Fields will lead the Panthers to Detroit

‘ ‘ ‘ Congratulations, Pitt basketball fans, your team is headed to the Final Four. Now I know… ‘ ‘ ‘ Congratulations, Pitt basketball fans, your team is headed to the Final Four. Now I know we’re still weeks away from Detroit, but I felt like it was my responsibility to get it out of the way and tell you guys now. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Happy? You should be. What’s that you say? Thank you? Oh, please, don’t thank me. I’m just the messenger. You should be thanking someone else. Can you guess who it is? ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ OK, I’ll give you some hints. He’s about 5 feet 10 inches tall ‘mdash; err, at least that’s what your game program says, but he’s probably a little smaller than that. He’s got these really cool braids I’ve been trying to copy for a few years but can’t seem to make work. Oh, and he wears No. 2. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Unless you go to a branch campus or haven’t been anywhere near Pittsburgh in the last two years, you should have guessed the guy I’m talking about is Levance Fields, the air-tight point guard who will take the Panthers to the Final Four for the first time since 1941 and for only the second time in school history. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fields is one part of Pitt’s three-headed monster with DeJuan Blair and Sam Young. Although Blair has snared most of the national attention paid to the Panthers this year, and Young figures to be a first-round pick in this June’s NBA Draft, look no further than Pitt’s backcourt for the most important player on the team. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ While Fields isn’t considered a top-flight NBA prospect, college basketball is a point guard’s game. Fields ran his team better than anyone else in the country this year.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He has the numbers to prove it. His 7.6 assists per game and 3.87-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio both lead the Big East and are good for second in the nation this season, respectively. He also has the second-highest assist total in a single game when he doled out 16 dimes against DePaul earlier this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ No other BCS conference player even sniffs those numbers, with the exception of North Carolina’s Ty Lawson, whose assist-to-turnover ratio is just below that of Fields. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s the senior guard’s experience that does it. A rock with the ball, Fields is as physically strong as any guard in college hoops and can be a one-man press break. Seldom do you see him lose his handle or get pushed off the ball. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Now, it’s true that guys like Blair and Young are integral to Pitt’s success. These two led the team in scoring in all but one game this year. Blair ruled the glass all year and proved to be one of the best frontcourt players in college basketball. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Young has continued what he started last year. Quiet and under the radar, he’s been the premier scorer on a premier team in a premier conference. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Not as heralded as the loud and brash Blair, Young has gone about his business without much ruckus. All he’s done is average 18.7 points a game, been there for the Panthers every time when they needed a bucket and dominated other national powers like Connecticut with ease. No man-to-man defense in Division 1-A can lock down Young, and he knows it. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But funny thing happens right before Young catches the ball on the wing or before Blair receives the rock on the block: Someone puts the ball right where it needs to be. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Young will usually square up and look to make a move to the hoop. One or two dribbles in, if it’s not there, he passes it back to the top. If Blair can’t hit his defender with a drop step or get to the rim ‘mdash; admittedly not too often ‘mdash; he kicks it back out for a repost. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers look to Fields to set the play and get them the ball where they can be most successful. And when the game is on the line, who do you want taking the last shot? Remember Duke at the Garden? Of course you do. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Simply put, Fields is a gamer. He’s Pitt’s coach on the floor, a true general with the ball in his hands. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ When the Panthers cut down those pearly white cotton nets in Detroit in a couple of weeks, it’ll be because Fields led them there.