Speculating, Speculating...

Is it too early to start speculating on who might be leaving the program with the commitment of center Malcolm Gilbert? 

Of course it is.

For one thing, Gilbert, like the other recruits have only made verbal commitments and will need to sign letters of intent before anything becomes official.  For another, there's no telling if all four recruits would even qualify academically.  And for yet another, someone may really want to leave the program voluntarily, opening up another spot.

And I still haven't mentioned perhaps the most likely scenario out of all those things - what if Dante Taylor leaves early for the NBA?

But say all of the aforementioned happens and Taylor sticks around.  Then what?

Well, the two players I see in the most trouble are:

J.J. Richardson - He's probably going to see less time this season with the emergence of Talib Zanna and since Gilbert is a big man, it makes it even more likely that he could go. Mix in 2012 recruit Steven Adams and the frontcourt gets really crowded. Richardson's advantage may be that if he can beat out Gilbert as a Junior next year, he'd likely be the backup center behind Taylor (assuming Taylor stays at center...I know, that's an entirely different debate).

Cameron Wright - I know, I get it.  He hasn't even played a minute for the team yet.  But this is all about speculation and besides, who else do you see that could go instead of him?  Travon Woodall?  Please.  He played really well down the stretch last season and despite not being the best shooter, is probably the team's best true point guard. Plus, with Isaiah Epps and Woodall (who really got better as the season went on last year), ahead of him, he might be struggling to get minutes. And don't forget about incoming 2011 freshman John Johnson who will be at the point or SG.

It's crazy early, but that's how I see it. I can't pick between those two because it largely will depend on how others in their positions fare over the next season. If everyone qualifies, it will be interesting to see how Dixon deals with this situation for a second straight year. From everything I hear, Dixon hates doing this sort of thing. I'm a little puzzled that he'd do it again for a three-star, somewhat-prospect center if he didn't have a good reason for it.  Maybe he thinks Taylor is gone after this season.  Maybe he knows something we don't.  In any event, he's opened the door for a world of speculation over the next year.

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.

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.

Greentree Basketball Summer League Wraps Up

With the Greentree Basketball Summer League wrapping up this past week, I thought it was a good time to take a look back.  During the mid-point of the season, I took a look at some statistics that were out there courtesy of Rivals and Scout.  Before I provide some year-end stats, I'll again throw out the same disclaimer.  These numbers were gathered by both sites.  I've used Rivals' numbers and filled in blanks with Scout's.  However, be aware that the two sites even differed on stats for the same games.  So everything isn't completely accurate.  That said, I've filled these in the best I could and this is what I came up with:

Gil Brown - 23.6 ppg

J.J. Richardson - 10.8 ppg / 8.6 rpg

Ashton Gibbs - 22.5 ppg

J.J. Moore - 17 ppg / 5.4 rpg

Travon Woodall - 16.1 ppg / 5.0 apg

Cameron Wright - 10.9 ppg

Brad Wanamaker - 15.6 ppg / 5.7 rpg

Nasir Robinson - 11.9 ppg / 4.9 rpg (these may be incomplete)

Gary McGhee - 17.4 ppg / 10.9 rpg

Dante Taylor - 16.7 ppg / 10.9 rpg

Lamar Patterson - 15.1 ppg

Talib Zanna - 13.5 ppg / 10.8 rpg

Ashton Gibbs took home league MVP honors and he joined McGhee, Brown, and Richardson on the first team. Patterson, Moore, and Zanna landed on the second team.

You may be thinking the same thing I am - how in the heck did Taylor not land on the first or second team?  Beats me.  I'm sure they want to try to spread out the school and maybe even position representation around a bit, but I'm surprised they couldn't find a spot for him over even Zanna or Patterson.  But as I said, these numbers are almost assuredly not completely accurate, so who knows.

I'm really excited to see what Jamie Dixon does with J.J. Moore this year.  Pitt is a veteran team this season and has lots of guys that could see minutes.  But based on his summer league performance, it looks like it may be difficult to redshirt him...especially because he's a scorer - and Pitt sorely needs some of those at various points in the season.

Baskeball Notes 7/13

The Panthers are excited and gearing up for their trip to Ireland.  J.J. Richardson sees big things for Pitt and credits the Summer League and this trip as reasons for his optimism:

 “Not many teams get the chance to have an organized practice during the summertime,” he said. “This is helping us get closer. Last year, we were all still getting used to each other because we were young. This year, with us in the summer league and going over to Ireland, we’re going to be real good.”

I think he's got a point.  Not only does the Greentree Summer League allow them to practice with some teammates, they're also going against other D-1 players.  Now, with the opportunity to go overseas and play others will give them some good game experience. 

Speaking of that Summer League, Ashton Gibbs led the way during Monday's games with 30 points / 7 rebounds / 6 assists.  Dante Taylor continued his strong play going for 19/13 and J.J. Moore keeps scoring (22).  Taylor's consistency has been pretty good.  He's got to be close to a 20/10 average during these games.  As of my last analysis in the beginning of July, he was at 15.5 and 8.5.

A few more quick hitters:

The NCAA Tournament format including the four newly added teams has been released.

Chris Dokish has a little more on New Zealand recruit Steven Adams.

And Chas over at Pitt Blather has some stuff on DeJuan Blair.