It was a mixed bag of happenings on the court last night at The Pete as Pitt took on No. 8 North Carolina.
The biggest news is that the Panthers lost to UNC, 70-57, which dropped them to 0-3 in ACC conference play. That’s a big hole to start in and it’s obviously a spot they didn’t want to be in.
The question now becomes is this a hole that this current team is capable of climbing out of?
I’m not going to completely bury them just yet because I believe there’s talent on this team, however, the biggest concern is whether their weaknesses are too big to overcome.
Something that shouldn’t get overlooked in last night’s outcome is the continued growth and productivity of Jaland Lowe. The freshman point guard from Texas continues to get better and might be the Panthers most productive player over the last handful of games.
Last night, Lowe finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Jeff Capel has rewarded Lowe for his on-court performance by increasing his minutes and last night, he played a season high of 24 minutes.
In my opinion, Lowe has shown enough that Capel should consider moving him into the starting lineup. He brings an energy to the court and his quickness and ability to get to the paint might be the cure for this ailing Panther offense.
To shake things up against Louisville, I’d like to see Pitt go with the starting five of Lowe, Ish Leggett, Carlton Carrington, Blake Hinson and Fede Federiko.
Regardless of what happens this year, it’s encouraging for Pitt that their prized recruits from last year, Carrington and Lowe, are showing that the ACC stage isn’t too big for them.
Speaking of big, that’s the biggest concern from here on out — can Pitt get enough productivity from their big men to compete? Let me rephrase that. They’ve already shown that they can compete, can they finish games and win with them?
Honestly, I think the jury is still out.
My fear is that Pitt is going to continue to struggle inside with the Federiko and the Diaz Graham brothers because of their thin frames.
As we’ve seen the last two games, when the 3-point shot isn’t going down, Pitt is going to struggle offensively because they have no offensive presence down low. Despite being 7-feet tall, the vast majority of Guillermo Diaz Graham’s points come from the outside. His brother, Jorge, is only averaging 5 points per game and in the last 9 games is only 2.6 points per game. While he excels defensively and rebounding on both ends, William Jeffress isn’t an offensive threat. Their only hope for production in the paint is from Federiko but he’s only giving them 5.4 points per game. Since the Oregon State game, Federiko is only averaging 2 baskets a game.
Unfortunately, that lack of production down low puts a lot of pressure on the guards and doesn’t allow them to have an off game.
A prime example of that is what’s going on with Hinson. After starting out the season red-hot and performing like one of the best 3-point shooters in the country, Hinson has gone ice-cold the last 2 games and not surprisingly, so has the Panthers overall offense.
While I’m focusing on the struggles offensively from Pitt’s big men, getting out-rebounded is also becoming an issue. Last night, North Carolina had the edge on the boards, 46-34 and killed Pitt with second chance points, 15-1.
Let me be clear, this isn’t a lack of effort, most times it just comes down to a lack of size for Pitt. The loss of 6-foot-10, 235-pound Papa Kante is turning out to be pretty damaging to Pitt as his size and physicality would be pretty handy right now.
Capel can’t dwell on a player that isn’t available or wish that he had more size, the task now is find a way to compete with the players that are available and to get scoring from his offense when the 3-point shot isn’t falling.
With upcoming games at Louisville, vs. Duke, vs. Syracuse and at Duke, things won’t be easy. But when has anything for Capel truly came easy as head coach of the Panthers?
