Sorry, I’m a day late on everything. Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday. Couple that with closing arguments in the Sandusky trial, and I just didn’t want to be near a computer to avoid any co-mingling of events. (It made much more sense in my head.)
The USA U18 team finished off host Brazil in a rematch, 81-56. Brazil was the only team able to stay within 30 points of the USA team during the week — losing by 19 and 27. The USA team pulled away in the second half, but for a good chunk of the game Brazil kept it tight.
Brazil pulled to within five, 18-13, but James Robinson (DeMatha Catholic H.S./Mitchellville, Md.) drove down the middle twice for layups, and Rasheed Sulaimon (Strake Jesuit College Prep/Houston, Texas) converted a steal into a layup in the quarter’s final seconds to push the U.S. advantage to 24-16 after one quarter of action.
The half ended with Brazil down only 6. The USA team opened it up in the second half, and it was never in doubt.
Robinson was asked about the spark he provided with his scoring in the first quarter.
You gave a good spark in the first half and had a couple of important drives for layups.
I just tried to be aggressive, push the ball. Playing on this team there are so many other great scorers that the other team was kind of focusing on the so I kind of had an open lane. In the second half all our big guys did a great job of protecting our basket, catching passes and finishing and they kind of made the game easy for us.
Robinsonfinished the game with 6 points on 3-4 shooting. He grabbed 3 rebounds (including his only offensive rebound of the tournament), 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 0 assists in 15 minutes. This particular game did not see much in the way of assists as the entire USA team only had 9 assists for the game.
For the series, Robinson finished with this line: 22 points, 12 assists, 2 turnover, 7 steals, 1 block and 13 rebounds in the five games. He averaged 15.6 minutes per game.
Now, this was the FIBA Americas Championship. The FIBA World Championships are held next year, and the USA squad will have an invite to compete at the U19 Championship next year. Robinson, as a member of this squad will be invited to try out for that squad next summer.
What a disgrace. It never changes, ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely”!
and you know all thoes old coachs that were on joes staff knew what was going on and some are still there so why kids go there i dont know.
Answer: the next one will be the first!
WE ARE….COWARDS…THE WORST KIND!
In this case I’m an anti-sexist.
But I see your point: She really, really appreciated heterosexuals.
Here come the Pitt Fan revisionist history delusions. “So what that we got got our asses kicked in the only relevant bowl game we played in the last 35 years, we were pre-season top 25 five times and have 3 stars in the NFL. High school players should be falling all over themselves to commit to Pitt.”
O’Brien could very well be selling a lot of these kids on the idea of being part of a rebirth of an iconic program. Couple that with a noticeable difference in gameday atmosphere, and it’s not that tough to determine why a kid may make the same sort of choice Dorian Johnson did.
It sucks, but at this point it is what it is. Look at the last two years. One of the enduring images for me of the 2010 season was Wannstedt standing there as that WVU game wound down in a Heinz Field as full of jeers from WVU fans as it was empty of Pitt fans, looking like he no longer had any answers. And then the whole Haywood fiasco, which was overshadowed by the much greater on and off-field fiasco that was Todd Graham. Think back to last year…the UConn game when ESPN refused to show wide shots of the stadium and went with completely low angles on the broadcast because the crowd was so small.
I have a hard time saying anything because due to some circumstances well beyond my control, I’ve been unable to be a part of those home crowds each of the last two years. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be there. That will change this year.
I know fans show up when the team wins, and maybe this is what we all need to keep in mind when it comes to recruiting. This program has had very little relevant on-field success to sell over the last two years, and that’s going to impact the perception of recruits. Until Chryst showcases what he can do with this team on the field, he’s still asking kids to commit to a bit of an unknown.
I think he has a pretty darn good class for being on the job for 6 or 7 months. A couple of top 10 running backs, a top 5 QB (even if he didn’t recruit them, they didn’t leave).
Has a chance to get a great qb from ohio, te from Pittsburgh.
Wow, some of you are a miserable lot!!
The guy just started, is just starting to get to know the W.Pa high school head coaches, his recruiters are getting their feet wet in their territory, Pitt has been mediocre at best for 10 years, and we’re still stuck in the Big East for another year, and…..
Chrysts recruiting sucks. Unbelievable!!!!
No, actually, very believable.
I myself, am pumped for Pitt football this year, pumped about Coach Chryst, and pumped about going to the ACC.
Refuse to let others bring me down.
Hail to Pitt!!
Gonna be a great year in football and a fantastic year in hoops, and Pitt is the number three school in R&D dollars out of all publice universities, and #5 in R&D including all universities, public and private.
Athletics and academics. Proud to be Pitt!!!!!!!
#1. Forget about getting 100,000 for a game. Not happening, we don’t have the numbers.
#2 Forget about the Steelers and Pens. They’re not going anywhere. We are what we are, and here is what we are.
A. Roughly, about 25-30k hard core die hards, show up for every game. Pitt Stadium, Heinz Field. Doesn’t matter. Start with that.
(25-35K)
B. Walk up, nothin’ to do on a Saturday, let’s go to a Pitt game. 5-10K.
(30-40K)
C. Big name bcs conference marquee team comin’ in, add another 10K. i.e. Nebraska, Texas A&M etc. etc.
(40-50k)
D. Penn St. Notre Dame, WVU, usually sold out, or close to sell outs, from Pitt fans, and the other three teams fans.
(60-65K)
And that’s it. You can fudge the numbers around, depending on weather, and biggest of all, winning and losing of course.
It’s a genralization, but it’s close to the mark, of what Pitt can expect at the games.
Losing, miserable weather, not playing well, it goes down, win some games, get into top 25 and have a decent team coming, half decent to very good crowds coming in.
Been that way since my Dad started taking me in 68′!!!!
Pitt starts winning games, playing some good ball, get Va. Tech, Clemson, Miami, and the rest of the ACC teams coming in, could have some great crowds in the future.
Pitt 8-1 ranked number 12 in the country vs. Florida State 8-1 ranked #7, in a meaningful game, the crowd will be rockin’.
Pitt muddling through another season at 4-4, gonna be right from the script above.
Coach Chryst has a chance to really elevate the program. If he can, attendance will be fantastic.
Please get the 100k of Penn St. Tennessee and Michigan out of your heads. I also mean by that, get the 65K, sold out, can’t find a ticket for a Pitt game out of your heads. Not happening except for three teams, or a big meaningful game.
We are who we are, we don’t have the numbers or support for that.
What we do have, is a rabid core, and bunch of people who like Pitt football if they are winning, or have a good team coming in.
That’s it, Fort Pitt!!
Those of us there in the 70’s and 80’s with Dorsett, Marino and Green, same thing.
ND, PSU, WVU–Pitt Stadium over flowing.
Good record, half decent team, both sides and one end zone filled, other end zone, sprinkled with people. 45-55K
Half decent team, half decent opponent, both sides filled, one end zone about half filled, the other end zone, no one. about 35-45K.
Been the same for 40 years.
Who cares what Penn State is doing.
They don’t effect me at all.
They own Syracuse, I believe 13-3 the last 16 games.
Have never worried who Syracuse or UCONN got.
Scandal is already forgotten by recruits, and when football season comes, it will be forgotten by fans. Except Pitt people.
I digress. Coach O’Brien, from one of the top 3 or 4 NFL teams over the last 15 years. Super Bowls, Pro Bowlers, Tom Brady.
A blind man could sell that stuff to an 18 year old kid. Guy has the resume, has the rings to back it up.
We’ll see how he adapts to college football, many NFL coaches haven’t, but recruiting, he’s got lobster and filet on the plate to sell.
Yes, the kids lives have been ruined. The monster is gone, the enablers will be gone.
It’s a shame. However, the NCAA ain’t touching it, nor should they. The police are the ones who have dealt with it, and rightly so.
Penn State fans will be movin’ on. A lot of Pitt fans don’t like that, but, that is what will be happening.
You’ll hear it this year, on the TV games, “how is Penn St recovering”, because announcers will make it the story, and rightly so.
Before you know it, it will be 3-4 years down the road, and the scandal will be a memory.
As it should be, as long as all of the perps go to jail.
Shame we can’t execute them, and give the children their lives back, however, a monster took that from them.
We’ll be paying for 3 meals a day, paying for clothing, excerise equipment, entertainment, and paying for them to read up on the law, so they can give appeal after appeal, that we will be paying for also.
We will then, have to pay the state again, to defend the state, against these criminals when they bring their cases up against the state.
Guess who will be paying for all of this.
But, I digress!!!
LMAO!!!
but even if we get them and i hope we do were are the OT the line men the good ones are all most all signed all ready and the second ter gays havent even been offered yet and the DT who have been offered are on the west coast they are not comeing here they will go to ucla or some outher school on the west coast. dockish said he did not understand are recuting targets .
You are right on. Isn’t PC supposed to be the best O-line guy in the country. He loses Johnson, the other commit ends up picking Nebraska. If Boyd and Foster go elsewhere then this class is in trouble.
I was encouraged a week ago but this sends me back to my original thoughts that recruiting will be a challenge. With Johnson we couldn’t even get him with an assistant (main recruiter) that went to the same HS.
Dan’s analysis above on our attendance is spot on. It is what it is.
FRANKCAN, comparing Pitt’s recruiting to PSU’s is of no use. We are not in their conference. We don’t compare to them as a Program. We may be competitive with them on the field a few years from now when we play, but we will never compare with the Program that they have. When this class if fully signed, compare the full class with the current ACC schools. That is what matters.
