I Bleed Blue and White

Surpisingly, I have something positive to report regarding a Big East player.  I bashed the players who were suspended recently, but hopefully, it looks like at least one of them is turning it around.  Reggie Redding, arrested in late July for marijuana possession, has owned up to his poor decisions and is trying to turn a negative into a positive.  Redding spoke with Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer and said:

I want to be a positive example for the program, for the university, just do the right thing, don’t get into any bad situations and not feel sorry for myself.  What happened, I can’t look back.  I can’t start over.  I’m just going to look forward. 

Obviously, some may say he is just saying this for the sake of saying it, but Jay Wright has praised Redding’s handling of the situation too, saying:

He’s still a leader on this team and you can’t hide that.  Everything we do, he’s a leader.  I think he’s handled it great, I really do.

Hopefully, Redding can continue to be a positive presence around the team and stay out of trouble.  A player who remembers Redding very well is Pittsburgh’s Jermaine Dixon.  As you all remember, Reggie was the imbounder for Scottie Reynolds’ infamous shot in last year’s Elite Eight.  It was Dixon who had the assignment of covering Reynolds during that sequence.  The bitter loss still haunts Dixon to this day.   

You’re only as good as your last game and that game is still in my head.  That’s the only game I have, so I sit there and watch it sometimes.  I like to critique myself and see what I did wrong, so I can get better….I was getting over it, but the thing that always held me back was Levance stayed in his house for a month after that.  He didn’t come out.  He was hurting and that kind of hurt me. I was getting over it, but his pain still stays with me.

I can imagine that game and specifically, that play, still linger in the minds of the Pitt players, coaches, and fans.  There’s no doubt that the Panthers will be looking for revenge when the Wildcats travel to the Pedersen Events Center this year. 

Instead of writing up my own thoughts for Wednesday’s clash against Pittsburgh, I thought it to be a good idea to get in touch with someone on the other side. Chas from Pitt Blather and I exchanged questions about the upcoming matchup. Below are his answers to my questions. You can see my responses to his questions here. Thanks to Chas for doing this with me.

Chris (I Bleed Blue and White): Because of injury troubles, Villanova did not see Levance Fields last year. He’s a proven Big East guard that has given ‘Nova trouble in the past. Blair and Young get most of the hype, but just how essential is Fields to the success of Pitt?

Chas (Pitt Blather): Well, much like last year, Fields is the only true point guard on the team. Pitt uses a motion-style offense so a point guard that sees the floor is absolutely vital. Fields, in particular, is invaluable because he doesn’t turn the ball over. His overall A/TO ratio is 3.54 and in Big East play it is 2.84. Pitt is a team that is big on offensive efficiency. Not a tremendous number of possessions, so they have to count.

To summarize, Pitt can’t succeed if Fields isn’t there.

Chris (IBBW): DeJuan Blair struggled offensively vs. Villanova last year. How’s he been doing and will he do more this time around?

Chas (PB): You know, averaging a double-double. Second only to Luke Harangody in that. He’s playing much better, in that he seems more of his teammates and is passing much crisper after getting boards on defense. On offense he is getting to be more consistent.

As far as how he’ll do this time vs. ‘Nova. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him struggled and be hindered by foul trouble. The most effective way to keep him from having a good game — limit his minutes. His worst games have come against teams that slash and attack to the basket. It puts him in a bad position defensively. His worst games in conference play came against Louisville and Rutgers. Both really came at the basket and got him into foul trouble.

I expect that Villanova will be doing some of the same, so it will be a test for Blair.

Chris (IBBW): There are some great matchups in this game, including Reynolds/Fields and Cunningham/Sam Young. What are guys like Wanamaker, Dixon and Biggs going to bring to this game?

Chas (PB): Jermaine Dixon is Pitt’s perimeter defender. He has embraced the idea of being a lockdown guy. He’ll probably draw the assignment of trying to contain Reynolds defensively.

Brad Wanamaker has started to blossom this year. He wasn’t ready for the game last year, but this year has confidence. He’s another guy that figured it out on defense. He’s one of Pitt’s better guys at getting steals and really going after loose balls, I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Nasir Robinson — who has seen his minutes rising the last few games — struggle on Wednesday. Both are Philly kids, so family and friends being there might be a distraction.

Tyrell Biggs is a solid back-up big man. The last few years, Pitt has had a guy that struggled for the first few years then has it all click in his senior year. This year it has been Biggs.

Chris (IBBW): Finally, both teams pride themselves on defense and toughness. How do you see this one ending?

Chas (PB): Well, a game in the 60’s doesn’t seem too strange. I expect a good amount of frustration on both teams at not being able to do as much as they expect to do on offense. It may not come down to a final possesion, but it will come down to the final couple of minutes.

So there you have, Chas sees a Pitt win, and if you check his blog, you’ll see that I forecast a ‘Nova win. In any case, this should be your typical Big East war. I’m very excited for the game tomorrow. I’m going to try and do as many of these as possible in the future, as I think it’s a good way to get a feel for the game and how the other side feels.