The Pitt News Blogs
February 7th, 2008
Can you believe it?
By on February 7th, 2008
Ronald Ramon and Levance Fields are battling it out for shot of the year awards after Ramon nailed a game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat West Virginia, 55-54, at the Petersen Events Center last night.
Ramon was all smiles after the game. When asked how it felt to hit the shot, Ramon said, “It feels good,” with a huge smile.
Fields sprinted across the floor, without a limp, to mob Ramon with his teammates. Fields appeared completely healthy. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said Fields has been riding the treadmill and shooting the past few days. Fields’s x-ray looked good, said Dixon.
Teammate Keith Benjamin said Fields looks great and the 5-foot-10 guard has been running easily and moving around a lot.
Sounds like Fields is ready to go.
That’s great news considering the magnitude of the win tonight. Pitt got a huge win for its resume.
February 1st, 2008
Just arrived in Hartford …
By on February 1st, 2008
And the feeling is that this game is winnable for the Panthers. UConn starting guard Jerome Dyson is suspended indefinitely, and now guard Doug Wiggins might be as well. Still, the depth of the Huskies may ultimately be the biggest factor in tomorrow’s game, which tips off at 1 p.m. at the XL Center here in Hartford, Conn.
This is a huge game for Pitt, which is suddenly facing one of the hardest stretches in recent memory. The Panthers have two fantastic wins against Duke and Georgetown, and some other decent wins. The Big East losses are … OK … I guess. Cincinnati is looking more and more like a decent loss on the road against a competitive team. Villanova is looking more and more like a bad loss, and Rutgers is the worst loss since Bucknell beat Pitt in the 2004-05 season.
Pitt needs a marquee road win, and the hurtin’ Huskies may be ripe for the picking.
More tomorrow from the XL Center.
January 24th, 2008
Pitt readies for Rutgers; Dixon addresses Fields’ injury
By on January 24th, 2008
The No. 13 Pitt Panthers returned from their 81-57 victory in New York City against St. John’s on a charter jet sometime after 2 a.m. early on Thursday morning.
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon held a one-hour workout to get his team up to speed on its next opponent, the 9-11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
“We’ve been anxious to get home,” Dixon said. “We’re pretty focused on Saturday.”
Pitt and Rutgers tip off at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
Dixon said Rutgers’ athleticism and guard play helped the Scarlet Knights stun No. 18 Villanova, 80-68, on Wednesday.
“If they shoot well, they’re hard to guard,” Dixon said. “They play four out, one in. They’re very athletic.”
Dixon was happy with the performance of Pitt’s four freshmen against St. John’s on Wednesday. Freshman center DeJuan Blair had 10 points and eight rebounds, while redshirt freshman Gilbert Brown had seven points, two assists and two rebounds. Fellow freshmen Brad Wanamaker and Gary McGhee played 20 minutes combined.
“I thought we played pretty good defense,” Dixon said. “It was a good win for us. Our freshmen did a really good job.”
INJURY UPDATES
Pitt guard Levance Fields has continued his workouts on a stationary bike. Dixon said the healing process was still going according to plan without any hitches.
“Any kind wants to get back on the court, especially him,” Dixon said. “With him sitting out … I wish he’d come back [sooner], we have to hear him on the sidelines. … But we want to be smart about [Fields’ return].”
Junior center Cassin Diggs is still hampered by a hip injury. The 6-10 Diggs was seen walking normally on Forbes Ave., but he has not been able to participate in practice or games.
“Cassin is still not ready to go,” Dixon said.
More from the Pete on Saturday. Keep reading.
January 18th, 2008
Fields and Cook speak to the media
By on January 18th, 2008
The following are some featured quotes from the Pitt hoops press conference held Thursday at the Pete. Levance Fields and Mike Cook officially spoke for the first time since suffering severe injuries. Cook is out for the season. Fields, however, implied that might not the case for him. The broken fifth metatarsal in his foot is healing faster than anticipated.
Q: How disappointing is it to sit out right now?
LF: It’s very disappointing. You know, after working out this whole summer together, just planning everything together, everything we did, the big plans we had for this year. The Duke game, even though we won that, it was mixed emotion, knowing Mike was hurt the way he was. For me to go down the next game coming back from break, I wouldn’t have never thought of what happened. It’s tough but the team is doing well together so far. Hopefully it can continue.
MC: It’s just real disappointing. It’s not a secret that [me and Levance] are best friends. We do everything together. We had big plans for this year, going to the Final Four, just experiencing that together. Just to see him go down the next game, it was hard. We feel for each other, but we know that our careers aren’t over. … The biggest thing is just seeing each other live out our dreams after college. The team is doing real well right now. That’s a testament to the talent we have on this team, and the good coaching we have.
Q: The difference between watching the end of the Villanova game, and how painful that must’ve been knowing that could’ve been you in that game, compared to watching how well they did against Georgetown?
LF: The Villanova game, obviously we played Lafayette before that. We saw them struggle in the first half but we pulled it through. The Villanova game was the first test on the road without me and Mike. The team wasn’t quite fit and used to what we wanted to do. As they went along, they’re getting better and better. They know who is there. They just continue to work. On Monday, the crowd was a big factor. A lot of people like playing at home. I knew that would be a benefit for us. Guys stepped up. It was Ronald’s birthday. He couldn’t have played better than he played. Keith Benjamin the way he’s been stepping up has been special. And DeJuan [Blair] keeps playing well. It was exciting. I was happy to see them win the game. It’s good for them. It was good for the coaches. It was good for me just being there.
Status on the foot?
LF: Everything’s going well right now. The surgery was quick, it was about an hour tops. I had an x-ray today, the bone callous is forming in where I fractured it. As far as right now, they haven’t set a timetable. … I’ll be back sooner than you know it.
Rehab process?
LF: I just came from the pool. They keep me on the bike. I’ve been doing some things. I feel good. I obviously wish I was still out there, but I’m taking baby steps to get back.
When will you be back?
LF: Sometime around before the season ends. That would be a special time for me. Like I said, things are going pretty well right now. As long as it keeps on going … I should have a chance to be back a little earlier than the reports stated. At the same time, I’m not going to rush it.
When do you see the doctor again?
LF: I got another x-ray in 10 to 14 days.
How do you think Ronald [Ramon] is doing?
LF: He’s doing well. He’s played that position before. It was tough on him, the Villanova game. He brushed off [the critics] and he responded in the Georgetown game. He’s a senior. He’s been through a lot. He’s from New York. New York guys, we’re used to things like that. He just stepped up.
Have you talked to anyone who has had the injury you have?
MC: Yeah. I talked to a few people, actually a lot of people. They told me to take the rehab seriously. Do whatever the trainers tell me to do. As long as I take it seriously, stay focused and don’t gain too much weight, that I should be back. I could probably be back earlier than what they expect. The big thing is not to rush it.
About a year to recover?
MC: Not that long. I should be back way before that.
Medical redshirt?
MC: I wouldn’t know anything about that until the end of the year. It’s a shame the way my senior year ended.
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said the team will not rush Levance back.
“The doctors knew Levance would have his own timetable,” Dixon said, chuckling. “Dates don’t mean anything.”
Dixon said another key thing was once Fields has been cleared to play, pain tolerance will dictate how soon the junior guard actually comes back to the floor for the Panthers.
If anything else develops, we will get it to you here.
January 15th, 2008
Greetings
By on January 15th, 2008
Hello everyone! My name is Jeff Greer. I’m the assistant sports editor here at The Pitt News. We’re really excited to (finally) have blogs up and running so that I can keep all you big-time Pitt hoops fans who are unable to sit in the Zoo up to date on your Panthers. I go to every home game and as many away games as possible. Much of my blogging will come from pre-game banter inside the media room, where I hear a lot of information, and from media opportunities in the days leading up to games.
But tonight is really just a quick hello. Hopefully later tomorrow (which is technically today at this time of night) I will post something real. The guys have tomorrow off, so there won’t be much happening, but I will start posting quotes from the regular media opportunities we have available to us and I will provide any other necessary information and analysis needed.
To make this a great blog, let’s get some participation. I write a weekly Pitt hoops Q&A for the print edition of The Pitt News and, unfortunately, most of the questions for the Q&A have been coming from non-Pitt students. What’s the deal? Start funneling those questions in, Oakland.
Also, how big was that win tonight? More about it in tomorrow’s post. Thanks for visiting.
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