Q: I know it is easy to second guess a coach after something goes wrong, but I have yet to get a reasonable answer to the following question. Why doesn't a coach put a defender on the in-bounder in end of game situations? I was at the 1992 game in which Rick Pitino's Kentucky team lost to Duke on the last play of the game and watched Pitt lose to Villanova in a similar situation. With 10 seconds remaining, Pitt had Brad Wanamaker on the in-bounder and he threw it away, with 5 seconds remaining Pitt did not defend the inbounder. Why? Who was Levance Fields guarding? Why did Pitt make it so easy for Villanova to inbound the ball?

Richard Notari, Old Forge, Pa.

FITTIPALDO: The press with 10 seconds remaining was designed to create a turnover, which it did. When Reggie Redding had trouble finding someone to throw the ball to, he attempted a home run pass to Dante Cunningham, who could not run the ball down. Jermaine Dixon grabbed it and passed to Fields, who was fouled. Fields' two free throws tied the score.

Now, we're in a totally different situation. You press, but it's not necessarily designed to create a turnover. Coach Jamie Dixon said the defense was designed to keep the ball in front of Pitt's defenders. The problem was not in the defense, it was in its execution by the players. All five Pitt players could be faulted for their defense on that play, most notably Jermaine Dixon, who allowed Scottie Reynolds to get by him up the sideline.

Taking Jermaine's Dixon mistake into account and then factoring in the other players' tentative play because they did not want to foul, and you create an optimum situation for Reynolds, who made a great play. You are right that there is a lot of second-guessing going on, but it's been more an issue with the players and the way they decided to defend the final 5.5 seconds, not the way Dixon coached it.