When a season ends unexpectedly early, it’s only natural for players and fans to begin… When a season ends unexpectedly early, it’s only natural for players and fans to begin thinking about getting back and competing next year.

The Pitt men’s basketball team was no different, expressing thoughts about next season just minutes after the 2003-2004 campaign ended with a loss to Oklahoma State in the Sweet 16.

“We’ve got to work on our perimeter shooting. We need to be more effective on the offensive end.”

While the Panthers return the bulk of their offensive attack, the glaring holes will be on defense and trying to replace two of the best defensive players in recent Pitt history in Julius Page and Jaron Brown.

Together, in their four seasons at Pitt, Page and Brown have started in more than 230 games and scored more than 2,700 points. Page (1,512) ranks 12th on the all-time scoring list at Pitt, while Brown (1,258) is 17th. Individually, Page ranks first in minutes played (4,398) and three-point field goals (209), while Brown is seventh in steals (192) and 14th in assists (295).

And, with Toree Morris — who is 10th all-time, with 79 blocks — the trio has combined to win the most games by any senior class, posting a 107-30 record during the last four years.

The three have contributed to other Pitt accolades as well. The Panthers have won the last three Big East regular season titles and are only the second team in conference history to advance to four straight conference title games, winning the 2003 Big East Tournament.

Pitt has finished the season ranked in the top 10 by the Associated Press for the last three years and has played in nine NCAA Tournament games in that time.

As for next year’s team, the Panthers return their top two scorers in Krauser and Chris Taft, after Taft reiterated his desire to stay in school.

“We have a lot of things to do,” Taft said. “For myself, I am trying to come back as the best player in college. I have a lot of work to do and I am up for it.”

Pitt will also be returning its top three rebounders (Taft, Chevon Troutman and Krauser). Added to that is Mark McCarroll, the team’s sixth man this season, who can play down around the basket and also around the three-point line.

The Panthers could receive big contributions from a number of guys who saw limited action this season.

Guards Antonio Graves and Yuri Demetris return for another year, and either one could be a candidate to fill Page’s spot at shooting guard. Center Aaron Gray could play a big role for Pitt inside the paint — at 7 feet and 280 pounds, not many can match his size. There are also Levon Kendall and Dante Milligan — who was redshirted this season — on the bench.

The Panthers have what is rumored to be an impressive recruiting class coming in the fall. Some experts have head coach Jamie Dixon’s first recruiting class ranked in the nation’s top 25.

Guards Ronald Ramon, from All Hallows High School in the Bronx, N.Y., and Keith Benjamin, from Mt. Vernon, N.Y., will be joined by junior college transfer John DeGroat, who comes to Pitt from Northeastern Junior College in Colorado.

A 6-foot-6-inch swingman, DeGroat will have the opportunity to replace Brown, while Ramon and Benjamin should compete for playing time next year.

Pitt’s recruiting class could get even better, should the Panthers be able to add Juan Palacios, a 6-foot-7-inch power forward from Centereach, N.Y. However, in order to do that, Pitt would have to lose a current player who is already on scholarship.

Despite the loss of three key components, the nucleus for a potential Final Four team still remains at Pitt, and the players don’t want to let another opportunity slip away.

“It will be a whole different team and a whole new year,” Troutman said. “We are just trying to back [to the Sweet 16], and once we get here, we have to look forward and not look back.”