Basketball: Women getting familiar face back while men will have a new look

Three years ago, freshman point guard Jania Sims was named a starter for Pitt shortly after a… Three years ago, freshman point guard Jania Sims was named a starter for Pitt shortly after a season-ending injury to all-Big East guard Mallorie Winn.

Last year, just five minutes into the first game of the season against Texas A&M, Sims suffered a season-ending injury. Sims, who was academically ineligible for the second half of the 2007-2008 season, was diagnosed with bilateral tibial stress fractures and took a medical redshirt.

As the Panthers begin another season, Sims has never been more eager to get back to competitive basketball.

“I’m really excited to get back on the court,” Sims said. “It’s not only exciting to come back, but also to come back to a team with so many weapons.”

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato, who enters her seventh year as head coach, shares Sims’ enthusiasm in seeing the point guard get back into playing form.

“I’m really excited to have Jania Sims back,” Berenato said. “She’s one of the best point guards in the country, and I know she’s just chomping at the bit.”

Berenato praised Sims for her positive mentality while enduring last years’ disappointing injury.

“Instead of sulking and being depressed because of her injury, [Sims] really took it as a learning opportunity,” said Berenato.

The redshirt junior took the time to watch tapes and talk to her teammates as much as possible about the games. Sims says that not being able to compete incorporated a new strength into her game.

“When I came back, I was surprised because I was doing things I couldn’t do before,” Sims said. “Everything came back right away — my shot, my speed — but now I’m just a lot smarter.”

Berenato also thinks Sims is showing skills she didn’t posses at this point last year.

“I think [Sims] was in great form last year, but I think she’s in even better form now,” Berenato said. “She’s become a student of the game.”

Berenato knows that Sims is the one who has to lead the team on the floor. Sims’ time off the court has developed her ability to become that leader.

“As the point guard, she’s the coach on the floor,” Berenato said. “She’s the one who has to direct this team. I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised.”

Sims wants to be a leader for the team, and she thinks that despite graduating two four-year starters last year, Pitt can compete with the best teams in the country.

“This team can be really good if we play together and work hard,” Sims said.

The Panthers tip off the 2009 season Nov. 10 against Seton Hill at the Petersen Events Center.

While the women’s basketball team is getting back a familiar face with Sims’s return, the men’s team is going to look a lot different after arguably the best season in school history.

This year, the Panthers only return one starter — Jermaine Dixon — from the team that last season received its first No. 1 national ranking and made the Elite Eight.

Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs, two senior starters for Pitt last year, are now playing professionally in Europe, while Sam Young and DeJuan Blair were both second-round selections in June’s NBA Draft.

Dixon and Chase Adams, a transfer from Centenary College in Louisiana, are the only two seniors on the roster.

They combine for one year of Big East playing experience, as Dixon transferred to Pitt before last season.

Clearly, the team is facing many questions: Who is the leader of this team? How can you replace four starters? Who will be the next great players for this program?

The answer to the last question might be found in what Pitt coach Jamie Dixon calls “the best recruiting class I’ve ever had.”

Players like Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wannamaker and Gilbert Brown — role players from a year ago — will be expected to emerge as consistent scorers for Pitt. But there are players that haven’t played in a collegiate game that might be ready to make an immediate impact.

One of those players is Dante Taylor, the first McDonald’s All-American Pitt has signed in more than thirty years.

“I think Dante [Taylor] is going to be a very good player,” Dixon said. “He’s not afraid of putting in the extra work and the extra time.”

Taylor is one of three big men in Pitt’s 2009 recruiting class. Talib Zanna and J.J. Richardson will also contribute this season, and Dixon thinks that all three are capable of making a significant impact.

“We knew we had three very good big men when we recruited them,” Dixon said. “Some were ranked higher than others, but they’re all going to be very good players for us.”

Dixon thinks that with the loss of Biggs and Blair, there is a great opportunity for the freshmen to prove that they belong on the floor.

“There are some freshmen that are going to play a lot of minutes this year,” Dixon said. “One of the reasons we were able to get such good big men is because they knew the opportunity would be there.”

Even though Taylor committed to Pitt before Blair announced he was leaving early for the NBA, the forward knew there would be a chance to get significant playing time once Blair declared.

“Once I knew that [Blair] was leaving, I knew there was an opportunity for me,” Taylor said. “I don’t know how much I’m going to play, but I want to play a lot.”

Dixon recalls saying that when he recruited Fields, Biggs and Young, it was the best class he’d ever brought in. Those players lived up to the hype.

In 2009, Dixon said that Richardson, Taylor, Zanna and small forward Lamar Paterson comprise the best recruiting class he’s ever had.

“This is probably the best foursome we’ve had,” Dixon said. “They’re that good. They’re great kids.”