Maybe I’ve been wrong all along. Maybe the choice for the Big East Preseason POY was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, it isn’t imperative for Aaron Gray to need to score in double digits for us to win, but instead someone else does. Enter Levance Fields.
He’s now gone for 10+ points in seven straight games while Gray has been held to under 10 for four straight games. In the three games prior to the beginning of this streak, he was within 2 points of hitting double digits. It took Fields a few games to actually get going this year since he was not in any starting situation like this last year. Now he’s broken through as the present and future point guard for the Panthers. He’s shooting well, driving well, he knows when to pull up for the shot, and the quick release on his passes to other guards have lead to a good deal of points. (I wouldn’t mind seeing more passes down low but if it would mean he’s forcing it and turning it over then obviously I’d take the lower risk pass to another guard.)
The combo of Fields and Ramon has looked like pure gold. Fields shoots well (even with that odd over the head shot) but if he’s not shooting, he’s probably finding Ramon lining up for a three pointer.
Ramon touched on that point after yesterday’s game saying:
”When they double-team the big guys, we know it’s going to open up shots for us,” Ronald Ramon said. ”Aaron’s a smart player and he sees the double team coming. The way he passes the ball, that’s going to open up guys on the perimeter.”
Fields and Ramon have capitalized on that very well and it’s hard to ask for much more from those guys.
None of this is to bash Gray and there are probably going to be games when Fields doesn’t shoot lights out or there is a great defensive guard matched up on him. At that point, Gray is going to need to use some more athleticism to get open and get feeds from Mike Cook or Sam Young (but at the same time he probably won’t be double teamed and it’ll be easier to get the ball to him any way). Fields has been a great surprise this season though and if teams are going to do everything to stop us from getting it to Gray then Levance will be glad to take the game into his own hands.
The Panthers have some of the most balanced scoring in the nation so it’s not like there is a ton of pressure put on one player, but as with any point guard, Fields has to know there is probably a little more on him than anyone (even with all of Gray’s expectations) and moving deeper into Big East play it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep up with it all.
Ramon is being used correctly because we don’t have a backup point guard. He needs to play at the 1 for 5-10 minutes a game and then split the rest of his minutes with Graves.
Pitt is a top-5 team when we are sharing the ball and playing with energy. If we try and do things one-on-one and pass the ball into Gray and stand around, then we are just another top-25 team. We need to recognize this and play hard for 40 minutes every game.
One thing that really pissed me off yesterday was after Gray picked up his 3rd early in the first half the offense went to sleep. It was obvious that South Florida had nobody to handle Cook on the drive or on the block. It took us probably 3 possesions before we ran a play for him. He scored easily twice. We need to recognize these things earlier and take advantage of them.
Good, quick passing and penetration when there is an opening opens up 3s, give Gray easy shots, and cause the other team to build up fouls. They just need to be more consistent in doing that, like they were for the last third of the USF game.
They really need to beat Depaul.