Here we are, smack dab in the middle of another College
Basketball season. Your University of
Pittsburgh Panthers men’s basketball team is in the midst of another stellar
season under the helm of head coach Jamie Dixon, and oh by the way are not only
now a part of the ACC, but are also 3-0 and sit at the top of the
conference.
Due to some unforeseen computer and technology issues, I
have been a little behind in my duties as the Pitt writer for Steel Nation
Magazine, specifically in providing content for the the website blog. Let me just start off by apologizing and what
better way to apologize than to try to summarize what has happened so far, and
promise to have at least one blog posting per week for the remainder of the
season if not multiple postings.
So without further ado, the Pitt Basketball season November
8th 2013 – January 11th 2014.
Pitt currently stands at a record of 15 wins against just 1 loss, and is 3-0 in the ACC. The Panthers started the season about as dominant as any team can, winning their first 10 games by an average of 21 points per game. In the first 10 games of the season the only real test of the Panthers was during their inaugural game as part of the ACC-Big 10 Challenge against perennial doormat Penn State. The Nittany Lions surprised a lot of people including me and the Panthers in how they were able to score and defend with relative ease against the bigger more athletic and talented Panthers. Ultimately Pitt came out on top 78-69, in what has been the only single digit Pitt victory of the season.
Over the first 10 games of the season the Panthers displayed an uncanny ability to score and score often. Averaging 82.6 points per game which is more in line with the type of basketball that will be played in the ACC, Pitt was able to score from anywhere and everywhere on the floor, including from the free throw line. Just when most fans, and by most I mean me, thought that Pitt was becoming the offensive juggernaut I always hoped they could be they ran into either a defensive buzzsaw in the Cincinnati Bearcats, or a very rare offensive slump that lasted exactly the length of one full game. It appears in my humble opinion that it was a combination of both as the Panther dropped their first and only contest of the season at their home away from home, Madison Square Garden to Cincinnati 44-43. I heard a lot of criticism for Pitt after this game, as well as a lot of praise for Cincy, but what I did not hear was praise for Pitt. Sure scoring only 43 points in a game is or at least can be concerning, but despite only scoring 43 points, and not scoring a field goal for over 20 minutes of game action, that is right over 20 minutes without a field goal, that is more than half the game, the Panthers still lost by only 1 point on a last second tip in by Cincinnati. How many teams in the country could go that long without making a shot and still win if not for a questionable over the back non-call? I say none. There is no other team in the country that could keep a game that close and have a legit shot to win with 0 made field goals in 20+ minutes. Not Kansas, Not Michigan State, not Kentucky, not current #1 Arizona, no one. Worst part of the loss was not the loss in and of itself, but it was the fact that Lamar Patterson could have potentially iced the game by making 2 free throws with just under 13 seconds remaining, but missed both. In the past Lamar Patterson has had a tendency to play very well in stretches, but seemingly disappear for stretches as well. Usually the stretches in which he did not play well were caused by a trigger, could those missed free throws be the trigger this season?
As the loss lingered I was concerned about how Patterson
would respond. As a redshirt senior, and
easily the most versatile and talented Panther, it was obvious to me that Pitt
will only go as far as Patterson can take them.
There is talent all over the floor for Pitt in athleticism, shooting
ability and skill, but Patterson can do anything that needs done on the
floor. So how did Patterson respond to
those missed free throws? He upped his
game considerably that’s how, after the Cincinnati loss Patterson was averaging
15.9 points per game on the season, since that loss Patterson has averaged 22.4
points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1 steal per game in the 5 games
since. The scoring is especially
impressive considering that the level of competition has improved by leaps and
bounds as the last three games have come against ACC competition. Patterson has been every bit the player that
I and many other fans have felt that he could or should be over the past three
seasons, and has established himself as a very real early contender for ACC
player of the year.
In addition to Patterson several other players
have also stepped up their play throughout the season and have the Panthers
primed to not only crack a coveted, but meaningless spot in the top 25
rankings. Cameron Wright is showing that
he is an overall player and not just the defensive stopper that he was long
considered to be. Wright is patiently aggressive and active on offense, always
moving without the ball and attacking the rim in transition. Along with
Patterson and Talib Zanna, Cameron Wright is one of only three Panthers
averaging double digit points on the season.
Wright will need to continue to aggressive on the offensive
side of the ball with the recent news that Pitt’s uber-sixth man Durand Johnson
A.K.A. Mr. Confidence, is out for the season with a torn ACL. In true Durand Johnson form, even after
tearing his ACL he still hit two free throws before exiting the game. His ability to score from anywhere,
especially beyond the arc will be missed as he is expected to be out anywhere
from 9 – 12 months in recovery. The
injury to Johnson could prove to be a benefit to a player that I thought would
have seen the floor more already by this point in the season, Chris Jones. Jones is an explosive wing player roughly the
same size and Durand Johnson, but not quite the same in terms of shooting
ability. If Jones takes advantage of the
opportunity that is given to him he could help Pitt in many ways, specifically
as a “zone-buster” Pitt always has one, and when you play Syracuse every
season, you need one. Just remember you
heard it here first, bold prediction Chris Jones will score in double figures
against the vaunted Syracuse zone defense.
This was by no means an in-depth game by game summary, but
with how the Panthers have played up to this point in the season, I anticipate
there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss their performance well into
March.