Panthers downplay Gray's fatigue

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Panthers downplay Gray's fatigue

By The Tribune-Review
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Aaron Gray's coaches and teammates defended the star center regarding apparent fatigue in Big East final loss to Georgetown.
"That kind of comes with the territory," Levon Kendall said. "When you're that size, you're a little easier to notice, and that's always a concern for guys that big, but Aaron has worked hard enough in the offseason and throughout the year that he's in good enough shape to handle that. We can all recover pretty quickly at this stage."

Said coach Jamie Dixon, "His conditioning was better this week than it was the previous month when he didn't practice for 10 days straight with the (ankle injury)."

• As Pitt personnel loaded the chartered bus yesterday afternoon to prepare for the ride to Buffalo, roadies were busy readying for the Nickelback concert last night at Petersen Events Center with a caravan of a dozen luxury cruisers. Certainly Kendall, a senior forward and Vancouver native, with his musician's background, is a fan of the Canadian band, right?

"I know they're Canadian," Kendall said, "but I'm not a fan."

• At least one person in Pittsburgh will be pulling for Wright State. Scott Grote, a freshman guard at Duquesne, is the son of Bob Grote, the color analyst for the Wright State basketball team. Bob Grote was a basketball and baseball star at the school in the mid-1970s and is a member of the Wright State Hall of Fame.



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Pitt's Gray looks to rebound against Wright State

By John Grupp
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, March 13, 2007


Aaron Gray is facing the Wright team to break out of his recent skid.
The 7-foot center will be on the good side of a colossal mismatch when No. 3 seed Pitt plays undersized Wright State at 9:40 p.m. Thursday in Buffalo in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 14 seed Wright State (23-9) only has one regular taller than 6-foot-6 -- Jordan Pleiman, a 6-8, 250-pound junior.

"We're excited," Gray said after the field of 65 was released. "We're not giving up yet."

Gray figures to be in prime position to rebound quickly from his slide at the Big East Tournament, including the worst game of his collegiate career, the 1-for-13, three-point disaster in the 65-42 loss to Georgetown in the finals.

Against Louisville in the semifinals, Gray failed to record a rebound for the first time in 66 games, dating to his sophomore year.

In his past two games, Gray has three field goals and more personal fouls (six) than rebounds (five). This coming the same week he was named unanimous first-team Big East and a third-team All-American.

Gray barely looked All-Emmaus in the Big East finals. It was not what he was seeking when he returned for his senior season after flirting with entering last year's NBA draft.

"It was a bad night," said Gray, who averages 14.1 points and 9.6 rebounds. "I'm glad it happened in the Big East Tournament rather than the NCAA Tournament."

Gray said he felt confident against Georgetown and wasn't thrown off his game by the presence of 7-2 Hoya center Roy Hibbert.

"I didn't take a shot, maybe one or two, that I didn't think was going in," Gray said. "Playing against big Roy, everyone was like, 'Oh, were you a little timid going against him?' My response is maybe I was a little too excited. My normal hook shots were going long. Shots are going off the back rim. Maybe I was moving a little big quicker."

No one will confuse Pleiman with Hibbert. The second-year starter averages 7.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in about 24 minutes per game.

Wright State, which claimed the automatic bid out of the Horizon League, uses three or four guards and plays primarily man-to-man defense. The Raiders also go even smaller, playing 6-6, 215-pound Scottie Wilson in the paint for about 16 minutes a game.

Big men enjoyed mixed results against the Raiders. Detroit's 6-foot-9, 250-pound Ryvon Covile, generally regarded as the top post player in the Horizon League, had nine points and seven rebounds in his lone meeting with the Raiders this season. Wisconsin-Green Bay's Mike Schachtner, a 6-foot-8 second-team all-league player, averaged 13.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in three games against Wright State. The best big man the Raiders faced this season, LSU's Glen Davis, totaled 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon isn't panicking as the Panthers head into the NCAA Tournament for the sixth year in a row.

"Everybody had to think we were playing pretty good in the first two games (of the Big East Tournament)," Dixon said. "You have to feel pretty good. Obviously, the last game we didn't play well. There is no other way to put it. Things went wrong for us. We didn't get it done against a very good Georgetown team."

The last time Gray came off a loss in the Big East finals, he followed up with one of his best games at Pitt. Gray was perfect in the Panthers' 79-64 victory over Kent State in the 2006 NCAA first round. He went 6 for 6 from the floor and 5 for 5 from the free-throw line for 17 points. He had 13 rebounds and a career high-tying five blocked shots. .

Gray isn't looking ahead to a possible second-round matchup with Duke and second-team all-ACC center Josh McRoberts.

"Right now," he said, "we have to worry about Wright State."