Khemical Waste

10 games. That's is all it took.  Khem Birch, the highly touted freshman recruit, has decided to leave Pitt just 10 games into his rookie campaign.  Birch was just the second McDonald's All-American coach Jamie Dixon has ever recruited to Pitt and great things were expected from him from the moment he signed his Letter of Intent last year.  When Birch reclassified from the 2012 class to this years 2011 class, Pitt was ecstatic to be getting him a year earlier than expected.  From early on this season, you could see that Birch just oozed athleticism and given the right amount of time to adjust to big time college basketball, he would be ready to thrive possibly as soon as Big East play started in late December.

When Dante Taylor was injured for a few games earlier this season, Birch was called on to start and filled the void very well.  His breakout performance was against Penn where he had 15 points and pulled down 10 boards in 28 minutes.  Birch has shown flashes of brilliance and was ready to make the jump to the next level, but in the blink of an eye he was gone.  Birch blind-sided his coaches, his teammates, and the Pitt fans with his decision to leave the team and head back to his native Canada.  Twitter nearly broke with all the speculations and rumors floating around Thursday night, but all were confirmed when Birch did not attend practice Friday and bolted home later that day.  Dixon has the reputation to make his freshman wait out their time on the bench and earn their playing time, and when they finally have earned it then he has given them the chance to get on the floor.  Birch, being a freshman, did not see the minutes he thought he deserved.  He was still growing and Jamie would have rewarded him with more and more minutes if he continued to improve, but he didn't want to stick around to find out.  Sam Young almost transferred to Memphis after his sophomore year because he wasn't getting the time he wanted, but he sat down with Jamie and trusted his opinion and continued with the gameplan.  This worked out pretty well for Young who went on to tear up the Big East in his junior and senior seasons and lead Pitt to their first elite 8 in many years while averaging 23.5 points in 4 NCAA tournament games.  He helped his draft stock mightily and was taken in the 2nd round of the NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.  

If Khem just would have trusted Jamie and the coaching staff, he could of had the same fate.  He could of had a solid freshman season, chipping in when called upon, and waiting his turn to become Pitt's next great star.  Next season would have been a breakthrough year for him, and it still might be, but just not in a Pitt uniform.  Apparently, Khem never really got accustomed to Pittsburgh and was very homesick.  This, along with the lack of playing time, are the only 2 reasons uncovered so far.  Khem was starting, on a top 15 team, in the best conference in all of college basketball, but that still wasn't enough for him.  Even his high school coach at Notre Dame prep stated, "This situation is painting him as something he is not.  The problem is he is being led down a road by so-called advisors.  It's going to end poorly for Khem, and that is sad for me because I care about the kid.  This is not going to end well for him."  No-one knows if Khem plans to transfer or if he plans to enter next years NBA draft, but this I do know.  Pitt will win with or without him.  His loss.

The Great One, The Magnificent One, or The Next One?

The great debate of who the best hockey player of all-time always comes down to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux and rightfully so.  Gretzky dominated the league throughout the 80's shattering every scoring record while Lemieux was revered as the most gifted scorer in NHL history.  But, lets add a new face to the debate, his name is Sidney Crosby.  Crosby was dubbed the Next One at a very young age and has all but exceeded the expectations set for him.  The man has won every major individual award in the NHL including the Hart, Pearson, Art Ross, and Richard trophies and team awards such as a Stanley Cup championship and a Gold Medal while representing Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics.  He did all that by the age of 24.

So, who is the greatest NHL player of the three? It really is a tough question, but the numbers never lie and the only way to distinguish such a player is to look at the numbers.  A statical analysis of these players will give us the answer we have all been waiting for.  Here. We. Go.

First, lets start off with how each player compares against one another in terms of attributes.  Their was no doubt Gretzky had the best vision, Lemieux the best hands, and Crosby the best skating, but we're talking about the most complete player.  This chart will breakdown each player in terms of sheer skills and the score is out of 100.

Attributes	Lemieux	Gretzky	Crosby
Shooting	9	8	8
Vision	9	10	9
Goal Scoring Touch	10	9	8
Skating	9	7	10
Hands	10	7	8
Power-Play	9	8	6
Penalty Kill	10	10	4
Clutch Gene	9	10	7
Hockey IQ	10	10	10
Defensive/Neutral Zone Play	7	7	9
Overall	90	83	80

Now, these rankings are our opinion, but you get a chance to see the strengths and weaknesses of each player.  Going in to this, Lemieux was going to be the best ranked player, but I didn't think Gretzky and Crosby would be that far behind.  Crosby is really low mainly because of special teams play.  The Penguins power play throughout his tenure has been average at best and the guy is rarely out there to kill penalties.  Some of you are saying that Crosby isn't a penalty killer and the Penguins have better suited players for those roles, and I completely agree with that, but Lemieux was not a penalty killer either earlier in his career, but he willed his way onto the rink. So, Crosby has to be penalized for his lack of skills in that area because Lemieux and Gretzky overcame the same ordeal.  Other than special teams play, I see no argument with the numbers assigned.  In this ranking system, Lemieux is by far the best player with a ranking of 90 out of 100.   In terms of skills, the Magnificent One reigns as the greatest to ever grace the ice.

Second, their is always that argument of the certain era each played in.  The NHL was completely different in the 80s than it was in the 90s.  The Dead Puck era occurred from 1994-2005 and with the emergence of the neutral zone trap around 1994, the NHL seen its goal per game drop from 7.46 in 1977-1987 to 5.32 in 1997 to 2007.  That 2 goals a game is a huge difference and the neutral zone trap was just one reason for this harsh decline.   Lets look at how the era's affected each player.

The easiest decade of scoring in NHL history occurred during 1977-1987, which yielded 7.46 goals per game.  In that decade, Gretzky played the prime of his career scoring .842 gpg and 2.33 ppg.  Those are fantastic numbers and no one can argue that Gretzky was not the best player in that era after seeing them.  In my opinion, Mario Lemieux's peak of his career was between 1987-1997.  In those years,  NHL scoring was around 6.7 ppg, an entire goal lower than that of Gretzky's prime and the neutral zone trap was in full effect.  Lemieux scored .883 gpg and 2.16 ppg.  Now, Sidney Crosby's prime is going on right now or still may be ahead of him, but lets analyze his first 8 years for this section.  The NHL has averaged about 5.45 goals per year from 2001-2011.  That decade ended as the 4th lowest decade of scoring in NHL history, with 2 of the others occurring in the early part of the 20th century.  Since 2004-2005, Crosby has scored .522 gpg and 1.38 ppg.  So, lets recap of the numbers so far.

	Lemieux (Prime)	Gretzky (Prime)	Crosby (So far)
GPG	.883	.842	.522
PPG	2.16	2.33	1.38

Now, lets analyze Lemieux and Gretzky's numbers during the Dead Puck Era, which occurred between 1994-2005 and Crosby's as of right now.

	Lemieux (Dead Puck)	Gretzky (Dead Puck)	Crosby (So far)
GPG	.66	.31	.522
PPG	1.68	1.8	1.38

The first aspect of these stats that really caught my eye was the decrease in both gpg and ppg with Gretzky from his prime years into the Dead Puck era.  Now, some of that has to do with Gretzky entering the era at age 33 with his best years behind him.  But, I believe Gretzky's game was based on space and the neutral zone trap took that space away.  Lemieux, however, didn't miss a step entering the era and had one of his best statistical years in 1995-96 with 69 goals and 161 points.  Gretzky and Lemieux's numbers in their prime's were downright scary.  Gretzky shattered records with that Oilers dynasties scoring 2.3 ppg and Lemieux averaged 2.16 ppg and .883 gpg all while dealing with a herniated disc in his back and Hodgkin's disease throughout those years.  He still seems to find ways to amaze us today.  Next, a lot of people think of Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos as the greatest goal scorers of today's NHL, but Crosby's numbers prove he shouldn't be overlooked.  In these tables, Crosby doesn't just compare with Ovechkin and Stamkos, he compares with the two greatest hockey players of all-time.  Another thing to keep in mind was the emergence of the butterfly goaltenders in the early 2000's.  Crosby has played all of his career during this time period with goaltenders playing the game more effectively than ever before.

Gretzky averaged 1.921 ppg over his career while Lemieux averaged 1.883, the best two scoring averages in league history.  Lemieux played in 600 less games that that of Gretzky because of the health issues I brought up earlier.  Those 600 games were all during Lemieux's prime so it would be reasonable to say that Lemieux would have exceeded Gretzky's numbers if he remained healthy.  Mike Gartner, a former NHL all-star, once claimed Lemieux would score 1,000 goals in his career.  He didn't quite get there, but boy did he have that ability.

After analyzing the statistics of the three players and the NHL they played in, Mario Lemieux proves to be the greatest player hockey of all-time while Gretzky comes in at a close second.  Its hard to argue against all the points Gretzky put up, but Lemieux was just the more talented, better overall player.  For now, Crosby comes in at third, but if his game continues to evolve, he could climb to the top of this list.


So, there you have it.  A statistical breakdown of the greatest players in NHL history.  The greatest players in the greatest game.

This is the Year: Pitt Basketball

The backcourt lost a key component and its main facilitator with the departure of Brad Wannamaker. Travon Woodall, a redshirt junior who has plenty of experience, must take Wannamaker's place in the offense.  Woodall has shown flashes of greatness in the past, i.e. the game tying shot agianst St. Johns at the Garden last year, but he has been very inconsistent throughout his career.  He will change that this year.  He will finally have the ball in his hands and he will make plays.  It's now or never for Mr. Woodall.  Next,  their are only two people in this world that I believe every jump shot they take they should make.  One is Ray Allen, the greatest three point shooter in NBA history and the other is Ashton Gibbs.  With a 49% three point percentage while still maintaining 16.8 ppg, this should come as no surprise. The dude is the purest of shooters with ice water in his veins.  However, this year he must prove to NBA scouts that he can be a point guard at the next level so look for Gibbs to pass more.  With that being said, he can't stop shooting because he is the best shooter in the country, period.  After these two, the experience is minimal.  Lamar Patterson will step into a starting role this year after spelling Wannamaker and Gilbert Brown last year.  I'm hearing that he has reshaped in his body for a more prototypcial 3 guard which Pitt will need.  He can shoot, pass, and defend so watch for Patterson to be on the court a lot this year.  Jamie Dixon has said of Patterson that he is the best pure passer on the team and Pitt will need him to facilitate because passing is crucial to this teams offense.  JJ Moore, a sophomore, will likely split time with Patterson at the 3 spot.  Moore is the best athlete on the team, winning the team dunk competition the last 2 years proves this, and can really fill it up when he gets in the zone.  The good thing about Moore and Patterson is that they are polar opposites in the way they play basketball and with them Pitt can throw many different looks at opposing teams, making them a very hard team to defend against.  Also filling out the backcourt are Isaiah Epps and Cameron Wright.  Both were redshirted last year, so they spent last year practicing with the team and adjusting to the pace of Big East basketball.  They should be ready to make key contributions this year when called upon.  Epps is a pass first point guard and if Woodall is not getting the job done facilitating, then Epps will jump right in and the offense shouldn't miss a beat.  Wright is a 6'5 two guard who has the size and the overall game to maybe make the NBA if he continues to improve throughout his time here at Pitt (which most players do).  John Johnson, a true freshman, score first point guard, might also see some time at point, bringing a nice change of pace from Woodall and Epps, who are both pass first points guards.  Johnson never came across a shot he didn't like and Pitt may need someone like that to help ease the scoring load on Ashton Gibbs.

The frontcourt is loaded with size, talent, and athleticism and is the strength of this year's team.  Athleticism is the key attribute here because most Pitt teams in the past just didn't have it.  The most athletic team Pitt had in the past decade was the 2008-2009 team with Dejuan Blair and Sam Young and that team lost in the Elite 8 at the buzzer.  I won't say more than that besides the fact that Socttie Renyolds is in now playing in the country Chad.  Back to this year, this frontcourt is stacked starting with Nasir Robinson, an underrated rebounder and finsiher for being 6'5", Dante Taylor, a former McDonald's All American and my pick for Big East Most Improved Player this year, Talib Zanna, an althletic freak who can extend defenders away from the hoop with his jump shot, and two highly recruited freshman Khem Birch and Malcolm Gilbert.  Watch out for Khem Birch as a freshman.  It may be unfair for me and probably others to have such high expectations for this young man, but if you've seen him play, you know what I'm talking about.  Birch had 15 points, 10 rebounds (9 offensive) and six blocked shots at the McDonald's All-American game which is against the best high school players in the nation.  Sounds like old number 45 huh, and yes, he can be that good, maybe better.  This frontcourt has the ability to compete and win against any in the nation.  The X-factor though is Dante Taylor.  He has steadily improved his first 2 years and needs to step up and have a breakthrough year.  He has a high motor and can rebound on both ends better than most big men, but he must add a scoring touch this year.  He has blown easy lay up after easy lay up his first 2 years and I believe this has caused him to lose some of his confidence.  This year must be different.  He must regain that scoring touch and that focus that led to to be a highly touted high school prospect.  He needs to average close to a double double and finally live up to his McDonald's All-American moniker for this team to really make some noise in the Big East.

Prediction

Over the past 6 years, Pitt has been the best team in the Big East, which is considered the best overall conference in college basketball. In that time, they have earned a number 1 seed twice in the NCAA tournament, but have only made it to the Elite 8 once and Sweet 16 twice.  This team is famous for chronically underachieving when the lights shine the brightest, but I believe this year will be different and here's why.  The infusion of young talent will be the difference this year.  Sure this team still has plenty of experience, but many of their young guys will be called upon to log major minutes and they have not felt the sting of the tournament losses quite like last years class did.  With the mixture of experience and youth, this team is poised to have the perfect mix and make a deep run into the tournament and plus, Gibbs can shoot this team into any game against anyone. I believe they will finish second in the Big East in the regular season, gaining a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament.  They will parlay their high seed with the team's first Final Four since World War II.  (which really doesn't even count).  Jamie Dixon deserves a Final Four and this will be the team to give it to him.  This is the year.