Pitt Commit Epps Showing His Worth

Below is a story on Isaiah Epps and his Plainfield squad's game against St. Anthony that was posted on NBE. This story is further evidence of why Epps is a tremendous recruit to have committed at this stage. ESPN has described Epps as a tremendous shooter and a Juan Dixon protege. Based on everything else reported about the kid, including the article below, Epps seems to possess speed and quicks that many other high school gaurds cannot handle. He seems to be a tremendous fit for the program and this continues Pitt's trend of raising the talent of their recruits. Epps and his teammates overtook St. Anthony's and Dominic Cheek, whom Pitt was heavily involved with before he committed to Nova. I know you never want to lose out on a player like Cheek but it may have helped Pitt get Epps who should be the point guard of the future. You have to love that he outdueled Cheek in this matchup. Maybe this is just a foreshadowing of Villanova Pitt matchups in the coming years.

Here's the story:

Plainfield Edges Top Ranked St Anthony’s 51-48

The organizers of the Dan Finn Classic saved the best match-up for last Saturday. Third-ranked St. Anthony’s took on 16th-ranked Plainfield in a matchup that pitted Bobby Hurley’s finesse laden team versus the speed of Jeff Lubreski’s team, particularly in Tyrone Johnson and Isaiah Epps. This game would be a close one but speed can kill.

Anthony Baskerville and Epps would come out shooting early on. Two-thirds of Plainfield’s rugged backcourt would put Plainfield up by as much as 9 points, leading 12-3 over the Jersey City school. Bobby Hurley’s squad however would come right back with the play of Elijah Carter, Jamee Jackson, and Villanova-bound Dominic Cheek, cutting the Plainfield lead to 12-10 at the end of the first quarter

In the second quarter it was more intense play, but still relatively low scoring because of good defense and speed. With the help of Tyrone Johnson’s nine points Plainfield would continue their slight edge with 25-20 lead heading into intermission.

St. Anthony’s would make the game a real nail-biter for both head coaches in the third quarter. The Friars would mount a comeback behind the play of Jamee Jackson and take a slight lead 35-34 lead through three quarters.

In the fourth quarter 2010 Pittsburgh-commit Epps and sophomore his sophomore backcourt mate Johnson would make the mostly pro-Plainfield crowd happy. In the quarter that was full of lead changes, and by far the most action, Epps would hit for 13 of his game high-high 17 points, and Johnson would add in 7 of his 16. The Friars weren’t giving up though, Jamee Jackson and Cheek worked furiously to counter their Union County rival. However despite Cheek’s 8 points in the final quarter, the game was over when Cheek, whose team was down 50-48 with under 10 seconds left, intentionally missed a free throw and it landed in the hands of Plainfield’s Jabrial Elliot thus icing the game and giving Plainfield the victory by a final of 51-48.

Dom Cheek would lead the Friars on the day with 12 points, and teammate Jamee Jackson would add in 11.

Epps had 17 and was very efficient with good shot selection and ball-handling throughout. Johnson added 16 and played very good defense on Cheek at key situations that helped Plainfield pull out the win.

Dumb Comment of the Week: Paul Harris

There is a proverb: Don't speak unless you can improve the silence.
Somebody needs to tell Paul Harris this. Tonight Pittsburgh turned in one of their less impressive offensive showings of the year with all the turnovers. Yet, inspite of this sloppy play the Panthers dominated the Orange by the games end. Which brings us to Paul Harris and his post game quote:

"Man I hope we play Pitt again,"
"I hope we get them in the Big East
tournament. We will beat them. I can
promise you that. We will beat them
the next time."

That is awful big talk from a team that got smacked in the mouth down the stretch. Mr. Harris I think you may have just made a few other people excited about a rematch, and they won't be wearing orange but rather blue and gold. I would be willing to bet my house that if the Panthers meet the Orange again that quote will be posted on every billboard in the locker room. So props to Paul, piss off a more talented team that already handled the Cuse with a less than impressive performance. (Not to mention, that Pitt has dominated Cuse over the past few seasons). This should come across as no surprise however after watching the game. Harris seemed more interested and well suited for a verbal battle than a basketball battle. His first half technical for jawing went quite well with his 9pt. 5 reb showing in 30 minutes of play. I actually didn't want to post this because I respected Harris more than any other Cuse player entering the game. You have to like the way he plays hard and boards. But, it seems Harris's mouth is bigger than his game at this point. He is not a player that is capable of taking a game over, and therefore should not be garunteeing a win. This is one of the dumber comments I've heard a player make, and it doesn't show a whole lot of sportsmanship not crediting the other team following a loss. Go Pitt!

Pollsters

The following post was written yesterday. Apparently I was wrong. Maybe the pollsters deserve a little more credit than I thought. I think that dropping to 4 in both polls is a fair drop.

I know the polls don't really mean a whole lot at this point, but I think when they come out today the Panthers will have dropped a significant amount. Save yourself the jaw popping anger seen above and prepare yourself for it. I am predicting the Panthers fall all the way to 6th and possibly 7th. They will drop behind Wake, Uconn, and Duke, almost assuredly. I'm sure they will also fall below Oklahoma and UNC. There is also a possibility that Syracuse passes them up. This should show us all how ridiculous the polls are and that we shouldn't even bother looking at them. What is worse? a road loss to Louisville, or a home loss to BC, a home loss to Cleveland State, and a road loss to Arkansas. I can deal with Wake, Duke and UCONN being vaulted above the Panthers. But I believe the losses of the other teams are far worse and don't merrit them jumping the panthers. So, do yourself a favor. When the polls come out today, don't even bother looking. Save yourself the anger. Go enjoy the game tonight and know that the Panthers will have lots of chances to prove themselves starting tonight.

K for Krazy?

Sorry for the long delay between posts. We have been away over the holidays and didn't have the access to the computer to keep updated on posts.

Today at the half-time of the Syracuse ND game Coach K was on speaking about the strength of his league. Coach K suggested that the ACC is the most talented league in the country and acted as if it was ridiculous to think otherwise. Does the K in his name stand for Krazy? Coach K's sole argument was that the teams are experienced and they have 4 teams in the Top 10. Yes, Wake undefeated at number 2, Duke w/ one loss at number 3, Carolina w/ two losses at number 6(I don't agree with this after losing to BC who gets it handed to them by Harvard at home, then Miami, and then Wake) and Clemson at number 10 undefeated is impressive. I guess Coach K's argument is that the Big East only has three so the ACC is better. But lets look at this a little more. Does this Clemson season look similar to any past Clemson seasons too anyone else? They go undefeated, then they will lose to the big boys in the league (Carolina or Duke) and fall apart. Don't expect them to stay in the top 10 too long. Now Carolina, any other team would be crucified for a loss to BC at home. But not Carolina, in fact, they still received first place votes the week after??? Then they lose again at Wake and drop 3-4 slots down to 6th? Yes, Carolina is very good, and I don't doubt that they will be right near the top of the rankings at the end of the season...but in the past few games, I don't think they have been playing like a top 5 or maybe even top 10 team. I also love that Coach K sets his cut off at number 10, considering the Big East aside from having 3 in the top 10, has teams sititng at 12,13, and 14. And, would any team in the ACC really want to play Louisville who is number 20. This is a team that always starts slow, but by the end of the year Pitino has them running on all cylinders. So to review: The ACC has 4 teams in the top 10. Number 10 Clemson is almost a gauruntee to drop from the rankings in my book and maybe even drop from the top 15. This would leave Wake, UNC, and Duke as the ACC's lone representatives in the top 15. The Big East now has 3 teams in the top 10. In the top 15 there are 6 teams. I believe there is no way that Louisville will not eventually be a top 15 team. That would give the Big East 7 in the top 15 compared to 3 from the ACC. Some teams may beat each other up and drop that to 6 from the Big East. Still, the BE is much stronger than the ACC this year. I understand Coach K sticking up for his league, but right now the BE is much stronger because of its size and depth. If the BE were broken into two leagues and all of these teams didn't have to beat each other up I think you would see possibly more top 15 teams. Critics of the BE are going to give them crap when they beat each other up, but lets not kid oursevles, this is hands down the best league in the country. Hopefully, Georgetown can go out and stop this silliness by handing it to Duke today. But if they don't, don't grant the ACC supremecy, after all, Georgetown is the fourth best team in the BE (and Pitt hammered them at GU) and Duke is considered 2nd in the ACC by many.

Biggs-Time

Can everyone please stop complaining about Tyrell Biggs shooting the ball? Seriously. I have been very critical of Biggs over the last several years and have always been underwhelmed by his play. I always felt like he could be more physical, be a tougher defender and do a better job rebounding. This year, however, he looks to be improving and gaining confidence in himself. But to complain about him shooting the ball is ridiculous. Complain about his rebounding or maybe his lack of intensity, but not his shot selection. He is currently 8-15 from three-point land. Two things: first, he has only attempted 15 three-pointers this season. That isn't that many through 11 games for a guy who is playing the minutes he does. Second, the guy is shooting over 50%. Not only is that a simply outstanding percentage (I know he doesn't have that many attempts) but he leads the team in percentage right now. We should be thanking Biggs for boosting our putrid three-point shooting percentage. Additionally, if he can consistently be somewhat of a threat to shoot that shot not only does it make for a tough matchup, but it will pull defenders out and open up lanes for Young and the others. Your stroke looks great so far, keep shooting it, Tyrell.

And just saw that Fittipaldo agrees.

Pitt out on Cheek Sweepstakes

I think everyone knew this was going to come. Cheek is down to Kansas and Nova. O well, good luck to Cheek. I really think coming to a school like Pitt would be a great choice for any wing player. Sam Young is going to depart freeing up many shots. There is no real go to player on the outside and that role could be filled by a freshman. The shots will be open and the lanes will as well because I see a lot of teams focusing on defending Blair and Taylor next year. Another thought: It seems Pitt has this stigma that it can't get guys to the NBA. High School kids seem to be caught up in this. The truth is, NBA scouts will see you wherever you go. Especially at Pitt, which is constantly in the media and has been the top program in the best league in the country. Pitt has 5 out of the last 9 players named most-improved by the Big East. That means they are developing talent. Once Young and Blair are in the league I think this stigma will start to disappear. The reason Pitt hasn't gotten guys to NBA is they haven't had NBA talent. But they do a great job of developing players and their skills. Look for Pitt to put the full court press on DeAndre Kane to lock up a shooting guard to complete the class. This could be more difficult now that Connecticut is involved. Hopefully, Blair can swing his old teammate to the Panthers.

All Big East announced

ALL-BIG EAST TEAM
It went kind of as I thought it would go. Brown is the offensive MVP, and McKillop the defensive. CJ Davis, Mccoy (unanimous), and Lee join Mckillop on the first team.
- second team surprise: Aaron Berry at DB? interesting. I think AB can be a good player if he gets his head on, but this year he did struggle many times. I guess the coaches saw differently. Maybe he is a better player than people have been thinking.
- Romeus also a second team guy.

Thoughts:
- I really was hoping McCoy would win the Offensive MVP. Yes, Brown is a good player, but UCONN was not a very good team. Every other award in America your team needs to win for you to win. Example (Larry Fitzgerald losing the Heisman to Jason White). But Brown is a heck of a runner and props to him for what he did with that horrendous quarterbacking.
- I am surprised that Mick Williams and Jabal Sheard did not receive any mention. The havoc that both of these guys created week in week out was impressive. Especially Williams, as a DT you usually don't see guys making as many plays as him. I think both of these guys have potential to be 1st teamers next year. I also think Greg Williams if he progresses more could be an all league player. I love his speed and the way he flies to the ball.
- Overall the awards mean nothing but they are nice. It is good for Scott to go out as the D player of the year. Shady is clearly the most talented player in the league at this point, I believe that will be justified whenever he decides to go on to the NFL.