Pitt Redshirt Diaries : blair

Pitt basketball season wrapup: your questions answered

Ray Fittipaldo — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:18:00 GMT

I have been going through my inbox for the past few days since Pitt lost to Villanova. And many readers have questions concerning the Panthers and the future. Here are some of the questions and answers about the season just concluded and the prospects for next season. Also, join in on my final chat of the season Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. at post-gazette.com if there are any other questions you want answered.

Here we go…

Q: Thanks for a great season of covering Pitt, Ray. Your insight was trenchant and you called it honestly throughout. What's next year looking like? I know who returns (assuming DeJuan Blair does not) and I know about Dante Taylor, but what's the rest of the incoming class looking like? Do you see some stylistic changes in the works, especially if Dixon is not able to make an Aaron Grey out of Gary McGhee? Will we play more up-tempo and be guard driven? Would that necessarily be a bad thing? It has worked well for so many teams - teams that always give Pitt fits. Sorry for the multiple questions!

Steve

Location, Laughlin, NV

Fittipaldo: One could make the argument that the Panthers played more up-tempo this season than any other previous season under Dixon. I think the 78 points per game scoring average is a testament to that. Jamie Dixon has proven that he is quite capable of adapting to his personnel. But given the fact that younger players will be playing throughout the lineup I would doubt Dixon hands the reigns to them right way and allow them to play up-tempo as this team did.

As for the incoming class…Taylor, a power forward, is the best of the bunch. He is a McDonald’s All-American and will start next season. The coaches are high on Talib Zanna, but from what I’ve heard he is not someone who will be able to start right away unless it is out of total necessity. Patterson is a highly rated recruit who will add depth at the swing position and Richardson is someone who will add depth at the forward positions.

It will be interesting to see what happens at center because as you point out McGhee has not shown that he is capable of making the big jump that Gray did from his sophomore season to his junior season. He will be given an opportunity, and we shall see whether he is up to the challenge.

Q: Not so much a question but....I think we can all agree that this was the best Pitt team in recent memory. These players climbed a hurdle that Curtis Aiken, Charles Smith, Jerome Lane, Brian Shorter, etc, etc couldn't get past. There have been some terrific players at Pitt who never saw the Elite Eight, and never to see a No.1 ranking. I think that it's time for Blair to go to the NBA and give McGee a chance to play. If two of the four incoming freshman forwards develop, Ashton Gibbs continues to develop, Travon Woodall turns out to be a good point guard, then Pitt will rebuild/reload next year, and in 2-3 years from now, Pitt will be ready to knock on the Final Four door once again.

Gideon, Pittsburgh

Fittipaldo: One could certainly make the argument that this was Pitt’s best team. It certainly accomplished more than some of those other teams that had so much talent but underachieved in the NCAA tournament. For getting to the Elite Eight, we have to give credit to this team. I like the optimism about the future, but all of those players you mentioned have some very big shoes to fill. Levance Fields was one of the best point guards in the history of the program. Sam Young and Blair will go down as all-time greats in the program’s lore as well. Quite honestly, it would be presumptuous to believe that Jamie Dixon is just going to plug players into their positions and the Panthers will be knocking on the door to the Final Four again soon. This team was a once in a generation type of team that lost Saturday night. Pitt fans ought to temper their enthusiasm for next season a bit considering the players who played their last game over the weekend and the inexperienced players who will be taking their place. Dixon will continue to produce good teams – even very good – but there is no guarantee he’ll coach another team that was as talented.

Q: Considering that Gibbs, Wanamaker, Brown, Dixon and McGhee will have another year of maturity and experience, and with the incoming recruits, can Pitt continue to compete with the upper echelon of the Big East next year?

Rick Bralich, Wexford

Fittipaldo: Assuming Blair leaves for the NBA, I am on record as saying that Pitt will remain one of the upper echelon teams in the Big East. By that, I mean the Panthers will be among the top eight or nine teams. With the talented recruits coming in, I am confident that Pitt will not drop to the levels of St. John’s or Seton Hall or South Florida in the conference, but it’s going to be tough to hang with the best teams at the top. If Pitt is an NCAA tournament bubble team next March do not be surprised. All programs go through transition periods, and Pitt has not gone through a big one for eight years now.

Q: Do you think if Blair goes pro that Pitt will give the open scholarship to Deandre Kane considering we already have Dante Taylor, and Talib Zanna coming in?

Kevin, Pittsburgh

Fittipaldo: Good question, Kevin. I haven’t heard much on the Kane recruiting front lately. The incoming class is very forward-heavy, so that open scholarship likely would go to a guard. And Kane would bring a different dimension to the team. One Schenley High product moves on, another moves in…We’ll have to wait and see.

Thanks for the great job all year Ray in what was a GREAT season for PITT basketball. I have a few questions: 1. What are the chances are that Blair will declare for the NBA draft? Do you see him as a top 20 pick? 2.If Blair doesn't come back who do you think our starting line-up will consist of? 3. Without Blair, Young and Fields do you see Pitt as a NCAA or NIT team next year?

Eric Jordan, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Fittipaldo: I am not an expert on the NBA draft, but from everything I hear it is a very weak draft overall, so Blair would benefit from that as well as striking when the iron is hot (he is an All-American, so how much hotter can he get?)…The starting lineup for next season assuming Blair does not come back: Ashton Gibbs at point guard, Jermaine Dixon at shooting guard, Gilbert Brown at small forward, Dante Taylor at power forward and Dwight Miller (for lack of a better option) at center.

Late-night thoughts on Pitt's ugly victory

Ray Fittipaldo — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:13:00 GMT

Some late-night thoughts before departing University of Dayton Arena…

*East Tennessee State might have been better than a No. 16 seed, but there is now way the Panthers should have allowed the game to be so close in the second half. East Tennessee State wanted to win that game more, which is so strange because all Pitt’s players have been saying since last year’s second-round loss to Michigan State was that they weren’t going to come out flat again in NCAA play. And they did!

*Jermaine Dixon might have played his worst game in a Pitt uniform. He only played 17 minutes because of foul trouble and ineffective play. It’s not an excuse, but he had an ice bag on his ankle in the locker room afterward. For what it’s worth he didn’t use the sprained ankle as an excuse for his play.

*Here’s a question that needs to be asked tomorrow: Why is Fields – the nation’s leader in assist-to-turnover ratio – not bringing the ball up the court against the press? It would seem to me that you would want your senior point guard with the ball in his hands instead of others who don’t handle the ball as much.

It might have something to do with Fields’ injured groin, but they’ve been employing this system of breaking the pres all season when Fields was healthy.

*Fields has 12 assists and seven turnovers in the past two games. He led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio during the regular season (4:1).

*The 3-point shooting came around after a bad slump at the end of the season. The Panthers were 7 for 9 from behind the arc. Sam Young was 4 for 6 on 3-point attempts and Ashton Gibbs was 2 for 2.

*DeJuan Blair is the only reason Pitt won that game. Well, maybe not the only reason. Gibbs stepped up big. What does that tell you when a sophomore and a freshman in his first tournament game are the only ones playing inspired basketball?

*I know Young scored 14 points, shot 4 for 6 from 3-point range and had 13 rebounds, but it wasn’t his typical strong game. He did not make a shot from inside the 3-point arc and looked clueless against the press. Maybe that’s being too hard on him, but he has set a high bar to play that poorly in an NCAA game.

Check in tomorrow for more from Dayton

Pitt vs. Connecticut: The matchups

Ray Fittipaldo — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:42:00 GMT

PITT VS. CONNECTICUT

Seven hours until tip-off…Here is a look at the one-on-one matchups for the big clash between No. 1 Connecticut and No. 4 Pitt.

Point guard – Levance Fields vs. A.J. Price: Give the checkmark to Fields, who has been playing some of the best basketball of his career as of late. Fields has 56 assists and only six turnovers in the past five games, all Pitt wins. A.J. Price is having a nice season as well, but Fields is playing one notch above at this point.

Shooting guard – Jermaine Dixon and Brad Wanamaker vs. Craig Austrie and Kemba Walker: Give the checkmark to the Austrie and Walker, who are taking the place of injured starter Jerome Dyson. They have the edge because of the explosiveness that Walker brings to the table. He has the ability to be a game changer with his quickness to the hoop.

Small forward – Sam Young vs. Stanley Robinson: Give the checkmark to Young, who is Pitt’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. After a rough stretch, Young has played two really solid games in a row against West Virginia and Cincinnati, and the Panthers will need him to play the same way this evening against Robinson, who is a better defender than a scorer.

Power forward – Tyrell Biggs vs. Jeff Adrien: Give the checkmark to Adrien, who is averaging a double-double on the season. Biggs’ play has tailed off lately. The Panthers will need Biggs to step up and have a big game against Adrien, who is as strong as a bull inside.

Center – DeJuan Blair vs. Hasheem Thabeet: Give the checkmark to Thabeet. Connecticut’s 7-foot 3 shot blocker is a menacing presence in the lane. Blair is a crafty player who will use his width to carve out some space underneath the basket. If the officials don’t blow their whistles both players should have good games. But Thabeet’s defensive presence gives him a slight edge over Blair.

Bench play – Give the checkmark to Pitt, which has Wanamaker, Gilbert Brown and Ashton Gibbs as top reserves. Each player brings something different to the table. Wanamaker can penetrate and shoot 3-pointers, Gibbs is one of the top 3-point shooters in the league and Brown is excellent in transition and on the defensive end. Connecticut simply is not as deep and was weakened when Dyson went out.

Coaching – Give the checkmark to Calhoun. Dixon has guided Pitt to the most Big East wins in the past five seasons, but Calhoun is 5-3 in head-to-head matchups. Plus, Calhoun has two national championships to his name while Pitt has not made it past the Sweet 16.

Intangibles – Push. Connecticut rarely loses at home, but the Huskies are playing only their second game without Dyson. There is going to be a learning curve in the next few weeks. The Panthers are hungry to take control of the Big East, but they have lost 10 of their past 11 on the road to ranked teams.

DeJuan the honorary Steeler

Ray Fittipaldo — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:52:00 GMT

If you were among the hundreds of thousands of fans watching the Super Bowl parade this afternoon, yes that was Pitt center DeJuan Blair sitting on the gate of a pickup truck with some other team personnel.

Blair was invited to take part in the parade by his friend, Super Bowl 43 MVP Santonio Holmes. Blair was in the middle of the parade and Holmes was the final car.

Holmes is a frequent visitor to the Petersen Events Center, where he is often seen sitting courtside with Steelers kicker Jeff Reed.

No word yet on whether Holmes will take part in the Pitt parade if the Panthers win the national championship.