My fiver on WVU's victory in the hoops Backyard Brawl Friday night ---
1. This was a big win. Yes, Pitt isn't exactly Duke - we're clearly a better team. However, the better team doesn't always win in this game. To go into their newly reconfigured house, in a fevered & energetic atmosphere, and win like we did is impressive. This is the type of game where a home crowd could get into it and cause the home team to play above their own limitations. For example, that Jevon Carter-led Sweet Sixteen team from two years ago saw our 18-point halftime lead evaporated in the 2nd half and cut all the way to one before we held on to win. Instead, this time around we simply imposed our will as the game wore on, and that was impressive to watch. The spectre of the Coastal Carolina loss is finally beginning to fade, and Friday night's victory shows that this team is just a different monster. It does not appear that this year's version of WVU hoops is going to let their guard down. Great start to the season. And, an even greater sign of our perhaps continues success was Huggins switching our defense in the 2nd half to stop the hard hedging on the screens...we switched the screens and packed it in. Pitt & Jeff Capel had no answer.
2. Oscar T. It's not just 20 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks - which in and of itself is remarkable. It's the way he does it. The quick twitch explosiveness that Tshiebwe harbors in that 6'10" frame is breathtaking to behold. I don't know if I've seen another WVU basketball freshman with this type of potential, ever. He gets from the floor to the rim as quick as any Mountaineer forward I've seen. And, it was great to see that he was better at the line - 6 of 9 - as he'll be there often this season. Time is growing short before our trip to Cancun. Please tell me someone has been able to work out his Visa issue? I'd hate not to have him for this trip...
3. Jermaine Haley and Derek Culver. Both guys were saddled with fouls early. Both guys played only 19 minutes because of it. Both guys were slapped with terrible calls (most notably when they called a foul on Haley for getting slapped in the face). But, they handled it differently. Culver seemed to be frustrated and played outside of the offense because of it. Haley, on the other hand, played a fantastic 2nd half after sitting the entire first. He finished with just 4 points, but added 7 rebounds, 2 assists a steal and a block in that second frame. He was extremely active on both ends of the floor and was a stabilizer. Culver seemed to let things get to him. His best attribute has always been that he works harder than the opponent to get to the ball, and to his credit he did have 6 rebounds in total. But, he seemed to be working outside of the framework of the offense at times, and also got caught sleeping on a Pitt score where he was needed on the help side. (Huggs immediately pulled him) More than anyone tonight, I'm hoping for a great game for Derek Culver vs. Northern Colorado. I would love to see a double-double from the big man.
4. "When you see that blond hair starting to bob, look out!" - ESPN commentator from Friday night about Emmitt Matthews Jr. taking the ball to the tin during the second half. So far in this young season, Matthews is emerging as our new "go-to guy" as a nice compliment to Tshiebwe. When Pitt threatened to make a run at our lead during the second half, cutting our lead from 51-39 to 51-44 with 8 min. to go, the Pitt faithful were as loud as they could be and you could feel momentum swinging. However, Matthews calmly drained a dagger trey from the top of the key and the place went silent. Matthews would then score on two more drives to the hole over the next couple of minutes, and the rout was on. I really, really like what we're seeing from Matthews thus far.
5. Sean McNeil could be a difference maker this season. McNeil is the type of guy who has driven us nuts over the past several seasons. How many times have we watched another team's sharp-shooter come in and bury multiple three-pointers over our "D"? (Dusty Hannahs, anyone? Matt McGuirl? Kevin Knox? Phil Forte? I could go on.) Pitt was not ready for what McNeil unleashed in the first half. It was pretty funny reading through their game thread on their Rivals basketball board...multiple posts of "Who is this guy????" while McNeil rained those three treys down like bombs over Baghdad. We finally have our own frustrating sharp-shooting assassin. While the film will be out on him now, it's OK -- he can get his shot up and over opponents extremely quickly. He's used to be shadowed, and it shows. He's going to be a big value-add this season.
Time to get healthy vs. Northern Colorado and Boston U. this week, work out the kinks, and get ready for our re-emergence as a top 25 program in Cancun...
1. This was a big win. Yes, Pitt isn't exactly Duke - we're clearly a better team. However, the better team doesn't always win in this game. To go into their newly reconfigured house, in a fevered & energetic atmosphere, and win like we did is impressive. This is the type of game where a home crowd could get into it and cause the home team to play above their own limitations. For example, that Jevon Carter-led Sweet Sixteen team from two years ago saw our 18-point halftime lead evaporated in the 2nd half and cut all the way to one before we held on to win. Instead, this time around we simply imposed our will as the game wore on, and that was impressive to watch. The spectre of the Coastal Carolina loss is finally beginning to fade, and Friday night's victory shows that this team is just a different monster. It does not appear that this year's version of WVU hoops is going to let their guard down. Great start to the season. And, an even greater sign of our perhaps continues success was Huggins switching our defense in the 2nd half to stop the hard hedging on the screens...we switched the screens and packed it in. Pitt & Jeff Capel had no answer.
2. Oscar T. It's not just 20 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks - which in and of itself is remarkable. It's the way he does it. The quick twitch explosiveness that Tshiebwe harbors in that 6'10" frame is breathtaking to behold. I don't know if I've seen another WVU basketball freshman with this type of potential, ever. He gets from the floor to the rim as quick as any Mountaineer forward I've seen. And, it was great to see that he was better at the line - 6 of 9 - as he'll be there often this season. Time is growing short before our trip to Cancun. Please tell me someone has been able to work out his Visa issue? I'd hate not to have him for this trip...
3. Jermaine Haley and Derek Culver. Both guys were saddled with fouls early. Both guys played only 19 minutes because of it. Both guys were slapped with terrible calls (most notably when they called a foul on Haley for getting slapped in the face). But, they handled it differently. Culver seemed to be frustrated and played outside of the offense because of it. Haley, on the other hand, played a fantastic 2nd half after sitting the entire first. He finished with just 4 points, but added 7 rebounds, 2 assists a steal and a block in that second frame. He was extremely active on both ends of the floor and was a stabilizer. Culver seemed to let things get to him. His best attribute has always been that he works harder than the opponent to get to the ball, and to his credit he did have 6 rebounds in total. But, he seemed to be working outside of the framework of the offense at times, and also got caught sleeping on a Pitt score where he was needed on the help side. (Huggs immediately pulled him) More than anyone tonight, I'm hoping for a great game for Derek Culver vs. Northern Colorado. I would love to see a double-double from the big man.
4. "When you see that blond hair starting to bob, look out!" - ESPN commentator from Friday night about Emmitt Matthews Jr. taking the ball to the tin during the second half. So far in this young season, Matthews is emerging as our new "go-to guy" as a nice compliment to Tshiebwe. When Pitt threatened to make a run at our lead during the second half, cutting our lead from 51-39 to 51-44 with 8 min. to go, the Pitt faithful were as loud as they could be and you could feel momentum swinging. However, Matthews calmly drained a dagger trey from the top of the key and the place went silent. Matthews would then score on two more drives to the hole over the next couple of minutes, and the rout was on. I really, really like what we're seeing from Matthews thus far.
5. Sean McNeil could be a difference maker this season. McNeil is the type of guy who has driven us nuts over the past several seasons. How many times have we watched another team's sharp-shooter come in and bury multiple three-pointers over our "D"? (Dusty Hannahs, anyone? Matt McGuirl? Kevin Knox? Phil Forte? I could go on.) Pitt was not ready for what McNeil unleashed in the first half. It was pretty funny reading through their game thread on their Rivals basketball board...multiple posts of "Who is this guy????" while McNeil rained those three treys down like bombs over Baghdad. We finally have our own frustrating sharp-shooting assassin. While the film will be out on him now, it's OK -- he can get his shot up and over opponents extremely quickly. He's used to be shadowed, and it shows. He's going to be a big value-add this season.
Time to get healthy vs. Northern Colorado and Boston U. this week, work out the kinks, and get ready for our re-emergence as a top 25 program in Cancun...
