I’m more concerned about Dixon and coaching staff.
They have their work cut out for them.
Not only trying to figure out starting 5 and rotation, but going into the ACC which has a more uptempo style of basketball and playing teams he has not played before.
Will Dixon change his style of play?
Seems he is bringing in players for a more uptempo game. He will need a PG who will take it to the hoop. Will Robinson change his style of play?

Watched a few games, and it was clear why Robinson was initially cut from this U-19 squad. He was really a bad (slow) fit for the Donovan/Smart pressing style — his man routinely beat him on the dribble up the court, whereas other US defenders were able to slow the dribble enough to allow the trap to come.

What is means for this year is nothing, though. Any experience around this caliber talent will surely benefit him, and from what I hear of Newkirk, I think that could make for a very intriguing backcourt combo. J-Rob a bit more of the power PG/half-court defender, and Newkirk the up-tempo slasher. I think Robinson’s good/smart enough to be an excellent PG no matter the style/tempo overall.

The Newkirk/Mostella at PG/SG would be an exciting, uptempo brand of basketball “IF” Dixon releases the reins on them.
Compare that to Robinson/Wright.

@@@@@@@@
Robinson made several big shots last
year and made free throws in crucial
situations. Minimal turnovers and
assists are keys to his game.

Many are concerned about the uptempo
in the ACC. Pitt’s offense and rebounding
takes teams out of their uptempo
game.

Dixon is not going to change his style of play. In fact, he would be an idiot to try to do so. If Pitt were to go uptempo they would simply be conceding that they can’t compete with the Duke’s and UNCs. Uptempo play favors the teams with the best talent and takes coaching further out of the equation. Pitt will likely never have a more talented roster than the Dukes and UNCs so the only way to successfully compete against them is to force them out of their comfort zone by playing a more deliberate slower paced style.

Now, this doesn’t mean Pitt will look exactly like it has the past 2-3 seasons. The more talented quicker recruits coming on board now will allow Dixon to continue playing his style but will also add the dimension of being able to handle full court pressure better, get more fast break buckets off of defensive stops, etc. But, I am certain we will not see any attempt to force the pace offensively.

IMHO, the bottom line will be a team that scores a more due to the better talent getting the high percentage shot earlier in the shot clock and by generating a few more fastbreak buckets. But you won’t see any Shaka Smart “chaos” style uptempo basketball that resembles playground ball. We won’t see much one on one basketball or 3 point shots jacked up early in the shot clock.

Robinson’s strength is his ball handling and ability to control the tempo. If Newkirk and Mostella are as good as they look they will fill the bill when Patterson disappears and Zanna misses layups or gets dunks blocked. We have not had anyone that can drive to the hoop and shoot the ball for some time.

Some uptempo as a change of pace would be nice to offset the predictability of Pitt. Some fast breaks would also help, but as a wise man said, you got to rebound for that.

Robinson is a mediocre shooting, good ballhandling, slow devense player. He has no quick first step on offense and will always get beat by quicker guards on defense, thus he has to try to control the tempo. We documented his shooting problems which always seem to include the improper position of his shooting arm elbow.

I would much rather he would have found a good shooting coach this summer and fixed that problem than been on the USA team.

If he cannot shoot well, he will never be a successful point guard. Last year, opponents sloughed off him on defense and doubled another player. Hope he at least works on the problem.

An uptick in uptempo play could benefit Robinson. A quick outlet pass and fast break could allow him to use his smarts and passing ability to dish before the other team’s defense can set up, thus negating his shooting and quickness limitations.
However, will JD actually allow his teams to fast break when its there, that is the question. We can only hope, but frankly don’t see this leapord changing his spots much if at all even in the ACC.

I actually think Robinson’s an above-average half court defender. He is very smart positionally, is excellent at working through screens off the ball, in particular, and does not get beat too often on the dribble (not nearly as much as other Pitt guards of the past 3-4 years, especially).
In Pitt’s system, he is a great defender. And I do believe with an influx of ACC talent (like we’re starting to see), the system will be successful.

Good point Dan, Robinson does let his shooting elbow stray outside of his body. Woodall, no rach or rotation, Fields realeasing the ball with left hand way up on the ball almost two hand shot. Even Gibbs needing mor arch on his release.
Zanna, Johnson let’s not go there.
We all release because of the size and increased athleticism of basketball players during the last 20 years the typical player coming out out of his school has not been taught fundamentals ( just jump over people, beat them down court slams and out muscle them.
Pitt really needs to add a shotting coach (FF% percentage is embarrassing for a High School team). as well as one who knows how to break a press (although Robinson learned that at DeMatha so Pitt did not get exploited by the press as much this year except when he was on the bench)

Even with Adams gone, with him the ACC and beyond was ours, Pitt’s style can cause problems for ACC teams now that we appear to have guards who can cover the shooters on the perimeter. The problem I see is unless Young is a monster on the boards possible slid back to 2012-2013 with Zanna at the 5.

Slice is a very good shooting coach…no need to add. Players just need to listen….and do!

pitisit…point well taken on lack of fundamentals because of such raw athletic talent dominating in HS. Still, players need to grow. If they refuse to grow (ie learn fundamentals) then keeping them on the bench is an option. I thank God every day I no longer have to figure ways to motivate them.