Pitt has jumped ahead to a massive 40-16 lead at the half. They started out slowly, with no baskets in the first two minutes. Gibbs broke the drought with a quick jumper, and since then they have not let up. Rutgers has done nothing to help themselves out with atrocious 6-22 shooting.
Dixon is the only player in double digits, with 10 points in 11 minutes, but he left early with a foot injury. No word on how serious it is, hopefully it's just a tweak and not a repeat of the injury that had him out for 6 months earlier this season.
Most impressive in the first half is the play of Dante Taylor, who's biggest knock so far has been physical weakness. Thus far in the first half, Taylor has been hitting screens with power and dunking hard, allowing Dixon and Gibbs to dribble out and score. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.
Mar 6, 2010
Pitt vs. Rutgers Pregame Blog
The Pittsburgh Panthers enter today's game against Rutgers with seeding in the Big East Tournament at stake. Following Villanova's loss to West Virginia earlier today, the Panthers can secure a #2 seed at Madison Square Garden with a victory.
After Ashton Gibbs had to come up with 25 foot buzzer beater to beat Providence on Thursday night, the biggest concern for the Panthers is a similar weak defensive performance against another Big East bottom feeder. The Panthers are a team that can beat the best and lose to the worst, and they need all the momentum they can get heading to New York this week.
Look for Jermaine Dixon to come up big today, as he will be recognized along with Chase Adams as part of senior night. If Pitt wins today, Dixon will join rare company as one of the few players to only ever lose game at home. Anybody who watched the Providence game saw that Dixon is clearly savoring these last few moments in the Petersen Events Center, and he'll go out with a bang today.
Since the University of Pittsburgh decided to close the student union this weekend for no apparent reason, we are unable to get our equipment, and there will be no videos of this game. To make up for it, we're sending two members of Panther Sports Network to the Big East Tournament for the first time. Check back for videos and analysis later in the week.
After Ashton Gibbs had to come up with 25 foot buzzer beater to beat Providence on Thursday night, the biggest concern for the Panthers is a similar weak defensive performance against another Big East bottom feeder. The Panthers are a team that can beat the best and lose to the worst, and they need all the momentum they can get heading to New York this week.
Look for Jermaine Dixon to come up big today, as he will be recognized along with Chase Adams as part of senior night. If Pitt wins today, Dixon will join rare company as one of the few players to only ever lose game at home. Anybody who watched the Providence game saw that Dixon is clearly savoring these last few moments in the Petersen Events Center, and he'll go out with a bang today.
Since the University of Pittsburgh decided to close the student union this weekend for no apparent reason, we are unable to get our equipment, and there will be no videos of this game. To make up for it, we're sending two members of Panther Sports Network to the Big East Tournament for the first time. Check back for videos and analysis later in the week.
Mar 4, 2010
Looking back on the 2009 NBA Draft
Obviously, it is March and it's almost time for the conference tournaments to start, but we're also most of the way through the 2009-2010 NBA season. I felt like now is as good a time as ever to step back and look at how some of June's draftees have fared so far in the NBA. What's remarkable is that two of the top six picks have not participated in an NBA game this season. What's even more remarkable is that Mike "Dumbleavy" as Bill Simmons calls him and David Kahn still have jobs. Chris Wallace also gets credit for turning three top 36 picks into an 8th man (Sorry Sam), 9th man and a D-League Player. So here we go...
1. Blake Griffin-Blake suffered a devastating injury during the pre-season and hopefully he'll be able to recover from it, but when you take a guy #1 overall, you expect some type of contribution. Hopefully he'll come back from this and be the same explosive player he was before.
2. Hasheem Thabeet-Shocking! A terrible draft pick. I bet the Dakota Wizards are very happy to have him. The sad thing is that he's probably not even the best player in the D-Leauge. Every that has seen Thabeet play knows he's soft and has no offensive skill whatsoever.
3. James Harden-Harden has been making a solid contribution (9.8 ppg) on a playoff team. He's shooting about 38% from beyond the arc which is more than anyone though he's be able to shoot. You expect more from a top three pick, but you can't be disappointed with Harden so fan.
4. Tyreke Evans-Evans was one of the most NBA ready players in last summer's draft so no one should really be shocked that he's been one of the best rookies thus far. Sacramento must be very happy.
5. Ricky Rubio-I have no doubt he'll be a very good NBA player, but when? He hasn't helped the T-wolves at all.
6. Jonny Flynn-He's been better than I thought he would be, but what he's doing is about right for a #6 overall pick.
7. Steph Curry-I was wrong. He's more Monta Ellis than J.J. Redick. He's right there with Evans for Rookie of the Year.
8. Jordan Hill-When you are a throw-in in a trade halfway through your rookie year, that's usually a bad sign. He didn't fit NY's system at all so I wonder why the Knicks took him in the first place.
9. DeMar DeRozen-The only thing he's accomplished this season was boring me during the dunk contest. Another mistake.
10. Brandon Jennings-I can't say i'm shocked with what he's done, I didn't think he'd overtake Ramon Sessions so quickly. Jennings is a future star.
11. Terrence Williams-The Nets are terrible so he's had the chance to get lots of minutes. I think he could be a 18-7-5 type guy in two or three years. You could have done worse with the #11 pick.
12. Gerry Henderson-He's one of the biggest busts in this draft. Surprise! I expect him to be joining Thabeet in the D-League any day. Who would have ever thought that a two-guard that couldn't shoot in college would somehow be able to do it in the NBA. Nice pick MJ!
13. Tyler Hansbrough-He's played pretty well when he's had the chance. He provided energy off the bench. I expect to see a little more from him next year.
14. Earl Clark-He was drafted as a project and that's exactly what he's been. He could be Amar'e or he could be Hilton Armstrong. We'll know in a few years.
Coming Soon...The rest of the 1st round.
1. Blake Griffin-Blake suffered a devastating injury during the pre-season and hopefully he'll be able to recover from it, but when you take a guy #1 overall, you expect some type of contribution. Hopefully he'll come back from this and be the same explosive player he was before.
2. Hasheem Thabeet-Shocking! A terrible draft pick. I bet the Dakota Wizards are very happy to have him. The sad thing is that he's probably not even the best player in the D-Leauge. Every that has seen Thabeet play knows he's soft and has no offensive skill whatsoever.
3. James Harden-Harden has been making a solid contribution (9.8 ppg) on a playoff team. He's shooting about 38% from beyond the arc which is more than anyone though he's be able to shoot. You expect more from a top three pick, but you can't be disappointed with Harden so fan.
4. Tyreke Evans-Evans was one of the most NBA ready players in last summer's draft so no one should really be shocked that he's been one of the best rookies thus far. Sacramento must be very happy.
5. Ricky Rubio-I have no doubt he'll be a very good NBA player, but when? He hasn't helped the T-wolves at all.
6. Jonny Flynn-He's been better than I thought he would be, but what he's doing is about right for a #6 overall pick.
7. Steph Curry-I was wrong. He's more Monta Ellis than J.J. Redick. He's right there with Evans for Rookie of the Year.
8. Jordan Hill-When you are a throw-in in a trade halfway through your rookie year, that's usually a bad sign. He didn't fit NY's system at all so I wonder why the Knicks took him in the first place.
9. DeMar DeRozen-The only thing he's accomplished this season was boring me during the dunk contest. Another mistake.
10. Brandon Jennings-I can't say i'm shocked with what he's done, I didn't think he'd overtake Ramon Sessions so quickly. Jennings is a future star.
11. Terrence Williams-The Nets are terrible so he's had the chance to get lots of minutes. I think he could be a 18-7-5 type guy in two or three years. You could have done worse with the #11 pick.
12. Gerry Henderson-He's one of the biggest busts in this draft. Surprise! I expect him to be joining Thabeet in the D-League any day. Who would have ever thought that a two-guard that couldn't shoot in college would somehow be able to do it in the NBA. Nice pick MJ!
13. Tyler Hansbrough-He's played pretty well when he's had the chance. He provided energy off the bench. I expect to see a little more from him next year.
14. Earl Clark-He was drafted as a project and that's exactly what he's been. He could be Amar'e or he could be Hilton Armstrong. We'll know in a few years.
Coming Soon...The rest of the 1st round.
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