Pitt Beats Kansas State: News and Notes

Pitt 70, Kansas State 47

If ever a team needed this kind of win it was the Panthers.

This was a good old fashioned Pitt win.

The Panthers were tough, they locked down Kansas State, they beat Kansas State to loose balls, they were physical and they held the Wildcats to less than 35 percent from the field.

It is the first time this season the Panthers resembled what Jamie Dixon wants his team to be and that is – an offensively efficient, defensive-minded team.

Now at 4-2 the Panthers can feel a little better about this trip to Hawaii as they went 2-2, though there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

And much like the “fire everybody” crowd was way premature after the San Diego State game, the “we’re back” crowd shouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves here, either.

In fact, I’d say this – this was a great win for Pitt but much of what was gained tonight will be erased if the Panthers don’t follow it up with a win next Tuesday at Indiana. I know it is Indiana and on the road and a tough assignment – but the Hoosiers are a mess and just lost at home to Eastern Washington.

I think if Pitt can win that game and get to 5-2 there is a good chance they could – emphasis on the word “could” because nothing is guaranteed with this bunch and they could lose to anybody on their schedule – get through December at 11-2 as the Panthers won’t leave Pittsburgh again until January.

What we learned in this game is simple – Pitt CAN be a good team when it plays hard, defends with purpose and makes shots. But there is not a lot of room for error so the Panthers can’t slack off in any of those three areas.

There is still a long way to go but to me, the test of where this team really is at will come next Tuesday, so stay tuned.

As for tonight, here are some news and notes….

** Jamie Dixon called a timeout with two minutes left in the San Diego State game Tuesday. He lit into his team, talked to them about pride, talked to them about what it meant to be a Pitt player and a part of this program. And then he challenged them by saying they shouldn’t come back to the gym for this game against K-State unless they were ready to play and defend like the Panthers. They closed that game on a 7-0 run had a long discussion at dinner about the thumping they took. That laid the groundwork for the Panthers effort against the Wildcats. It was amazing how hard the Panthers played in this game, especially on defense. I hadn’t seen anything close to that kind of effort this entire season. And given how this team is made up, it will take that kind of effort almost every night to win.

** One player that grew up in a hurry is Ryan Luther. He got better every single game out here. He still has a million miles to go and he knows that, but I’ll say this – he plays with no fear at all. He hit some big-time 3’s and made some really nice plays. I talked to him after the game for a story for Sunday and he said he was a little nervous Friday against Hawaii but has since settled in and feels more confident every game. And here is the thing – his bread and butter has been his ability to score but he has earned himself a lot of playing time with his defense. In fact, Dixon said of him after the game “he may be our best post defender.” That’s high praise coming from Dixon, who usually tries hard to downplay freshmen. Luther is obviously playing because other guys are hurt/suspended but in the end it may work out better for the Panthers because he has been forced to mature far quicker than he might have if he was redshirting.

** James Robinson had another strong night offensively as he continues to transform his game to become more active as a scorer. He had 14 points, six assists and four steals. He has become more assertive and has stepped up and become a leader. And while the “we’re young” stuff is overplayed some, consider this about Robinson – he is the only player in the current rotation who has more than two years experience. In fact, if you look at the current rotation – Robinson and Chris Jones are the only players who have been in the program for more than two years. So this team needs Robinson to be a leader, both on and off the court. But the Panthers also need him to score.

** The best player on this team is Mike Young. He also is one of the hardest working players on both sides. He is a man on an island at times on offense as he is by far the Panthers best post player and probably the only guy they have who can consistently score. But he also does a lot of little things, like tip balls, box out or seal guys so one of his teammates can get rebounds, etc., etc. Young needs to lead this team in scoring because it will give them a legit inside-out game. Young plays hard though, he is a guy who really gets it – as does Robinson and even Luther. The other guys are getting it or get it sometimes but those three from what I’ve seen bring it hard every night.

** It was a nice touch to end things that Mike Lecak hit a 3-pointer and then Josh Ko hit the final 3-pointer of the tournament for the Panthers. Ko, of course, is from Hawaii and the crowd went nuts so that was pretty cool. I can tell you, those walk on guys are always appreciated because they are truly guys who are working hard but rarely get much more than mop up time. James Robinson said “It is always good to see guys like Josh Ko, Mike Lecak, Aaron Nwankwo get in the game but especially Josh for his homecoming, to come out and hit that shot we were all really excited for him. That was big time and I think that is something we are all going to remember.”

** Some people have inquired about Durand Johnson and what kind of message is being sent by letting a suspended guy spend the week in Hawaii. Here is the message “he is still part of the team.” And the last thing Jamie Dixon and company are going to do is leave him out in the cold – literally and figuratively – to fend for himself for eight days with no structure. The bottom line is Johnson had to go through practices, watch film for hours and hours and then sit and watch his teammates play four times. He is a competitor, a player and players want to play. Dixon wants Durand Johnson to finish his degree and graduate as well as come back and finish his career the right way. The way that is accomplished is by making sure there is a little light at the end of the tunnel and giving him a reason to keep working hard and stay interested – and that means keeping him with the team. If you keep a kid on the team, you treat him like a member of the team even if he is being disciplined, otherwise you just kick him off and move on.

** There was definitely a WPIAL flavor to this Maui Classic as Arizona coached by Sean Miller (Blackhawk) and led by TJ McConnell (Chartiers Valley) won the championship. And Sheldon Jeter (Beaver Falls), Cam Johnson (OLSH) and Ryan Luther (Hampton) all had really good moments and grew up a lot. And the Panthers MVP was probably Mike Young (ShadySide Academy). I know football is king in Western Pennsylvania but this was a nice tournament for basketball fans in the region.

** On another note -- The ACC wants to be the “super conference” that the Big East had become the last few years before Pitt and Syracuse left and maybe it will become that at some point. But the bottom line is there is still a lot of growth that needs to take place by the league before it can realistically make that claim as unquestioned king of the basketball hill. That much is clear looking at some early season results. Forget about Pitt losing to Hawaii – the Panthers without Johnson and Wright are a different team than they were supposed to be and may be a work in progress – the conference is losing too many nonconference games. North Carolina’s loss to Butler does not help nor does Notre Dame’s loss to Providence and Syracuse’s loss to California. These are all winnable games that the ACC team lost. And Florida State was supposed to be one of the stronger teams and the Seminoles have three losses already. I’m not saying it is time to panic or that this is doom and gloom time. But if this conference wants to take a huge step forward this year and become that 8+ bid league it was put together to be, it would behoove these teams to get in a gear and it wouldn’t hurt to go win the Big Ten-ACC challenge for the first time since 2008.