Tuesday, 28 February 2012 11:42

Written by Ray Fittipaldo

Junior point guard Tray Woodall has been struggling to find his groove the past five games. He is 14 for his last 53 from the field and the scoring punch he provided during Pitt's four-game winning streak has all but disappeared.

But Woodall's offense isn't coach Jamie Dixon's biggest concern. It's the turnovers Woodall has been making on a regular basis. Woodall committed six in the loss to Louisville Sunday. He has 27 in the past six games and at least four in every game in that span.

Is he trying to do too much?

"There have been times he's trying to do too much," Dixon said. "There have been times we've forced things. To be honest, he's just not where we need him to be. Being [injured] is part of it. I wish he could be in the best shape possible and the best health possible. But it is what it is. I don't think that's helping. We have to help him out, meet passes, get to the right spots and execute better offensively."

Pitt had 19 turnovers as a team against the Cardinals, who scored 24 points off those turnovers. It's hard to have an effective offense or defense when the turnovers numbers are high.

"Offensively, the turnovers held us back," Dixon said. "The turnovers, we have guys we didn't expect to have turnovers. That's hard to work with and hard to plan for. That's hurt us and our defense, too, because they got some steals."

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tigerpaul, February 28, 2012 - 08:17 PM

Tray Woodall is a nice player to have returning for next year but I question if he is really a go-to guy. I will give him the benefit of the doubt because he's been hurt. However, he is awfully thin and can't seem to consistently get by people. The turnovers are terrible.

Pitt needs to get back to protecting the ball and playing better defense next year. If they do that they should win more games.

+1