Battered Big East lessens impact of Pitt’s injuries

After pulling off one of their best regular-season victories in years with a win against… After pulling off one of their best regular-season victories in years with a win against Duke at Madison Square Garden, injuries have now left the Panthers hobbling with two losses, trying to escape the clouds of question marks lurking over them.

First, the loss of Mike Cook forced Jamie Dixon to rush redshirt freshman Gilbert Brown into the starting lineup a year earlier than he would have liked. And now, with the injury of Levance Fields that knocks him out for what should be the entire regular season, Keith Benjamin steps into the starting lineup as well.

Cook, who brought in a great amount of versatility and experience at the small forward position, will be missed badly on both sides of the ball. But the loss of Fields, the point guard and leader, might hurt a little more. Fields averaged 11.9 points and 5.4 assists per game and was the engine of the offense.

Combined, the Panthers lose a total of 59 minutes, 28 percent of their scoring and 47 percent of their assists. This means the new starting five will be taking on more minutes, and the few bench players left will have to step up their game to make up for lost productivity.

Brad Wannamaker, a freshman guard from Philadelphia, should start to see more and more time behind Benjamin and Ronald Ramon, who shifts over to the point guard position in place of Fields. Tyrell Biggs is another guy who will be relied on more, and if he can play like he did against Lafayette last week when he dropped 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting, he’ll be a huge asset down low.

But no matter what the bench guys and new starters do to step up, the Panthers have taken a major hit in depth. They’re down to nine scholarship players, and only seven can expect consistent time. One more injury, and Pitt could have them some serious trouble down the stretch in Big East play.

Still, as banged up as Pitt may be, the rest of the Big East is sharing similar problems with similar question marks lingering over their programs.

Ranked sixth in the preseason, Louisville could be one of the biggest disappointments in all of college basketball this year. The Cardinals have been hurt, suspended and haven’t gotten production out of their go-to guys.

West Virginia has looked good thus far, and could come out of the shadows as a big-time threat in February and March. Nova looks strong as well and is coached well enough to always pose a threat. UConn still looks to be a year away, but with such a young team and knowledgeable coach, we won’t know what to expect until a few weeks into Big East play.

After the conference calms, it looks to be Marquette standing alone next to Georgetown as the top two favorites. It’s hard to say Pitt doesn’t have a shot to beat those teams. But in order to have a chance, a few things need to happen.

The first thing Pitt needs is for Benjamin and Brown to make a smooth transition to their new roles ‘ntilde; and they need to work on controlling the ball and minimizing turnovers to help out Ramon. Benjamin has three years of experience behind him and has shown he’iacute;s capable of scoring, dropping 15 or more points on four different occasions this year. Now in the starting role, we’iacute;ll see if he can do it more consistently.

Brown is a different story. Just a redshirt freshman, he doesn’iacute;t have the experience. Still, he could be the most athletic player on the team, and as the year goes on he’iacute;ll improve in all facets of his game.

Next, the Panthers have to get the ball down low into the hands of DeJuan Blair and Sam Young. Blair needs to focus on taking more shots and staying out of foul trouble. He was limited to just 18 minutes in Pitt’s loss to Dayton because of fouls, and he’ll need to avoid the frustration fouls to stay on the court for as many minutes as possible.

Young has been Pitt’s most reliable source of offense this season from both inside and outside. The junior has been producing at ease all year and leads the team in scoring. With Cook and Fields out, he’iacute;ll have to carry even more of the load.

Nevertheless, with the Big East as banged up as it is, there’s no reason why the Panthers can’t still pull together and finish in the top quarter of the conference.