me), Doug Gottlieb. I mean, on the bright side, it wasn’t Dick Vitale.

Believe it or not, I haven’t forgotten about basketball. It’s just been a little crazy lately. I have taken a look at the various previews that have Pitt anywhere from 4th to 9th in the country. Really they all talk about the team in mostly the same way:

• Aaron Gray coming back was huge.
• The team has depth and maturity.
• Kendall is underrated.
• Ramon and Fields will do well.
• Sam Young could break-out.
• Mike Cook will have a big impact.
• Dixon’s a good coach who has balanced playing time well.

They also ask some questions that do need to be considered about this team.
— Can Pitt handle the hype?

Let’s face it, this is a big question that nags at the back of most of our minds. In both football and basketball, it seems that Pitt has just never done well when there are big expectations from the team. Forget getting to the Final Four or BCS. The teams seem to struggle to win and not go out in the first round of the NCAA and/or Big East Tournament.

— Can Aaron Gray be the #1 guy?

If media day is any indication, Gray seems at ease with the attention and being the focus of all attention. Carl Krauser took a lot of the focus both positive and negative. How will Gray handle taking the questions when the team loses a game?
— Will Coach Dixon be able to figure out the rotation, and find enough playing time to placate egos?

Pitt is very deep, and could very easily go 10 or 11 deep. There’s only 200 minutes to go around each game. There’s a good chance that all the freshmen could find themselves redshirting. Only Gilbert Brown might break into the roatation.

— What will the perimeter defense be like?

Ronald Ramon is a very good defender, but his size is an issue. He can be shot over. Fields was inconsistent. Graves has shown a propensity to be a step slow with a penetrating player. Cook might be an answer, but that remains to be seen.

— Who will be the “go to” or “crunch time” guy?

Carl Krauser was the guy — for good and ill — now there isn’t that one guy who the team will look to for that shot. The guy who took the ball and was going to get the last shot. Ramon took key shots late in games, but he did not create them. Maybe it will be Fields. Perhaps Cook. Young can penetrate as well. Maybe it’s not a bad thing, since there isn’t one player to key on, but it is a legit question.

It seems for a team tabbed for the preseason top spot, they are reasonably loose before the media horde.

Reporters were swarming Jamie Dixon on Wednesday when Pitt senior center Aaron Gray held out an invisible microphone and posed a question to his coach.

“How does it feel to be talking to this many reporters?” Gray said.

Dixon looked at his 7-foot star and deadpanned, “I tried to get rid of one of them, but he came back.”

Considering how Coach Dixon has struggled generally to show a personality in media settings and the volume of media friendly and quotable coaches in the Big East, this is progress and says something about improving skills for Coach Dixon in being comfortable in his skin and his position.

This is the third time Pitt has earned Big East preseason No. 1 status. The other two times, in 1987-88 and 2002-03, the Panthers either won or tied for the regular-season title.

So Pitt has that going for it.

Not that Pitt players and coach don’t know it also makes Pitt a target for everyone’s best game and that preseason rankings are not that important.

“We have to accept the challenge and stay strong,” senior guard Antonio Graves added. “We’ll be faced with ups and downs. With this team, the key will be how we stay strong in the storm. With all the pressure and attention, how we handle adversity will be the key to this season.”

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon took the news in stride. He recognizes that being picked No. 1 is a tribute to his and his staff’s ability to coach and recruit, but he also knows the recognition means nothing if the Panthers don’t play to their lofty expectations.

“I think it’s a good thing for our program,” Dixon said. “I think it says a lot about where we’ve come from. I always said when this conference was getting changed around and everyone was wondering what was going to happen, I said we want to play against the best. If we’re picked at the top in the preseason in this conference, I think that says a lot.”

The one thing that can derail any season, though, are injuries. It seems there are some little injuries in the preseason worth keeping an eye on.

Pitt has been bitten by the injury bug this preseason. Freshman guard Gilbert Brown was diagnosed with mononucleosis 10 days ago and has yet to take part in a practice. Sophomore point guard Levance Fields is hampered by a groin injury and senior guard Antonio Graves (back) and sophomore forward Sam Young (knee) have minor injuries.

Graves said the practices have been extremely competitive.

“Guys are still competing and fighting for positions,” he said. “Practice is very competitive, very physical. We’ve had a couple of injuries. It’s been a battle. It will make us a better team.”

Brown, a consensus top-50 recruit, is to be reexamined today. He just started doing some light running on the treadmill earlier in the week and could be out for a while.

“It’ll change some things if he’s not ready to go,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Gilbert Brown was about the only freshman expected to bust through the rotation this season. The issue will be his conditioning coming back from mono. Knee problems for Sam Young are nerve inducing. He needs to healthy knees for his explosiveness.

Lots of stuff to go through over the next day or two. From the NY Times:

With the Villanova and Connecticut rosters having been decimated by defections to the N.B.A., it is the Panthers and the Hoyas who look like the class of the conference. Both are returning many of the players from 2005-6 teams that were not quite good enough to steal the spotlight.

“This conference has two great teams this year, and they are Pitt and Georgetown,” Louisville Coach Rick Pitino said.

In the league’s coaches’ poll, Pitt received the top ranking with 10 first-place votes; Georgetown was close behind with four first-place votes and 212 points. Syracuse and Marquette each received one first-place vote.

A big reason Pittsburgh is expected to go far this season is the 7-foot senior center Aaron Gray, who was named preseason player of the year. Gray, who played in only 15 games as a freshman, has developed into a dominating inside presence who is skilled offensively and defensively. Gray probably would have been a first-round N.B.A. draft pick had he elected to leave Pittsburgh after last season, but he said he did not want to miss the chance to accomplish something special.

“I sat down with every teammate individually, and I told them if I come back, these are my goals,” Gray said. “I wanted to make sure they were on the same page with me. I told them, coming sixth in the Big East isn’t good enough. Getting to the Big East championship game isn’t good enough. Losing in the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament isn’t good enough. I wanted to know that everyone was willing to work hard to surpass those numbers. So far, everyone has shown me that they are.”

Then there’s this list of top sleepers expected to emerge this season.

3. Ronald Ramon, Jr., Pittsburgh, 6-1, 180
Carl Krauser, Pitt’s longtime leader, is gone. That means we are going to find out just how underrated Ramon has been. Unlike Krauser, Ramon does a good job setting up his teammates and uses good shot selection. In his first year as a starter last season, he led the team with a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, shot 51 percent from 3-point range in league games and scored in double figures in seven of the last 10 games. Now placed in a more assertive role, Ramon’s high basketball I.Q. and versatile skills will be showcased more.

And stay healthy.