No coherent theme to the stories in my tabs so it’s a good time for linking and letting them go.
If it helps in the Steven Adams’ future debate, Seth Davis from SI.com wants him to stay.
It’s nice to see Pittsburgh freshman center Steven Adams getting more comfortable, but I really think he would do himself a disservice if he went to the NBA. What’s the hurry, young fella? Get stronger, work on your game, come back to school, and go to the league when you’re ready to have an impact.
Coach Dixon attributes the drop in scoring in no small part to the zone and 3s.
Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon made a great point Thursday about low scoring in college basketball. Dixon said that teams attempting more 3-pointers has led to more zone defenses and using up more of the shot clock. Of course, he added that teams are defending better and more fouls aren’t being called. There are a lot of theories out there about low scoring, but perhaps the most important might be the lack of some fundamental shooting.
It’s purely anecdotal and perhaps perception, but it does seem that a lot more teams are utilizing zone defenses this season. They aren’t necessarily sticking with it exclusively, but they are shifting to it for stretches. Trying to keep teams off-balance.
Heck, even Coach Dixon uses it for chunks of the game without gritting his teeth.
“I think now at this point we go into a game thinking we’re going to use the zone,” Dixon said. “I don’t think that has been the case in year’s past, but the game has changed and we’ve changed. We think it is a nice change of pace.”
On Saturday, the Panthers executed a 2-3 zone look to perfection, holding Cincinnati without a field goal in the final nine minutes of the game. That lead to a 62-52 victory on the road, Pitt’s seventh in eight games.
“We work on it everyday so of course it is going to get better,” said wing Trey Zeigler. “We’ve been working on it everyday, and we’re just getting used to it. At first we weren’t sure about rotations, but I think we’re starting to figure out how to play the 2-3 and be effective.”
Incoming Pitt freshman Josh Newkirk is going to need a DVD player in his locker.
The Superstition: Watching the Telfair Documentary
The Breakdown: “Before every game I have to watch (Phoenix Suns guard) Sebastian Telfair’s documentary “Through the Fire.” I just sit back and watch the whole thing and watch what he went through and think about what I need to do.”
The Why: “It just gets me fired up. He was such a beast in high school and it gets me ready to go out there and do what I have to do. It just does something to me mentally. I’m ready to go when I watch that.”
Hey, any story that ends with Rick Pitino not getting his way is a good one.
Jamie Dixon shouting at the team to practice hard with that complete self-awareness of having a mic and camera on him.
If you’ve watched any Pac-12 games on ESPN this year, you know that Bill Walton is doing color analysis. He remains highly entertaining to me, but the one area of discomfort is his absolute abhorrence of Ben Howland. Which reached an apex last week.
Not that I like the color guys that kiss coaches asses, but Walton just completely hates Howland and the style of play. At points openly saying if he was in charge at UCLA he would get a different coach. Most chalk it up to Walton still worshiping at the alter of Wooden, and all others at UCLA are pretenders to the throne.
Perhaps if Walton were as candid in his revelations as he is in criticizing Howland I would take him more seriously.
Chas, I also find Walton to be entertaining but don’t take much of what he is saying too seriously … unless he is talking about the Grateful Dead
PS Panther94…….I’m ok with football talk. As long as it about Pitt and NOT Penn State, West Virginia, or Notre Dame.
Maybe i’m just OCD and prefer that football comments go w football posts, basketball w basketball.
Its also that I’m in the minority (maybe the only member of this minority) of pitt fans who are basketball-centric as opposed to football-centric and am fatigued by football talk considering its prevelance in this city as well as its dominance of college sports. Whatever.
Pitt at Marquette, 1 p.m. ET, CBS: Most teams in the Top 25 have suffered on the road, especially in conference play. Just when you think you have a team figured out, they take an L against a mid-level adversary. That’s what makes the Top 25 so confusing. Pitt, however, is 4-1 in its past five Big East road games. The Panthers (seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency, ninth in defensive efficiency per Ken Pomeroy) have found a rhythm in hostile venues. So, what will happen in Milwaukee? With Marquette, you never know. It won the first matchup in overtime after shooting 48 percent from the field. And the Golden Eagles haven’t lost a Big East game at home this season (6-0). But they are facing a different Panthers squad this time. Jamie Dixon’s crew is more equipped to limit Marquette’s offense, especially since the Golden Eagles are such a poor 3-point shooting team (27.2 percent, 14th in the Big East). And Steven Adams is more comfortable as an offensive contributor. But you can’t deny the magic Buzz Williams has had in Milwaukee.
Prediction: Marquette 72, Pitt 70
He did have the likes of Walt Hazzard, Signey Wicks, Curtis Rowe and Andre McCarter …. interestingly enough, both Hazzard and McCarter were from Philly (and Alcindor was from NYC)
That means that if we keep winning conference games, there is plenty of room to improve overall RPI. Thus, the weak non-con might actually be a boon to Pitt’s resume come Selection Sunday.
The only team I remember with that level of talent was Phi Slamma Jamma, with Olajawon and Drexler, maybe if Wooden coached them they would have beat Georgetown.
Palm must see what we see (an ever improving team that is playing well). Lunardi is not yet convinced.
Both have Georgetown as #4 seeds. How can Lunardi have them ahead of the Panthers?
It looks like they have a real coach, going to make the ACC even tougher. Can’t wait. First things first, continue our run in the Big East.
Although we have Woodall and an improving Adams. Marquette will play us tough, they always do.
I hope the kids aren’t reading their own press clippings. We don’t need a letdown.
So go spend your money and enjoy the fact that at least you CAN buy season tickets without having to sell your first born child into slavery to do so. I’m sure that other successful football powerhouses charge tons more money for their season tickets than Pitt and are, most likely, very hard for first time buyers to come by too.
Just think of how lucky you’ll feel in a couple years, when Coach Chryst has us winning the ACC and we’re competing for the National Champioonship, to have those seats!
Hey, I can dream, can’t I???
Heck, I dont want us to loose to Marquette either, but part of me wants us to loose to throw everyone off our scent. Dont think there is much to lose up there if we’re beat.
Tray Woodall
As a 1 seed, I dread every game, fearing a historic 1st round upset (2009) or loss to a spunky, flop-happy upstart (2011).
Although after last season I’d be happy just to sneak in as an 11…
If Pitt wins-out and shares the BE reg season title with an appearance in the BET final, then underseeding will not be a worry.
If Pitt finishes 3rd/4th with less than 2 wins in MSG, then they will be the team that the higher seeds will dread facing.
Where we stand today it just seems odd that Pitt is not being recognized.
Even Dana O’Neil (ESPN) has Pitt #4 in BE Power Ranking. Behind Georgetown, Louisville and Syracuse.
On another note…
I do hope that the season ends with Pitt and Syracuse at the top and a tourny title. Then off to ACC.
I would take the BE title. The final Big East championship banner hanging forever in the Pete would be sweet.
xfmrman, pantherman – i think our seeding will inevitably be a bit too low, at least as a representation of where the team is today. The reason being that we had so weak a OOC schedule and stumbled early in the BE. That throws off the stats machines (which value entire seasons and dont very clearly account for momentum and how a team improves) and kept us under the radar. And this is totally fine and good for me. I’m curious though what the national perception of this team is which, plays into regular season rankings and indirectly into RPI & BPI and etc stat-based ranking. And worse the ‘eye test’ that the sports media, coaches and even (to a lesser extent) selection committee applies.
I wont mind to see us lower seeded than we deserve because i think it may serve to lessen the pressure the team and Dixon have been under the last few trips to the Tourny. The field isn’t challenging enough this year for seeding to be too important. As we’ve seen in past years, its more about match-ups anyway.
1) Teams are doing what I would do if I was was HC.
Play zone more and force more outside shooting.
2) Getting proficient at outside shooting takes many many many hours of practice (see Larry Bird) and it’s almost akin to practicing Free Throw shooting.
Most kids find that too boring to practice the necessary hours it takes to become proficient at both. Even more so with 20-25 footers. They want to practice beating you off the dribble and showing you up and talking sh*t after they do it.
NBA shooting is way down as well and has been, as very few teams even approach shooting 50% in the NBA. Same problem. Basic lack of shooting fundamentals and having “one and done’s ” entering the NBA doesn’t help matters either.
The NBA’s product is horrible anymore, regardless of the hype you hear on whatever Network is promoting them. College basketball is getting worse as well. As the feeder system (high school basketball) is not teaching basic fundamental basketball, of course there are a few exceptions.
But in Pittsburgh one has to only look at the condition of Pittsburgh’s City League, which use to put out lots of D1 caliber players. Not so much anymore because the coaching is not there, therefore the basic fundamentals aren’t being taught and the quality of play has suffered greatly.
And that goes right up the ladder from high school to college to the NBA.
This from USA Today;
“Get used to horrific halftime scores, like Miami 19, Maryland 14.
Scoring is down across all of Division-I men’s college basketball; teams could score fewer points than any season since 1952, said Ken Pomeroy, a college basketball statistician who runs kenpom.com.”
Just this week, TCU scored 11 in one half,
Bradley scored 18, Illinois-Chicago scored 16 and James Madison score 12.
Last week Clemson scored 10 points in a half and who can forget Northern Illinois scoring a whopping 4 points earlier in the season.
So there is indeed a lot of “Ugly” basketball going on out there.
north carolina has hired ron west as a defensive
coodinator.
iowa adds two assistants to repartures from there football staff.
and us no DC .
Living in the middle of ACC country, I probably follow that league more than most people on here.
Really have noticed that their average games scores in basketball have come way down. It’s almost as if they’re at PITT levels, no kidding.
As if they’re getting prepared for more low scoring games with PITT, Syracuse & Louisville coming into the league next year. Well Pitt & Cuse at least.
Virginia hiring former Washington State coach Tony Bennett(son of former Wisconsin Coach Dick Bennett) has brought his low scoring defensive mentality with him into the league and that has certainly had an effect on things as the Cavaliers are currently in 3rd place in the ACC at 8-3 after making the NCAA’s for the first time in 5 years last year.
So that is very interesting that Bennett’s style of coaching is succeeding in the ACC with Virginia. So I would have to think Dixon’s will as well.
HTP !
Beat Marquette !
VeV
And now they are talking about shortening the shot clock to 24 or 30 seconds.
That only treats the symtom.
I would just expect defensive rebound stats to increase.
And scoring may well drop further.
I think of the game as a chess match. I love watching ball movement, patience to force a breakdown and get an open shot (no matter how long it takes).
High scoring not necessarily a result of good basketball. At times it could be the opposite.
I just hope that lower seeding does not sent them to KC, Austin (sorry TXPanther), SLC or San Jose in the West or South Bracket.
As I posted above college scoring is at it’s lowest since the 1952 season.
Up until the 1985 season in college basketball, THERE WAS NO SHOT CLOCK. Yet they scored at a higher average than this season. And in the years between 1985 & 1952.
The players might be better athletes, but they are worse players and certainly worse shooters.
haha if you love a chess match, it was a real chess match without the shot clock. How about the 4 corners of UNC. Or I remember teams that had one great player would have the other 4 players stand together on the farthest extreme of the court near the sideline, while that one player would go on “one on one” against that opposing player.
This low scoring nowadays is a direct reflection of the overall poor shooting and terrible technique of the average player today. Teams struggle to shoot 40% these days and that’s with point blank dunks. lol
illegal from 1968 to 1976.
Can you imagine how much lower shooting %’s would be today if that was the case today. As is the case with PITT, these teams can’t make layups, it’s just incredible.
And they are due for a loss in the BigEast at home being 6-0 at home in conf. play.
Big key as always keeping Kiwi Steve on the court, clogging and intimidating in the middle of the paint. Since Marquette is only shooting 27% from 3, I would play lots of zone.
Let’s Go PITT !!
I was agreeing with you. Just adding that some think that the best way to increase scoring is to merely shoot more. Shortening the shot clock will most definitely lead to more missed shots. Not necessarily more scoring. And not better basketball.
I didn’t want to show my age. But I remember no shot clock. 😉
link to cbssports.com
I’d take a final 4 before the BE championship; however, I’d take the BE championship before an elite 8.
Cinci, but they’re losing.
Big game.
