Dixon asks for offensive penetration
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Pitt's basketball reputation is built on its defense, which emphasizes an aggressive, hard-nosed approach. Coach Jamie Dixon would like to see his players transfer some of that aggressiveness to the offensive end, where the Panthers have been uncharacteristically passive in Big East Conference play.
Pitt isn't getting to the free-throw line nearly as often as Dixon would like. In 18 games, the Panthers have been to the line 338 times, or 19.8 times per game. That ranks 15th among the 16 teams in the Big East, above only Notre Dame.
In six Big East games, Pitt's average is lower -- just under 16 times per game.
"We have to stay out of foul trouble and get to the free-throw line," said Dixon, who is preparing the Panthers for a game Sunday afternoon at West Virginia. "Good teams get to the free-throw line. We had a stretch there for a couple of games where we weren't getting to the free-throw line much as we had been. That's something we're usually very good at."
Pitt's low number of free-throw attempts, or the low free-throw percentage, hasn't hurt the team much, but it did contribute greatly to Panthers' only loss -- at Louisville. The Panthers were outscored by 10 points at the line in that 69-63 setback. Louisville was 19 for 29 from the line, while Pitt was just 9 for 16.
Dixon made free-throw attempts and more interior touches a point of emphasis for the Syracuse game Monday, and he said the Panthers did a much better job of being aggressive in that 78-60 victory.
"The biggest difference in that Louisville game was they beat us at the free-throw line," Dixon said. "The Louisville game it stood out a little more. … Against zone teams, there is a tendency to settle for outside shots. We usually stay away from that. But against Louisville, we got away from that. We did it against Syracuse. You have to find other ways to get interior touches. We did a very good job of that against Syracuse."
The Panthers had been in the habit of settling for outside shots. In their six conference games, they have taken 113 3-pointers. Only Notre Dame and Providence had taken more in conference play.
"We're definitely taking a lot of 3s, more than we should be," starting shooting guard Jermaine Dixon said. "For the most part, a lot of the 3s are open looks that you have to take. But we do feel like we should be attacking more, and that's what we got going against Syracuse."
Jermaine Dixon said there is another benefit to attacking the basket. It can take pressure off of point guard Levance Fields, he said, who has been chiefly responsible for penetrating and getting open shots for everyone else.
"We need everybody making plays," Jermaine Dixon said. "Besides Levance, me, Sam [Young], Brad [Wanamaker] and Gil [Brown], we have to be able to make plays to help us out at the end. We have to get DeJuan [Blair] easier looks, make plays for ourselves and take pressure off Levance."
There is one player who doesn't want his teammates to attack the basket more. Blair, the nation's leading offensive rebounder, likes it when his teammates shoot 3-pointers because, when they miss, he is there to grab the rebound.
"I'd rather have them shoot anyway," Blair said, with a smile. "But it's cool with the free-throw attempts. It's a long season. We'll see at the end of the season. We're second-to-last and still winning, so that's kind of good."
First Published January 23, 2009 12:00 am
