Pitt takes on Howard in basketball opener
PITTSBURGH – This season, Pitt’s magic number is 8. Or 4. Or maybe even 2. Just any number but 16. Despite a nation’s-best 88-16 record over the last three basketball seasons, the Panthers have not reached the Final Four or even the final eight. They’ve lost in the round of 16 three straight times, to Kent State, Marquette and, last season, Oklahoma State.
It took seven seasons from 1994-2001 for the Panthers to win as many games as they did the last three, but that accomplishment doesn’t satisfy center Chris Taft. Neither does the massive Big East regular season championship ring he wears on his left hand.
“I look at it and it says “Sweet 16,’ ” Taft said. “I want it to say national championship.”
The No. 17 Panthers, who open today at home against Howard, are well acquainted with the last two national champions: Connecticut (2003-04) and Syracuse (2002-03). Both lost the Big East regular season championship to Pitt, but were playing much better than the Panthers when the NCAA tournament rolled around.
That’s a fact not lost on coach Jamie Dixon, who no doubt wishes his first Pitt team had played as well down the stretch last season as it did during a season-opening 18-game winning streak. The Panthers peaked when they manhandled Syracuse 66-45 on the road in late January en route to a 22-1 record, but lost four of their final 13.
The Panthers’ biggest weaknesses – though a 31-5 team couldn’t have many – were the absence of any dependable outside shooting and too much reliance on an aggressive, physical defense. Such a style seemed to work well inside the context of a two-games-every week regular season, but not so well when the season’s two most important games might come 48 hours apart in the NCAA tournament.
To improve the shooting, Dixon recruited 6-foot-1 guard Ronald Ramon and 6-foot-2 Keith Benjamin after a steady stream of recruiting classes that emphasized interior players. Dixon also spent the offseason emphasizing to Taft the importance of upgrading his defense.
“With Chris, it was a lack of experience and technique,” Dixon said. “It wasn’t a tough sell. He’s a very coachable kid.”
Some of Taft’s freshman inexperience was covered up by 6-foot-7 senior forward Chevon Troutman, Pitt’s best inside defender, and the now-graduated Julius Page and Jaron Brown. Now, the Panthers need Taft to do more than block shots; he had only eight rebounds combined in NCAA tournament games against Wisconsin and Oklahoma State.
“I understand where he’s coming from,” Taft said. “Whatever he tells me to work on, I’m going to work on. That’s all I’m focusing on right now, and come Saturday, we’ll see where it goes.”
Dixon also expects to find more playing time for Taft’s backup, 7-footer Aaron Gray, who averaged less than three minutes a game last season but might be Pitt’s most improved player.
The early season schedule remains predictably soft _Howard was 6-22 last season – though the Panthers will play only 10 of their first 12 in Pittsburgh compared to 14 of 15 last season. They play five in a row at home before traveling to Penn State on Dec. 11.