Whirlwind Summer
July 09, 2003 11:42 AM | General
July 9, 2003
THESSALONIKI, Greece – The last 18 or so months for West Virginia University forward Kevin Pittsnogle have been like a whirlwind.
The 6-foot-10 sophomore-to-be went from being, in some people’s eyes, a questionable Division I basketball recruit last fall to this summer becoming a member of USA Junior World Championship Team representing his university, his state and the Big East Conference. It is believed that Pittsnogle is only the second West Virginia University men’s basketball player picked to play for a national team playing international competition.
NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West is the other, though guard Ron Williams was picked for the 1968 U.S. Olympic Trials but turned down the invitation.
Sandwiched in between his high school career and his most recent honor, Pittsnogle was named to the Big East All-Rookie team after averaging more than 11 points per game.
After what has transpired, sometimes the reserved 19-year-old has to pinch himself to make sure he’s still awake.
“It surprises me a little bit,” Pittsnogle said by telephone from Greece. “It has been a lot of hard work though considering all of the time I’ve spent in the weight room. I guess you can’t help but get a little bit better.”
A little bit better?
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| Forward Kevin Pittsnogle has become just the second known WVU basketball player to represent the USA in international competition. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Two years ago after his performance at the West Virginia state basketball tournament some pundits not only didn’t think Pittsnogle was good enough to play at West Virginia University, they thought he wasn’t even the best player in the state.
Undeterred by his critics, Pittsnogle kept working and improving. He also caught a big break when John Beilein was hired to coach the Mountaineers in the spring of 2002.
“His offense is built perfectly for me,” Pittsnogle said. “Everything he does revolves around having the big man shoot. It was a great opportunity for me.”
Pittsnogle turned that opportunity into a breakthrough freshman season. The Martinsburg native was a two-time conference rookie of the week and scored a career-high 26 points on 10 of 15 shooting in a home win against Rutgers.
In all, Pittsnogle reach double figures 16 times including two games scoring more than 20 points. His 47.6 percent three-point field goal percentage ranks second on the WVU single season list. Not only is he the tallest player on that list but he is also the only non-guard, too.
It is Pittsnogle’s deft shooting touch that separates him from the pack. Now that Pittsnogle has packed his bags for Greece as a member of the 2003 USA Junior World Championship Team, he hopes to use his impressive shooting stroke to help USA win a gold medal.
In five exhibition games played in Dallas, Texas, that helped select the 12-member team, Pittsnogle steadily improved each time out as he gained more confidence. After scoring just five points against Lithuania, Pittsnogle reached 10 points in games against Global Games Select and Africa.
His best game came against Canada when he made six three-point field goals on the way to scoring a game-high 24 points. Pittsnogle added 14 against Global Games Select to help his team finish 5-0 and earn a gold medal at the 4th Annual Global Games.
Although he came off the bench in each game, Pittsnogle still managed to average a team-best 12.6 points per game for the tournament. Pittsnogle finished second to Illinois sophomore guard Deron Williams for the team lead with 12 three-point baskets.
The forward also grabbed 19 rebounds to rank third behind Michigan State’s Paul Davis and Michigan’s Graham Brown.
Despite his eye-opening numbers, Pittsnogle was never sure he had the team made.
“I didn’t really know until they told me,” he said. “I felt confident but it all depended upon what the coaches thought and I really didn’t know what they were thinking at the time. I just tried to play to my ability and hope for the best.”
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| Kevin Pittsnogle is one of 12 members of the USA Junior World Championship Team. (USA Basketball photo) |
“As Kevin got more playing time he showed the coaches his ability to shoot the basketball,” said Craig Miller, USA Basketball assistant executive for communications. “Coach (Ernie) Kent likes how he’s playing.”
One factor that helped Pittsnogle make the team was an injury to Duke star guard J.J. Redick that limited him to just two exhibition games. Pittsnogle was able to fill the outside shooting void during Redick’s absence.
“J.J.’s injury certainly gave Kevin more of an opportunity to play,” said Miller.
“Right now my role is just to make shots,” said Pittsnogle. “I’m getting a lot of good shot opportunities and I’m just trying to knock them down.”
Pittsnogle says he’s already learned a great deal from Kent and USA assistant coaches Dennis Felton and Ray Harper.
“They’re great coaches,” he said. “We’re learning new things every day. They have different ways of coaching so you learn different stuff.”
In addition to the top-flight instruction he’s received, West Virginia University assistant coach Matt Brown says being around some of college basketball’s top young players will only help make Kevin a better player down the road.
“What a heck of an opportunity for him,” said Brown. “For Kevin to be around a bunch of other kids who have a passion for playing and wanting to be better … those are the type of kids he needs to be around.”
For his part, Pittsnogle has gone into this with his eyes wide open.
“You learn stuff from other guys who are from big-time programs that go to the NCAA tournament a lot,” he said. “You look at the way they play the game and you try and learn from them.”
One of those players is Redick, who also happens to be Kevin’s roommate.
“All Kevin has done for the past six to eight weeks is just focus on becoming a better basketball player,” said Brown.
Brown sees Kevin’s experience with USA Basketball opening up other possibilities for him as well. “From a personality standpoint getting to travel and to be around other people is really going to help him,” Brown noted.
And while Pittsnogle admits he’s just “trying to have some fun” he also knows that he carries the burden of representing West Virginia University basketball to a world-wide audience.
“I’m trying to prove that there are some players from West Virginia who can actually play. West Virginia is not exactly the worst state for basketball players,” he said.
“Having Kevin playing for USA Basketball is definitely going to help our program. It gives us some notoriety,” Brown added.
Team USA faces Slovenia on Thursday July 10 in the opening round of the 2003 FIBA Men’s Junior World Championships. The USA will face China on July 11 and Nigeria on July 12 in Group C competition. Second round action is being played July 14-16 while the world championship semifinals are slated to be held July 19. The championship game will be played July 20.
