Panthers look to shut down Syracuse’s Anthony

How does a team stop an athletic 18-year-old, 6-foot-8-inch guard who averages more than 23… How does a team stop an athletic 18-year-old, 6-foot-8-inch guard who averages more than 23 points per game?

No, it’s not high school sensation LeBron James, but another player who is rumored to be a lottery pick if he were to leave school early: Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony.

“Carmelo Anthony will be a top five pick in the draft this year if he elects to come out,” Pitt head coach Ben Howland said.

Stopping the Big East’s leading scorer is what the No. 3 Pitt men’s basketball team will have to do tomorrow at noon at the Petersen Events Center in order to improve its record of 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big East.

Syracuse is coming off its upset of No. 11 Missouri on Monday night, which improved its record to 11-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big East. The key for the defensive-minded Panthers is stopping the mismatch created by Anthony.

“To me, Carmelo Anthony is more impressive than LeBron James, because [Anthony] is doing it every night on guys in the college level. Right now Carmelo Anthony is living up to all the hype,” starting point guard Brandin Knight said.

“[Anthony] is a matchup problem because of his size and there are not too many guys in college that step away from the basket and can handle the ball and shoot the ball as well as he does,” Knight added.

Deciding who to put on the court to defend Anthony is also a challenge for Howland.

“It will be Jaron [Brown] to start with but it could be a number of different players,” Howland said. Accompanying Brown will be Chevon Troutman and Julius Page, who will both have a chance to defend Anthony.

In addition to trying to defend Anthony, the Panthers will have to face another new face in the Big East in freshman point guard Billy Edelin, who just finished up his 12-game suspension for playing in a non-sanctioned recreation league last year.

“We have seen him, we know what he can do based on his high school years. He is a very talented kid,” Howland said.

While Edelin will not start at the point, he will become the Orangemen’s primary ball handler. In Edelin’s absence, another freshman point guard has stepped up for the Orangemen. Gerry McNamara has averaged 14.7 points and 5.1 assists per game while running the offense, but has not yet faced a veteran backcourt like that of the Panthers.

“Although McNamara is just a freshman, he can really shoot it, and he is going be a really good player,” Howland said.

Knight and Carl Krauser will handle the two-headed freshman point guard position made up of McNamara and Edelin.

The Panthers, coming off a high percentage shooting display at West Virginia on Tuesday in their 80-61 victory, will have to continue to shoot well in order to attack the Syracuse 2-3 zone. Syracuse has been using the zone as its primary defense ever since head coach Jim Boeheim took over 27 seasons ago.

Donatas Zavackas and the Panther guards will have to continue to hit three-point shots in order to free up the inside game.

The post players must kick the ball out to the perimeter in order to get better looks at the hoop. The Panthers will need a successful inside presence in order to compliment the guards; without that inside game, the Panthers might struggle from the outside and offensively.

Following Pitt’s 24-turnover performance on Sunday against Rutgers, the Panthers should not be surprised if the Orangemen come up court and put pressure on them.

When Pitt goes with three guards, Krauser will have to continue his improvement and be careful not to turn the ball over against the zone or the Syracuse pressure. Krauser could be the key penetrator.