Don’t worry, basketball hasn’t been forgotten. Just shunted to the side for the day.

There was a question about the kind of offense Pitt runs. Which Ray Fittipaldo called a basic motion offense.

The offense is your basic motion offense that many other teams in college basketball run. The stagnancy you’re seeing the past few games has more to do with the personnel running it than the philosophy behind the offense. When this offense is run well — as it was earlier in the season — it is very effective. The Panthers have routinely shot 50 percent or more in games with this offense. Even though the Panthers found a way to win three of their first four Big East games, they do not have enough talent on offense to overcome the loss of two starters.

This is essentially true and plays into something I have been meaning to link for a week or so. The Basketball X’s&O’s blog looks at the game ending play Pitt ran against Duke and Villanova. The five-up screen.

Definitely click over to see the diagramming and breaking down of the play. I’m skipping to his concluding comments.

The play works because in late-game situations, traditional thinking defensively is to switch on all picks. We do it, everyone does it, you always switch all picks late in games. So here, the “5 up” is designed to get a switch and the guard should be able to take the slower forward 1v1. Also, you have a mismatch down low for the offensive rebound with a bigger forward being guarded by a smaller guard.

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In analyzing the plays, it’s clear what the message here is. Players win games. You can have the best game winning play ever designed, but in the end, it’s the guy that swishes the net that takes the glory if he hits it and the heat if he misses.

For the truly obsessed, you can actually buy Jamie Dixon instructional DVDs. Including one on the Spread Motion: 4-in, 1-out Offense. Or you can see another example/variance on the 4-in, 1-out as he there is a break down of San Diego’s (I really can get lost in time looking through this site).

Hoopsworld.com looks at some of the best small forward prospects in the NCAA. Sam Young is listed as third.

Sam Young has been able to step up on the offensive side of the ball this season. Pitt needed some more scoring from the junior forward and Young responded by increasing his scoring average by 11 points from a year ago. At over 18 points a game, Young is currently the fourth leading scorer in one of the toughest conferences (Big East). Young’s awkward form causes some inconsistencies with his outside shot. His shooting percentages (49 fg% and 40 3pt%) are pretty good however. Young allows the game to come to him. He moves without the ball well and can knock down the spot up jumper.

At 6’6, Young will be undersized at the small forward position in the NBA. He has a well developed muscular frame that allows him to body up defenders well in the post. He fights hard on the glass pulling down 7 rebounds a game, which lets you know that he has no problem getting physical in the paint. With some developed skill sets on the perimeter, Young will be able to get some burn at the 2 guard position.

Let’s not presume Levance Fields will be back by the Marquette game.

“I would say [Feb. 15] is on the aggressive side based on what we know [now],” [Athletic Trainer Tony] Salesi said. “Even if we get a good report on Thursday and we can start doing a few more things that doesn’t leave you much time to get ready for a game. You’re talking about getting back into running, shooting and practice. A lot of it will be what Levance can handle. I think when he said that it was an overly optimistic time frame.”

Salesi allowed that athletes heal faster than most people and that there is always a chance that Fields could come back earlier than he expects.

Pitt originally set a timetable of 8 to 12 weeks after surgery. Yesterday was five weeks from the date of his surgery. If Fields comes back at eight weeks, he would be able to play in the final three regular-season games and the postseason tournaments.

That would be the games at Syracuse, at WVU and DePaul.