Pitt needs production from experienced bench

Basketball in the Big East is setting records already, and the season hasn’t even started. Each… Basketball in the Big East is setting records already, and the season hasn’t even started. Each national poll features four Big East squads in the top 10 and seven teams in the top 25, both unprecedented numbers. Even Al Gore can’t dispute those voting results. A real possibility exists that eight or nine programs could reach the NCAA Tournament from the Big East, and 11 teams have a realistic shot at reaching the dance floor. The conference is truly tougher than ever. That means Pitt needs to rise to the challenge in 2008-09. The Panthers are ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll and sixth in the USA Today/ESPN poll heading into tonight’s opener against Farleigh Dickinson. Experts are projecting big things for Jamie Dixon’s team and claim that this could be the year Pitt puts it all together for a run at the Final Four. With star power such as Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields, Pitt should have no trouble finishing in the top four in the conference and reaching the NCAA Tournament, granted Fields’ troublesome foot remains healthy. With Young staying at Pitt and avoiding the NBA Draft, Blair maturing and improving his game as a sophomore, and a healthy Fields commanding the team on the court, the belief that the Panthers are a title contender is legitimate. But Pitt’s Three Amigos can’t propel the Panthers to prominence alone. They led the team to the Big East tournament crown last season but couldn’t advance past the second round in the madness that was March. It’s Pitt’s supporting cast who will determine the team’s ultimate fate. At the same time, it’s unreasonable to place a ridiculous amount of weight on the shoulders of Pitt’s talented but raw freshman class. Combination guard Ashton Gibbs will run the point until Fields becomes healthy, and fellow frosh Travon Woodall expects significant minutes at that position as well. Nasir Robinson could be a contributor right away as a backup at either forward spot. These three undoubtedly are good basketball players with a bright future. While Gibbs, Woodall and Robinson should show moments of greatness in their initial campaign, freshmen in the college game go through a learning phase and inconsistency ‘mdash; unless, of course, you are Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant, but not one of these players is. Instead, Pitt’s potency as the season winds down will depend on the development of its (mildly) experienced bench players: center Gary McGhee and guards Brad Wanamaker and Jermaine Dixon. McGhee became more and more trusted as last season progressed to give productive minutes at the center position. Pitt’s tallest player at 6-feet-10 inches, the sophomore only averaged 1.5 points and 1.4 rebounds per game last year in limited time. But he has looked much better in early action this season and appears ready to take on an advanced role. ‘I think everybody would have thought he’s a new guy out there,’ said coach Dixon after Pitt’s first exhibition game last week. ‘We won’t know until we see it on the floor against some other people, but he’s much more comfortable and he runs the floor better.’ With Tyrell Biggs sliding into the power forward spot, McGhee is Pitt’s only considerable option as a big man off the bench. Biggs and Blair were prone to foul trouble last season, and the team needs a significant defensive and offensive presence outside of the starters. Centers don’t always develop quickly. It took Aaron Gray until his junior year to figure out his offensive skills in the college game. McGhee has the athleticism to be successful. He doesn’t need to make a huge leap this year, but enough not to be a liability. Wanamaker and Dixon were in separate places last year but now are fighting for minutes. When Fields first went down last season, Wanamaker was thrust into the spotlight as the Panthers’ backup shooting guard. He played good defense but was a worse shot than Harry Dunn in ‘Dumb and Dumber.’ Dixon, meanwhile, is a junior college transfer and could start at the two when Fields is healthy. Dixon looks like a veteran on the court, but he hasn’t faced top competition yet. The Big East has many top-tier guards whom Wanamaker and Dixon have to deal with offensively and defensively. Both will see the court, but Pitt needs production from one, if not both, of them to reach the Final Four. Time will tell whether Pitt’s young guns are up for the challenge. But as last year showed, injuries can arrive in an instant. If McGhee, Wanamaker and Dixon show they’re ready, the Panthers could raise a different trophy come April ‘mdash; the one that matters.