A strong (16-1) start and a strong finish sandwiched a weak stretch through the middle of the ACC season for the Pitt Panthers in 2013-2014. After losing Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna, ups and downs may occur again for Jamie Dixon's squad. Last season's secondary players will need to take the next step in their development if Dixon is to guide an 11th team to the NCAA Tournament in his past 12 years. These players and a key transfer have the talent to be successful if they can adjust to their new leadership roles.
Backcourt
Perhaps the most pivotal of these players is point guard James Robinson. The junior had a solid sophomore season, but deferred a lot of responsibility to the departed seniors. Averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, he filled the stat sheet evenly, but needs to improve his field goal percentage from 40%. Pushing Robinson for minutes (and occasionally partnering him at the other guard spot) is sophomore Josh Newkirk. Newkirk exceeded freshman expectations, playing 17 minutes per game and scoring 4.6 points per contest on an efficient 46 percent shooting. He also proved a threat from deep, shooting over 43 percent beyond the line. Senior shooting guard Cameron Wright was on par with the Panthers as a whole, seemingly either lighting it up or disappearing. He will be counted on to increase his scoring load from his 10.5 average last season. Unfortunately, Wright will miss the first month of the season recovering from a fractured foot he suffered in mid-September. The Panthers will have a thin bench in the backcourt, but sophomore Chris Jones can play the 2 and the 3, as can top bench option Durand Johnson. Jones only played 7.4 minutes per contest last season, but Johnson averaged 8.8 points in 19.8 minutes per game. Johnson could challenge for a starting spot at small forward.
Frontcourt
The post play of Pitt will make the difference, as replacing Patterson and Zanna's production will be next to impossible. However, Vanderbilt transfer Sheldon Jeter and sophomores Jamel Artis and Mike Young are capable of starting for several ACC teams. Jeter has the largest shoes to fill, as Patterson was an all-ACC performer and the glue of the team that made the round of 32 in 2014. Jeter averaged 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in his lone season at Vandy, but should see an increase in those numbers with more playing time in Pittsburgh. At 6'8" 225 lbs, the Panthers will continue to have a strong rebounding presence at the small forward spot. Artis will take on the role of undersized power forward that Jamie Dixon has used to great success in the past (See: Blair, Dejuan). The 6'7" forward came off the bench as a freshman to create spacing as a mid-range threat, but could also bully his way to the basket and get to the free throw line (shooting 70% from the stripe). Fellow sophomore Young is also an outside threat, shooting 35.7% from three point range. He will line up at center after growing and bulking up over the summer and could be a breakout performer for the Panthers. Post depth will come from senior Derrick Randall, junior college transfer Tyrone Haughton, and freshman Ryan Luther. Pitt will hope to get contributions from junior Joseph Uchebo, but he has been hampered by major injuries throughout his career.
| Projected Starters |
|---|
| James Robinson |
| Josh Newkirk |
| Durand Johnson |
| Sheldon Jeter |
| Michael Young |
Schedule
Pittsburgh will get off to a quick start this season with a spot in the Maui Invitational, but do face a weaker-than-normal field and open with Chaminade. The Panthers go to Indiana for the ACC/B1G challenge and get tough mid-majors Duquesne and Manhattan at home as well before conference play starts. Within the conference, Pitt takes on each of Boston College, Florida State, Louisville, and Syracuse twice.
Prediction
Predictions for the Pitt Panthers under Jamie Dixon are relatively simple. They will likely finish a little above .500 in the conference and make the NCAA Tournament with a mid-range seed. The problem has been taking the next step and making at least the Sweet 16, which has not been done since 2009. This team fits the description perfectly and will only take the next step if Robinson and Young, in particular, take their games to the next step. Winning a game in the tournament and a top half finish in the ACC would represent a successful season for the Panthers
by Matt Purdy @UMWolfpack87
Fantasy Player to Watch
I would've expected Cameron Wright to lead this Pitt team in scoring, although missing the first 4-6 weeks of the season will definitely get him off to a slow start. This should be a balanced scoring team, so their top fantasy performer will likely be someone down low who grabs a lot of rebounds. Either Sheldon Jeter or Michael Young could be that guy.
Projected Statistics (Returning Players Only)
Explanation of Statistic Projections
| Name | Pts | Asts | Rbds | Stls | Blks | TOs | % Correct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Wright | 11.3 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 87 |
| Josh Newkirk | 8.6 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 90 |
| Michael Young | 8.2 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 88 |
| Jamel Artis | 7.1 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 91 |
| Derrick Randall | 6.6 | 0.5 | 5.1 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 92 |
| Durand Johnson | 6.3 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 92 |
| James Robinson | 6.3 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 87 |
| Chris Jones | 5.4 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 95 |
| Joseph Uchebo | 2.2 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 99 |
| Joshua Ko | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 98 |
| Mike Lecak | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 99 |
| Aron Nwankwo | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 98 |
Last Year's Player Statistics
| Pittsburgh | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | GP | Mins | Pts | Asts | Rbds | Stls | Blks | TOs | FG% | 3P% | FT% | |
| Lamar Patterson | 36 | 32.6 | 17.1 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 44.1 | 38.8 | 75.4 | |
| Talib Zanna | 35 | 30.3 | 13.0 | 0.5 | 8.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 58.6 | 0.0 | 66.7 | |
| Cameron Wright | 36 | 30.9 | 10.5 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 45.6 | 23.3 | 67.0 | |
| James Robinson | 36 | 31.1 | 7.6 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 40.1 | 34.3 | 79.4 | |
| Michael Young | 36 | 21.6 | 6.0 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 41.3 | 35.7 | 81.7 | |
| Jamel Artis | 36 | 15.4 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 46.0 | 29.6 | 70.8 | |
| Josh Newkirk | 36 | 17.1 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 46.3 | 43.4 | 44.7 | |
| Durand Johnson | 16 | 19.8 | 8.8 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 40.5 | 33.8 | 85.3 | |
| Derrick Randall | 36 | 8.6 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 56.4 | 0.0 | 45.2 | |
| Chris Jones | 30 | 7.4 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 44.4 | 23.5 | 80.0 | |
| Mike Lecak | 11 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Joshua Ko | 10 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 42.9 | 33.3 | 0.0 | |
| Joseph Uchebo | 9 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Aron Nwankwo | 9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 44.4 | 33.3 | 50.0 | |
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