Texas impresses in the Big Apple despite the loss

NEW YORK - I could sit here and rave about the Pitt Panthers all night long.

I could write 1,000 words about how Ashton Gibbs runs off of a screen. Or how Brad Wanamaker is so much more important than the stats he puts up. Or how "winning ugly", a typical description many in the twitterati use for Pitt's style of play, isn't a problem when you are winning. Like Jamie Dixon said after the game: "winning ugly is better than losing ugly." You might want to listen to him. He's the coach who has the fifth most wins in the country since 2003, accomplishing that feat without the benefit of a first round NBA Draft pick.

But we knew all of this coming into the season. There may be some new faces in the rotation and some guys may be better than we remembered, but when push comes to shove, there really isn't much about this team that is different from the group Dixon had last season. Or the season before that. Or in 2005.

Pitt is a well-coached team that thrives on its defense and rebounding. Its how they won in the past, and its how they won the last two nights. The clutch shooting of Ashton Gibbs didn't hurt, either.

What I took away from the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic is that Texas, who beat Illinois 90-84 in overtime on Thursday night before losing to Pitt 68-66 tonight, is much farther along than I thought they were coming into the season.

"We do some things that young teams do," Barnes said. "In terms of not listening coming out of a time out, executing. We had a chance to get some momentum going, and we can down and went one-on-one a couple times."

"As a group, this team has a chance to be pretty good. That was the fourth ranked team in the country."

In 2009-2010, Texas was considered a national title favorite. This was a team that was as deep as any in the country. They had size, they had scorers, they could rebound the ball, and they could defend. But something was missing from that team. They lacked leadership, a true point guard, and ... intestinal fortitude.

With guys like Dexter Pittman, Damion James, and Avery Bradley all leaving after the season, expectations were tempered for the newest version of the Longhorns. There's talent on the roster, but were two freshmen and a sophomore without a sense of shot selection really going to be able to provide what last season's roster lacked?

After watching the Longhorns the last two nights, I can unequivocally say the answer is ... maybe?

Its obvious the Longhorns aren't quite there yet.

"We are just trying to make improvements every day," Thompson said after the game. "We don't think we are a finished product yet. Its just four games into the season and we got a lot of new guys."

"We just try to get better every day. After this game, we'll make some adjustments. Its all just a learning experience."

Their freshman point guard, Cory Joseph, spent the week learning the difference between guarantee games and high-major competition. He heads back to Austin having shot 3-13 from the floor, averaging just 6.0 ppg and 2.5 apg in 33 mpg the last two days.

Freshman center Tristan Thompson showed out against Illinois, looking unstoppable at times in the post. Against Pitt, the Panthers sat on the 6'10" left-hander's right shoulder and really slowed him down. That isn't a difficult scout if I can pick it up.

Sophomore Jordan Hamilton still has too many possessions where he allows his inner-gunner to come out.

And despite being a team with all of this room to improve, Texas knocked off a very good Illinois team on Thursday (going to overtime in the late game, nonetheless) before giving No. 4 Pitt all they could handle on Friday night, losing 68-66 when the Panthers dug out the loose ball off of a last-second Cory Joseph miss.

That has to be a good sign, right?

Because Cory Joseph won't struggle this much all season. He is too talented of a player. Tristan Thompson will eventually develop a post move going to his right hand. Even if he doesn't, he is still a shot blocking force that helped draw four fouls on each of Pitt's top three big men. And keep in mind, 11 points on 4-8 shooting against a front line as good as those three big men are is not a bad night, especially for a freshman.

Which brings us back to Jordan Hamilton.

There may not be a player in the country that is more improved that Hamilton. It has nothing to do with his skill, either. He was a gifted scorer as a freshman. What he is starting to develop is a sense of shot selection. He still over-penetrates and goes 1-on-3 too often, he's not doing it every time he touches the ball, like he did last season. He's also the go-to scorer for Texas this year; that's why he is taking 17 shots per game. Telling him not to attack the rim takes away from his aggressiveness, and that aggressiveness is part of the reason he's such a potent scorer.

With a player like Hamilton, you want to focus that aggressiveness, not eliminate it.

Tonight was Texas in a nutshell.

In the second half, the Longhorns would take a couple of bad shots or turn the ball over a couple of times and Pitt would build an eight or nine point lead. But Texas had a counter punch for every Panther haymaker. Whether it was Thompson blocking a shot, Hamilton knocking down back-to-back threes, or J'Covan Brown scoring on three straight possessions, the Longhorn's were in the game until the end. And that's impressive considering the opposition.

To make a boxing comparison, Texas was Antonio Margarito tonight. They were talented enough to get into the ring with Pitt. They were scrappy and tough enough to hang in for 12 rounds.

The Panthers outclassed them tonight, but that will only last for so long with this group.
Continue reading...

Unsung heroes shine in Pitt's win over Maryland

This article can also be found at Beyond the Arc.

NEW YORK - How many people knew the name Talib Zanna heading into tonight's Coaches vs. Cancer opening round?

Pittsburgh fans certainly did. He's been starting for the Panthers since the season began. Maryland probably did as well. You have to go over your opponent's leading rebounder when you scout a team. I'm pretty sure that's on page one of the coaching hand book.

But on a national scale, how many people would you actually expect to know who a redshirt freshman is that was supposed to come off the bench this season? I'd be willing to wager a fair amount of money that, when asked who Talib Zanna is, more people would answer "Did Talib Kweli change his name?" than "the most productive post presence on the No. 4 team in the country."

And I'd be pretty confident that I would be leaving with more money than I came with.


"We've known about [Zanna] since last year," Panther senior Brad Wanamaker said after the game. "If he had known the plays last year, he probably would have played. But him playing college basketball was a little adjustment for him. He came out tonight, had a double-double. He's going to have a great season for us."

Zanna is one of the more pleasant surprises of this young season. Coming into tonight's tilt with Maryland, he was averaging 8.0 ppg and 8.3 ppg in three starts against subpar competition. Tonight, however, he made a name for himself. The Nigerian native led Pitt with 14 points and 12 boards going up against one of the best big men in the country in Jordan Williams.

One of those rebounds and two of those points came on a tip in with 59 seconds left in the game that gave Pitt a 72-66 lead and all but Maryland's fate.

"Coach just tells me to go after the ball everytime," Zanna said after the game. "Ashton took the shot, and I was ready to go. I was just ready to get the offensive rebound and put it back in."

That stat was correct, by the way. The redshirt freshman that is only starting because Nasir Robinson is working his way back from knee surgery went into Madison Square Garden in a game televised on ESPN and led the Panthers, who won tonight 79-70, in both scoring and rebounding.

Its precisely that kind of depth that makes Pitt such a dangerous team this season.

Coming into the game, all the talk was about Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker. Gibbs is the star, the preseason all-Big East member, while Wanamaker is the guy that everyone has pegged as one of this year's breakout performers. Both were averaging 19.3 ppg in Pitt's first three.

Neither played particularly well tonight.

And the Panthers were still victorious over a good Maryland squad that should be dancing come March.

Not many teams can boast that kind of balance.

While Wanamaker battled foul trouble all game, Gilbert Brown and Lamar Patterson got a number of crucial buckets and made the kind of hustle plays Wanamaker is known for. With Gibbs fumbling his way to six turnovers, Travon Woodall provided a spark off the bench. He finished with 11 points and five assists, the majority of which came in a transition game you don't normally expect to see out of Jamie Dixon's team. And Robinson, the guy that was expected to miss as many as ten games to start the year, gutted out seven minutes and scored arguably the most important points of the game. Pitt had built a 13 point lead early in the second half, and after Maryland went on a 17-4 run to tie the game at 46, Robinson answered with a tough, and-one bucket to spark a 7-0 counter punch that Maryland was never able to recover from.

"I thought we had a number of guys step up, I don't really know who to point out," Dixon said after the game.

"I think we have pretty good balance."

Balance is right.

Five Panthers scored in double figures tonight. Seven scored between seven and 14 points. JJ Moore, a freshman that was the team's third leading scorer coming into the guy, only played three minutes. That's why this team is one of the few teams in the country that can lose a starter to injury and not miss a beat.

"It shows that guys are improving every day in practice," Wanamaker said. "We got a lot of guys that show up and show that they want to work hard to get Coach Dixon's confidence that if he puts them on the floor, they can show what they can do."

This is nothing new for a Jamie Dixon-coached squad. Balanced teams and unsung heroes are his bread and butter. Its the reason he's been the fifth winningest coach in the country since 2003, when he took over for UCLA-bound Ben Howland, without the benefit of a single first round draft pick.

And while Pitt's balance is what will make them dangerous over the course of the season, tonight was Talib Zanna's night to shine.

Will it affect his attitude if people start talking about him?

"I don't really pay attention to that," Zanna said.

"I just want to play my game and try to do what Coach Dixon tells me."

Continue reading...

Thursday's Pregame Beat

Quite a few good games on the schedule today, and we start early so be ready. As the tournaments are starting today, here is a comprehensive breakdown of the best pre-season tournaments.

Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden

• 7 pm: Cal vs. Syracuse: After losing to Le Moyne in their exhibition opener, the Orange have looked dominant, especially on the defensive end of the floor. The are long and athletic at every position, which has made their zone a turnover machine (60 in two games). Cal won their first two games of the season, but has yet to really look comfortable. The key for the Bears against this zone is to move the ball quickly, getting the ball to the short corner or the high post, opening up space on the perimeter for their shooters.
• 9 pm: UNC vs. Ohio State: The Tar Heels have looked far from impressive in their first three games of the season. This will be the first test for a young group that is still searching for depth, perimeter shooting, and consistent point guard play. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, have looked very good through their first two games. Evan Turner is playing like an all-american, and if Dallas Lauderdale can hold his own in the paint, I don't see UNC having enough shooting to be OSU's zone.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off

• 11:30 am: Dayton vs. Georgia Tech: Clearly, the biggest question is going to be how the Flyers attempt to slow down Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors. Its a shame this game is schedule for so early and not televised, as it is one of the best first round match-ups in all of the tournaments.
• 2 pm: Villanova vs. George Mason: Villanova's freshman looked much improved in their second game of the season, and Mason will have their work cut out for them trying to slow down the Wildcats talented bck court.
• 5 pm: Ole Miss vs. Indiana: With Terrico White and Chris Warren, the Rebels have one of the best back courts in the country. Indiana is going to be better than last season as Tom Crean brought in a couple solid recruits, but this is still a team that is a long way from being relevant.
• 7:30 pm: Kansas State vs. BU: Like Ole Miss, Kansas State has a very good back court of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, but pretty soon the talk is going to be about the Wildcat's front court - Curtis Kelly, Wally Judge, Jamar Samuels, and company are as good as athletic a group as you will find.

Charleston Classic

• 1:30 pm: Miami FL vs. Tulane: How good is Miami this season? Durand Scott looks pretty good, and DeQuan Jones and Dwayne Collins are good along the front line. But are they a tournament team? We will probably get a good read on them over the next three days.
• 4 pm: Penn State vs. UNC-Wilmington: Talor Battle is one of the best point guards in the country, but do the Nittany Lions have enough on their roster to compete in the talented Big Ten?
• 7 pm: Davidson vs. South Florida: South Florida looks like they might actually be good enough to win a few Big East games, but Davidson looked impressive against Butler.
• 9:30 pm: South Carolina vs. La Salle: There may not be a more intriguing first round match-up than seeing Devan Downey go toe-to-toe with Rodney Green. The different may be Aaric Green inside for the Explorers.
  

Other games of interest:

• 7 pm: Rider @ Virginia
  
• 7 pm: Sam Houston State @ Kentucky
• 7 pm: Eastern Kentucky @ Pitt
• 7:30 pm: Long Beach State @ Notre Dame
  
• 8 pm: Central Arkansas @ Kansas
• 8 pm: Utah Valley @ Minnesota
• 10:30 pm: Rice @ Arizona
  

Continue reading...

Coaches vs. Cancer Field Announced

Duke, UCLA, Michigan, and Southern Illinois will serve as the hosts for the preliminary round games in this year's version of Coaches vs. Cancer. This is how the brackets will shake out, with the first day winners playing each other on the second day:

At Duke on Nov. 10-11, Georgia Southern will play Houston and Duke will play Presbyterian.

At Southern Illinois on Nov. 11-12, Arkansas Monticello will play UMass and Southern Illinois will face California, PA.

At Michigan on Nov. 11-12, IUPUI will play Northeastern and Michigan Tech will face Michigan.

At UCLA on Nov. 12-13, Weber State plays Miami (Ohio) and Prairie View will take on UCLA.

My picks: UMass, Duke, Michigan, and UCLA reaching the MSG, with UCLA taking home the championship. Continue reading...