It didn’t take any time for 6-foot-6-inch Sam Young to step into the spotlight. The junior… It didn’t take any time for 6-foot-6-inch Sam Young to step into the spotlight. The junior forward, aided by Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon’s decision to focus Pitt’s offense on the power forward, thrilled the Petersen Events Center crowd with three strong performances to start the 2007-08 season.

Young, who changed his off-season regimen, showed a new facet of his game – the 3-pointer. Usually, Young scores in bunches, but most of those points come in transition or along the baseline, where the power forward thrives. This weekend, he made 5 of his 7 3-point attempts, including four against North Carolina A’T on Saturday.

“Somebody told me it would be good if I can hit 35 percent [of his 3-pointers],” Young said on Saturday. “I’m trying to get up to 38 or 39 percent. I’ve got high expectations for myself. I definitely think it’s possible for me to do that.”

Through three games, Young averages 19.3 points and nine rebounds per game. He set career highs in points and 3-pointers in a game on Saturday with 24 points and four 3-pointers.

“If you look at the history of Pittsburgh, not many have averaged [20 points per game],” Young said. “It’s always been a balanced scoring, but I definitely think it’s possible for me to keep it up.”

Brian Shorter was the last Pitt player to average 20 points. Shorter scored 20.6 a game in the 1989-90 season. Pitt point guard Levance Fields saw no reason Saturday why Young couldn’t be the newest addition to that club.

“As long as [Young] keeps making shots, the opportunity is going to be there for him,” Fields said. “Even if he’s not shooting the ball, he crashes, so he gets tip-ins. He knows how to get to the [free-throw] line. He scores in different ways.”

No gray area

With star center Aaron Gray in the NBA and effective power forward Levon Kendall graduated, Dixon has switched to a smaller lineup for the 2007-2008 season. This weekend, Dixon started the 5-foot-10-inch Fields, Young, 6-foot-1-inch guard Ronald Ramon, 6-foot-4-inch wing Mike Cook and 6-foot-7-inch center DeJuan Blair. At 6 foot 8, Tyrell Biggs has been the sixth man off the bench.

“We knew we would be all right [in the frontcourt],” Fields said. “[Young] could have started last year. [DeJuan Blair] is very physical. We got guys who are ready to fill in their positions and we all play team basketball.”

The running of the Panthers

Pitt noticeably ran the fastbreak more this weekend than in years past. Because of Gray and Kendall’s departure, the Panthers have a smaller, faster lineup. With Blair and Young on the floor, Fields and company can push the ball up the court and have numbers on the break.

So far, the players are enjoying it.

“We’re definitely loving it,” Fields said. “The whole team likes it. The coaching staff even likes it. We have the players to do it.”

Big guards pose few problems

Sunday’s weekend-capping game against Saint Louis provided Pitt a solid test on the perimeter. After two games against comparable-sized guards, Saint Louis’ 6-foot-2-inch point guard Kevin Lisch and 6-foot-4-inch shooting guard Tommie Liddell III offered a new challenge for Pitt’s defense.

Lisch finished with 13 points and four assists, while Liddell III had seven points on 3 of 9 shooting.

Big Fella makin’ a splash

The freshman Blair made an impact in his first official season action. Blair averaged 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds over the three games.

He scored six of Pitt’s first eight points on Friday night, and he assisted Sam Young with a nice alley-oop pass to help Pitt earn a quick 13-0 lead on Houston Baptist.

Blair led Pitt on Sunday in its 69-58 win over Saint Louis with 16 points and eight rebounds, prompting Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus to compare the freshman to NBA legend Karl Malone.