Defense has Dixon at home
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From the start, it appeared this might be the craziest of nights. Steelers Jeff Reed and Santonio Holmes were in the front row, midcourt, for the Pitt-Syracuse game last night at the Petersen Events Center. Ben Roethlisberger was in the upper deck.
What was up with that?
Then, the game started, another Big East Conference beauty between the No. 4 Panthers and No. 8 Syracuse. Pitt star guard Levance Fields ended up at the free-throw line twice in the first half to shoot free throws after two Syracuse technicals. He missed all four.
This is the same Fields who Pitt wants at the line in the dying seconds of the national championship game in Detroit April 6.
What was next?
A Pitt loss? To Syracuse, a team it had owned with 10 wins in the previous 13 meetings? At home, where its record was 107-10?
Fortunately for Pitt, normalcy soon returned.
Fields played his usual superb game, scoring 15 points and handing out six assists, including a jewel that teammate DeJuan Blair turned into a monster dunk. Senior forward Sam Young looked like the old Sam Young -- finally -- with 22 points and six rebounds. Pitt showed no real signs of any hangover from the disappointing loss at Louisville Saturday night that ended its brief stay at No. 1 in the polls and smashed Syracuse, 78-60. All went home happy from The Pete, as usual.
Even the celebrity fans.
"It was kind of cool those guys came out to see us," Pitt guard Jermaine Dixon said of Big Ben and Friends.
It's just a shame that Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and James Farrior didn't show up.
They would have loved watching Dixon play defense.
His work against Syracuse's Jonny Flynn was every bit as responsible for this bounce-back win as the offensive contributions from Fields, Young and Blair, who had another double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Flynn came in as Syracuse's top scorer, averaging 16.3 points per game, but wasn't a factor. He shot just 3 of 14 -- 0 of 5 on 3s -- and finished with 12 points, 10 coming in the final seven minutes after the outcome had been decided.
"He makes their offense go," Dixon said of Flynn. "He's a scoring point guard. I knew if I could slow him down shooting-wise, it would be a benefit to us …
"This was my first real test as a defensive player on this level. We've played some good players, but none like him. I wanted to see how I measured up."
Dixon measured up just fine.
It's not hard to understand why.
"I made up my mind when Pitt recruited me that I wanted to be a lock-down defender," Dixon said. "I knew they had a bunch of scorers here and a bunch of good ball-handlers. I wanted to fill a role."
Is it any wonder Dixon has fit in so well after transferring from Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College?
That's not an easy thing to do for any first-year player, especially a junior-college transfer.
"The guys have really embraced me," Dixon said. "Everybody says their team is a family, but it's not always true. This team is a family."
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has been extraordinarily selective over the years with junior-college transfers because many can't fit in to an established program. Former Pitt star Ontario Lett and John DeGroat did it well. Jermaine Dixon clearly is on his way.
"He's physically tough and mentally tough. Those are good things to start with," Jamie Dixon said. "But the big thing is he understands what we need. He saw an opportunity here and seized it."
Great defense isn't all that Jermaine Dixon gives Pitt. He brings an energy to the team by playing so hard. In the first minute, he tied up Flynn to force a turnover. He turned an offensive rebound into a layup. He stole the ball from guard Andy Rautins and fed Fields for a fastbreak layup. He hustled to keep alive a loose ball that Blair converted into a hoop. He raced down the court to block what looked to be an uncontested layup by Rautins.
That was just in the first half.
"Whatever it takes to win," Jermaine Dixon said, shrugging.
Now there's a philosophy Roethlisberger can appreciate.
"I have to tell you something," Dixon said, sheepishly. "I'm a Ravens fan."
Don't hold that against the kid.
He's from Baltimore.
He said he watched the AFC championship game Sunday night at Fields' place and took the defeat hard.
"The guys were giving him a rough time about [being a Ravens fan] all week," Jamie Dixon said.
Now that the Ravens are out, the guess here is Jermaine Dixon will be rooting for the Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
This is a guy who knows how to fit in, remember?
First Published January 20, 2009 12:00 am
