2009-10 Result: 25-9 (13-5 Big East) lost to Xavier, 71-68 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Coach: Jamie Dixon 188-54 in seven seasons with Pittsburgh.
Sixteen Panthers have gone on to the National Basketball Association. Current players include DeJuan Blair, Aaron Gray and Sam Young.
The Panthers have earned 22 invitations to the NCAA tournament making the national semi-finals in ’41 and Elite Eight showings in ’74 and ’09 to go with four Sweet Sixteen appearances.
Notable Non-Conference Tilts: 11/18 vs. Maryland, 11/19 vs. Texas or Illinois, 12/11 vs. Tennessee
Stat of Identity: 15.8 assists per game (21st in the country)
Key Returners:
Ashton Gibbs 34.6 mpg, 15.7 ppg
Brad Wanamaker 32.6 mpg, 12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
Gilbert Brown 23.7 mpg, 10.7 ppg
Gary McGhee 24.2 mpg, 6.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg
Nasir Robinson 24.9 mpg, 6.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Travon Woodall 20.2 mpg, 5.2 ppg
By Paul Casey Gotham
The recipe for Jamie Dixon and the Pittsbugh Panthers is no secret. Dixon runs ten guys at opponents night after night. His teams play gritty basketball and don’t beat themselves.
Still, the young coach is looking for his first trip to the Final Four and returning four of his starters could be the trick.
Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown combined for nearly 39 points and 12 rebounds per game. Wanamaker dished out 4.7 assists and worked at a clip just under two assists to every turnover. The 6’4″ guard creates match up problems on the perimeter. He can see over smaller guards which allows him to enter the ball into the post. At the same time, his strength adds another advantage.
Gibbs led the Panthers with 78 three-pointers. He had more threes than the next three teammates combined. The Panthers worked hard to get him open on the perimeter as evidenced by his 200 attempts from behind the arc.
Gilbert Brown is a ball-getter who causes opponents to know of his whereabouts at all time.
Gary McGhee and Nasir Robinson get the work down under the basket combining for more than 12 boards.
Freshmen, Isaiah Epps, J.J. Moore, Aron Nwankwo and Cameron Wright will look to crack the lineup.
Leave a Reply