Yardbarker: Levance Fields

Pitt Surviving With Five New Starters

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:16:00 -0500

by David SteeleFiled under: PittsburghKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- None of the five players Pittsburgh started in the NCAA tournament regional final last March -- the one the Panthers lost in heart-wrenching fashion to Scottie Reynolds' dramatic drive -- was around for Monday's CBE Classic semifinal against Wichita State.Well. technically, one was. Guard Jermaine Dixon was on the bench in his warmups, but didn't set foot on the Sprint Center floor; he's still recovering, slightly behin...

The Hunt: No. 34, Pittsburgh

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:45:20 -0500

Last year's record: 31-5, 15-3 Big East 2009-10's toughest games: Louisville, Georgetown, at West Virginia, Villanova Primary attraction: Jamie Dixon goes back to work. Three items of undeniable interest: 1. Because they went to the NBA, you see. So much of college hoops previewing is based on a simple formula: How many players did Team X lose? How good were those players? How good are the players that played behind them? And which recruits will help close the gap? The whole point o...

Video: Levance Fields Game-Winning Shot Against Xavier Bails Pitt Out

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:48:57 -0500

Levance Fields has really stepped up his game in his senior year, improving his assist/turnover ratio to 3.75:1. Even more important than that, Fields has stepped up and shown that he is the take-charge guy on the team, embodying the term “senior leader.” Check out what he did against Xavier in the final [...]

Fearless Fields comes through again for Pitt

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:26:33 -0500

The latest big shot of Levance Fields' career got Pitt over the hump and into the Elite Eight. Jeff Goodman says no one's more clutch.

2009 NCAA Sweet 16 Post Game Transcript: Xavier (March 26, 2009)

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:51:01 -0500

Athens, GA (Mar 26, 2009) - In Sweet Sixteen action from the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball tournament on Thursday, Xavier lost to Pittsburgh 60-55. This is the transcript of the Xavier University post-game press conference as provided by the NCAA and ASAP Sports.COACH MILLER: Well, there's a big difference between being up here asa winner and a loser in this tournament. I think when you lose youreflect more on the season. I cannot be more proud of the team that wehad this year, the...

March Madness: Xavier-Pittsburgh Odds Preview

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:56:03 -0500

The Xavier Musketeers and the Pittsburgh Panthers will both be trying to pick up a win on Thursday when they battle at TD Banknorth Sports Center in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Oddsmakers currently have the Panthers listed as 7-point favorites versus the Musketeers, while the game's total is sitting at 139. Xavier defeated Wisconsin 60-49 as a 2.5-point favorite in the second round on Sunday. The combined score fell UNDER the posted over/under total (121). B.J. Raymond scored ...

Knowing the Time and Score Situations

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:13:08 -0500

Still stuck on that Pitt game from Sunday. One of the things that stuck out at the end of the first half was this play where on the 1-and-1 free-throws, OSU (and Pitt too) falls asleep, and the shooter (Levance Fields) rushes in to grab the rebound and call timeout. This is precisely why it's vital that your players are constantly aware of the time/score situation at all times.

It's one of the reasons why as a coach I don't like to shout instructions to players who are either shooting or lined up at the free-throw block. I see coaches do it alot and I just think that it distracts the players from what they need to be doing, and that is focusing on boxing out and grabbing the rebound. You can see one of the OSU players with his head turned towards the OSU bench and just before Fields shoots the FT, the camera shows OSU head coach Travis Ford talking to a player on the FT block.

Summary:

It may be minor in the grand scale of things, but it's the attention to details that usually makes the big difference in the long run. You want your players to have good court awareness, part of that abstract term that is loosely thrown around called Basketball IQ. I think as coaches, we certainly have a hand in developing that knowledge and awareness.

For some more info on some high-intensity practice drills, check out Jamie Dixon's DVD on Competitive Practice Drills. Coach Dixon is the head coach at University of Pittsburgh. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.

Reveille

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:03:22 -0500

Pittsburgh 76? UConn 68:??Without Jerome Tyson in the game, one would have thought Pittsburgh point guard Levance Fields would have run roughshod over UConn.? Run roughshod over UConn back-up Kemba Walker.? One would have thought wrong.? Walker played tough defense.? Played rough defense.? ...

High-Level Big East Basketball

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:08:44 -0500

PITTSBURGH BOOS BIG BEN

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:08:56 -0500

Lost in the euphoria of Pitt's 'angry' 82-53 win over Miami (OH) was the fact that - gasp - Pittsburghers booed Ben Roethlisberger: The only boos emanating from the Petersen Events Center crowd last night came in the first half, when Steelers quarterback and Miami of Ohio alumnus Ben Roethlisberger was shown on the video scoreboard in a private box surrounded by red-clad RedHawks officials. OK, so he was supporting his alma mater. That's acceptable. It's not like he was pi...

Pitt's Struggles at Marquette Continue

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:01:33 -0500

The Panthers, for the third time this year, were simply not in the gym during a 54-72 loss at Marquette last night. I don't think I need to post a detailed recap of this one, just look at what happened against Rutgers and Dayton. Then subsitute the opponent for a ranked team that is 12-1 at home that just happens to always play well against Pitt. Levance Fields played, but didn't help. There was to be no stopping of Marquette last night. When Pitt starts missing shots, letting up easy...

Friday Night at the Bradley Center

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:13:54 -0500

itt will play Marquette tonight at 9 on ESPN in what has to be the best college hoops game on a Friday night in quite a while. I have no idea why they're playing today but it is an extremely important game. Pitt hasn't won at MU since they joined the conference, and have struggled against the Eagles overall. You could call it a rivalry...the teams always battle hard and the games are always close/intense, but the teams haven't exactly been going at it for too long. Marquette...

Providence Comes to the Pete

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:54:41 -0500

For the first time following the thrilling buzzer-beating win over West Virginia, Pitt will take the court tonight, this time taking on the Friars of Providence College. The Friars (13-10, 4-7 Big East) are struggling, so it doesn't look to be a tough game for Pitt. Still, Providence has a win at UConn under its belt, and Pitt can't afford to lose another easy one at home. The Panthers need to take every win they can get with a very difficult stretch coming up to finish off the Big Ea...