Men’s Basketball: New-look Panthers start year against Wofford

When the Elite Eight banner is raised just before tonight’s regular season opener for the… When the Elite Eight banner is raised just before tonight’s regular season opener for the men’s basketball team against Wofford College, the players and fans will have a moment to remember last season’s successes.

But after the lights have finished shining on the banner in the rafters, they will quickly shift their attention to center court.

Sam Young, Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs, all senior starters, are gone. Co-Big East player of the year DeJuan Blair left early for the NBA.

This year, there are no proven leaders. The two seniors on the team, Jermaine Dixon and Chase Adams, have a combined one year of Big East playing experience. Pitt’s lineup won’t feature one starter from a year ago, as Dixon is still recovering from a broken foot.

Nevertheless, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon believes the expectations for this year’s team are no different.

“Our challenge is always to be the best team we can be,” Dixon said. “We decide how good we’re going to be. It’s not our youth or it’s not how we’re picked to finish.”

One of the challenges every team encounters is finding a leader. That leader has to emerge, and this year’s team has two players ready to do just that.

Junior Brad Wanamaker and sophomore Ashton Gibbs are embracing the leadership role.

“I consider myself one of the main leaders on this team,” Wanamaker said. “I want the team to go as I go. [Coach Dixon] tells me that if I get going early, the team will follow my lead.”

Currently, Gibbs and center Gary McGhee are the only active Panthers that have started a game for Pitt.

“I consider myself a leader. Being a point guard, you want to be a leader, and [Coach Dixon] stresses it,” Gibbs said.

The Wofford College Terriers enter the 2009-10 season returning all five starters from a year ago, and they are coming off their most successful season since joining the Southern Conference in 1997, going 16-13.

Wofford is led by two veteran scorers, junior forward Noah Dahlman and senior guard Junior Salters. Dahlman led the team in scoring with 17.8 points per contest, while Salters tallied 15 points per game a year ago. Both players were in the top five in scoring in the Southern Conference.

“They’re a very good team, they’re very experienced,” Gibbs said. “They have some good shooters, some good attackers and some big men as well. They’re very versatile.”

Pitt will have to counter Wofford’s dynamic offense with solid defensive ball pressure. After losing four of its top five scorers from a year ago, Pitt will need improved defensive play in 2009.

“We’ve got to find different ways to win this year, and this year it’s going to be about how we play defense,” Wanamaker said.

The Panthers will oppose Wofford’s veteran squad with a young starting lineup. Wanamaker, Gibbs, McGhee, sophomore Nasir Robinson and redshirt freshman Travon Woodall are the likely starters for Pitt, as they started both of Pitt’s exhibition games.

Pitt will embark on the 2009-10 campaign with a lower ranking than it had heading into last year, but expectations remain the same. Dixon thinks this team has potential to live up to those expectations.

“I have confidence in this group in where they’re going to be,” said Dixon. “I’m very impressed with what they’ve done and what they’ve committed themselves to doing.”