Wanamaker finds consistency

‘ ‘ ‘ Strong bench play has long been a staple of Pitt basketball. And on Monday night, Pitt’s… ‘ ‘ ‘ Strong bench play has long been a staple of Pitt basketball. And on Monday night, Pitt’s bench proved it could more than account for the loss of two of the team’s best players. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt center DeJuan Blair, along with point guard Levance Fields, sat for the majority of Pitt’s 70-59 win against West Virginia because of foul trouble. During their absence, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon needed bench players to step up and play quality minutes. He needed players that could execute the offense and provide quickness on defense against the Mountaineers’ motion offense. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He found it in Brad Wanamaker. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Game after game, including Monday night, Wanamaker production off the bench has been more than just quality. Wanamaker, who led all bench players with 25 minutes against West Virginia, did a little bit of everything in the game. He collected three assists, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We got great contributions from our bench, I thought Brad Wanamaker really gave us some good minutes,’ said Dixon. ‘In the first half, we had to go long stretches without Blair and Levance on the court.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Recently, Wanamaker is delivering point production along with his minutes. In the four games prior to Monday night, Wanamaker averaged 11 points and shot 15 for 22 from the field. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Shooting in the neighborhood of 68 percent is a sure-fire way to spark some confidence. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ A rare sub-in last season, Wanamaker leads all bench players in scoring on the year, averaging six points per game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ His growing confidence in his 3-point shot has been a big factor in the minutes increase, but it helps that his shots are falling in key situations. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Wanamaker struggled in the first half against West Virginia, missing all three of his shots from the field. But with Pitt leading 41-35 with more than 13 minutes to play, Wanamaker made a change. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Within a three-minute span, he buried a 3-pointer that gave the Panthers an eight-point lead, grabbed a defensive rebound, assisted on a fast-break layup and blocked a shot on defense which he turned into an assist on the offensive end. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Later, with 5:16 remaining, Wanamaker knocked down a 3-pointer to cap a 17-6 Pitt run and stretch the score in Pitt’s favor to 63-46. West Virginia called a timeout immediately after and never threatened the rest of the way. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The shot was a wide-open look, coming off a pass from Fields. As much as the shot was Wanamaker’s doing, he readily credits his shooting success to his point guard’s play. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘When you got a great point guard like him, you just got to make the shot,’ said Wanamaker. ‘He puts us in situations where we can get open shots, he’s going to hit me when I’m open.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But it’s the work outside of the games that has Wanamaker getting more opportunities from 3-point range. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Wanamaker, along with fellow sharp-shooting guards Ashton Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon, are putting in extra work after practices with assistant coach Brandin Knight. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Coach Brandin Knight just brings us to the side after practice,’ said Wannamaker. ‘Ashton [and] Jermaine, they can shoot the ball. Levance [and] Sam, everybody is just putting in that extra work. It just gives us the mindset to keep working.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The drills, Wanamaker said, try to simulate shooting in a game situation. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘For Brad it was just little things like holding his follow through and not backing away from his shot,’ said Knight,’ a former star guard at Pitt. ‘He’s an all-around great kid. He never gives any back talk, he’s always trying to learn.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dixon noticed the same thing. And not just about Wanamaker, but a lot of the Pitt players. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Our guys are getting better because they’re putting in the time,’ Dixon said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The time is helping Pitt disprove the perception it’s a poor 3-point shooting team. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Already a fan favorite, Wanamaker certainly can’t be hurting his popularity by making big shots. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ There are certain fans in the Oakland Zoo who hold up a sign with altered lyrics from a Ludacris song that read, ‘Shake Your ‘Wana-maker.” ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The only thing Wanamaker is shaking lately are the nylon nets underneath the rim.