I really don’t see Pitt and Nova playing any time soon. The last thing the Wildcats want is for Pitt to have more opportunities to recruit in the Philly area. For all that talk about how Pitt has that connection for NY/NJ, Pitt has been doing rather well grabbing kids in or connected to the Philly area in recent years. Both Gil Brown and Lamar Patterson may have been from Central PA, but their AAU teams were in Philly. Wanamaker, Robinson, Malcolm Gilbert and others were taken from the area. Hopefully Pitt finds a some willing partners in the rest of the Big 5 for home-and-homes to Philly.
The big concern is the status of Steven Adams’ ankle.
Pitt freshman center Steven Adams injured an ankle in practice Saturday, according to a university source. The severity of the injury was not immediately known and it was unclear Saturday night if he would be able to play in the game today against Villanova.
Early reports are that he is out for warm-ups but limping noticeably. Perfect timing since there is even media from New Zealand at the Pete for the game. He’s going to be a game time decision.
If Adams can’t go — or Coach Dixon decides to be extra careful — it renders any debate on whether Dante Taylor should get to start on senior day moot.
Both Taylor and Travon Woodall will have their family in Pittsburgh to see them play for the first and last time.
“It’s a great feeling,” Woodall said of having his mother, sister and other extended family present. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere. They don’t get out of New Jersey or New York often. It will be a great opportunity to see the opportunities I have coming from what we came from.”
For both players, family considerations and financial restraints have prevented it from happening until now. Taylor said his mother cares for his grandmother, and even if she was able to get away for a few days, the family does not have the money for trips to Pittsburgh.
“For them to watch me in a home game, it will be really exciting,” Taylor said. “It will definitely be emotional. It’s a great place to play, a great environment. I’ve been here for four years so it’s like my second home. It will definitely be something to remember, something I’ll never forget.”
Always want to see the seniors go out on a high note at the Pete.
Final Big East home game for Pitt. As much as we hated on the Big East football, the basketball was never anything but the best.
Not sure what to expect in this game. Obviously, emotions will be high for Pitt.
It’s also a near-must win for Nova. After a disastrous start in the non-con, Villanova still has a shot for an at-large NCAA Bid. They are 9-7 in the Big East. They have big, big wins over Louisville, Syracuse and Marquette. Being swept by Providence hurt, but doesn’t look as bad with the Friars playing much better. That loss to Seton Hall, however, hurt. Plus their road wins are very few. Beating Pitt at the Pete would probably do the job.
The game is at noon. It’s the Big East syndicated game being shown on MASN, Root, MSG, Brighthouse, WPHL (Philly) and Altitude.
Now we’re paying for not having done so.
You cannot get open by standing still.
blah blah blah
Sometimes this team isn’t worth watching. Today is one of those times. I hope we win but I’ll be tuned into the Heat/Knicks to watch some actual basketball.
Zanna 14 and 19. He’s taken a beating on here from all of us, and deservedly so, but gotta give credit where due. He stepped up today with no Adams, and with Moore in foul trouble.
JR is ice. He has a long way to go offensively, but he has proven this year that he is CLUTCH.
Great win, nice to see some magic back in The Pete. H2P.
great point. I think everyone of the players who didn’t go Pro graduated from Pitt. Since, in theory, college should prepare you for your life’s work, leaving early for the NBA, IMHO is still doing your job.
Love beating Villanova preppies.
Zanna was a beast today 14 & 18
the color announcer called it right after JR tied it up in regulation. PITT dominated the OT
HTP !
Ended up better than Nova at 18-26 69%
Great to see Sleepy get that Final Dunk at The Pete for the 2012-2013 season.
HTP!
If it was a 2 way tie with ND, ND wins the tie breaker. ND will lose their last game anyway at L’Ville.
I would just LOVE for Pitt to win the last ever true BE Tournament…
Hail To Pitt!
As soon as we took the lead in OT and Nova had to play from behind, they folded,,,like a lawn chair.
We need to wake up sooner in these games and play from the lead and that puts more pressure on the other team.
JR had his best game of the season, 14 points including 2 HUGE 3′s, the one at the end of regulation to tie it and the one at the end of OT to seal it.
Woodie had a nice Senior Day finish to his career,
13 points and 11 big assists.
And the future….Durand Durand…went 3 for 3 from downtown for 9 points.
Good team effort today without Kiwi Steve !!!
Gutty, gutty win for Pitt erases about half the anger from Villanova Pitt in the NCAA’s.
This team is ugly but can catch “ugly fire” from here.
Hail to Pitt…great great win!!!
#17 Wisconsin lost at home to unranked lower tier team Purdue today
#20 Butler got routed yesterday
#21 ND lost to Marquette.
So I think we move up 3 spots to #20 in the AP
And we might even slide back into the Coaches Poll, with Butler falling out.
Oh we should definitely re-enter the Coaches Poll, as #24 Akron lost yesterday as well against lowly Buffalo (12-17). And Butler should fall out as previously noted. And we were #26 in that poll.
Almost DeJuan Blairesque.
If those two both played good at the same time, this team would be really good.
Insert Pitt for Cuse here:
changed the course of the game.
I think your idea of moving Zanna to center and having Kiwi Steve play the 4 is brilliant.
Dante Taylor made Slam Dunk, Assist Tray Woodall
Hail to Dante. Hail to Tray. And, of course,
HTP!!!
I think the biggest benefit of today (besides boosting JR’s shooting confidence and Taylor ending the game with the dank) was giving Zanna enough minutes to play out of his funk. He didnt do much at all until the second half when he scored all his points. I think with some guys slumping, that you just have to let them play out of their funk. Unfortunately until now, there’s too many guys on the bench to have let Zanna flounder. But this game Dixon was forced to let him play it out and he did. I think that could carry over ain the coming games. Would be HUGE if it did.
Let me first say that I love Durand Johnson’s confidence, and yes he can provide some instant offense off the bench when Pitt is struggling offensively. There is something to be said for a young kid that isn’t afraid to pull the trigger and he has at times provided that spark. That being said, he is not a great ball handler, doesn’t run the floor well, and is prone to turnovers against teams that press or teams that challenge passing on the perimeter. For example, when Pitt played Depaul, Johnson turned the ball over 6 times in 18 minutes and clearly struggled with their up-tempo, pressing style. Not surprisingly, Dixon responded by giving him just two minutes of action versus Louisville the following game; knowing what type of pressure Pitt would face. Johnson has a ton of ability as a catch and shoot player but the rest of his game, as with most freshman, needs to develop. It’s just my opinion, but I think that’s why you see the wild fluctuation in his minutes. And that’s the tricky thing with a young buck like Johnson: Dixon knows this team needs the offense but he doesn’t want to sacrifice quality possessions either.
Here is what I think happened today with Zanna. His back and that of his team was against the wall, Zanna said “F it! If I go down then I go down swinging!” which is exactly the way you have to think to get out of a funk….quit thinking and kick ass.
Wonderful win lead by a freshman point guard, a freshman assassin and a 4th year senior who snapped out of it in the nick of time.
He showed me something in that OT though, for the first time since very early in Big East play. I hope this can help him get his confidence back, because when he does play with confidence he can be pretty good.
I agree, Zanna looked bad for most of the game, Patterson cold as ice.
No quit in this team, beat a team that needed to win. Archi….shot lights out, refs were…unbelievable. Oh yeah, defense was suffocating, except for Archi
All without Adams, a senior day to remember.
Even met Sleepy’s mom after the game, told her what a great job she did.
Zeigler and wright’s stock has been dropping as Johnson’s goes up. The minute reflects that though and there’s been little harm in giving wright and Zeigler minutes. Good to keep them warm in case fouls trouble forces them into the game during tourny time.
In OT Pitt shoots 80% for 2s, 50% for 3s and 100% FT?????? And Zanna puts it all together in OT too!
You have to be frickin kidding me!!!!!
“the best teammate we’ve ever had”
“He’s done everything we’ve asked and more,”
“He got the ovation he deserved.”
Very happy to see the production.
He played most of the game at the 5. When Taylor was out Patterson and Moore played the 4.
Random thoughts:
When Pitt went small it reminded me of the small line-up that they used in the CBI last year.
When Pitt went to the 2-3 zone in the 2nd half (with the small line-up), Villanova got frustrated. I believe that was the key to the come-back.
Awesome atmosphere at the Pete today. Truly what a home court advantage is supposed to be.
Enjoyed meeting both of you. Wally, we got there a few minuted late and found a young couple with an infant in your seats. We did the honorable thing…we kicked mom out and let Dad and infant stay! Just kidding, we let them stay and move up a row.
gc…Dante wept like, well, like a baby on the post game. The Fan replayed it. Every son and mother should be forced to listen to that tape. Dixon’s post game comments ring true. Compare Birch with Dante…who would you rather work with in the real world (that means you Khem….it’s Europe or Wegman’s for you).
Even Filiponi on the post game went soft…he focused on what a great game it was;how Pitt got contributions from all over and how the seniors will be remembered.
I asked my son at half(who I took–we are Catholic) who he thought would win..he said Pitt…so I asked him if he thought God wanted Pitt to win…from his 10 year old mouth came the words…God wants the team that works for it to win…
Amen…
The same can be said of Zanna but coming out of H.S. Taylor was way ahead of Zanna.
We will never know if Adams could of been an above average 4. I know he came to school overweight. You work off the weight not make him heavier.
Who would have played center/ 3guards and 2 F until Adams.
What if? He still was a 4 year player, like Young he might be a draft pick rather than a player who will probably get an invitation to a pro camp.
It is unfair and less than insightful to say he did not have the offense at the 4. Very few H.S. kids his size do coming to college. He lost his quickness with the weight gain and never got to work on his ball handling or outside shot in practices since he always played the 5. Do you think for a moment that Zanna could have shot the 15 ft jumper he did beginning of this year if he would have been playing the 5 in camp. If so why did they not use him at the 4 last year?
exactly right about Taylor. And whatever else folks want to say, he is an important part of this team.
Thanks for the link.
I will be thrilled with the 4 seed.
A couple of small things but in my top 10 on “don’t do’s on every basketball team I’ve coached. First, Zanna and especially Patterson…never ever at any time bring the ball to your belt level and just hold it there! Saw Patterson stripped 3x and Zanna 2x.
The other thing is that this was the single worst officiated game of the year for Pitt. It went both ways but these refs overofficiated. Ticky tac calls everywhere. Many times Nove just put their heads and shoulders down and charged into Pitt defenders….they got almost every call.
Great set play to get Robinson open for the tying 3 in regulation. His shooting is the key for Pitt.
I don’t think we will have an easy game ever, even vs DePaul. We will always start slow but our defense is tenacious and this Pitt team has the intangibles others have not. Guts and heart.,,and a bit of luck!
For those who like a cocktail or two during games I would advise to stock up!
Hail to Pitt!
With his degree, someone is going to want him on their team, basketball, business or whatever.
Always smiling, cheering his team mates on.
I contrast him with Ashton Gibbs. I don’t believe I ever saw him smile once…..his entire career.
Sure, that could be your basketball demeanor, but even before or after games, never smiled.
Maybe a rough childhood I don’t even know about, but very sad, for a guy or girl 18 or 22 years old to never smile, at all.
Compare that with Sleepy, he could have been a pouter, a problem, goes off with a thunder dunk and one of the loudest ovations I’ve ever heard at the Pete.
Good luck to Dante Taylor.
P.S. Dante, your game has really improved and you are a big part of this team. Hats off to you for your game, and your attitude!!!
We all have different personalites.
Just find it sad someone so young had nothing to smile about.
Best of luck to him too.
As someone here said earlier….his mom did a great job.
Actually, I think the 5 seed would be better too. The 5 seed in the Tourney means you play as of last I checked the winner of Rutgers vs DePaul. I think Pitt beats Rutgers easily. They are playing better now and don’t have to play at the RAC. Much rather play an easier team to get the rust off. When Pitt plays first game as 4 seed they would be coming off a 11 day span where they played only one game against DePaul. Good to get healthy but not good to be getting on a roll.
When they lose the sky is falling.
For most of the game they were not fun to watch today.
This team has limited offensive capability particularly beyond
the arc. Johnson provides that missing element. TZ is an enigma. His play has worsened as the season has progressed. Johnson should be getting his minutes.
Another over achieving Pitt team…..hope Dixon retires as Pitt’s coach!
I didn’t bad mouth him, as a matter of fact I made a second comment saying I was not bad mouthing him.
The comparison was one player seemed to have fun no matter what, the other that the kid never smiled, never, not once.
I didn’t say he had a rough childhood, I said, maybe he did, I don’t know the reason he never smiled.
Wasn’t just his last year, it was his whole career. I even said maybe that was his demeanor.
Read the posts of people, before you start criticizing other peoples posts and turning their comments into something that they’re not.
you can’t tell me his last year he wasn’t worried about his stock for the NBA more than the team.
But, I didn’t even bring that up.
You’re gonna fault him for wanting to turn pro? Like nearly every D1 player, he’d do it as 12 if he could. I don’t think his draft stock was the issue — playing point guard, which wasn’t a good fit was his biggest problem, and not having the experienced players around him like he did as a junior. He was best as a spot up shooter and he played a different role out of need. How much different is that than Dante coming off the bench and making the best of it.
Who cares about smiling unless that’s someone’s natural personality? Brandin Knight had (and still has) an awesome game face , DeJuan Blair always grinned. Sam Young rarely did. But again — apples to oranges.
My post wasn’t even about basketball per se.
I was talking about the two different dispositions that I noticed.
I am allowed to have an opinion arent’ I???
I’ll check with you next time I want to post something, to see if it’s okay with you.
Stick to 7 or 8 in Big-East and NCAA tournaments.
That move ruined Gibbs chance to shine for the NBA scouts and he was sour the whole year. It also ruined both guard positions and Pitt had their worst year ever under Dixon.
The move to point actually was Gibb’s best chance to change the NBA scouts perception. If he could be a play maker and play some point, it would have helped him. He just wasn’t good enough at it.
Woodall is playing a similar role this year, combo guard. Woodall is better with the ball.
