This season looks like it's going to be a little harder than anticipated. After a 63-60 nailbiter, the thing that you have to keep into perspective is that Pitt will get better - if only because Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown should eventually be back and will fill important roles. This game looked bad on paper, but Wofford retruned all of its starters and may be a threat to make the tournament this year.
Ray Fittipaldo had it right, calling for a close game.
Just as I was ready to question Gary McGhee getting so many minutes, he was apparently the one who stepped in to score some late baskets. I say apparently because the game wasn't televised and the CBS All-Access froze up so much, I quit trying to watch online. Unless Dante Taylor really comes out and dominates, I think we're likely to see the ol' John DeGroat routine - Gary McGhee starts, but may get less minutes than Taylor. That's fine with me as long as Taylor gets his minutes. McGhee has shown flashes of good play in his first two seasons, but has never really been all that consistent. It would be nice if he can play some quality minutes for them this year - especially early on because the team is going to need some scoring with Brown and Dixon out.
Taylor had a nice game with 13 points on 5-7 shooting and played fewer minutes (19)than McGhee (21). I'd expect him to be playing more minutes than McGhee by the time the conference games come up. But then again, I also expected him to be starting immediately, so what do I know? Wanamaker led the Panthers with 15 and eight players saw at least ten minutes of action.
This year may prove to be Jamie Dixon's greatest challenge and I think any Pitt fan would be hard pressed to criticize him if they can make it to the NCAA's. It's a long year, though, and as I said, Pitt will get better. Maybe making the NCAA's won't be that difficult (though it's hard to envision an easy walk to the dance after this game).
Next up is Binghamton on Tuesday.
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