The second week of the Pittsburgh Basketball Pro-Am unfolded on Wednesday night with no new faces to talk about. Rodney Pryor and Jairus Lyles were in attendance but did not participate, while Kavon Stewart and David Appolon also remained out. Elijah Minnie and Ryan Skovranko were also absent on Monday
Everyone else from the Robert Morris contingent was on the floor though, so let's get to the action.
SYSTEM ONE 95, SHALE ATTORNEY 80
Charles Oliver and Marcquise Reed went head-to-head in this one, and it was the youngster who came out on top thanks to some help from his friends. Oliver - who we'll have a story on later this week - was a solid 7-of-13 from the floor for a team-high 22 points. He ran the point occasionally, drove the lane at times and showed an overall larger arsenal of scoring capabilities.
Reed went 8-of-12 to also score 22 points, and he also ran the point some for System One, though those duties largely went to Pitt's James Robinson. Between Reed, Pitt's Mike Young (18 points and 15 rebounds) and Duquesne's LG Gill (20 points), System One just had too many weapons, especially with Robinson directing a large part of it. Aaron Tate also had a solid contribution, chipping in eight points and six rebounds for System One.
Reed had his second good performance in three games, showcasing a natural ability to drive the lane or pull up for jumpers. He gambled a bit on defense, but he contributed four rebounds and four assists. If he does what Andy Toole asks of him, he really looks like he could contribute early on.
BAKERY SQUARE 86, CRONS 83
With Minnie and Skovranko sidelined and Pryor and Lyles yet to suit up, this was the only game of the night that didn't have any Robert Morris players involved. But it did feature two notable double-double performances from Pitt forwards. Jamel Artis had 26 points and 14 rebounds, as he continues to look like one of the best players in the league. But the surprise was Joe Uchebo, who didn't play last season while battling an injury. Uchebo had 27 points and a league-record 26 rebounds. That record breaks the one previously set by DeJuan Blair.
UPMC 98, PGT 97
Our first buzzer beater and controversial ending of the summer. Lucky Jones appeared to win the game with three free throws with about seven seconds remaining, only for drama to ensure. UPMC had one last look at the basket and Dominique McKoy (Duquesne) tipped in a shot that the refs ruled counted. PGT protested to no avail, and from my vantage point, it sure sounded like the buzzer went off before McKoy got the tip off. But it counted and PGT will have to get revenge in the league playoffs or something.
Outside of the close finish, it was a lackluster game for the Robert Morris players. Stephan Hawkins and Andre Frederick had really quiet nights. Hawkins had two points and four rebounds for PGT. Frederick had four points and three rebounds. Neither is the primary big man on their team, let alone the primary scoring threat, so it's tougher for them to get touches.
Even Jones had a rougher night, going 5-of-19 from the floor. He made up for it by going 9-of-10 from the free throw line to end up with 22 points to go with his nine rebounds. Jones has consistently been one of the best players in this league, so even a bad shooting night shouldn't deter him.
SOUTH HILLS AUDI 78, GNC 67
I've taken to calling the South Hills team "the Spurs". Much like the recent NBA champions, South Hills doesn't do much flashy. But they play extremely well together as the most veteran team in the league. South Hills, usually made up of Pitt and local alumni, has been one of the top teams in the league the last two years. This year, much like the Spurs, they've had little bit of an infusion of youth. So they're an even tougher out.
GNC found that out on Monday. Karvel Anderson had his first rough shooting night of the summer, going 2-of-8 from 3-point range and 6-of-18 overall for 18 points, and it was largely because of the defense. Yes, defense. In a summer league! South Hills actually calls out screens and switches, though Anderson also dealt with a bulldog of a defender in former Nebraska standout Lance Jeter dogging him all over the court. Jeter's cousin Sheldon, who spent a year at Vanderbilt before transferring to Pitt for this season, also spent some time on Anderson.
GNC shot just 35 percent from the floor and slowly fell away from the more efficient South Hills squad. Jafar Kinsey also had a rough night shooting (1-of-11) and had just two points. Lionel Gomis didn't have the best shooting night either (4-of-12), but he had a solid 10 rebounds. Gomis looks really comfortable with the ball in his hands and he's really active around the rim. His shot isn't consistent - he loved the hook shot on Monday and didn't hit regularly - but he appears to have some range. He's quickly becoming a very intriguing component of the 2014-15 roster. If he's ready to go with Toole's system, he could make a significant impact early on.
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Play resumes on Wednesday. We'll see if it gets a better attendance than last Wednesday's set of games, where just a handful of RMU players participated.
Everyone else from the Robert Morris contingent was on the floor though, so let's get to the action.
SYSTEM ONE 95, SHALE ATTORNEY 80
Charles Oliver and Marcquise Reed went head-to-head in this one, and it was the youngster who came out on top thanks to some help from his friends. Oliver - who we'll have a story on later this week - was a solid 7-of-13 from the floor for a team-high 22 points. He ran the point occasionally, drove the lane at times and showed an overall larger arsenal of scoring capabilities.
Reed went 8-of-12 to also score 22 points, and he also ran the point some for System One, though those duties largely went to Pitt's James Robinson. Between Reed, Pitt's Mike Young (18 points and 15 rebounds) and Duquesne's LG Gill (20 points), System One just had too many weapons, especially with Robinson directing a large part of it. Aaron Tate also had a solid contribution, chipping in eight points and six rebounds for System One.
Reed had his second good performance in three games, showcasing a natural ability to drive the lane or pull up for jumpers. He gambled a bit on defense, but he contributed four rebounds and four assists. If he does what Andy Toole asks of him, he really looks like he could contribute early on.
BAKERY SQUARE 86, CRONS 83
With Minnie and Skovranko sidelined and Pryor and Lyles yet to suit up, this was the only game of the night that didn't have any Robert Morris players involved. But it did feature two notable double-double performances from Pitt forwards. Jamel Artis had 26 points and 14 rebounds, as he continues to look like one of the best players in the league. But the surprise was Joe Uchebo, who didn't play last season while battling an injury. Uchebo had 27 points and a league-record 26 rebounds. That record breaks the one previously set by DeJuan Blair.
UPMC 98, PGT 97
Our first buzzer beater and controversial ending of the summer. Lucky Jones appeared to win the game with three free throws with about seven seconds remaining, only for drama to ensure. UPMC had one last look at the basket and Dominique McKoy (Duquesne) tipped in a shot that the refs ruled counted. PGT protested to no avail, and from my vantage point, it sure sounded like the buzzer went off before McKoy got the tip off. But it counted and PGT will have to get revenge in the league playoffs or something.
Outside of the close finish, it was a lackluster game for the Robert Morris players. Stephan Hawkins and Andre Frederick had really quiet nights. Hawkins had two points and four rebounds for PGT. Frederick had four points and three rebounds. Neither is the primary big man on their team, let alone the primary scoring threat, so it's tougher for them to get touches.
Even Jones had a rougher night, going 5-of-19 from the floor. He made up for it by going 9-of-10 from the free throw line to end up with 22 points to go with his nine rebounds. Jones has consistently been one of the best players in this league, so even a bad shooting night shouldn't deter him.
SOUTH HILLS AUDI 78, GNC 67
I've taken to calling the South Hills team "the Spurs". Much like the recent NBA champions, South Hills doesn't do much flashy. But they play extremely well together as the most veteran team in the league. South Hills, usually made up of Pitt and local alumni, has been one of the top teams in the league the last two years. This year, much like the Spurs, they've had little bit of an infusion of youth. So they're an even tougher out.
GNC found that out on Monday. Karvel Anderson had his first rough shooting night of the summer, going 2-of-8 from 3-point range and 6-of-18 overall for 18 points, and it was largely because of the defense. Yes, defense. In a summer league! South Hills actually calls out screens and switches, though Anderson also dealt with a bulldog of a defender in former Nebraska standout Lance Jeter dogging him all over the court. Jeter's cousin Sheldon, who spent a year at Vanderbilt before transferring to Pitt for this season, also spent some time on Anderson.
GNC shot just 35 percent from the floor and slowly fell away from the more efficient South Hills squad. Jafar Kinsey also had a rough night shooting (1-of-11) and had just two points. Lionel Gomis didn't have the best shooting night either (4-of-12), but he had a solid 10 rebounds. Gomis looks really comfortable with the ball in his hands and he's really active around the rim. His shot isn't consistent - he loved the hook shot on Monday and didn't hit regularly - but he appears to have some range. He's quickly becoming a very intriguing component of the 2014-15 roster. If he's ready to go with Toole's system, he could make a significant impact early on.
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Play resumes on Wednesday. We'll see if it gets a better attendance than last Wednesday's set of games, where just a handful of RMU players participated.
