Pitt realizes importance of Young

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. ‘- With 12:18 left in the second half of Pitt’s showdown against West… MORGANTOWN, W. Va. ‘- With 12:18 left in the second half of Pitt’s showdown against West Virginia yesterday, Panthers coach Jamie Dixon pulled star center DeJuan Blair out for a breather. Only two minutes later, point guard Levance Fields left the court as well. Two-thirds of Pitt’s ‘Big Three’ watched from the bench while the Panthers clung to a single-digit lead in the Backyard Brawl. No matter. Yesterday at around 5:30 p.m., the Sam Young Show started. And it lasted through the end of Pitt’s 79-67 victory over the Mountaineers. Young had eight points during the crucial 13-3 run that knocked the spirit out of West Virginia and its loyal crowd. When Blair exited, Pitt led 55-50. By the time Dixon threw him back in, Pitt was up 71-58. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins admitted that Young beat his team. ‘He’s a great player, and he’s been doing that for a long time,’ said Huggins. ‘We gave Sam some open looks, and he made them.’ Yesterday’s victory showed just how important Young is to the Panthers. Although Blair and Fields possess their own unique qualities that entertain the audience, Young is the character who carries the show. Just last week, Young was criticized for his inability to drive to the basket and his reliance on 3-pointers. He went through a three-game stretch in which he made only 15-of-49 shots, and seven of those were from beyond the arc. During Pitt’s only loss of the season last Saturday to Louisville, Young hoisted 10 3-pointers and made two. It looks like that phase is over. ‘I felt like a couple games in the past I took too many threes,’ said Young. ‘It’s uncharacteristic of me to take too many. I’m not [Davidson guard] Stephen Curry or anybody like that. I have too many dimensions in my game to be relying on the three that much.’ Those dimensions were on display at the WVU Coliseum yesterday. Young attacked the basket repeatedly, either dunking in full force or drawing contact. He made all four of his free throws as well. Dixon reiterated just what Young brings to Pitt’s story. ‘He’s going to be an NBA first-round pick, and this is a guy that was pretty much underrecruited coming out of high school,’ said Dixon. ‘He’s a great example of a kid that, even for our own players right now or future players, we can talk about a kid who has worked. And we can show our newcomers or freshmen that this guy has come from where he was to where he is now because he’s the hardest working guy in the gym.’ Blair is a legitimate monster in the paint, and Fields holds his own as one of the country’s top point guards and playmakers. But Pitt hasn’t shown it can beat a top-flight Big East opponent when Young has an off game. The Panthers knocked off St. John’s and South Florida when Young wasn’t his normal self, but Pitt’s luck ran out when he struggled from the field against Louisville. It looked like Pitt might suffer the same fate when Young picked up his third foul only seven seconds into the second half, and Dixon sat him for five minutes. West Virginia led 45-43 when Young came back in, and Pitt outscored the Mountaineers 36-22 the rest of the way. Young’s second-half effort assured that his slump is behind him. ‘I pretty much can tell when I’m in a groove from practice,’ said Young. ‘When my practices are good, my games are usually good.’ News that’s sure to keep Pitt’s audience happy.