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February 7, 2008

Rivalry games. You gotta love ’em.

— Especially when Pitt wins. That makes it 4 in a row in hoops over WVU.

Just some assorted notes.

The look of anguish on Wellington Smith when Ramon hit that game winning 3 was a delicious topping. Smith was the Hoopie who came to help on Benjamin and left Ramon to plant in the corner.

Did someone forget to tell DeJuan Blair that Hasheem Thabeet was not guarding him any longer? He was 3-13 with the only baskets coming when there was no one in front of him. Everything else he shot looked like he was trying to aim it around people. He was altering his own shot. The early bad/cheap/questionable offensive foul he picked up versus Smalligan very early may have gotten in his head.

Technically, Blair’s 3-13 was more than offset by Joe Alexander and Da’Sean Butler’s combined 3-20 and 3-8 on free throws for a grand total of 11 points. Not to mention Alex Ruoff only adding 5 points. That’s 16 points from WVU’s top 3 scorers.

Of course what kept WVU in the game was Darris Nichols 16 points and Joe Mazzulla going for 15 on 6-7 shooting (3-4 on 3s). Damn those streaky jump shooters. Nichols and Mazzulla were 12-22 for 31 points. The rest of the Hoopies were 7-31 with 23 points.

Benjamin came up with some big moments late in the game. The inbound slam when Blair slapped it right to him — sweet. Then there was the dribble penetration in the closing seconds that brought the other defender off Ramon freeing him for that beautiful, game-winning, open 3.

That said, Benjamin has no confidence in his perimeter shooting right now. He was 0-4 and became increasingly afraid to shoot it. WVU practically dared him a couple times in the second half, by staying off of him. You could see him literally freeze as he started to square-up for a 3 and change his mind.

I’m going to give Sam Young the benefit of the doubt on the issue of pouting. His facial expressions generally range from grim to sullen. He just doesn’t do a happy face real well. He was understandably frustrated by the early foul trouble and having to sit for 13 minutes. And if it was a little pouting, well his second half effort was 3-3 (2-2 on 3s) and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes.

Between Young’s early foul trouble and Gilbert Brown’s second half foul issues, Bradley Wanamaker played 23 minutes. Definitely showing more patience on offense, but his court awareness of defenders not directly in front of him is, um, lacking. I find myself holding my breath any time he brings the ball up court with any defenders trailing behind him. He doesn’t keep the ball particularly close to his body when he dribbles which makes him prone to those turnovers and steals. His defense, though, is his strength. At the very least, he looks to be a defensive specialist. Of course, he is only a freshman and raw. I can see him developing steadily in his career as Antonio Graves did.

As a team, I wasn’t thrilled with the rebounding. Pitt was only +4 on rebounds despite the volume of brick-work by WVU. I know part of that was the fact that WVU spread the court and took a lot of jump shots. That meant only Blair seemed to be around the basket, surrounded by those new jerseys of the Mountaineers. Still, it seemed that WVU players were getting after the ball a lot more. A definite hallmark of a Huggins coached team.

Show of hands of Pitt fans holding their breath or screaming in fear at the sight of Levance Fields charging off the bench in that walking boot when Ramon hit the game winner?

Question: Did Fields’ velour sweat suit (what color was that? Chocolate?) top or tie the sweat suit Aaron Gray busted out for the game last year at Seton Hall that he had to sit out with his bum ankle?

55-54

Filed under: Basketball — Dennis @ 10:25 pm

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!

[ESPN.com]

Delays, delays, delays.

First things quickly:

— If you haven’t heard or read about Kevin Hart, Google his name and read all about his story. Holy crap it’s amazing — he had a big event where he committed to Cal over Oregon. He wore the hat, people clapped for him, all was good. Until it was discovered he’s had no contact with either school, neither head coach knows who he is, and he basically made the whole thing up. Only in Nevada… (Part I, Part II)

— I think it’s great to see other Pitt blogs that offer more and more outlets for fans to look in to. Check out Pitt Panther Prowl, which is filled with intelligent posts and makes a good point about Wannstedt’s recruiting compared to Howland/Dixon.

Since Ben Howland took over at Pitt (Jamie Dixon being his primary recruiter), and on into Dixon’s tenure, name one McDonald’s All American who has signed with the basketball team. There is no doubt that there have been a few studs, such as Chris Taft and DeJuan Blair. But who are the top 10 recruits the basketball team has had? … But Dixon certainly took players that, as high schoolers, were believed to be inferior athletes, and he got them to play at an elite level. This is the trademark of Dixon’s teams. He takes players that have the skills to fit his system, and he squeezes every last ounce of talent out of most of them. His coaching has made up for the fact that he can’t get the same recruits that Duke, or even UConn can. And if he continues with the success he has had, the future will hold better and better recruits wanting to come play at Pitt.

When Wannstedt becomes a better game day coach (and I think he started to turn that corner near the end of this season), the recruits will be put into better situations to succeed. If not, we’re going to have very good players under a bad coach, and we’ll continue to see these 5-7 type seasons.

Now, to tonight’s game against West Virginia. You’re wondering about the “42 Weeks” thing, right? That’s how many consecutive weeks the Pitt basketball team has been ranked, reaching as high as #2. A loss tonight will certainly end that. WVU plays well against ranked teams:

Now, they get a visit from the Mountaineers (16-6, 5-4), who have performed well against the three ranked opponents they’ve faced. They’re just 1-2, but their losses came by a combined three points — 74-72 to No. 7 Tennessee on Nov. 24, and 58-57 to No. 9 Georgetown on Jan. 26 after a controversial non-call on a potential goaltending call at the buzzer.

Both teams are 5-4 in conference and the repercussions of this game could easily be felt when it comes to the seeding of the Big East Tournament. Also, beating a good team like this looks good on our NCAA Tournament resume (and so does Duke defeating UNC last night).

The hoops rivalry with West Virginia has never really seemed as intense as the football side, but WBGV still lays down the hate.

Things they hate about Pitt (full list on their site):

  • That it’s located in Pittsburgh. Seriously, I’m for pollution as much as the next guy, but these guys are out of control. [Dennis says: Umm…you’re from the same University located in Morgantown, right?]
  • Andrew Carnegie. He didn’t leave ANY money to his children. Or me. What a horrible parent. [Dennis says: Funny?]
  • Oakland. The whole thing is confusing. Are you poor, roughneck, trashy Pittsburghians, or fruity west coasters? [Dennis says: We’re Pittsburghers, thanks.]
  • Jamie Dixon. On the advise of my politically correct lawyer, I’m not making a hilarious joke here.
  • The stache. [Dennis says: 13-9.]
  • Pittsburgh Tuxedos = carpenter jeans, Timberland boots, and Ben Roethlisburger jersey. [Dennis says: Better than the required attire in Morgantown — camouflage.]

Today is their day for payback, revenge, retribution (and even murder).

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