Krauser not quite ready to lead Pitt

Carl Krauser “just wanted to get to the basket and try to get the foul call,” he said after… Carl Krauser “just wanted to get to the basket and try to get the foul call,” he said after the game about his last drive of the Big East Championship on Saturday. “We wanted to wind up as a bonus; get to the line and make free throws. That didn’t happen.”

It certainly didn’t, and the result was Pitt’s fourth — and biggest — loss of the season.

Krauser’s play throughout the championship game was similar to his play during the whole series. He ran the offense, drove hard to the net and played aggressive defense. But in the second half of Saturday’s game, Krauser tried to be something he’s not ready to be — the leader and the hero.

After leading Connecticut for the better part of the game thanks to an early 19-2 run, Pitt found itself in a shootout with UConn with time quickly running out. The pressure was getting to the Panthers. Their shooting percentage dropped off dramatically from the first half, as did their rebounds and steals.

With two minutes left, the score was bouncing back and forth so often that it was evident that whoever made the last basket before the buzzer would likely win the game. And in a normal game, this type of situation would favor the Panthers. Hold the ball, run the clock down, get it to the big-money shooters — the game’s in the bag.

But this wasn’t a normal situation. The Big East Championship was on the line. Making things even more complicated on both sides of the ball, players were being manhandled with few fouls called. Krauser’s plan of driving hard and drawing the foul therefore became a tremendous miscue.

What resulted were shots being blocked, open Panthers not touching the ball and — as the entire Panther nation witnessed — the Huskies defeating the Panthers.

Krauser took it upon himself at the end of the game to try to win it single-handedly. That isn’t Panthers basketball. Everyone gets in on the offense, the points get spread around, the Panthers win. It’s a formula that has served them well the past few seasons and did them right throughout the tournament — with the exception of the final minutes on Saturday.

Sooner or later, Krauser will be the unquestionable leader on Pitt’s team. After what will hopefully be a long, successful run through the NCAA Tournament, Krauser will emerge with the experience and fortitude to be a team leader and know when the time’s right to be the hero and when he should be dishing the ball off to the hot hands on the court.

On Saturday, however, Krauser disrupted the Panthers’ formula of total team play and tried to be something he’s not ready to be. Rather than looking for those fouls and getting the free throws, he should have been aware of the environment on the court. Officials weren’t making calls, and Panther players not used to racking up the points were getting the job done.

Had Krauser the ability to lead his team, he would have looked to the guys making the shots and getting the points rather than trying to win the game by himself. He’s not ready for that. The experience of Saturday’s game will be one of those lessons that will build and shape Krauser as a player, hopefully positively affecting how he plays in the NCAA Tournament.

The Panthers will be in that Big East Championship game next season, and when they’re there, they’ll have a seasoned leader in Krauser, rather than one still on the learning curve.

Dante A. Ciampaglia wants to be a leader, too, and looks forward to joining Carl Krauser in leadership training classes.