Basketball season hasn’t officially started yet for the Pitt Panthers, but Jamie Dixon’s squad will have to begin preparation for the 2014-15 season short one man.
Senior guard Cameron Wright, who averaged 10.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last season, broke his left foot Thursday and had to have surgery Friday.
Wright is expected to be sidelined up to 10 weeks, meaning he should be back in the Pitt lineup right around Christmas time.
In Wright’s absence, sophomore Josh Newkirk is expected to fill in for Wright in the Pitt starting lineup next to James Robinson in the Panthers’ backcourt. Newkirk averaged 4.6 points per contest off the bench last season as a freshman.
Wright was one of the nation’s most improved players last season after averaging only 4.3 points per game as a sophomore and started to emerge as a team leader last season. With Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna having graduated, Wright is expected to be an even more important figure for Pitt this season.
Wright’s absence could be felt in a big way early on in the season as the Panthers will look to get through a non-conference schedule that includes a spot in the Maui Invitational and games against Indiana and Manhattan without their leading returning scorer.
The senior started all 36 games last season and scored in double figures 20 times last season. Wright was also the winner of the Skip Prosser Award, honoring the ACC’s scholarship athlete of the year for men’s basketball.
Pitt opens their regular season schedule Nov. 14 at home against Niagara.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
