“I killed a lot of guys, I can’t really remember names.”
That's how Pitt's newest basketball recruit, Durand Johnson, humbly described his play last season. Sounds like confidence will not be an issue.
Showing posts with label Jermaine Dixon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jermaine Dixon. Show all posts
3/21/2010
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Going into the 2009-10 campaign, it's pretty safe to say that expectations were not high for the Pitt Panthers, unless you consider a prediction of 9th place in the Big East high expectations. But expectations can sometimes change, and in a relatively short period of time. After some disappointing early-season efforts sans the ineligible Gilbert Brown and the injured Jermaine Dixon, the Panthers slowly got their act together. And that's when things got interesting.
An 82-72 win at #5 Syracuse on January 2 really got the ball rolling. Wins against Cincinnati, UConn, and St. John's had Pitt sitting at 16-4 on January 28. Before the season ended, the Panthers toppled #4 West Virginia in triple OT, #3 Villanova, and Marquette, another tournament team, on the road. After their second consecutive one-and-done in the Big East Tournament, Jamie Dixon's squad entered March Madness with a 25-8 record and a three seed. Expectations? Let's just say they rose quite a bit since the season started.
But much like many NCAA tournaments before this one, the Panthers would end up losing to a lower seed. A quick look back at the last decade of Pitt's exits reveals that they've lost to the lower seed in all but three seasons:
2009: 28-4 Pitt (a 1 seed) loses to Villanova (3), 78-76, in the Elite 8. Forever known as "The Scottie Reynolds game." I don't think any further explanation is necessary.
2008: 26-9 Pitt (4) loses to Michigan State (5), 65-54, in the second round. The two-headed monster of Drew Neitzel and Kalin Lucas scored 21 of MSU's final 25 down the stretch.
2007: 27-7 Pitt (3) loses to UCLA (2) 64-55, in the Sweet 16. Teacher (Ben Howland) bests student (Jamie Dixon). Arran Afflalo led the Bruins with 17 points on just 3-for-11 shooting in an ugly game that Pitt never led.
2006: 24-7 Pitt (5) loses to Bradley (13) 72-66, in the second round. The infamous Patrick O'Bryant dominated Pitt with 28 points in a game that the Panthers trailed by as many as 14 points.
2005: 20-9 Pitt (9) loses to Pacific (8) 79-71 in the first round. Pitt was down by 15 after the first half. The only first-round loss in the Howland/Dixon period.
2004: 29-4 Pitt (3) loses to Oklahoma State (2) 63-51 in the Sweet 16. Tony Allen led OSU with 23 points, as Pitt's lack of offensive firepower finally caught up with them.
2003: 26-4 Pitt (2) loses to Marquette (3) 77-74 in the Sweet 16. Dwyane Wade was the game's high scorer with 22 points. Pitt had a 13-point lead at halftime
2002: 25-4 Pitt (3) loses to Kent State (10) 78-73 in the Sweet 16. Future NFL star Antonio Gates topped Kent with 22 points. Pitt had 11 turnovers in the first half.
So how will history remember the 2009-10 Pitt Panther team? Overachievers? Underachievers? I could see the argument to place them in either category, especially since they again lost in the tournament to a lower-seeded team. But for me, I think the season would have to be considered a success, despite Sunday's 71-68 loss. To have a Pitt team among the final 32 after the loss of two NBA players (DeJuan Blair and Sam Young) and two playing professionally overseas (Tyrell Biggs/Greece and Levance Fields/Russia) is no small feat. Three wins over top-5 teams, a second-place finish in the Big East, and a tournament win is a pretty good season, all things considered.
Of course, the way the Panthers lost on Sunday definitely took a toll. The last lead they saw was at 7:38 of the first half. They watched Xavier go on a 16-0 run. They struggled with the Musketeers' Jordan Crawford, who lit them up for 27 points. Their senior leader, Jermaine Dixon, shot 1-for-9. Slumping guard Ashton Gibbs missed nine three-pointers. Gary McGhee was completely shut out. The team shot below its season average from the floor, three-point territory, and the foul line. And top top it off, despite all of these shortcomings, they still had not one, but two chances to tie the game at the end of regulation and missed both shots.
So once again, Pitt loses in the tournament to a team that has the best player on the floor. It's a disappointing yet familiar theme that has reared its head time and time again. Maybe one of these days Jamie Dixon's team will finally reach the Final Four. Maybe one of these days it will be Pitt that has the Jordan Crawford or Dwyane Wade leading the way. Or maybe we'll consider another option, that Dixon and Pitt might actually be doing more with less year-in and year-out.
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An 82-72 win at #5 Syracuse on January 2 really got the ball rolling. Wins against Cincinnati, UConn, and St. John's had Pitt sitting at 16-4 on January 28. Before the season ended, the Panthers toppled #4 West Virginia in triple OT, #3 Villanova, and Marquette, another tournament team, on the road. After their second consecutive one-and-done in the Big East Tournament, Jamie Dixon's squad entered March Madness with a 25-8 record and a three seed. Expectations? Let's just say they rose quite a bit since the season started.
But much like many NCAA tournaments before this one, the Panthers would end up losing to a lower seed. A quick look back at the last decade of Pitt's exits reveals that they've lost to the lower seed in all but three seasons:
2009: 28-4 Pitt (a 1 seed) loses to Villanova (3), 78-76, in the Elite 8. Forever known as "The Scottie Reynolds game." I don't think any further explanation is necessary.
2008: 26-9 Pitt (4) loses to Michigan State (5), 65-54, in the second round. The two-headed monster of Drew Neitzel and Kalin Lucas scored 21 of MSU's final 25 down the stretch.
2007: 27-7 Pitt (3) loses to UCLA (2) 64-55, in the Sweet 16. Teacher (Ben Howland) bests student (Jamie Dixon). Arran Afflalo led the Bruins with 17 points on just 3-for-11 shooting in an ugly game that Pitt never led.
2006: 24-7 Pitt (5) loses to Bradley (13) 72-66, in the second round. The infamous Patrick O'Bryant dominated Pitt with 28 points in a game that the Panthers trailed by as many as 14 points.
2005: 20-9 Pitt (9) loses to Pacific (8) 79-71 in the first round. Pitt was down by 15 after the first half. The only first-round loss in the Howland/Dixon period.
2004: 29-4 Pitt (3) loses to Oklahoma State (2) 63-51 in the Sweet 16. Tony Allen led OSU with 23 points, as Pitt's lack of offensive firepower finally caught up with them.
2003: 26-4 Pitt (2) loses to Marquette (3) 77-74 in the Sweet 16. Dwyane Wade was the game's high scorer with 22 points. Pitt had a 13-point lead at halftime
2002: 25-4 Pitt (3) loses to Kent State (10) 78-73 in the Sweet 16. Future NFL star Antonio Gates topped Kent with 22 points. Pitt had 11 turnovers in the first half.
So how will history remember the 2009-10 Pitt Panther team? Overachievers? Underachievers? I could see the argument to place them in either category, especially since they again lost in the tournament to a lower-seeded team. But for me, I think the season would have to be considered a success, despite Sunday's 71-68 loss. To have a Pitt team among the final 32 after the loss of two NBA players (DeJuan Blair and Sam Young) and two playing professionally overseas (Tyrell Biggs/Greece and Levance Fields/Russia) is no small feat. Three wins over top-5 teams, a second-place finish in the Big East, and a tournament win is a pretty good season, all things considered.
Of course, the way the Panthers lost on Sunday definitely took a toll. The last lead they saw was at 7:38 of the first half. They watched Xavier go on a 16-0 run. They struggled with the Musketeers' Jordan Crawford, who lit them up for 27 points. Their senior leader, Jermaine Dixon, shot 1-for-9. Slumping guard Ashton Gibbs missed nine three-pointers. Gary McGhee was completely shut out. The team shot below its season average from the floor, three-point territory, and the foul line. And top top it off, despite all of these shortcomings, they still had not one, but two chances to tie the game at the end of regulation and missed both shots.
So once again, Pitt loses in the tournament to a team that has the best player on the floor. It's a disappointing yet familiar theme that has reared its head time and time again. Maybe one of these days Jamie Dixon's team will finally reach the Final Four. Maybe one of these days it will be Pitt that has the Jordan Crawford or Dwyane Wade leading the way. Or maybe we'll consider another option, that Dixon and Pitt might actually be doing more with less year-in and year-out.
3/06/2010
TODAY'S HEADLINES
A successful senior send-off: It was Senior Day at The Pete, and the Panthers sent their elder statesmen off in style with an 83-54 blowout of Rutgers. Pitt closes the regular season with records of 24-7 and 13-5 Big East, good enough for a #2 seed and a coveted double-bye in the upcoming conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. This one was never in doubt, as Pitt led by 24 at the half and had leads as big as 32 in the second half.
Gilbert Brown rebounded from his off night against Providence with 19 points, only two off my half-joking prediction of 17. Ashton Gibbs contributed 13 points, Brad Wanamaker had 12, and freshman Dante Taylor added 11 points and seven rebounds to the Panther cause. Jermaine Dixon, one of the team's two seniors, scored 10 points in 12 minutes and was lifted early in the second half with an ankle injury which he insists is not serious. Let's hope not.
Pitt will be off until Thursday, when they face the survivor from a pool of the 7, 10, and 15 seeds in the Big East Tournament, which looks to be Notre Dame, Seton Hall, or Providence. The bad news? Pitt was 1-2 against those teams, and the only win was courtesy of an Ashton Gibbs miracle against Providence on Thursday night. [ESPN]
The Comebacks: Quite an effort by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at the Igloo, digging their way out of a 3-1 second period hole to defeat the Dallas Stars 6-3.
With the Pens up one early in the third, they killed off a 5-on-3 Dallas power play and got a shorthanded goal from King Crosby to boot, extending their lead to two goals and basically ending the game for all intents and purposes. The Penguins would get one more score, from newly-acquired Alexei Ponikarovsky, to close out the day.
Crosby would score twice in the game, while Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis also had goals for Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back from a poor performance against the Rangers, stopping 27 of 30 Dallas shots and clearly outplaying the rusty-looking Kari Lehtonen in goal.
Gilbert Brown rebounded from his off night against Providence with 19 points, only two off my half-joking prediction of 17. Ashton Gibbs contributed 13 points, Brad Wanamaker had 12, and freshman Dante Taylor added 11 points and seven rebounds to the Panther cause. Jermaine Dixon, one of the team's two seniors, scored 10 points in 12 minutes and was lifted early in the second half with an ankle injury which he insists is not serious. Let's hope not.
Pitt will be off until Thursday, when they face the survivor from a pool of the 7, 10, and 15 seeds in the Big East Tournament, which looks to be Notre Dame, Seton Hall, or Providence. The bad news? Pitt was 1-2 against those teams, and the only win was courtesy of an Ashton Gibbs miracle against Providence on Thursday night. [ESPN]
The Comebacks: Quite an effort by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at the Igloo, digging their way out of a 3-1 second period hole to defeat the Dallas Stars 6-3.
With the Pens up one early in the third, they killed off a 5-on-3 Dallas power play and got a shorthanded goal from King Crosby to boot, extending their lead to two goals and basically ending the game for all intents and purposes. The Penguins would get one more score, from newly-acquired Alexei Ponikarovsky, to close out the day.
Crosby would score twice in the game, while Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis also had goals for Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back from a poor performance against the Rangers, stopping 27 of 30 Dallas shots and clearly outplaying the rusty-looking Kari Lehtonen in goal.
It was a chippy affair between the teams, with two fights on the card: Krys Barch vs. Mike Rupp, and Steve Ott vs. Craig Adams:
Those bruises will have to heal soon, though, as the Pens are back in action on Sunday afternoon against Boston. [ESPN]
Your Daily Ben update: SPORTSbyBROOKS has some new photos from the night in question, including a shot of Willie Colon behind the bar. And TMZ has some photos of females flocking to Ben at the Capital City Club.
Regarding his current whereabouts, Roethlisberger has left Georgia, and investigators plan to talk to him at some point over the next few days. [SbB, TMZ, WPXI]
Pirates tie, Pirates tie: The Buccos and Phillies played to a 3-3 draw in a game that started with a National Anthem performed by Andrew McCutchen's mother, Petrina McCutchen. Andrew responded with two hits, and Ryan Church homered in the first inning as the Pirates touched up Joe Blanton for three runs. But as usual, the Pirate offense was limited beyond that, scoring no runs after the first inning. [By Gosh, It's Langosch]
Your Daily Ben update: SPORTSbyBROOKS has some new photos from the night in question, including a shot of Willie Colon behind the bar. And TMZ has some photos of females flocking to Ben at the Capital City Club.
Regarding his current whereabouts, Roethlisberger has left Georgia, and investigators plan to talk to him at some point over the next few days. [SbB, TMZ, WPXI]
Pirates tie, Pirates tie: The Buccos and Phillies played to a 3-3 draw in a game that started with a National Anthem performed by Andrew McCutchen's mother, Petrina McCutchen. Andrew responded with two hits, and Ryan Church homered in the first inning as the Pirates touched up Joe Blanton for three runs. But as usual, the Pirate offense was limited beyond that, scoring no runs after the first inning. [By Gosh, It's Langosch]
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2/03/2010
BACKYARD BLOWOUT
(This just in from Mikey and Big Bob at the 96.1 Kiss Morning Freak Show : a better clip!)
Well, that was about as ugly as I could've ever imagined.
The Backyard Brawl had a bit of everything: Bob Huggins conjuring up memories of Sam Wyche with a microphone-grabbing rant directed at garbage-hurling Mountaineer fans; the WVU crowd getting a technical foul later in the game for hitting a Pitt assistant coach in the head with what appeared to be a coin; a TV announcer so upset over the airborne change that he nearly lost his voice decrying the act; pushing and shoving between players that left a referee on the ground; and no shortage of vulgar chants from the student section. Yes, the brawl moniker was certainly appropriate for this contest.
Unfortunately for Pitt, they forgot one thing on Wednesday night: their game. Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown were both held scoreless, the team shot a miserable 16-for-53 from the floor and 2-for-10 from three-point range, and they were outrebounded 42-30. Things were so bad for the Panthers that Ashton Gibbs, who was 87-for-92 from the free throw line this year, missed three foul shots.
The end product of those awful ingredients was a lopsided 70-51 WVU win in a game that the Panthers were never in danger of winning. Don't get me wrong, they had their occasional runs, but rarely does playing catch-up at great lengths result in a W.
During the game, we were formally introduced to Mountaineer Deniz Kilicli, the 6'9" Turkish behemoth who made his college debut after an NCAA-mandated 20-game hiatus. The TV announcers compared Kilicli to Kevin Love, and SI recently wondered that he might be the 'Eers "missing link", but after watching him put up nine points in just seven minutes of action, this I can guarantee: Pitt fans will not like him.
The Panthers got Jermaine Dixon back for this one, and he did lead them with 13 points, but that's more an indictment of the rest of the team's offensive ineptitude on the night. Gibbs was the only other Panther to score in double digits, and he topped out at 11.
The non-basketball shenanigans were mildly amusing, but served no purpose other than making everyone involved look bad. Pitt assistant Tom Herrion's change-pelting got announcer Mark Adams more fired up than I've heard an announcer get in a long time. And Huggins' rant will live on in infamy thanks to the internet (and it does give me an excellent excuse to run the Wyche clip from years back):
So to all the WVU fans who were upset at my portrayal of them a night before, congratulations on your victory, and congratulations on proving me right. Say what you want about Pitt, but I can't remember any Panther coach needing to reprimand his home crowd like a mom yelling at her five-year-old for throwing things, nor can I remember any opposing assistant coaches ever getting hit with objects thrown by Pitt fans. Which obviously means I've never seen both happen in the same game.
Mark your calendars for February 12, because that's when these two teams will meet again at The Pete. It's not going to be a game for the faint of heart, that I can promise. It's also going to be a big night for Pitt fans, who will be under the microscope after pointing out the flaws of the Mountaineer faithful. It's in your hands now, Oakland Zoo.
Unfortunately for Pitt, they forgot one thing on Wednesday night: their game. Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown were both held scoreless, the team shot a miserable 16-for-53 from the floor and 2-for-10 from three-point range, and they were outrebounded 42-30. Things were so bad for the Panthers that Ashton Gibbs, who was 87-for-92 from the free throw line this year, missed three foul shots.
The end product of those awful ingredients was a lopsided 70-51 WVU win in a game that the Panthers were never in danger of winning. Don't get me wrong, they had their occasional runs, but rarely does playing catch-up at great lengths result in a W.
During the game, we were formally introduced to Mountaineer Deniz Kilicli, the 6'9" Turkish behemoth who made his college debut after an NCAA-mandated 20-game hiatus. The TV announcers compared Kilicli to Kevin Love, and SI recently wondered that he might be the 'Eers "missing link", but after watching him put up nine points in just seven minutes of action, this I can guarantee: Pitt fans will not like him.
The Panthers got Jermaine Dixon back for this one, and he did lead them with 13 points, but that's more an indictment of the rest of the team's offensive ineptitude on the night. Gibbs was the only other Panther to score in double digits, and he topped out at 11.
The non-basketball shenanigans were mildly amusing, but served no purpose other than making everyone involved look bad. Pitt assistant Tom Herrion's change-pelting got announcer Mark Adams more fired up than I've heard an announcer get in a long time. And Huggins' rant will live on in infamy thanks to the internet (and it does give me an excellent excuse to run the Wyche clip from years back):
So to all the WVU fans who were upset at my portrayal of them a night before, congratulations on your victory, and congratulations on proving me right. Say what you want about Pitt, but I can't remember any Panther coach needing to reprimand his home crowd like a mom yelling at her five-year-old for throwing things, nor can I remember any opposing assistant coaches ever getting hit with objects thrown by Pitt fans. Which obviously means I've never seen both happen in the same game.
Mark your calendars for February 12, because that's when these two teams will meet again at The Pete. It's not going to be a game for the faint of heart, that I can promise. It's also going to be a big night for Pitt fans, who will be under the microscope after pointing out the flaws of the Mountaineer faithful. It's in your hands now, Oakland Zoo.
UPDATE:
Ask and you shall receive. Here's the awesome video of announcer Mark Adams going bonkers around the 40-second mark, courtesy of Mikey at the 96.1 Kiss Morning Freak Show.Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
1/13/2010
PITT ROLLS ON
Determined to make believers out of people like me, the Pitt Panthers are doing quite the job. The most recent example of their surprisingly-strong play came in a 67-57 win at #15 UConn on Wednesday night, as the Panthers completed their first three-game road winning streak in school history, hard as that is to believe.Pitt led for the bulk of the game, only momentarily falling behind when the Huskies took a 49-48 lead with 9:40 left in the second half. The Panthers would quickly regain that lead and not give it back, closing out Jim Calhoun's team for the third straight time and moving to 4-0 in Big East play, with road wins over two ranked teams.
Pitt outrebounded UConn by a a 40-31 margin, including 26-13 in the second half. The Panthers continued their excellent free throw shooting, sinking 17 of 20 and six straight to close out the game. The Huskies shot just 46% from the charity stripe on 13 attempts.
Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs led Pitt with 19 points each, and Gilbert Brown added 11. Gary McGhee topped the Panthers with nine rebounds, while scoring eight points. Stanley Robinson led UConn with 19 points.
The only down side of Pitt's game was some spotty shooting from Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon, who made just nine of their 29 shots on the night. But now's not the time for nit-picking, because a win at UConn is a win at UConn.
The Panthers, who've won seven straight, are off until a noon matchup on Saturday with Louisville at the Pete. The Cardinals are 12-5 and 3-1 in the Big East, most recently dropping a 92-84 contest with #4 Villanova on Monday.
*By the way, Wednesday was a good night for former Panthers as well. Dejuan Blair had a career-high 28 points and 21 rebounds filling in for Tim Duncan in a 109-108 Spurs win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday. In his rookie season, Blair is averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for San Antonio.
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11/16/2009
PITT-BINGHAMTON PART OF 24-HOUR HOOPS MARATHON
ESPN is running an ambitious event on Tuesday featuring 24 straight hours of live college basketball, and the Pitt Panthers will be part of the festivities.
The 1-0 Panthers have a rare 5:30 start for their contest with Binghamton on Tuesday night, and Andy Katz did not have many kind things to say about their opponent in his "24 things for the 24-hour marathon" article:
Once again, Pitt will have to manage without the suspended Gilbert Brown and the injured Jermaine Dixon, who is at least two games away from re-joining his teammates. If Jamie Dixon uses the same lineup as he did on Friday, it will be Gary McGhee at center, Nasir Robinson at power forward, Brad Wanamaker at small forward, Travon Woodall at the point and Ashton Gibbs at shooting guard.
Tuesday's TV spotlight will undoubtedly be shining on freshman phenom Dante Taylor, who also landed on Katz's list of things to watch on Tuesday:
Here is the full schedule for those of you with an extra 24 hours to kill. If you're awake for Northern Colorado-Hawaii at 4 AM, you're a bigger college hoops fan than I.
The 1-0 Panthers have a rare 5:30 start for their contest with Binghamton on Tuesday night, and Andy Katz did not have many kind things to say about their opponent in his "24 things for the 24-hour marathon" article:
14. The imploding program: Binghamton. This almost feels like slowing down to see the damage left by a wreck on the side of the road. After six of the Bearcats' best players (who accounted for 89 percent of the scoring) were thrown off the team in September, just three bodies remain of the defending America East champs, and the roster includes six walk-ons. Former Temple star Mark Macon got his first win as interim coach when the Bearcats beat Division II Bloomsburg 54-49 on Saturday. But trying to beat Pitt at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2 is a different story.Hopefully Pitt can have a better showing than they did on Friday, when they edged mighty Wofford by three points. I'm still trying to get over that in my mind. But playing a team that's being compared to a car wreck is a good starting point. If you ever wanted to see how six walk-ons from Binghamton can fare against a Big East power, this is the game for you.
Once again, Pitt will have to manage without the suspended Gilbert Brown and the injured Jermaine Dixon, who is at least two games away from re-joining his teammates. If Jamie Dixon uses the same lineup as he did on Friday, it will be Gary McGhee at center, Nasir Robinson at power forward, Brad Wanamaker at small forward, Travon Woodall at the point and Ashton Gibbs at shooting guard.
Tuesday's TV spotlight will undoubtedly be shining on freshman phenom Dante Taylor, who also landed on Katz's list of things to watch on Tuesday:
15. The next DeJuan Blair: Dante Taylor, Pitt. Taylor has the physique but doesn't muster the Blair effort just yet. He scored 13 points and grabbed five boards in Pitt's comeback win over Wofford on Friday night. The Panthers will need a consistent effort out of Taylor.Freshmen seem to be faring pretty well at Pitt these days, with Dion Lewis, LeSean McCoy, and Dejuan Blair as recent examples. If Taylor's freshman campaign can land in the same ballpark as the first seasons of any of those young men, Pitt has a chance to make some noise this year despite the loss of so much talent in the off-season.
Here is the full schedule for those of you with an extra 24 hours to kill. If you're awake for Northern Colorado-Hawaii at 4 AM, you're a bigger college hoops fan than I.
- 12:05 am Cal State Fullerton at UCLA
- 2:00 am San Diego State at Saint Mary’s – RTC Live Simulcast
- 4:00 am Northern Colorado at Hawaii
- 6:00 am Monmouth at St. Peter’s
- 8:00 am Drexel at Niagara
- 10:00 am Clemson at Liberty
- 12:00 pm Northeastern at Siena
- 2:00 pm Arkansas-Little Rock at Tulsa
- 4:00 pm Temple at Georgetown
- 5:30 pm Binghamton at Pittsburgh (ESPN2)
- 7:30 pm Arkansas at Louisville (ESPN2) – RTC Live Simulcast
- 8:00 pm Gonzaga at Michigan State
- 9:00 pm Duquesne at Iowa (ESPNU)
- 10:00 pm Memphis at Kansas – RTC Live Simulcast
9/17/2009
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS FOR PITT
I usually try to be optimistic, so let's start with the good news: yesterday, The Wannstache got a verbal commitment from QB Anthony Gonzalez, the AP Pennsylvania Player of the Year last season. The 6'2", 205-pound Gonzalez, a dual-threat, ran for 1,697 yards and completed 114 of 206 passes for 1,570 yards at Bethlehem Liberty HS, where he won a PIAA Class AAAA state championship.
Gonzalez had scholarship offers from Penn State, Florida State, Oregon and Maryland, among others, even going as far as attending the dramatic Florida State-Miami game on Labor Day. I can only assume someone distracted him during the Pitt home opener when their current quarterback was booed so quickly by his own fans. Wouldn't want the kid to know what he's in for if he's not perfect. But good luck to Gonzalez (currently nursing a torn meniscus that will sideline him for 2-3 weeks) and congrats to Wanny on a nice recruit.
Now on to the bad news. When it rains, it pours for the Pitt men's basketball program. Things just haven't gone well since the season ended so abruptly against Villanova in the Elite Eight. Dejuan Blair and Sam Young were both drafted well below their projected slots. Gilbert Brown, recipient of the team's Academic Excellence Award last season, was ironically placed on academic suspension and will probably not return until late December. And now, injuries have reared their ugly head.
Shooting guard Jermaine Dixon, a starter last season, might miss eight weeks with a fractured fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot. It's the same type of injury that plagued Levance Fields the past two seasons.
Dixon's status for the November 13 opener against Wofford is up in the air, but he should be healthy shortly thereafter, at least if the eight weeks calculation is correct. He averaged 8.4 points per game for the Panthers last year. He will be replaced in the lineup by either Brad Wanamaker or Ashton Gibbs at shooting guard in his absence. And in closing, I would recommend that no one take Jamie Dixon with them to Vegas in the near future, because his luck has been horrible.
Gonzalez had scholarship offers from Penn State, Florida State, Oregon and Maryland, among others, even going as far as attending the dramatic Florida State-Miami game on Labor Day. I can only assume someone distracted him during the Pitt home opener when their current quarterback was booed so quickly by his own fans. Wouldn't want the kid to know what he's in for if he's not perfect. But good luck to Gonzalez (currently nursing a torn meniscus that will sideline him for 2-3 weeks) and congrats to Wanny on a nice recruit.
Now on to the bad news. When it rains, it pours for the Pitt men's basketball program. Things just haven't gone well since the season ended so abruptly against Villanova in the Elite Eight. Dejuan Blair and Sam Young were both drafted well below their projected slots. Gilbert Brown, recipient of the team's Academic Excellence Award last season, was ironically placed on academic suspension and will probably not return until late December. And now, injuries have reared their ugly head.
Shooting guard Jermaine Dixon, a starter last season, might miss eight weeks with a fractured fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot. It's the same type of injury that plagued Levance Fields the past two seasons.
Dixon's status for the November 13 opener against Wofford is up in the air, but he should be healthy shortly thereafter, at least if the eight weeks calculation is correct. He averaged 8.4 points per game for the Panthers last year. He will be replaced in the lineup by either Brad Wanamaker or Ashton Gibbs at shooting guard in his absence. And in closing, I would recommend that no one take Jamie Dixon with them to Vegas in the near future, because his luck has been horrible.
Recruiting: Panthers land dual-threat QB [PG]
Shooting guard Dixon might miss 8 weeks [PG]
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12/03/2008
THE CITY GAME IS ONCE AGAIN UNCOMPELLING
PITT (8-0) 78
DUQUESNE (4-2) 51
DUQUESNE (4-2) 51
I enjoyed the PG's feature on Wednesday that looked back at The City Game (Pitt vs. Duquesne, for those of you somehow not familiar with that moniker) and how it has morphed from a competitive rivalry to a Steelers-Browns, hammer vs. nail style "rivalry" over the past 30 years. Despite my admiration of sports history, especially of a local variety, I never realized that the teams would meet up two, even three times in a season.
But those days are long gone, with Duquesne largely relegated to an afterthought in the college hoops world and Pitt becoming a part of the sport's truly elite. Even with the recent improvement brought by coach Ron Everhart, the Dukes had the deck highly stacked against them for this year's edition. And the results were pretty much what you would have expected: Pitt 78, Duquesne 51, just three points away from matching Pitt's largest margin of victory in the series (30, in 2004).
The game was relatively close for much of the first half, with Pitt clinging to a 24-20 lead as late as 15 minutes into the game. The Panthers would lead at the break by a 36-28 count, but that would gradually expand as the contest rolled on. The second half played out like you would've imagined, with Pitt outscoring the Dukes by a 42-23 count.
Sam Young led the charge for Pitt with 23 points, four of them coming on dunks. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's in line for a high-scoring season. Dejuan Blair, one of the few local players involved in the game, tossed in 14, and freshman guard Jermaine Dixon added 10. Duquesne's high man was Damian Saunders with 15; he was the only Duke that reached double figures. I'd give you more details, but since the game was not broadcast on TV, this was the best I could do.
The Dukes, having ended their murderer's row portion of the schedule (at Duke and Pitt in succession), resume in a week against Radford College, which should be a more winnable game. Pitt picks up on Saturday at home (where else?) against the Vermont Catamounts, 4-2 out of the America East Conference.
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