Much of Pitt’s season to date has featured individual players navigating inconsistent stretches of offensive production.
Take, for example, sophomore guard Brandin Cummings, who lit up Petersen Events Center for 34 points (vs. Hofstra on Dec. 7) and 29 points (vs. Syracuse on Saturday) only to also be off his game for extended periods.
Heading into the Panthers’ Wednesday evening contest at Georgia Tech, fellow guard Nojus Indrusaitis was a player in particular trying to establish some rhythm offensively.
Indrusaitis was largely playing well off the bench through mid-December, but from Dec. 21 to Jan. 10, over the span of four games, his contributions almost totally dried up, as he shot a combined 2 for 20 from the floor and had missed 12 straight baskets at tipoff Wednesday.
“He’s a good player that’s going through a rough patch,” coach Jeff Capel said Monday on his weekly ACC conference call. “We believe in him. He gives us a guy who’s a good decision-maker. He’s a big, strong guard. He can shoot the basketball, (and) he can be a solid defender.”
Only Indrusaitis knows exactly how he was able to break out of his slump, but against the Yellow Jackets, he looked every bit of the player Capel described him as.
Coming off the bench, he gave Pitt (8-9, 1-3 ACC) a major spark, tying a career-high in points (16) on 5 of 9 shooting in a 89-66 Panthers win, their first in ACC play this season.
Indrusaitis was solid, especially from deep, as he hit 4 of 6 3-point tries, also establishing a new career-best.
The 6-foot-5 Iowa State transfer easily could have let his individual start weigh him down Wednesday.
After checking in for the first time with 12:53 to go in the first half, Indrusaitis traveled, turning the ball over before missing his first two shots from the floor.
But with just under nine minutes left in the half, he drained a 3-pointer, snapping an 0 for 14 shooting skid.
He hit another basket from downtown with around three minutes left, helping Pitt to an 18-point lead, as the Panthers continued to throttle the Yellow Jackets.
By halftime, Indrusaitis was tied for the Panthers team lead with 10 points.
In the second half, Indrusaitis drained two more 3-pointers, with Pitt continuing to blow out Georgia Tech.
Indrusaitis was also an effective distributor of the ball over the final 20 minutes, collecting four second-half assists while finishing with four rebounds as well.
When he brought in Indrusaitis from Iowa State last offseason, Capel saw potential, but knew he was acquiring a player without extensive playing experience.
With the Cyclones, a team that went 25-10 (13-7 Big 12) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, Indusaitis appeared in 15 total games, averaging only 5.8 minutes per night.
Upon Indrusaitis landing at Pitt, Capel planned for him to assume a more prominent rotational role, but didn’t rule out that there would be some growing pains for the young, relatively inexperienced guard.
By bouncing back at Georgia Tech, Indrusaitis may have manufactured some confidence in himself that Capel has continued to project.
“Nojus is a good player that (was) struggling and that happens, especially when you haven’t played as much,” Capel said. “This is really like a freshman season, his first season of playing, because he only played 89 total minutes last year on a really good team. But this is the first time of consistently playing.”
