The Pitt b-ball season we’ve all waited for

Perpetual optimism for Pitt basketball is a tumultuous mindset to carry for any sane person…. Perpetual optimism for Pitt basketball is a tumultuous mindset to carry for any sane person.

I anxiously await the release of preseason polls, telling people the Panthers will be even better this year, all while still reinforcing the belief of my friends that I am, in fact, insane.

On the ride back from Auburn Hills, Mich., last March, in the wake of my most depressing moment as a Pitt student, I began wondering what the Panthers would look like at the outset of the 2006-2007 campaign. I contemplated the loss of star guard Carl Krauser, wondering how badly it would affect Pitt’s chances to bounce back.

But then I started thinking about the guards taking over the reigns of the team. And then on the deadline day for declaring eligibility for the NBA Draft, I saw the ESPN ticker: “Pitt junior center Aaron Gray will return for his senior season.”

Suddenly, I let my mind wander.

I envisioned Ronald Ramon and Antonio Graves shooting the lights out, Levance Fields handling the pill like “Hot Sauce” on caffeine, transfer Mike Cook exploding onto the scene doing his best Randy Foye impression and Aaron Gray dropping double-doubles like I did against the elementary-aged campers I played basketball against all summer.

Throw in Levon Kendall with Gray in the paint, and we have two of the better rebounding post players in the Big East. Add Sam Young, who displays more hunger in attacking the basket than Yogi the Bear, and Pitt’s frontcourt is jam-packed with talent.

Then I went to Pitt Basketball Media Day. And I immediately wanted to add Tyrell Biggs to the previous paragraph. At 6 feet 8 inches tall, the sophomore has lost 20 pounds, looks quicker and more importantly, seems ready to contribute after a tough freshman year.

Let’s flash back to my ride down to Cincinnati in September. In the paper that morning, as we rode to Pitt football’s second-week showdown with the Bearcats, was the new basketball schedule.

In print, in front of me, the list almost made me hyperventilate: UMass, Florida State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Georgetown twice, Washington, Marquette twice and all the other usual suspects in the Big East.

So now we have a team capable of pounding its offense down low, spreading out teams with four-guard sets or running full-court pressure to overwhelm teams, and they’re playing more than a handful of marquee matchups?

I’m in heaven. I just remembered why I came here. And no, I didn’t just walk by Uncle Sam’s, which was a delicious reason for my coming here in the first place.

This team has everything: speed, athleticism, toughness, experience and coaching. The only void people are talking about is that of leadership.

It’s a question worth asking — does Pitt have anyone willing to take on that role? The clapping, shouting, taunting, finger-wagging, X-flexing, team-leading job previously held by Krauser.

I don’t know. But I do know that there are plenty of people poised for promotion to that slot.

At Media Day, I spoke with Graves, confidence oozing through his senior skin. Graves told me he’d upped the ante. He said his focus was brand new, fresh, ready for change.

He eats differently. He manages his time more efficiently. He shoots whenever he can, spending hours on the court working out the kinks in his jumper. His teammates all say he is lights-out in practice. His coaches say he’s bulked up, added some tenacity on defense and some aggression on offense.

Did you see him in any of Pitt’s exhibitions?

And there’s also Kendall, the 6-10 senior with that reserved demeanor. He always hustles and is the holder of countless intangibles. He leads by example. Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon says Kendall is his best all-around player at every opportunity, pointing to his perfection of the little things.

The sophomore Fields sounded like a Krauser prot