There is a patsy basketball game tonight to take some of the frustration away. The season opener against the Delaware State University Hornets. Coach Dixon’s 100th game as Pitt head coach.
You can even watch online, provided you have Internet Explorer 6.
One of the Hornets’ best player, Darrin Shine has been hobbled by a nasty ankle sprain for a while, but says he’s all better now.
Not that Pitt is taking DSU lightly. You can’t take the pre-season favorite to repeat as MEAC champ lightly. Seriously, they actually have some talent.
Senior Jahsha Bluntt, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, is picked to win MEAC player of the year honors for the second consecutive season. He considered a shot at the NBA before changing his mind. And he might not even be the best player on his own team.
That honor could go to small forward Roy Bright, a 6-6 transfer from Big East rival Cincinnati. Bright played in all 33 games with the Bearcats as a freshman before being dismissed by then-coach Bob Huggins for having a concealed weapon.
Bright, one of the top recruits in the nation his senior year at Mount Zion (N.C.) Academy, shined at Garden City (Kan.) Community College last season. He turned down multiple major Division I offers to sign with Delaware State, based on a connection with a former high school assistant he knew.
Pitt expects, though, to do well tonight. Have to expect a juiced house.
Leftover from the Pitt-WMU game, a local NY paper gives some love to a couple of the local kids on Pitt’s roster, Tyrell Biggs and Keith Benjamin. It seems Biggs, much like Aaron Gray didn’t gain the freshman 15 so much as carry it from high school — so his svelte new figure was noticeable. Benjamin seems to be in a good place about coming off the bench. Or is at least saying the right things.
The 6-2 Benjamin must continue to play well to keep his spot in Pitt’s crowded backcourt mix. Six players saw action at guard against Western Michigan, although the competition is open following the graduation of starting point guard Carl Krauser.
“I definitely feel comfortable with my role coming off the bench,” said Benjamin, who averaged 15 minutes a game as a sophomore. “My goal every day is to work hard and bust into that starting lineup. If it never happens, I’ll just be satisfied with coming off the bench and bringing a spark to the team every time I come in.”
If there was one player I feared might not be happy with his minutes situation this season, it was Benjamin. He stands to have the hardest time to keep consistent minutes. I’m glad to read the postive attitude right now.
