Wanamaker learning to finish strong

Despite playing in a summer league filled with opponents and teammates alike, Brad Wanamaker… Despite playing in a summer league filled with opponents and teammates alike, Brad Wanamaker competed like he had something to prove.

And thus far, Wanamaker might be the breakout star of the league.

Wanamaker notched 20 points for FWG Realty in the team’s first-round beatdown of PGT in Monday’s second playoff game. This kept pace with his recent offensive success, as he’s scored 69 points in the last three games heading into Tuesday night.

Wanamaker, a sophomore, averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 assists per game in his debut season at Pitt. The 6-foot-4-inch shooting guard is looking to improve his all-around performance, with the summer league serving as the precursor.

“I’ve been playing with a lot of confidence, I’ve been working on my jump shot,” said Wanamaker after FWG’s victory.

“When it’s going down here, it makes me feel more comfortable to shoot in a game.”

Confidence and comfort are the main words thrown around by Pitt coaches and players when discussing Wanamaker’s impact for next season. As a freshman, it appeared at times that he would hesitate to hoist a jumper or attempt a big play.

Thus far, Wanamaker has been as smooth as any player at Greentree. He’s handled the ball with ease, taken and made several fluent jumpers, penetrated the basket and even dazzled with tight passes between defenders.

Wanamaker is also happy with the large crowds that have come to see the summer games.

“We have somebody to come here to cheer for us and clap, and it makes you feel good about yourself,” said Wanamaker.

Pitt teammates Tyrell Biggs and Ashton Gibbs also man the court with Wanamaker, and their contributions helped to eliminate Sam Young’s team Monday night, putting it into the semifinals Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s final game.

When asked if he achieved bragging rights from Monday’s win, Wanamaker stopped short of proclaiming dominance.

“No, I have to win the championship,” said Wanamaker.

Not only does he have the comfort of playing with fellow Panthers, Wanamaker has another asset on his team, his brother Brian.

Brian Wanamaker played at Central Connecticut State last year and joins Brad on FWG’s roster.

“It’s fun, I haven’t played with him for a whole year,” said the Pitt guard. “It’s great to play with him out here for the summer.”

Double Dwight

Freshman forward Dwight Miller received significant minutes Monday, but not just for one team. Miller participated in both opening round playoff contests.

This was not the first time a player had to play on two teams. It is usually because of a lack of attending players on a team, and Monday was no different.

Unfortunately for Miller, he wound up on the losing end in both games. His usual team, PGT, fell in the second game, while his addition to Aliquippa Giant Eagle couldn’t withstand the absence of Levance Fields in the opener.

Abandoned Fields

DeJuan Blair was forced to play without his trusted point guard Fields in the initial playoff game, a prime factor for Aliquippa GE’s loss.

But Fields wasn’t merely skipping out. If he was suiting up Monday, he would have had to be skipping something else – class.

Blair, Fields and recent Pitt grad Keith Benjamin headlined the No. 3-seed Aliquippa GE squad into the playoffs, but without Fields’ explosiveness and ballhandling, Aliquippa GE was defeated by previously winless PMW, 70-65.

PMW won despite being without West Virginia guard Alex Ruoff, who did not make the trip because of a slight injury.

Stars Struggle

With Fields absent, Blair and Sam Young hoped to fill the highlight reel and lead their respective teams to victory Monday. However, both had off nights and their clubs are done for the summer.

Blair finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Aliquippa GE’s defeat, but was only 7 for 23 from the field.

Meanwhile, Young was 5-of-14 shooting and just missed on many of his attempts. An early alley-oop would have wowed the crowd, but the pass was just ahead of the high-flying Young.