Cameron Wright and Durand Johnson to assume larger roles with Trey Zeigler suspended

Tuesday, 27 November 2012 08:11

Written by Ray Fittipaldo

Trey Zeigler had not been as much a part of the rotation as many thought he would be when he transferred last spring, but he still was averaging almost 17 minutes per game before he was suspended for a driving under the influence charge.

Now a couple of younger players will get his minutes and a chance to prove they deserve bigger roles.

Sophomore guard Cameron Wright, who has been averaging 10.6 minutes per game, will see his minutes increase. Wright has played well in his limited opportunities. He is averaging 4.4 points per game and is coming off an impressive showing in Pitt’s two games at Madison Square Garden in the N.I.T. Tip-Off.

Wright scored 11 points in those two games against Michigan and Delaware, including eight in the first half of Pitt’s loss to the No. 4 Wolverines. He was 3 for 3 from 3-point range in those games, too.

Wright only shot 16.7 percent from 3-point range last season as a freshman, so it will be interesting to see if his hot shooting will keep up with more minutes.

The other player likely to see increased minutes is Durand Johnson, who worked hard over the summer to get into a position where he could play more shooting guard in addition to his duties as a small forward.

Johnson averaged 12.4 minutes and 5.8 points per game in Pitt’s first six games. He also has shot it well from 3-point range, making 4 of his 9 attempts from behind the arc.

Zeigler is not a good outside shooter and generated his offense by driving to the hoop or taking short jumpers. Wright and Johnson can penetrate as well, but it’s not their strong suit.

Zeigler has been suspended “until further notice”. The only thing that is known for sure about the suspension is that he will not dress for tonight’s game against Howard. The next game is against Detroit on Saturday, also at the Petersen Events Center.  

With Wright and Johnson playing more in the backcourt, Dixon also might experiment and use J.J. Moore some at small forward to spell Lamar Patterson. Moore has played almost all of his minutes at power forward. He is the team's third-leading scorer and playing 20 minutes a game, so if Dixon has any thoughts on returning Moore to small forward for short spurts this is likely the best time to see what it looks like.

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tigerpaul, November 27, 2012 - 02:21 PM

I can't see Dixon suspending Zeigler for the season. My guess would be that he will make him sit for four or five games but who knows?

The more I see Wright play, the more athletic he looks. I hate the rotation on his jump shot but the results were good in the Garden.

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