Thursday, 11 October 2012 14:59

Written by Ray Fittipaldo

Opening statement on the passing of Beano Cook: “Being here 14 years I got to know him. Before coming here you knew who Beano Cook was. When Greg told me that he passed, I told my dad because my dad was always a big Beano Cook fan. He loved watching him on ESPN. That’s how we got to know him. Since I’ve been here he’s been a great friend. It was always quick one-liners or quick comments he’d give you in passing. He meant so much to Pitt.”

How is the team’s health right now: “Good right now. Tray’s been good and JJ’s been really good. We held him out longer than anyone else would. We’ve had a history with some broken foots. We’ve done everything we can and go beyond and we’ve still had setbacks with that.”

Is Tray Woodall 100 percent and participating fully in practice? “Right now, yeah. It’s unique. We didn’t have that at all last year for practice. I hope that continues. Obviously, it’s an injury you always worry about flaring up or coming back again. At this point, he’s been doing a lot of things. I have to give him credit. He’s in there early, a couple of hours before practice, getting the treatment and things that are necessary. It’s been good. He’s practiced well. He’s done the conditioning. That’s been great for him.”

On having a true backup for Woodall this year in freshman James Robinson: “We think James is very good. We also think John Johnson will play some point for us. We have three guys we’ll count on and work with. James has really developed physically and mentally. I feel good about that. John gives us good quickness. He played a lot of minutes and that will help them.”

On playing Lamar Patterson and JJ Moore together: “They’ve played a lot together. We’ve played small. We’ll practice it more than we’ve practiced it in the past. It’s something you’re going to see a lot more of for obvious reasons. We’ve had some guys move on. They’re juniors and they’re guys we have to have on the floor, oftentimes together. It’s been good in the little time we’ve done so far.”

“You have to get your best players on the floor. We’ve always done that. That’s been a reason for our success over the years. We have a lot of guys who are playing well right now.”

On JJ Moore getting bigger and stronger: “He couldn’t do any shooting or running so he was in the weight room working hard. He’s always been a hard worker. He did about as much as he could with that situation. Lifting is what he focused on. He didn’t start playing live until September.”

On freshman Steven Adams: “He’s got good size and good strength. Physically, he’s probably more ready than any big kid we’ve brought in. We’ve had some great freshmen that have started, Chris Taft and DeJuan Blair. Physically, conditioning wise he has it. Strength-wise, he’s probably farther ahead than those guys.”

On senior center Dante Taylor’s health: “He’s been out there every day. He hasn’t missed lifting or condition. That’s the first time that’s happened. We really want to get the ball inside. That’s something we’ve really emphasized this fall and summer. He’s a big part of that. We have to be able to play out of inside touches, whether scoring or kicking back out. We want to go inside-out. It’s always been a strength of ours. We need to develop our inside game early in the season and continue to grow with it.”

On sophomore center Malcolm Gilbert: “He can really run. We have to utilize that. He’s developing. He’s showing signs. He’s going to be a really good player for us. I think he’s going to develop into a great player for us. When that occurs, I don’t know exactly, but he’s going to be a very good player for us.”

On transfer Trey Zeigler: “I think he’s improved his conditioning and stamina. That’s something we addressed early on. He had some health issues last year. His body has changed since he’s been here. He’s a really good passer and playmaker, similar to Brad in a lot of ways, his ability to get in the lane. That I did pick up in the summer.”

“He gets in the lane, he gets fouled and he finishes well. Those are his strengths.”

More on Zeigler: “He’s an experienced guy, and we needed to get older. With six freshmen last year and this year we have some freshmen, but they seem experienced beyond their years in some ways. Adding a guy who played a lot of minutes in college basketball was key. That’s good for him and everyone involved. He’s a good passer and an unselfish player. That’s something that will spread on a team that has always passed the ball well.”

On the final season in the Big East: “Bittersweet was the phrase because it’s been so good to us. The ACC opens doors for our entire athletic program. We want to finish this thing off the right way. We’ve had the best record for the last decade by a pretty good margin. We want to finish with that. We want to finish with the best record, the most NCAA appearances, most Big East championships. We want to finish out that way. That’s our goal going forward. We want to maintain that and build off it as well. That’s a good mentality as we go into our final season. It’s been the strongest conference in basketball for the last decade.”

More on Adams: “He and Aaron are the same size-wise. Bodies are different. He’s got good hands, soft touch. He’s played at a pretty good level. He’s played against older kids. He’s got some very good tools. The main thing is he works. He really wants to be a player. If you’re here at 7 in the morning you’d have seen him working out on his own with Talib and some other guys. He’s been out there at every single opportunity to improve himself.”

On the team’s defensive potential: “We have a long way to go. You have to have depth. When you talk about team defense you have to have depth. Our best teams have been our deepest teams defensively. Everyone has depth in October. Do you have depth in December and January? We have good size. We’ll have good size on the perimeter as well. That can help your team defense. I think we’ll have the versatility to play a couple of different ways defensively and do some things that can be very good. We have to get to the level that we’re the best defensive team in the conference. That’s what we’ve done when we’ve won conference championships, and that’s what we have to do this year.”

More on the final season in the Big East: “Three good teams are going to leave. How it falls and where the conference ranks years from now will be decided. The Big East has picked up a lot of good teams. Everyone knows decisions are made for a variety of reasons. I don’t wish ill will on the Big East. How could you? It’s been so good to us. It’s been a friend, a partner, our home for 30 years. I hope they have great success and will continue on. I think they’ve strengthened themselves in a lot of ways. I think the Big East will have a great future ahead of them. I think the ACC will as well. It’s not just a basketball thing. It’s an all-sports thing and university thing. That’s where the decisions are made. I think we landed in a great spot. We’re excited about this year, being a part of the Big East. We want to look back and remember the history of it and be a part of it and finish it the right way.”

Comments (2)

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tigerpaul, October 11, 2012 - 09:33 PM

Ray,

Thanks for the post - I'm getting pumped for the season.

What are your thoughts on Talib Zanna? You don't seem to buy his potential, which is understandable due to his underwhelming stats in BE play last season. He played pretty well in the CBI, but of course against so-so competition.

I love his size and athletic ability and it seems like he has good form on his shot.

Do you think the lightbulb could go on for him this year? And if it does, how much of a difference could that make for this team?

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R_Fittipaldo, October 12, 2012 - 04:37 AM

I view him as the fifth starter on this team. I think the team will be in trouble if he has to play more than 18 or 20 minutes a game. I just don't see the upside with him. He can't finish around the hoop and he's not a great defender. I think you'll see Lamar Patterson and JJ Moore play about 20-22 minutes between them at power forward. Jamie seemed to indicate that Moore will be playing power forward, which he didn't do much his first two seasons. I checked with Moore afterward, and he said that's the way they've been working it in practice. We'll see what happens, but I don't think Pitt can count on more than 6 or 7 points and 6 or 7 rebounds a game from Zanna.

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