Tourney success goal for Panthers

Pitt basketball is headed toward uncharted territory. An improbable run through the Big East… Pitt basketball is headed toward uncharted territory. An improbable run through the Big East tournament brought lofty expectations to Pitt entering last year’s NCAA Tournament. Different, however, from the type it will face entering next season.

The Panthers ripped off four wins in four days at Madison Square Garden to become just the second team to accomplish the feat (Syracuse also did it in 2006). As a No. 7 seed in the Big East tournament, Pitt beat three ranked opponents on its way to capturing Big East hardware, in the process perking up Panther perception throughout the country.

However, a little pressure comes with that type of hype.

Pitt headed to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in as many years with a considerable amount of momentum. The only question that remained was if Pitt had enough energy left to make a run in the tournament after grinding through the Big East.

The Big East can take a lot out of a team, especially after the conference tournament. Pitt had to labor against tough squads four days in a row. Billed as the toughest conference in the country, Pitt might be the roughest of the bunch. Its stigma has always been tough basketball – hit the boards and play physical – a mentality that is necessary to survive in the conference.

But think for a moment what that can do to a team. Think for a moment what it did to Pitt last season.

The Panthers’ Big East title catapulted it to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, improbable considering the Panthers were just a seven seed in their conference tournament.

Overnight, the Panthers became a “trendy pick.” All of a sudden Pitt was a sleeper and talking heads like “the General” Bob Knight got excited about the prospect of the Panthers working deep into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1974 – when there was just a 32-team field – and possibly winning more than two games in the tournament for the first time in school history.

It didn’t happen. Most ignored the fact that Pitt emptied its tank in New York.

Perhaps a successful season this year means it must happen.

Despite its inability to become a presence in the NCAA Tournament, Pitt is a national power. But a strong showing during March Madness would take Pitt to prestigious prominence.

Pitt has compiled a 189-51 record, or a .788 winning percentage, the last seven seasons, which ranks the Panthers among the nation’s top-five winningest programs, best in the Big East during that span. But immersed in the luminescence of the exciting NCAA Tournament, the Panthers have been respectable at best and irrelevant at their worst.

Looking ahead to next season, relevance might be achieved only by a deep run into March and maybe even April.

The Panthers rank among the nation’s best in Sweet 16 appearances over the past seven seasons, but for a team that dominates in the regular season, it’s about time Pitt made some racket in the Big Dance.

Pitt has grit. It always will. Playing in a league that hangs its hat on tough play, Pitt is arguably the biggest bully in the Big East. Defense, rebounding and toughness will become Panther buzz words in October.

But the Panthers will have more than just grit next season. Head coach Jamie Dixon and his team have a stable full of talent to try to live up to the expectations that are inevitably going to be forged upon Pitt.

Pitt returns considerable experience and depth. Sam Young’s decision to opt out of the NBA Draft in June gives the Panthers a legitimate go-to scorer. Young, the Big East’s most improved player, averaged 18.1 points per game last year and was selected to the All-Big East first team. This year, Young will certainly get consideration as the preseason Big East Player of the Year.

When healthy, Levance Fields is arguably the league’s best point guard, and DeJuan Blair was the conference’s top freshman last season. Gilbert Brown also showed steady progression throughout the season and down the stretch became a huge contributor for the Panthers.

Out goes Cassin Diggs and in comes highly touted junior college transfer Jermaine Dixon from Tallahassee Community College. Dixon is the brother of NBA player and former Maryland great Juan Dixon. Dixon gives the Panthers a physical guard who can create his own shot.

There is still an outside chance that Mike Cook will be granted another year of eligibility, so Dixon will provide considerable insurance at the off-guard position in the event Cook’s career as a Panther is over.

Pitt has the personnel to garner the lofty expectations, but what’s going to make the club especially tough entering next season is its experience dealing with adversity. Many teams in the country have as much as or more talent than the Panthers – Jamie Dixon has never recruited a McDonald’s All-American – but few have gone through the same trials as the Panthers.

Last year was a season of ebbs and flows. Fields’ off-the-court issues prior to the season left the Panthers’ status as one of the conference’s elite in question. The legal problems were settled, and an impressive win against Duke left no doubt that the Panthers were primed to scale the polls.

However, the big win against Duke at Madison Square Garden didn’t come without consequence – the Panthers would lose Cook for the season to a torn ACL – but true to its stigma, Pitt had plenty of toughness left in the tank. The team would need it when Fields broke his foot against Dayton the next game, once again surfacing critics.

Many overlooked Pitt’s grit and discounted its ability to win without its floor general, but Ronald Ramon took the reigns and steadied the ship in Fields’ absence. In fact, Ramon’s 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio was 15th best in the country. Pitt held on, and the return of Fields primed the Panthers for their remarkable run through the Big East tournament.

All its talent and experience could make Pitt a consensus top-10 team entering next season. It could also make anything less than a Final Four appearance unacceptable to the Panthers faithful.

With great hype comes great pressure. Pitt will be out of style come Tournament-time next March. Big East Championships are great, but it’s time for Pitt to step into the next realm.

Looking forward to next season, the Pitt basketball program may never look back.