Troutman leads Panthers by example on court

Chevon Troutman a silent killer on the court.

At least, that’s what an opposing coach thinks… Chevon Troutman a silent killer on the court.

At least, that’s what an opposing coach thinks after his team leaves the Petersen Events Center with loss.

“He is a great, great player who doesn’t get the recognition around the country that he should,” Loyola head coach Jimmy Pastos said, adding, “He’s a killer.”

For Troutman, it doesn’t matter whether it is under the basket, from outside the paint or even beyond the arc, he will score. And then, after that, he will score some more.

“I just think I’m positioning myself in a great place to score,” Troutman said yesterday after practice.

He must have found the right spot, because he’s quietly averaging 16.8 points per game, with a total of 67 points in the early season.

His double-double in Wednesday night’s game was the second of the 2004-05 campaign. He has reached double-digits in scoring in all four games this year. His 22 points and 13 rebounds against St. Francis Wednesday was his best performance thus far.

His 6-foot-7, 240-pound frame allows him to power through the paint, and his athleticism allows him to finish with points, especially when the competition is smaller than he is. But guard Carl Krauser said it does not matter how tall an opponent is when it comes to Troutman.

“Chevy looks at everybody like they’re real little,” Krauser said after Wednesday night’s game. “He just goes out and plays basketball. Like, it’s nothing cocky with him, it’s nothing smooth with him, he just goes out there and plays that rough style of basketball.”

That style of basketball has not only won the team games, but also set an all-around standard for the rest of the team — which is what every collegiate senior should do for the underclassmen.

“He’s kind of a laid-back guy,” Krauser said. “He leads by example.”

This season, Troutman is one of three seniors on the team, but in comparison to the other two — Mark McCarroll and Yuri Demetris — he’s been in a starting role for more than a year. Prior to last season, he was a key player coming off former coach Ben Howland’s bench.

Despite his success, teammates and coaches have yelled him at because he has not been vocal enough.

“I’m not really used to being in this older, leader role,” Troutman said. “

“It’s kind of hard for me to always have to be barking down someone’s neck to do something, and that’s something I never did and something for me that is going to be hard to do.

“I’m trying out there,” he added. “I just expect everybody to do the same thing I do when I get out on the court.”

Head coach Jamie Dixon agreed with Krauser’s assessment of Troutman’s leadership.

“There’s guys who strictly do it by actions,” Dixon said. “Chevy is one of those guys. Chevy has always set an example.”

Dixon explained that Troutman has set an example in all of his years at Pitt, which the Panthers have enjoyed for more than four years. Pitt was fortunate to recruit Troutman, because he had other options when looking for a school to play basketball.

In fact, he had several options, but he narrowed it down to Pitt when he decided that he didn’t want to go more than five hours away from his home in Williamsport, Pa., located on the eastern side of the state. It is so far east, that Troutman, before ever coming to Pitt, did not know that Pittsburgh was even in the state of Pennsylvania.

“Seriously, I thought Pittsburgh was in Ohio,” Troutman said, with a smile.

Growing up, he may not have known the location of the city of Pittsburgh, but he’s never lost his way to the basket.

In high school he was named “Mr. Basketball,” concluding his career at Williamsport Area High School with a school-record 1,563 points and 1,128 rebounds.

Dixon believes his numbers do not tell the full story.

“Nobody has given more,” Dixon said. “His contributions go beyond the numbers.”

Troutman will continue to lead his team by example Saturday night against the cross-town rival Duquesne Dukes — but it will be hard to tell, because he doesn’t make much noise until the final statistics are posted.