Dixon, Panthers to play for more than basketball

Emotions will be running high when the Pitt basketball team takes the court for the first… Emotions will be running high when the Pitt basketball team takes the court for the first time on Sunday.

Not only will the Panthers, complete with their shiny No. 4 Associated Press ranking, begin what some are predicting could be the best in program history, they will do so with heavy hearts.

Sunday’s noon contest with MAC foe Western Michigan is not only the first game of the season – it will be a game played in memory of Maggie Dixon, sister of head coach Jamie Dixon, who died of a heart arrhythmia last spring.

Maggie Dixon coached the women’s basketball team at Army into the NCAA Tournament only eight months ago, being carried off the court after winning the conference tournament. Weeks after her team bowed out of the NCAA Tournament she was gone, leaving the Pitt and Army families in shock.

That is why Christi Arena in West Point, N.Y., is the site for the Panthers’ match-up with the Broncos. It is the first of two games in the Maggie Dixon Classic. The later contest will feature the Cadet women’s squad and No. 7 Ohio State.

Many figure the loss to be motivation for Jamie Dixon and his highly touted squad, which went from having to replace three starters a year ago to suddenly having a boatload of experience. Key contributions from young players saw Pitt win 25 games and get to the Big East Championship game with only one senior starter in the lineup. A loss to Bradley in the second round seemed like the worst thing for the Panthers until the death of Maggie only a few weeks later.

Dixon has said he wants to keep the focus on the team and not himself, but that couldn’t be any more difficult than it will be on Sunday. Some of that focus is also going to have to be reserved for Western Michigan, which is hoping to build on moderate 2006 success. The Broncos return the bulk of a young squad that went 14-17 a year ago.

“Seventy percent of our minutes were played by freshmen and sophomores, but it was probably my most rewarding year of coaching because of how we started and then how we finished,” Bronco head coach Steve Hawkins said on ESPN.com.

What’s more, Western Michigan returns three starters and its leading scorer Joe Reitz. The 6-foot-7 junior pumped in 15.6 points per game while pulling in nearly eight boards a game. His strong play led the team to an early 10-5 start and eventual berth in the MAC quarterfinals.

“As a freshman, Joe did a great job of fitting in,” Hawkins said. “He made a huge jump last year. A great majority of scouting reports began with defenses designed to stop Joe or Brian Snider. He made adjustments and had a tremendous season.”

Inside play doesn’t appear to be the biggest concern for Hawkins’ club, though. Who is going to handle the ball and get it to the big boys inside is of more immediate concern because the Broncos have no point guard experience. WMU is expected to start Michael Redell, a 6-foot-1 transfer from Cleveland State who averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds a game in his one year at CSU.

If that doesn’t work out for the Broncos, who turned the ball over early 15 times a game last year, expect to see sophomore Andre Ricks in the mix.

“We have to get Andre’s assist-turnover numbers (22 assists, 35 turnovers) to look more like a point guard,” Hawkins said. Ricks was used to defending quick point guards, as “certain match-ups were good for him.”

Outside shooting, however, proved to be the main thing holding back this young team. The Broncos shot only .299 from 3-point land last season while the opposition shot .361 from behind the arc. Their overall field goal percentage (.408) wasn’t much better, but appears to be on the rise. WMU hit 49.3 percent of its shots in two exhibition routes of Kalamazoo College (87-40) and Mt. Vernon Nazarene (86-51).

“We just couldn’t shoot the ball and it was our Achilles’ heel all year long,” Hawkins said. He went on to call it a “one-year problem” that is bound to correct itself this year.

That time has come. While Western Michigan fans might not be done yet cheering on the school’s football team, which was 7-2 through last week, basketball season has arrived. Hawkins’ team may be playing to work out shooting woes this Sunday, but the Panthers will be playing for entirely different reasons.