Fordham perfect guinea pig for Pitt’s new defensive emphasis

Monday, 12 November 2012 07:31

Written by Ray Fittipaldo

Pitt is trying to force more turnovers this season. In the opener Friday night against Mount St. Mary’s, the Panthers forced 16 in an 80-48 victory.

Tonight, they should get opportunities to force even more against Fordham, which turned the ball over 23 times in an opening-night loss to Texas State Friday night.

That’s right, Texas State. Just a guess here. This will not be a good RPI game for Pitt in March.

Back to the premie behind this post. The idea behind Pitt’s new defensive approach is to take calculated gambles to create more deflections and steals, which should lead to more transition points. The Panthers outscored Mount St. Mary’s 20-0 in fast-break points.

The reason the Panthers believe they can gamble a little more is freshman center Steven Adams, who can block and alter shots should opposing guards get past Pitt’s guards. Adams had four blocks vs. Mount St. Mary’s. Here’s how much the Mountaineers respected Adams: They attempted one fewer 3-pointers (23) than two-pointers (24). When their 3-pointers stopped falling after the first 10 minutes they were blown out of the water.

The Panthers will be doing more of the same against the Rams.