On December 22, 2003, I attended my first Pitt basketball game. My mom took me to the Pete to see Pitt beat Florida State 63-56 behind Mark McCarroll's 13 points off the bench. I had been a fan of Pitt basketball for several years, but somehow I never made it to the Fitzgerald Field House for a game. Then Pitt moved to the Pete, became awesome, and tickets were a lot harder to come by. Both teams were 10-0 coming into that game. The Seminoles had a decent freshman named Von Wafer (real name Vakeaton) who would eventually get drafted in the second round the next year. He had a 200 game NBA career before going to Europe. Reading his wikipedia page, I found this gem.
"During a workout with the Phoenix Suns, Wafer reportedly was frustrated by the physical play from Jan Jagla, and responded by laying an intentional elbow to Jagla's nose, then walked off the court and ended the workout at that point." Jan Jagla was a popular center at Penn State in the early 2000s.
Enough of the history lesson, it's time to talk about the present. Pitt is awful right now. They might lose every game the rest of the year. We should drop basketball, demolish the Pete, and turn it into a giant free parking lot. That way I'll have some place to park in Oakland. I'm kidding, maybe.
In reality, this is what Pitt was supposed to be at the beginning of the season. They teased us with the 16-1 (4-0 ACC) start, but they were still picked to finish 7th in the ACC with a .500 conference record. They're 6th now at 8-6, and with the way they're playing now, that 9-9 mark might be right on the money. They can't shoot the ball. Patterson's unsustainable shooting percentage was carrying Pitt. Once he fell back to earth, Pitt's offense fell back to earth. He's now shooting 45%, and he shot 46% last season. The loss of Durand Johnson also crippled Pitt's outside shooting. Wright, Robinson, and Newkirk are all capable of hitting the occasional 3, but nobody does it well. Robinson and Newkirk actually shot better than Durand, but neither of them is capable of exploding for a huge night offensively. The game before he was injured, Johnson had 17 on 6-8 shooting in a 20 point win over Maryland. His replacement, Chris Jones, just doesn't offer that at this point. Pitt still has some issues, but having Durand's offense late in some of these games might have given Pitt 2-3 more wins.
I haven't given grades for a while so let's do that.
Lamar Patterson - With three minutes left in the game, Patterson was shooting 3-16 (0-7 from 3) and Pitt was down 5. He would score the last 16 points for Pitt, while shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field (4-4 from 3, 2-2 FT), but it was too little too late. Patterson was incredible in those final minutes, but Pitt was just awful for too long of a stretch in the second half. After leading by 6 at the break, Florida State shot 1-11 to start the second half. Unfortunately, Pitt only made 2 field goals themselves during that time period and Florida State never lost the lead. Pitt did tie the game at 42 and 48, but Florida State quickly regained the lead both times. The box score says Patterson had a huge night with 22 points 8 rebounds and 5 assists, but that was all done in a 3 minute span.
Grade: C
Talib Zanna - Zanna was 1-4 from the field with 4 turnovers. Pitt is not going to win any games when their only post presence shoots 1-4 with 4 turnovers. In addition to the complete lack of offense, Zanna made two of the dumbest plays of the year. Patterson hit a 3 with about 1:20 remaining to make the score 60-57 for FSU. It's a one possession game, and there's plenty of time to get a stop. Even if they score at the end of the shot clock, it would be a 5 point game with about 45 seconds to go which isn't insurmountable. Instead, Zanna fouls a 77% free throw shooter 5 seconds into the shot clock. Dixon had just called timeout to set his defense because nobody calls timeouts after they score to set up their defense more than Jamie Dixon. What was the result of this timeout? Zanna committing a foul immediately. Florida State was shooting terribly in the second half, but you know what they were doing well? That answer would be shooting foul shots. They were 27-31 from the line for the game. I swear to God, I hope that Zanna just made a dumb play. If Dixon actually told him to foul in the timeout, it's the final straw. I want Dixon fired. I don't even care if he's the best option we could get. I'm sick of these boneheaded calls. I didn't even mention the 3 pointer Zanna took when Pitt was down 66-60. Florida State actually missed two free throws on the prior possession, but Zanna felt inclined to attempt his first three pointer of the season. He missed by 8 feet. I'm not even exaggerating that. The ball was 8 feet short. Florida State missed another free throw on the next possession. If Pitt gets a quick two there, they might have had a chance to tie in the final seconds. Of course Chris Jones missed a three at the buzzer anyway, but a better shooter might have taken that if Pitt still had a chance to tie.
Grade: F for Zanna, F for Dixon too
Michael Young - He misssed all four shots he took and only had two rebounds. Pitt's inside game is non-existent at this point. In the NCAA tournament, they say the 3 point shot is the great equalizer. It allows teams made up of small guards contend with teams from major conferences because they can get hot from downtown. Generally strong post players don't go to small schools. Since Pitt has no inside game, you could say they are like a mid-major program. Unfortunately, Pitt can't shoot either so they're pretty much screwed. Maybe we can convince the NCAA that DeJuan Blair still has some eligibility left.
Grade: F
James Robinson - He made both of his 3-point attempts, but missed his five 2-point attempts, which is just weird. I can't really get mad at Robinson. He's been so remarkably consistent this season. He has improved in every single statistic from his freshmen year.
Points - 6.1 per game to 8.2
FG% - 36% to 42%
3P% - 31% to 37%
FT% - 79% to 81%
Assists - 3.5 per game to 3.9
Rebounds - 2.1 per game to 2.9
Steals - 1.0 per game to 1.4
Blocks - 0.0 per game to 0.4
Turnovers - 1.2 per game to 1.0
He's missed a few crucial three pointers late in games recently, but I'm willing to ignore that, given his across-the-board improvement.
Grade: B
Cameron Wright - He didn't play a great game, but he was the only starter to shoot even close to 50% (5-11) so that has to be worth something.
Grade: B
Jamel Artis - He didn't do much. He made 1-2 from the field, but only made two of his five free throws. In the first half he had a nice 3 point play, but he followed that possession with a turnover. Then on the next possession he followed a guy who completed a 3 point play on his own. He also had a chance to give Pitt a 49-48 lead, but he missed his second free throw. I'm not sure that one point makes that much of a difference, but perhaps they play differently if they were able to get the lead back for a moment.
Grade: B-
Derrick Randall - He played 10 minutes and didn't take a shot. That's par for the course for him.
Grade: C
Josh Newkirk - He made his only shot and it was a 3. Earlier in the game, Newkirk committed a turnover and then a frustration foul. The announcers talked about how it was a young mistake and that he would soon be taken out of the game. After he stayed in at the next substitution, they said he could make two mistakes but probably not a third. He buried that 3 on the next possession and they raved about Dixon keeping him in. He made the third mistake a little bit later and was finally taken out of the game. I like Newkirk, though.
Grade: B
Chris Jones - He missed that desperation three, but still somehow had 7 points. That's a great night for him.
Grade: B+
Pitt plays at 7-20 (3-11) Boston College on Wednesday night. Boston College won at the Carrier Dome to give undefeated Syracuse its first loss (Syracuse has since lost to Duke as well). The Eagles celebrated that win by losing by 27 to Miami. I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in that one. Pitt could win by 30, lose by 30, win a close one, or lose a close one. I don't know anymore.
Hail to Pitt,
J.O.
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