2pm start. The game is on FoxSports Pittsburgh, MASN, MSG+ and the ESPN FullCourt package. For those on a computer and the right provider, it is on ESPN360.com.
Another road game, and Pitt puts its perfect conference road record at stake. Nice bit on Wanamaker adjusting his game as needed in the Big East.
The 6-foot-4 junior has gone from Pitt’s second-leading scorer to its leader in rebounds (6.6) and assists (4.1) since the return of senior Jermaine Dixon and junior Gilbert Brown to the lineup.
“It’s a sign of improvement for him,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “I’m really happy with what he’s doing offensively. He’s getting other guys shots, and he creates a problem for some teams to match up with him because of his ability to go off the dribble as the third guard for us.”
Part of the reason Wanamaker’s scoring average has slipped is a result of his field-goal percentage dropping from 48 percent to 33 percent — he was 4 of 12 from the field against the Hoyas — but he also has more assists (39) and less turnovers (19) in the past seven games than he did through the first 11, when he had 34 assists and 30 turnovers.
“He’s a great penetrator and a great passer,” Dixon said. “Just getting him to have a little more patience offensively has helped him increase his assists and cut down his turnovers.”
Facing a Hall team with a ‘Quip boy (sort of) who other than major foul problems is thriving in Gonzo ball. To the point where he’s running his mouth just a bit.
“I get to show everybody in the City of Pittsburgh what they missed out on,” Aliquippa, Pa. native Herb Pope said. The Seton Hall redshirt sophomore forward verbally committed to Pitt as a high school sophomore, but eventually re-opened his recruitment.
Pope eventually went to New Mexico State for one year before transferring to Seton Hall. He thought about Pittsburgh that time, too. Although the Panthers might not have wanted to deal with all the drama that has followed Pope the previous 3-4 years.
“It was an option for me,” Pope said after Seton Hall’s 80-77 victory against Louisville Thursday night. “I just never wanted to sit down and meet with Coach (Jamie) Dixon and put a game plan together.”
Now, Pope said he couldn’t see himself playing Pitt’s more deliberate style.
“I can’t hold the ball for 32 seconds,” he said with a smile.
Some of that much talked about new-found maturity it seems. Coach Dixon, to no surprise, sticks to the high road. The Seton Hall frontcourt has size, but no one seems to be seeing the girth.
Despite receiving his formal charges for his wrong-way on the highway incident, Keon Lawrence is expected to play.
LiveBlog around 2 pm. If you need to break it out, Click Here.
Bottom-line is that I don’t know how they keep winning without getting more of a contribution from their bench, even with a great coach like Jamie. The lack of performance from Woodall, Taylor, and even Gil (maddeningly inconsistent) is not something he can do a lot about – what else is on the bench. That’s my biggest worry right now – Woodall and Taylor in particular have regressed tremendously in my opinion, so much so that Jamie went with Chase and j.j. instead at two points in this game.
On the other hand, this Seton Hall team is better than their record. All their losses appear to be close against tough competition.
Coach Dixon will come up with something. I assure you we will not lose to the Hall in a rematch.
Really disappointed in Woodall. He could have really helped today.
With this staff and group of hard-working players, I’m excited to find out the answers.
The rest of the league has finally learned about Gibbs and he played way too many minutes to make a difference at the end.
I was amazed to read that Gibbs said they were confused by a play Jamie called during a timeout. Is anarchy brewing? If so Terry Dunn is waiting in the wings.
Funny how some of us were waiting for this time.
Big thing for me is GB needs to be in the starting lineup. Period. We need a legitimate 2nd scoring offense on the floor for most of the game. I understand why Jamie stuck with Nasir (“iff it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”)…but with these last two games, I think he can save face and bench Nasir. Nasir, although a great kid, is no Jaron Brown and never will be. Stop the comparisons. He is a great 10-12 minute a game kid that will have the type of lasting impression that Tyrell Biggs (not Jaron Brown).
Let’s all take a collective breath here before we fire up the Doomsday Express….
Think back to the ‘cuse game. Slashing and crashing, just having fun.
Dixon’s D: getting beat a lot, and seems like it’s because he’s not fighting through picks, but rather trying to skirt around them.
And I really like Wannamaker at times, but his insistence on trying to dribble through 3 people makes me CRAZY. Will he ever understand how to take better care of the ball?
I, too, don’t understand why Brown wasn’t on the floor more (ask my wife, who probably got sick of me saying “Put Gilbert back in!”). Or, for that matter, why we don’t try to feed the post. McGhee actually made a nice move and scored after being fed in the post, and maybe giving Taylor some opportunities in the blocks, even if he misses, might give him some confidence. He is there at times, if the guards will just look for it.
Generally, the attempt to establish some sort of interior game has to be made. Otherwise, every team is going to sit on the perimeter and give Gibbs fits. Hopefully we’ll start to see a little of that.
Things are tough right now. You knew these days were going to come. The next game, in particular, is important. Need a good all-around performance and a W.
I really don’t have any problem with our offense. It is what it is with this level of talent. Maybe some better play calling can be made and passing can be a bit more crisper, but these guys aren’t going to score more than 60p very often.
Now on D, I don’t know if it is working through picks or around picks or what, but there seems to be a critical problem with switching or moving on when guards are penetrating. Both GT and SH have now exposed this. What happens is a guard moves off a pick, beats the man (or men), and gets the basket. After this happens a few times, Pitt then overcommits and inevitably will leave a man open underneath for an easy bucket. It’s like a vicious little cycle. Whatever the root cause, it’s poor defensive execution. They gotta turn that around. We haven’t even played Scottie Reynolds yet and he’s a penetrating nightmare.
Gibbs is over-dribbling right now and the offense is getting bogged down on the perimeter. We are turning it over passing back and forth along the three point line. I know Coach Dixon wants to make the other team play defense for 30 seconds, but maybe getting into the set early or running a few plays backdoor will make the defense think twice about being so aggressive that far away from the basket. Definitely need to go inside a few times a half even if it doesn’t lead to points. Carmen is exactly right, that will open things up on the perimeter even if they don’t make the play.
Lot to work on for this team. Losing a game or two is a great way to get the team’s attention. It’s tough to get through to college kids when they are winning every game. If Pitt can get back on track, then this little “losing streak” can be a benefit.
FWIW– I was blessed with some close seats for the GU game, and when GB was on the court in the second half, he passed the eye test as the best athlete on the court in my opinion. I know eye tests don’t mean much, but he just looks like a game changer at times and is often the best athlete on the court. Got me thinking, why not run some sets down low to GB to expose slower and less athletic forwards?
I am sorry for the fans that are upset about Jermaine’s shooting, but he is the engine that makes the team go. He is a smart basketball player and just knows the game. It is noticeable when he is not on the court. Perhaps he should be a little more discerning with his shot selection, but Pitt is simply not as good when he isn’t on the floor.
I’m not too worried. they’ve got SJU twice, Rutgers, Providence and S.Fla and ND left on the schedule. Even if they really struggle against Nova and WVU, they’re still way ahead of where I thought they’d be.
