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October 29, 2005

Blue-Gold Scrimmage

Filed under: Uncategorized — Chas @ 11:43 pm

Well, so far none of the estimated 2615 who attended Fan Fest have e-mailed me about it. It would appear that the scrimmage was entertaining.

Several Panthers stood out in the scrimmage. Junior center Aaron Gray finished with 17 points on 8-13 shooting and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. Senior John DeGroat concluded the contest with 13 points on 6-9 shooting and finished off a spectacular offensive rebound dunk. Junior Antonio Graves finished the day with 17 points and hit 3-6 3-point field goals and junior Levon Kendall scored 16 points on 7-13 shooting.

Pitt’s five newcomers also made their first public appearance on the Petersen Events Center floor. Freshman Sam Young’s athleticism was on display in the first half as he finished off three acrobatic dunks and registered 12 points. He finished the game with 18 points on 6-12 shooting. Freshman Levance Fields scored 11 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Freshman Tyrell Biggs (five points), junior Doyle Hudson (two points) and junior Mike Cook (seven points) all saw their first action at Pitt.

Sure, it’s relatively meaningless, but it has to help get you somewhat interested in the upcoming season.

Which brings me to some previews. I’ve been meaning to link these. The Big East Basketball Report Blog has been doing team previews. The Report picked Pitt 7th in the conference. Here is Pitt’s.

However, that is not to indicate that the sun is setting on the Pittsburgh program and Jamie Dixon. If you look back historically at programs that rose to power in the Big East, there is no straight shot to the top. At this time, everyone strives to be like Syracuse and Connecticut, but there have been many early NCAA exits and trips to the NIT for these programs even after raising their national reputation to the status of the nation’s best. Traditional powers have seen tough times ensue when replacing coaches. Pitt is bringing in a talented group of newcomers and have some holdovers that might be getitng overlooked a little, but have shown the ability to compete at high levels. All this with a sterling on-campus arena, the Peterson Events Center, and the Pitt program, although in a criticial stage, still has plenty of upside left, in our opinion.

Through much of last spring and into this summer, it looked like a definite rebuilding season for the Panthers with the loss of Taft, McCarroll and Troutman and the anticipated loss of PG Carl Krauser to the professional ranks. However, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon got some good news when Krauser decided to pass on professional opportunities and return to run the show for the Panthers. Krauser is a tough and physical point guard that rebounds, gets assists and can score. He comes from the playgrounds of NYC and certainly has the flair of the streets in his game and his passion for the game is obvious. Finding a balance of where the streets meet the college game is also very important, because, on occassion, Krauser can be careless with the ball and get into a habit of over-dribbling. Last year, in wins over Notre Dame and Syracuse in a 3-day span, he showed how clutch he could be with key shots. He is a player that has been through the battles in this conference and will likely lead the way again for the Panthers, his late game experience should be very valuable for a team that will likely be in many close contests, but, in the same sense, he needs to cut his turnovers significantly, or they will hurt him in those same close games!

Go and read the whole thing.

For another BE preview, Draft Express puts Pitt at #8 in the new BE.

Pittsburgh’s biggest question marks come in the frontcourt, where the presence of Chevon Troutman, and to a lesser extent Chris Taft, will be sorely missed. Two juniors that are ready to try their hand at starting are PF Levon Kendall (3.5 ppg) and C Aaron Gray (4.3 ppg). Kendall shocked the world when he shot 16-22 from the floor in Canada’s upset win over the US U-21 team this past summer, but it appears that the huge game might have been more of an aberration than a sign of a player ready for stardom. Nonetheless, Kendall is skilled enough to be a major factor for this team. Gray is a true 7-footer with a good feel for the game and nice touch on his back to the basket post moves. While neither player is a guaranteed starting caliber player, they provide the keys for Dixon in the task of rebuilding the frontcourt. Thick freshman Tyrell Biggs, junior college transfer Doyle Hudson, and Young will provide the backup minutes.

Jamie Dixon has done quite well for himself in his first years as a head coach, but Ben Howland’s influence on this program is fading further and further into the past. Last season was a step away from what this Panther program used to do best, and Dixon must find his program’s identity. Having Krauser for an extra season helps, and players like Ramon, Kendall, and Gray are talented enough to emerge. A slip back into the middle of the pack is certainly a possibility, but there is enough talent here to stay in the upper half of the conference and potentially make up for last season’s early tourney exit.

So many, many questions.





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