- Great win today . . . the win probably will mask a lot of deficiencies from today . . . it was a real rollercoaster ride . . .
- Today's win was huge in terms of NCAA positioning . . . I would still like to see Pitt win out for security . . . but, I think one more should get them in (85% chance) . . . two more wins and they are in for sure.
- The positives: The team never quit today . . . it was the young players that pulled the win out and showed a lot character . . . Brown was huge . . , there was a huddle on the sideline with about 2 and a half minutes left, Brown and Blair were the guys in the huddle trying to hype guys up . . . Benjamin played excellent today too.
- The negatives: The defense was awful by nearly everyone except Brown and Benjamin . . . Young and Fields played decently at times . . . Blair, Biggs and Ramon have all seen better days. The offense was good for the most part, but the team had some really bad turnovers at awful times.
- I thought Dixon’s use of the rotation today was good, except for that he should have played Brown a little more. But, Brown did get hurt too . . . I don’t know how much time that lost him.
- The foul shooting was excellent today.
- Player of the Game = I thought Keith Benjamin played the best today on both ends of the floor . . . he did some great things offensively . . . defensively, I thought he was good when he wasn’t on Harris, who was just too big and too athletic. Keith talked this year about not going out quietly . . . it looks as though Ramon is going to go out pretty quietly, Cook was very unlucky, but Benjamin is giving his all. Benjamin has ups and downs, but he never gives up, is pretty talented and has improved greatly this year.
- If Pitt would have played him more minutes, it would have been Gil Brown for player of the game. He was a force when he was in there. He made big plays, hit big shots and played hurt. Played great D on Harris and even frustrated him a little when they crossed paths. I always talk about how I feel he should be starting . . . but Dixon just always favors the upperclassmen unless his hand is really forced. It is what it is, I guess.
- Blair’s numbers weren’t great today, but his presence is always apparent. When you see him play, remember that he is mostly doing it all alone without help underneath the glass. He handled the double team really well today, for the most part. He had some defensive lapses at the end, but I think Pitt can live with them as long as he provides the presence that he usually does.
- Young played great offensively yet again . . . he is a real treat to watch on that end. Defensively, I thought he was okay, he just had a really tough matchup.
- Fields really makes a difference in there for this team, because he gets everyone easy shots . . . Pitt is scoring much more effectively over the past 3 games . . . Fields is the reason. The shot will come around . . . I am happy he shoots without hesitation, because that is what his team needs.
-Biggs did some good and some bad. So did McGhee.
- Ramon, well . . . he has to start hitting shots more consistently; but, we have been saying that for 3 years. Defensively, I have said this before but will say it again, he is a great technical defender. He is always where he is supposed to be. But, against the better talents, that is not enough. He is just not disruptive enough . . . he never dislodges players from their rhythm. His lack of athleticism shows against the better players . . . Paul Harris is an NBA player in waiting . . . you saw how Ramon could not get him off of his rhythm, even though Ramon was there almost every time. The same goes with Flynn.
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9 comments:
Any thoughts to why Ramon gets the toughest defensive assigments every game, and Benji doesn't?
I find the comment, "Benji played well defensively when not covering Harris" a bit odd...because, frankly, aside from Flynn... Cuse has no guards.
Harris might not have the best shot but he is a physical player and a great athlete. Harris is a tough guard for a lot of players.
Well, remember that Benjamin actually starts at what would be the equivalent of the 3 position . . . as a result, he spent a lot of time on Ongenaet at the beginning of the game . . . Pitt didn't switch him onto Harris until later, at two points: (1)when Ramon was out of the game and (2) when it became obvious Ramon could not handle Harris. Benjamin also spent time on Flynn (at the end) and Jardine too.
in an interesting and smart move, when Pitt realized that Ongenaet was a complete offensive non-factor, when he was in the game, they put their weakest athletic guard on the court on him at times . . . which means that both Ramon and Fields spent some time on him, despite his huge size advantage.
I was just gonna bring that up Chair, by the way nice to see posting over here.
Benji was guarding a guy that scored nada against him. Benji needs to get some credit for shutting down a bigger guy.
By the way, I LOVE this blog, please keep it up.
The starting match-ups in the game where Ramon on Flynn, Benji on Harris and Fields on Onganaet. There was some switching as SU ran their offense, but for the most part, that was the defensive match-ups we kept. When Jardine was in, we did change them up a bit, but Benji was usually assigned to Harris unless he and Gil were in at the same time.
- This isn't my blog, but I give my game thoughts to the blog's owner. I think he will appreciate the kind words.
- I'll take your word for the opening game matchups; I do remember parts of the game where they specifically had Ramon and Fields on Ongenaet, but I don't remember it being from the beginning. But, I didn't watch the replay . . . and I am sorry if my memory is hazy at points, it is my error.
I do remember a few plays where Harris and Ramon met; I don't remember Ramon doing much of anything to stop him . . . I don't think they crossed paths too much though. I know Ramon and Flynn crossed paths a lot, and Ramon got lit up by Flynn.
- I still believe Benjamin played a good game defensively . . . I just remember him contesting shots well and being aggressive . . . he also hit the glass too . . . I don't remember many of his usual lapses/ lack of intensity . . . if the combinations were as you said, Benjamin had the toughest matchup this game with Harris. Harris is one of the few guys out there that is probably more athletic than Benjamin and he is much bigger and longer.
- Ramon does draw the toughest defensive assignments; I think the reason why he gets them and Benjamin doesn't is Ramon's consistency and his technical superiority. I believe that Ramon is the best technical (or fundamental) defender on the team. And, I think those types of things, along with playing in the big games many times over his career, have helped him to earn Dixon's trust to guard the other team's best player.
For whatever odd reason, Benjamin just doesn't recognize screens well at points and sometimes I feel that he lacks intensity when trying to get around them. Benjamin just isn't as good of a team defender as Ramon . . . a great team defender can stop a great scorer because the defender really knows how to play and use all available options to his advantage . . . Ramon is that type of player.
Still, Ramon has gotten lit up the past five games by an assortment of characters . . . the players have generally just been too athletic for him . . . players that Benjamin probably would fare better against on a consistent basis due to his athleticism . . . but, I think Ramon has caught some bad luck too . . . the opposing players have been really hot the past 5 games in both the wins and the defeats.
Benjamin is a much better pure man-to-man defender than Ramon, because his athleticism gives him liberties that Ramon just does not have. Benjamin can and does disrupt another player's rhythm. But, just because he is great man-to-man doesn't mean much if he is breaking through the pick too soon, giving too much space to the deep shooters, not switching to the correct player (miscommunication) or just losing attention at a bad point.
Enjoyed the Syracuse Game Recap tremendously. I have to say, I think Pitt is already 85% in. Another win (especially tonight) puts them in for sure. They might only need a one in the BET if they somehow drop the last two. And that's only because their record over the last ten games would be 4-6.
being at the game, I remember remarking to the SU fan next to me that Pitt doesn't think much of Onganaet's offensive ability because a 5'11 guard is on him man to man on the first half court trip of the game.
I think Ramon was supposed to be on Flynn the entire time, but got caught on a couple switches on Harris, which was a mis-match obviously. Benji does seem to struggle getting through screens and anticipating where a shooter is going, but he did an excellent job on Harris in the halfcourt...SU did get a lot in transition, I think our guards hit the boards a little more and that is what allowed some SU players to leak out.
Ramon and Fields got the last two defensive rebounds of the game for us! Improvement over the cincy game.
Saw some recruiting news...looks like we will have a visitor on Sunday:
http://w3.nbebasketball.com/index.php/echenique-embarks-on-visits/
- It would be huge if they could get Echenique . . . they have the connections into the school, but the competition is lining up and teams are going to keep on trying to get in.
Echenique is a huge post presence that alters shots, bangs people around and has a decent amount of skill. He moves very well . . . and he has experience being a second banana, which would probably means he would be more than willing and able to work off of Blair. He also is supposed to be a kid with a lot of character.
Also, I think a commitment from him would be huge from a perception standpoint . . . Pitt will have went into maybe the top program right now in the East and gotten a great player.
But, I think it will a little while before he really decides anything; he seems really content to go through the process, look through all of his options and make the best choice for him. He seems like a really bright kid.
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