Freshmen led blue team defeats gold team in annual Panthers scrimmage
Tray Woodall and Talib Zanna enjoying their interactions with the fans
Fans got a chance to see Steven Adams at Greentree but seeing him execute a tomahawk dunk over Dante Taylor may have been the highlight of the Blue-Gold game.
The game won by the Blue team by a 65-55 score. The Blue team was paced by Talib Zanna and his 20 points. Zanna continued to show his range while shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field.
The Blue team also relied on freshmen Steven Adams and James Robinson. Adams scored the first two baskets of the game and had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while improving his post game in the process.
“The best thing is that he’s worked so hard and it’s going to come,” Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon said. “He’s improved in his post moves and I don’t think he’s done a lot of that in the past, watching his team and how they played.”
Robinson meanwhile showed craftiness scoring 15 points and doing behind the back moves to draw the defender off of the ball.
“I just try to take care of the ball as much as I can,” Robinson said. “Tray [Woodall] has taught me a lot since I’ve been here so I’ve tried to take little things he’s done well and implement them in my game to try and be a better player.”
The Gold team was led by Tray Woodall and Lamar Patterson. Woodall had 16 points and was 4-7 from three point range and was the only one to play all 32 minutes while Lamar Patterson scored his 15 points in a variety of ways. Dante Taylor also had 11 rebounds to lead the team.
“It’s the earliest we’ve done it,” Dixon said. “James [Robinson] was obviously very good, Steve [Adams] scored in the post and we did a good job getting him the ball. Dante [Taylor] for a stretch in the second half was really good, the Gold team didn’t do as good of a job getting the ball in the first half and that’s how they dug a hole.”
In the first half of the game the Blue team was able to execute their passes better and took a 30-17 lead at the half. The Gold team was able to rally a little in the second half, but the Blue team was too strong in the game.
Earlier in the day, the Panthers signed autographs for their fans. Items ranged from team posters and basketballs, to part of an actual seat. Fans decked out in Panthers gear came to the main lobby and concourse where players were spread out.
Final Word: JJ Moore on how hungry he is after a disappointing season and his off-season injury- “I’m really hungry, in fact I might be starving right now. I’m definitely getting back into shape and I feel good right now and am ready to go out there and play some games.”