Season over?

Thursday, 05 January 2012 23:11

Written by Ray Fittipaldo

Well, it kind of makes sense for DePaul. The Blue Demons had lost 53 of their previous 55 Big East games. They might storm the court here if they beat Rutgers.

This is shaping up to be a lost season for the Panthers. Yes, it is possible for them to overcome an 0-3 start and still make the NCAA tournament. But honestly, I have a hard time seeing this team winning four conference games as currently constructed.

The defense is downright awful. DePaul shot 59 percent in the second half on its way to erasing a 10-point second-half deficit.

Gibbs in particular is bad on defense. It's one thing for Brandon Young to get past him on that final play, but fouling him?

What was he thinking?

I guess we'll never know. I asked him for an interview after the game and he didn't even acknowledge the request. He walked right past me, never looked up.

Associate athletic director Donna Sanft was standing right next to me when it happened. If I worked at Pitt, I would have grabbed Gibbs, told him to show some leadership and answer a few questions.

But no one at Pitt is going to do that. It's been going on way too long. I've covered the team for nine seasons now and it's happened every year. Syracuse coach Joim Boeheom has an open locker room because he wants his players to learn how to deal with the media. He considers it a part of the deal and believes it prepares them for the NBA, where there is open locker room before and after games.

For the record, I also asked Isaiah Epps for an interview afterward. At least he was polite enough to shake his head no.

Nasir Robinson talked after the game. I'm beginning to think he's the only player with any leadership skills whatsoever on this team. Think about it. If Robinson can speak with reporters after what happened against Butler in the NCAA tournament there is no excuse for anyone to dodge reporters after a regular season game in January.

*Nothing Jamie Dixon does seems to be working this season. I questioned his late-game execution in the narrow victory at Tennessee earlier this season when Dante Taylor was the one taking foul shots at the end of the game. Dixon gets Taylor out of the game this time, inserts Epps, and he misses both free throws.

It's the right move by Dixon, but Epps has to be a last resort on that play. Gibbs is the de facto point guard and has to get the ball there. No excuses.

And if not, Gibbs, John Johnson, who is an 86 percent foul shooter.

*It wasn't a sign of desperation, maybe more of a message sender, but Dixon benched Taylor and Cameron Wright in favor of Talib Zanna and Johnson.
Zanna responded with a career-high 16 points and Johnson had 10.

*For a team that won the Big East last season this team has no idea how to win right now. It's obvious there is no confidence and the late-game execution is terrible. It's really hard to figure when you consider Gibbs and Robinson are three-year starters and Taylor, Patterson and Zanna had some previous experience.

*No game until Wednesday when Rutgers visits the Pete.

Comments (1)

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j_r_ambrose, January 06, 2012 - 06:20 PM

You'd really think Ashton would want to get used to dealing with the media, since he'll be a starter in the NBA next year.

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