MBB: Duke at Pitt (Sunday Feb 28, 2pm ET CBS) pre-game/in-game thread

[CDu]

Last road game of the ACC season. Let's get a win!

[BD80]

... Let's get a win!

I second that, a Milly times!

[Furniture]

I second that, a Milly times!

Me too. Amile-ion times!

[rifraf]

The ACC is apparently reviewing Grayson's trip at the end of the FSU game...hope we have in for this game.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...tate-seminoles

[CDu]

Pitt is your typical Pitt team: undersized (height-wise) up front, but very physical all over the court. They'll want to make this a bar fight type of game. It is not likely to look pretty, and the fact that the game is in Pittsburgh is not in our favor.

Center: Pitt doesn't play a traditional center. They have a bevy of relatively big guys that rotate through the center and power forward position. Rafael Maia is the starter, but that's in name only. He generally plays no more than 10-15 minutes per game. He's a relatively big (6'9", 245lb), rebounder who provides little else besides fouls. After Maia, the Panthers have a trio of options in Sheldon Jeter (6'8", 225lb), Ryan Luther (6'9", 215lb), and Alonzo Nelson-Ododa (6'9", 235lb). Jeter and Luther are reasonably athletic. Jeter can score inside, and plays the most minutes of the bunch (15-20 mpg). Luther is a decent 3pt shooter and hustle guy, and plays about 10-15 mpg, sometimes more. Ododa just comes in for spot minutes.

Forwards: While Pitt isn't terribly big at center, they are quite solid at forwards. The starting PF is Michael Young (6'9", 235lb). Young is a terrific player. He rebounds solidly and is their leading scorer. He's an inside presence that must be accounted for. He plays about 30 mpg. The majority of the backup PF minutes go to the quartet of bigs already mentioned, as Pitt always has two PFs on the floor. Alongside Young, Pitt has a rather big SF in Jamel Artis (6'7", 220lb). Artis is a really versatile player who can score in the post and can shoot the 3. Whereas Young is a rugged, consistent presence, Artis is more mercurial. He'll have monster games (multiple 20+ pt games) and he'll disappear (multiple games with 6 or fewer points). Hopefully he's not having an "on" day, because if he is he can be a real handful. Artis is kind of a cross between a wing and a forward, a college 3/4.

Wings: Aside from center, the wing position is the weakness of the Panthers' team. Along with Artis, they start Chris Jones (6'6", 215lb) at SG. Jones is an inconsistent outside shooter, and is more of a role player (defense, hustle) than skill player. He plays a lot of minutes, but rarely provides much offense. Aside from a 23-pt outburst against Wake, he's topped 8 points just once more in ACC play. Behind Jones and Artis, Pitt rotates a trio of guards: Smith, Johnson, and Wilson. Smith (6'4", 185lb) is the shooter of the bunch, shooting over 40% from 3 over his last 3 seasons (two of which came at Coppin State). But he is quite mercurial, and has really been out of favor recently (just 7 total points in his last 6 games combined). Johnson is a 6'7", 185lb freshman who has shown signs of a good shooting touch in limited action, but has been very inconsistent in terms of game-to-game production. Wilson is a 6'5", 200lb freshman combo guard who doesn't really stand out in any aspect of the game, and doesn't play major minutes. None of the three backups have had any consistent impact from game to game. Sort of a twist on the "if you have two QBs, you've got no QBs" concept applied to backup wings.

PG: The steady-Eddie guy on the team besides Michael Young is James Robinson. Robinson is a throwback PG. He's a tough-nosed, defensive-minded, pass-first PG in the truest sense of the term. He doesn't turn the ball over (nearly 5:1 assist:turnover ratio). What he doesn't do particularly well, though, is shoot. He's never topped 35% from 3. For that reason, he's often been reluctant to shoot, which has been a bit detrimental to the team in my opinion. This year, he's been a bit more aggressive, and has actually won them some games as a scorer. How involved he gets in the scoring may be a key factor in this one.

Again, Pitt is going to leave our guys with some bruises. I hate to speculate on Jefferson's return, but this would absolutely be a good game to get his leadership and toughness (and if nothing else an extra body) out there. We are definitely the more skilled team, at almost every spot on the floor. But Pitt has a way of dragging the game into the mud. Hopefully we can come out on top.

[TruBlu]

Will Grayson be allowed to make the trip?

(I'm so sorry)

[Lar77]

Pitt is your typical Pitt team: undersized (height-wise) up front, but very physical all over the court. They'll want to make this a bar fight type of game. It is not likely to look pretty, and the fact that the game is in Pittsburgh is not in our favor.

Center: Pitt doesn't play a traditional center. They have a bevy of relatively big guys that rotate through the center and power forward position. Rafael Maia is the starter, but that's in name only. He generally plays no more than 10-15 minutes per game. He's a relatively big (6'9", 245lb), rebounder who provides little else besides fouls. After Maia, the Panthers have a trio of options in Sheldon Jeter (6'8", 225lb), Ryan Luther (6'9", 215lb), and Alonzo Nelson-Ododa (6'9", 235lb). Jeter and Luther are reasonably athletic. Jeter can score inside, and plays the most minutes of the bunch (15-20 mpg). Luther is a decent 3pt shooter and hustle guy, and plays about 10-15 mpg, sometimes more. Ododa just comes in for spot minutes.

Forwards: While Pitt isn't terribly big at center, they are quite solid at forwards. The starting PF is Michael Young (6'9", 235lb). Young is a terrific player. He rebounds solidly and is their leading scorer. He's an inside presence that must be accounted for. He plays about 30 mpg. The majority of the backup PF minutes go to the quartet of bigs already mentioned, as Pitt always has two PFs on the floor. Alongside Young, Pitt has a rather big SF in Jamel Artis (6'7", 220lb). Artis is a really versatile player who can score in the post and can shoot the 3. Whereas Young is a rugged, consistent presence, Artis is more mercurial. He'll have monster games (multiple 20+ pt games) and he'll disappear (multiple games with 6 or fewer points). Hopefully he's not having an "on" day, because if he is he can be a real handful. Artis is kind of a cross between a wing and a forward, a college 3/4.

Wings: Aside from center, the wing position is the weakness of the Panthers' team. Along with Artis, they start Chris Jones (6'6", 215lb) at SG. Jones is an inconsistent outside shooter, and is more of a role player (defense, hustle) than skill player. He plays a lot of minutes, but rarely provides much offense. Aside from a 23-pt outburst against Wake, he's topped 8 points just once more in ACC play. Behind Jones and Artis, Pitt rotates a trio of guards: Smith, Johnson, and Wilson. Smith (6'4", 185lb) is the shooter of the bunch, shooting over 40% from 3 over his last 3 seasons (two of which came at Coppin State). But he is quite mercurial, and has really been out of favor recently (just 7 total points in his last 6 games combined). Johnson is a 6'7", 185lb freshman who has shown signs of a good shooting touch in limited action, but has been very inconsistent in terms of game-to-game production. Wilson is a 6'5", 200lb freshman combo guard who doesn't really stand out in any aspect of the game, and doesn't play major minutes. None of the three backups have had any consistent impact from game to game. Sort of a twist on the "if you have two QBs, you've got no QBs" concept applied to backup wings.

PG: The steady-Eddie guy on the team besides Michael Young is James Robinson. Robinson is a throwback PG. He's a tough-nosed, defensive-minded, pass-first PG in the truest sense of the term. He doesn't turn the ball over (nearly 5:1 assist:turnover ratio). What he doesn't do particularly well, though, is shoot. He's never topped 35% from 3. For that reason, he's often been reluctant to shoot, which has been a bit detrimental to the team in my opinion. This year, he's been a bit more aggressive, and has actually won them some games as a scorer. How involved he gets in the scoring may be a key factor in this one.

Again, Pitt is going to leave our guys with some bruises. I hate to speculate on Jefferson's return, but this would absolutely be a good game to get his leadership and toughness (and if nothing else an extra body) out there. We are definitely the more skilled team, at almost every spot on the floor. But Pitt has a way of dragging the game into the mud. Hopefully we can come out on top.

Thanks again, CDu, for a great summary.

This game will be physical, but not as bad a Louisville. Pitt's opportunity is to turn this into a Big East game, and at home they will get some benefit. We should win, but it also should be close. An Amile sighting would be beneficial.

[Pghdukie]

A very good summary of Pitt. I've seen Pitt a few times this year, if there Big 3 hit a few shots early - this could be a very good Pitt team. If they don't and Duke races out to a lead, it could well be a double digit win. Pitt will definitely make this a very physical game. They are border line tourney team and this is their last chance for a resume building win.

[DukieInKansas]

Will Grayson be allowed to make the trip?

(I'm so sorry)

If he does, will the student section have signs?

"Glad you made the trip. See you next fall."


ETA: Not endorsing tripping of any kind. GA has been reprimanded and I hope he has learned from this.
Wish I could have sporked you.

[Tripping William]

If he does, will the student section have signs?

"Glad you made the trip. See you next fall."


ETA: Not endorsing tripping of any kind. GA has been reprimanded and I hope he has learned from this.
Wish I could have sporked you.

I think you've stumbled onto something here. But I might be a little biased.

(Ditto the bold.)

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

Looks like Grayson will play, unless Coach K decides to sit him for a half or the game.

[dukie’s_daughter]

I think Grayson's got a leg up on the competition...

(Bad pun... I'm sorry...)

[BD80]

I think Grayson's got a leg up on the competition...

(Bad pun... I'm sorry...)

There's no apologizing in Pun Club.

Rathan-Meyer's step-father is a former NBA player. Might we call this a misstep, son?

[DukieInKansas]

If he does, will the student section have signs?

"Glad you made the trip. See you next fall."


ETA: Not endorsing tripping of any kind. GA has been reprimanded and I hope he has learned from this.
Wish I could have sporked you.

I think you've stumbled onto something here. But I might be a little biased.

(Ditto the bold.)

I hope my niece who goes to Pitt isn't reading this. I don't want to give her any ideas.

[elvis14]

So glad Allen is going to get to play after his second vicious tripping incident! Now that both the Louisville and FSU players are out of the hospital, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that they were not permanently maimed. Hopefully Pitt isn't able to TRIP Grayson up causing him to FALL back into these vicious, vicious habits.

CDu, thanks for the report on the Pitt team. I'm really hoping this is the game we see Amile play. My hope is that we build a big enough lead that'll allow him to get some minutes in without a ton of pressure. Also with a decent lead, we could continue to get Jeter minutes.

[Doria]

This is the second of the two games I was worried about in the last stretch to close out the season (FSU worked out pretty well). Artis had a career day against us last year, in the second meeting of the season. Our guards--including Sulaimon--had good games to carry us in that one. Okafor didn't have a terrible day, but nowhere near a dominant performance. And if Jefferson can't go at all, we surely miss his pretty good game against them, though I have every confidence that Marshall will give us another great game; and I also have hope that Jeter continues his solid play, too.

It'll be a tough game, and last year's game wasn't really a walk in the park. We're going to have to (again!) play through fatigue, particularly in the second half, on the road.

A good, consistent shooting night would help a lot to ease some pressure. Doesn't have to be all 3's, but need to convert every chance we reasonably can in what I anticipate to be a close, grinding game. I'll be more than happy to come here post-game, and admit that I was worried for nothing if we coast to an easy victory, but I don't think that anyone can reasonably expect that will happen.

Edit: I don't think I've been able to watch Pitt play at all this year. Can someone remind me what defenses they play predominantly?

[CDu]

This is the second of the two games I was worried about in the last stretch to close out the season (FSU worked out pretty well). Artis had a career day against us last year, in the second meeting of the season. Our guards--including Sulaimon--had good games to carry us in that one. Okafor didn't have a terrible day, but nowhere near a dominant performance. And if Jefferson can't go at all, we surely miss his pretty good game against them, though I have every confidence that Marshall will give us another great game; and I also have hope that Jeter continues his solid play, too.

It'll be a tough game, and last year's game wasn't really a walk in the park. We're going to have to (again!) play through fatigue, particularly in the second half, on the road.

A good, consistent shooting night would help a lot to ease some pressure. Doesn't have to be all 3's, but need to convert every chance we reasonably can in what I anticipate to be a close, grinding game. I'll be more than happy to come here post-game, and admit that I was worried for nothing if we coast to an easy victory, but I don't think that anyone can reasonably expect that will happen.

Edit: I don't think I've been able to watch Pitt play at all this year. Can someone remind me what defenses they play predominantly?

Pitt plays either, but prefers man to man.

[Henderson]

I think Grayson's got a leg up on the competition...

At least he ain't shy shy shy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7eve-kJHSA

[freshmanjs]

At least he ain't shy shy shy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7eve-kJHSA

Cialis commercials on TV and songs about shyness induced ED on the message boards...college hoops is looking up these days.

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

I have two keys to this game, stay healthy we don't need anyone hurt. Second give the ball to Grayson Allen and let him score as many points as humanly possible just to piss everyone else off. That is all.