Saturday, November 24th, 2007 by Adam Wagner
Our high school team might be better than Buffalo
While watching Pitt dominate Buffalo at the Peterson Events Center Friday night, one of our friends turned to Matt and I and said, “Do you think our high school team is better than Buffalo?” The question seems insane at first glance. A high school team better than a Division I basketball team? Yeah, right. At that instant, however, Keith Benjamin came soaring down the lane after another steal to slam the ball through the hoop right in front of our seats and the question did not seem so ridiculous.
Buffalo played atrocious basketball Friday, passing the ball carelessly and seeming unaware of where the ball was when they were on defense. This may have also been a result of Pitt, the 17th ranked team in the nation, being purely dominant. Every Pitt player saw action in the victory, revealing the depth of Pitt’s bench as, at one point, there were no starters on the floor and Pitt was dominating more than they had at any other point in the game.
This year’s team is definitely faster than last year’s team, definitely more athletic, and DeJuan Blair is more impressive than Aaron Gray. From Sam Young, who seemed to do everything from hitting threes to making passes to driving in the lane, to Blair, who was able to swish a couple of free throws and seemingly intimidate Buffalo defensively, to Keith Benjamin, who scored eight consecutive points at one point and only missed having three huge dunks when he bounced one off of the backboard, Pitt is more exciting to watch this year.
There is a sense around the team that they are ready to do more damage on a national stage than they have in the past and it can be sensed in the Peterson Events Center, which seemed to be packed to near capacity despite students being on break. The team also seems to sense this excitement, as, every time the three of us became too engrossed in whatever conversation we were having, Pitt seemed to have another play where one would simply point to the court and, in the midst of a sentence, mutter “watch,” allowing the other two to view another highlight reel play.
Perhaps the most entertaining moment of the night came after Benjamin missed his dunk, however, causing a 20 foot floater and extensive embarrassment for the sometimes dominating guard. Coach Jamie Dixon mouthed words that looked suspiciously like, “No more dunking” as he lectured Benjamin, who was standing on the other side of the court.
Dixon seemed to want to come on the floor at times. This was no more obvious than when the coach came very close to stealing the ball from a Buffalo player who happened to dribble near the Pitt bench while Dixon was gesticulating furiously. Dixon managed to pull his arm out of the way, however, and the ball was safe in Buffalo’s hands, which did not mean much considering that Pitt had 16 steals on the night.
Pitt’s team looks like it is on the ball and ready for the stretch run that they will have to endure through a more difficult than usual out of conference schedule and Big East play.
Before I finish, I must take one quick crack at Penn State. RIDER?! They must be really terrible. I’m pretty sure that our high school team (or Buffalo for that matter) could beat either one of those Penn State or Rider.
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