Following a disappointing second round blowout loss to the eventual West Regional winner, Wichita State, the Pitt basketball program went into this past offseason with a lot of questions and relatively few answers.
Two of the team’s leading scorers and overall contributors, center Steven Adams and wing J.J. Moore, left shortly after the season. Adams is now competing with former UConn big man Hasheem Thabeet for a rotation spot with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Moore was granted immediate eligibility to play for Rutgers after he transferred there for his final year of eligibility to be closer to his daughter and grandfather.
In addition to the early departures of Adams and Moore, the team also said goodbye to two senior leaders in Tray Woodall and Dante Taylor. Woodall was one of the premier point guards in the now-defunct Big East Conference for the last two seasons, and Taylor was one of the team’s leading rebounders in 2012-13. Losing these four key players will hurt the Panthers, as they comprise of three of the top five scorers from last year’s squad, but coach Jamie Dixon is hopeful that his three returning starters and role players can help this team compete in its first year in the ACC.
The team’s two seniors, Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna, were second and third on the team in scoring behind Woodall last year, and both have shown progress every year in a Panther uniform. Patterson will need to be the go-to guy on offense when they need a bucket, and Zanna will look to become one of the ACC’s premier big men as he tries to improve on last year’s career numbers. The third returning starter, sophomore James Robinson, will take over full-time point guard duties following Woodall’s departure. Robinson was ranked ninth in the nation last year with a 3.5 assist/turnover ratio, which is even more impressive considering he was a true freshman.
Cameron Wright, a defensive stopper and Durand Johnson, a three-point specialist, will help round out the rotation, and redshirt freshman Chris Jones is a lengthy 6-6 wing who can get to the rim. As far as incoming guys, 6-1 guard Josh Newkirk is widely considered one of the most athletic guards in the class of 2013, and JuCo transfer Joseph Uchebo will add some much-needed size down low at 6-10. While the team does not have an explosive, proven scorer (ala Sam Young), Dixon’s teams traditionally have prided themselves on great defense and sound, fundamental team basketball on the other end of the floor. There may be several question marks for this team still, but it will be interesting to see if the Panthers can stand out in a stacked ACC.
