Stretch Run Observations
February 24, 2003 03:27 PM | General
Tueday, February 25, 2003
What has happened to shooting?
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| According to Jay, Tyrone Sally's confidence level is at its highest in the two seasons he's been at WVU. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Back when I played I don’t remember defenders and I don’t remember blocked shots, all I remember was shooting – excellent shooting.
Today it’s not about shooting and it’s not about the mid-range jump shot and I think TV and professional basketball has changed that. Now everybody wants to take the ball and race it down the floor in transition and slam it or they want to catch it at mid-range in the half court and drive it to the rim and slam it down.
Recently on the air in the waning moments of the Notre Dame game, Tony Caridi asked me who I thought would get the ball for the final shot. I told him there were two choices but most likely it would be Drew Schifino. I also told Tony if he takes it off the dribble to the basket he has to make the shot because there will be no foul called.
Low and behold, Drew goes to the basket, there is some contact and the foul isn’t called.
Drew probably did get fouled but it makes no difference because you’re not going to get that call at the end of the game.
As we move toward end of the season, here are some of my observations on some of West Virginia’s players:
Drew Schifino – He is the team’s best player averaging almost 21 points per game and is a 49 percent shooter. He likes to take the big shot and he is going to score a lot of points here at West Virginia University. He is still learning the game and learning how to play the game and he takes a lot of shots.
Kevin Pittsnogle – Kevin is a very good mid-range shooter who just turned 18. As of Monday, Feb. 24, Kevin has 44 threes with is exceptional for a player his size. He is still getting accustomed to physical contact and he is an outside shooter who is still developing a low post game.
Tyrone Sally – His confidence level is the highest I’ve seen from him in the two years he’s been here. He is shooting 47 percent and is grabbing nearly five rebounds per game. At times I’ve seen him let the panic part of the game leave him and I think he’s taking charges and doing the little things to win.
Joe Herber – Joe is becoming to come to the forefront as the leader of the team. The team runs better with Joe on the floor and his shooting over the next couple of years will improve. I think the reason it will improve is because he will become much more confident and he will have more confidence running the offense. Right now he’s just trying to make sure everyone gets in the right position and he’s a very, very smart player and the kids on the floor listen to him. His assist-to-turnover ratio (96-56) is very good.
Jarmon Durisseau-Collins – I sort of rate Jarmon as the “John Linehan” of this team. He is a very good on-ball defender and he draws the big-time guards every time. He handles the ball well and he handles pressure defenses well. Jarmon is a good passer, a good dribbler and a good defender. He is not a very good shooter right now, but he shoots in the 32-33 percent range. Jarmon doesn’t look to make assists as much as looks to dribble and pass.
Chaz Briggs – Chaz has been a real key to this team. He’s a senior, he’s mobile, he plays hard and he’s helped Kevin Pittsnogle a lot because now they’re starting to play together. Chaz is a little bit more athletic than Kevin, he’s a little bit stronger around the basket and he can block some shots. Chaz is very good in the small area around the basket. A couple of weeks ago Chaz was a big reason West Virginia was able to withstand Rutgers’ early run and beat the Knights on the road.
Patrick Beilein — Patrick has been asked to do some difficult things here as a freshman, but I’ve seen him really come on lately. I’ve liked him from the beginning regardless of whether he is the coach’s son or not. I like the way he shoots the ball and I think he becomes a nice little compliment to Schifino down the road. After the last few games, I see him gaining more confidence shooting the ball and he’s been able to play more with Herber to give West Virginia more of a shooting threat.
Josh Yeager – Josh is a good shooter and when he is making his shots early, like he did at UNLV, he can be really be an effective off the bench. Despite a decrease in minutes, I believe there is still an opportunity for Josh to help this team get back to New York and for him to finish his career on a positive note.
Nick Patella – Nick is a kid you go to war with. He is just a very solid, tough kid who is smart. He has been a very good addition to the team this year.
John Beilein – From my observations, I think John Beilein is addicted to winning. His teams work very, very hard and they prepare hard. He knows that the lack of experience and depth have at times hurt this team. Despite that, they go to war and play hard every single night. He’s a winner and his teams are starting to take on that personality. A great example of this was last Saturday’s loss to Seton Hall. The Mountaineers didn’t quit even when they were down by 11 with about a minute left. They fought back and cut the deficit to three points before finally losing by four. That’s the type of character that will get this thing moving in the right direction very quickly.
