Men’s basketball prepares to live up to hype

Ronald Ramon, Pitt’s junior guard, walked onto the floor inside the Petersen Events Center… Ronald Ramon, Pitt’s junior guard, walked onto the floor inside the Petersen Events Center Friday at men’s basketball media day before any of his teammates.

The 6-foot-1 Ramon stood taller than usual. He recognized eager faces ready to ask questions, casually walked to the corner of the playing court and stood as a dozen microphones surrounded him.

As the questions flew, Ramon showed off the trait that his teammates also followed suit with moments later — confidence.

“It’s always a challenge,” he said, with his arms crossed in front, looking the questioner right in the eye.

“With the group of guys we have, no matter what the ranking is, we have to go out there and prepare ourselves for every single game. Coach has confidence in us to work this thing the way we can work it and not let our heads get too big.”

The Panthers enter the new season with a load of expectations on their shoulders. Several preseason publications have the squad in the top five and pegged as either an Elite Eight or Final Four team.

Head coach Jamie Dixon embraces all the expectations.

“It’s good,” he said of the preseason accolades. “Coaches will say we don’t look at it, but you can’t help to look at it. The important thing is how the players look at it and handle it.

“Our guys look at it as more of a challenge to live up to it. They realize it’s based on what they’ve done in the past to get them these higher rankings and isn’t anything they’ve done right now. They want to prove themselves.”

The preseason hype centered on Pitt and its basketball team does revolve on what the team accomplished last season and what returns.

Seven-foot center Aaron Gray returns for his senior season and is expected to be a force underneath the basket. The 270-pounder is highly thought of by many as a Big East and NCAA Player of the Year candidate.

Joining him in the frontcourt is fellow senior Levon Kendall. Kendall, a do-it-all power forward, knows his role will expand this year and is up for the challenge.

“I think the coaching staff and the guys on the team are looking to get me more shots,” he said. “Obviously losing Carl [Krauser], that’s 15 to 16 points per game that need to be replaced.

“I’ll be more aggressive to find places where I can make an impact offensively.”

At the guard position, the Panthers will lose graduating senior Carl Krauser. Krauser, for his final seasons, was known as the outspoken leader of the team, on and off the court.

According to Dixon, replacing Krauser and the talking that he did won’t be easy, but he expects a few of the guys to fill his void — mainly Ramon and sophomore guard Levance Fields.

Awaiting the Panthers, however, is one of the nation’s toughest schedules. In addition to the always hard-fought Big East play, Pitt matches up with Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Washington — all on national television.

“On paper, right now it looks like a pretty tough schedule,” Dixon said. “But we can’t control what happens over the course of the year. We just need to play our game.”

Pitt opens up play on Nov. 1 with an exhibition game against Carnegie Mellon. The regular season begins on Nov. 12 when Pitt travels to West Point, N.Y., for a game against Western Michigan in the Maggie Dixon Classic.

The Panthers, dubbed as the preseason Big East favorite, see their first conference action on Jan. 4 with a trip to the Carrier Dome to play Syracuse.

“The more important thing to us is where we’re ranked at the end of the season,” Gray said of the preseason hype. “The high rankings are going to put a target on our back for everyone else.

“We’re going to take challenges as they come and try to conquer each one individually.”