Inconsistent, intensity, effort, energy levels, identity issues. Still trying to figure out this Pitt team is driving the beat writers crazy — not to mention the fans.
Starting with trying to figure out what kind of team this is. Obviously, this is no longer a defense-only team as tagged the last couple years.
Pitt left Morgantown, W.Va., on Saturday night trying to figure out how it could outrebound and outshoot (field-goal percentage-wise) West Virginia and still walk away with an 83-78 overtime loss.
The explanation? Defense — or lack thereof.
It used to be sacrilege to question the defensive play of the Panthers, who’ve done it better than anyone in the Big East in recent years. But when a struggling team such as WVU burns them for 83 points (the second highest point total for the Mountaineers this season), it raises some questions.
We’ve seen Pitt lock down the opposition when they want it. They just don’t always want it, because the team’s scoring is up this year. That means not always being ready or positioned on defense, especially when you are already thinking about being upcourt.
Sophomore center Chris Taft said he saw teammates, including himself, standing “straight up” and “not rotating” on defense at times.
“Those are things we can’t do anymore,” said the 6-10 Taft, who managed just two rebounds in 30 minutes.
Junior point guard Carl Krauser questioned the team’s effort after it had built an 11-point lead less than three minutes into the second half.
“Sometimes, there was a lack of effort,” Krauser said.
The problem is this has been going on all season, and they still haven’t fixed it. Hard to blame the coaches when the players don’t do their assignments.
Taft is under the microscope, and he will keep paying for that ESPN The Magazine piece everytime he isn’t giving full effort.
And shouldn’t Taft be able to move away from the lane and dog a player such as WVU’s 6-foot-11, 250-pound Kevin Pittsnogle? The two are roughly the same size.
WVU took advantage of Taft’s shoddy defense all over the court, including when Pittsnogle faked him off his feet for an easy basket early in the second half.
Did the Mountaineers feel they could run Taft around a bit?
“I thought so,” said swingman Mike Gansey.
Sure, Taft tortured Providence for 25 points and 15 rebounds a game earlier, but the Friars are meek up front. It’s not about the numbers, anyway. It’s about bringing the same intensity to every game, every possession.
Meanwhile, despite his insistence to the contrary, Taft’s offensive repertoire appears to consist of a jump hook and dunks.
Which is fine. Pitt needs him mostly to be a menacing defensive presence and a monster on the boards.
Taft started the WVU game with a few dunks and blocked shots but again was seen jogging back on defense. Dixon probably wouldn’t admit as much, but it sure looked as if he ripped Taft out of game twice in the first half for defensive lapses — once when Taft loafed downcourt; once when he failed to move his feet and got beat along the baseline.
Now I think the blast on Taft’s offense is unfair. Given his size and ability, I prefer him take the high percentage jams and soft hooks. The time for him to try a short jumper or fade was in the early part of the season when games seemed more like scrimmages. Be good to have, but let him use that size properly. No one faults — and they shouldn’t –Troutman for getting most of his points on put backs and lay-ins.
The issues on defense, have been there all season. I find this past game a hard one to get overly critical of the big men inside. All of that long-range shooting is for the perimeter guys to address. Bringing Taft and Troutman outside, often put them out of position when WVU ran a cut inside. Taft and Troutman aren’t fast enough to go inside-out on defense too often.
It’s the teams unpredictability and inconsistencies that are getting to some. The real issue, though, is who and how they are losing.
Pitt players spoke about “relaxing” and “lacking energy” and “taking things for granted” after the loss Saturday.
This is something new in Oakland. A trademark of recent Pitt teams had been the ability to dominate inferior competition.
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Those Pitt teams advanced to the Sweet 16, and they had something in common. They didn’t allow less-talented teams to hang around in games, much less beat them.Case in point against West Virginia: The Mountaineers made only 2 of 17 shots from 3-point range in the first half against Pitt and made just 29 percent of their field-goal attempts, but still trailed by just seven points at halftime.
“We really can’t keep a team in the game, especially when they’re at home,” Pitt junior Carl Krauser said. “We had to put the clamps on and finish them out, and we didn’t do a good job of that.”
It goes back to a killer instinct. The determination to step on the throat when you have the advantage. Pitt seems to keep thinking teams will just wilt when things go against them. Pitt hasn’t, why should they expect others to?
Tomorrow, St. John’s at home. Ramon is expected to play. No national TV. Showing on FSN-Pittsburgh and ESPN Full Court. No free internet radio. Guess I’ll be hitting refresh on my computer a lot.
