Surprise!
While I won’t be running things tonight, Regular, Luke has volunteered to take the reins tonight. Go easy on him, I think he spooks easily.
The fun starts about 9pm, on ESPN2. The dulcet tones of John Saunders to give you the game along with Mike Kelley.
To tide you over until the game, check out another great story on Jermaine Dixon. Yeah, it re-covers some familiar stuff with his past, but it is still a fine, fine story.
As usual, the liveblog can be broken out of the site if you prefer by Clicking Here.
Otherwise, just look a little lower.
One more thing … Gilbert Brown is a redhsirt junior with tons of natural talent … and this off and on play from him is pure BULL!!!
Hail (Mary)to Pitt…
I am happy we avoided the most embarrassing loss of the Big East season but we really didn’t deserve to win this game. Gotta get this D back on track – this is two out of the last three games where it has been really bad. If Pitt can get that tenacity back, then I think the Sweet 16 is a good possibility. No way however if we play D and rebound like we did tonight and against ND.
I thought the turning point of the game, against us, was Wanny’s two straight turnovers when they were making a run. He just freaking kills me sometimes. I hate to keep calling the kid out, but he really needs to play better in these stretches as a JUNIOR. I know, I know, he’s a stat machine. But he makes CRITICAL blunders in KEY situtions. Yes, he made a nice three late…but the team was starting to come unravelled with 8 to 10 minutes to go and he started to force it and just added to landslide. Lots can be critically evaluated on this game, but that stretch in the second half really was the key. Basketball is a game of runs, and great teams find ways to minimze the runs against them. We struggle with that (sans the Villanova game)…
On the brightside, we found a way to steal it with some timely shots at the end. Good teams find a way to close, and we have to give this team props for doing it time and time again.
Gibbs making that three pointer like that was amazing. That was the shot that gave us an extra day to rest and prepare. Of course this kind of thinking doesn’t always work out the way you want it but I will take it.
Regarding the box score, I was amazed to see that Gibbs at 25 outscored Peterson’s 24 and Dixon tied him at 24. Seemed like Peterson had 40, but I guess his scoring came in bunches.
To wbb’s point, Brown was MIA again tonight at 0 for 5.
In reality, everyone except Gibbs, Dixon and Wanny were MIA tonight on offense and the entire team was missing on defense. They did not defend teh ballscreens correctly leading to mismatches inside and outside. Gibbs, Dixon and Woodall were repeatedly beat off the dribble by Council, Curry and Brooks. And, the bigs could not hang on to a defensive rebound to save their lives.
We were LUCKY tonight, plain and simple. But, every team that advances far in the tourney has a lucky game or two. Hope we didn’t use all of ours up already.
Dixon took over the game in the latter part of the second half and did what a senior had to do. When we looked to have no options, he created them with his gritty play.
Still can’t believe that Gibbs shot. Ramon-esque? Is that a term we use now?
On that note, several folks on the last couple of liveblogs have mentioned how Dixon’s defense has slipped. Ontario said he saw him live at the Garden on Saturday and he looked out of it. That story reminded me that Juan was suspended indefinitely from playing in Europe for steroid use. It just happened a couple of weeks ago. Wonder if that has anything to do with Jermaine’s play of late. It has to be tough on him mentally.
Fwiw, Gibbs got the #1 play on SportsCenter’s Top 10 tonight.
Hail to PITT!
-al-
You can’t compare GB & Wanny, wbb. Different positions, dfferent usage by JD, and quite frankly, JD doesn’t trust him over Nasir and I think that is in his head. Not trying to imply or put words in his mouth, it just seems like he is probably a fickle player that comes/goes based on minutes. Right, wrong or indifferent, his minutes are limited by JD. JD knows the team and BBall, I do not. So, in Jamie I trust. If Jamie has logic for the usage of Wanny, GB, and Nasir; good for him. I don’t see it. DT at 5 as a freshmen, I get it. Many others don’t. The love for Nasir over GB is ironic because Nasir’s A/TO ratio is subtropic… and that is usually a Dixon metric for minutes. Nasir’s style lends more to workmanlike, GB more gamechanging. JD like him off the bench. My money, he’s on the court 35+min. He is not and I have come to accept his on/off games.
But let me take your bait on a GB/Wanny debate, wbb. GB gets less minutes than Wanny. With more minutes, I think GB would do more with them then Wanny. Maybe not stat sheets more, but gamechanging and/or less WTF moments more… in comparison. When I mean game changing, BTW, I mean mainly offensive plays that break the backs of teams at opportune moments. GB is a far superior athlete and when he is on, he is a show stopper. With more time on the court, he could elevate us. Wanny, IMHO, is not that type of player. Sorry. Nice kid. Works hard. Just too much of a liability in key situations and key games.
Wanny is on the floor a lot. To me, I wish he wasn’t. I like the kid as a 20minute guy as maybe our 4th offensive option. He is not. Credit him for filling the stat sheets with all of his minutes and convincing some of you that he is the second coming of Sam Young. I’m not buying it. I have always stated that I think GB is our second best all around player (#1 athlete), and should be on the court in the 30+ minutes.
You saw Dixon last night in the second half: he got the ball and, boom, to the hoop. Brown could undoubtedly do the same thing, but he is so indecisive. There is a difference b/w letting the game come to you and watching it pass you by, and he too often does the latter. He seems to have no interest in trying to be a leader on the court. Maybe that is because of the whole coming off the bench thing, which makes sense – a floor leader is typically not a 6th man. But at times the effort, the desire, just doesn’t seem to be there. Robinson, despite his flaws, always is giving it the cliched 110%.
As for Wannamaker, the reason he is on the floor so much is because he does freaking everything, which I realize includes committing stupid TOs. But he rebounds, plays very solid D, is our best assist man and can be a scoring threat. If Brown could just be consistent on O, I’d be freaking elated.
Pauly: Your minutes for Brown assumption compared to Wanny is incorrect. Do the math. I did. We gain 1.6 points and 0.7 less TO but lose everywhere else. The assist difference alone offsets that. But Wanny is just a “stat stuffer” I know.
For Pauly to take major issue with Wanny over his only 2 turnovers (although I do remember a third)is downright laughable … and only proves his bias against Wanny (not to mention his reference of Wanny’s to ‘boned a bunny’ … Pauly, if you think a five footer surrounded by taller defenders is a bunny and if you think boned is having a shot go in and out of the basket, then tell me what you think about ALL of the WIDE open looks that clang on the rim from a shooter, Brown, who has shown a good touch man times. At least Wanny is focused most of time!)
I just want wbb and you Wanny lovers to explain his performance in the biggest games (versus tourney teams) this year?
Texas: 5/16 FG; 0/4 3PT;4TO,3FL,2A;6Reb;33min
Cuse: 1/7 FG; 0/2 3PT;4TO; 4Fl;6A;5Reb;27min
Gtown: 4/12 FG; 0/3 3PT; 2TO;3Fl;7A;13Reb; 37min
WVU: 0/4 FG; 0/2 3PT; 3FL;2TO;1A;4Reb;30min
VU: 1/4 FG; 0/2 3PT; 3FL;4TO;4A;3Reb; 24min
He’s a good kid, but please, stop looking at total year stats if you’re going to pop off. Look at the big games. What do you see? A lot of minutes with not a lot of production. Not to mention, lots of TOs and fewer than imagined Rebs/Assists that you guys love to glorify him over. Heck, not even a 3 pointer!!!
Good kid, don’t get me wrong. Plays hard, unselfish, good agains average teams. That’s about it. Don’t oversell him, okay. I don’t have a bias against the young man, I just think he is being overused.
