What has gotten into Pitt with the recent sloppy play?

It’s funny; I’ve tried to… What has gotten into Pitt with the recent sloppy play?

It’s funny; I’ve tried to figure this out all year. The coaches picked Pitt to win the Big East because of the Panthers’ experience, seen mainly by the three senior starters. When Jamie Dixon’s team plays well it is because they are a “mature” and “experienced” group.

When the team loses, though, the team is “inexperienced” and “young,” especially at the guard position. Levance Fields is a great point guard, but he is only a sophomore. Mike Cook is still in his first year as a transfer and other key guards are juniors.

What does this mean? I’m not sure, I am still trying to decide if this team is experienced or not. As for the sloppy play, though, this team, whether it be old or young, is struggling against the zone defenses that teams are employing to try to neutralize Aaron Gray.

Both UConn and Marquette mixed in very aggressive zones that clearly gave Pitt problems. Keep in mind that Syracuse led for most of the first half of the Panthers’ 74-66 win back on Jan. 4 while Pitt tried to figure out the zone.

It doesn’t seem to make much sense when you consider Pitt’s improved 3-point shooting. But for some reason, these zones are causing Pitt to be careless, and that cost them the Marquette game.

Should Ronald Ramon be in the starting lineup?

Yes, he should. Now we just have to find somebody to remove.

Sadly, only five guys can grace the court when the ball goes up and Ramon is stuck as the sixth. He has played great all year, and that is what makes the question of his not starting even more inauspicious. There just isn’t any Panther that can be pulled from the starting lineup.

Ramon is classified as a pure shooter, but don’t forget that he was a point guard in high school. He also ran Pitt’s offense much better than Carl Krauser at times over the course of the last two years, so his ball handling is a valuable asset. But should he be out there instead of Fields? No, Fields is too much of a playmaker.

How about Antonio Graves? Dixon is loyal to his seniors, but Graves’ play alone has been enough for him to retain his spot. His shooting isn’t nearly as good as Ramon’s, but he attacks the basket and gets involved in nearly every play. Overall, his play is too solid to validate a demotion to the bench.

The only possibility is pulling Mike Cook and going with a three-guard system, but that just isn’t the right solution. Cook is Pitt’s biggest matchup problem for opponents. He is incredibly athletic and is a natural scorer. Perhaps his best asset, though, is his ability to get up the court and see well enough to make solid passes. Against UConn, Cook was the only Pitt player with more assists than turnovers.

So based on his play, Ramon is deserving of a starting spot. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough room. He gets his minutes, though, and he will still be vital to this team.

What kind of teams will give Pitt the biggest problems?

Teams that have the athletes to properly execute an active zone defense appear to be the biggest threat to Pitt at the time.

It doesn’t really make that much sense when you think about it. Pitt is shooting well from the 3-point range, rebounds the ball well and has the guards to resist most full-court pressures. One would have to think, then, that the Panthers are as equipped as any team to face a zone defense.

For some reason, though, the players seem to operate against each zone as if they had never seen one before. Connecticut has the athletes to run a pesky 2-3 and Marquette’s guards are great at generating steals.

Where have been the high-post movements and passes to the short corners? Both are necessary tactics to attacking a zone, and we haven’t seen them. Instead, Pitt has launched more 3s, winning if they go in and struggling if they don’t.

This is becoming a problem for the Panthers, and it won’t go away anytime soon. Teams may not like running a zone, but it appears, at the time, to be the best way to limit Gray’s production.

Have a question about Pitt basketball? E-mail senior staff writer Geoff Dutelle at [email protected], and it may appear in the next “Q’A with Geoff Dutelle.”