Isaiah Epps On Campus

While incoming freshman point guard Isaiah Epps isn't the key to Pitt's 2010-11 basketball season, it's still a mild relief to know that he has qualified academically.  And even though Epps didn't participate in the famed Greentree Summer League games or in the scrimmages in Ireland, he doesn't feel like he missed all that much:

"I don't feel like I missed out on that much," Epps said. "The coaches will be able to see me play at practice."

Epps might not see it as a big deal, and it really isn't. But I'd beg to differ on his stance that says he didn't miss that much. While Epps was working on his academic situation, fellow incoming freshmen J.J. Moore and Cameron Wright were suiting up against other college and professional players. Both participated in about a dozen games and several practices - probably somewhere around the equivalent of about 1/2 of a full season's worth of games (minus practice time). To say that's not missing much is a little off point.

Will it matter in the long run? Not likely. But the fact that he's been out of the loop for so long could lead to a redshirt, something that was in the article and something I mentioned before as a possibility.  When he first committed, he was so highly touted, that a redshirt would have seemed unlikely.  But the fact is that Pitt can very easily go in that direction. They can either start Gibbs at PG and use Wright as a backup or start Woodall and use Gibbs as a backup. I think the latter is probably more likely. Based on the reports in the scrimmages, it seemed Wright had a good deal of work to do.

Epps could still surprise and do enough to get in the rotation, but it will take a lot of catching up.

Talib Zanna To Get Starring Role?

No one can deny that on the surface, Talib Zanna looks like he's ready to contribute this season.

First, Zanna nearly led all Pitt players in rebounding in the Greentree Summer League, averaging almost 11. He also added in about 13.5 points per game.

Then came the trip to Ireland where Zanna was again a major factor, averaging eight points and seven rebounds per game.

But it wasn't just in game action where Zanna has impressed. Jamie Dixon says the way he's practiced will likely lead to playing time this year:

In practices prior to the visit to Ireland and in the five games the Panthers played – all victories – Dixon closely monitored the performance of 6-9 redshirt freshman power forward Talib Zanna and became convinced he’ll help Pitt this season.

“I think he’s going to play minutes. I think he’s going to be good,” Dixon said. “I think Zanna is going to give us a different look with his length and his size at the 4. It gives us another option.”

Zanna might not replace Nasir Robinson this year as the starter at the 4, but if he has a good season, he might leapfrog him next year. But even if Dixon's history of playing upperclassmen shines through and Robinson continues to start, at the very least, Zanna should see his fair share of minutes. I'd like to see him play more than Robinson if he can rebound as well as he appears to be more of a scorer.

Pitt Basketball Finishes 6-0 On Trip To Ireland

Pitt wrapped up the playing portion of its trip to Ireland with two final wins for a perfect 6-0.

Throughout the games, Jamie Dixon used a variety of different lineups. One can only think it was mostly done to feel out the chemistry between players - especially among the new guys. It was good to see Pitt face some adversity in the fifth game where they trailed at halftime. They responded well and came back for a 16-point victory.

So how did the players do at least stats-wise?

Gilbert Brown - 12.8 ppg

Ashton Gibbs - 12.0 ppg / 4 apg

Gary McGhee - 5.0 ppg / 5.3 rpg

J.J. Moore - 10.4 ppg

Aron Nwankwo - 0 ppg

Lamar Patterson - 4.7 ppg / 4.0 rpg

J.J. Richardson - 6.3 ppg / 4.3 rpg

Nick Rivers - .8 ppg

Nasir Robinson - 8.9 ppg / 4 rpg

Dante Taylor - 6.3 ppg / 7.2 rpg

Brad Wanamaker - 9.0 ppg / 5.8 apg / 3.0 rpg

Travon Woodall - 8.5 ppg / 3.8 apg

Cameron Wright - 3.4 ppg / 1 apg

Talib Zanna - 8.0 ppg / 7.0 rpg

Not much can be taken from these numbers but here are a few things I noticed:

- After monster performances in the Greentree Summer League, I was a litle surprised to not see McGhee dominate a bit more...especially considering some teams had smaller rosters (the South Regional All-Stars' tallest player was 6'6"). It will be interesting to see how he responds once the season gets started.  I'd guess somewhere in between these performances and his GSL performances.

- Looks like it will be hard to keep Talib Zanna and J.J. Moore off the court. By all indications, they've now played very well in both the GSL and in these games. Nasir Robinson's numbers haven't been great and I wonder if we'll see a little less of him and more of them. There are also Jermaine Dixon's minutes to account for, so I think they will each see some time this season.

- Despite being highly regarded, I can't help but think how far back Isaiah Epps might be. Unable to play in the GSL and these games will put him behind Moore and maybe even Cameron Wright. I expect Wright to possibly take a redshirt and I'm wondering if Epps will do the same.

- Gilbert Brown shot exactly 50% from the field and really only had one bad game, a 1/6 shooting performance. Here's to hoping his ups and downs will be solved, but I won't be sold until I see it. To be honest, I think anyone that had the kind of swings Gil did last season will still be susceptible to poor games once in a while. But as long as those types of games are limited, Pitt might be okay.

Pitt Faces Mild Test In Fourth Win In Ireland

Pitt faced its stiffest competition on Wednesday vs. the Dart Killester Club Team. The Panthers won the game 88-62, but only led by nine points heading into both the third and fourth quarters.  At one point, Pitt was only up 47-41.  Pitt also trailed early, 14-9 - its largest deficit of the trip.

Dante Taylor had his best game of the trip with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Gilbert Brown also added 14.  Balance was again the story as nine players ended up with at least six points.

The big difference in these games have been rebounding.  For the second straight game, Pitt doubled up its opponent on the boards, 50-25.  Unless a team is shooting lights out from the field, it's virtually impossible to stay competitive when getting killed on the glass like that.

Pitt's next game will be against the Melbourne (yes, Melbourne of Australia) on Friday.

Pitt Basketball Wins Third Game In Ireland

Pitt won its third game on its Ireland trip, beating the Irish National Team for the second straight time today, 110-61.

The team was again led by freshman J.J. Moore who was 6-12 from the field, scoring 14 points. Moore, J.J. Richardson, Ashton Gibbs, Gilbert Brown, and Nasir Robinson were all in double figures in scoring. Pitt continues to rebound well - so well in fact that their 22 offensive rebounds were more than the Irish National Team's overall rebound total of 20.

Jamie Dixon again used a different starting lineup and he's apparently testing out chemistry issues.

Pitt shot 54% from the field and is averaging more than 50% through their three games thus far. The team's Big East style of play, however, landed them in a bit of foul trouble as Ireland got to the line 31 times.

Next up will be the Dart Killester Club Team on Wednesday.

Pitt Wins Second Game

I'm again taking the easy way out and directing you to my post on SB Nation Pittsburgh for the recap of the second game.

Let The Beatdowns Begin

Pitt basketball began its Ireland trip with a 99-54 drubbing of the Irish national team.

Not sure how big the building was, but only 1,650 attended.  Judging by photos on the website, it looks to be a pretty small gym.  Tickets were fairly cheap at around $9 (7 Euro) for adults.  Gil Brown led Pitt with 22 points including 4-6 from three-point range.  Ashton Gibbs contributed 15 and Brad Wanamaker had 12 points and 10 assists.

At first glance, it would appear that he big men, Gary McGhee and Dante Taylor (combining for 13 points and 12 rebounds) had quiet games.  But one important thing to note is that all 11 players received equal playing time.  Talib Zanna and J.J. Richardson likely saw minutes that McGhee and Taylor would have, so no need to worry about those numbers.

Here's the full box score.

It was mostly good for Pitt, who shot 56% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and forced 22 turnovers.  But the team did turn the ball over 16 times.  Though, in a scrimmage game, in an unfamiliar environment and with lots of travel and hoopla surrounding the trip, that's kind of to be expected.

The freshman, J.J. Moore, Cameron Wright, and Aron Nwankwo, were not eligible to play due to NCAA rules, but should suit up for today's (Sunday's) game. 

I'm mildly confused as the schedule listed on Pitt's website says the game with the National Team was to take place today with the team playing the Southern Regional All-Stars Saturday night.  Maybe the games have been flip-flopped.