One feature we can look forward to seeing in Pitt’s offense this year is use of just about every eligible skill player of offense to catch a pass.

Having three experienced, game-ready wide receivers is not enough for him. He wants six to eight capable catchers.

Fortunately, he has a healthy crop of young receivers that have shown promise in the first week of camp.

Juniors Mike Shanahan and Cameron Saddler and sophomore Devin Street are firmly entrenched starters at the three wide-receiver positions in the Panthers’ new offense, and rightfully so.

Shanahan was second on the team in catches behind the departed Jonathan Baldwin with Saddler, who missed much of last season because of injury, getting seven receptions and Street getting 25 in 2010.

But newcomers and younger players, highlighted by redshirt freshman Salath Williams and true freshman Ronald Jones, are part of the list of players that could see playing time this season.

And not just to give the starters a rest.

“If they can’t play a substantial amount, then they won’t,” Graham said. “But all of them are competing right now to play.”

In addition, Ed Tinker, Josh Brinson, K’Wuan Williams put the number up to 8 receivers who will get opportunities to contribute. Lots of possibilities, configurations and combinations.

(more…)

That oft-mocked Wannstedt comment from the halftime of the 2005 edition of the Backyard Brawl was not actually incorrect. Pitt needed more speed. They needed faster players. Better athletes. The speed was needed to make plays on both sides of the ball.

Now, with just a few weeks to the debut of the High Octane era, “get faster” has a different meaning. National writers have noticed: it’s about the pace.

The way he figures it, if Pitt gets 80 offensive snaps a game, it should have no trouble scoring 35 points, a number the team only occasionally hit under Wannstedt.

It’s a style of play that’s a marked departure from the pro-style offense the Panthers used with effectiveness under Wannstedt. It will require Sunseri to make good decisions, and Ray Graham to follow in the footsteps of predecessors like Dion Lewis and LeSean McCoy.

“We’ve got to play fast,” Ray Graham said. “That’s what he wants. He wants us to play fast, fast, fast. Those are his three things.”

That means all the time.

“We run everywhere,” he said. “There’s no walking. We run to every drill. No breaks.”

It’s part of a relentless ethos the coach is preaching. Caragein points out it’s not just the offense that will be no-huddle this fall, but the defense, too.

The expectations of 80+ plays on offense each game would be — and this is a very obvious understatement — something of an increase.

(more…)

In the past week, as Pitt fans have continued to angst over not being in the NCAA Tournament after the first weekend. As Khem Birch shined in the McDonald’s All-American Game. There’s been a lot of questioning regarding Coach Jamie Dixon.

Some of it, is understandable. One area I don’t quite get has been conflating Coach Dixon with former football coach Dave Wannstedt when it comes to starting experience over talent. So before Birch even gets to campus. Before summer league even starts. People are making complete declarations and speaking in absolutes about Pitt’s future and whether guys like Khem Birch and J.J. Moore will and/or should be installed as starters. Making it practically a referendum on Dixon as Pitt’s coach and what to expect.

The case seems to boil down to Chris Taft not starting immediately as a freshman. John DeGroat getting token minutes to start every game as a senior. Sam Young not starting over Levon Kendall. And the playing time for J.J. Moore and Talib Zanna this past season.

(more…)

Welcome to the new theme. Pitt isn’t scoring enough.

The offense that once struck fear into the opposition has slowed to a crawl. The Panthers averaged 78.5 points per game through the first seven Big East Conference games. In the past seven games against conference competition, they have averaged 63 per game.

In the first seven games, the Panthers scored 72 points or more in every game and had 80 or more three times. In the past seven the highest total is 71 (twice) and they have been held below 60 three times, including twice in the past three games.

“We just haven’t been hitting shots,” sophomore guard Travon Woodall said. “It’s been a stretch where we’re playing a lot of games. We’ll get back to what we’re used to. But right now, we’re not hitting shots. Coach has been emphasizing taking enough shots and getting our shots up. We have to get back to that.”

There are some reasons for the big drop in scoring, most notably the absence of leading scorer Ashton Gibbs for three of those games. The Panthers also happened to play the Big East’s worst defending teams early on in the conference schedule.

Five of the first seven opponents are currently ranked 11th or higher in the league in scoring defense. Of the past seven opponents, five are among the top seven in the conference in scoring defense.

Yeah, go figure, Pitt’s offensive numbers dip when they play better defenses. Add in three missed games for Ashton Gibbs, which allowed a lot more collapsing by defenses without the real threat of 3-point baskets.

(more…)

Spent most of yesterday running errands and all things to clear Saturday for watching mis-matched football games.

It also meant being a little late to review what happened Thursday night. Since the media stuff is a bit stale, I’ll skip most of it.

By all means, be sure to read over the Zeise posts from after the game. Very informative from the view of someone who could see more of the field.

While I was pleasantly surprised with Vs. for actually having decent HD cameras for the game, there was a lot that wasn’t seen because of the the camera angles. To say nothing of the game calling.

(more…)

There are still puff pieces, profiles, leftovers from training camp to post, but let’s start easing into that Utah game that is closing faster and faster.

The match-ups are of particular interest. Especially where strengths and weaknesses make the coaches have to plan and think. In this case where both teams have match-up issues.

When Pitt is on offense the big concern is straight up the middle of the O-line with the center position (Alex Karabin) and right guard (Greg Gaskins). Left guard as well, is somewhat worrisome. Att least for the first couple games as Chris Jacobson gets settled. There is no concern at the tackle positions with Jason Pinkston and Lucas Nix.

Most of us will be watching the O-line very intently in that first game.

(more…)

The one area where there just doesn’t seem to be any angst over the position — now or into the future — is in the receiving corp.

It starts with Jonathan Baldwin, as the star of the crew. Realistically he is gone after this season barring some catastrophic injury, but there is such depth there.

Mike Shanahan has a lot of us excited because he is just as tall and opposite Baldwin. Both were basketball stars with offers from BCS programs. That size and athleticism is one of the reasons why there is a touch less worry about the passing game with a new QB behind a line that will likely be weak up the middle.

(more…)

Here’s something to think about heading into the weekend.

When the ACC expanded, it was not a unified decision by the members. To the point that Virginia and the state politics became the swing vote to get expansion done.

As you may recall, the original plan by the ACC was for Miami, BC and Syracuse. This was because Miami wanted to have connections to Boston and NYC where they had strong alumni bases. The problem was that there was significant disagreement within the ACC over this. Miami was problematic enough, but those two schools to the north seemed too far out. There didn’t seem to be the votes for all three.

There was a lot of scrambling and the Virginia legislature was in turmoil and lots of VT pressure was brought on them and the Virginia Governor. The VA Gov. Warner in turn leaned on UVa to back VT or not support any ACC expansion.

The ACC commish found he needed Virginia’s support to get the plan through. So, VT became the school to come with Miami. There still was not enough support at that moment for BC or Syracuse, they waited another year before bringing in BC — after the NCAA rejected their request to change conference championship rules to allow the minimum be lowered to 11 teams.

Pitt is the only candidate (aside from ND) that is within a state that already has a Big 11 member.

Now obviously the Pennsylvania political structure is nowhere near the same and political influence over the major schools seems much more limited — as witnessed by the failure of several attempts to mandate Pitt-PSU play each other annually as states like Florida and Alabama have done.

Now we don’t know how Big Something expansion will work out. It is known that the Big 11 needs 8 of the 11 present members to back an applying school for membership.

(I’m sure everyone can see where this is going.)

So here’s the question: Do you think Pitt and its supporters in the legislature  should bring pressure to bear on PSU to back Pitt into the Big Something? Whether this is done publicly or privately is not relevant.

To the point of demanding they not support any other school unless Pitt is included? Would it make a difference? Is it already taking place quietly?

Or do you think that the Big 11 schools would be too unified for PSU to stop it (i.e., at least 8 votes among the other 10 for all other candidates for membership)?

As a fan of limited government and not wild about them interfering in higher education, my natural instincts are to recoil. Of course, the Pitt alum/fan in me is screaming, “By any and all means necessary!”

This may be a no-brainer. Still worth asking.

I think I’ll spare myself (and possibly the rest of you) any big media recap of the actual game. Suffice to say, Coach Dixon put things succinctly.

But when it was over, Dixon contrasted the moods of the two teams. “They’re happy and we’re suffering,” he said. “It’s going to sting, it’s going to hurt.”

It was pointed out that Kevin Gorman and Bob Smizik see part of the problem in Pitt not having enough offensive firepower come the NCAA Tournament. Be it a take-over “man” in crunch time, or simply a need to recruit more players who are shooters even at the expense of defense.

My first thought is that both are essentially ignoring the fact that the Pitt team of the past two years has been much more of an offensive-minded team with good, but hardly transcendent defense. Who was Sam Young but an offensive force when he asserted? Who was Levance Fields, but the general who would get those last clutch shots when needed? Who was DeJuan Blair, but the force on the glass that would clean up everything and get easy putbacks on offensive rebounds? The defense was better than average, but it was Pitt’s offensive efficiency and ability to outscore teams that had them winning games the last two years.

This team was made up of the role players who had to expand their role, and young players still learning. They had to go with their strengths, which was much more emphasis on defense. The job of any coach is to win the games, and win with the talent on hand.

Looking at it a little closer, Gorman seems to be talking about some dominating two-guard or wing forward that can drive and shoot threes to be that man. Even if the defensive prowess/effort isn’t there. Or, if you want to be a little clearer — a more consistent Gilbert Brown. I mean, doesn’t Brown fit that description? When Brown is on his good days, he is exactly that. Didn’t he actually do that abruptly and unexpectedly (and yes, a little too late) at the end of Xavier? Isn’t that what Pitt may have coming in J.J. Moore? Can we agree that Dante Taylor still has big potential to be a very potent offensive force?

As for Smizik’s contention that Pitt needs 3-point specialists who can come off the bench cold and drill 3s. Um, okay. Yeah, that would be nice. Tell me a team that wouldn’t mind that. But maybe it’s because I’ve watched a bombing of 3s philosophy absolutely fail in the Big East (and most other places) — Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, etc. — that it seems a bit silly. The only teams in the Big East that shoot a lot of 3s and have any success — Louisville and Syracuse. They play a completely different style than Pitt, and still they rely on having an inside presence and ability to go to the basket when the shots don’t go down.

My feeling is that that the writers are ignoring or confusing things, and really want to see Pitt play more of an up-tempo style. That’s not going to happen.

Final note. Just for fun, imagine if Pitt did change philosophies. Then imagine what would happen when Pitt hit a patch where they lost several games in a stretch because the defense was not there? Then there would be bemoaning the loss of identity for Pitt. How they are failing on the basics and fundamentals.

That was the most disappointed I’ve been with this team all season. Before the season started. Even after Pitt started 5-0 in the Big East, going down to Morgantown was going to be at best 50-50 that Pitt could win there. There was a reason that WVU was right there with ‘Nova for preseason tops of the Big East. Most of their season has not done anything to really dispute that — close games or not.

So losing there was not exactly a shock. Anytime Pitt loses to the ‘Eers is a disappointment and cause for anger, but in this case my frustration and disappointment was with the way Pitt just collapsed in the final 12 minutes or so. The frustration with their own performance on offense seemed to drag them down further. They managed only 10 points over that bit.

As we all know Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown were stunningly MIA. Shooting a combined 0-8, 0-3 on FTs, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 turnovers. For two vital players they may as well have stayed on the bus.

Ashton Gibbs’ struggles continued and even infected his usually flawless FT shooting. 2-13 shooting (2-7 on 3s), and 5-8 on FTs — missing his last 3 attempts.

Pitt hasn’t been able to win games lately if Gibbs is shut down. This time it was the team’s 3 leading scorers. It’s almost a wonder Pitt was able to stay in the game as long as they did.

The box score is a wonder to behold. 6-30 shooting in the second half. Only 5 assists (though, when you keep missing everything assists become even harder to come by).

Only three players effort and performance made me feel good. Jermaine Dixon worked all game and no matter how much better his ankle was feeling, it still had to take a toll to go for 34 minutes. Nasir Robinson was doing everything he could, he was 5-6 at the line. He led the team with 3 assists and just played very solid defense — even when he was being overwhelmed inside. J.J. Richardson decided that he wasn’t going to just be a scrub. He finished his shots more than anyone else. In only 14 minutes he finished with 7 points and 4 rebounds.

Pitt determined to give McGhee a lot more touches. They did, but he had none. 3-11 shooting — 1-7 in the second half. He got 9 boards but he really struggled. He simply cannot be the focal point of the offense.

The Dante Taylor conundrum continues to confound. The debates rage in comments over what to do. I’m just not sure. I have trouble believing he will be playing better defense at the 4 than the 5.

It sure seems like he is almost pouting about playing center now. That he is frustrated and not putting the effort and thought into what he needs to do. If you are a coach, how do you reward that by putting him at his preferred spot? It is a team, and don’t you put some of that at risk? I suppose you can go to him and say, “Okay, I’ll give you a shot at PF tonight. Prove me wrong.”

Overall, it seems like Coach Dixon’s hands are tied. There’s only so much you can do at this point. It’s nice to say, “shake-up the line-up and the rotation.” But how? Gibbs has to play considering the choice is Woodall or Adams behind him. Jermaine Dixon is still the best defensive player. Gilbert Brown has been unpredictable from game-to-game.

The offense is completely struggling right now as the perimeter game has disappeared. Pitt has been attempting to go inside more to open it up, but it hasn’t exactly worked. Now, the entire team seems to be afraid to take a 3.

On the bright side, I do think it will be hard for Pitt to have played much worse than that final 12 minutes. We will see how they respond.

One final thing. Pitt plays WVU at the Pete in 9 days. There’s going to obviously be a lot of hate — on top of the usual. The students and the rest of the fans still need to keep it clean. Stooping to the behavior of the Hoopie fans is not acceptable.

The danger of trying to post late at night, after having a few drinks, and sweating out a win by Pitt is not writing things I will regret later. Nor is it spelling and grammar issues — well that is an issue but not where I’m going. It’s forgetting the whole point of the post.

After the St. John’s game, one of the primary issues I wanted to write was about how Pitt was playing a lot more along the lines of how they played in the non-con (hence the title of the post). Instead I got bogged down in things about the game, and forgot about tying it together with the intended point. Opting instead for sleep and forgetting all about it.

I’ve been fairly consistent stating that Pitt would be uneven this year. That progress would not be a straight line. Playing at points like they were capable of winning the conference, and others like they would struggle to finish at their preseason projection of 9th. Which of course, leads to the panicky, “oh god, Pitt won’t even make the Tournament,” outbursts. Not to mention silly strawman articles about how Coach Dixon is still the same coach (duh).

It doesn’t make this present stretch any less fun. Doubly so since two of the losses came against teams that were near the bottom last season.

Pitt isn’t in free-fall like UConn. Even Texas has found itself struggling far more than they should. Seth Davis still thinks Pitt is fine and at SI.com listed a bunch of teams with struggles and his evaluations.

Under the hood: When the Panthers knocked off Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 2, they made 10-of-24 from three-point range. Turns out that was a mirage. During the last four games, they have gone just 13-for-55 (23.5 percent) from behind the arc. They adjusted during Sunday’s loss at South Florida by only taking eight threes, but they converted just 12-of-22 from the foul line. When the Panthers aren’t making shots, it puts enormous pressure on their defense, and during this recent skid the D has not been quite good enough.

Wheels report: Three wheels wobbly. Fourth holding steady.

It appears Pitt’s win streak inflated expectations, but now that the Panthers have self-corrected, I think they can keep chugging along. Still, they’re going to have to knock down some shots, either from the arc or the free throw line, to win Wednesday at West Virginia. Otherwise that fourth wheel might not hold up.

The last few games have been frustrating to me. The defense has been prone to breakdowns at key spots. Against USF the Bulls were kept to sub-40% shooting, but Dominique Jones came in hot and then Jones shot lights out in the second half (6-9) and continued to get to the free throw line.

What’s been really maddening, though, has been the offense. In the stretch where Pitt has gone 2-3, the perimeter shooting has been spotty to abysmal. Teams have adjusted and are playing a lot tighter outside. Willing to take a chance on letting Wanamaker, Brown and (when healthy) Dixon get past them to the basket.

The reason, obviously is to limit Ashton Gibbs. It has worked very well. He’s getting few open looks and is being guarded tightly at all turns. This has frustrated him and has him rushing his shots at times even when he does get free. The result is a major slump.

The offense’s problems start with sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs, Pitt’s leading scorer. He averaged 20 points and shot 51 percent from the field (28 for 55) in the first five games. In the past four he is averaging 14 per game while shooting 30 percent (16 for 55) from the field.

“He’s just going to have to be patient and let things come to him and we’re going to have execute better to get him shots,” Dixon said. “I think he’s taking pretty good shots. He needs to get to the free-throw line more. Those are things that get you out of slumps. It’s good to get those free throws and get a feel of the ball going through the basket.”

He’s not patient, and that means he is not getting any contact. Excluding the Seton Hall game, he’s had 10 FTAs in the other 4 games. To be fair, Gibbs has had one other shooting slump almost as bad this season — a 29-91 (32%) and 13-48 (27%) shooting slump over six games. That was from the Texas game through Kent St. Not so coincidentally, Pitt lost 2 games, had to go to double-OT to beat Duquesne, and included that 47-32 thriller over New Hampshire.

The other reason teams are playing so tightly and aggressively outside, is little fear inside. After his big game against Louisville, Nasir Robinson disappeared on the offense. He only had limited chances agianst G-town and Seton Hall. When Pitt made a concerted effort the last two games to focus on getting the ball inside on offense and giving him opportunities, however, Robinson has gone back to struggling — 2-13 in the last two games.

With Robinson struggling and Gilbert Brown having career highs in scoring vs. G-town and then topping that against USF, there are the renewed cries to start Brown.

This might be acceptable except that Gilbert Brown plays the same position as Robinson and Brown just might be Pitt’s best player. A struggling team can’t afford to have its best player coming off the bench.

Brown, who did not become eligible until January, scored 25 against South Florida, 20 against Georgetown and 17 against Cincinnati. On a team that has been falling behind early too often, Brown needs to be in the starting lineup.

I’m not sold. While Brown and Robinson play the same position according to the depth chart, they do not play it the same way. Brown is given more room to play the perimeter on both ends. Robinson is much more of the inside presence — even undersized.

Take Robinson out of the starting lineup and the game immediately begins with all the interior defensive weight on Gary McGhee’s shoulders. Given the struggles of Dante Taylor you are risking getting McGhee in very early foul trouble and making Pitt’s offense even more of a perimeter game.

To say nothing of rebounding. USF had a very smart, simple strategy for dealing with Pitt sending so many players inside to fight for rebound. Tapping the ball. Their bigs, rather than try to snare it or fight for it, more often than not merely tapped the ball outside. Getting it back to open guards who could reset the offense.

Then there is the lack of depth on the bench — especially if you move Gilbert Brown to the starting line-up. With Jermaine Dixon day-to-day, Travon Woodall had a chance.

“Travon is a key for us,” Jamie Dixon said. “I said after the Seton Hall game that we need him to play more. He has to continue to improve and not be a freshman. That’s what we’ve talked about. He doesn’t have to score a lot. He doesn’t have to have big numbers. He just has to defend, give us some minutes and run some offense. I think [Thursday] he did a better job of that. That was good for us. Obviously, with Jermaine’s situation it was even more important.”

Dixon was asked Friday whether Woodall was the type of player who needed more minutes to play well. Dixon did not dispute the theory, but he said he has coached players over the years who have made the most of limited minutes as well.

“That’s the argument everyone makes,” Dixon said. “He just needs to play well. Either way, he needs to play well. He needs to do what we need him to do. He doesn’t need to put up big numbers. He just has to help us win games.”

Unfortunately he wasn’t able to step-up. He started, but played only 17 minutes vs. USF. He only took 1 shot and while he only had one turnover, he had no assists. He was overmatched trying to defend any of USF’s guards.

Hopefully Jermaine Dixon will be back in the line-up tomorrow, WVU will continue to play inconsistent ball, and Pitt will play-up to the competition.

Pitt off until Sunday’s trip to New Jersey.

Technically the schedule gets lighter, but I don’t really feel that way. You could make a case that Pitt has been playing to the level of its competition this year — a common issue especially for young teams. Pitt was playing its best against the teams believed to be among the best in the conference. What happens when they face the perceived middle- and light-weights?

If you want to look for the bright side of Pitt’s loss to Georgetown, it is that the team had a very tangible bit of evidence that they need to get back to the defensive intensity.

It was the fourth consecutive game that a Pitt opponent shot 46 percent or more from the field. The Panthers were able to beat Connecticut and Cincinnati because they shot well against both and decisively outrebounded the Huskies. Pitt was able to beat Louisville, in part, because the Cardinals collapsed late by missing free throws.

Coach Jamie Dixon’s goal is to hold every opponent to 40 percent or less from the field. The Panthers have not done that since the conference opener against DePaul.

“I think we feel good about the wins, but [the Georgetown game] really took a toll,” junior forward Gilbert Brown said. “And it can take a toll on us. But I think we’ll bounce back well in practice. The biggest thing about this stretch, the good things, was that our team has been able to come together with me and Jermaine being back on the court and being able to play as a unit.

“But [the Georgetown game] still shows that we need to improve in other areas. We had a lot of letdowns the past couple games on defense in just getting the hustle plays, the loose balls and boxing out. So, we really have to get back to what we do. Right now, we’re struggling in those things, but I feel as though we’re going to be picking it up later on this season.”

Happily most Pitt fans were rather sanguine after the loss. Even the expected freak-out to the beat writer after a loss was hardly that.

I do worry about the games with Seton Hall and St. John’s. Both teams have some talent and have been unexpected thorns in recent years. Seton Hall, both for being the next game and the style they play, has me very concerned. If a guy like Hazell has a good night, then insanity reigns.

Ashton Gibbs’ rough night gets a little dissection. Concern, again, seems limited.

Gibbs isn’t getting open as often thanks to increased pressure, but even when he did Wednesday he wasn’t very accurate. He missed a pair of open threes in the same possession late in the game as Pitt tried again to rally.

“He normally knocks down those shots,” said Jermaine Dixon. “He just didn’t make them.”

Gibbs shouldn’t be criticized roundly — he still averages 16.9 points — but his quick and questionable shot selection at times Wednesday showed a frustration not seen this season. Coach Dixon said he believed Gibbs played well, but did point out the open misses, a rare point of public criticism from Dixon.

Still, losing faith in their top scorer will take Gibbs’ teammates more than one or two less-than-spectacular performances.

“Ashton will bounce back on Sunday (at Seton Hall),” Jermaine Dixon said. “He’s our scorer, and he will try to find ways to get open.”

I don’t think anyone is too worried. The only concern I have for Sunday is that it is a “homecoming” game for Gibbs and Travon Woodall to play in New Jersey. For the Philly boys of Brad Wanamaker and Nasir Robinson, Philadelphia is only 90 minutes or so away from Newark. Could be a lot of friends and family show up, so that is always a mild concern for distractions.

In a good way, for once.

One of those things that has eaten at Pitt fans over the years has been the free throw shooting of Pitt. Coach Dixon, much like every coach of a team that has not shot them well dismissed the concerns publicly. Usually with a, “we make them when we have to” type comment.

Oddly enough Pitt’s free throw shooting has been about the same. At half way through the season and a little less than 1/3 through the Big East schedule Pitt is shooting FTs at about the same rate as last year. Except that the past couple weeks have been driving up the numbers.

“I really don’t know,” said guard Jermaine Dixon. “We practice free throws every practice, before during and after. We did that last year, too. It’s just more of them are going in.”

Last year, Pitt was 67.6 percent from the line. This year, it was 67.4 entering the game. But a further inspection shows that the Panthers were 17 of 20 in a road win at Connecticut last Wednesday, 20 of 27 in a win at Cincinnati and 26 of 36 in a win at Syracuse. Including Saturday, that’s 73.6 percent in an impressive block of four wins and 41 of 50 (82 percent) in their last two games.

Saturday, Pitt shot 24-30 (80%) at the line. And oh my, yes, Pitt made them when they counted.

Wanamaker got advice from a good source before making two game-tying free throws with 1.9 seconds to play. The junior guard talked to Gibbs, who is among the nation’s top free-throw shooters at 92.6 percent.

“Ashton told me to take it like it was practice and nobody around,” he said.

Wanamaker went 11 for 12 from the line against Louisville. Since shooting 48 percent as a freshman, Wanamaker has made 73.1 percent from the line.

And then there is the other side.

But even Pitino had to acknowledge the obvious: Despite its mistakes, UofL did enough to win in a tough Big East Conference venue, had it only made those free throws.

“If you make those free throws, the game’s over,” he said. “It’s mathematically impossible, unless you turn it over, for them to win.”

Sosa’s first big miss came with 1:37 left and the Cards up five. It was the front end of a one-and-one, and Jared Swopshire missed another one of those with the Cards still up five with 42 seconds left. The Cards were up four when Sosa missed a pair with 28.4 seconds left.

You can’t keep missing them without paying, and you can’t make up for missing them by taking the entire game into your hands.

And consequently ignoring Samardo Samuels in the OT to compound things.

An extended lay-off after Pitt starts the conference play 3-0. Naturally, the players really don’t mind.

“The consistent practice time we put in, getting up and down the court, scrimmaging each other, just getting to know each other more than we did was important,” said Brown, who scored a career-high 17 points against Cincinnati. “I only played four games and Jermaine seven, so it’s really helped us get together as a team.”

Brown and Dixon have changed the team dramatically. In the four games Brown and Dixon have played together, Pitt is averaging 73.8 points per game, shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from 3-point range. In the 11 games when they were not in the lineup together, Pitt only averaged 65.6 points, shot 43.9 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range.

Brown and Dixon are two of the better defenders on the team, and there has been a noticeable difference at the defensive end as well. Teams are shooting a lower percentage from the field. And although teams are scoring more, the caliber of competition is much different from what the Panthers faced earlier in the season.

Those statistics figure to improve as they get used to playing together more.

“You can say [the break in the schedule] came at a good time,” junior guard Brad Wanamaker said. “[Brown and Dixon] have been looking good the last couple of games. It gave us more time to get better as a team, getting more comfortable playing with those two guys.”

Not to mention allowing Coach Dixon time to work on the rotation. Figure out playing time and starters. The speculation remains that Gary McGhee and maybe Nasir Robinson’s days as starters are numbered. Of course, that speculation has been there since mid-December.

To say nothing of working on the occasional zone defense to throw teams off and protect the frontcourt.

One of the solid things about having continuity with coaches, not just having the same coach here for 7 years but it being the continuation from an assistant to the head coach, is that the past players really feel the connection to the program and to the present players. At the beginning of the season, the players talked of how the past players emphasized to them how they needed to keep things going at Pitt. One of those things to keep going — defense.

“Jaron told me, ‘You have to be able to stop the other teams from scoring and be tougher than your opponents in order to win in the Big East,’ ” Dixon said. “That’s the same thing Levance Fields talked to me about when I was a freshman, and Carl Krauser was at the game the other day, and even he was talking about taking pride in playing defense and always being tougher than your opponents.

“That’s just who we are at Pitt.”

…

“When you come in as a young guy, you have to learn that everybody here takes pride in being able to defend and nobody is going to take it easy,” Jermaine Dixon said. “This is a physical conference and you must be mentally tough enough to survive in it. But the way we look at it, that starts every day at practice.”

Finally, Chris Dokish takes a look at the possible rotations for the next couple years based on recruiting and development.

Woodall has elite speed and has had some nice moments, but some nice moments is not enough in the Big East. He will have to make major improvement if he wants to continue to see the floor because Epps is a talented player who the staff expects will be at least a solid contributor as a freshman.

At the other guard spot, if Gibbs is not playing the point, he will obviously be positioned here. The fact that he has made such huge strides so quickly is a huge event for the program. Don’t forget that he was almost an afterthought as a recruit, and the staff actually had to get Woodall’s blessing to bring Gibbs in. It was Woodall who they thought was going to be making a major contribution by this point. To Gibbs’ credit he has turned himself into a legitimate all-conference player in just his second season. To say he is a pleasant surprise is an understatement, especially since he has proven that he is more than just a standstill shooter.

I recall last year, the issue with Gibbs to many was his shooting technique. He was effective, but they were not the pretty looking shots expected from a perimeter shooter. More like line-drives that just seemed to find the bottom of the basket. Certainly not the aesthetically pleasing look of Ronald Ramon’s 3s.

I hesitate to make this comparison, because it is not fair to Gibbs, but his development does strike me a bit like Brandin Knight’s. Not particularly heavily recruited from New Jersey, from basketball families, and each with a brother that was/is more highly regarded. Both, though, seem to have that spark to make themselves better players. To minimize their weaknesses and a drive to improve.

The Coach Dixon Radio Show kicks off tonight. I really wish they would put them out as podcasts — then I might actually listen. I am guessing that it will be streamed — either via the flagship 970 or one of the affiliates (listed in the press release). The show, though, airs from 6-7 and there is little chance at that time to go sit by the computer to listen. I suppose I could use a stream-ripper but that would mean remembering and still having to be home to start the recording. Seems like way too much work. If anyone has a good suggestion to time-shift that is free or if there are podcasts, let me know.

Bob Smizik is now declaring Coach Dixon the best coach in the ‘Burgh, while taking swipes at the talent levels and recuiting. Really, do you think there would be a Smizik column/post without the glass at least somewhat half-empty?

That’s what sets Dixon apart. He can win with lesser talent. Some might call that a knock on his recruiting ability, and there’s an element of truth to that. But the fact remains: Dixon regularly wins with less talent.

That is the mark of a great coach.

Nobody gets their players to play harder, no one gets a greater commitment to defense and team.

He takes the ordinary and makes them excellent. There’s no better example of that on the current team than Ashton Gibbs, the leading scorer. He was an mid-level recruit who is turning into an outstanding player. That’s a typical Dixon story. Gibbs is playing at an all-Big East level. No one had the right to expect that. But Dixon, with plenty of help from Gibbs, got him to that point.

Gibbs finally snapped his consecutive FTs made streak at 46. He has missed only 4 FTs all season. As if in counterpoint, Nasir Robinson has missed 13 straight going back to the beginning of December.

As usual, though, free throw shooting remains a consistent worry. Last year, Pitt shot 67.6% on free throws. Presently they aren’t too far away at 66.4%. Wanamaker is shooting 67% down from nearly 75% last year, though Dixon is hitting 76% which is up from 66%. Woodall is under 62%. Dante Taylor is tolerable at 62.5%. Gilbert Brown’s sample size is still too small to judge fairly. I don’t think I want to even discuss Gary McGhee (51.3), Nasir Robinson (30) and even Lamar Patterson (54.5).

Still, a 3-0 start in the Big East has raised expectations. Seriously, though, Elite Eight — based on this plan? That would only happen if there was a confluence of incredible leaps in development, several souls being sold and flat-out freaky luck.

Gilbert Brown has come out of his suspension looking like he has played most of the season. This despite not practicing or conditioning with the team or coaches since his suspension. Despite playing more of a power forward than a small forward. And still coming off the bench. He did have time to learn the last couple years what Sam Young was doing and prepared for it after last season ended.

“I’ve talked to Gilbert about it,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “We kind of want to use him similar to Sam. We ran a lot of sets for him that we ran for Sam. He finished strong, and he made some plays.”

Brown, who missed the first 11 games while on academic suspension, scored a career-high 17 points — 13 in the second half — in a 74-71 victory at Cincinnati. The redshirt junior forward scored nine consecutive points for No. 23 Pitt in a critical second-half surge, capped by a soaring, attack-the-rim, baseline dunk that harkened some of Young’s memorable slams.

The complaint about Coach Dixon’s approach has been that he is playing too many guys out of position. That he is not taking advantage of their natural ability at the right spot.

The flip side to that is how much it increases the versatility of the players and gives the team much more flexibility. It is part of the reason for the long-term success at Pitt under Dixon. The team can survive injuries better and not have to change the system as much.

To take the Sam Young example. Young fought and pouted about being forced into playing power forward when his size and ability suggested keeping him exclusively at the small forward spot. Instead, he learned to play inside better, play more defense and develop a more rounded game. It not only helped Pitt better when Blair had foul trouble. It helped his overall development as a player.

Brown returning clearly helped by increasing the team’s ability to score and improved their intensity. It also takes some pressure off of other players to produce and minutes needed. The other factor was in terms of practicing. With playing defense and immediately buying into what Dixon has taught about playing out of position. The team has more energy and intensity as it gets through to them.

While the addition of his two veterans has been a big part of the team’s improvement the rest of the players deserve a lot of credit, as well, the coach said. For one thing, some players lost some minutes they were getting early in the season to make room in the lineup for Jermaine Dixon and Brown; for another, the other players have all improved and most because they have responded to the challenges given to them by the coaching staff.

“We’ve challenged these guys to improve. They’re taking the responsibility,” Jamie Dixon said. “And I think they’re enjoying improving. Some guys don’t want to change, they want to stay the same. But these guys want to get better and they are. I think there’s a real understanding our mentality was we’re not going to be the same team in January as we were in November.

“[Brown] is getting better defensively and he’s getting more comfortable, especially on defense. Even though he’s been here three years, it really is like starting over for him, but he is continuing to improve — as they all are.”