Panther Hoops?
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Crimson09Crazy
Panther Hoops?
Ranked #4 and #5. Opened with a very tough nonconference opponent. I was there last night, and I thought we played awful. But we still won because Dixon wouldn't let that loss happen. Thats very daring starting with Rhode Island, a team from the A10 that won 26 games last year.
Overall thoughts.....It looks like Pitt will be 9 deep.
C- McGhee
PF-Zanna
SF-Brown
SG-Wanamaker
PG-Gibbs
Woodall
Robinson
Taylor
Patterson
and if we need to....Richardson
Looks like the 3 frosh will be redshirted.
Zanna looks real good. athletic, he is starting due to Robinson's injury, but he may never give up his job.
Realistically Pitt should finish the season 26-5 27-4 range. WIn the Big East regular season. Win a game or two in NYC. Earn no less than a 2 seed, and anything less then a final four will be a disappointment. You have to expect this now days from this team.
Your thoughts?
Overall thoughts.....It looks like Pitt will be 9 deep.
C- McGhee
PF-Zanna
SF-Brown
SG-Wanamaker
PG-Gibbs
Woodall
Robinson
Taylor
Patterson
and if we need to....Richardson
Looks like the 3 frosh will be redshirted.
Zanna looks real good. athletic, he is starting due to Robinson's injury, but he may never give up his job.
Realistically Pitt should finish the season 26-5 27-4 range. WIn the Big East regular season. Win a game or two in NYC. Earn no less than a 2 seed, and anything less then a final four will be a disappointment. You have to expect this now days from this team.
Your thoughts?
Last edited by Crimson09Crazy on September 20th, 2011, 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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WPIAL~Titan
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Re: Panther Hoops?
I didn't think Pitt played awful at all, I just think they looked like it was an opening game against a quality opponent.
Although Rhode Island had nobody who could defend Wannamaker and Gibbs, particularly in transition, Rhode Island shot the lights out and they are exceptionally well coached. Don't underestimate Rhode Island, give them credit for the solid game they played and for the good game plan. Rhode Island may very well be in the top few teams in the A10 this season when all is said and done and this win may look a whole lot better come tournament time.
With that said, if Pitt converts the many easy baskets they missed, the game could've been a 15-20 point Pitt win. In the end, Rhode Island wore down and showed the difference between mid-major D1 and major D1 basketball, as Pitt ultimately showed their superior depth, strength, and skill.
I think that your prediction regarding Pitt's record is about right. One thing is certain: Pitt will get everyone's best shot this year, being that they are so highly regarded and ranked.
Although Rhode Island had nobody who could defend Wannamaker and Gibbs, particularly in transition, Rhode Island shot the lights out and they are exceptionally well coached. Don't underestimate Rhode Island, give them credit for the solid game they played and for the good game plan. Rhode Island may very well be in the top few teams in the A10 this season when all is said and done and this win may look a whole lot better come tournament time.
With that said, if Pitt converts the many easy baskets they missed, the game could've been a 15-20 point Pitt win. In the end, Rhode Island wore down and showed the difference between mid-major D1 and major D1 basketball, as Pitt ultimately showed their superior depth, strength, and skill.
I think that your prediction regarding Pitt's record is about right. One thing is certain: Pitt will get everyone's best shot this year, being that they are so highly regarded and ranked.
Last edited by WPIAL~Titan on September 20th, 2011, 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Crimson09Crazy
Re: Panther Hoops?
I didn't sell URI short at all, I was 15 rows from the floor last night behind the Rams bench. That team had a plan and they looked confident all night long. I really liked how they played.
Maybe I'm critical of Pitt because I feel as though I know more of what I'm talking about when it comes to Basketball as opposed to Football.
Okay....
1. We can't and never have been able to break a press under Dixon and Howland. Its the ugliest thing in the world watching them throw it to Wanamaker in the corner then him making a terrible pass across court. Our biggest problem going forward will be our lack of a true PG,unless Woodall steps up. We don't start a PG. Thats going to rough against pressure teams like Louisville and 'Nova.
2. Low Post scoring....We missed close to 20 layups. Inexcusable. They didn't have a Greg Monroe or anything down there, so why do we have guys missing layups. McGhee can't score unless its off a pass where he has a wide open dunk. We knew that. But Taylor and Zanna need to be the low post scorers. They both are athletic, they just need to get tough. Taylor was the softest player to be in the Pitt program in years, hopefully he will mature as the season goes on, and when Robinson comes back, its not like your going to get scoring froma 6-5 Power Forward.
3. Gilbert Brown. He alone played a atrocious game. Missing dunks,layups, making terrible decisions and passes. He didn't do anything. And thats the problem because he can have a game like this, and Wednesday night he'll likely have 32 points and 13 rebounds. He is so inconsistent. And we can't have an inconsistent Small Forward when you aren't going to get scoring from your Center and you don't know if your getting any from your Power Forward yet.
Look in no way am i jumping ship or saying we're doomed. Dixon is a top 5 coach in the land, he'll get it together. Also thats a very hard game to open up with. And it wasn't alll bad. But there was certainly a lot more bad then good.
Good things I saw.
Gibbs is fearless. He is going to keep playing his game no matter the situation. He hit a few big shots whben we needed him too, and he will all season long. I'm a big fan of his.
Wanamaker is improved from last year. I can tell that through one game. He is going to be a higher scorer then in years past. He rebounds, he makes assists and he can get to the basket. This is a good sign that we have 2 guards that can average near 18 points a night
Depth. We have it. Zanna is athletic as all hell. He may be an All Big East player by next year. And another thing, We can run this year. This aint your parent's Panthers. We don't have to what every announcer says and "grind it out". We can score, and run. We're fast and athletic. And I like that.
Maybe I'm critical of Pitt because I feel as though I know more of what I'm talking about when it comes to Basketball as opposed to Football.
Okay....
1. We can't and never have been able to break a press under Dixon and Howland. Its the ugliest thing in the world watching them throw it to Wanamaker in the corner then him making a terrible pass across court. Our biggest problem going forward will be our lack of a true PG,unless Woodall steps up. We don't start a PG. Thats going to rough against pressure teams like Louisville and 'Nova.
2. Low Post scoring....We missed close to 20 layups. Inexcusable. They didn't have a Greg Monroe or anything down there, so why do we have guys missing layups. McGhee can't score unless its off a pass where he has a wide open dunk. We knew that. But Taylor and Zanna need to be the low post scorers. They both are athletic, they just need to get tough. Taylor was the softest player to be in the Pitt program in years, hopefully he will mature as the season goes on, and when Robinson comes back, its not like your going to get scoring froma 6-5 Power Forward.
3. Gilbert Brown. He alone played a atrocious game. Missing dunks,layups, making terrible decisions and passes. He didn't do anything. And thats the problem because he can have a game like this, and Wednesday night he'll likely have 32 points and 13 rebounds. He is so inconsistent. And we can't have an inconsistent Small Forward when you aren't going to get scoring from your Center and you don't know if your getting any from your Power Forward yet.
Look in no way am i jumping ship or saying we're doomed. Dixon is a top 5 coach in the land, he'll get it together. Also thats a very hard game to open up with. And it wasn't alll bad. But there was certainly a lot more bad then good.
Good things I saw.
Gibbs is fearless. He is going to keep playing his game no matter the situation. He hit a few big shots whben we needed him too, and he will all season long. I'm a big fan of his.
Wanamaker is improved from last year. I can tell that through one game. He is going to be a higher scorer then in years past. He rebounds, he makes assists and he can get to the basket. This is a good sign that we have 2 guards that can average near 18 points a night
Depth. We have it. Zanna is athletic as all hell. He may be an All Big East player by next year. And another thing, We can run this year. This aint your parent's Panthers. We don't have to what every announcer says and "grind it out". We can score, and run. We're fast and athletic. And I like that.